Trends, origin guides, and inspiration for naming your baby.
The due date arrives this week. Most babies do not. A guide to the meaning of the due date, the labor signs that count, and the names that suit a meeting now imminent.
Full term arrives this week in the strict obstetric sense. ACOG defines 39 weeks as the start of full term, and elective delivery without medical indication is no longer recommended before now.
Brain and lungs are still finishing this week. Swelling becomes the symptom to watch — most of it is normal, some of it is a phone call to your provider.
The mucus plug may release this week. Amniotic fluid is thinning, the cervix is softening, and the baby is in its final position for the labor that follows.
Early term officially begins this week. Lanugo sheds, the hospital bag stops being a future task, and every car trip starts being calculated against driving distance.
The prenatal visit schedule moves to weekly this week. GBS screening is offered between weeks 35 and 37, and the baby may begin dropping toward the pelvis.
Lungs are nearly ready by now. Vernix thickens, fat fills out the cheeks and limbs, and the body finishes its outer layer of protection.
The bones harden this week, except for the skull, which stays soft so it can pass through the birth canal. The immune system begins stockpiling antibodies from the placenta.
Most babies are head-down by week 32. Blood volume peaks, Braxton-Hicks contractions become noticeable, and the picture of the third trimester clarifies.
Fat is forming faster than at any other point in the pregnancy. The kicks have become full-body somersaults, and colostrum may show up before the baby does.
Three pounds, ten weeks to go. The brain folds into its final shape this week, and the lungs are practicing breathing in regular rehearsal cycles.
By week 29 the kicks have changed character. The rolling movement of the second trimester gives way to sharper, more directed kicks. Iron and protein become the things that matter most.
Ready to find your name?
Start swiping