well, at 40weeks 2 days, this baby is just throwing us for a loop. baby has been breech since about 24 weeks despite dh and i trying every. single. remedy/position/activity/etc anyone has ever told us about (including an unsuccessful external version, that was really fun 
). but despite everyone else around us being nervous as all get out, we were calm in our decision to have a vaginal breech birth in the hospital with our wonderful OB. she and another doctor in town are very supportive and encourage vaginal breech births and do them regularly. so we were all set. until baby decided to put its leg down below its bottom making the position go from a frank breech (the safest kind of breech to deliver vaginally) to an incomplete breech (risks go up an incredible amount). so we found that out last week and were hoping that by our appointment today the baby would have gone back to frank, but its leg was even more tightly wedged down in my pelvis today than it was last week. that, combined with the fact that the baby's biparietal diameter is now larger than 9.5cm are leading both of these doctors who i really trust and have incredibly low c-section rates themselves and actively promote vaginal breech deliveries in their practices to strongly suggest a c-section for our baby. 
the biparietal diameter above 9.5 cm is a measurement that they arrived at statistically noting that the incidence of complications in breech deliveries goes up dramatically once the baby's bpd is larger than 9.5. we're at 9.6, and the leg is down. i had been gently trying to prepare myself for this for a while now, but it was still a shock to hear the doctor say it. it will still be the best possible cesarean birth, i know, for a number of factors, we're waiting for me to go into labor and i get to labor for as long as i want before we do the surgery, she is completely willing to delay the cord clamping (and says she actually does it with all of her cesarean births whether the parents ask for it or not!), and although she says her cesareans take a bit longer than normal because of the delay of clamping the cord and the fact that she is very meticulous about sewing up and she uses stitches instead of staples to close, she promises to get me skin to skin with the baby in under an hour from the birth, and that unless something is wrong with the baby dh will be the one to hold him/her in that intervening time.
so. we're trying to make the best of a bummer situation. i'm open to any and all advice about being in the hospital after, what to bring, things you wish you had known/done/been prepared for with a cesarean, anything.
i spent the first few hours after our appointment today crying, but now i'm just ready to go into labor so we can finally meet this stubborn little thing!
). but despite everyone else around us being nervous as all get out, we were calm in our decision to have a vaginal breech birth in the hospital with our wonderful OB. she and another doctor in town are very supportive and encourage vaginal breech births and do them regularly. so we were all set. until baby decided to put its leg down below its bottom making the position go from a frank breech (the safest kind of breech to deliver vaginally) to an incomplete breech (risks go up an incredible amount). so we found that out last week and were hoping that by our appointment today the baby would have gone back to frank, but its leg was even more tightly wedged down in my pelvis today than it was last week. that, combined with the fact that the baby's biparietal diameter is now larger than 9.5cm are leading both of these doctors who i really trust and have incredibly low c-section rates themselves and actively promote vaginal breech deliveries in their practices to strongly suggest a c-section for our baby. the biparietal diameter above 9.5 cm is a measurement that they arrived at statistically noting that the incidence of complications in breech deliveries goes up dramatically once the baby's bpd is larger than 9.5. we're at 9.6, and the leg is down. i had been gently trying to prepare myself for this for a while now, but it was still a shock to hear the doctor say it. it will still be the best possible cesarean birth, i know, for a number of factors, we're waiting for me to go into labor and i get to labor for as long as i want before we do the surgery, she is completely willing to delay the cord clamping (and says she actually does it with all of her cesarean births whether the parents ask for it or not!), and although she says her cesareans take a bit longer than normal because of the delay of clamping the cord and the fact that she is very meticulous about sewing up and she uses stitches instead of staples to close, she promises to get me skin to skin with the baby in under an hour from the birth, and that unless something is wrong with the baby dh will be the one to hold him/her in that intervening time.so. we're trying to make the best of a bummer situation. i'm open to any and all advice about being in the hospital after, what to bring, things you wish you had known/done/been prepared for with a cesarean, anything.
i spent the first few hours after our appointment today crying, but now i'm just ready to go into labor so we can finally meet this stubborn little thing!
:
... I am so sorry! Sending you strength and energy. It sounds like your OBs are awesome, and trustworthy.
That is tough but like the others said your care providers sound really caring and that can make such a huge difference.
i'm doing well with it and it is true, i don't feel bullied into the decision, more just cheated out of something i really really really wanted and kind of upset at all the people who don't even care what kind of birth they have who end up being able to birth vaginally. i'm mourning the loss of the experience, that's for sure. but my OB is wonderful and i am very grateful for that. 
: now i just want to know what to expect when recovering!
