Bellyflop

The baby was SMILING all throughout the "emergency" ultrasound--which calmed my nerves!

Have you ever done something so dumb, and while you're actually doing it, it's as if you're having an out-of-body experience where you can't stop yourself no matter how hard you try?

A few nights ago, my back was killing me (a common occurrence these days) so much that I couldn't really even bend down to get into bed. So, being the smart and thoughtful person I am, I went face-first onto the mattress. Now, typically that wouldn't be a big deal, right? But nowadays face-first means belly-first, and as soon as I "landed" my stomach hurt so badly that I actually yelped--which alarmed Ryan, which alarmed me even more, and I started crying. Really? Who does that?

Determined not to freak out and be "that first time mom" who calls the doctor with every bump and bruise, I decided to wait until morning to see how I felt. The next day my stomach hurt still (like I had done a thousand crunches or something), and even more alarming, the baby had only been moving maybe 10% as much before.  So when I called the doctor's office, they asked me to come in, which I had assumed they'd have me do regardless.  (The nurse did ask me about ten times to explain exactly what happened--"You what? Bellyflopped into bed? Onto your stomach? Why?"--which didn't help my disposition.)

So I went in (twice, actually, because they didn't have an ultrasound tech in the first day, so they just checked me out and listened to the heartbeat and asked me to come back the next day too) and got a bonus ultrasound!  It's funny how MUCH babies can change even from week to week; this time I could really see the baby's face in detail on the monitor, almost as clearly as a 3D ultrasound.

Everything turned out to be fine, thankfully. And, for my own peace of mind, I did get an explanation--apparently my bellyflop MANUALLY TURNED the baby 180 degrees, so that it's no longer breech. Hmmm. No wonder my stomach muscles were a bit perturbed at me! And I couldn't/can't feel as much kicking anymore because the baby's feet are on the opposite side of my body now.  So, although I don't recommend it, I now have a new skill in mothering, just in case the baby flips back to breech between now and June. :)