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. APGAR SCORE:
*Heart rate of baby-If your baby does not have a heart rate a score of 0 is given. If the baby's heart rate is less than 100 bpm, a score of 1 is given. If the heart rate is over 100 bpm, a score of 2 is given.
*Respiratory effort of the baby- If your baby is not breathing, a score of 0 is given. If breathing is slow and irregular, a score of 1 is recorded. If your baby is crying and breathing well, a score of 2 is recorded.
*Baby's muscle tone-If your baby's arms and legs are limp and flabby, the score is 0. If some movement is observed and the arms and legs bend a little, a score of 1 is recorded. A score of 2 is given to babies that are active and moving.
*Reflex irritability of the baby-If your baby does not respond to stimulus, a score of 0 is given. If there is a small reflex when the baby is stimulated, a score of 1 is recorded. If your baby responds vigorously when stimulated, 2 points are given.
*Baby's color- If your baby is blue or pale, a score of 0 is given. A score of 1 is given if your baby's body is pink and the arms and legs are blue. If your baby's entire body is pink, a score of 2 is recorded.
At the time of birth, the baby has a total of 300 bones. Some bones will fuse together later, which is why an adult has only 206 bones.
