Give me a "C!"

Well you guessed it, "C" for C-Section.  Last week was pretty eventful.  We spent a good part of our Christmas Eve interacting with doctors and nurses.  At 8AM we had our weekly prenatal appointment.  She was still transverse and Dr. Sanchez said he wanted to schedule a C-Section for the coming week.  The person in charge of scheduling was not in at the moment and would give us a call in a few days.  It would either happen on Wednesday or Thursday.

I was feeling a bit off, started with cramping in the later part of the morning, which turned into contractions by 2PM, at about a half hour apart.  There was no pain, but her movements had decreased.  I called the doctor's office and they advised me to go into the hospital to have her monitored because of the change in movements.  After a few hours the contractions ceased and there were no concerns with the baby, her heart rate was fine.  Before that, it looked like we were going to have an emergency C-Section.

Between all of the fun, we had to cancel our dinner plans with my dad's side of the family. They were suppose to come to our house and bring the (Guatemalan) tamales.  We were let go about 7PM.

While in the hospital we found out that Little Miss. Lopez decided to return to her original spot.  She moved herself from the transverse position, (still breech) back to head up and bottom down on the right side of my belly.  The girl has moxie!  I have diagnosed myself and believe all of the cramping and contractions we due to her turning back to where she originally was located.

Our C-Section is scheduled for the 30th, yup, in two days!  I'm feeling fine with it.  Is there a chance that she may turn (head down - bottom up), yes.  What are the statistics on that...??  Waiting to go into labor, finding out that she is still breech and having to go into an emergency C-Section adds another level of stress, that I personally prefer to avoid.  So, ready or not here she comes!

Our Last....

This year for Christmas Mark and I decided to do something different.  We usually buy each other 2 or 3 gifts, instead, we decided to have ourselves a "fancy" dinner at Dal Rae in Pico Rivera and exchange one gift with a price limit.  This would be our last Date Night, (arranged by Mark) without children.  As a "single couple," if that makes any sense.

If was a very fulfilling dinner.  The place was decorated tastefully and the food was food-gasmic!  I highly recommend the Sea Bass.   After dinner we headed back home for two reasons.  First, it was cold that night and second, I was 37 weeks and most of my energy is depleted at night; walking around is now more of good workout.

We got home, got into comfy clothes and Mark lit a fire.  We laid on the couch, talked about different things and fell asleep.  Later that night Mark woke me up and we headed to bed.  A very pleasant night.

 

We tried but no luck.

On Saturday (12/19/09) we went for the external version (turning the baby).  Dr. Gray's explanation was the Cliff notes version of the procedure.  Just in case I had to go into an emergency C-Section, I was instructed to get into a gown, an IV was inserted and blood was drawn.  A bit more intense than what was portrayed, but I was okay with it.  When Dr. Sanchez came into the triage room, he reviewed the risks and I doubled checked with him if it was too painful he would stop, he confirmed that.  So I told him that we were still a-go.  I was given a shot to relax my uterus so it would not begin to contract (just in case).

The way the version is done, is with the guidance of the ultrasound, the doctor locates the baby and placenta.  Once the baby is felt from the belly, the doctor can identify the different (major) body parts and he begins.  Since my little girl is towards the right of my belly, head up and along the placenta, Dr. Sanchez began to move her clockwise.  When he first began, there was pressure and a bit of discomfort.    I began to cry, I was not sobbing or anything like that, just tears rushing down my face and I had no control over them.  I knew it was hormones and I told Mark and the doctor I was not in pain.  I think that occurred because the "sacred vessel" was being touched in an invasive manner, with that came along the unknown.  It was actually a very odd feeling.  As he continued there were peaks of pain and a feeling of pressure and discomfort.  It felt as if the lower part of my stomach was being pulled, which then led to cramping within that area and my upper tights.  Being constricted that way made it hard to adjust to get comfortable, or move with the doctor's motion.  I can say one thing, the breathing strategies that I learned in the birthing class came in handy.  The doctor decided to stop before getting her turned all the way because the baby's heart rate dropped.  Her heart usually beats between 148-152 beats per minute and it dropped to 134.

The procedure did not last more than 5 minutes, but I needed to be observed to make sure nothing was "triggered."  Come to find out during my time there, I have been experiencing contractions.  The nurse brought it to my attention and I was actually surprised.  I have been feeling it for some time now but had not idea they were contractions.  I thought it was the baby was moving in a different manner.  First time mom, that's all I can say.  Per the monitor read-out, some were Braxton Hicks contractions, but for the most part they were true contractions.  After the procedure was done, I had nine contractions in one hour.  I did not feel pain, but felt them.  Since I had so many contractions and I was cramping, they kept me in the hospital a bit longer just to make sure I was not going into full blown labor.  I was released at about 1:30 PM, a bit sore and tired.

