Throughtout this month your body will continue to amaze you with all kinds of unexpected changes. This week you should be visiting your doctor or midwife to find out if your cervix has started dilating yet. Dilating or effacing is when the cervix opens and thins in preparation for childbirth.
With the birth only a few weeks (or days, or hours!) away, you should look into finding a pediatrician or family doctor. Talk with your own health care provider(s) as well as family and friends to see if they have any recommendations. Schedule an appointment to visit them, and be sure to pepper them with a lot of questions.
Here are a few things to ask them about: policies regarding after hour phone calls, policies for scheduling and canceling appointments, nurse lines, and immunizations. It's essential you choose someone you like, who is close to your home. Chances are you're going to be somewhat of an emotional basketcase in the first months of motherhood, so pick someone you will be comfortable pouring your heart out to.
That incredible growing child continues to put on weight at about ½ pound each week. This week, he probably weighs around 6 pounds. This layer of fat will help your baby regulate his body temperature after exiting your climate-controlled body. In fact, that kid will be around 15% fat at birth (and you ... well that's another story altogether).
Your baby has definite patterns of sleep and wakefulness—opening their eyes while awake and closing them while sleeping. Your baby will become alert and turn his head toward light and sound just as a newborn would.
You're so close to becoming a mother. For real.
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