Well, today was the day that I went in for the ECV to try and flip the baby into a head down position. We had our bags packed and the car seat installed just in case today turned in to BIRTH day. We dropped Brady off at Grandma's and headed to the hospital for my 11am appointment. Once checked in, the prep took about 1 hour. I had an IV with fluids going in and I was given a shot of tributaline to relax my uterus and keep me from having any contractions. At about 12pm, 2 doctors came in, one a female and one a male. The woman doctor said she brought him for some extra muscle in case they needed it...that scared me. I was told about the procedure. I was told what to expect, what could happen, what could go wrong, etc. I was told that it most definitely would be uncomfortable. I pretty much knew all of what they told me...I didn't make the decision to get this procedure blindly, I KNEW what the odds and risks were...and I also knew of the reward, if successful - NO SURGERY!
Anyway, they started to procedure and it was immediately pretty awful, they don't start out slow or soft, they just go right in and get to work to try to get this done. They pushed and pushed on my belly to try to slide the baby around to the head down position. They tried about 3-4 times, each time lasted about 30-60 seconds and yes, it HURT. It wasn't like scream out and cry hurt, but it was definitely painful. I tried to breathe through it and ended up groaning through most of it. Honestly though, it's pretty much what I expected, and if it was working, like if the baby was totally moving along with their movements, I could have withstood more, but he wasn't budging and so I was just about to ask them to stop when they decided that it wasn't going to work. I was pretty relieved to have it be over and I really wasn't too broken up about it not working. I knew going in that the success rate lies somewhere in the 50% range, so the odds weren't great. We scheduled a C-section for 11/25 if I don't go into labor before that. IF the baby flips on his own before that, then I won't need it, but I'm not getting my hopes up.
Once it was done, all I could think about was how long until we could leave so I could eat something! I wasn't allowed to eat after midnight the night before, so I was starving. I had to stay and be monitored for an hour after the procedure just to watch the baby and make sure there were no issues, so we didn't get to leave until about 1:30 or so. We went STRAIGHT to Cafe Rio and it has never tasted SO good!!!
As if I hadn't experienced enough drama for the day, on our way out of Cafe Rio, I decided to turn back and refill my cup with ice because they have GREAT ice! As I did that, I missed the step on the curb and tripped and fell forward. My cup and purse went flying. I think my knee and hand took most of the blow (my jeans ripped and my knee is all scraped up and sore), but I couldn't tell if I had landed on my belly or not. I read the warning signs of what to watch for after a fall and one is a tender belly...well, my belly is tender, but it's supposed to be after the ECV, so that was kind of crappy timing. Another sign is less movement from the baby...if he's moving a lot and you're not bleeding, cramping, etc. then things are ok. It took several hours, because he doesn't move much during the day, but tonight he's moving like crazy, so I know he's fine. It was just a little scary in the moment!
So after that drama filled lunch, we went to Rick and Arlene's where I cleaned up and we rested a bit while Brady napped and then we headed to Disneyland. I was feeling pretty good and what better way to bring on labor than by walking around for a few hours, right? Plus I had really been hoping to get there with Ryan and Brady before the baby came...our last trip as a family of 3. So I waddled my way through the park for a few hours and came home in pain from walking and in pain from my procedure this morning. Thank goodness for Tylenol and warm baths!!!
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