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Day 293 · 13 days past your due date

Day one, previewed

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 8 sources · Plain-text version

Thirteen days past your due date. Tonight you read your baby's first day together, so the first minutes after the birth feel familiar.

Size this week
around 3 to 4 kg
Weight this week
around 3 to 4 kg
A woman with a full bump in pyjamas and her partner lie propped on pillows in bed reading one printed page together by a bedside lamp, a packed bag visible by the door.

Thirteen days past your due date. Whether your labour starts tonight or you're induced in the next day or two, the next note you read may be your baby's. Tonight you read the first one early.

Your baby

The average baby is now around 3 to 4kg (NHS). The NHS describes the first minutes plainly. Your baby may take a few seconds to cry or splutter, and their breathing may be fast and then slow, with gaps of up to 5 seconds, while they learn (NHS). Within a minute of birth, and again at 5 minutes, the Apgar check looks at heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, responsiveness, and skin colour (NHS).

Your body

MedlinePlus says that between 41 and 42 weeks your provider will likely want to induce labor (MedlinePlus). If you have a date, it may already be on the calendar.

A few things about the days after are worth knowing ahead. Breast milk typically comes in three to six days after delivery (OWH). Bleeding after birth starts heavy and bright red, then gets lighter until it stops after a few weeks (OWH). The womb takes about 6 weeks to return to its pre-pregnancy size (NHS).

Try today

  1. The day-one preview

    Time: 15 minutes, tonight

    1. Open your first month and read day 1 aloud, one of you reading, one listening.

    2. Each of you picks one thing from it to remember in the first hour.

    3. Tell each other what you picked, so there are two of you holding it.

    4. Put your phone, charger, and the bag by the door, and go to sleep.

    Make it work:

    Don't read ahead past day 1. The rest of the month will come one morning at a time.

Watch for

  • Normal

    feeling hot, which is on the NHS's list for 41 weeks (NHS).

    Call your provider

    now for a fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, which the CDC lists as an urgent warning sign (CDC).

  • Normal

    no sign of your waters yet.

    Call your provider

    as soon as you can for bleeding or for fluid leaking from the vagina (OWH).

  • Normal

    a baby who still moves in their usual pattern.

    Call your provider

    right away for decreased movement (MedlinePlus).

For you

If there are other children at home, tonight is the night to check the plan for them. The AAP's list for the last weeks includes arranging care for other children during the hospital stay, and keeping a list of names to call in case things change (AAP). Text the first name on it: "Could be any day now."

If you're the partner: the Apgar check happens around you in the first minute and again at 5 (NHS). Now that you know what it is, you can watch your baby instead of the room.

If your baby arrives tonight, you've already started: their notes are at your first month, and you've read the first one.

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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