Your baby is officially baked this week! That means you could literally give birth at any given moment. A terrifying, exciting and overwhelming concept, all rolled into one. Your partner is undoubtedly having the same emotional roller-coaster ride, so be sure to share your feelings and enjoy these last weeks (days?! hours?!) together.
Your Body
After this week, you may lose the mucous plug that sealed off your uterus from infection. The mucous plug can be lost a few weeks, days, or hours before labor and is thick, yellowish, and may be tinged with blood (the mucous plug is also called bloody show). As the cervix dilates in preparation for the labor, the plug is discharged from the body. Be sure to speak with your health care provider about any discharge you may be having.
You made it! Your baby is considered full term at the end of this week. So kick your swollen feet up and swig back a glass of lemonade. All that hard work has finally paid off!
At your checkup this week, your doctor or midwife may do an internal exam to see how things are progressing. We're not gonna lie to you, an "internal" can hurt like hooey. But hey, it ain't labor! While she's in there, your practitioner will check three things: dilation (how open your cervix is), ripeness (how soft your cervix is) and effacement (how thin your cervix is). For baby to come on out, the cervix must be open to 10 centimeters, as soft as the skin on the inside of your mouth and 100 percent effaced.
It's normal to have some brownish spotting after an internal exam or a little wham-bam, but if you notice any bright red discharge or consistent spotting, call your doc or midwife immediately. Also, as your mucus plug preps to dislodge itself, you may also find an increase in gooey discharge "down there" these last few weeks. Just what you wanted to hear, right?
Your Baby
This week, your baby is considered full-term! But your baby hasn't stopped growing yet. He or she continues to develop fat at the rate of half an ounce (14 grams) a day. In general, boys weigh more than girls at birth.
Your baby has developed enough coordination to grasp with the fingers. If shown a bright light, your baby may turn toward it in your uterus.
Huge news this week: You're carrying a full-term baby! If you were to go into labor today, all systems would be a go. Woohoo! Even though you can't wait for the little bambino to quite literally rear his head, keep in mind that your bun benefits from every day in the oven. Other ticker-tape-worthy developments:
Baby's growth slows down dramatically this week, which is great news for your birth canal. His bones are still soft and pliable and will solidify after he's born. More great news for your birth canal.
So if he's all cooked and ready to go, what the heck is he still doing in there?! He's busy practicing for "life on the outside," working on his breathing, sucking, sleeping, gazing and peeing abilities. The only thing he can't practice yet is his ability to scream at the top of his lungs when he's hungry—but he'll do plenty of that in a few weeks.
At this point babies vary in size, but the average length is between 19 and 20 inches and most babies weigh approximately 6 pounds. About the size of an average largemouth bass caught in Minnesota by your cousin Earl.
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