Saturday, February 28, 2009

Moxibustion anyone?

So as you know, Israel is still breech. I have been praying desperately that he will flip for as long as we have known he is breech (17 weeks now!) but non the less, he has decided this is the most comfortable position for him...lol. In the last month I have been researching natural ways to turn him that I can do at home. There are some interesting methods out there, but I have honestly given a lot of them a try, with no success. So this week, I decided to try something new. It's called Moxibustion (Or also known as Moxabustion). It's a Chinese medicine technique. I read a lot about it and talked to my midwife about it, and figured...it couldn't hurt! Anyway...so twice a day I burn this herb stick made of mugwart by my pinkie toe for 20 minutes on each toe. Sounds crazy I know...but there is a pressure point there that stimulates the bladder which in turn stimulates the uterus helping the baby to get really active and hopefully flip. I have only done it for one day so far...no turning yet, but they say it can take anywhere from 2-10 days of consistent use. Every time I have done it he gets super busy though, so that says something. I am up for any suggestions if any of you out there have any! If he doesn't turn by 38 weeks (Which is only a week away!) the doctor is going to attempt a version (Which is manually trying to flip him) and I REALLY don't want to do this if I don't have to. Please keep this in your prayers and let me know if you have any help for me! :-)

6 comments:

Bree said...

have you tried the flashlight technique? :) I hope he turns for you! You may not know when he turns though- when my OB went to make the cut she was KICKED...which surprised her! Easton then came out by one foot and his butt...he was NOT head down like he was just 3 days prior! I never even felt him move that drastically to flip! So I don't know when he did!

April said...

Its amazing how much pressure we feel early on to get our kidlets head down! Really, it should happen on its own and happening at or after 38 weeks is VERY common! I was 39 weeks preggo with my son when he went down, and I didn't feel it. This is significant because a week later he was born weighing 9 and a half pounds. So really, it might seem they are getting big with not enough room to flip, but they find a way. BUT... I have friends who swear by the Webster technique.. and here is a fun article: http://pregnancychildbirth.suite101.com/article.cfm/turning_a_breech_baby
Praying he does some gymnastics on his own for you :)

836525 said...

i wanna see a picture of you holding a burning stick in your toes......

Jenna said...

I tried everything to get my little guy to flip. Flashlight, burning stick and chripractic adjustments. My little guy didnt turn around and in the end a c-section was fine and went well. I got to see my little guy quickly and knew he was fine, all the mystery around the ultrasounds were revealeved, and I recovered quickly. Praying for a good flip or peace with a csection.

Grace said...

I used to work as a nanny for a couple and the father was a naturalpathic doctor. I remember him telling about a plant that you burn while holding at the bottom of your uterus and it worked 99% of the time to get the baby turned around. I'm not sure if that is same plant you are using, but I sent him an email about it.

I'm sure all the other natural methods I know about, you have already tried since you said you done extensive research.I do know that when babies are allowed to go into labor before a scheduled c-section if they are breech, many times they will turn around during labor. It's just that most breech babies are delievered c-section now where you have no other option.

Anonymous said...

I've been following along with you and your family and little Isreals progress for a couple of months now. My name is Karen Olsen and I go to Laurelwood and know Kevin and Melanie. We continue to pray for a miracle for little Isreal...God is working a miracle in my little boy, Grant, he has Leukemia. He has been on chemotherapy now for over a year and has 2 more years to go. He is doing great though and went into remission within 2 weeks after he was diagnosed. Praise God! He has a website www.caringbridge.org/visit/grantolsen
Take care, Karen