I am a planner. I love to schedule, I love to know what's coming next and I love to plan ahead. Planning to have eighty kids at my house is not a stressful proposition for me. Having one stray kid ring the doorbell and expect to stay and play unannounced instantly makes my forehead hot. My brain fires off ten questions right off, like "Does you mom know you're here? When will you leave? Am I babysitting you? Have you eaten? Why didn't your mom call me? What if I have to go somewhere?" When a kid shows up like that, I give him my phone number and send him home. How uptight is that? But I have plans! I had my wedding date booked in the Salt Lake Temple 3 months before Scott proposed. Hey, those dates fill up fast!
Well, the baby I'm about to have is not a planner. He's a shoot-from-the-hip kind of boy. Maybe it stems form the fact that we never planned on wanting another baby, then suddenly...we did want one. So we made plans that this kid refused to go along with. Only when we had given up on the plan did he decide to join us. It was unnerving to have a plan that just wouldn't work.
Now, three weeks away from my due date, I'm scheduled to arrive at the hospital in exactly two weeks at two in the afternoon and deliver 4 to 5 hours later. Then I was going to eat a big cheeseburger. You laugh, but I told Scott when I went to the hospital to have Ruby that I would have her right after I watched Friends, and I did. Ruby liked my plan. This kid, on the other hand, decided to turn breech instead of acting perfectly normal like all the other babies I've had. His head, arms and legs are crammed up in my ribs, and things are not going according to plan. My body isn't prepared weeks in advance like I expect it to be. I feel anxious and off-balance because my summer plans do not include recovering from a caeserean. I'm uncomfortably aware that I'm not in charge here, that my 2:00 hospital date is up in the air and that anything could happen. I'm going to try all the home remedies for turning a breech baby...meditation, relaxation, cold, heat...
In the end, Ptolemy will get here in his own way, in his own time because that's who he is. I seriously didn't expect to have to deal with him being his own person before he was even out of the womb! Parenting is a long journey of cutting the apron strings and letting go. But couldn't we just cut the umbilical cord first, before I give up complete control?! Can't wait to find out who this boy is!
7 comments:
Oh crap! Yes, those are the big curse words for me. But this situation warrants the big guns. I will call you tomorrow with all of the perks I can think of about having a c-section. One is you get to be in another cool club with me. Sort of like the potato chip club but ouchier.
Don't worry. Breech babies can come around. I had two. With one I had a medical procedure to turn the baby. For the second, the same scheduled procedure was moot because the baby turned himself overnight.
Let's see . . . perks for a c-section . . . still thinking . . . Oh, yes. It's easier to explain to your children where the baby comes out.
I am sorry you're anxious but truly believe that prayer and blessings help. I'm pulling for you!
Me again. I should not have said "Don't worry," because that invalidates your fears, and I totally understand them. I meant to offer hope that breech today may be gone tomorrow. And even if you need a c-section, count me in among the many people who would like to step in and help with your family for the extra time it takes to recover.
Hoping everything goes well and Ptolemy gets here ok no matter when he decides to come. Hey, we would be glad to watch Xanthe whenever he decides to make his entrance:)
Adaline was breach until week 36. We looked up all the wives-tail ways to turn a baby.
We laughed so hard at all their ridiculous ideas (your baby has issues, try to talk to them about birth. I did spend some time on my head, etc.)- I think the laughing is what turned Adaline.
Oh Circe! Either way, we'll be there for you. On the bright side, a c-section means more time in the hospital. I so love me some hospital time. Having someone bring you graham crackers and grape juice on demand is AWESOME! Plus, a c-section gives you an offical excuse to not have to drive everyone everywhere, no vacuuming, heavy lifting, and all other sorts of good stuff for a while.
Oh and ask your dr. about the external version option to turn the baby. It didn't work with Jacks, but it might for you. It is worth a try. Keep us posted!
Turn baby turn! It's ou new mantra!
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