Sweet Norah June made her debut at 39 weeks on October 1, 2019. We have always loved the name Norah, and knew without a doubt to name our little girl after her great grandma, June. She was born via scheduled c-section, due to her flipping herself into a breached position at 37 weeks. (Little spitfire she is!) Now knowing her for a solid year and a half, that’s no surprise! 🤪
We tried ALL the ways to “flip a baby,” though none of them seemed to work. She was content with her little tush staying right where it was! We tried every hack we read on the internet, including a medical procedure (do NOT recommend), chiropractor, and even the old ironing board trick. No hope.. so c-section it was, since her position made it the safest option.
I had never undergone any kind of big surgery before and really had no idea what to expect. Adam was with me and stood by me as I was strapped and numbed to the table. The spinal block made me so incredibly nauseous, and it was really hard to joyfully be “present” the whole time. When Norah was pulled out by my doctors and was freed of all the fluid, she immediately let out the loudest cry I have ever heard from a baby. The doctors looked at Adam and I, and said, “Oh does she have a set of lungs!” She was born at 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was absolutely perfect.
I’d be lying if I said having a c-section was better than a vaginal birth. It was a very difficult recovery. Now, that might have been because I had a 15 month old that still needed care, when I couldn’t lift anything over 10 lbs. I will say though that step stools are your best friend with a toddler and c-section recovery. I’ll write a whole post about what I found to be the best for postpartum care soon.
Less than 24 hours of us having our sweet Norah, the doctor wanted to run a chest X-ray. Obviously nervous and hesitant as to why our baby would need that, we were resistant to the idea. Turns out the doctors thought she might have Dextrocardia, where her heart is flipped the opposite way. After an X-ray confirming their thought, they did an ultrasound on her organs to make sure everything was okay. Well, the results of her tests confirmed she had Dextrocardia with Situs Inversus (also known as Situs Inversus Totalis). Situs Inversus is when all of the internal organs are mirrored, or flipped on the opposite side of the body than “normal.” As long as all the organs are hooked up correctly, she will be perfectly fine her entire life. It’s such a rare condition, and such a small chance that individuals get it. It’s a genetic condition, which is only present when both parents have a recessive gene. Neither Adam or I knew we had it, since no one in our family has been known to have it. Our little spitfire of a girl is pure in her own original way, and to us, she’s absolutely perfect.
Making Beautiful Messes 