Spinning Babies

That's an odd title. As Jill said when I first told her, it sounds like something from the Exorcist movie, but it's not. It's actually a title of another blog and one thing it discusses is the optimal position for a baby to be in to be born. At first it was really confusing to me, and I know it was to Kelly too. The more I read about it, and there is quite a bit out there, the more it all made sense to me.

I thought about my own pregnancies and births. I had lots of Braxton Hicks during both Josh and Kelly's pregnancies and I know for sure Josh was posterior. With Josh I ended with a cesarean which could have been avoided if they'd just gotten me up and given me some time. My labor with Kelly was REALLY long, though not terribly difficult, and I bet it was because she wasn't in the best position and her head wasn't applied directly to my cervix to move things along. Matt, on the other hand, came after a 4 hour labor and flew out. (Was it the chiropractic care I had only during that pregnancy?) It's all very interesting!

I thought it might be easier if I compiled a primer for Kelly (29 weeks!!). (And if this is still too much to take in, basically spend a lot of time on your hands and knees, especially when your baby is moving, and keep your back straight.)

GETTING BABY IN THE BEST POSITION FOR BIRTH

Prevention of posterior babies is possible. The left occiput anterior position (for the baby) is usually considered the easiest position for the start of labor. When the baby's back is on the mother's left, or to her front (anterior), labor will usually be short and productive. When the baby and head are in the optimal position, contractions are generally regular, with time in between, and the cervix dilates well. This is because the smallest part of the baby's head is presenting;the part of the head that molds most easily. This part of the baby's head gives direct pressure to the cervix and helps with smooth, easy (easier) dilation.

If baby is not well positioned, Braxton-Hicks contractions before labor may be especially painful. A mother may also feel lots of bladder pressure, as her baby tries to rotate while entering the pelvis.

What to do during pregnancy:

• Avoid reclining in chairs (or anywhere), sitting leaned back in a bucket seat, or assuming any position where your knees are higher than your pelvis.
  
• When you sit, be sure that your back is absolutely straight. Put a wedge or lots of pillows behind you. make sure your knees are lower than your pelvis, and your trunk should be tilted slightly forwards.Reclining can weaken your back muscles and encourage your baby to get comfy in a less than optimal position.
• Don't cross your legs or put your feet up.
  
• Sit on a wedge cushion in the car, so that your pelvis is tilted forwards. Keep the seat back upright.
• Watch TV while kneeling on the floor, over a beanbag or cushions, or sit on a dining chair. You can also sit backwards on a dining chair.
  
• Spend lots of time on hands and knees, kneeling upright or sitting upright.
  
• Do the pelvic tilt -- On your hands and knees, lift lower back up toward ceiling. Don't arch your shoulders. Then straighten your back but don't dip it. Switch from curling your lower back to straightening it rhythmically. Do 40 or so. Get up slowly to avoid dizziness.
• Starting any time after 32 weeks, get in an optimal position, such as hands and knees or do some pelvic tilts if your baby is actively kicking. This could be a time your little one is trying to assume a better position.
• Crawl forward and backward for at least 10 to 30 minutes a day. (Clean floors on hands and knees!)
  
• Sway your hips while on all fours.
• While on your hands and knees, stick your butt in the air while your chest is on the ground. This gives your baby more room to turn around.
• Assume yoga positions while relaxing. (For example you can sit upright with the soles of your feet together, knees out to the sides while reading or watching TV.)
• If comfortable, rest or sleep on your stomach with lots of pillows or a partially inflated donut-shaped swim ring.
  
• Get a massage
• Have fun belly dancing
  
• Use a birth ball
  
• Use a scarf or "sift" your belly to loosen ligaments (in hands and knees position?)
  
• Until your baby is optimally positioned, avoid deep squatting, which opens up the pelvis and encourages your baby to move down.
  
• Swim with your belly down, using breaststroke and the front crawl.
  
• Journal, pray and practice forgiveness for emotional resolution.
  
• It may be necessary to accept that your baby is going to stay 'sunnyside up.' That may just be the position she needs to be in.

When your baby turns to an anterior position:
Encourage her to descend further into the pelvis - by walking around upright, massaging your bump downwards, deep squatting, and swimming (including 'frog's legs kicking').
Overdue? If your baby is not in a good position she may not be exerting enough pressure on your cervix to trigger labor. Your baby needs a little more time to rotate.

