At my 35 week appointment my doctor and I started discussing my options since Baby A was breech and B was head down. In this instance, he recommended c-section if one of them did not flip. The reason is that twin A’s chin could lock onto twin B’s chin during delivery and get stuck. Now I should note that the way they determine who is Baby A is based solely on who is closer to the cervix. An external version is not possible with twins so my options, to try to get the natural birth I wanted, were:
1 – Get A to flip head down so both babies were head down.
2 – Get B to flip breech so both would be a breech delivery.
3 – Get them both to flip (not really easy to do but if A is head down and B is breech we’re okay still).
4 – Get B to move down lower and become A.
So started the fun. I don’t know if any of these really work, they sure were, let’s say, interesting to try out.
Music
One suggestion I found was to play music down low to try to lure baby to flip. So anytime I sat on the couch or in the car I would turn my ipod on and put it between my legs. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used Nirvana and Ozzy. That may have been my first mistake. Classical may be more alluring.
Hot and Cold
For 20 minutes every night my life consisted of me laying with my pelvis tilted up with a bag of frozen peas on top of my stomach and a hot water bottle at the bottom. The theory behind this one is that the baby will move towards the heat and away from the cold. This was the one I was hoping would lure baby B down further. I’m still surprised half of my stomach isn’t burned and the other half isn’t freezer burned.
Baby Sifting
The name alone is weird. I picture sticking a wet baby in a pasta strainer and shaking lightly to sift out the water. What it actually involved was holding my belly with my woven wrap, getting down on all fours and having my husband gently, but quickly, jiggle my belly back and forth with the wrap. You’re supposed to focus and breathe but we just couldn’t stop laughing, especially when our kids would run into the room yelling “My turn!”
Doggy Style
Another suggestion I found was to spend 10-15 minutes on hands and knees 2-3 times a day. This helps position you in a favourable way for a baby who wants to turn. My kids are entertained by this one. They point, laugh and tell me I’m silly. Hey, if I create babies this way why not help them get them out this way.
Flashlights
We’ve been playing with the babies and flashlights for some time but it’s said that if you hold the light low baby will gravitate towards it. Usually, it just gets them kicking and moving around, which is fun to watch and our daughter loves watching. Honesty time: We only really do this for her. I find movements so uncomfortable so I try not to make them move more than they do.
It was an interesting couple weeks around our house for sure. I felt crazy most of the time for even trying these things but desperate times call for desperate measures.
The “I am not a doctor” disclaimer: Make sure to discuss with your own care provider before attempting any of these
Update: None of these worked for me. Possibly a combination of the silliness of some of these with the fact that by the time I tried to do any of this they had no room in there. Two of them take up a lot of space in there. However, I did end up birthing them naturally. But that’s a story for another day.
By Nikki Waring
