Mumsnet Talk

My Birth Story

As I lie here, timing my contractions and trying to remember everything I have read about labour I thought I'd write down every symptom/feeling/pain I've had over the last few weeks to try and help and support other mummies to be. 

About 2 weeks ago I went to the toilet and lost part of my mucus plug. It was a brown colour and quite frankly freaked me out, this was followed by a full week of Painful contractions. Braxton hicks are supposed to be painful, however, mine hurt, were mainly at night and stopped after an hour or so. It was so frustrating wondering 'is this it?!' most evenings! 

A week before my due date, baby started moving a lot more, my bump went thinner (at the sides) and I could once more feel my pre-pregnancy hips and ribs. The way my bump shape changed was amazing! I also began to feel very tired and exhausted, I nested, but only because I felt my house needed cleaning before the baby and certainly not because nature told me to! I also felt baby's head 'burrowing' into my cervix which blinking hurt my pelvis. At this point I was like a woman possessed, looking for any signs of labour and constantly googling any pain or symptom! My due date came and went and I began getting very bored!

Yesterday I was losing a lot of white discharge and felt fine, went shopping and had an early night. However, when I woke up today (week 40 +4) I felt terrible. It was hard to describe to my partner but I felt tired, poorly and emotional. I had a bloody show about 10pm (like pink jelly discharge). I had a crying melt down this evening, had a bath and cuddled down into bed only for full-blown contractions to begin. When I say full blown, this is to differentiate them from BH. Whereas Braxton hicks are one level of pain, these contractions 'build up'. My upper bump gets tight, and the pain comes from the bottom of my bump right to the top. My lower back is constantly aching too. Currently, the contractions are 8mins apart (it's 01:55am). I just wanted to share this for other M2B before the fun really begins! Xx

Hey good luck!!! I am nearly 35 weeks and praying I go early.

Hope all goes well for you xx

Jealous .

I'm 42+2, and have been sat here once again with painful tightenings all night. They have been every 3 minutes for 6 hours. Yet they never get painful enough for me not to be able to cope with.

And I've had this since 37 weeks. And my cervix hasn't changed.

Naffed off isn't the word! I want your contractions . Good luck though!!!!

Good luck to you OP, and the others! Get a nice HWB for the bottom of your bump or your back. Massage of the lower back also really helped me.

You should have a nice baby in time for lunch - hooray!

Thanks ladies. Currently contractions are 6-7 mins apart and have now been happening for 4 1/2 hours. Let OH go to sleep for an hour or so and will wake him up when they are closer together. I think I'm an angel for doing this! I'm just worried if they stop he'll be shattered for work in the morning. X

Yeah - good on you. Not much happens really; you are indeed an angel to relieve him from the tedium. Hopefully they won't stop! I'm going to revise and say a tea-time baby. Get someone to bring you some nice creamy scones or something, for your post-labour snack

Good luck Lbaby. Hope all is progressing well x

First thing I looked at this morning hope things going well.

Hope everything's still going well. Looking forward to some happy baby news to brighten a gloomy Monday morning. X

rest as much as possible, both of you! I had the same long period of latent labour and still haven't recovered as with a newborn you don't get much sleep!

Good luck to everyone and their babies but The Detective I am thinking about you and hoping that your baby is on its way too. I am 40 +5, the idea of making it to 42 +2 seems unimaginable. Hang in there! It cannot possibly be long now!!!

Good luck!

Hi ladies, unfortunately not the big event we were hoping for! About 5am this morning my contractions got much less frequent and by 6am they were every 10-15 minutes. I felt like I was weeping myself though so rang labour ward who told me to come and get checked.

Midwife did an internal and said everything is thinning and waters are very close to breaking. So now I'm back at home trying to keep contractions going! X

Fingers crossed it all kicks off now

Get walking up and down the stairs! Worked for me! Good luck

Good luck!

Won't be long now - try some bouncing on a birthing ball if you have one.

Lbaby you are having my labour! Today is the day, I can tell you.

This is what happened to me - up to now story same as yours then..

Contractions on and off all day, ate lots of pineapple and in the evening I insisted on very hot Thai curry at dinner time. Ate curry, urgently needed the loo (sorry for tmi ) then contractions started again and got more intense until I went in later that night.

I'm betting you will have a lovely dc by this time tomorrow - please keep us updated.

xx

Good luck welovecouscous! It's so tiring playing the waiting game! Well, I'm pleased to report my waters are (slowly) breaking but contractions are all in my back every 8 mins. Reluctant to go back to the hospital as contractions aren't close together and don't feel I need pain relief. Is this a good decision?

Yes but you must tell the labour ward your waters are breaking. that often makes a difference to whether or not they want to see you.

You have to tell the ward your waters have broken - they'll need to know the time and might ask you to come in to get checked out.

Yes ring the hospital just so they have a record of the time the waters broke. They'll probably want to know what colour they were too! Good luck.

Welovecouscous have you had your baby?? I went in for induction at 3:30pm on Tuesday but naturally went into labour while waiting for a space on labour ward to get my waters broken. Had him at 6:23am on Wednesday morning. Little Thomas weighing a hefty 8lb 11oz! X

Lbaby congratulations! Lovely name!!
Impressive weight too and so pleased he came along naturally - yay

I think I wrote my post in a bit of a confusing way DS already here for a while, but funnily enough he also came naturally when I had already booked in for induction and then weighed just over 9lbs!

Congratulations!!

Congratulations too. Hope you are not too sore and enjoying lovely baby snuggles. xxx