Week 37 Update

We are officially considered full term! It's wonderful to know that if she were born today, she'd be a healthy baby girl.

We had our doctor's appointment this afternoon. Here's what we know:

• She is still breech.
• Last week she was sitting in an indian style position, facing inside of me with her chin tucked down. This week she's in a similar position, but without her chin tucked in, and with one leg under her body while the other leg is extended.
• She is definitely a girl.
• She is now 6 pounds and 8 ounces (she grew 5 oz since last week)

We decided against the external version, which is the procedure they could do to try and flip her to be vertex (head down). It's not guaranteed to work, and comes with risks to the baby. Although the chances of something happening were small, it was enough that my gut told me it's best not to go down that road.

So instead, we are scheduling a c-section. The doctor asked us to select a few dates for the c-section. She said she didn't recommend any earlier than August 3rd, but to do it sometime the week before the due date. Our top pick was Thursday, 8/5. That's only two weeks away from this Thursday! Our two back-up dates are Friday, 8/6 and Monday, 8/9 (which would be cool, since that means our baby would be born on 8/9/10). They are checking these dates with the hospital, and will call me in the next couple days to confirm the date for which the c-section will be scheduled.

We'll see the doctor each week until that time, and each week we will have another ultrasound to see if she's still breech. If she flips between now and then, they'll cancel the c-section and wait for labor to happen naturally. They'll also do another ultrasound right before they prep me for the c-section. So if she by chance flips the morning of the c-section, they'll cancel it on the spot and wait for nature to take its course. So there's still a chance for her to flip and for us to avoid a c-section, but those chances are not huge since she's getting bigger and bigger (making it very difficult for her to turn, since she has little room in there to do so).

So that's the latest scoop. I'll post an update when we have the c-section officially scheduled, and will try to post pictures from the ultrasound later in the week (although I'll warn you, it's hard to see what is what - the picture quality wasn't great).

Now for the update from babycenter.com:
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, her lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.