She is now transverse, which means she is laying across my belly.  Unless she changes position on her own, it looks we're going to have to schedule a C-Section.  We've got an appointment this Thursday and I'm sure Dr. Sanchez will gives us some options or a C-Section date will be made if she is still transverse.  Please keep us in prayer.

Someone is not cooperating

Last weekend at the 3D Ultrasound shop, the tech informed us that the baby was breeched.  She actually said, " You know she is breeched, right?"  We did not know.  Since we had a set prenatal appointment for Thursday, we did not make phone calls to the doctor's office just waited until our appointment.  The baby is positioned with her bottom towards the "exit" and her head on the top right side of my belly.  

At my doctor's office there is a pool of seven doctors that may deliver the baby.  My doctor, Dr. Sanchez, is one of the seven.  If for whatever he cannot make it to the expected event for whatever reason (i.e., vacation, illness, multiple mothers giving birth a the same time, etc) I have at least met the other six doctors and there has been some sort connection established.  At first I was a bit weary about the set up, but after meeting all of the doctors and more than once, I'm comfortable with the set up.  All of my interactions with the doctors have been positive and they seem very knowledgeable.  I should know, I usually come in with a mile long list of questions.

Yesterday I met with Dr. Gray, (it was my third visit with him) and I explained what the tech expressed to us and he confirmed it.  First, the confirmation was with him feeling for the baby and then with an ultrasound.  His top recommendation was to try to turn the baby externally.  I was not quite on board with the experience at first.  He explained and slightly performed what the procedure entails.  It's as if I'm getting a deep massage on my belly, but trying to show the baby where to move.  I don't remember the medical term for the procedure, but it must be done in the hospital so they can monitor the baby.  Dr. Gray explained that if I felt pain they would stop.  There is a 50/50 chance that she will make that turn.  The pro is that we could avoid a C-Section.  The cons are that the placenta may detach or the cord may be pinched in the process.  If that were to happen, I would have an emergency C-Section.  The likelihood of that happening is low.  Dr. Gray explained that has not happened in his experience.  He asked us to think about it, but we needed to decide soon because I'm now 37 weeks (nine months) and the space for that turn is getting limited.  Dr. Gray did check if I had enough amniotic fluid and it checked out.  Mark and I decided at that time to go ahead with it.

Dr. Gray needed to figure out who was scheduled in the hospital for today and Saturday.  So today I called the office and my doctor will be the one implementing it.  I cannot eat or drink anything after 12AM tonight.  Tomorrow we are due in the hospital at 7:30AM.  We are asking for prayers, for everything to go well.  If she does not make the turn, we will not be disappointed, but at least we tried and most likely a C-Section will have to be scheduled.    

3D Ultrasound Experience

Mark really wanted to get a 3D ultrasound for the baby.  For me, it really did not matter.  Last week we got a postcard in the mail for a 3D ultrasound package and the pricing was reasonable so we decided to make an appointment for this past Saturday.  Miss Lopez seemed to be a bit shy and did not want to show her face.  The one short glimpse we got of her face, she had her arm over it.  It seemed as if she was sleeping and did not want to move from where she was at; actually her sleeping position was like Mark's.  When I saw that arm over her face, I turned to Mark and said, "Isn't that how you sleep?"  He smiled and nodded.  The tech who was helping us felt really horrible that she could not get a decent shot.  There was nothing we could do to budge her. I tried coughing, moving to different sides, candy, drinking cold water and nudging at the tummy and nada.  She was comfy how she was.  We went back yesterday, Sunday, to see if there was a better outcome.  Luckily, we did get to see her better, not what the tech would have preferred but at least we got some shots of her.  So here are some...

 For most of the shots she was up against the placenta.  Maybe she was keeping cozy.  You can see her two arms there.

That is the placenta on the left side.

Here is a shot of her sucking on her toe.  There was a lot of that :)  If you look closely, you can see her tongue.

It was really interesting feeling her move while simultaneously watching her on the screen and realizing what movement meant which body part was moving.

Baby Shower Part 2

I feel very blessed with friends and family.  I would never imagined having 4 showers for the pregnancy.  The first shower was with family and close friends, that I was aware of and involved in to an extent.  After that, there were three surprise showers which took place within weeks to come.  My Bunco group, who really surprised me; I thought it was a regular Bunco night, but they of course had something else in mind.  In addition, the Infant-Family crew (my dept) from work and as a whole, the school I work at, Leffingwell Elementary.  For those who made the extra effort, took time and money out of their day, Mark and I are both very appreciative.  Thank you!

Here some pictures of my Bunco group.  They were taken last week.

Teresa made this tu-tu for the baby.  It is sooo cute!