38 Weeks - Lets Have a Baby!

We are anxiously awaiting for Gavin's arrival! Last Wednesday, we thought that my water broke so we prepared ourselves and thought we were going to have a baby! Turns out the RN thinks it was my mucus plug because I was also bleeding. She did share with us that I am one centimeter dialated and 50% effaced. Which means my body is in early labor.

It has been so hard to just sit here and wait...I really don't know how much longer I can wait! It is also frustrating because every little change with my body I wonder if it something I should be alarmed about or just let it go. I have been getting some headaches over the last several days, back pain and Braxton hicks contractions have increased. I saw my OBGYN on Thursday and he confirmed with what the hospital said, but thought I was closer to 75% effaced. He wants to see me on Monday and have an ultrasound done to make sure everything is ok. Gavin's signs are great and he seems to be thriving inside my tummy.

The process of labor and birth is divided into three stages:

The first stage begins with the onset of contractions that cause progressive changes in your cervix and ends when your cervix is fully dilated. This stage is divided into two phases: early (or latent) and active labor. During early labor, your cervix gradually effaces (thins out) and dilates (opens).

Though you may not be able to discern changes in your cervix, your doctor will begin monitoring it in the last few weeks of pregnancy. Some women will remain undilated up until the onset of true labor, while some will begin dilating several weeks before labor even begins. Although dilation is one of the most important labor symptoms, it will not give you any guarantee that labor will begin soon. Typically, the cervix will begin effacing (thinning), softening and dilating (opening) several days to weeks before labor.

As the cervix continues to soften and dilate, many women will experience the loss of their mucous plug in what is often referred to as the "bloody show." The mucous plug, which sealed the cervix throughout the pregnancy, may be passed as a clump, or over several days, indicated by an increase in mucous discharge. As the cervix dilates, blood vessels break and may tinge the mucous plug brown, pink or red. Passing the mucous plug is typically a sign that labor is imminent in the next few hours or days.

During active labor, your cervix begins to dilate more rapidly and contractions are longer, stronger, and closer together. People often refer to the last part of active labor as "transition."

The second stage of labor begins once you're fully dilated and ends with the birth of your baby. This is sometimes referred to as the "pushing" stage.

The third and final stage begins right after the birth of your baby and ends with the separation and subsequent delivery of the placenta.