You have a healthy take-home baby ready for you.
At this point, your baby weighs almost 7 ½ to 8 pounds, which is a normal birth weight for majority of the babies. She’s about 20 inches long but won’t grow much more than this now till she is born.
And when will she born? Well, it is near impossible to pinpoint the exact time of when labor will start. Some early signs can let you know if you’re in early labor like having sharp pains in the back, or in the lower abdomen; nausea and dizziness are also characterized as early labor signs; then there’s the famous water breaking that’s a sure fire sign that baby express is approaching, though you must keep in mind that other than Hollywood created scenarios, water breakage will happen after lots of (definite and excruciating) contractions and other pregnancy symptoms and instead of feeling like a discharge where somebody has opened the tap, it’ll be more like a dribble.
You may be feeling somewhat (or let’s say a lot) frustrated by now if you haven’t delivered. Keep in mind that like your pregnancy, your labor will also progress on its own pace. If your baby is taking some time before he arrives, by all means let him. He might have some last minute vernix/lanugo shedding to do, or he may want to toughen up his lungs a bit more or work on his vocal cords to really use his screams to get attention.
You staying calm and thus keeping your heart rate, hormones and blood pressure at moderate level is what junior needs right now.…
So the waiting game has begun. Pregnant you vs. labor? We’re putting our bets on you (if pregnant women won’t back each other, who will?!), though labor has a reputation of keeping ladies waiting for indecent amounts of time (yes, in pregnancy dictionary 1 hour is counted as a day, 1 day is counted as a week and 1 week is counted…you get the picture.).
If you are a first time mom, chances of you reaching your due date are brighter (yes, we understand those should not be called ‘brighter’). However, if you’ve given birth before, some twisted pregnancy science will help labor reach you sooner. If you are having a scheduled c-section, you might be feeling better at knowing the exact day when you’ll have a brand new baby in your arms.
Talking about baby, she has developed just about fully in your tummy. The last of lanugo and vernix has shed off probably by now. Her lungs are capable of handling breathing outside the womb. Her brain cells are in super accelerated mode and will continue to be so in the first few years of her life (get ready to answer a lot of ‘why’ questions when she learns to speak). And yep, she’s adding more fat in these last minute details to become rounder and cuter (what a baby’s got to do; stealing hearts is all they know!)
And with your baby getting ready to grace your nursery, your body is preparing colostrums (an antibodies enriched milky substance that comes before the breast milk).…
You may be feeling good that your little one is packing on the pounds but the increased knee jabbing in your ribs is nothing funny. And with your little sunshine growing rounder and plumper, the maneuver-room in your uterus is already decreasing. The coming weeks will put even more fat in your growing baby and with no room to somersault anymore, his kicks and jabs might become more pronounced now.
One of the major developments this week: your baby’s lungs and liver are almost done now. His liver can now process small amounts of waste, and a lot of black poop is accumulating in its proper place; so don’t worry when you find her first diaper soiled in something black and sticky ( yes, it will NOT be an attractive sight).
Nearing your due date, your doctor will now ask you to visit regularly every week to ensure everything’s going to plan. Depending on their practice style, your doctor will also probably do an ultrasound to have a look at the baby. Regular checkups will ensure that any complication is foreseen and is dealt with causing no or minimum risks.
It is now probably a good time to start up with your birthing plan. Where do you want to give birth? Who among friends and family you want to be present there? Do you want any pain medication? Whether you’ll prefer a c-section or a vaginal delivery? Having answers to all these and other similar important questions will help you have a degree of control over your birthing process.…
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