Concerns about baby’s position and his name!

I am a worrier. It’s who I am and I will never change! Mr Pom has a very calming influence on me, but it is a rare day that I don’t have something niggling at me.

So as I get closer and closer to our due date my worrying is increasing.

Worry Number 1:

Baby’s middle name!

I will keep the first name secret for now but the two middle names we were tossing up between were Timothy and Thomas. For years before we fell pregnant I had said we’d give our son the middle name Thomas since both Mr Pom and my grandfathers were called Thomas. (Incidentally both our fathers are called Nigel too, but Nigel in Australia means loner so we won’t be using that!). However, during the first trimester I didn’t think Thomas went with the first name we picked out, so we chose Timothy as a middle name, after my brother.

Since then our due date has now been confirmed as the 23^rd April 2013, which is St George’s Day, the patron Saint of England (how fitting), and also my grandfather Thomas’ birthday.  So now, being all sentimental, I really want Thomas in there.

We have toyed with having two middle names. My entire family have two middle names but Mr Pom none so one seemed a sort of compromise. Although Mr Pom says if I want to give two middle names I can, we feel Timothy Thomas sounds a bit silly.

I believe pregnancy hormones make you think differently, I swear my brain has been chemically altered and is not quite the same it was pre-pregnancy! Now, I feel Thomas fits perfectly with the first name, it has a certain ring to it so much so that I have no idea why I was so against it in the first place!

So I have been going over and over in my head the possible combinations and we still haven’t really reached a decision. If we no longer go with Timothy I have to tell my poor brother we no longer want his name lol!

Worry Number 2:

I am very worried that bub has never gone head down. I wish I was knowledgeable enough to know what body parts I can feel when I prod my belly, but from the location of the movements I’m pretty sure bub is always transverse or feet down.  I have my next midwife appointment on Monday, and will ask if she can help me to identify what I’m feeling. Not just so I know what position he’s in but it would be interesting to know if I’m feeling his bottom, head, or knee jabbing out my right side!

However, I did look up exercises which can be done now to encourage the right positioning of the baby and came across an interesting site http://www.spinningbabies.com/. On here I read that “sometimes tension or twists in the uterine muscle occur, or the pelvis gets “out of alignment.” These are a couple reasons that a baby couldn’t settle head down.”

This set of a whole new load or worries! I was only recently diagnosed as having a tilted pelvis! Does this mean there is not enough room for bub to get head down? Will he stay breech till the end, requiring me to have a caesarean? I have no problems with having a caesarean if I have to, but would so love to give birth a go, I’ve been looking forward to it for years!

One thing I know is that sitting back in the couch with your legs up is a position that encourages breech babies so I’ve stopped this daily ritual. If my feet are particularly achy I will put my feet up till they feel better, but now I mainly sit on the exercise ball, bouncing, swaying my hips in circles, and doing pelvic tilts. I also do a couple of inversion exercises a day which is supposed to encourage bub to get head down. This involves kneeling on the edge of the sofa, putting your elbows on the floor, and sticking your bum up with head hanging down for 3 breaths. The baby’s heavy head it then supposed to turn upwards towards the pelvis though I don’t really understand why it doesn’t just go back the moment you stand upright again. However, Spinning Babies recommend doing this exercise all the way through pregnancy so there’s no harm in trying it now.

Another tip my midwife friend back in England told me was to walk sideways up stairs! Apparently the rocking of the pelvis gives more room and encourages bub to get head down. There are plenty stairs at my train station, but so far I’ve not had the courage to try it during the busy rush hour…

Mr Pom says I’m worrying way too early about this and I will chat with the midwife about it on Monday. But if by week 34 there is still no change, I’m going to go full out on the exercises and turn this baby!

I’m hoping he’s just taking after his dad and leaving things to the last minute by getting head down at the last possible moment. Clearly bub does not have my keen organizational skills and getting himself ready weeks early!

29 Week Bump

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