10 days left! Baby Julian update

[raspberry.swirl]

On Wednesday, I will be 38 weeks along with Julian.  An external version was attempted unsuccessfully.  He moves for no one.

I understand that he's an individual, it's just difficult to go from planning for a home birth to a scheduled c-section at 10 am on 12/9/10.

As I mentioned before, hospitals no longer schedule c-sections prior to 39 weeks (which is 12/8 for me).  I am somewhat considering moving it down a week.  However, the discomfort of a transverse baby late in the 3rd trimester is a bit much.  I am still trying to do my share of work at home and be a loving mother and wife.  My patience wears very thin, very quickly these days.

Sigh... 

He still moves around quite a bit and places himself in some cirque de soleil positions.  My belly will look awkward/uneven at times like that.  There's still a chance that labor could start before the 9th and he would just move into vertex position, I've heard it has happen before to other mamas.  Even if that doesn't happen, they'll check his position with an ultrasound before they begin to prep.  If he's found head down on the 9th, they're electing for an induction.  I am wondering if breaking my water be an option instead of an induction?

I've studied up on natural child birth that I am finding myself unprepared for a c-section.  Tonight, I am going to chat with a mama who's had 2 c-sections.  Any insight or resources from a BTDT mom?

Thanks!

[wholewheatchick]

I am so sorry!  Since they are not anticipating anything to be "wrong" with your little guy, I would vehemently insist that he go to your chest immediately, and that he be with you in recovery as much as humanly possible.  It's not like they need your chest to sew you up! 

I hope you have a beautiful birth no matter what, even if it is completely not what you had planned and prayed for. 

[MyFullHouse]

I always hate a change of plans, and yours is certainly a doozy!

I haven't BTDT, but I have made it a point to mention that I'd like to have at least one hand free if I were to need a section.  I'm claustrophobic, and I don't think I could handle having both strapped down!

I'll keep my fingers crossed for a last minute flip and, no matter what, a healthy delivery!!!!

[splath]

I'm so sorry for the change of plans :(  I had a c-section last time, and I would suggest pushing to have at least one arm free, as well as to let your dh hold the baby immediately.  He can even cut the long cord, if you ask that they keep the cord long after the section.  You can even request that they lower the curtain at the moment of birth so you can watch, but I don't know that I could handle that.

[nova22]

I'm so sorry!!! :(

With my 5th, I was planning to have my second homebirth but instead, I had a c-section. My situation was a little different from yours in that my c-section wasn't planned; the doctors were willing to let me stay on hospital bedrest despite that my water had broken at 33wks, but after a lot of bleeding, a c/s was required after many hours of monitoring. The hospital staff was very sympathetic to me because they knew I had wanted a homebirth. That was very helpful and I hope your doctors and nurses are as supportive as mine were; it made a big difference in my recovery, at least emotionally. 

It helped me to realize that the system was working as it should, ideally. Sometimes a c/s is necessary and when it is, it's good that we have that option in order to keep ourselves and our babies healthy and safe. Knowing that my c/s was medically necessary and that I wasn't coerced into having one unnecessarily was comforting to me, in a way.

He is your first, right? I found the recovery to be a lot harder after my c/s verses my natural births, but to be fair, I wasn't resting like I should have. After a c/s you're supposed to avoid stairs, avoid lifting anything over 20lbs, and get plenty of rest. I had four children at home with me, including one who still slept in a crib and wore a diaper so he needed to be lifted regularly. Our house has a flight of stairs that leads to the front door, so avoiding stairs wasn't an option. I had a premature newborn in the NICU 45 minutes away and went to visit her at least once a day. If I had been able to rest properly, maybe I would have recovered more quickly, but as it was it took a very long time. Throughout this pregnancy I've experienced some pains in the incision site, which is a little scary, but I had a couple ultrasounds to check the integrity of the scar tissue and my MW suspects that it's just layers of tissue/fat/muscle that healed together and separated as I grew. 

I don't want to deliver any false hope but a friend of mine had a breech baby until she was 40 weeks along. The baby was born naturally at 42 weeks. So it IS possible - maybe not probable, but possible. 

[sonrisa]

I hope you find some physical comfort in the coming weeks.  I like the cirque de soleil, but wouldn't want it happening in my uterus!  I also hope that the baby turns and stays put so that you can be more comfortable.  we will be thinking of you and hope you can keep us updated.  Our thoughts are with you!

Abigayle

[elisheva]

ddcc - I didn't see them pull ds1 from my body and I really wish I would have. See if they will drop the drape for you at the moment of birth if you think you want to do that. I sort of felt like I was pregnant one minute and not the next and my body/subconcious had no idea how that happened - seeing it might have helped?

Hugs. I hope he flips and you have the fab natural birth you planned.

[soglad]

I'm sorry to hear that your birth will not go as you'd hoped. I had a c-section with DD and I found the recovery to be relatively easy. The biggest challenge for me was not being able to go up/down stairs very often (we lived in a 3 story house at the time) and not being able to drive for a few weeks (my car has a manual transmission).

