Pregnancy TMI.

[rivka]

Just in case I wasn't off-balance enough, emotionally, today I passed two pieces of my mucus plug. About a teaspoonful each time, tinged with a little bit of blood.

I am so not ready to leave work and give birth, I cannot even begin to tell you. Ready for the baby, yes - although I'd prefer that he wait until he's full term, which would be sometime toward the middle of next week. Ready for maternity leave? No way.

I didn't freak out until after the second time. I called my midwife's office. Her very calm and level-headed assistant told me that it's entirely normal, especially in a subsequent pregnancy, to lose pieces of the plug quite early on. It doesn't mean I'm going into labor. It just probably means that I am dilating a little more.

Whew.

I think I now have the impetus I need to really, really focus my mind on getting things done here so that I can leave when I need to. Because, yeah. One of these days it's going to be the real thing.

Comments

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

I'd prefer that he wait until he's full term, which would be sometime toward the middle of next week.

Okay, stupid "I have no children" question: is there a significant increase in development in the last seven days? And maybe I'm dealing with old, out-of-date definitions, but I had a vague idea that any newborn weighing at least 5 pounds was considered full term, regardless of the estimated due date?

In any case, good luck and all.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

"Full term" is generally considered to mean anywhere from 37-42 weeks of gestation. So my due date (40 weeks) isn't for almost a month, but Niblet will be "full term" next week, when I hit 37 weeks.

There was just a recent study that showed that, for elective C-sections, babies do much better if they're born at 39 weeks than if they're born at 37 or even 38 weeks - fewer breathing problems, shorter hospital stays, et cetera. Of course it's a different calculation when the baby is naturally born at the earlier end of term - presumably part of what triggers labor is the baby's maturity. But still, I think we're less likely to run into birth complications or feeding problems if he's fully-baked before he comes out.

And maybe I'm dealing with old, out-of-date definitions, but I had a vague idea that any newborn weighing at least 5 pounds was considered full term, regardless of the estimated due date?

You may be thinking about the difference between "preterm" and "premature." A baby can be preterm (born before 37 weeks) and yet physiologically mature - reasonably sized and all organs working properly. And that would be the most likely outcome if Niblet is born right now, although they're starting to realize that some subtle brain development happens in the last weeks or pregnancy.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

Cool! I didn't know that, about the last-minute brain development, and you're right, I was confusing pre-term and premature (or thinking they were the same thing, maybe).

[thette.livejournal.com]

37 weeks or more (but see ricevermicelli's comment below).

Good luck, rivka! Does the waiting get any easier the second time around?