38 weeks Pregnant - Surprise baby shower, trying to turn a Breech baby & getting my checklist done

So I am 38 weeks pregnant. I have noticed in the last few days that I have had pretty bad heartburn and/or acid reflux. It has really only started in the last couple days. I am not sure if it has more to do with the position of the baby or what I have been eating but it was pretty uncomfortable at night when I am trying to sleep. This is really the first time, except for the odd day day here and there that heartburn has been one of my symptoms. Maybe because I am carrying rather low...hopefully it goes away soon.

Last week at work my colleagues threw me a surprise baby shower which was really sweet and I was actually really surprised. There are a couple ladies at work that always decorate cubicles for birthdays and they had my cubical decorated when I came into work which was really sweet. They did a great job! On top of that, they organized a group gift and got cupcakes from my favourite bakery that specializes in dairy and gluten free. They were able to surprise me because I had a performance review scheduled so while I was discussing that with my manager, everyone on the floor gathered and then a co-worker knocked on the door during the meeting with my manager with an excuse of why my manager was needed. At first I thought it was a bit rude but then when I realized that it was for the surprise baby shower, I thought it was fine HAHA! The two teams that work on my floor got me a gift card for Babies R'US which was super generous. I plan to save it since I already got everything I think I will need for the first few months at least. I will probably either use it for a snowsuit or size 2 cloth diapers which he will probably need when he is around 5-6 months. A lady that I used to work with (who has since retired) also stopped in the same day to meet a bunch of us for lunch and she gave baby Spiegelman an adorable navy polo hat which will come in really handy especially since it is getting cooler...Here are a couple pictures of my surprise work baby shower:

So as of my 38 week midwife appointment, our little man is still breech. This past week I tried several home remedies. I have been doing inversions on the stairs, I tried playing classical music near my pelvis, Mitch tried talking to the baby near my pelvis, and I went swimming and did more handstands in the pool. I really wanted to just stick with the home and natural remedies before trying any more risky procedures such as an ECV. As I think I mentioned last week I really didn't want an ECV and there was a bit of a mix-up with my midwife scheduling an ECV. Anyway, at my 38 week midwife appointment I discussed it further with my secondary midwife who I feel is very experienced. She seemed to really favor this procedure and felt that the risks associated with an ECV is far less than those with a C-section and it was worth a try. I still wasn't convinced when I left her office but I was scheduled for a consultation with an OB later that morning to discuss having a vaginal breech birth versus a C-section and he would also discuss the ECV procedure in further detail. After discussing it with him and then discussing it further with my husband, I decided to proceed with the ECV. Part of the reason I decided to proceed with the ECV was because it sounded less risky than some of the literature I read and I felt really comfortable with the doctor who would be preforming it. He was the head doctor at the hospital I was at, very experienced, explained that it would be a bit painful but he would stop if I asked, and the baby would be monitored by ultrasound for the entire procedure. He also seemed very honest about the odds of it being successful. He stated he thought that in my situation, there was about a 40% chance of it working. In the end, it was not successful but at least there was no harm to me or the baby and I do feel comfortable with my decision. I think that if I had opted out of the ECV and I do require a C-section, part of me might wish I had tried the ECV. They also preformed a non-stress test after the procedure to monitor the baby's heart rate and any contractions. The non-stress test was about 20 minutes and I am really glad they preformed it. It definitely gave me reassurance that he was doing well afterwards.

At this point, my midwife is going to set up a meeting with an OB from the hospital that I am delivering at to discuss the option of a vaginal breech delivery versus a C-section and then I will decide what I want to do. Even though it was briefly discussed with the OB who preformed the ECV, he stated that he is not experienced in vaginal breech deliveries so he would opt for a C-section but he thought it was best that I make an informed decision after speaking to a doctor that specializes in vaginal breech deliveries. Hopefully I can get this appointment in the next couple of days. 

As far as my baby-prep check-list goes, I am getting a lot of things done. The glider was finished this past weekend. We adjusted the base and I like how it rocks a lot better now. The nursery is just about done aside from hanging up a couple pictures, a bit of clothes and organizing the cloth diapers. I hope to get these things done the next couple nights after work. We also put the car seat in the car and reassemble the stroller. Both of these things were harder than I thought. The base to the car seat was hard to get secure so we ended up going to an inspection service and got help installing it. There was a nominal fee for this service but I feel better knowing that it is secure. After all this, I don't really plan to take out the base. We also had trouble re-assembling the stroller after I took it apart to wash it so we brought it into a store that sells the model and she helped us a bit. We already had it assembled correctly aside from one minor thing.  Again, I feel better knowing that it is assembled correctly. 

I also met with my family doctor this week to get more information about a paediatrician. She explained that she usually refers babies to paediatricians and it just so happens that the paediatrician she recommends is in the plaza  2 minutes away from our house so it is very handy to have him close by. I need to go back to her after the baby is born to get a referral from her. 

