Part 2

That weekend was really rough emotionally because I felt such a let down.  I wanted to meet you, was anxious to be done with labor and just couldn’t believe that everything faded away.  On Monday we saw Debby and I walked in and started crying…I hadn’t been very fun for Daddy to live with that weekend either.  She checked me right away so we could see where things were at.  I was 2 cm dilated and she worked on stripping my membranes to see if that would help things move along, which stretched me to a 3.  The only thing that made me hesitate at all was that Grandma Fuerniss was coming on Wednesday and I knew she’d be so disappointed to miss your birth by only a day.  We just decided to go with it and see what would happen.  That afternoon and evening I had lots of discomfort and contractions, but in the night they faded away and nothing happened. 

On Wednesday Daddy picked up Grandma and after she was settled with Garrett and Kelby we headed to Debby’s to have her strip my membranes again.  We were pretty relaxed and did a quick stop at Target to buy hand sanitizer for after you were born.  She was relieved to see me laughing and we were all hopeful that we’d be having a baby very soon if things worked out like they did with Kelby.  As she examined me her whole demeanor changed and you were moving really low into my cervix with sharp jabs.  I made a comment about a little hand grabbing her and she said that a hand would be fine.  That is when she told us that she felt like she was feeling a foot and your bottom and that we needed to get an ultrasound to confirm if you had turned breech.  Talk about a shock to our systems!  We knew if you were breech we’d be looking at a possible c-section if you wouldn’t turn back around and that time was of the essence since you could be ready to come at any time.

We were sent home with orders to keep me really calm, drink some wine, lay on the couch and not do anything to stimulate labor.  I was so grateful that contractions calmed down that night and I was able to sleep.  As the morning came the contractions were still very mild and almost non-existent.  Every time I’d have one I’d just pray for God to take it away and was so grateful when He did!  We had breakfast, spent the morning with Garrett, Kelby and Grandma and headed out to have an ultrasound mid-morning. 

Debby met us at the hospital and it turned out we were in the wrong area.  After getting where we needed to be we were taken in for the test right on time at 12:30.  Stephanie was a student so we were told that another tech would join us at some point.  When things got started she saw what she thought (and we all did too) was a hand down towards my cervix.  I started crying like crazy because we were pretty sure that you were head down if it was a hand.  I even told her she could be your fairy God princess!  Unfortunately as she kept going it became clear that you were not head down.  There was confusion as to exactly what position you were in…like an arched cat with head on one side and bottom on the other, spine up…like an upside down cat with spine on the bottom…total breech.  It was getting harder to figure out your position.  She got another tech in and she was able to get a few better readings on your position, but as she did you changed once again.  You started as a single footling breech and ended the ultrasound in the transverse position.  You are a mobile little guy, even as you were measuring big!  We saw that you had some hair and got a few pictures of you, but basically we knew we had to get things figured out quickly as you were not in an optimal position.

Debby, Daddy and I talked before we headed out.  We decided we wanted to do a version and needed it done ASAP.  Debby texted Dr. Wasserman who was in surgery all day and he said he’d let us know when he could do one the next day.  We talked about other options like just scheduling surgery, doing the version and inducing, doing the version and trying for a birth center birth and also the importance of keeping things very quiet until we knew what was going to happen. She also suggested taking Pulsitilla to help with unstable position so Daddy and I headed to Beans and Barley and then Outpost to get some.

When we got home we told Grandma what was happening and I laid down on the couch again.  We got the call that the version was scheduled for noon the next day and I just prayed we could hang on until then.  As the evening went on I was bothered by more and more contractions so I had some more wine.  After not drinking for so long I felt like a lush the last two days of pregnancy, even just having a couple of ounces!  After we ate dinner (really good lasagna out of the freezer) we put Garrett and Kelby to bed.  I gave them special big hugs and kisses and told them there was a chance that Mommy and Daddy could be gone to have the baby when they woke up.  I was bothered enough by the contractions that we called Debby and she told us to start timing them.  They weren’t coming that often (roughly 10 minutes apart) and most of them were only 30-45 seconds.  I’d have longer ones when I got up to use the bathroom, but Debby wasn’t concerned about those since they were caused by movement.  During the hour and half that we timed and kept checking in she talked to Dr. Wasserman and he told her that if I came in to call as he would join us at the hospital.  We were glad to hear that since he had yet to meet us and was not on call that night. 

After having two contractions that were further apart (about 15 minutes) but stronger and wrapped more around my lower back I was just not comfortable staying home.  I didn’t feel like this was it, but I didn’t want things to start moving along and for us to be on the road having you or for things to get really emergent since you were not in a good position.  I told Daddy to get my shoes and we called Debby to tell her we were heading in.  I specifically asked her if there was a reason to not go in and she said I should trust my feelings and she was heading in to be with us.  Fairly quickly we were on the road and I was laying in the back of the van as we headed to St. Mary’s.  I had two contractions on the way and one right as we got there, but none were terrible and I just kept hoping things would stay calm.  I called Coral on the way and she decided to come over as she thought she’d beat Debby there.  After not sleeping for over 24 hours we were surprised and grateful that she was willing to come over!  We had to go in the Emergency Room entrance as we got there just before 10 pm and I waited in a wheel chair as Daddy parked the van.  The guys were giving me a hard time that he had bailed on me because he took so long to get back to where we were waiting.  Gratefully, he came in the doors with our bag over his shoulder!  And Debby came in shortly behind him with Coral finding us once we were in our triage room.