Shelby just wants to be pretty!

Well yesterday we found out some interesting news at my 35 week doctor's appointment. Shelby is doing great and growing great, but she is breech. When I went in for my exam, Dr. Harward started feeling around for the position of the baby and she obviously was not head down. He then checked my cervix and there were no signs of effacement or dialation. At that point he wanted to do a sonogram to find out exactly where her head was. I had a tiny feeling that her head was up in my ribcage. I've been having a really hard time breathing and sitting is very uncomfortable, plus I could tell it wasn't her feet in the top of my ribcage. Well the sonogram revealed that her head was right up in my ribs. She is in a frank breech position, which means her butt is down where her head should be, down in the birth canal. She is sitting in a C position inside me. Dr. Harward was not concerned at all. Her heartbeat was great and she is certainly growing, but he doesn't think she will turn on her own which means we have two options--apply external pressure to my uterus to try and turn her or just schedule a c-section at my 39 week mark.

After talking to our moms and to each other, Casey and I decided to just wait and see. The external pressure procedure has some pretty scary risks and a very low success rate. Casey gave me a blessing and we both feel a lot of peace about just waiting and planning on a c-section. It is strange to not be worried and to not feel an urgency about her birth. If she turns, she turns. But both of us don't think she will turn, though she still might, chalk that up to parental intuition.

So if Miss Shelby doesn't turn I will have a scheduled c-section around September 18th. It was a little hard for me to think that I might never give birth naturally, but Casey and I are just happy that Shelby and I will be okay, 50 years ago breech births usually resulted in a very sad end, so just having a c-section seems like a huge blessing. We are also excited to get our little girl a week early! I'll admit that it takes a lot of my anxiety away to have a more definite date. Like my mom said yesterday, "Shelby just wants to have a pretty head." Whatever happens, we are so grateful I have a good doctor and that whether she turns or not, her and I will both be just fine.