Like an egg
Today we had our last –wishful thinking, haha- midwife appointment.
It went really well as usual, and the midwife talked with us about some concerns. We were asking about skipping the eye gel, which she ok’ed as she skipped it with both of her children, and her thoughts on the vitamin K shot, which we’ll be getting. The good news is that the hospital is baby-friendly, and most of the afterbirth care and testing will be done while she’s in my arms.
When she went to check the baby, she discovered that the baby’s position is now like that of my least favorite egg:
Apparently, she wants to see the world as soon as she comes out 😉
I was wondering what was going on, because her movements have seemed so different than usual. She’ll move, and instead of confidently knowing what part I’m feeling sticking out of my belly, I’ll have no idea. And it totally explains the debilitating back pain I’ve been having- baby and I are spine to spine right now.
The back pain has been going on since Wednesday night, and pretty much nothing has been able to make it feel better. (Back rubs from my madre have certainly helped, though) On Wednesday night, I laid on the couch, with Bella curled next to me, tears streaming down, and this morning, I had to hold onto the countertop in the kitchen before I writhed to the floor. I sat on the floor laughing because it shocked me how much it hurt –I was cracking up- and at the same time, I had tears falling down my face. It was definitely intense. Tom was laughing because he said I’m going to be the girl that the nurses are talking about because I’ll be cracking up the entire time I’m in labor. My mom said I could be in labor right now and have no idea since I’m only feeling it in my back, but the midwife thinks I still have a couple of weeks to go.
Baby has plenty of time to flip back to her side, could even turn during labor, and the midwife gave us an exercise to encourage her. I’ll lay on my back with a blanket under my hips, and Tom will grab each side of the blanket and lift my hips off the floor. He’ll rock my hips from side to side, and then quickly raise the right side of the blanket, tipping the right side of my hips up. She suggested doing this two times per day. The good news is that she’s head down, but I’m definitely hoping she flips back over before go time.
Because, as usual, Babycenter is a pro at scaring me:
If my baby is posterior at birth, how will it affect my delivery?
Mothers whose babies are face-up at birth tend to push longer, more commonly need Pitocin to stimulate contractions, and have a significantly higher risk of having an assisted vaginal delivery or a c-section.
Those who do give birth vaginally to a baby who is posterior are more likely to have anepisiotomy and severe perineal tears than moms whose babies are in the more favorable face-down position, even after you account for the higher rate of forceps and vacuum-assisted delivery.
There are a few tips I’ve found online:
-Pelvic tilts on hands and knees
-Hip movements while sitting on a stability ball
-Hot shower on my back
-No reclining
-Prenatal yoga
Did anyone else have a sunny-side up baby? Did he/she turn? Anything that you found to help with pain, or turning the baby?
Friends sans kids: favorite type of egg? I’m more of a scrambled, steamed or over-medium girl 😉
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My little one was sunny side up, which we didn’t find out until I wasn’t making progress pushing. After three hours, my midwife had to call the OB in for assistance. My biggest goal was to avoid a c-section. She was able to manually rotate her but still had to use the vacuum for assistance. She came out with quite the squished nose since she was stuck for so long, but I’m happy to say that it’s completely normal now, haha. I wish I had known prior to labor about her position so I could have done the exercises like you have been prescribed. Best wishes for a smooth delivery!
i’ve never heard the term sunny side up in reference to babies. and, as a vegan, i don’t eat eggs. but for animals (i’m in vet school), we just call it “dorsal-dorsal”. lol. p.s. i think amy has an interesting point. no one really thinks about it that way. hmmm.
All my babies have been posterior. The first one didn’t turn, and while the pushing phase was really long, I pushed him out with no drugs while he stayed sunny side up. The good news is that after that, my other two flipped during labor/pushing. The last labor was really weird because he was twisting this way and that the whole time trying to fit his head in right–it was really stop and start the whole time. Anyway, keep doing your exercises! I’m sure your midwife also told you not to sit in any recliners, but try to lean forward as much as possible (sit on the ball as much as you can.) Swimming on your belly also helps (breastroke, etc.) but I guess that is out for you (or could you use a kickboard?) I’ve also heard amazing things about accupuncture for turning the baby, although I’ve never done it. Good luck! Your body is made for this and you will rock it!