As far as my check-list goes for this week coming up, I really have to get most things done. I still need to make sure everything for my maternity benefits are in place, finish washing baby stuff and the nursery, pack the hospital bags and hopefully catch up on some reading.

Friday is my last day of work and it is crazy to think that in a few days, I will be off work for a year. I have been working so long and had two jobs at some points so being off work is going to be a big change but it is definitely a change I am looking forward to. I also feel so blessed that I am able to have a whole year off with my baby because in a lot of other countries, people do not have this opportunity!

New purchases this week:

Belly bandit - I got this not only to help firm my stomach afterwards but mainly mainly because I heard it really helps relieve nursing contractions post-partum.

Car seat poncho - I bought a new car seat poncho for the winter. It keeps baby warm by covering the car seat but it is safer than the style I bought previously. This style fits with elastic around the perimeter of the car seat but doesn't fit behind the baby so the car seat straps fit snugger and therefore it is safer. I am going to try and return the other car seat cover.

Baby bump measurement: 39 inches

37 weeks pregnant - FULL TERM, trying not to stress, & early birthday date night

So I am 37 weeks pregnant which means I am now considered full term. That is a bit of a relief but I still want him to stay in there a bit longer. I am so excited to meet him and I really think I get more excited to meet him each day but I know in my heart that it is better for him to stay in there until he is ready. I also know that he develops a bit more each day so it is definitely the healthier option. As far as symptoms go, some days I get a bit more back pain then others and on Monday I was pretty nauseous in the morning. Not sure why...

So for those of you that have read my blog the last couple weeks, you know that at my 36 week ultrasound and midwife appointment our little guy was still breech. I was stressing out pretty bad. I called to get into a naturopath, osteopath, and the chiropractor. I also told my midwife to go ahead and contact the hospital about an ECV (External cephalic version) which is where they manually turn the baby. I wasn't able to get an appointment with the osteopath or chiropractor in time but I was able to get an appointment with the naturopath for Tuesday. However, I thought things over, did a bit more reading, and kind of changed my perspective. Instead of seeing all of these specialists and trying all of these techniques at this point, I still want to give him a bit more time to turn on his own. During the later part of last week, I was trying not to stress out about it so much. Don't get me wrong, I really want a natural birth and to avoid a c-section but I was reading that most babies will turn on their own and I definitely feel that this is the better and safer option especially in comparison to the ECV.

Even though I have opted to put off seeing these specialists for a bit, I have still been doing a bit of the home remedies. I have been sitting and bouncing on my yoga ball, swimming and doing handstands in the pool, hip rotations, various yoga poses, pelvic tilts etc. I also read that if your baby is breech and you always sleep on one side then it might be best to try sleeping on the other side for a couple of nights. Anyway, for most of my pregnancy, I have been sleeping on my left side so for the last few nights I have been trying to sleep on the right side. I find it a bit uncomfortable to sleep on the right but then on Sunday night I felt a pretty big movement while sleeping on my right side so I was hoping that it meant he turned around. 

Well I had my 37 week midwife appointment today and while my blood pressure, the baby's heart rate and my fundal measurement were all great, it appears that he is still breech. However, this is just based on the midwife and the midwifery student feeling my belly and not an ultrasound but it did get me a little down in spirits. I was really trying to be positive and I thought there was a chance he turned but I was still feeling kicks on the lower left side of my belly which is where I have been feeling kicks for weeks. So even though I was trying to remain positive, I wasn't entirely surprised he was still breech. They also think he is posterior at the moment. They showed me on the doll what they were guessing his position to be which looked more like a complete breech and last week at my ultrasound he was "frank breech" but again this was just based on them feeling my belly. 

At my midwife appointment this week I also had my group B strep test and I will get my results back from that at my next appointment which is next week. We also discussed the option of having a C-section if he stays breech. As I may have mentioned before, the thoughts on c-sections for breech births is changing in the medical community and more doctors are doing breech vaginal deliveries. In fact, at the hospital I plan to deliver at there is a breech team that specializes in breech deliveries so we aren't scheduling a c-section at this point. However, should I go into labor, they will do another ultrasound to see if he is still breech and if so, I meet the criteria for having a breech vaginal delivery. The ECV was brought up again. I really do not want to take this route but the midwife and the midwifery student still thinks it is a good option. They will be contacting the hospital about it. If I do end up scheduling it, I am going to try and schedule it as late as possible in order to give the baby the most time to turn on his own. I was trying to state how nervous I was about it and hint that I didn't want it but they just kept trying to reassure me. The midwifery student had a successful ECV at 38 weeks so she seemed to push it as a good option. I know that they will do an ultrasound before the procedure to make sure he is still breech but I still really want to avoid having it done. I kinda feel like I should have stated specifically that I didn't want it instead of trying to hint that I didn't want it. If it comes up at my next appointment, I might try that approach.

