Oi baby!

There are -4 days until your due date on February 17, 2008.
You are 284 days pregnant.
You are 9.3 months pregnant.
You are in your 10th month of pregnancy. (huh?)
Your 1st trimester: May 14, 2007 to August 12, 2007. (0 - 12 weeks)
Your 2nd trimester: August 13, 2007 to November 25, 2007. (13 - 27 weeks)
Your 3rd trimester: November 26, 2007 to February 18, 2008. (28 - 40 weeks)


You are definitely considered full-term now and you are probably anticipating the arrival of your newborn. The crown-to-rump length of your baby is around 15 inches and your baby is now about 21.5 inches long total. Your baby weighs about 7.5 pounds and your uterus is about 8 inches above the top of your bellybutton.

Your official due date will be sometime this week and you probably have a prenatal check up this week to check for labor progress. Try to stay calm while you are waiting for labor to begin. You should have all of your bags packed and ready to go and your birth plan should be in place. Your labor coach should know what your wishes are and you should be able to get in touch with your labor coach at all times. Use false labor contractions to practice breathing and relaxation techniques that you will use during the actual labor itself.

Your baby continues to move further down the birth canal and this is measured in stations. Station describes the degree to which the presenting part of the baby has descended into the birth canal. The 0 point is a bone landmark in the pelvis, the starting point of the birth canal. If your baby's head is at a -2 station, it means the head is higher inside of you than if your baby were at a +2 station.

After your baby is born, she will be weighed and measured. Your baby may cry loudly or she may be dazed from medications. The doctor will suction your baby's mouth and throat with an aspirator. The nurses will dry her off and place a hat on her head to help keep her warm. Security tags will be placed around her arms and ankles and your baby will be swaddled in a blanket. You will be given the chance to hold your baby right after you have delivered. Shortly after, the nurses generally take the baby to the nursery for a bath and other routine procedures. Your baby will be given Apgar scores according to her condition at 1 and 5 minutes of birth. A total of 10 points can be scored. A score of 10 is unusual and most babies receive scores of 7, 8 or 9. A baby with a low 1-minute score might need to be resuscitated and usually the 5 minute score is much higher after he has time to adjust to life outside of the uterus.