Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Breech babies


This is a topic I had not put very much thought towards until I got the news that my little guy, at 36 weeks, is breech. I kind of felt like I had been punched in the gut. What did I do wrong? Is there a way I could have prevented this? Am I now destined to have a c-section no matter what? Well a good dose of prayer and some research later I have discovered a few things.
To start, what does a breech baby really mean?

Breech is when baby does not turn and point his head downward towards the birth canal. There are three common breech positions; Frank breech, Complete breech, and Footling breech. He is an illustration:

Factoid: 1 in every 25 full term births are breech (Americanpregnancy.org)

While there are no known reasons why babies decide not to turn at the appropriate time; in some cases it can mean problems in the uterus, distress on part of the baby, or early labor. But do not start stressing out quite yet and scheduling an early c-section. Let’s look at the options for mama’s and their babies.
Once at 36 weeks, if a breech diagnosis is given, your doctor will be keeping a closer eye on you. Preferably they do not want you to go into labor with a breech baby as it makes things more complicated. It’s time to start trying to coax baby into turning.
Natural options:
  •   Pelvic tilts
  • Play music with headphones on lower abdomen
  • Swimming
    • Do somersaults in deep water
    • Do handstands/ walk on your hands on the bottom of the pool.
    • Sink to the pool floor and lay facing up
  • Massage 
  •  Elephant walking (bear walk)
    • Walk around with hands and feet both on the floor. Tilts your uterus and allows baby more room to flip on his own
  •  Tailored sitting
  • RELAX!
    • The more tense and anxious you are about baby turning the more you are constricting the little space he has to move. Get loose!
  • Good websites to check out for turning your baby:
Disclaimer: There are tons of crazy methods that people will claim to be the most effective.  None of these methods are necessarily 100% effective and always talk to your doctor beforehand to make sure these are safe for you and your baby.
Medical option:
  • External Cephalic Version (ECV)
o   This is a procedure where uterine relaxing meds are given and your OBGYN coaxes baby to turn head down by manually applying pressure, with his hands, to your lower abdomen and manipulating your uterus.
o   Some risks of this are: possible for your water to break, kick starting early labour, vaginal bleeding, or cord prolapse.
o   The success rate of this procedure is about 54%. And it reduces the need for a c-section by 33%.
o   Attn: It can be advised for you to not undergo version if you have previously had a c-section, you are suspected of having a big baby, high or low amniotic fluid levels, or if there is fetal growth restriction.
o   Because of the risks, rule of thumb is that this is preformed no earlier than 35 weeks.
After all these exercises and procedures, some babies will still just not budge. It’s even possible for you to have a successful ECV and your little one decides to flip back before you go into labor. Don’t be disheartened. From here there is still a choice to be made.
If the stars align and baby is in the Frank breech position there is still a small option to birth vaginally. A lot of doctors and hospitals will not let you birth breech period but some will. Talk with your doctor and see if you are a good candidate for this if you are wanting to avoid c-section at all cost. However keep in mind it could still end in a c-section if your labor does not progress smoothly and the baby is in distress.
I many cases, if your little one is still breech after all your maneuvering and coaxing, your doctor will suggest to schedule a c-section for sometime in your 39th week. It’s better to have the c-section before you are thrown into full labor, as there can be fewer complications.  However, there is always a possibility that baby can flip even right before your c-section. Because of this possibility you will have an ultrasound and exam before you go into the Operating Room to check baby placement and position in case of a change. Even as common as cesarean sections are becoming, there are still risks as it is major abdominal surgery. Make sure to understand all the risks and give yourself plenty of time to recover after it’s all said and done. You’ll need it.
Always remember God is in control of your birth. Be it without any medical intervention or by the steady hands of a surgeon. As hard as it is, we have to trust Him with our babies and know He is with us the whole way, no matter the outcome.

Week 36 Update: Did somebody turn up the heat?!

