How To Flip A Breech Baby at 36 Weeks Along

FIRST OFF....Let me preface this blog post by saying that the following is composed of MY opinions and MY experiences. You should always consult a professional (ie YOUR DOCTOR or Midwife) for any health/pregnancy/breech baby advice. I just thought I would share my thoughts/feelings on this subject since I have intimate knowledge of it and I wasn't able to find any other moms out there blogging about their experiences. I found only a handful of very rude and opinionated commenters on baby advice sites.
This is my third baby. A boy. Healthy and right on track. Except when I told my doc that the baby was putting a lot of pressure on my ribs and what I later confirmed to be his head, was constantly pushing out above my belly button, stretching my skin to it's max and basically making my life miserable. So he scheduled me an ultrasound and my heart sank/hit the floor/stopped when I saw the screen. There I was at 35.5 weeks with a breech baby. He was sitting there all comfy cozy saying ' Hi Mama! Hell with all this head down stuff. It's sooooo much more comfortable like this, practicing my soccer ball headers on your rib cage and doing jumping jacks on your bladder'.
I talked with my Doc after the US results and his first statement was, 'Well, you'd probably do fine delivering a breech baby, but we just don't do that anymore. If he doesn't flip on his own we will have two options. Scheduling an ECV aka external cephalic version session or scheduling a caesarian.'
Ahhhhhh!!!! All I heard was caesarian and I freaked. Freaked internally of course, mama's gotta keep her composure in the Dr's office ya know. After delivering two babies naturally and loving the experience I was heart broken that caesarian was now on the table. Plus with a 1.5 and 3 year old running rampant, I was definitely NOT loving the idea of being laid up after a major surgery. Because hey, lets cut to the chase. A Caesarian Section is SURGERY.
I think the Doc saw all the blood drain from my face and followed up by quickly saying, "We still have plenty of time for the baby to flip on his own, or for us to do it. I want you to go home and do some research. If he still hasn't flipped by our next appointment (38 weeks), we will discuss our options further'".
So what did I do? I raced home, hugged my babies told the hubs I was 'unavailable for further domestic service for the evening (aka no cooking/cleaning/bathing/waca waca) and planted my but in front of the computer for seven hours. I searched and searched and the following two resources are what I found to be the most helpful.

Spinning Babies

About.com

So what did I do? What did I find successful? Helpful? A total crock of poop?

First off, you wanna get familiar with how your baby is positioned. Try and locate the head. It should feel like a hard round ball and when you give it a gentle push it should feel like it is moving freely from the rest of the baby. Sometimes it can get confusing and a bum will feel like a head, but when you give the bum a gentle push it will feel like you are moving the whole baby. And usually when you push on the bum the baby will reciprocate with a loving kick to the ribs/gut/bladder/pelvis.
So at 35.5 weeks I could easily locate his head above my belly button (it felt like a baseball) and his bum was nestled in my pelvis. He was using it like a little perch, thank god he wasn't suctioned in place (aka dropped yet). You can still flip a baby once he's dropped but it's more difficult and uncomfortable for mom.

Then what do you do? Get down on your hands and knees, drop to your forearms and preform the butt wiggle. This can be particularly entertaining to your partner so I recommend having an audience ;) (but really an extra pair of hands is great for this next part). Once on your forearms and knees, relax your back inward and let your belly hang low. Wiggle your butt back and forth trying to release all pressure from your pelvis and lower back. Like how a turkey waddle sways back and forth (lovely analogy right?). Then roll on to one elbow and locate the baby's bum in your pelvis. Cup it and gently lift him up and out of your pelvis. If you can, have your partner try the cup and lift so you can relax and open your pelvis as much as possible. I had a hard time doing this for very long before the braxton hicks started to kick in and it became difficult to locate the bum. But I did this multiple times through out the day just to send the message 'Baby! You better not get comfortable with your tootie in my pelvis!'
Next you want to try the Breech Tilt aka get inverted. I did so by piling up three firm pillows on the couch (up against the arm) and lowered my self back onto them so my pelvis was high in the air and my back was on the couch. I found this to be the most comfortable but I've read that some people get ironing boards ect to tilt and lay on. Once I had my pelvis in the air I could easily locate his bum and do the cup and lift. Because of my earlier ultrasound I was able to tell that his chin was tucked down, he had his back along my left side and his small parts (hands/feet) were on my right side. So I would do the cup and lift and also gently massage my upper belly (his head) in a clockwise motion to try and coax a roll/somersault/dive into oblivion. I did the breech tilt multiple times a day along with the but wiggle. Not for crazy long periods of time, but while he was active and doing lots of movement.
I also did the Hot/Cold Belly Compress. I would place an ice pack wrapped in a towel at the top of my belly and a heat pack (or my warm hands) low on my pelvis. And BOY! Let me tell ya that got him moving. They DO NOT like the cold and wiggle/kick like crazy to get away from it. When I first read this tip I was like 'Yeah right', but really, I think this in combination is what made him flip.
I did this three punch combo for three days, felt him go transverse (sideways) and then finally tuck and roll when I let up on the cupping/lifting/massaging to lean onto my right side to watch TV while in the Breech Tilt position on the sofa. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to tell, but I could as clear as day feel him roll. As soon as I did I got up and went for an extra long walk to try and coax him into dropping lower into my pelvis. Did some extra long walks for the next two days and then did a breech tilt to check his position. Glory glory hallelujah! What felt like a softball now was clearly in my pelvis, his feet were hi-ya-ing me in the side and a firm bum was up by my ribs.
That's what I did. That's what worked for me. There are other options to helping flip a breech baby that I can't speak to. Some have found success with a chiropractor experienced with the webster technique. And some have had success with ECV or External Cephalic Version. Which is a more technical version of what I did. It is done in a hospital just in case labor starts. They give you a shot to relax your pelvis have an ultrasound going to tell the position of the baby and then the nurse/midwife/technician manually manipulate the position of the baby. While it is generally safe I have read that it is not free from complications as it only have a 55-60% success rate. Not that high in my opinion. Plus what always irked me about ECV was that it was someone else trying to position the baby and they are not always gentle. My hands know my baby and know my belly and know when to stop. I didn't want to force my baby into any position, I wanted him to naturally find a position that is comfortable for him and conducive to natural delivery. Sound nuts? I dunno, It's just the mama bear in me that likes to speak up from time to time. The 'I KNOW BEST' voice.

So here I am. At 38 weeks pacing back and forth trying to get the party started. I hope sharing my experience will help/give hope to some of you moms to be. Don't be frustrated. Just find what works for you and baby. And again, please speak with your Dr/Midwife to find the best course of action for you and your baby's well being.

Thank you for stopping by!