Time is Spinning Away

34 weeks, 1 day

There has been so much to do over the last month, I feel like I have just turned around and May is almost here, heck, Piper is almost here! My belly keeps growing and it looks like I am trying to shoplift an overripe watermelon under my shirt. Piper now moves in big, strong ways - rolling, pushing and stretching. I have only 2 weeks left at work before my maternity leave. The nursery is now painted a beautiful sunny yellow, thanks to my wonderful father-in-law, Jan. I have only 2 more progesterone shots left and my ass is excited. We have been getting hand-me-down baby things for several weeks now and I am still stunned at how tiny the clothes are. And tomorrow is Piper's baby shower - thrown by two of my favorite people - my mother-in-law, Claire, and my sister-in-law, Jenn, both of which are far more baby oriented than I am. But, let me tell you what has really been going on.

At our last and final visit at the NJ Perinatal Group in St. Barnabas hospital we got to see Piper via ultrasound again. She looked fine, growing like a weed. And then we were informed that she was now breech, but we have 'plenty of time' to get her to turn around. That was Monday, March 29th. It made sense to me because she had been kicking at my waistband every time I would wear something tight. So, I accepted their statement and carried on with my life.

When we saw Judy, our midwife, later that week she felt my belly and was trying to decide which way Piper was pointed. With the evidence from the ultrasound and the kick, kick, kicking at my pants line, I told her that Piper must be breech right now. Judy felt around some more and decided the big, hard ball at the top of my uterus was, indeed, the head. So she is breech. So, so what?

Judy looked only slightly concerned when she told us that we could not have a home birth if Piper was coming breech. In fact Judy was not allowed as a certified midwife to knowingly deliver a breech baby at home. My jaw hit the ground. What? No home birth? But what does that mean? Visions of c-sections floated in my head.

There are ways of getting the baby to turn, Judy assured us. The website spinningbabies.com is full of ideas. When our visit was over, and I got in Griffin's truck, I was already looking up the website. In fact, I looked up several websites with tricks for turning a breech baby. And so began my two week journey of spinning that baby.

The easiest thing to do is just massage in a circular motion, around and around and hope she just goes with the flow. I rubbed my belly every chance I got - like I was my own Buddha. It is difficult to rub a belly in big circles with a shirt in the way, so I would sit on the couch in the evening with my shirt yanked up and over my belly and rub away. I couldn't tell if it was doing any good, but it felt nice. I tried to massage every chance I got, but there are a lot of times where you just shouldn't be yanking up your shirt - like while driving, for example. One truck driver got an eye-full one day when I was going home from work and I decided to stick to rubbing during couch time only.

Another trick is to try to get the baby to turn its head towards the direction you want her to spin by encouraging her to look at something. The website suggests using a small, but strong flashlight. Start the flashlight where you think the baby's head currently is and then move it slowly to where you want her to go. When she sees the light she may try to follow it like a cat does with a laser pointer. I don't know if that worked either, but I did it every night. I would cringe and yet stare deeply at my glowing belly thinking I might actually see her inside that red-yellow haze. It's like candling a chicken's egg to see if there is a chick inside. How creepy would that be? I didn't see her, but I almost didn't want to.

Another technique is 'aversion' - it's the opposite of the flashlight trick. I only did this one a few times since it bugged me and I am sure it bugged Piper. The idea is to put something cold on your belly in the area that her head is and then something warm in the area you want her to turn to. I only did this one in the afternoon after work, because by nighttime I like to be warm and snuggly. So I would put a package of frozen peas on the top of my belly and put the heating pad at the bottom of my belly and hope that Piper would get chilly and try to escape the cold. I don't know if this worked, I never felt her move when I would do this and it seemed kind of cruel to me - chilling half of her fishbowl.

The last technique that I really made a big effort to do was 'inversion'. I would lie on the couch with my head on the footrest and my feet over the back of the couch. I would try to get my butt as high into the air as possible. We were watching The West Wing at that time, and I would usually stay that way for half an episode or 25 minutes. I remember being a kid and watching TV this way. What was I thinking? Ah, to be a kid again! It is so uncomfortable now and it would kick my heartburn into high gear. The idea is to just get her head to 'sink' into position. I would visualize her giant noggin drifting down with the massive weight of her brilliant brain. (Guess I am already biased about my kid's intelligence) I would combine this with circular, bare belly rubbing, boy that must have been a sight!

After two weeks of torture, we were back meeting with Judy. We sat and discussed options if Piper remained breech. I wanted to avoid the hospital at all costs, so I was open to any ideas. She said that the OB she is associated with in case of emergencies could try to manually turn her. The doc could give me a muscle relaxer and try to spin Piper around. Judy said it would be painful, but could work - or it may not stick and Piper could just go right back to breech.

Another option is to use a different midwife who isn't restricted by the certified midwives rules. Apparently, Judy has a friend or colleague that is a midwife in Uganda and she is here either visiting or has come back home to NJ. My ears starting ringing when I heard the word Uganda and I missed most of the rest of the conversation. I pictured myself squatting in a field in Africa . . . hyenas laughing in the distance - but we are getting ahead of ourselves here.

Judy checked my belly. She felt all around and listened to the heartbeat with the doppler. The heartbeat was lower in my belly than it had been last time. The hard lump at the top of my belly seemed to turn into a squishy one, like a butt, and she said she thought she could feel the head just above my pubic bone. Piper had spinned! Somehow - one, some or all of my efforts paid off and Piper was now in the proper position. We were delighted.

