Week 39 of Pregnancy (Trimester 3 of Preganancy)

AJ and I still haven’t agreed on the arrangements for who will look after Rosie when I go into labour. He would like to avoid imposing on friends and neighbours, by asking his mother to come and stay. In principle this is fine, but I want only me, AJ, Rosie and the new baby to come home together to start our new family life. AJ disagrees with this (he feels it would be shutting his mother out), and for the moment we have not discussed it any further, as Liz is away on holiday and so wouldn’t be able to help if baby arrived now anyway.

I have been looking out for the telltale signs of labour: waters breaking, regular contractions, a ‘show’ from the loosening of the mucus plug in the cervix, persistent backache. Actually, to be totally honest I have been trying some old wives tales out for natural induction, too. There are lots of suggestions on the internet, but I decided to go for the milder ones: drinking an infusion of Rapberry Leaf tea up to 4 times a day, taking a hot bath, eating a whole pineapple and going for long, brisk walks each day that I don’t go swimming.

Warning: old wives tales are just that – and some can be quite dangerous too, so always check with your midwife before trying any out.

Feotal growth is slowing right down, and there is very little room for him to move in the uterus. His organs are now fully functional ready for birth. A greeny-black, sticky substance called meconium has built up in his intestinal tract which will form the first few bowel movements after he is born. Meconium is basically made up of waste materials excreted from the baby’s alimentary gland as well as bile pigment, mixed with cells from the bowel wall and some lanugo obtained from swallowing amniotic fluid.