36 weeks, 2 days: Baby has dropped!

I know it doesn't mean anything! I dropped early with my other boys, too. But at least it means the end is in sight. Anyone else dropped yet? How long after dropping do you usually go into labor? Sometimes I seriously wish I could break my own waters and just get this OVER with!!! (But I won't)

 I have a question. When women say they've dropped are they saying that they're officially station 0 or are they saying that the baby is just much lower than before and on it's way to be station 0?

I am currently station -2 so baby is on her way to station 0.

Kara...Dunno to be honest?  Sorry to be completely useless.

I've always been told that with 2nd+ pregnancies the baby can drop in and out of your pelvis and so can be engaged one day and then higher up again the next?  My bump looks smaller now, the baby doesn't feel like it's between my knees now.....so I suspect mine went down and is now back up (or is very far down and my pelvis has just got used to it now?)

At my last midwife appointment she said the baby was at brim....but that was 3 weeks ago......and I feel like the baby has been in and out of my pelvis on a diaily basis ever since!

I should ask at my next appt. My OB had never said what station and I have not asked. However, I will be seeing some other OB and don't know if he would have to do an internal to determine the station-probably. I won't be asking then. I checked myself, and feel the head right at the ischial spines, So I am thinking it is a 0. However, I can move her head up some. I have had that thought of breaking my own water or something-but it was just a thought.   I know it would be a bad, bad idea!!!!!

angel-abby:

... I checked myself, and feel the head right at the ischial spines, So I am thinking it is 0 ...

 

Man, for some reason I can't even reach my cervix! I am so confused as to why I can not  When I was ttc I could easily reach it and want to so bad now  Any advice?

 Its all so confusing.  Dropping is different than engaging, I think.  Dropping you'll just feel room in your ribs, engaging is the head actually coming down your pelvis.  

I've been dropped for a good few weeks... I can breath and actually eat again.  But at my last appt 1.5 wks ago, she said I was still -3.  And when I tried to feel my cervix and station myself, that was like a whole finger and then some depth up there before I could feel the babies head.   (TMI)... Now, when I try to feel, like when I"m sitting on the toilet, I can feel her head like 2 inches up, to my second knuckle... seems really low.    So, I have no idea... but +3 is crowing... LOL... definitely not there yet.

inkedflamingo:

angel-abby:

... I checked myself, and feel the head right at the ischial spines, So I am thinking it is 0 ...

 

Man, for some reason I can't even reach my cervix! I am so confused as to why I can not  When I was ttc I could easily reach it and want to so bad now  Any advice?

The benefits of having a midwife... she said when I'm trying to check myself... (that is, if you can reach around your belly)... like if you are sitting on the toilet, when you go in, you'll feel the babies head at some point, and you'll want to go back towards your bottom around the babies head.  I finally found mine yesterday... .. I've been trying for like a month now.... but it feels like a squishy upside-down volcano.. and the middle is smooshy.. and however fingers you can fit in the middle is how many cm.. I think.

And a much better picture of engaging or station

inkedflamingo:

angel-abby:

... I checked myself, and feel the head right at the ischial spines, So I am thinking it is 0 ...

 

Man, for some reason I can't even reach my cervix! I am so confused as to why I can not  When I was ttc I could easily reach it and want to so bad now  Any advice?

 

I am having problems reaching it also which I didn't prior.. 

the way my midwife put it is that your cervix kinda shifts to an almost backward possition away from you.. making it harder to reach.. so it is very normal for pg ladies to have a MUCH harder time reaching it

 

 During pregnancy your cervix goes up higher....and also, if you've started to efface but haven't dropped it can be harder to reach. I've just been able to easily reach mine within the last month or so, probably. Also, it goes more posterior during pg, so even if you can feel it, it's harder to feel the os. 

And to be actually "engaged" you need to be at 0 station. SO I think people use the term "dropping" pretty loosly b/c technically you could "drop" from a -3 to a -1 and have dropped but still not be engaged. 

This is actually the first pregnancy where I have NOT been engaged at this point. With both other boys I was at a 0 station by 34 weeks. This time he's been varying btwn a -2 and in btwn a -1 and 0. I can tell when he's lower b/c I can feel his head right behind my cervix and it gets really hard feeling instead of soft and smushy. I kind of want him to go ahead and engage b/c he's only been consistently head down for 2-3 weeks and I don't want him to flip breech again at this point! 

Oh! And I can reach mine best when either squatting in the shower or lying down with a pillow underneath my butt.

 I just tried again to check my dilation thinking for sure I would get it this time but nope I did the ol' foot on the toilet, used some lube and reach towards my bottom. I must have been right there but not EXACTLY there since I had lots-o-slime (TMI alert!) on my fingers afterward. Ahhhh well, I guess it's no big deal, just thought it would be kind of neat.

 Kara, try laying on your back with something propped under your hips and your ankles to your butt -- I can feel the actual os the best that way.

Georgia~peach:

 Kara, try laying on your back with something propped under your hips and your ankles to your butt -- I can feel the actual os the best that way.

I'm going to have to try this... and what is "os"?

And for what it's worth, I have to put my thumb in too, not that it does anything, but it lets my other fingers go deeper and further back... 

 the os is the opening.

 

So funny how everyone has their own methods. I have to feel first with JUST my middle finger (the longest), then when I feel what I'm feeling for I can insert my other finger but it's too tight a fit to put them both in at once, before I get my bearings.

 Oh.. yea.. I have to only "feel" with one finger or I get all confused... too many squishy parts, LOL.

I found my cervix, just the tip to be able to tell dilation.. and I kept trying to go inside the cervix because inside can be different than outside dilation.. but I kept getting back cramps because I couldn't reach that far up.  I keep asking DH to do it... and he's like no way... but he'll willingly DTD... 

ok yes this is my third child but I haven't ever heard of people poking around down there besides the doctor... so I have a question or a few questions, how can you feel the baby's head and not break the water? and if you can feel the baby's head how can you still have sex? Ok oddly enough I find this fasinating but I can't bring myself to poke around down there....