38 Weeks

Another week has gone by and no signs of labor. Went to my 38 week appointment and met with the nurse. She did the cervical exam and found that I'm now about 3cm dilated, and about 60% effaced. The cervix was soft, the baby's head was down and low, low enough that she could feel his head during her examination. The heartbeat is strong at 150 bpm.

She went over labor signs and when to call instructions and after learning that I had a rather short 1st labor (8-9 hours), she instructed me to call the office if I started to have contractions when they were 8 minutes apart, not the 5 minutes that they normally tell their patients. Since the 2nd, and subsequent labors tend to be faster than the first they wanted to be sure I made it to the hospital before giving birth. LOL. I guess I should stay close to home for the next couple of weeks. All I know is I better get to the hospital in time where I can still receive the epidural.
Your pregnancy: 38 weeks

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See the big picture

How your baby's growing:

Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)