As we were leaving, Judy told me not to do anything to disturb Piper now. We don't want her spinning back around. Okay, I will keep the frozen peas away from my belly. That won't be hard. But why did she turn in the first place? Was it those tight waistbands? Or the back brace? Or how I sit leaning forward while squinting at the computer? I can't be sure. I will try to send her 'head down' thoughts as often as I can. Just keep your head down, kid, and everything will be okay.

Have you missed me?

32 Weeks

Well, I have been busy. I feel GREAT, enormous, but great. I just finished an interview for another blog about my shop on Etsy and thought I would post it here, since many of you have no idea I have interests that go beyond my uterus:


Tell the world something about your self and what you do in life?

I am an artist, teacher, wife, soon-to-be mother, collector and mini-entrepreneur. I have been an artist my whole life, well, since I was able to pick up a crayon and draw. I teach Fine Art in a high school, so I have plenty of materials at hand. Most recently, I have been working in wool sculpture felting, but I also dabble in polymer clay, watercolor, drawing with almost anything and working with found object sculpture. I have my masters in ceramics, but have a hard time focusing on one media, as you can tell.

I have been an avid collector of pottery and glass for over 10 years. I collect vintage pottery and ceramics because I appreciate all of the effort involved in making a piece. There are so many points in the creation process where things can go terribly wrong, even in commercially produced items, that I admire pieces that ‘survive’ to become little gems.

Glass, on the other hand, is simply amazing to me. I have never had the chance to create with it and so even the most simple pieces look like wondrous miracles in my eyes. My favorite era for both pottery and glass is from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. There is look and feel to pieces made during this time that is hard to find in things made commercially today, even by smaller companies. They have a feel to them with little flaws and irregularities that make them seem more real.


What current entrepreneurial efforts consume your time?

My Etsy shop, Vintage4Vintage, has become my new venue for selling vintage collectibles. Many of the items I sell come from my personal collections as I try to refine and sometimes redefine a grouping. My husband and I live in a lovely Art Deco era lake house built in 1930 and my collections can be found throughout our home. Every time I sell something from one of my collections, I consider it to be making a new space to fill with something else I will find in the future, and that I am passing on a treasured object to someone else to enjoy.
Currently, I have been buying and sorting though lots of vintage buttons. Buttons are like little pieces of history and sculpture wrapped into one tiny package. The range of colors, textures, shapes and historic connections are endlessly fascinating to me. And again, I love the look and feel of these older items.


Why do you do what you do? What inspires you? When do you get most excited?

Being ‘green’ is really trendy these days, but my passion for vintage items has made me ‘green’ for a long time before it became popular. I really enjoy the thrill of the hunt when looking for things to add to my collection or my Etsy shop. Garage sales, tag sales, junk shops and flea markets are among my favorite hunting grounds. I often feel like I am saving things from being tossed in a trash heap. Many of the pieces I buy are rough, dirty, unidentified and often classified as ‘junk’. I spend time cleaning and researching each piece to learn about its history, maker and origin; I really enjoy the researching part it makes me feel like a true treasure hunter.


What one thing made the biggest difference when getting started?

I have learned that it is important to not try to do everything at once. A little at a time and everything will get done in time.


What is the last thing that made you belly laugh?

We have a Great Pyrenees, Bella, who is such a funny dog. When we are watching a movie in the evening, she bounces around the room with a toy, flipping it in the air and catching it all by herself. Our two cats, Jack and Hunter, just sit and watch her; I swear they are shaking their heads thinking that she looks like an undignified fool. I have laughed until I cried watching the three of them together.


Have you ever been in business before?

I have had other shops in ‘online antique malls’ and on auction sites, but I felt lost in the crowd. Etsy has a much ‘smaller town’ feel to it, which I really enjoy.


At what point do you consider yourself successful?

I love what I am doing, so I already think I am successful. My shop supplies my ‘slush fund’ to buy goodies that I would feel a little guilty buying normally.


Where do you do your best thinking?

Insomnia is a frustrating thing to deal with, but lying in bed at night in the dark provides a great place to think. It’s quiet and I am never interrupted. The only problem with coming up with a brilliant idea at 3am is that I occasionally forget it by the time my alarm goes off.


What does your average daily work / life balance look like? How much time do you work, play and sleep?

Being a teacher, I am on a set schedule 10 months a year. I get home at 3:30, I check emails, do some Etsy stuff, make dinner (or reservations) and by 8pm my husband and I wander to the couch to watch a DVD. Weekends are more creative, fun and often filled with treasure hunting. During the two precious months I have off in the summer – all bets are off!


If I could introduce you to anyone, who would it be?

I am 7 months pregnant and I can’t wait to meet the little girl that has been kicking me! I am looking forward to showing her all of the things that fascinate me and getting to see the world through her new eyes. My husband and I both value quality over quantity in most everything in life. Although objects are just things, often the most simple things are the most ‘real’ as well. Things that are ‘real’ do not have an end to their usefulness, or to their lives, they just need someone to find a new purpose for them and they will become valuable once again. This doesn’t work so well with all the stuff people buy that is manufactured in mass quantities today. We will try to instill these values in our daughter, I can’t wait to see if it works!


What stops you from giving up when you are frustrated?

Every time I sell something and get a message from the buyer about how beautiful it is; I feel like I have done my part in saving one more item from the trash. It seems like this happens at just the right time and I want to go on and send more beautiful, vintage pieces out into the world to be loved again by others.



If your are interested - please visit my shop Vintage4Vintage on Esty. CLICK HERE.