I knew this would happen.

It's been, what, more than a week since I last posted something? I began this blog with such great intentions, and now I'm wondering how often I'll set aside the necessary time to post something here. Nevertheless, for you, dear readers, I will continue to write the words that bring joy to your lives. (I really think that some bloggers are under a similar illusion.)

The pregnancy continues. Tina is in week 35. At yesterday's appointment with the doctor, Tina learned that the baby continues to be "in breach," something that she knew from last week's appointment. (For those of you who are either baby-less or have not taken the time to look up pregnancy-related terms, "in breach" simply means that the baby is not upside-down. At this point in the pregnancy, the baby is ideally upside-down, in preparation for birth.) The baby is big enough now that the odds of him turning upside-down on his own are dropping daily. Yesterday, the doctor estimated a 50/50 chance that the baby will invert on his own. By this next Thursday, August 3rd, if the baby has not inverted on his own, we can opt for a manual "manipulation" in which the doctor attempts to handle Tina's abdomen in such a way that the baby is forced upside-down. Sounds like fun. If we opt for this approach, it will take place at week 38 (mid-August-ish); if the turning-of-the-baby-upside-down is successful, then the doctor will induce Tina, and out comes baby. If said turning-of-the-baby-upside-down is not successful, they will wait one more week (week 39) and it's c-section time! Of course, we could opt not to go through the turning-of-the-baby-upside-down, and Tina could have a c-section, also probably in week 39.

Ever searching for ways to avoid labor and reduce the amount of time that she is pregnant, Tina is very interested in the week 39 c-section. As a result, she's encouraging the baby to stay "in breach," and she will surely turn down the manual turning-of-the-baby-upside-down procedure. Anyway, we will know more by next Thursday. If the baby has managed to turn himself upside-down, we will have one unhappy Tina on our hands.