What to do during labor if baby isn't in optimal position:

• Remember that MOST posterior babies turn in labor.
• In early labor, walk up stairs - sideways if you need to.
• Rock from side to side.
• March in one spot
• Step on and off a small stool
• Climb in and out of a birth pool
• Get in a position where hands and shoulders are as low as they can go, with your knees apart. Arch your back and have your butt up in the air.
  

For pushing:

• Kneel (on both knees or one knee) or assume an all-fours positions.
  
• Avoid lying on your back, semi-reclining or sitting.
• Use supported squatting or a birth stool. The mom should be at least 18 inches off the floor.

Good references:
Get Your Baby Lined Up!
Optimal Foetal Positioning
Malpresentation -- When the Baby is in a Difficult Position

Growing ...

Here's Ms. Eleanor (and mommy) about a week ago. Eleanor has grown a lot in the past month! Her kicks are strong and Kelly is feeling a lot of action around her ribs since Eleanor is already head down.

Kelly and I emailed this morning about the interesting MidwiferyToday.com article I posted yesterday, questioning whether or not 10 is the magic number for full dilation. Kelly wisely said, "I’m confident that the body knows best what to do" during labor. It reminded me of just how ready she is to give birth, especially compared to me when I was almost the same age and getting ready to give birth to Josh. I didn't trust my body then, and as Nancy Wainer quoted midwife Valerie El Halta as saying (in my article, The Power of Giving Birth), "If you buy the hospital ticket, you are going to go on the hospital ride." Well, I definitely took the hospital ride! Kelly has set up her first birth so instead of doctors being in control, she will be in a place where she can let go and surrender to birth. I'm amazed by Kelly's strength and I am honored (AND THRILLED) to be invited to her birth! (And though all the attention during pregnancy generally goes to the mom, I have to say how wonderful, and rare, it is to see a dad-to-be as excited and prepared as Clint is!)

BABY PROJECTS








I finished the rag quilted lap pad yesterday. It's so soft.













I also finished these two reversible bibs!




I've started putting together a flannel quilt and so far the color choices are making me happy. After I get a few blocks done I'll take a picture of it.

Getting Ready

Here's my grandbaby-to-be's picture, taken right before I got to see her mom and dad at Thanksgiving. That's when we found out for sure that Kelly was having a baby girl. I had a dream of seeing the ultrasound, quite some time before it was actually done. It was clear to me that she was a girl. Kelly was sure she was having a girl too! In fact, right before the ultrasound she bought a couple of girl outfits.

When I first saw Eleanor's picture I said, "her head looks just like ours!" The boys scoffed, wondering how I could tell that from looking at an ultrasound image. I think it's a woman thing, because Kelly agreed. And Barb said she has a cute nose and Jill is sure she has red hair like me. It will be so exciting to meet her. I know she'll be beautiful!

Well, Eleanor sure is going to be a well dressed little one for the first few months. She already had quite a few little outfits when Kelly got an unexpectedly big box of girly baby clothes from eBay just yesterday. She was soooooo excited!! That didn't stop me from dropping by Goodwill on the way home from the chiro, after a quick lunch with Gene at Ray's pizza, and picking up Hanna Andersson wiggle pants (size 70). I couldn't pass them up for $1.60! (I love a good deal!!) If Kelly doesn't need them she could sell them on eBay.

BABY PROJECTS

I'm pretty close to finishing up the rag lap quilt. I've completed the quilting and I'm now snipping all the seam allowances so it can fray in the wash. I should have a picture up tomorrow. (I'm a bit concerned about washing it at home because of all the scare stories saying the excess lint can clog the line ...)

I've grouped together some flannel patches on the wall in front of my computer and after looking at them for a week or so have decided on four different patterns that work together. I'll cut out some more patches and see how they look made into a simple, soft blankie.

LABOR STUFF

Today I read an interesting article that hit home for me at MidwiferyToday.com, The "Rule of 10" Versus Women's Primal Wisdom. It discusses whether it's really necessary for a woman to be dilated to 10 centimeters before pushing. After giving birth to Matt I wondered that myself. With Matt my labor progressed very quickly and I had the urge to push. I wasn't completely dilated and I had a cervical lip. My midwife instructed me not to push, warning that I might tear. My urge to push was so overwhelming that frankly I didn't care what happened; I was PUSHING NOW! And Matt was promptly born and there was no tearing of any sort. This article is a reminder to me how important it is to listen to your body!

And I Thought I Had Nothing to Write ...

