I have had twinges since Thursday - irregular. Saturday was getting quite regular. Last night about 10.30 started irregular but more frequent, not too uncomfortable. I decided to try and get some sleep. Checked all the bags were ready etc first. Then woke up at 3.15 am with painful contractions lasting 1 minute, every 3 minutes. I had a bath - still going. Then I lay down for a bit as I was really tired (sitting was just not working out - only standing/squating seemed to be bearable).

Then I fell asleep and woke up at 7.20am, all but gone, just the occasional twinge all day.

Today is my due date, had a vaginal examination and the cervix is still far back, thick and only 1cm!

Anyone any idea what is going on? This is killing me - the longer it is going on, the more scared I am that I will be too tired to 'do' labour!

BTW, This evening, back to the regular quite painful contractions - but I can bear to sit on the birthing ball tonight.

I realise this is mainly just a moan - feeling very sorry for myself- and impatient!!

I have 2 other children BTW, but was induced for both, so I am a novice to this natural onset of labour thing. I didn't have anything like this either time before though - and this pregnancy I have had tonnes of braxton hicks and movements of the baby have often been sore inside the uterus and then later in pregnancy on the cervix itself - a stretching feeling, that I can only relate to the dilating feeling.

I had similar troubles. It was recommended (by a midwife friend) that an orgasm might help get things going!

Hmm, will talk to DH about that.

did it work then?

Could be a long latent phase, unfortunately for you.

Go have some fun with your DH and try and not worry about it. You'll surely have your baby by Friday morning

potpourri - you have my sympathy - this happened to me first time round - days of on-off contractions, sometimes every 8-10 minutes, powerful enough to keep me awake two nights in a row and even had me throwing up at a couple of points, but the midwives kept saying "you're not in labour" because I wasn't yet 3cm. Horrid.

All I can say is - sleep whenever you get a chance, and if you can't sleep, just lie down, and rest between contractions.

And by all means try sex and some nipple twiddling to get things moving along!!

Fingers crossed you get to meet your baby really soon.

Have to admit that that's how I got into those early stages and my waters broke just after we'd been ... well ... you know! Didn't actually try again to make labour progress - too scared about introducing infection by then.

Right, thanks chicks. Has made me feel a bit better, it's so frustrating!!

Good luck - hope all goes well and soon!

Also hold onto this fact 'the more practice, the less hold ups'.

Lots of braxton hicks and practice goes at labour, when it really kicks off, it should be plain sailing