I’ve never had babies but I am sure everything will work out for you, even if something doesn’t go as planned. I think it’s cool that you are willing to be flexible with your plan. With that being said, I’ll be praying for you and your baby girl and hoping that she spins around! Your posts (and the comments) are so interesting to read. Good luck and Merry Christmas!
Go see your acupuncturist!! He/She can help with the back pain and possibly also the turning 🙂
i was wondering if he’d be able to help with that! i have an appointment on monday 🙂
A former co-worker of mine had great luck with accupuncture in terms of the turning!
My first child was sunny-side up. They didn’t seem to know it so I also suffered with the back pain which turned into back labor. I had to push for 3 hours for her to come out. But I think since they already know about your little girl, they can work to take care of it. Good luck! BTW – my second was not posterior and I only had to push twice 🙂
Aw, I know what kind of pain you are in because my son was posterior for the majority of my pregnancy. DOn’t let babycenter scare you though, those statistics are based on the average hospital birth which does not allow a mother movement during labor and makes her birth on her back. You will be fine in your birth center and more than likely she will turn either as she is coming out or shortly before you go into labor. If she doesn’t, my son didn’t, you can birth on your hands and knees in the water without problems. My little guy came into the world in 2 pushes, waters intact, while I was on all fours in the water. I didn’t even tear and it was amazing! I hate that a lot of maternity/parenting websites scare us like that. It’s frustrating. There is a whole other world out there when it comes to pregnancy/birth and parenting and it’s sad that none of them even touch on some of the most beautiful things. Hope you aren’t too freaked out, we’ll be praying for you. Also, random and so weird ~but I had a dream last night that your little one’s name is Leilani and that she is going to be here very soon? Again, so random and weird but I had to share! Feel better.
Sunny side up baby! I’m sure your midwife is right. Your body was designed to get the job done, whether the baby is sunnyside up or not. Darn internet! Don’t get Fitnessista worried!
I have no kids, and I can say I really like eating every kind of egg!
My little girl was sunny-side up, but she actually turned halfway sometime during labor and came out sideways (still head-down but she was facing my right leg). I didn’t end up needing any stiches, but she was tiny (4#14ounces) so that might have helped..although I would have taken tearing if it meant she would have been a little bigger. I was also induced at 36 weeks, so I wonder if she might have turned if she had more time.. she was NOT ready to come out (30+hours of labor)!! And unfortunately, we needed the vacuum to help move her down (heart rate was dropping), which initially freaked me out because I felt like everything was going unlike I had hoped, but she is 11 months now and perfect and that really is all that matters in the end! I hope she turns soon and you get some relief, but if not, I know you can do it!!
I did have a sunny side up baby, but didn’t know until well into labor. I was in bad back pain during labor:( The little guy wouldn’t turn, although they did try to turn him manually. I wound up with a c-section, and honestly it was a piece of cake. I was so happy that I went with a c-section at that point. I’m really glad that I gave it a try to have him vaginally, but sometimes it doesn’t always work out and that’s ok. I had a beautiful healthy baby boy! He did have some bruises on his head from pushing against my pelvis, so I’m glad that we decided to go forth with a c-section and he didn’t have any other issues. I was really discouraged that so many women have horror stories on c-sections. They obviously aren’t ideal, but neither are some women’s vaginal births. The nurse in labor and delivery basically said there would be no c-sections on her clock and yelled at me during pushing for not trying hard enough. He never descended past my pelvic bone and after seeing the bruises on his head, the last thing I felt like was a failure. If you do wind up finding a c-section is where your labor heads, make sure to take your pain meds really well and get up and move (walks down the hall) as soon as possible. I was feeling 90% better within a week and back to work at 3 weeks. I also really liked the abdominal binder for bending up and down the first week. Babies can turn any time though, so hope your little girl gets the memo!
