What on earth is going on? Have my waters broken? Please help me (poss TMI)

[Anglepoise]

Morning ladies. Looking for any advice/experience of waters breaking. I'm currently 41+3 and staring down the barrel of an induction, booked for Saturday morning (originally booked for a home water birth, so hoping to avoid being induced). At antenatal appt yesterday I was 50% effaced, 1 cm dilated (after sweep last week), cervix neither really favourable nor unfavourable.

Had second sweep yesterday and partook of a variety of methods of natural induction last night and this morning (none of which has done anything whatsoever in the past ten days).

This morning at around 7 am I was indulging in some nipple stimulation (my poor nips, incidentally, being worn almost to nubbins) when this suddenly produced two short gushes of liquid which soaked my pants through. I thought my waters had gone, so ran to the loo, but it didn't seem at all like any descriptions of waters I've read but more like very very watery ordinary CM - opaque and creamyish rather than clear/straw-coloured and smells like normal CM not sweetish. I also had a little of this yesterday, like CM but watery enough to run down my legs (I am so sorry). Changed my knickers and put a pad in but have had nothing else since. Further nipple stimulation produced the first thing approaching a real contraction I have yet experienced, then I eventually fell asleep again Nothing since. Oh, did also do a very loose poo but that is not particularly unusual in the last couple of days.

Does anyone have any idea what my body is up to? And is there anything I should be doing other than hanging around the house feeling vaguely crampy and out of sorts? Any advice welcome - TIA.

[belcantwait]

it sounds like things might be starting to happen. i am not an expert by any means but didnt want you to go unanswered. someone helpful will be along in a minute. its all exciting tho. good luck! will check back for progress

[Anglepoise]

Thanks Thing is it all happened about three hours ago and not much since! I'm more or less convinced that this baby is never going to come out!

Might do some walking and squatting as advised in a different thread and then go play with my nipples some more - poor beleaguered things.

[belcantwait]

oh god i remeber ebng unsure whethe my waters had gone and being sent to del suite in a painc and i just had really bad thrush

[Ebb]

Ooo there's another thread in pregnancy about the same thing. My waters went a bit like yours but I wasn't having contractions so rang the maternity unit and was told to come in for a trace to make sure baby wasn't distressed. Trace actually showed I was having pretty frequent contractions - I just couldn't feel them...... Baby was fine so I was sent back home and told to come back in 72 hours if I hadn't naturally gone into labour. Needless to say painful contractions started as soon as I got home so was back at hospital a few hours later having Ds. Good luck!

[debzmb62]

i,d ring the midwife for sure ,by the sound of it baby will be here soon !

[Hassled]

I'd say you're well on the way - with DS3 contractions didn't start properly for several hours after my waters broke. Keep moving around and upright.

[carmenelectra]

Hello

Could be just heavy discharge but probably not if it actually ran down your legs!

Ring the hospital and tell them what happeneed and they will do a speculum to see if waters have gone. May just be a hindwater leak if there is nothing coming out now. Walk around loads in the meantime. May be the start of things but probably very early days yet. Keep your pad on all day.

[Anglepoise]

Thanks all - just had another little gush and called the hospital. I'm spending way too much of today sniffing my knickers (though still not "sweet-smelling"). Have an appointment at the antenatal clinic for 2 pm, so hope that it's not just discharge or I'll be properly embarrassed!

After suffering from insomnia for days, suddenly all I want to do is sleep!

[ajm200]

Good luck... sounds promising. Try to keep active to help baby move down and maybe this is it.

[TeaTime]

On my due day I was standing washing up when suddenly liquid was leaking down my leg - was convinced my waters had broken and rushed off to hospital but when I got there - nothing at all. I was almost told off 'Just because you're due today doesn't mean you'll have the baby straightaway'. Probably the baby nudged my bladder and it was wee. Very embarrassing. Ds finally came 6 days later. You seem much more aware of your bodily fluids than I was so good luck - hope it's what you want it to be!

[Anglepoise]

Whoo! Waters have gone - all I need now are some contractions

[belcantwait]

yippee! how exciting. good luck, keep us posted on what happens

[geraldinetheluckygoat]

exciting! Mine went like yours with my first, second was full on gush! GOOD LUCK!!!!

[MerlinsBeard]

oh how exciting! Was going to say that my waters didn't smell sweet at all with ds3! (nor were they straw coloured as he had already poo-ed-thankfully he was on his way out!)

[Anglepoise]

Yeah, it's our first, so it's all a bit disconcerting!

Walked to the corner shop (to snack up on provisions to get us and the MWs through the small hours!) but I've got one really fat fluid-retaining foot and it's quite painful, so I'm now bouncing on my ball instead and hoping that will help.

They'll still induce me if I don't start contractions naturally before Saturday morning, but as long as things start to happen before then we might still get our home birth and it's just so nice to know that things are actually happening!

[ajm200]

Anglepoise, If you have any massage oil with lavender of clary sage, you could try rubbing some into your tummy. Both are supposed to stimulate/strenghen contractions but clary sage does smell distinctive.

[rusmum]

good luck

[Anglepoise]

Thanks for the well wishes

Have just rubbed a second lot of clary sage into my bump but might try lavender if that's supposed to help too, as it does smell quite a lot nicer! Been twiddling my nipples for an hour too - not really sure what to do with myself tbh ...

[Pushpinia]

I'd spare the nips so they aren't too sore when you're trying to feed

This is so exciting!!!