36 Weeks

Champ's Development:
- Length 17-19inches
- Weighs 4.2-5.7 lbs and becoming chubby
- Kidneys and liver fully developed, lungs still finalizing
- Baby may drop into pelvis, becoming "engaged"



My development:
- Have gained 30lbs and am now starting to really feel the extra fluid in my womb
- Feeling Champ roll and squirm around all the time
- Mild ankle swelling, especially after my flight from MA (I had cankles for a day!)
- No heartburn, but increased frequency of burping
- Felt my first couple Braxston-Hicks contractions: These are early contractions that are supposedly helping prep baby (and especially Mom) for birth. It felt like a bad menstrual cramp and I was compelled to get on all fours and do some deep breathing. They only lasted about 30-60 seconds.




- This is about the time that most babies are head first and starting to engage the pelvis, but alas, Champ is still defying gravity (a future astronaut perhaps?) and maintains his breech position. I have been seeing a chiropractor who specializes in prenatal and pediatric work. She's been using a method called the Webster Technique to open my pelvis and encourage the baby to turn. At home, I've been practicing inversions, including laying on my inverted massage table, to try to get his butt out of my pelvis.

At this point, I've started to let go of my wishful birth plan (that of a natural water birth in the hospital) and have started to get realistic about the possible options and outcomes. Mostly, I've started to focus less on my own birth experience and more on doing what's best and safest for Champ. At my midwife appointment this week, if Champ is still breech, she'll refer me to an OB. The OB will ultrasound me and define Champ's exact position. If it's favorable, he will do external cephalic version (ECV), a brief, but unpleasant maneuver to manipulate Champ's position.



If it works, great. I'll be able to proceed with the plan. If it doesn't, there's a few possibilities. If he's frank breech, meaning butt down and legs up, I can deliver naturally with my midwifes (only 2 practices in Atlanta are still doing this). If he's any other type of breech, I'll have to have a c-section. This would be a little disappointing given that I've been hoping for the au-natural route, but like I said, I just want to do what's safe at this point.

So, keep your fingers crossed for a spontaneous flip or a successful ECV for me!