The Boy is Breech

Today we had another routine appointment for our almost-37th-week of gestation. The last four times we have gone in for an appointment there has been a new surprise. This week may have been the biggest.

Last week we found out that I had excess amniotic fluid. They aren't sure why, and there are lots of possibilities. Because of this I was feeling him move less, and so I was put on a schedule of twice weekly NST's to monitor his movement and weekly ultrasounds to check my fluid levels.

A couple of days ago the boy was moving around like crazy. I was hoping that he was moving out of his slightly-transverse position into the more traditional one. As soon as the ultrasound started this morning we learned that this was not the case. Little Bit decided to do a complete flip, and his head is now resting right by my left rib cage.

In good news, there is a lot less pressure on my right rib cage now, so I am not having as much pain there. Also good news, my fluid volume has decreased. Bad news, this will make it more difficult for Little Bit to flip back to where he should be. Very few babies are able to turn on their own after 37 weeks, although it can happen.

Right now he is in a complete breech position, with his legs folded underneath him... which means we are now planning to head for a c-section around 39 weeks. Yes, there is another procedure we could try, where the doctor would try to manually turn him, but with everything that has happened in this pregnancy we don't feel like it is our best option. It is possible that procedure would end in a c-section itself, and then he would have two weeks less to grow. Might he turn again on his own? Yes, it's possible... but I'm not holding my breath.

On the positive side, this means that we may actually get to plan the birth to a degree ... a luxury that very few get. Within the week we should have a date that we expect to go in for the surgery... unless he has turned again. :)