It's been brought to our attention that we are terrible at updating our blog. This is true, and we have no good excuse. Erin went on maternity leave nearly two weeks ago and really should have the time to update the blog, but she's been very busy going for walks, napping, reading, and watching birth shows on TLC. It's a tough life. She views this as her very last chance for who knows how many years to just do absolutely nothing. Luckily, Anthony is also on board with this plan and doesn't give her too much grief for it.
Baby News
Unfortunately, the reason we haven't been updating the blog is that we don't have too much to report on the baby front. At Erin's 34 week appointment, she presented with some cramping and pre-labor signs. The doctor was sure that the baby was coming early, and we started anxiously working to get everything in order for his arrival. Erin was in so much pain and discomfort that she moved her maternity leave up a week and got a doctor's note to work from home two days a week until she went on leave. At around 35 weeks, Erin was having such bad back pain that it took nearly 45 minutes to walk 4 avenue blocks (all uphill) home from dinner one night. It didn't seem physically possible that the baby would make it to 40 weeks, and we started hoping he'd at least stay put until 37 weeks.
36 Weeks - Breech!
To alieviate her back pain, Erin went for a 1.5 hour prenatal massage on the day she turned 36 weeks. The massage was amazing - she felt better than she had the whole pregnancy and it seemed to have helped move the baby into a more comfortable position by realigning her back. At the doctor the next day we discovered that the baby had indeed moved to a more comfortable position - for him. He was breech. The doctor declared that the baby was very unlikely to turn head-down at this point in the pregnancy and advised that Erin schedule an external cephalic version (ECV) (where a high-risk specialist manually turns the baby from the outside) and stated that she would schedule a C-section for August 26th. We were devastated. We were planning a natural birth and this was just about as far from that as you can get. However, we had faith that our little guy could make another turn if we just gave him a chance.
Not wanting to force the baby to turn via the ECV, Erin started researching non-invasive techniques to turn the baby. She made an appointment with a chiropractor who specializes in the Webster Technique and headed down to Chinatown to buy moxa sticks so that she and Anthony could get started with an acupressure technique called moxibustion. The website SpinningBabies.com had lots of other at-home tips and tricks for turning babies, and Erin tried them all. Despite our initial skepticism that burning a cigar-like stick of a very stinky, smoky Chinese herb next to Erin's baby toes would have any effect on the actual baby, we have to say that we're now firm believers in the power of moxibustion. Within a few minutes of the process, the baby started moving more than he had in days and Erin could feel him trying to turn. It was incredible. Erin tried to videotape the movement for all of you to see, but it doesn't show up very well. We did manage to snap some shots of this awesome, super-hippie dippie process that we're sure you'll all enjoy. Another side effect of the moxa sticks was that it made our apartment smell like we were recreating Woodstock at 40 Prospect Park West. Not sure our neighbors approved.
37 Weeks - Things Take a Turn
After a week of stress, lying upside down for hours, suspect chiropracty, and stinky sticks, we went back to the doctor for Erin's 37 week appointment and got the good news we were hoping for - the baby had turned! Was it a result of any of the tecniques we tried? Hard to say. Chiropractors claim a 75-95% success rate with the Webster Technique and studies of moxibustion assert that it successfully turns babies nearly 90% of the time. However, only 3 - 4% of babies are still breech at birth. Since 96-97% of babies will turn on their own before labor begins, it seems to us that doing nothing and just being patient has the highest success rate. Of course, if your baby is breech we'd still 100% recommend doing everything you can to get the baby to turn. At the very least, if he or she is still breech at delivery, you'll know you tried everything you could to get him to turn and that peace of mind is well worth the effort...as possibly fruitless as it may be.
38 Weeks - And...Nothing
At Erin's 38 week appointment, the little Admiral, as he's known around the Meek household, was still head-down but showing no signs of making an early appearance. His head was not engaged and Erin's body wasn't indicating that it was preparing for delivery. So much for that early bird prediction! In an effort to move the process along, Erin went for a long walk every morning and logged many hours on the exercise ball. She also bought, but has yet to drink, some Raspberry Leaf Tea. Did any of that help?
39 Weeks - Wait, I'm Supposed to Leave the Womb?
No! Today, we went back to the doctor for Erin's 39 week appointment (Erin is 38.6 weeks pregnant today...and looks pretty much the same as she did last week) and got the same feedback as last week - Baby Gill hasn't even dropped yet. The doctor said that dropping and other changes don't mean too much, as they can all happen once you're actually in labor, but she still thinks we'll be back for another appointment next Thursday. Erin is giving Baby Gill an official eviction notice on Sept 2nd, with instructions to vacate the womb by no later that Sept 9th. Hopefully he's a good tenant and leaves on his own!
Other News
Our built-ins are done and look gorgeous. It's nice to have our books out in the apartment and not stuffed away in a closet. We also had a small desk installed as part of the unit, giving Erin a nice spot to sip her weekly latte and update the blog. If you need a contractor in Brooklyn, please let us know as we have someone great to recommend.
We're pretty house-bound these days due to the heat and Erin's giant belly (and her claim that she has nothing to wear), but we did manage to have some social outings over the past few weeks. We had a great time at Om and Megan's beautiful wedding here in Brooklyn on August 8th.
The next day, we drove out to Long Island to visit Dan and Chrissie (of the linked blog, Just Bloggin') and meet their then three-month old little boy, Benji. As you can see in the picture, Benji had a nice talk with his friend Baby Gill and instructed him on how to exit the womb. Really, we have to give Benji most of the credit for our little guy's decision to turn head-down. Unfortunately, Benji did not tell Baby Gill WHEN to leave the womb. Benji was 2.5 weeks early, but he appears to have told Baby Gill about the persistent heat and humidity on the East Coast and advised him to stay in his climate-controlled home for as long as possible. Can't say we blame him.
What Else?
Not much. Erin promises to keep the blog updated despite her busy schedule of watching repeats of What Not to Wear and Toddlers in Tiaras. Also, if you get a call from her in the next two weeks, you can safely assume it's NOT an announcment that she just had a baby. However, if you get a call, text, or email from Anthony (or, most likely, all three), then you know it's baby time.
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