Chorevia

Day 290 · 10 days past your due date

The family pool

Last reviewed · 2 min read · 4 sources · Plain-text version

Ten days past your due date. Turn the 'any news?' messages into a game: everyone guesses the day and the weight, and the waiting belongs to everyone.

Size this week
around 3 to 4 kg
Weight this week
around 3 to 4 kg
A woman with a full bump in a loose knit dress laughs at a dinner table with her partner, her mother, and a teenage nephew, all writing guesses on folded slips of paper, warm evening light.

Ten days past your due date. The people who love you are waiting too, and asking. Today you give them something to do with the waiting other than ask.

Your baby

The average baby is now around 3 to 4kg (NHS). The NHS admits it "cannot be too precise," and suggests you imagine a small pumpkin or a watermelon (NHS). In US units, babies at birth typically weigh 6 pounds 2 ounces to 9 pounds 2 ounces (OWH). That's a wide range, which is what makes the game fun.

Your body

Keep moving, gently. The NHS's list for 41 weeks still includes pelvic floor exercises and staying active, building up to 150 minutes a week and starting with 10 minutes a day if that's what you can manage (NHS). A short walk counts. Anything more than you were already doing is a question for your provider.

You may notice a white, milky discharge and light spotting around now; the NHS says to seek medical advice for any bleeding (NHS).

Try today

  1. The weight-and-date pool

    Time: 10 minutes

    1. Send one message to the people who keep asking: guess the day, the time, and the weight.

    2. Give them the range so the guesses are sensible: the NHS's average is around 3 to 4kg (NHS), or 6 pounds 2 ounces to 9 pounds 2 ounces (OWH).

    3. Write the guesses on one page, or let a partner or a child keep the list.

    4. Agree the prize now: the winner brings the first meal after the birth.

    Make it work:

    Make one rule: no one guesses out loud at you. The pool replaces the "any news?" messages; it doesn't add to them.

Watch for

  • Normal

    a white, milky discharge, which is on the NHS's list for this week.

    Call your provider

    for any bleeding, which the NHS says needs medical advice (NHS).

  • Normal

    both feet a bit puffy at the end of the day.

    Call your provider

    now for severe swelling, redness, or pain in one leg or arm; the CDC lists it as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

  • Normal

    feeling a bit unsteady as your balance shifts.

    Call your provider

    now for dizziness or fainting (CDC).

For you

Waiting is lonelier than it looks. Inviting your family into the pool is a way of saying "we're in this together" without having to explain how you feel every day. If you have an older child, give them a job in it; the AAP suggests giving school-aged children a role with the new baby (AAP). Keeping the list is a good first one.

If you're the partner: you're the pool's host. Collect the guesses, keep the page, and be the one who answers the follow-up texts.

When your baby arrives, announce the winner, and turn to their notes at your first month, starting with their 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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