Chorevia

Day 282 · 2 days past your due date

Still counting

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 6 sources · Plain-text version

Two days past your due date. The one check you can do at home, every day until the birth: how your baby moves, and what to do if it changes.

Size this week
about the size of a pumpkin
Length this week
around 51.2 cm from head to heel
A Black woman with a full bump lying on her side on a sofa under a knitted blanket, one hand resting on her belly, a notebook and pen beside her, soft afternoon light.

Two days past your due date. There isn't much you can do to hurry a baby, but there is one thing you can check yourself, at home, every day: how your baby moves.

Your baby

A single orange pumpkin on a plain pale wooden table, soft window light.

Your baby is around 51.2cm long from head to heel now, about the size of a pumpkin, and quite squashed in the womb (NHS). Squashed doesn't mean still. The NHS is clear that movements should not slow down or stop at this stage, and that if they do, something may be wrong (NHS).

What counts is your own baby's pattern. The CDC says there is no specific number of movements considered normal; a change in movement is what matters (CDC).

Your body

The Office on Women's Health describes the count most women use from 28 weeks: most women feel 10 movements in about 20 minutes (OWH). If you count fewer than 10 movements within two hours, call your doctor (OWH).

MedlinePlus adds a step for a quiet spell: if your baby's movement suddenly decreases, eat a snack and lie down for a few minutes; if it is still low, call your doctor or midwife (MedlinePlus). Your visits are weekly by now; they go weekly from week 36 until the birth (OWH), but the count happens in between, at home.

Try today

  1. The daily-kick ritual

    Time: 20 minutes, once a day

    1. Pick the same time every day, ideally a time your baby is usually busy.

    2. Settle somewhere comfortable, a hand on your bump, and count each movement until you reach 10.

    3. Write the date and how long it took on one line in your notes.

    4. If you count fewer than 10 within two hours, call your provider (OWH).

    Make it work:

    Keep going every day until the birth. The column of times tells you your baby's pattern, and a change from that pattern is what the CDC says matters (CDC).

Watch for

  • Normal

    a count that reaches 10 well inside two hours.

    Call your provider

    if you count fewer than 10 within two hours (OWH).

  • Normal

    a quiet spell that ends after a snack and a few minutes lying down.

    Call your provider

    if movement suddenly decreases and is still low after that (MedlinePlus).

  • Normal

    a baby with less room who still moves in their own pattern.

    Call your provider

    right away, day or night, if movement stops or slows; the CDC lists this as an urgent warning sign that needs care immediately (CDC).

  • Normal

    a dull headache now and then.

    Call your provider

    for headaches, vision changes, or blind spots (MedlinePlus).

For you

Counting can turn into watching all day. If it does, give yourself the one daily count and then put the notebook down. The AAP says anxiety during and after pregnancy is as common as depression, and that it can be treated if you seek help (AAP). Say it at your next visit if the worry won't settle.

If you're the partner: you can't feel the kicks from the outside the way she does, but you can keep the time, hold the notebook, and know that calling is never an overreaction. Put the maternity unit's number in your phone tonight.

If your baby arrives, this series is done: their notes start at your first month, from the first day.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your due date to a free Chorevia household, and every morning until the birth the day's note arrives in the app and by email: what's forming, what your body is doing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

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