External Version Appt. & Vinyl Update

The doctor came in and then told me that they would not be doing an epidural and just using a little medication through the IV. They gave me 1 medicine that relaxes your uterus, which made me feel like I had drank a red bull (heart races) but then they gave me a little pain medication to calm things down. The pain medication just relaxes your tense muscles, you can still feel what they are doing.

So they then brought the ultra sound machine in and checked the baby and the Doctor verified with her hands on where she was going to try to push. She pushed on his head and bottom to try to get him to go. She tried clock wise and then counter clock wise. This was def. uncomfortable, but not unbearable. It felt as if she was pushing my stomach in about 4 inches down and then started pushing. After she started, I just wanted her to keep going until it worked as we were already there and in the middle, but she only did it for 10 mins max. She just said there was no way, he was not budging at all. On a scale of 1-10, the pain for those 10 mins was an 8-9.

Would I do it again? Yes, it really wasn't that bad and it was worth a shot.

After I just laid there waiting for all the medicine to wear off. After about 20 mins or so I got thirsty and asked for water, but she said to only have a little in case I still needed an emergency c-section. The baby's heartbeat did drop once and I had to lay on my side. She said I had a pretty intense contraction, but I didn't feel it. I did feel nauseous. I laid there for about 1 hour and a half to 2 hours. Everything was good to go and I was sent home. She said I was getting light Braxton hicks contractions still (I didn't feel them) but she said it was normal and I can go home. I was pretty sore on Saturday. It hurt to touch the areas she was pushing on, but I feel completely fine and normal now and he is moving like usual.

We have scheduled a c-section for Friday, February 10th at 9:45am. Max will be here so soon!

Vinyl Update: David and I borrowed Darrin and Stacey's cricut to try to assemble more of Max's Wild Thing theme in his room.

 

We printed a BUNCH of leaves that we will assemble to make a jungle (this weekend maybe).

The big accomplishment this weekend was MAX. Check out this Max character that David made from scratch. He traced and drew it out in photoshop and had to piece it all together. You can only print 1 color at a time and at a size of 1ft x 2ft. So you can imagine how much time and effort that went into it. You can also see one of the leaves we put up just to play. 

 Close up shot. I just LOVE him. David did such a great job!

37 Week Pregnancy Survey

Update on version procedure: I told you a few days ago that we were going to schedule our external cephalic version for this Friday (tomorrow) and we have it scheduled for 8:30am. This link has great information on what exactly is done. In general a version is done most often before labor begins, generally around 36 to 37 weeks. Version is sometimes used during labor before the amniotic sac has ruptured. This can be a good time to use version, when labor is constantly monitored and a cesarean delivery (C-section) can be done right away if needed. But the chance to do the version can be lost if labor speeds up or the amniotic sac ruptures. 

We have to arrive to the hospital at 6:30am to be hooked up to an ultra sound machine, get an IV and do a stress test type of thing. I have read that you are suppose to get a shot to relax your uterus, but I was told by the coordinator that I would be getting an epidural. David made the appointment so I was asking him numerous times if he was sure she said epidural, because that is what you get when you actually have a baby. I wanted to make sure they knew we weren't having the baby, but just doing the version. He assured me he heard it right and I started googling. In my research I read that: the use of epidural anesthesia increases the success of external cephalic version and decreases the cesarean section rate due to breech presentation. Epidural use would lead to annual savings of thousands of dollars in a busy obstetric unit, would make cesarean delivery safer and more rapidly available in an emergency, might increase the use of ECV, and would minimize the pain associated with this procedure. These are compelling reasons for its use.

 

So, it seems like more of an elaborate prep for a 10-15 min procedure, but we are geared up and ready for the challenge to see if baby Max will flip. We then have to stay 2 hours after for monitoring and be sure to go home and do kick counts to make sure everything is okay.  Keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow morning and I'll update as soon as I can.

 

How Far Along: 37 weeks 

Size of baby: Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.) Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. We've been told numerous times that Max has a full head of hair, so hopefully he doesn't come out like a wolf baby, but we're expecting lots of dark hair :)

Total Weight Gain: 26-27  lbs 

Sleep: Still up to pee a few times a night, but sleeping pretty good with my pillows 

Symptoms: Feeling pretty good still. Not that uncomfortable unless its trying to maneuver around the dog to get out of bed to go pee during the night. 

Cravings: nothing crazy, still loving cereal and desserts.

Gender- Max David 

Movement: I am almost positive that he is still breech and hasn't turned on his own despite all my efforts and exercises.

Maternity Clothes: Same

Best Moments this week: I had a WONDERFUL shower at work put on by Lacey and Leah. Wait until you see the circus themed shower. You won't believe (well if you know them, you would) all the decorations and little details that went into the theme.  I have the best friends and co-workers ever! Thanks everyone!

What I'm looking forward to: The version procedure to be over and to know if he has flipped or if we need to schedule our c-section for a few weeks. I still can't believe he will be coming any day now.

Milestones: I think I am ready for Max to come. I purchased a few last min. things at babies r us yesterday and think that I will need more things, but won't know until he gets here.  I forgot to mention that David decided on a video monitor and we went with the Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor with Color LCD Screen. We went with the 3.5" screen and we loved it because it was a pan, tilt, zoom and night vision.      
 
I also wanted to add that I saw a preview of my maternity photoshoot from this weekend!! I am tagged on facebook if you want to see them and I'll post them once I get the link. They are super cute!

To Do List: I have an ongoing list that I wanted to just jot down here. Cut out tags and put ribbon on nurse goody bags, do work thank you notes, pick out a DSLR camera. I want to add finish reading my breast feeding book and Baby Wise.

37 week shot- Sorry it's blurry, the self timer wasn't working well.

37 week belly shot