Gibson's Arrival to the World

Well, after I found out my baby was breech, I had spent countless hours trying to find ways to make him turn so I wouldn't have a C-section.  I had tried the ECV and had started the Webster Technique.  I was also doing moves shown on spinningbabies.com.  But alas, at my last appointment he was still breech.  He did move more sideways, but breech just the same.

We went to what was my last prenatal appointment.  The baby looked good on the NST, there were no contractions and they did a quick ultrasound to check the position of the baby (still breech).  We decided to go ahead and schedule the C-section for January 24th at 8am.  We went to get some food to take home and decided to watch a movie that night.  We ate then started the movie, that's when the fun began.

I felt a contraction, not unlike what I had felt for the past couple of weeks so I didn't give it much thought.  About ten minutes later I felt another one.  This one was a bit stronger so I decided I was going to time them.  The next contraction was six minutes later, I told my husband, "If this keeps up then I think we'll have a show tonight."  The next contraction was about five minutes apart and after that they ran together.  We called the doctor and by the time the doctor called back the contractions were right on top of  each other.  We desperately called my niece to come watch my daughter.  She was still at work so we called my parents to come to the house as we were not going to be able to wait any longer.  We thought my niece showed up but it was our neighbors, I pleaded with him to take her to their house as we had to go right then.

He took our daughter over to their house at 8:20 p.m. and we were on the road.  I begged and pleaded for him to run the red lights but it was icy and my husband wouldn't do it. Here is where it gets blurry to me, I know I was screaming for him to run lights and I know I was screaming for him to call 911.  I know when we got to the hospital, I screamed and cursed more than I ever have in my life.  I know that I while I screamed and begged for relief and for the baby to stay in, I couldn't do anything but push.  As soon as I got into the hospital they checked me and said I was complete.  Basically, I went from 0-10 cm. and ready to deliver in under an hour and my water didn't even break.

They double checked the baby's position then wheeled me into the OR.  They finally gave me a spinal block to which my response was (sorry for the foul language), "That is fucking fantastic."  They then proceeded to the C-section.  I didn't feel anything except some pulling.  I knew my little guy was hung up because two doctors were pulling on him with all they had.  Apparently his hands were behind his head and his cord was wrapped around his neck 2-3 times. At 9:19pm on January 20th, They finally got him out and took him to another room.  My husband assured me that he was okay, but part of me still thinks he was just saying that to keep me calm.  The rest was pretty uneventful.  They tied my tubes (because God knows, I don't want to do that again), and stitched me up.  The spinal made me shake pretty bad so I didn't hold the baby because I was afraid I would drop him.

So all in all, I'm actually thankful that we didn't get him to go head down before labor.  I'm positive, that I would've birthed him on the side of the highway if he would've flipped.  I always thought the scenes in movies were totally bogus with a woman screaming and hollering with a labor moving in a matter of minutes, but I now know it can really happen.  I'm very sore but I'm able to move and do more every day.  I look forward to feeling human again.  I'm so glad the little guy is finally here, everyone just loves him and we love him more and more with each passing minute.

Operation: Spin Baby Spin (Take Two - Webster Technique)

I've had people ask about my chiropractor appointment.  So I figured I'd just  post it here.

 

‎My appointment went good. Usually, this technique has the best results at around 34-36 weeks, so I'm late in the game. At my Friday OB appointment they were going to schedule a C-section for this Tuesday. But during the NST the heartbeat was much lower in the belly so they decided to do a quick U/S to see the position. He was still breech but he's rolled up into a tighter ball. The Dr. gave me one more week to continue with the chiropractor to see if it helps. I've had a lot of movement and contractions this weekend, but nothing terribly consistent and not strong enough for me to go in. They go on about 2-4 hours (just enough so I don't get any sleep), then settle down.

During just about this whole pregnancy I've had severe back pain, but it would come and go. My OB wanted to refer me to a chiropractor around 30 weeks because of it, but the baby seemed to shift and the pain wasn't as bad so I just didn't go. Oddly enough, now that I'm trying the Webster Technique, she has been working on the exact area where my back has been hurting. I expect to see the chiropractor about 3-5 times this week, unless I go into labor. No matter what happens, I will either be getting a C-section or induced on the 24th

Operation: Spin Baby Spin

As you know, I'm pregnant and due January 24, 2012.  Our little peanut has been sitting in a full breech position and I'm not particularly in favor of a C-section, so we've decided to try a few things to get this baby to spin to a head down position.  We have only about a week to a week and a half to get him in position.

So, in this adventure, I'm going to recap my experience with the External Cephalic Version (ECV).  An EVC is there the doctor uses their hands on the outside of your belly to try to manipulate the baby into a head down position.

My regular Ob/Gyn had suggested trying the ECV process in hopes to avoid a C-section.  He sent me to a perinatal specialist for high risk pregnancies.  I've not really been considered high risk for this pregnancy except for my "advance maternal age" and my Gestational Diabetes (GD).  I had seen the high risk group of doctors when I was pregnant with Montana, so I was familiar with the group.

