Kate, Nate and I also enjoyed a fun dinner out one night at the Titletown Brewery, where I realized that my belly has become a convenient drink shelf (don't worry, it's a non-alcoholic beer!).
With just 1 month to go before "D-day", I am more thankful than ever for my tall stature, which has kept the breathing and belly discomfort to a minimum. In fact, most folks seem surprised when I tell them how far along I am - I suspect that with my long torso, my belly just isn't popping "out" as much as it would on a shorter woman.
These days, I'm in 'freezer food' mode - I hope to have our deep freeze filled with as many soups, stews, breads, and frozen fruits as I can before the baby arrives. And speaking of the baby, it appears that we have a stubborn little guy or girl in there....I found out at my appointment last week that the hard and circular thing I was feeling toward the top of my belly was indeed the head. Our baby is currently in a breech position, which means in order for me to deliver naturally, we need this baby to do a big summersault to position the head down by the pelvis. I've been instructed to go ahead and try a variety of exercises/movements to encourage the tyke to turn around. And it could happen that the baby will just decide to flip around on its own, but if it doesn't do so within the next week or so, I'll likely be given a procedure called an external version, where the doctors will first determine (by ultrasound) exactly how the baby is lying, and then through external manipulation (pushing and prodding of my belly) try and turn him/her head down. From what I've read, the procedure has between a 50 and 70% success rate. If that doesn't work, then we have to come to terms with the fact that I might need to deliver by Cesarian-section. Though that would be a big disappointment for me - I've been looking forward to experiencing the birthing process - of course the health and safety of the baby (and mommy) is of utmost importance...We'll learn more after our next appointment tomorrow morning.
