The First Battle of Life

Human anatomy, pain mitigation options and strategies, massage secrets, the power of acupuncture, British parlance, Gina and I learned a little bit about all of them this weekend. Seeing as how we know nothing about what having a baby is all about, we felt it prudent to take a class to hopefully learn at least something about what to expect and how to prepare for what our teacher calls first battle of life.

Going in, one of our major concerns was the fact that Sofia is still in the breech position; it turns out she hasn’t yet moved either. But, Jenny did provide several different techniques we will try in the hopes of encouraging Sofia to get into the appropriate position. Although some of them sounded ridiculous and aroused suspicions that either she had gone senile or was engaging in some twisted joke, she assured the class that she hadn’t lost her mind and was also being sincere. So, to the techniques learned.

The first procedure she suggested was to have Gina get down on hands and knees and then to light what she called a cigar. As a quick aside, Gina and I met briefly after the first day with the other students in the class, an American and French couple, to discuss whether she was actually referring to a cigar as in Fidel Castro exploding stogie, or perhaps rather was referring to something else entirely and simply using weird British English. We never definitively decided. Either way, what was clear was that after Gina is in the right position, I need to obtain a very hot item, kneel behind her, and proceed to slowly bring the item we are calling a cigar slowly towards her left pinkie (toe). Then Gina will tell me when the heat becomes unbearable, at which point I then quickly pull it away, immediately replicating the process with the right foot. Apparently the idea is to repeat this over and over for an undisclosed period of time. We were told this is a highly successful technique (NOT highly successful, but worth a try I believe is what she said) in inducing infants to escape from the breech position. The next idea given was to perform an Indian bridge. The idea here is to invert the baby as much as possible while simultaneously holding a torch (flashlight) against the part of the belly we want Sofia to move towards. Apparently infants are like moths- bright lights are simply irresistible. Despite our best efforts she hasn’t yet decided to move and yesterday we visited the doctor and learned that we are rapidly running out of time. So for the moment we are still attempting to convince her to abandon her current hangout but also planning for necessary alternatives.

In addition to attending our infant preparation classes this past weekend Gina and I also went for a swim in Lake Zurich. Our apartment is only a few blocks from the water and there happens to be a line of parks and swimming areas that begin only ten minutes from where we live. When we first moved to Zurich we noticed that our neighborhood felt like a ghost town on Saturdays and Sundays and we assumed the Swiss were simply a very reclusive people. It turns out they all just go to the beach on the weekend. I don’t blame them. The water is cold and clear, the grass and the trees are a vibrant green, and the Alps soar up high towards the South; it’s a beautiful place.

That’s it for now.

Wait! There's one more thing. I need to add (this is Gina, by the way) that on Saturday we went to a pot luck thrown by one of our lab mates, which turned out to be a surprise baby shower! It was so much fun. Besides good food, we were treated to a nice, big diaper cake, more useful than tasty, but I guess that's what one would expect from diapers. All in all it was a good weekend and we are so lucky to work with such good people.

Yesterday, on the other hand, wasn't as much fun. We found out Sofie still hasn't turned, and because of this we had to schedule a C-section. We won't know the exact date until Friday, but we'll let you know as soon as we can. We also won't get to meet the doctor until the day before the surgery, which Ben wasn't too thrilled about. But I trust this hospital, so I'm not too worried about the actual procedure. It is apparently too dangerous to deliver a feet-first baby, and because of the placement of the placenta and the cord wrapped squarely around her neck, it's too risky to try the physical turning maneuver this hospital is known for. So basically that leaves us with one option, and we decided to take it! Of course there's still a slight possibility she'll turn by the C-section date, in which case we'll go al natural, but it doesn't seem too likely at this point. She's already a healthy 5.7 lbs and counting, so it's getting snug in there! I should know!

In any case, we'll let you know that date of the surgery, but in the meantime, think turning thoughts for us!

Swimming at Lake Zurich

Gina loves the water

Cool boat

Baby Shower

Sofia's first playmates