Operation Turn Baby Reiter

I decided in this third trimester that I may not be one of those women who love being pregnant.  This probably has to do with the fact that my first and second trimesters were a breeze and now I'm starting to suffer.  The heartburn, difficulty breathing, and constantly being uncomfortable are breaking me down.  I'm always hungry...I don't mind the eating, it's the gaining weight that I have a problem with.  And on top of all of this, I am stressing out because Baby Reiter will not turn.  He/she has been breech my entire pregnancy and I'm worried this will never change. 

At my 24 week appointment, the doctor discovered my uterus was mildly heart shaped.  I got put on a magnesium supplement in order to relax it.  At my 28 week appointment, a different doctor (you don't always see the same one) informed me that the baby was breech and this was the time for him/her to turn.  I started doing some exercises at home to hopefully turn the baby, but nothing worked.

Well, at my 32 week appointment (2 weeks ago), I had a sonogram and sure enough, the baby is still breech.  The head is under my right ribcage, one arm is punching me in the left side, and the feet are kicking at the bottom of my belly.  We asked the doctor if she thought the baby would turn and before she even answered, we could tell by the look on her face that the news wasn't going to be what we wanted.  While many babies do turn after 32 weeks, she isn't optimistic about Baby Reiter turning because of the shape of my uterus and my small stature.  We asked what we could do, but she said there is nothing.

My entire pregnancy, I have prepped myself for a natural labor and delivery.  I've read books and watched videos.  I knew I didn't want the drugs and ultimately decided on having a water birth.  In my mind, I knew the pain was going to be excruciating, but this is the experience that I decided I wanted.  A breech baby definitely changes that plan. 

I'm willing to try anything at this point (unless it requires the use of drugs) to turn the baby so I can go forward with my plan.  I've Googled for weeks now and have been busy with many of the exercises already.  I'm putting cold on the baby's head and heat on the feet.  I'm laying at an incline.  And now I'm into the serious exercises where you combine everything...heat, cold, incline.  A few days ago I read that peppermint oil can be used to turn a breech baby so now I'm searching for it.  Apparently, they don't like it so they try to turn away from it.  I'm going to slather it all over that baby's head and hope for the best.

Operation Turn Baby Reiter is in full effect, as of today.  I'll keep you all posted and maybe even treat you to a few pics of the inversion or breech baby tilt.