Let's turn things around, baby...

I'm 39 weeks pregnant today. And while that gives me cause to celebrate, it also means I have way too much to think about. Which is why I woke up at 4 this morning and am now writing this post at the dark hour of 5:30. My early-rising toddler isn't even awake yet.

I definitely have the normal late-pregnancy jitters at this point. Please let this baby be healthy. Please let me pull through this labor. Please let my daughter learn to share her mama with another little person. Please let us never forget these last few years, and how special it was to be a little family of three.

And also, on a more practical level: Please let this baby spin around. You see, I found out recently that she's in a posterior position in my belly, which means her head's down (thank goodness), but she's facing forward instead of back, giving me little karate chops out of my protruding belly button.

While it's not impossible to labor--or even deliver--a baby in this position, it can be more challenging. Posterior babies often have trouble initiating labor on their own, since they're not in the optimal position for heading down the pelvis, and once labor begins, their mamas often experience the dreaded back labor.

Since I experienced back labor with S, I'd do just about anything to avoid it this time. So over the past week, I've tried to take matters into my own hands and help this baby do an about-face. I've seen a chiropracter twice, made an appointment with an acupuncturist, climbed the stairs two at a time, dutifully practiced my prenatal yoga, bounced on an exercise ball, and even crawled around on my hands and knees. Yes, one of the tried and true methods to spin a posterior baby is to get down on one's hands and knees. Many old-schoolers even recommend washing your kitchen floor every day in this position, but come on, be real, people!

Dirty kitchen floor aside, I have faith that everything's going to turn out fine. And deep down, I know that all of these strategies are just a way to make me feel a little more in control of a situation I have very little control over. This baby is in charge already, but as a second-time mama, I guess I should be used to that.