I'm so relieved that Kelly is feeling less stressed and her blood pressure has returned to normal after a weekend of having Clint at home! I know it meant a lot to her that he took the weekend off. I'm sure he needed some downtime too after working almost constantly.

As for Kelly's concerns, I know that things will work out for the best for her and Clint, as well as Eleanor! As my good friend Barb, said, becoming a mom (or dad) is an awesome responsibility. And when you want to be the best, and do the best, like Kelly and Clint, there can be a lot of hard choices to make. I know one thing for sure: They'll both be the best parents little Eleanor could ever want!

BABY INFO

I always get such interesting information on birth, breastfeeding and babies from Lactnet. Today I saw a link for a great article, Kangaroo Mother Care. It starts out like this:

"The very best environment for a baby to grow and thrive, is the mother's body," says Dr Nils Bergman, a doctor specializing in Kangaroo Mother Care in South Africa. "When placed skin-to-skin on the mother's chest, the baby receives warmth, protection and food, and its brain can develop optimally. Not feeding the baby often enough and leaving it to sleep alone after a feed can result in the baby getting colic", he adds. "The mother's skin is the baby's natural environment, and both physically and emotionally the healthiest place for the baby to be".

In the article, Dr. Nils Bergman says that during baby's first eight weeks, skin-to-skin contact is essential and the most important stimulant for development of the brain.

Parents know how hard it is to ignore a baby's piercing cry and that's for a good reason: Your baby really needs you to develop properly. It's always cool to find science backing what many moms already know.


MY BABY PROJECTS

I'm almost done putting the Velcro closures on the baby kimono shirt I made yesterday. Kelly said that she'd like me to teach her how to sew when I visit so she can make Eleanor a little shirt. The hand sewing part was easy and I think it probably is a good project to get started on. What's challenging for me is figuring out what finishing touches would be needed if you were to market this shirt on etsy. I'm not thrilled with the Velcro. Snaps would probably be better.

I recently finished a cute little lovey rag blanket for Eleanor with patches I had left from making her flannel burp cloths. It's nice and soft and around 14"x14" so it's easy to tuck in a diaper bag. I still need to run it through the washer and dryer to fringe all the edges. It should look even better once that's done. I'm really happy with the way the colors look together.


The other Eleanor project I'm working on was intended to be a rag baby quilt. (A rag quilt is done differently than other, sewing wrong sides, rather than right sides together. Then the seam allowance is carefully snipped (A LOT) and then washed until it frays, like the edges of the burp cloths.) I decided instead to turn it into a lap pad because I wasn't thrilled with the color combo. I'll probably post a pic in the next few days as I get most of it done.

SHOPPING

I went to a couple of thrift stores yesterday and found a few cute little outfits. (Dad thought "ADO" in the ADORED Gap shirt was Spanish for red!!)
Kelly, I wish you could see them in person right now. So cute! The shirt in front, which is the largest size I bought (12 months I think), is the sweetest with little colored chicks and colored fuzzy yarn on the chicks and at the neck. The pink and peach outfits could be worn by Eleanor right after birth.

80 Days and Counting!

I never knew that I could love a grandbaby-to-be as much as I already love little Eleanor! In mid August when I found out that Kelly was pregnant it was hard to imagine what it would all be like. I adored being a mother -- it was really all I ever wanted -- but would I feel the same way about being a grandmother? How could I love Kelly's baby as much as my own? It's amazing how time takes care of those things. Over the months I have grown more and more attached. She already feels like a real person to me even though it's a few months until I actually meet her.

I woke up too early this morning -- around 5am -- thinking about Kelly and Eleanor. Kelly called last night and said that at her work review this past week they asked what her plans were for work after her maternity leave. It made everything seem so real, and so imminent to Kelly. She told me that she feels sick when she thinks of having to leave Eleanor. She wants to be the one to take care of her. I want that for her too. Clint is working all the time because he wants Kelly to stay home too. Such hard choices ...

Because I was up early I decided to finish up the cute little top I'm making Eleanor. I took a sweet little top from Garnet Hill that Kelly had worn when she was about three months old and made my own pattern out of it. (That was probably the hardest part.) Then I cut out some peachy flannel and hand sewed it. I think one of the cutest parts is the polka dotted interface around the inside of the neck and the edging around the sleeves.


All I need to do now is add velcro or snaps. Otherwise it seems good to go. I can't wait to see it on baby Eleanor!!