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Suggested reading: Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age 5, Penelope Leach. Suggested viewing: Buns & Abs of Steel 9 - Post Pregnancy Workout
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Research baby-related products carefully: If you're planning to breastfeed, begin looking into which pump might best suit your needs.
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Go home! It's time to rest at home and prepare for birth: take it easy -- you have a lot of work ahead.
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4
Pack your suitcase! Even if planning a home birth, pack a few essentials in case of transport.
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Bloody show (mucous plug - which is thick mucous) may occur any time now. Labor may not be imminent, but it is normal and due to changes in the cervix.
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36 wks gestation
38 wks from Last Menstrual Period
Length: 34 cm crown to rump (47.5 cm or 18 1/2 inches head to toe). Weight: 2900 gms or about 6 1/2 lbs.
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Baby is fairly plump now. Talk about your expectations of family.
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Lanugo hair mostly gone except tops of shoulders and back.
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Rest, rest, rest! You'll appreciate why in a couple of weeks. If you're using a diaper service, call them to arrange for service.
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Toenails reach tips of toes; limbs are held flexed. Think about labor as a process of letting go of control.
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11
Plan events/tasks for siblings so they share the joy of a new baby. Siblings board.
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Prepare a list of phone numbers - emergency numbers as well as family/friends to call with your news.
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37 wks gestation
39 wks from Last Menstrual Period
Length: about 35 cm crown to rump (48.5 cm or 19 inches head to toe). Weight: about 3150 gms or 7 lbs. (but could be 1-3 pounds larger).
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Vernix mostly gone now. Heel creases present - a sign of fetal maturity.
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Only five percent of babies are born on their due date so birth could happen any time.
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Note any passing of fluid; notify your provider immediately (don't wait until morning or take a shower first).
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Rest! When labor starts, you may be up for 24-48 hours. Frequent trips to the bathroom and discomfort make sleeping difficult.
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18
Levels of amniotic fluid have stabilized. It's exciting. Feel good and be proud of yourself.
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Your baby may be deep in pelvis making breathing easier. Labor may have begun.
| 20
You have now completed 38 wks gestation
40 wks from Last Menstrual Period!
Length: about 20-21 inches from head to toe. Weight: about 7 1/2 lbs.
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Baby may even wait up to 2 more weeks to come out.
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The umbilical cord is 20-inches and will support baby through birth until the lungs take over.
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Testes are in scrotum, labia well developed. Here's how to know if you are really in labor.
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Fingernails extend beyond fingertips. Consider if you want to use postpartum birth control.
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25
Total maternal weight gain is about 24-35 lbs. It's so hard to wait!
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Worried how daddy's presence in the delivery room may affect your sex life?
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39 wks gestation
41 wks from Last Menstrual Period
Weight: 3600 gms+ or 7 1/2 - 8 lbs.
| 28
Heel creases extend to heel of foot; vernix absent and baby could scratch himself. Here are some foods to fight water retention.
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The amniotic fluid level adequate but volume declining. Baby's skin is wrinkling. Make sure you have what you need to give the baby a bath.
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If you've given birth, CONGRATULATIONS! Rest and keep a sense of humor. Parenting is hard but fun.
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Read about prevention of SIDS. Avoid plastic mattresses or covers, put baby to sleep on his back and don't smoke near baby.
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