How did your labour start?

[Fozza]

Show, waters break, contractions...? Any clues before that?
Just wondering if this one will be the same.
Mine was pretty standard, i think, got up in the morning and had a show. Followed by irregular contractions. Waters didn't break until I got to hospital about 12 hours later and was 5cm.

No signs yet but I have been getting wierd movements...the baby seems to be doing some sort of walking inside. Very stange but hoping s/he is trying to find the door.

[cloudcuckoo]

I don't remember having a show... 'spose I must have at some point. I woke up at 6am thinking, 'so THAT'S what a contraction feels like!', and went for a bath. So no show, waters broken for me quite a long time later, bit of a fraud really!

Do you know if the baby is engaged yet? Maybe he/she is wiggling into position? Or just run out of space to stretch his/her legs? Not long to wait, you can ask him soon what he was up to!

[hazELLEnut]

All three of them completely different. With Joe, I noticed before going to bed that my back was aching in a strange way, but didn't think much of it. Woke up 4 hours later to fairly strong contractions, mainly centred around my back - Joe was born 4 hours after that. No 'show' at all. With Jess, my contractions started very weakly and irregularly in the morning, so weakly that I thought they were just Braxton Hicks until 7pm that evening, when I decided it was time to go to hospital. Jess was born 30 minutes later. Again, no 'show'. With Thomas, contractions started just as I was going to bed. Within a couple of hours, when I had the runs badly (mmm, nice), I'd had a 'show'. Unlike with my other labours, I could feel Thomas wriggling the entire time, and he had hiccups about 40 minutes before he was born. The only thing my labours have had in common is that my waters have broken 20-30 minutes before giving birth, and that they've all been relatively short, with excrutiating pain in the second stage (with each successive child being more painful than the last).
Mae'r - I do hope your LO makes an appearance soon. I know how frustrating the waiting can be!

[BacktoSaz]

no 'show', no waters breaking (broken by the midwife about 2 mins before birth)...

woke up about 6am with vague pains, but had been having those for days...then they just gradually got stronger, but I wasn't really sure I was in labour for 3 or 4 hours.

Oh, and the baby didn't go 'quiet' before labour, which is allegedly another common sign (they are so wedged in they can't move). Luke was painfully active right up into labour started.

[bella]

DD1 - had a bit of dull backache/crampiness (like period pain) on Friday night, woke on Saturday with a show (streaked with blood so the mw said should have the baby within the week), woke on Monday with mild contractions about 6 mins apart, worked out on Monday n ight my waters might be leaking slowly, test on Tuesday morning confirmed waters leaking (hind waters had broken but not the forewaters under baby's head) still having contractions every 6-10 mins, quite strong. Finally at 5cm on Wednesday, put on syntocinon drip as waters broken for 48 hours, forewaters break at 7cm and DD1 born at 7pm on Wednesday.

DD2 - woke at 5am with the period pain style crampiness and the runs (which I had with DD1 too, sure sign things are happening). By 6am, they were still mild but every 7 mins so I woke DP to tell him and then rang my mum (she had a 2.5 hr drive to get her and was looking after DD1). By 8am I was having to really breathe through the contractions, though still less often than every 5 mins. Really wanted to get into the mw unit by 9am - I just knew I needed to be there. DD2 born before 1pm and things went MUCH faster than DD1 (though not as fast as Ellielle, blimey!). Waters didn't break until I was about to start pushing. DD2 never went quiet, was moving around between contractions and even had hiccups as I was pushing her out, I could feel the hiccups getting lower and lower, DP even felt them against his leg from where he was standing supporting me!

[bella]

I just had a thought - I was really worried about knowing whether I was in labour or not because things took so long with DD1. I remember asking my mw about it - I felt I didn't want to become the "pg woman who cried wolf" but obviously didn't want to be left with just my 15 month-old DD1 in full-blown labour with my DP an hour away and my mum 2.5 hours away My wise and lovely mw said, since I had gone into labour by myself last time (rather than a cs or induction), she thought I would "know" when it was the real thing. I didn't believe her but I really really did. I just knew to phone my mum. I just knew I needed to get to hospital. I just knew. So hopefully it will be the same for you.

[MumtoMonsters]

Felt slight tightening of the belly from about 1pm. So slight that I had to really concentrate to even feel it. Waters broke at 6pm. Mild irregular contractions until about 10pm. Strong irregular contractions until about midnight when established labour began and we called the MW out. Mim arrived eigh hours later.

S/he'll be along just as soon as s/he's ready - think of it as Baby Led Birthing!

[Jelly Belly]

A small show on the Monday followed by three hours of strong regular (20 mins apart) contractions on the Wednesday. I unpacked BIL's kitchen boxes when he moved house on the Friday, then went for meal with Mr JB. Just before 3am strong contractions started again and continued at 20 minute intervals for about 14 hours. Eventually things sped up and we called the midwife out. Waters broke at the back somewhere around transition and baby appeared (after 2 hours of pushing) just before 3am - 25 hours after first contractions because the clocks changed!