So even though my birthday is not until the end of the month, Mitch took me out this past weekend for my birthday date weekend. We went to Fat Tuesday's which is a New Orleans style restaurant in the market, to the casino, then we stayed at the Brookstreet and had a nice brunch at Alice's Cafe in Carp the next day. It was a great weekend and fun to get dressed up. It might be the last time that we get dressed up and go out for a while so I definitely tried to make the best of it. Oh and we both won a bit at the casino which made it an extra good night. Here is a pic below of me at 36.5 weeks pregnant. I still fit into my regular little black dress but those are the only tights that fit me at this point:

baby bump measurement: 38.75 inches

36 Weeks pregnant - Ultrasound, Midwife Appointment, New baby stuff

So I am 36 weeks pregnant and it is officially less than 1 month until I am due. Right now I am exhausted but I think that is just due to the fact I didn't sleep well last night.

I had my ultrasound on Monday which gave us good and less than great news. The good news is that the baby is measuring exactly to the day on most measurements and within a few days on 1 or 2 things. His weight and measurements are in the 50th percentile which is perfect. I am actually quite relieved about that because a few people have mentioned how small I was for how far along I am. I heard a few "OMG your so tiny, are you sure you are eating enough?" or "Are you trying not to gain any weight?" I know some people may mean it as a compliment in a way but sometimes I find it a bit offensive..."ummm no I am not starving myself...just eating pretty normal and I normally eat pretty healthy".

The less than great news is that the baby is frank breech at the moment. The doctor (yes a doctor preformed my ultrasound which is a bit weird but he was pretty informative compare to a lot of techs) joked that "the baby looks healthy, he is just like a lot of guys and didn't stop to ask for directions". I actually found this pretty funny. He explained that there are a few doctors at the civic hospital that preform breech vaginal deliveries but there are certain criteria that have to be met. First, it has to be a frank or complete breech position, the head has to be tucked in, the weight has to be average -high range, it should be closer to 40 weeks term and there may be more criteria as well. In any case I would have to be assessed by an OB and I would most likely have to have an OB deliver the baby instead of my midwife. However, I am pretty sure that the midwife would still be present at the birth and myself and the baby would still be able to have postnatal care from my midwife. On the other hand, if he stays breech, it may also mean I need to be scheduled for a C-section which I am still trying to avoid.

I had my follow-up midwife appointment on Tuesday and discussed the options I have. I was given names of a naturopath (that is also a midwife) as well as a chiropractor that specializes in the webster technique. I tried making appointments with these people but I had trouble getting an appointment before my next midwife appointment which is next Wednesday. I was able to get an appointment with the naturopath next Tuesday but I am not quite sure what to expect at this appointment and if any techniques will actually be preformed. The receptionist on the phone says that a lot of the initial appointment is spent filling out paperwork and discussing it. I really hope some techniques are tried because I feel like I am running out of time. I tried contacting the chiropractor but I was told that the initial appointment was just a couple standard tests and paperwork and the adjustment wouldn't be done until the 2nd appointment which would be after my 37 week appointment. I kinda feel like that would be a waste of time at this point. A friend of mine recommended an osteopath since it seemed to work for her in a similar situation so I got the name of her osteopath but unfortunately he is pretty booked before my delivery. I am on the waiting list but  the chances are slim that I will be able to see him before I deliver. I will keep you posted on whether or not I get in to see him.

In the meantime I have been using my yoga ball and I am going to start to do my inversions, pelvic tilts, and yoga poses a lot more often. The first couple of days I was pretty serious about doing these exercises but I kinda got lazy the last few days but I regret it now. Last night I tried putting an ice pack on the top of my tummy while sitting on my yoga ball watching tv. The thought behind this is that the baby will move away from the cold into a head down position. Not sure if it will work but there is really no harm in trying so I will keep that up while I am watching tv. I might also try putting headphones with music playing at the bottom of my tummy so he moves towards the music. Again, it is something simple I can try and no harm if it doesn't work. I also might try handstands in the pool this weekend too.

As far as new baby stuff goes, we got the chair delivered on Saturday but I totally didn't realize we needed some wood and specific screws to attach the rocker to the chair. Hopefully that will get done this weekend coming up. I have been working on organizing the nursery and it is almost done. We got a bunch of clothes from a friend that is listing their house soon and is trying to declutter. The clothes are mostly 6-9 months. I already have a bunch of bins in the nursery for clothes of various sizes so those new clothes are just being stored away for now. We also got some toys and a high-chair so I think we are all set.

This week coming up, I want to put the car seat base in the car and I also want to make an appointment with my family doctor to discuss postnatal care and paediatricians. I also want to clean out the baby's bathroom and organize all his baby stuff in his bathroom.

Baby bump measurement: 38.5 inches