A Birth Story: Polly Jane - Part Four

That weekend was a whirlwind. There were so many options, I felt I couldn't think straight. Homebirth? Version? Deliver breech? If I went into labor over the weekend my only option was to go into the ER in labor. That was going to be great. "Hi. I'm overdue. I have a breech baby. I was planning a homebirth... Oh, and I'm a CNM." That was going to be a great introduction, insuring me of lots of fabulous medical care and an immediate c-section. When someone walks into L&D like that you just kind of think to yourself, "Oh, one of those people. Of COURSE this is not going to work out for them."

I prayed a lot. I asked God to hold off labor until Monday when I at least had a chance of convincing someone to try to turn the baby. I asked God to give me favor in the eyes of the doctors I would see on Monday. I asked God to turn this last doctor's heart towards me, the one with whom I did not even have an appointment yet.

Life kept going because children aren't as affected by drama. We played.

We gathered some of the last of summer's produce.

The kids watched a movie while I floated around in the bathtub and hung upside down from the weight bench. (Note: It is hard to breathe while upside down with gallons of fluid and a swollen uterus and a fat-cheeked child compressing your lungs.)



Elijah and Eric built a fort in the creekbed. Somehow, in the midst of my circular thinking, fears, and prayers, Eric built a fort in the playroom. In case you have yet to see God's mercies in this story, think on this fort. I did not go insane while this was wrecking the playroom at my 40 and 2 week gestation.
Eric was the only rational thinker in the house that weekend. He helped me define our goals:
1. A healthy baby.
2. Avoid a c-section.
Ah, clarity. Now that I knew what I was shooting for, I could think through things a little better.

At this point, I knew a homebirth was no longer an option. I had such a ridiculous amount of fluid. Even if this baby turned into a vertex position, the baby could flip again before I delivered. Elijah was ten days late; Haven was five days late. The baby would probably have time to do a few more flips before labor commenced. Now I also realized that she had been flipping all along. That is why I would feel her breech some days and vertex some days. Susie just happened to always come on the vertex days. Given this pattern - repeated flipping at term! Who does that? - we formed our plan. I was sad about not being able to have a homebirth until Eric nailed down the goals for me. At that point, the place of birth became a glaring non-essential compared to the mode of birth.

If this doctor would deliver me breech, we would shoot for that. If I couldn't find anyone to deliver breech, we would try to find someone to do a version. If the version failed, I would have a c-section. If the version was successful, I would head for immediate induction. If the version worked, I did not want to give the baby any chance of flipping back around.

We spent the weekend playing, praying, having the same conversation a million times, and rearranging our room. Eric took Monday off. The children were set to spend the day with Grammie and Grampa. My Mom would drive up Monday morning.

We waited.