please could you tell me what early labour feels like......?

[notsoslimnow]

hello all,as a first timer i am hoping that you ladies who have been through labour would be able to explain to me what it feels like when labour begins.is it like tummy ache/period pain to start with? and did you know what was happening or think it was something else? many thanks for any info.

[LittleMissNorty]

lets just say, you won't mistake it

My waters broke the evening before and at 2am I woke with the very first contractions.....which didn't really hurt, but were enough to wake me (were every 10 minutes) and felt like period pain.

Different people have different experiences...as I'm sure this thread will show in time

[notsoslimnow]

thanks littlemissnorty, may i ask what you did at that point? should you try to go back to bed or move about or doesnt really matter?

[LittleMissNorty]

I just stayed in bed tbh....and spent all the next day pottering around the house....in and out of the bath.....tens machine on and off....finally going to hosp at 4pm as I needed pain relief by then.....and having DD 5am next morning (26 hours later)

[LittleMissNorty]

How long have you got left?

[notsoslimnow]

i am 32 weeks now.just starting to think about what all this might actually feel like etc! midwives sort of tell you how the mechanics work but not actually how it feels.suppose id just like to check i will know when the time is coming and not assume its just bad tummy ache to start with!!!

[conkertree]

I had irregular BH for weeks before, then lots of them for about a week and a half before - would be every 5 mins or so for a hour or so - every time i wondered if it was starting.

then one night my waters broke just after getting into bed, and the contractions started properly at about the same time. everyone says you will just know - and i did - was much stronger than BH - and painful but not enough to need anything other than Tens machine at that point.

[ja9]

with ds1 i woke with crampy back just like period pains. they gradually became more and more painful and he was born that night.

with dd2 i must have slept though early labour.