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... Oh, yeah... forgot to say I hope you get your way and they wait to do the c-section until you are further along :-)

Thank you so much for all of your help, ladies! I am finally coming to terms with all of this. I have my appt today, so I will let you know what the dr says after I play 20 questions with him! I hope I get some answers! :)

Gavinsmom, what happened at the doc?

Well, I met with the doctor and asked all of my questions...he said that the baby's growth has slowed which can happen when they are in the breech presentation. He has slowly fallen off the growth chart since last u/s and he fears that he will stop growing and that is the reason for the 37 week c-section. Instead of waiting an extra week or 2, when the growth could completely stop (which is what he does NOT want), if he takes him out, we know we can monitor him better with round the clock feedings etc. to beef him up. He seemed extremely confident that everything will go smoothly and baby will do perfectly. He spent so much time with me, answering my questions and explaining what would happen. So, I have to trust in my doctor. Wouldn't growth restriction require a dr to take the baby earlier than one that is growing normal? Thanks again for the continued support! :) Oh, they did another u/s to check the fluid and it was perfect and the NST came back as the nurse put it, "textbook perfect.' Any more thoughts or concerns that you can think, please let me know! I like to ask questions! ;)

Sounds like the baby needs to come out, then! Will you still deliver on the 25th? I'll be thinking of you. I'll be seeing docs that day, too... except mine will be for my dd's 3yo checkup and my ds's 18 month check up. Good luck with your delivery :-)

I'll be sending vibes that the baby decides to turn. Sounds like you have a good doctor who has things under control. You might want to ask him if he uses glue and steri strips for your incision or staples. I had the glue, so I didn't have any staples which needed to be taken out. If you have any sensitivity to pain medications, you might want to discuss what you will be given and how much. Alot of pain medication makes me sick and I don't like taking drugs so I made sure the doctor was very careful with what they gave me and that they only gave me a minimum unless I asked for more ( I was even taking 1/2 pills, until the nurse talked me into trying a whole one since I was doing fine with the meds). Oh- with your baby up in your ribs, don't freak out if the baby has "breach head". My dds head was a little funny shaped because of how she had been wedged. They even took her for a CT scan after I had held her for a few hours because they wanted to make sure the bones were right and there were no injuries from the delivery. It was terrifying that they were running a test, but she was fine. The breach head goes away. Her head is normally shaped. My baby was right at 37 weeks and the only thing we had to do was supplement her with a little formula in addition to b___stfeeding to try to get her to put on weight faster. It worked. She went from the 10% percentile her first few weeks to the 95% by the time she was six months.

Ladies, thank you so much for all of your help! The day is getting closer and closer and I am getting excited, but terrified! I thought he had a chance at turning today b/c when I woke up, his head seemed further down to the right than usual...but then after about an hour it was right back where it usually is. And the rib pain returned, too! :( Sahmof3--Yes, the 25th is still the day! Hope all goes well with you for the lo's doc appts! K--Thanks for the story! It sounds all too familiar! Can I ask what is breech head? And what did your lo head look like exactly? My little guy is lodged under my right ribs...and he is facing down towards the ground. Do you know which way yours was facing? Too weird...the dr told me that he is measuring in the 10th percentile as well...hence taking him out at 37w1d! Did your lil girl have any problems with her lungs not mature or problems nursing for being born at 37 weeks? Oh, and what did she weigh? Sorry about all the questions...but it sounds like I'm in the same boat you were in! Thanks for any help you can give! :)

Hi Gavinsmom! I see that the date is set. My baby was below 5% when he was born but by his 2mo appt he was already in 50%.They catch up very quickly. My babay had issues b___stfeeding. He was small and he could't latch so I started him on formula, but I also started to pump milk right away in the hospital so he got all the colostrum and slowly as my milk started to come I replaced all his feedings with my milk. One thing, you may need your own nipples for bottles. The ones I was given at the hospital were with medium flow and he was not able to swallow fast enough and formula was pouring out of his mouth. Take care

Good luck, Gavinsmom! We will all be thinking about you on Thursday. A few things to make you feel better --Those size estimates are not always right. I know several people who were told that their babies were too tiny, and they were normal size. My friend was actually told her daughter might be a dwarf, and the baby was born completely normal size. Also, my son was born at 38 weeks exactly and he weighed 9 lbs. And lastly, c-section babies have beautiful little round heads because they don't get compressed during birth. (LOL!) Good luck!

