Weight: Gained about a pound this week, total of 19 pounds by my count. (According to the doctor's office I gained more like 21-23 pounds.)
Maternity Clothes: Yes!
Boy or Girl: Boy!
Belly Button In or Out: Out!
Wedding Ring On or Off: On!
Cravings: Still craving creamy, sweet things, like whipped cream and vanilla pudding.
Aversions: I'm back to avoiding Mexican and/or spicy foods.
Exercise: Thanks to the unexpected news I received at the appointment on my due date, I spent this week doing very specific exercises--see below for more info.
Symptoms: Heatburn, some mild cramping on and off and Braxton-Hicks contractions.
Baby's Movement: Still lots of rib kicks, plus punches toward the bottom of my belly. Still getting hiccups all the time.
Anything Noteworthy: Since I had reached my due date (Tuesday 2/16/16) with still no signs of labor, my doctor told me I would need to do an ultrasound to check my fluid level and a non-stress test. I was nervous about the tests because I really did not want to be induced and I knew if we didn't pass, it was possible the doctor would push for it. As is so often true in life, we passed both those tests with flying colors but I should have been worrying about something else entirely. As soon as the doctor started the ultrasound, she said "Well there's your problem. He's breech." He had his head on my left side, his butt down, and his legs straight up my right side with his feet under my ribs. I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach (and not by the baby.) I immediately started asking about what I could do to get him to turn. Unfortunately I wasn't a good candidate for an external version because of the location of my placenta. The doctor and nurse recommended a chiropractor who specializes in turning breech babies and also some exercises I could do, like pelvic tilts, spending lots of time on my hands and knees, and bridges.
I came home and started doing the exercises and as much research as I could on turning breech babies, but basically at 40 weeks the chances of him turning looked pretty slim. I saw the chiropractor twice, on Wednesday and Friday. I honestly couldn't tell if the baby had turned or not, but I chose to be hopeful. I had been hoping and planning on a natural birth all along and I still really wanted to push our little guy out myself. My original plan for the week had been to do lots of research on breastfeeding and infant care and preparing for a natural labor but instead I spent most of my time obsessing about him turning and trying to figure out if he had or not. It was my first week of maternity leave, which is a good thing because there is no way I would have been able to concentrate at work.
What to Look Forward to Next Week: We didn't end up making it to Week 41 so stay tuned for the next post, which will cover our labor and birth story...
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