37 Weeks

I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced from week 37 on and had to be induced because of high blood pressure 4 days before his due date. I went to the hospital at 4 cm dilated, but still no baby. I hope yours comes faster for you though...I know how hard the waiting game can be!

I was 2 cm at 35 weeks, 4 cm at 36 weeks and at 36 weeks 5 days started having contractions. After an hour of having them 5 mins apart, I went to the hospital and had my son within 20 mins of being there. Good luck, it could be happening soon!!!

i dilated to 5cm, 90% effaced for TEN WEEKS lol! it's not uncommon to be dilated a few cm and quite effaced for a few weeks with a non-first pregnancy. until you are contracting regularly, there's no way to tell. could be tonight, you could go past your due date. hang in there!

btw, your plug will regenerate, it's just a big glob of mucus, once it falls out, it begins to "regrow".

I was about 35 weeks when I lost my mucus plug. I had some small irregular contractions and when I went in to see my midwife, I was dilated to a 1. I went in when I was 38 wk to get my weekly checkup and told my midwife that I was having irregular contracts for the past few weeks. She checked me and I was dilated to a 3. When I was pregnant with my son, I was dilated to a 3 for 3 weeks. So I didn't think much about it, but later that day I started contracting. I had my daughter that evening. Way different from my son. I was 1 week late with him. With my daughter, I was 2 weeks early. :D Congrats on your pregnancy!

I'm 35 weeks with my second. I've got the contractions - not consistently but sometimes as close at every 7 minutes, sharp shooting pains, leaking breasts since 31 weeks. Don't know about the dialating and effaced yet - will do a check next week.

I was dialated to a 2 and 50% effaced at the end of Feb with my first and he didn't come until 4/11! That was after induction! Have you lost your plug yet? If not, just hang in there - babies come when they are ready:)

Congrats on your third! C.

J.,
Congrats! You're in the home stretch for sure, but sadly there's no way to know if you'll have your baby tomorrow or in a couple more weeks. Women can be 2 centimeters dilated for weeks before going into labor. Same with the mucus plug. They are both signs that your body is getting ready for labor, but they don't have a definitive time limit attached. On another note, sharp shooting pain is not normal. Without more of a description from you, it would be hard to know what is going on with that, but you should call your doctor or midwife because sharp abdominal pains can be a warning sign of placental problems.
If you want to ease your contractions while you wait for real labor to begin, drink lots of water (there's a formula for how much water to drink, you take half of your weight and drink that much in ounces every day). Your uterus will contract more if you are dehydrated, so if you drink plenty of water your contractions will ease or go away completely (unless you really are in labor, in which case they will get longer, stronger and closer together until you have your baby!)

It won't be long, probably at most 3-5 days. Be sure to contact your ob's office and let them know what's happening, especially seeing as you have lost the plug. Have your bag packed, your sitters on standby and your husband on his electronic leash so you can get him in very short notice.

I wish you a very happy and healthy delivery and baby!!!