It's Almost Time!

Unless baby decides otherwise, we will be meeting each other on Friday, May 28th! That is the day I've been scheduled for my c-section. We're to arrive at the hospital at 6 a.m. and the c-section will be at 8 a.m. It's hard to believe that at this time next Friday, we'll be holding our little bundle of joy!

Knowing that our lives are about to change forever, I'm living it up (as much as a 9 month pregnant chick can) this weekend. The alarm clock will DEFINITELY not be set and I'm going to enjoy laying in bed and being lazy just because I can. I'm getting a manicure and pedicure because I'm in dire need but also so my toes are cute for the next few weeks when I surely won't have time to do anything with them. Dave and I are having date night on Saturday night with dinner at Olive Garden - one of the last guilt free meals I will be able to enjoy before the post pregnancy diet begins, literally the moment this baby pops out.

It's very surreal (I hate that word) knowing that I only have 4 days of work left and then 12 weeks off. I honestly cannot imagine not caring what is going on at my desk and not feeling like I need to check my email. I doubt that will take much getting used to though!

Where did the past 9 months go? This is really happening...aaah, I can hardly wait!

Going for the Big C

We’ve made our decision. We met with Dr. Anderson yesterday and as I had suspected, based on the fact that I’m not getting kicked in the ribs as I hear so many pregnant women complain about, our little breech baby still hasn’t flipped. We asked the doctor his opinion on trying the version versus scheduling a c-section and without actually telling us what to do, he gave us some pretty strong advice. After looking at our chart, he said that we've obviously invested a lot into this pregnancy, considering we did IVF, and did we really want to take a risk, no matter how small, of possible fetal distress during a version? The decision was pretty clear at that point.

During an external version, the risk of having to do an emergency c-section due to fetal distress is about 1% - pretty low. The likelihood of having a breech baby is 3 to 5% - also pretty low. When I look at those statistics, the fact that we are in the minority with the baby being breech tells me that we could also be in the minority during a version and we've come so far that it's just not a chance we're willing to take.

I feel pretty happy with the decision that we've come to. I know that we thought it out carefully and are doing what's best for me and the baby. Even though the ultrasound didn't show what we hoped it would, the outcome will be the same - we will finally get to hold this baby that we’ve dreamed of for so long and that we’ve loved before he/she even existed.

On a sour note, I’ve officially exceeded my maximum goal weight for my pregnancy and Dave has lovingly resorted to calling me "Deuce". Enough said.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there who make sacrifices every day for their kids!! I can't wait to truly be able to celebrate this special holiday next year. My sweet husband felt that me, as a mom-to-be deserved to celebrate this year too.

Dave left the house the morning to "go to his mom's" and I jumped in the shower. When I got out of the shower, I could hear Chubby out in the kitchen walking around, which was kind of weird because normally when I take a shower, she parks it in the recliner. So, I went to scope out what was going on in the kitchen and out of the corner of my eye, something caught my attention. Sitting on the kitchen counter was a beautiful vase of flowers! I called out to Dave and he was nowhere to be found but in the flowers was a card from him wishing me a Happy Mother's Day and some other sappy stuff which I'll spare you the details. It made me feel so special and so loved!!

It's crazy to think how different things are this Mother's Day compared to last year. A lot can change in a year and I can't wait to celebrate next year with my almost 1 year old!!

Graduation Day

Well not really. But, we have officially completed the last of our three child prep classes - baptism, breastfeeding, and today, childbirth/childcare. Today's class (all 8 hours of it) ended up being my favorite of the three classes. It might have had something to do with the most amazing donut holes I've ever had in my life though.

The class was mostly about what to expect during the labor process and then a little bit about how to care for your baby. We got to tour the birthing suites including the c-section room which I'm now more determined than ever to avoid. We even got to see a little baby girl (a 5 lb twin) that had just been born yesterday. She was so precious! Just being there in the hospital makes me even more anxious for our special day when we can finally meet our baby!

So, now that our classes are done we're basically just waiting for this little one to arrive. This week will give us a better idea as to when that might be, depending on whether I have the ECV or opt for a c-section. Either way, I'm going to make sure I request some of those donut holes during my stay.

"Bad Baby!"

"Bad Baby!" Yes, those were the words uttered by my doctor yesterday as she performed the 36-week ultrasound to check the baby's positioning and discovered our baby in the breech position. That certainly wasn't the news I was expecting to hear and the more it sunk in, the more disappointed about it I became. So basically we have two options. The first option is to wait until next week for another ultrasound and hope that the baby has turned. If not, we could opt for a procedure called an external cephalic version (ECV) in which the doctor attempts to manually turn the baby in the head-down direction. If the ECV is successful which apparently it is about 50% of the time, then I would most likely be able to have a vaginal delivery. If we decide to bypass the ECV or if the ECV isn't successful, I would be scheduled for a c-section at 39 weeks - which is only two and a half weeks away! Eek!

My initial reaction was to completely rule out the ECV and just plan for a c-section, however, I was pretty upset by this turn of events. I guess it's just not the way I pictured the whole birth experience would go. On the plus side, if I choose this option, we get to meet the baby sooner and I would actually know the date I'm going to deliver ahead of time. Also not to be forgotten, instead of the 6 weeks pay I would get for a vaginal delivery, I would get 8 weeks pay for a c-section. I'm not sure that surgery is worth an extra two weeks pay though!

After allowing all of this to sink in and after getting some really helpful comments from mothers who have been in similar situations, I'm starting to reconsider. A girl I went to high school with recently had a successful ECV and delivered a beautiful healthy baby boy. She has provided me with some really good information which makes me feel like maybe it's something I want to try. It is possible that the procedure could result in an emergency c-section so I would need to be ready for that scenario. Check out this YouTube video of an actual ECV - pretty crazy!



I don't have a ton of time to make this decision as the ECV is generally done between 36 and 37 weeks (I'll be 37 weeks next Wednesday). Dave has said that it's up to me whatever I choose to do. In the mean time, I'm going to attempt to coax the baby to turn on it's own by trying some various pelvic tilt exercises I've been reading about on the Internet. I figure I have nothing to lose!

One thing is for certain, this baby is already taking after its directionally challenged mother!!