The day before my ECV I had an ultrasound to check the position, size and amount of fluid around the baby.  All in all, I was a very good candidate for the procedure.  This is not my first child, so my uterus would be more flexible and the baby is actually measuring small (kinda rare for GD).  This doctor's office has a success rate of 60-70% of the baby turning.  They also have about a 1% chance of the procedure ending up in an emergency C-section.  I figured those were pretty good odds, so I went with it.  I was scheduled for 8:00am the next morning.

I showed up at 8:05am for the procedure (we forgot to account for morning traffic).   Apparently, they expected me there at 6:00am, too bad they didn't tell me that.  It was not a big deal and they proceeded to take me to the OR prep area.  They connected me to an Non-Stress Test (NST) monitor.  They were basically checking the baby's heart rate and to see if I was having any contractions.  Then they started looking for a vein to stick the IV.  I was not allowed to have any fluids or food after midnight the night before, so I was dehydrated and apparently my veins were very small.  The nurse stuck me in the top of the left hand and crapped out that vein.  10 hours later it still has a large knot and is bruised.  That hurt really bad and it felt like she tried to connect my IV with a garden hose.  My husband said that it looked like I was going to punch the nurse.  She decided to let a different nurse try the second stick.  Let me tell you, that second nurse is a pro.

The resident doctor came in and starting talking about what was going to happen, the risks and an epidural.  I almost stopped everything right there.  I was previously assured that I was not going to have an epidural.  I'm going to have them poking in my spine in about a week anyway, I did NOT want an epidural for this.  I explained this to the resident.  She seemed a bit confused and stated that usually they use an epidural but not always (I think she was covering her tracks).  But she checked with the main doctor and they confirmed they would not be using any medication.  Of course, when you start hearing all of the risks out loud you start getting nervous.  But, I wanted to at least try it and I knew I could stop the procedure at anytime.

So here's how it went.  They use an ultrasound machine to confirm size, fluid and position of the baby.  There are two doctors that work on this procedure together.  They lube you up with a lot of gel then push down hard on the lower belly to try to lift the baby up and out of the pelvis. They then take one hand by the baby's head and another hand around his little butt and they start trying to rotate him.  My husband said it when they lift the baby out of the pelvis he could see the outline of the baby for the most part.  They tried to spin him one way and when that didn't work they tried to get him to spin the other way.  The doctors would stop now and then to check the baby's heart rate and to confirm position.  He would move about 45 degrees in either position, but he ended up just going back and sitting in the pelvis again.  We monitored the baby for approximately 90 minutes after the procedure, and all was well.  So in this case the ECV was unsuccessful.

Before I did this, I was asking different forums and my friends on Facebook about this procedure.  I received a lot of negative responses about the procedure, but I guess I never really saw enough negative to make me not try it.  So below I'm going to answer basically my own questions:

• How does the ECV feel?  This is kind of hard to explain.  It's not comfortable, but it's not really painful.  There were moments when there would be pressure in a particular spot and my reflex was just to grab whatever was close.  My botched IV stick was much worse than the procedure and I got a charlie horse in my right calf during the procedure that hurt more.  I found it helpful to control breathing and imagine a "happy place".  My personal happy place was mushroom hunting.  All in all, I think hard labor pains hurt more.  I do not feel, any pain medication is necessary for the procedure.

• Would I do it again?  Though my particular procedure was unsuccessful, I would do it again.  However, I personally feel I would not attempt it more than once per pregnancy.  My little guy was not distressed at all, but some babies are.  If the ECV is going to work it's going to work rather easily and the first time.  I don't think it helps anyone to continue to do it multiple times for the same pregnancy.

• How do you feel afterwards?  I feel a bit sore.  I was told to expect some bruising on the belly.  I personally did not get bruised during the procedure.

• What signs should I look for after the procedure, that there is a problem and what should I do?  Basically, you should look for anything that would send you to the hospital whether the procedure was done or not.  If you have bleeding, water breaking or contractions, call your doctor and head to the hospital.

• The ECV didn't work.  What else can I try?  I'm trying techniques on www.spinningbabies.com .  I'm also going to look for a chiropractor that does the Webster Breech Technique.  

Here comes my disclaimer.  I am not a health professional and I am not qualified to give any health advise.  This is simply my own personal experience.  If you are thinking of doing any of these procedures please contact and discuss this with your health provider.

Goodbye 2011. Hello 2012

Well, it's been a pretty interesting year.  We finally got to go on a family vacation.  I WAS in the best shape of my life and I found out I was pregnant. I'm not a fan of being pregnant and being pregnant most of 2011 kinda sucked.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I was sick all the time and that was miserable.  This baby has been physically hard on me.  Everything hurts and it seems like it hurts all the time.  He should be making his arrival any day now and boy am I looking forward to it.

I'm ready for a whole new year.  Here is a list of goals for the new year:

• Get the basement finished and hopefully mostly paid off.
• De-clutter my life.  Every month I get overwhelmed in paperwork.  I want to move to paperless.
• Actually run that first 5k.
• Focus more on my business.
• Get more organized with Montana's school time.

So, those are some of my goals.  I'm sure there are more goals that I will add on to this, but we'll see how it goes.

Happy 2012 everyone!