For the record, these are the things we have attempted over the last week as we tried to get Baby Girl to turn around and face the world:
1. Visualization and talking to the baby. Result: this worked brilliantly the first time. Baby moved until she was fully transverse (sideways) in the belly, but then she settled back into the wrong position.
2. Laying upside down on the ironing board, which was partially propped up on the couch. Result: It was difficult to breath, I was afraid the ironing board would break in half, and it made me feel like a total goofball.
3. Having Daddy read to my...er... let's call it "pelvis." Result: Baby moved a lot, just around in the same spot.
4. Pool activities: Standing on my head underwater, floating on my belly, having Casey hold me underwater at the bottom of the pool, and pelvic tilts. Result: The old people in the therapy pool thought I was out of my mind, while I'm pretty sure the lifeguards were convinced I was trying to borrow their pool for a water birth.
5. Playing music to "the area" (aka headphones down my pants). Result: I don't want to wear the headphones ever again...
6. Ice and Heat. Icing the top of baby's head while using a heating pad down low to encourage her to turn. Result: The top of my belly was very cold.
7. Daddy using his "commanding voice" to tell the baby to move. Result: Baby moved, but will probably now need therapy from being yelled at in-utero.
8. Moxibustion - a fancy term for an accupuncture point on the outside of the little toe. This process involved burning an incense stick (which looked like a cigar) as close to the pressure point as possible. Result: To my intense surprise, Baby moved a TON during this process, but only ever got as far as being transverse before settling back into her favorite, head up-butt down position. Also, my master bathroom has smelled like marijuana for three days. We did get the sticks from a doc in Boulder...
9. Pelvic tilts. An exercise designed to help babies turn which involves being on all fours and doing the cat/cow position. Result: My hands and ab muscles got a little tired.
10. Chiropractic adjustment to make sure the pelvis is in alignment so that baby has the max amount of room available. Result: Supposedly my legs and hips are better aligned, but after being slammed up and down on a table, I was mostly just really, really sore and cranky.
All in all, nothing we tried seemed to work. All of it sounded good in theory (although it felt totally ridiculous in practice!), and there were definitely a few times Baby legitimately started to move around (the thing that worked best: Mommy talking to her and encouraging to move. Go figure!).
For whatever reason, though, our baby is just not meant to come into the world the "natural" way as we had planned, and that is completely okay. I feel content with the fact that we did everything we could to do what we thought was best for her, and now that means making her entrance into the world as safe and happy as possible.
We love you Baby, and we can't wait to meet you!!!!!!!
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