For the birth, I agree with previous posters - you should be able to have the baby on your chest right away and/or have your husband hold him. They should also allow photographs of the baby as they lift him up above the screen, so you can still have a "just born" shot.

I'm not sure why people are saying you shouldn't have your arms strapped down, as they didn't strap my arms down during the surgery, so hopefully that won't be an issue for you?

The hospital staff should also support breastfeeding as soon as possible. Be sure to remind everyone that you don't want any medicines that are contraindicated for nursing. They should be good about that but it never hurts to tell them yourself! And just in case you aren't able to breastfeed initially for some reason, I hope it will be comforting to know that, in my case, DD couldn't breastfeed for three days (she was a preemie and too weak to nurse initially), yet we were still able to establish a strong nursing relationship after that. And she never received formula or any other supplementation while in the NICU because I pumped incessantly :)

Best of luck!

[coraljean]

I'm sorry that you may not get the birth that you wanted. I will be sending you baby moving to vertex thoughts. My last birth was an unplanned c-section. Since yours will be planned, That will actually give you a chance to really make it as family centered as possible. There is a lot of information here about planning a family centered c-section: http://www.ican-online.org/pregnancy/family-centered-cesarean

Also, if possible, I would make sure that they use a lower transverse incision with two layers of sutures, since many midwives wont attend a homebirth vbac if the scar is in a different place or only a single layer of sutures was used.

I hope everything goes well! ICAN is a great resource for afterward if you do have a c-section.

Coral Jean

[First Time Mama]

I had an unexpected  cesarean with my first after a long natural labor. I do feel I missed out on some important moments, and it was a traumatic experience for me, to go from my vision of a homebirth to surgery. I have done a lot of thinking about what would have made it better, and what could make a potential c/s in the future better. I agree with pp, ask for certain things that will make you feel like a participant in the process (lowering the drape to eee the baby born) being able to have baby placed on your chest right away, or whatever it is that you want. I hope your baby moves and you still get a chance at  a natural birth but if not, I hope you have a good experience with a cesarean.

[raspberry.swirl]

Mamas you come through for me again.  Thank you for the ICAN links and sharing the perspectives/experiences.  I now feel that I can competently write a birth plan for a family-centered c-section.

You've given me tremendous peace of mind.

[Snow Cherries]

I agree with everything the pp have said. I've had 2 c-sections and they were both fine, but the second one went better than the first because I was at a hospital that was more baby/mom/family friendly and because I knew what to expect.  My first was an emergency c-section and I was very timid about asking for anything.   

Keep in mind that the medications you are given (I think there's usually morphine in the spinal) may make you feel a little icky.  I didn't vomit during either of my c-sections, but I felt woozy and very tired so there was no way I could have safely kept baby on my chest.  With DS2, they did lower the drape and although I couldn't lift my head enough to see him literally come out of my body, I could feel the release of pressure when he came out and I saw him as they were lifting him up.  DH did get a great picture of his head coming out - kinda creepy for some, but we love that picture!  They did bring him to my chest for a moment and I was able to kiss him on the cheek.  They very quickly cleaned him off a bit, DH cut the cord and then they swaddled him and DH brought him back to me, but held him right up against me since there was no way I had the strength to do it myself.  That was very reassuring to me. 

I am likely having another c-section this time and I've prepped DH on what will be helpful to me this time - bringing the baby to me asap was one of those things.  Also, I told him this time that even if the baby is away from me for only 2 mintues, I want a running commentary of everything that is happening.  I noticed that my anxiety during the last part of the surgery and early recovery went way up when baby was away from me.  And let them know that you want to nurse asap as well.  LIke I said, I was very weak during and just after the surgery and I had two wonderful nurses in the recovery area who literally held DS up to my breast and tried to get him nursing while my arms were like noodles at my sides.  It was a little awkward, but I really appreciated that they took my intent to nurse exclusively so seriously.  Once he'd had a few drops of colostrom, they bundled him up with me on my chest and under my blankets and the most wonderful sense of peace fell over me.  It was wonderful.  Maybe delayed by a little longer than is ideal, but it happened and it was amazing. 

The recovery after a first c-section can be rough.  The nurses will want you to try to get up and walk a few steps about 8 hours after birth.  Take it slow!  If you sit up and feel like fainting or vomiting, insist on laying back down.  I tried too hard to please the nurses the first time and ended up vomiting which is not so great when you have an abdominal incision.  After my second c-secion I told the nurse I was woozy and that getting out of bed would have to wait a little longer.  She was totally fine with it and I noticed that once I'd made it that far the one time, it was easier to try again a couple of hours later.   

And once you get home, continue to take it slow!  Remind yourself that you are recovering from childbirth AND surgery at the same time and give yourself as much extra TLC as you can!  Good luck!