36 week picture & baby update

Here we are today at 36 weeks! I am big. And I have stretch marks! They itch and are ugly but I'm pretending they're not there.

The band-aid on my arm is where I got my swine flu shot. I've been vaccinated!

Today was our 36-week check up with Dr. G. It was a regular appointment where she checked the baby's heartbeat (great, as always!) and also measured my belly. The past few visits she said I was measuring perfectly, and today told me I'm measuring about a week ahead at 37 weeks. She said it's not a big deal and it doesn't worry her, it could just mean our kiddo may be a little bigger than the average 7 pound newborn. I told her John and I were both 9 pound babies (and that my brother was 10!), so we will not be surprised if our bundle of joy tips the scales on his first day outside of the womb. After this, she checked my cervix to see if I was dilated at all. That was interesting but not at all as awful as I expected. While she was up "there", the first thing she said was that my cervix was definitely closed, and she couldn't feel the baby's head. At our last appointment, she thought she could feel his head down below where it's supposed to be, so this surprised me. She felt around a little bit more and determined there was nothing in my pelvis at all. At this stage in my pregnancy, she should've been able to feel his head just beyond my cervix, so the fact that she couldn't meant only one thing– the kid is breech. Dr. G. grabbed an ultrasound machine to double-check, and sure enough little Baby Zogas has his head nicely tucked away to the left of my belly button, and his legs over to the right, completely turned the opposite way of how he should be. So, we discussed next steps. Because he's growing bigger each day, chances are he may not want to turn around on his own because there's just not a lot of room. Each baby is different so there's no way tell if this will be true for us. John and I were joking that he probably won't turn on his own, because he's a Stenstrom-Zogas which means he is stubborn and will do what he wants, when he wants. If he's nice and cozy where he's at, the kid ain't moving. Anyway, next week at our 37 week appointment, we'll see if he's turned at all. If not, we'll go in for an external cephalic version. Sounds awesome, right? Basically the doc puts me on some kind of table tipped backwards, and tries to spin the baby down from the outside. I can't eat for 8 hours beforehand (aaaah!!!), then we get there and they give me a medication to relax the uterus, and monitor the baby's heartbeat throughout to make sure he doesn't go into distress. The reason I can't eat is if he DOES go into distress, they would rush me over to labor & delivery for an emergency c-section, which would require general anesthesia (and you can't have food in your system for that). How excited do you think I am about this? Yeah, NOT AT ALL. The only thing that makes me feel OK about it is that Dr. G said she knows the limits, and if it looks like the baby is just not turning, then she won't push it and we'll leave him be. And, she said I'm a good candidate for this because there's plenty of fluid and he's in a good spot that it could just be a simple rotation, and we're done. However, it's always possible he could turn back to where he was, and it was all a waste. So, if he goes back to being breech, or if it doesn't work, then the next step is to schedule a c-section at 39 weeks. That's it. No chance for a vaginal delivery if the kiddo doesn't cooperate. Dr. G. just doesn't deliver breech babies (and hasn't for awhile) because of the risks, so it's not an option. Plus, there could be a reason he's in there this way, so we don't want to force him out and take any risks.

So... How do I feel about all of this? It makes me want to cry. I've said all along that I trust my doctor, and John and I will do what we all think is best for the baby. Because things have gone SO well throughout my pregnancy, I figured they'd continue to be great... Sometime toward the end of the month I'd start contracting, we'd head to the hospital, John and I would breathe through hours of pain like we learned in class, I'd push for 2 hours and TA DA! We'd have a baby. If it didn't go well and he wasn't moving or got stuck or whatever, we'd go for the c-section knowing it's in our best interest, and TA DA! Baby has arrived. However, I've never imagined not even having the chance to deliver him naturally, and that makes me sad. Thinking positively, it would be pretty rad to schedule a c-section and know when he'll be here– what a dream for a control freak like me! To know when my baby will be here so I can plan around it, how awesome. But, to not even get a chance to push my baby out... I don't know about this. Anyway! Maybe we will get lucky and next week we'll be back on track. If we're not, then we'll just have to roll with it and hope and pray for the best. So think good thoughts for us and the little one! We'll keep you posted :)