My baby was sunny side up and never turned. It’s much harder to get them out that way, I pushed for 2 hours and they had to use the vacuum. She came out all at once and it kind of felt like my body exploded and was also on fire. I had a lot of tearing and as you can imagine it was pretty unpleasant. The same thing happened to my sister so for some people it’s just the way your pelvis is shaped. The doctor said it would probably happen again since my sister had the same problem. It really wasn’t THAT bad though, it did seriously hurt but 4 weeks later i would have done it all over again because it was just so exciting! Good luck!!!
I was so confused by the other noelle!! Hahha we both had posterior babies. Hilarious
two noelle’s in a row! and the name “noelle” has been on my mind because she’s a character in the midwife’s confession.. the book i’m currently sucked into 🙂
My daughter was sunny side up. I had horrible back labor, but it didn’t take any longer (pretty easy pushing, actually), and I had no tearing. Good luck and congratulations!
that’s good to hear!
thank you <3
Same story here. Painful back labor, but no trouble delivering at all. Honestly, she was my first, and since I had nothing to compare it to, I didn’t think it was that awful (I had her naturally). I only knew it was supposed to be awful afterwards when everyone told their horror stories about posterior babies!
When my sister had my nephew, her mid-wife told her she had two weeks to go (two weeks before her due date), and her water broke the next morning =). You never know. Sounds like you and Tom are ready to go. Very excited for you two!
My son was sunny side up, and like others, I did not find out until I was in labor. I had really tough back labor, and spent most of my labor in the shower with warm water spraying on my lower back. It was pretty awesome! Seriously, the only thing that gave me relief.
Keep rocking on your hands and knees! I’m sorry you’re having such pain from it 🙁 Worse in labor, but manageable. I hope she turns, and midwife is right- you have Plenty of time! Sounds like you have some great positions/techniques to try. Do any foods make baby feisty? Maybe she’ll turn after you eat something that jives her out 🙂
chicken makes her go CRAZY. maybe i need to eat some chicken…
My best friend just had her baby two weeks ago – the baby was also sunny side up. My friend checked into the hospital, had the baby five hours later – wound up not getting an epidural (she was open to both having one and not, depending on how she felt), and only pushed for 15 minutes. She said the back labor was tough, but the delivery went well, and she felt pretty good afterwards and the next day.
Just wanted to share a good story with you to focus on 🙂 Will be thinking of you and hoping all goes well whenever the time comes!
love hearing positive stories, too! i’ve been worried about it. thank you <3
I had a sunny side up baby too! My water broke at midnight, they had o give me pitocin at 5 in the morning. I had the baby 4 hours later. One hour of pushing, no epidural. The dr. used the vacuum. I had to have some stadol for the pain but that was it. You look exactly how I did. I was all baby! I had a beautiful 9 # 9 oz baby boy
wow, no epidural! that’s amazing
so glad everything turned out being ok- i’ve been kind of nervous
Another good story for you: I had my son last year. He was sunny side up and I also had pitocin. I ended up with no epidural or pain meds, although I did push for a while (probably 2 hours so about normal for a first time mom). He was my first so I really didn’t have anything to compare it to anyway. And honestly it was not that bad at all. I also had no childbirth classes or preparation other than reading some books and doing some reading online. My mom and husband were there for support. My doctor’s comment was “they come out that way, too.” And he did!
that is so good to hear <3 thank you!
Hailey was sunny side up. I tried everything to get her to turn. She didn’t, but I hear many do 🙂 I gas her vaginally but was unable to stick to my natural birth plan. I hope it works out how you hope, but either way, your heart will be filled with so much joy at the end that it won’t matter:)
thank you, brittany!
i’m off to read your birth story again 🙂
My daughter was sunny side up! I never had a name for it! Plus Lol she didn’t turn at the last minute and I tore like crazy. Plus I had all back labor… which the epidural didn’t touch 🙁 it was awful .. pushed for 4 hours … am I scaring you yet???? But in all seriousness I hope she turns around and fast .. good luck!
eep! thank you, i hope so
I rarely post comments, however, I thought this time it was worth it to reassure you. Two boys, both “sunny side up” and while back labor and pain was intense, I was able to do natural childbirth with both. Pushed 45 min with the first and then barely 5 with the second. I’m not writing this to “brag”but rather to show you that not all deliveries are the scarefests babycenter and other websites lead you to believe. Good luck and best wishes to you!!!
