More Time With Eden

So Friday I had another chiropractor appointment and my ultrasound appointment. The chiropractor went well. My doctor could tell she was transverse, but she moved a lot after my adjustment and during my acupuncture session, and by the time I went to the ultrasound that afternoon, she was head down. Obviously her being head down was great news, and it was such a relief to me. We also found out that she's chunky, because we could see the little rolls on her thighs and arms, but she's not huge, and she's not going to be huge because her head is so much smaller than a healthy newborn's. Her head measurements threw off the size estimation a bit, but it ranged from 5lbs 14oz using her head measurements to 6lbs 11oz excluding her head measurements, which isn't too bad for 36ish weeks.
 
We also found out that my fluid levels are slightly higher than the highest "normal" range. Anything from 5 to 25 is considered "normal", and my fluid levels were at a 25.8, which again isn't too bad, but it does give her a lot more room to move around than she'd have otherwise. During the ultrasound, we got to see that her bladder was full, which means that she is swallowing some fluid, though probably not as efficiently as a healthy baby would be (which would explain the slightly elevated fluid levels). We also got to see her chest and stomach moving up and down as she practiced breathing! The ultrasound technician said she was surprised to see that, because the textbooks say that anencephalics don't typically do that. Her "breathing" in there gives me hope that just maybe I'll go into labour on my own when her lungs are mature!

Speaking of labour...it isn't going to be happening this week after all, unless it starts on its own somehow. After my ultrasound on Friday, I called my doctor because Eden was head down. He too saw the ultrasound, so we cancelled the manual version, and he wanted me to take advantage of her being head down and try to get labour started on my own. I used my herbal tinctures all day Saturday, with only a few painless contractions. The tinctures are seriously gross. Like what I imagine a really bad whiskey mixed with mud would taste like. It definitely wasn't a fun day. But towards the afternoon, I felt Eden go transverse again, and I called it quits. She stayed transverse Sunday as far as I could tell, and she was transverse all last night (which is extremely uncomfortable when trying to sleep), and this morning at my OB appointment. 

Anyways, we had our OB appointment today, and we had planned on having my membranes stripped so it could help things along...well that didn't happen. My cervix is definitely not favourable yet, and I was only dilated a fingertip, so stripping my membranes wasn't even a possibility. Disappointed and frustrated doesn't even describe how I felt. Without my cervix being favourable, induction would very likely fail. There is no point in even trying right now if my goal is to avoid a c-section, which obviously it is. So we decided that since Eden has enough room to move around freely, and since my body isn't ready for labour, that we'd wait a week or two more. After my OB appointment, we rushed to my chiropractic appointment, and I got another adjustment, and another acupuncture session. Eden was head down when I got to the appointment (go figure - guess she likes long car rides?), and about halfway through was transverse again, and then by the end she was head down again, so she really can't make up her mind. Currently, as I'm writing this, she's been both head down and transverse. I don't mind all the movement, and I love watching my stomach jump all crazy, but I really wish it wasn't so painful.

So as of now, nothing is happening this week. I have another chiropractor appointment on Friday (thank goodness I made some money selling on eBay last month, or this wouldn't even be possible), and then another OB appointment on Monday. I guess in the meantime I'll just try to get a ton of stuff listed on eBay, and try not to be so uncomfortable all the time. I'm grateful for a couple more weeks with Eden, but at the same time, I had mentally prepared myself for having her this week, and it's kind of a let down that we don't get to meet our little girl in a few days, and that I won't be relieved of being so uncomfortable just yet. I guess it's sort of selfish that I don't want to be pregnant anymore, and that I'm actually disappointed that we aren't being induced this week, but maybe it's for the best  - who knows, maybe I'll actually go into labour myself and won't have to pick the day we have Eden. Maybe some part of this pregnancy will be normal after all.

Here are a couple of the ultrasound pictures, and a picture of the awesome cookie "bouquet" that some really sweet ladies got for me.

Her arm and hand. You can see three of her fingers, and how chunky her wrist is.

Her (not so) little foot!

This arrived last Wednesday for me! What a sweet surprise!