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Monday, March 23, 2009

Well I'll be darned

I just got back from a chiropractor's appointment, followed by a visit with my midwife. We chatted the first hour about the upcoming birth, preparing for labor, giving birth to breech babies, etc. She bought some moxibustion sticks, so we planned on doing that at the end of the visit. We then went to palpate, measure my belly, listen to heart tones with a fetoscope, etc. The midwife's assistant palpated first and thought the baby was breech, perhaps kneeling, facing mostly posterior with its back on my right side. The midwife felt around next, closing her eyes as she moved her fingers and hands around my belly.

"This baby is direct OP. Feel that part down in your pelvis and travel upwards."

I did so, my fingers outlining the part that I had always thought was the butt.

"That is definitely a head," she said.

"But it feels too lumpy to be a head," I said.

"There's an arm or elbow in front of the head, but that's definitely a head. I can ballot it back and forth. And there is not a head anywhere in the top of your fundus."

This is what this baby is up to right now, except it also has an arm in front of its face (illustration comes from Spinning Babies' section on fetal and maternal anatomy). Even when the baby was breech, it was almost always posterior, so I've been feeling movement primarily along the front of my belly, from the pubic bone to the top of the fundus, for the past several months.

The assistant said something about this teaching her not to rely on her assumptions about the baby's position when she is palpating.

The funny thing is, we're still finding heart tones right about the same place as usual--about 2" below my belly button (which is entirely possible for both a vertex baby or a very well engaged frank breech).

Huh. So this baby has found the exit sign and turned around after all. I would never in a million years have guessed it had flipped to vertex. It feels just the same as it has all along. I never noticed any drastic heaving or lurching sensation when the baby flipped around. And I am officially abandoning all faith in my palpation skills!

It's funny--I was becoming so resigned to the idea that this baby was breech that now I find myself a bit at a loss for what to do next!

28 comments:

  1. Yay! As for what to do next, I'd keep going to the chiro. And start working on getting the babe to turn LOA. :p Are you feeling so relieved?

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  2. Congrats! I never felt it when my LO went head down, though I thought I would. At last visit the MW thought my babe was ROA but like you, I keep getting kicks all up in front. I'm going to ask her about it at our appt. tomorrow.

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  3. Fantastic! You must be relieved :)

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  4. Wow! Cool! What a relief that must be.

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  6. LOL! I'm glad that everything seems to be coming into place. Keep relaxin' Rixa!

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  7. Breech baby was one of my biggest worries, as no one here will deliver a breech - it's automatic C-section. Thankfully, Sunshine turned like your baby did. :)

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  8. YAY!! That is good news. Like a previous poster said, work on getting that babe in LOA position. I found the spinning babies website helped tons with that too. Woohoo!

    Vicki

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  9. Hooray! Glad to hear baby has figured out the smoother path (at least it will be smoother for you!)

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  10. celebrate!!!

    I found that crawling around on my hands and knees every other night or so before bed, got my babes into OA positions. after back labor with my first, i was damn well determined NOT to have it again. so i focused on them facing my back. i did mostly hands and knees during my birthing time as well.

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  11. The great news is that NOW...you'll be prepared for anything. :) I also never felt my breech babies turn.
    YAY for little babe in your belly, now stay put!
    xoxo

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  12. Good that she is head down, but not so good that she is FACE UP! I did all the Spinning Babies exercises with Jacob cuz I was so terrified of having another OP babe. Good luck with the moxibustion, let us know how that goes!

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  13. That is great news! My baby was transverse for a long time and the midwives did one exam once I was in labor, just to make sure my wiggle worm was indeed coming head first! See, sometimes they do know where the exit is. Faith in birth...

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  14. Woohoo!!! What great news!

    My doula (who found out she was pregnant around the time my son was born) called me the other day informing me that her sweet baby is now breech...I set her up with my chiro who worked wonders on my transverse guy! Hopefully, I'll be hearing the same story from her, as yours, very soon!

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  15. YAY!!! I'm delighted for you. I didn't feel Rachel turn either, but I knew she had because we palpated shortly after I visited the chiro. Aren't they fabulous? Here's hoping you have a wonderful birth ahead of you. :)

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  16. Well that is good news. I am a big fan of the hands knees position. I even get women with epidurals in that position if I think the baby is op.

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  17. *laughing* Ah good times. I think you have a little trickster in there!

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  18. Wow! That is great news. I had a lot of faith in your ability to gather yourself and birth a breech baby, but I'm glad you won't have to. Hopefully, this will go a long way to restoring your peace, so that you can really enjoy these last few weeks!

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  19. The midwife could be wrong. Either way, breech is a variation of normal so just stop stressing.

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  20. I'm so excited to hear this! Now, will pray for baby to turn:)

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  21. What to do next?! Well, celebrate!!! Relax!! Tell that kid what a good kid (s)he is.
    Isn't OP fairly typical along the progression from breech to OA? M. was also OP after she flipped (which was crazy movement I could totally feel! but I was 38 weeks at the time).
    Enjoy the rest of your pregnancy now :)

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  22. Don't know enough about that Judit, but I am not concerned about the OP right now. I do hands & knees and pelvic rocks, but more for comfort than to try to make the baby turn. It is a bit uncomfortable, though, to have all that movement front & center, which is where--for me at least--the tissues and skin seem the most sensitive.

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  23. Honestly, I am not surprised LOL
    But now, is the worry gone or is it showing up some other way, and how serious do you need to take this?

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  24. Good good and good. fill those seeminlgy empty "what do I worry about now" voids with gratitude and rest. It is very common to become addicted to fixating/fretting. But dont do it. Activley pursue changing your thoughts. All control is an illusion. Dont become attached to outcome. live in the moment, you have no other choice. Ok can u tell Im reading a self help book right now? : D
    But so true, all of it.
    Hugs to you and the baby, now STOP!!!!! and enjoy.

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  25. I know you are relieved! I'm happy for you and your baby. With the OP position, you and baby still have a good amount of time for another rotation to occur. But it would be nice to have a different area of tissue being pummled, wouldn't it?

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