Apparently when you are 9 months pregnant you feel like you are a menopausal woman having hot flashes. Hormones must be raging but that means my body is prepping for the finale. I cannot WAIT to meet my little Ayden! I am now down to weekly doctor appointments. I have my first internal exam and the doc said I am 0cm dilated, so no progression yet. Right before I went to my appointment I had my 9 month growth ultrasound. To our surprise, Little Ayden is actually average size. 6lbs and 2 oz. Unfortunately, He is also getting comfy in the breech position.  According to Doc if he doesn’t flip by next week we should discuss having ECV preformed to try and manually turn him while he is still en-utero. They give you some medicine to relax the uterine muscles and then push on your belly to try and coax baby to turn head down. If that doesn’t work then it will most likely need to be a cesarean delivery.  Praying He will wiggle his way around and get in position so we don’t have to take that route but God is in control and I have to believe he will come out the safest way he can manage.
I have started feeling some contractions off and on depending on what I am doing at the time. Focusing on drinking lots of water just to make sure the contractions don’t start from dehydration. In the heat we have been having off and on around here it would not be hard.
Started packing our bags for the hospital. Not knowing when he will come kind of stresses me out and I want to be prepared. However, our home is filling up with cute cloth diapers and little baby elephants so it’s hard to be super stressed out when I see all we have prepared and gotten for him already. I am even going to bring a little elephant stuffed animal with us to the hospital for when he is born. It will help me focus during labor on what is coming J
We had a good Memorial Day weekend. Our church had a picnic out at a local park on Sunday evening grilling yummy food and hanging out with friends. The pool at our apartment complex also opened up and I have already gone swimming twice. It feels so good to get in the water! Takes all the pressure and weight off my belly and soothes all my joints. LOVING IT! Kind of wish I could just live in the pool for the next few weeks.  Which is only 4 weeks in all!
IT’S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! Just so everyone is aware.
     

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Saturday, May 3, 2014

Week 32 Update




Life has been crazy and I apologize for not getting up a week 30 update. So here is an update for the past few weeks.
I had my 32 week appointment on Monday, and Doc says everything looks great. I have been consistently measuring a week ahead of my due date and doc thinks baby might end up being a big boy :) Ultrasound to check growth is scheduled for May 27th.  I'm still a bit in shock that in about 8 weeks I will be holding my little man in my arms. That's right Grandpa (Dad)! 8 weeks and counting! Haha. Had to make a shout out to my dad whom I feel is shocked every time I mention how soon his little grandpeanut is going to be here. Quite a milestone and it is approaching fast! Getting around at work is becoming significantly more difficult but I am hanging in there. My coworkers are the best. They really have encouraged me every step of the way. Little Ayden has definitely run out of wiggle room and therefore it feels like a kick-boxer has taken over residence in my womb. Haha. He is already vying for mom's attention and he has not even been born yet.We had a wonderful Easter. We helped out with the pancake breakfast before the service at church and ran the drink station. Watched and enjoyed a wonderful Easter play put on as part of service.  It ended up being a crazy day but ended with a steak and asparagus dinner with my Hubby. Could not have asked for a better end to Resurrection Day. YUM! We also started our childbirth prep class at the hospital. We have the best instructor ever! I am excited to go back this week. She is so energetic and knowledgeable about all things pregnancy, labor and delivery. My husband likes her approach too and I think he is soaking in all the info. She is definitely pro-natural birth. You can tell by the way she words everything, emphasizing on the pain relief techniques we will be learning and the fact that the first 3 of our 5 classes are going to be spent on natural birth, unmediated. God is definitely putting people in my path to help me out. He is so faithful to do that is He not?






 Currently my cravings are golden Oreos and good ole' fashioned french toast :) I have definitely hit the sweets craving stage lol.  I have also decided that these onsie rompers are my favorite thing ever. Hope Ayden doesn't mind cause that's all he is going to be wearing!
We  also had our baby shower at church a few Saturdays ago and it was a wonderful success! Of course it was baby elephant themed and stuck with the teal and orange color scheme. The food was wonderful and we had the most adorable cupcakes made by a wonderful lady, Christy Gott, from Highly Flavored cupcakes.


Courtesy of Highly Flavored Cupcakes
Raspberry Zinger Punch


Adorable onsie decorating!

 We used baby things as the centerpieces. In addition, everyone brought a white onsie with them to decorate and we had a fun crafty time. We were blessed with so many gifts and words of encouragement. Thanks Jess Pentecost and everyone who helped and made food, for everything you did and organized :)




Gender: Boy!!

Total Weight Gain:
Jumped to 35 lbs gained. Alittle swelling in the ankles and hands.

Exercise:
Have been laying off getting out as much due to sleep deprivation. Kinda bummed, was enjoying our walks 

Food cravings/aversions:
French Toast and mango pomegranate yogurt

Signs of Stretch Marks:
Still using Burt's Bees Belly Butter! But plenty of stretch marks have been appearing regardless. 

Maternity Clothes: Still fitting. Got a new dress for Easter.

Sleep:
Broken at best. I sleep on the couch in the semi sitting position almost every night and have been battling horrific leg cramps in the middle of the night.

Feeling:
Stretched this week. Bending over has become a thing of the past. I have to remind myself to squat when I can’t reach things on the ground.

Baby Movement:
I can feel him stretching out a lot. Can tell his head is pointed down now.

Belly Button In or Out?
Still in but very flat and you can tell it is being stretched thin.

Wedding Rings On or Off?
On but fingers are swelling from time to time so I remove it at home. 








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