AMAZING. thank you!
No babies here, but I just wanted you to know I am sending lots of prayers and positive thoughts your way that everything goes well!!
thank you, lauren!
Gina, both my kiddos were full-term sunny side up. You can do it! I did not have to push any harder or longer than a “normal” birth.
My second was sunny side up. I definitely had to push harder and had alot more stitches. But she is now 2 and every stitch was well worth it. 😉
If your baby is still Sunny Side up, you should try seeing a Chiropractor certified in the Webster technique. My husband is a Chiropractor, and although he is not certified in Webster, he does similar soft tissue work for the pregnant women he sees. They have had great results. One of the pregtastic episodes highlighted the Webster technique.
i actually have an appointment tomorrow with a doctor that specializes in infant and prenatal care. i’m hoping she’ll be able to help, but it’s also my first time seeing a chiropractor so i’m definitely a little nervous
Poached is my favorite!!
This just happened to my sister. The baby essentially got stuck on her pelvic bone and she ended up having an emergency c-section after hours of pushing (the baby was also 1.5 lbs larger then they estimated, which could have made a difference since my sis is pretty tiny herself). Anyhow, due to the struggle, the baby had tore some nerves in her neck and it took a few days before she was able to move her arms. Her little face also came out with blisters and bruises all over it and she had two massive black eyes. I guess that is common if the baby is face up, but the nurse said that was one of the worst they had seen. My sister wanted to have the baby naturally and was told she had a good chance to do so, but afterwards I think she wished she would have just had the c-section right away to avoid seeing the baby in so much pain. It was such a hard decision because she didn’t know that was going to happen and learning that it could have been prevented was really rough. Just something to think about if it comes down to it and they give you a 50/50 chance of having no problems. But, it seems like many people have had positive experiences so that’s good to know! It was just kind of traumatizing and made me believe that the most important thing is to get the baby out safe and healthy. Luckily, she is totally fine now – we also learned that the little ones are pretty resilient and heal very quickly!
My baby girl was sunny side up! Nobody realized until I was pushing. I pushed for about an hour and It wasn’t bad at all. I had a minimal tear and I felt like myself again within about a week of her birth. Regardless of your birth experience the recovery can be tough. Just remember to let the Pilot take care of you and the little fitnessista while you are recovering. I think thats been the hardest thing about becoming a mom, you want to give all your time and energy to your child but you need to take the time for yourself and your husband too! That has one of the most important lessons of have learned .. Take care of yourself, take care of each other and enjoy every moment 🙂 Good luck and don’t worry for a minute about giving birth! Its actually pretty amazing and not nearly as awful as people say it is 🙂 I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers 🙂
thank you, michelle! i need it 🙂
xoxo
I just realized all the typos, I was in the middle of talking to my dad while i was typing, But I’m sure you figured out what I am trying to say 🙂
I delivered both my babies ‘sunny side up’ my dr. told me that if one is that way, the other pregnancies usually follow the same. I did have to get petocin, becasue the head wouldn’t dialate my cervix. My labor felt like the baby was coming out my butt. With my first baby i was shocked, becasue I wasn’t expecting the pain in my butt, becasue as she would push down the biggest part of her head was not quite over the cervix. But both babies didn’t need any other assistance coming out vaginally. Good Luck!
Hi Gina,
My daughter came out face up, but we didn’t know she was positioned that way until I was in labor. I didn’t have any back pain at all before I went into labor, but it was pretty uncomfortable during contractions (I’m trying not to scare you, but it pretty much sucked). I wanted to have a natural birth, too, but ended up wimping out & getting an epidural after several hours on my hands & needs in bed leaning over a stability ball. (My husband actually had the nerve to complain that his wrist was getting sore from rubbing my back! Ummm we’re divorced now…) 🙂 Good luck! I hope she flips over for you.
My little one didnt turn until minutes before I started pushing. The nurse put me in all sorts of positions every few minutes to get him to turn and he did!
that’s good to hear!
My husband was born that way. And he is smart and adorable, so I guess you have nothing to fear!