I am in the exact same situation. I'm a FTM and am now scheduled for a c-section on 12/18, which will be exactly 40 weeks for me, b/c the baby is footling breech still.
ECV is the version where they would turn the baby. Don't let anyone pressure you into this if you are not comfortable with it. I hear people on here all the time talking about how they really think you should try it before scheduling a c-section, but there are a lot of risks to this to consider too which is why we opted out of trying. My sister tried this with her 3rd baby this past July and they ended up tearing the placenta and she had to have an emergency c-section which is a lot more intensive (general anesthesia, incision was from hip-to-hip with tearing on one side beyond that b/c they had to get the baby out quick once the placenta tore, etc...). She and the baby are doing great now but the baby was also born earlier than he would have been otherwise b/c you have to do the version early (generally around 37 weeks), so he didn't get as much "baking" time either.
Now that being said, if you are wanting to try it, I'm not one to tell you not to. My sister (and me) both had other factors that made it more risky. For one, she had, and I still have, an anterior placenta which makes tearing more likely. I'm also a FTM so my uterus isn't as stretched as someone having a second or third baby, baby is footling breech, and baby is "measuring" large (I know this is highly inaccurate but I was a 10 lb baby so I'm not dismissing it entirely...). My doctor told me she really didn't think I was a great candidate for it though gave me the option to try if I wanted to. I'm not a candidate for vaginal delivery b/c it is a first baby and the baby is footling breech, So we are scheduled for a c-section when the baby is full term unless something changes. We figure this is our best bet to make sure baby is as healthy and well-developed as possible. We had the option to schedule the c-section up to 10 days after the baby is due but this increases the risk of meconium aspiration if I do go into labor that late and we end up with a c-section, so that was just getting too risky... The due date seemed the best case scenario.
I've been trying the exercises on spinning babies and the ones my doctor gave me but I get crazy braxton hicks contractions whenever I do them (I've always had a million of them but they go up to 10-12 an hour after the exercises for some reason) so I haven't done as many as I probably could be. I figure if the baby is breech though there is probably a reason. Either the shape of my pelvis, the baby is wrapped in the cord somehow, or maybe he just takes after his daddy and likes to procrastinate and waited too long. Who knows.
Either way, like you said, there are benefits to a c-section, and despite being extremely disappointed that I likely won't have a vaginal birth, I'm doing my best to come to terms with it and look at the positives. Some things I am doing is making sure to ask about procedures after the baby is born. My doctor said I could request that they hold off on the first bath and footprints and such until I'm able to be present, my husband will get to be with the baby from birth until we are all reunited in an hour or two, and they make sure not to allow visitors until after I've been able to breastfeed for the first time. Either way you look at it, we should both have healthy babies in less than 3 weeks, and we just have to make the best decisions we can and look forward to holding our little ones :) Good luck!!
