Turn around, bright eyes

I was trying to wait out Greg, and let him post before I put in another one, but it seems I could be waiting a while. He's been a little busy, with conference calls at 9:00 p.m. several times a week and the normal hectic-ness of his work.

Anyway, at our latest appointment, I made the mistake of asking, "So, he's head-down now, right?"

The doctor had this perplexed look on her face and said, "Well, I sure thought so. Either that or his butt is really bony. But lets have a quick look on the ultrasound to be sure."

Lo and behold, his head is still firmly situated up in my ribs, and his butt has suctioned down into my pelvis. (To which the doctor laughed - "Your baby has a VERY bony butt!") We've got a little breech baby on our hands. After a quick cervix check (it's now between a 3 and a 4), the doctor sat down and told us we had two choices:

A) Schedule a "version" with her, which means she would attempt to turn the baby manually from the outside of my belly. Although, since he's so far down, it will require some internal help. Ouch. This came with warnings including the following - she could break my water accidentally, the placenta could separate from the wall of the uterus requiring an emergent c-section, the cord could get tangled, and it has somewhat low chances of working.

or

2) Schedule an elective c-section at 39 weeks.

Neither of these sound like awesome options, but even with the risks of the first option, it could lead to a natural, vaginal birth. And since I'm Group B Strep negative, I could even walk around during labor like I had hoped. I briefly considered not doing the version at all and just waiting to see if he would turn on his own, but it would require scheduling the c-section, and what if he did turn, and they didn't look before and I still got the c-section? I'm really not excited about having the baby cut out of me, if you can tell. I mean, I know it would go fine, and I'm not scared of the surgery, but I want to experience birth as women have done for millennia. And, selfishly, I know that if I do a c-section, I will be far from the first person to hold my baby, and that breaks my heart a little. I mean, I carried him for 9 months, I ought to have the right to cuddle with him first, in all his nasty, vernix-covered glory. Am I right?

In the meantime, I'm trying every old wives' tale for turning a baby possible. Propping my pelvis in the air? Check. Prayer? Got it. Chiropractic medicine? Check. Positive thinking and meditating on the image of the baby in the right position? Done.  Doing somersaults in the pool? Today's the day. Singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" at the top of my lungs? Got it. Of course, I'm staying away from anything that sounds like it could do harm to me or the baby. But if it's harmless, why not give it a shot? The worst it can do is not work.

Cross your fingers and think upside down!

-Jennifer