I didn't call my mum on the Wednesday but did call her as soon as it was a reasonable hour on the Saturday to let her know she'd be needed - my mum was booked to look after Mr JB (tea, food and company when it all got a bit boring) so he could focus his energy on me.

[blackberrycrumble]

Waters started leaking tiny amounts on the Friday lunchtime (while baking in the kitchen). Very little so didn't really believe anything was happening. Went out in the pm to meet up with my NCT group and then on for a curry (I had to tell them after that no, it wasn't the curry, it had all started a bit earlier!). On Saturday morning thought we'd get out and do a few things in case something was happening. Waters started going much more at the local farmers market, then went to babies r us which obviously disturbed Fluff as I had to make a hasty exit before I flooded the place. Went into hospital Saturday lunchtimeish to have it confirmed that waters broken (no sh*t). Having mild contractions by this point. Sent home and told to return on Sunday morning for induction. By Sunday first thing, contractions were about 3 mins apart so headed into hospital anyway, only 1cm dilated but couldn't go home as waters had gone over 24 hours before, so stuck in a side room at the hospital as they got too busy to induce. After another 10 hours, only 2 cm dilated, was going a bit mental, given oxytocin to speed it up alongside pethidine, at which point I have a blank of about 3 hours of my life. Epidural woke me up, dural tap meant I couldn't feel a thing (as I'd basically had a spinal), but miraculously managed to know when to push and Fluff born in about 20 mins, at 11.20pm on the Sunday.

I've been told it won't take that long this time... Am really really hoping that is right!

baby appeared

I love that saying. Like they just appear...

[Fullhouse]

Mine started with contractions, the day before what I thought was my due date (the day after the scan due date). I'd been into town to do some shopping,a nd was walking abck up the hill to my house with a load of vegetables and cheese. Felt the tightenings, and assumed they were Braxton hicks to begin with, but realised that actually they were too regular for that. Phoned DH to warn him - he was out at lunch with clients, who then mercilessly took the p*** all afternoon!

Nothing much happened really, but by midnight things were very regular, so called midwife unit and was all set to go in when all of a sudden everything slowed down again. That pattern carried on until about 4.30pm the next day (my due date) until my waters went when I was sat on the toilet! Went to MW unit, transferred back to main hospital, M born at 7.30 that evening.

[Kafrin]

Wolfie - Waters broke at midnight. Called the ward and was asked to go in to get checked out, no proper contractions so they booked me in for an induction in the morning. On my way out contractions started in the car park. Kept quiet as I really wanted to go home. At home had a bath and did loads of hypnobirthing chilling in bed. Had a show about 6 and immediatly wanted to push. Hospital didn't believe me but told me to come in if it was going to make me feel better!! Arrived only for them to realise that I was fully dilated, wasn't even allowed to walk to my room - pah. Wolfie was born at 7.43am.

Wolfie 2 well you know fast and furious on the living room floor with hubby in attendance. Show - and literally pushing straight after - done within 30 mins. (after very irregular/ light contractions all day)

Good luck and hope its a fast one..

[elmtree]

Had a sort of a show at midday (wasn't really sure if that was it or not!) then waters literally popped (sounded like a balloon popping!) at midnight and contractions started 30 mins later - they were 8 mins apart, then 6 then 4!! But baby didn't arrive until 09.50 next morning - I'd say almost constant contractions from around 6 - or so it seemed!

[3KiwiChicks]

I started with contractions then my waters started slowly leaking for the rest of the labor. I guess I had a show at some point, but dont remember that.

[ToothFairy]

With Martha I went in to be induced at 14 days over, they put me on a monitor and said 'you're contracting', did an internal and found I was 3cm. I was sent home with instructions to ring 'when it starts to hurt, or in the morning'. Next morning I was still fine, eventually went in that evening, Martha was born at 2.31am the next day.

With Dylan I had a bit of a show (although I'd had three sweeps by this point, so it wasn't unexpected), twinges started about 8pm, by about 10.30 I thought I should call the midwife. My waters broke at 2.04 am, Dilly arrived at 2.05 am. With hindsight, I think maybe I should have had my waters broken earlier, as it was pretty painful - then again the only pain relief I used was my birthing pool, so it can't have been that bad!

First labour probably about 36 hours, second one only about 6 (in my notes it said 2 hrs 45 active labour). Second babies do seem to come quicker.

[monster]

My waters broke in bed (more leaky than gushy, iykwim) and then had a show. Contractions started within half an hour, started off at 15mins apart. Had no signs of labour before waters broke, baby wasn't even engaged.