Hi Gavinsmom - how exciting that you know exactly when your little one is going to be here!!! My friend just had the exact same thing happen to her - her dd wasn't growing much in the last trimester, so she had an early csection. She was born weighing 6lbs 6oz, which is totally fine and is now gaining weight every day. Good luck and I can't wait to hear how it went! :)

Thank you for all of the support! Each day, I feel better and better and I'm just trying to focus on the joy of meeting my little guy! Please keep us in your thoughts on Thursday! I will let you all know how it goes...and I will see you on the Infant forum! Yay! :)

37 weeks is technically full term, so your baby's lungs should be fine. My dd's were fine. Breech head means that their head might have a flat spot on the side or rear, or be a little cone shaped because of the way the baby was wedged. The top of my dd's head was pretty coneish and she had a flat spot on one side toward the back. They just had us lay her on the other side to sleep for a while instead of on her back. Don't worry, it's not like the baby looks strange or anything! She was up in the left side of my ribs. I don't know the way she was facing, but judging by the way she used to move around up there and torture me, I don't think she was facing the same all the time. I tried everything to get her to turn. Crawled around on the floor; practically stood on my head; shined a flashlight on my lower abdomen; took headphones and played cla__sical music to my lower abdomen. The flashlight and music would get her moving down that way, but she would always go back up. The music was what finally got her turned head down, but it didn't do me a whole lot of good since she flipped right back during labor. My dd weighed 6 lbs 7 oz. We did have a little trouble nursing in the hospital. She had trouble latching, but they told us that was because she had a high palette. I don't think that had anything to do with her being early or breech. The lactation nurse at the hospital had us use a nipple shield at first so she could latch on better. Once we used the shield everything was fine. It took us a few months to get rid of it, because dd would throw a fit if I didn't use it. When she wasn't gaining weight fast enough after the first week or two, we had to supplement with a little formula. After a few weeks the doctor told us we didn't have to do that anymore, but dd would demand her formula top off, so she still got a little here and there. Good luck!!! It is going to be wonderful when you see and hold that little guy!! Everything will be worth it!!

K--Thanks for sharing! You made me feel tons better that your dd was just fine! Too funny...I tried propping my hips up and putting my legs up the wall to try and get him to go head down (it hurt and felt like my ribs were about to pop). He wouldn't budge. I think I will try the flashlight one...dh is a cop and has one of those really nice, bright ones, so I'll just be sure to shine it where I want him to go and not at him! Your dd was good size...I hope my guy is at least 6 lbs! What is a nipple shield? You have been such a great help to me! Tomorrow, only 3 more days to meet my sweetie! :)

I'm glad to help. When you get home from the hospital, please let me know all about your sweet little guy! I did the legs up on the wall too- not comfortable. I also stacked up couch and chair cushions to try to elevate my lower half as high as I could. I read everything I could find on ways to get a baby to turn and tried everything I could manage. Hopefully your little guy will be interested in the light. A nipple shield is just a little silicone piece that you set over the nipple which gives them a little more to hold onto. Some lactation consultants recommend them for certain types of nursing problems. It worked for us. The only thing that was a pain about it was having to clean it after every feeding. I was really glad when we weaned her off of it (which involved alot of sneaking it off mid-feeding).

Hi, I just saw your post on the infant care forum, so I thought I'd come share my c-section story with you. I was being induced at 38 weeks because of gestational diabetes. The induction failed so I had an emergency c-section. I always wanted a natural birth, but in the end a healthy baby is what you really want, so I'm okay with the fact that I had a c-sec. The epidural was fine, I hardly even felt it, but I had been in labour for so long I really didn't care. They put the catheter in after the epidural, I didn't even know it was there until they came to remove it (which didn't hurt at all). My Dh didn't get to cut the cord initially, the doctor cut the cord really long and DH got to trim it. They did put morphine in my IV, so I was a little spacey (cracking jokes to the doctor as he was putting in my st_tches). But I was able to see my son right away - they held him up over the sheet so I could see him. I was also able to nurse my son as soon as I was out of surgury. Dh was with our son from the moment he was born till they gave him to me, so our little guy was never alone. The c-section took about 45 minutes. I won't lie to you, recovery took time and it was not fun, but everyone heals differently and you'd be surprised at how much you can do (plus they do give you pain meds afterwards). While in the hospital, use that time to rest and heal, don't try to do too much. Just take it slowly. It's perfectly normal to be worried, it's surgury, but I'm sure you have good doctors and you'll get to see your son soon. Best of luck and congrats on your upcoming arrival. Oh and bring comfy clothes to go home in, something that won't rub on your incision. I also used a nursing pillow (or boppy), it made things so much easier.

Ladies--Thanks again for all of your help and support! I don't know what frame of mind I would've been in, had I not talked to you guys (probably not good)! :) I will post and let you know how it all goes when I get home. Mingill--Thanks so much for sharing your story with me! I love hearing them! I finished packing my bags, so I am all ready to go! See you on Infant care!