Dive Baby Dive

Had a midwife appt this morning and discussed a few options around having a vaginal birth and what to do if baby decides not to be head down...
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Actually, going into the appt I was pretty sure that Mook II was still transverse (sideways). It felt like the head was on my right side, as it had been for a while.

My first consultation was with the midwife in training (MiT). We chatted a bit and she recommended some iron supplementation. I'm not technically low, but she thought it would be best to build things up a bit. I have to get more blood work done this week too to check on my RH antibodies after the Rhogam shot I had - this has to do with my blood type being RH negative and Darcy's being RH positive. More info here: http://www.pregnancy.org/article/rh-incompatibility-and-why-you-need-rhogam

Anyway, she checked my blood pressure, which was ok though tends to be low (see my last post). Then I laid back and she did various measurements and checks. Moira had been running around, in and out of the room with Darcy, and only really paused when she heard the doppler on and the baby's heartbeat. The MiT agreed with me that baby's head seems to be on the side and so Mook II was laying transverse. She went and got the primary midwife so that we could discuss some options.

If baby is transverse at 36 weeks, we'd begin to look at having an ECV done, which is a manual turning of the baby. (http://www.babycenter.ca/pregnancy/labourandbirth/labourcomplications/turnbreechbabyexpert/)
This is what we tried with Moira when I was around 37 weeks and she turned breech. Then it required me being admitted to the hospital and it didn't work due to Moira's being tangled in the cord. This time I'd have 3 options, all of which require an ultrasound first.

Option 1: The midwives try turning the baby at their clinic

Option 2: The midwives try turning the baby at the hospital, with fetal monitoring and various other things ready in the event that I go into labour and/or need an emergency C-section.

Option 3: I have the same Dr that tried with Moira do the ECV in the hospital with fetal monitoring, ongoing ultrasound and similar backup measures taken as in Option 2.

No drugs are used in any of the options. I think right now I lean towards using one of the hospital based options.

However, then the primary midwife did a manual check of Mook II's positioning and said that she thought that he/she was actually mostly head down. She showed the MiT what she was feeling and why she thought that. So currently, while Mook II seems to be head down, baby is still floating a bit high and not settled low. This means that their position is considered variable. The midwives want to keep an eye to see if there's any more movement/change in position. If that's a concern, there are two things to consider:

Wearing a belly band
This would be to restrict the size of my belly a bit and make it less likely that baby would have the room to move out of the head down position.

Inducing labour when baby is in a favourable position or right after an ECV, if needed to get baby properly into place
This is a daunting prospect but definitely an option. We've always planned the birth in hospital, so being induced would be planned by the midwives and hospital knowing that it's a VBAC and with backup options prepared.

In any case, we're waiting until my next appt in 2 weeks to decide what to do. At that point, if there's any concern about positioning, I'll probably get an ultrasound to check on things and we'll go from there. We're also meeting another midwife from the practice next appt, which is standard, though my primary midwife will be available and able to consult with us too. It's a bit nerve wracking. Part of me really wants to do the VBAC, but another part just wants to know one way or the other which way it's going to go (c-section vs vaginal birth). If I do have to go with an OB, I'll be referred to the same Dr as delivered Moira. He was really good, so that's a comforting thought anyway.

So - I'll update again on this in a couple weeks. Otherwise, if you have any boy name suggestions, feel free to send them our way. We're good with girl options, but boys names seem to be harder to settle on.