Is my wife in early labour?

[morrison1976]

From 8pm until 9pm my wife felt Pain 4 times, they lasted about 30 seconds each. Then 9 till 10, there was nothing. Then 10 until 11, it was every 10 mins, but the last 20 mins of that hour, there was nothing. From 11pm its every 7 mins until 12. From 12, its every five mins. She said its like period pain, but she is not in agony. We rang up the midwife and she said if it becomes 2 mins apart, then we should ring up again.

This is our first, so we are not quite sure if this is the begining of labour. She told my wife to take a Paracetamol and bath for pain relief, but the pain is not that bad.

There are no signs of her waters breaking, or no other mucus discharge.

Hope your not all in bed :(

[morrison1976]

I forgot to say. My wife is 39 weeks and her due date is this tues. If she has not had the baby by then, then she has to go in on wed to get induced. The reason for this is my wife had had problems with the pregnancy.

[essexmumma]

Congrats!! Absolutely could be the start but it can take a long time so as hard as it is, sit tight and get your wife to rest as she will need all of her energy.

Good luck and keep us posted

[diddygirl]

It could be the start of things. The waters don't need to have gone for labour to start. She is best trying to get some sleep. As labour advances the pains get stronger and she'll know about it and won't be able to sleep through them. If this happens in the night, time the contractions and get in touch with the midwife if they are 2 mins apart. Best trying to get some sleep now if she's not struggling so that if they do come on in the night, at least she'll have had some rest.

Good luck!!

[Imnotaslimjim]

It sounds like things are moving in the right direction. My best advice for her would be to get some sleep, as she will need to be rested. And no stress - the stress hormones actively stop labour so they baby isn't born into a dangerous time (stems from us living in caves) keep everything nice and calm for her

Plenty of food and fluids tomorrow, and hopefully baby will be here soon!

[morrison1976]

Thanks for the replies. Its weird. The last hour they have been different 4 mins, 7 mins, 6 mins, 4 mins, 8 mins, so, they are a bit all over the place. I told her to lie down and see if she can get some sleep.

[morrison1976]

Well, she was having 4 contractions every 10 mins, also had a show for the first time. So we contacted the midwife and she told us to go to the hospital. My wife was having about 30 sec on period type pain, about four times every 10 mins. The midwife checked her out and said she should go back home and come back when the pain lasts about 40/60 seconds, are are very frequent. So, we just have to wait and see what happens

[mandoo]

You will know when the time is right to go back to the hospital. With my first they didn't want to see me until it was too painful to even talk though the contractions. Get your wife to call the hospital next time so the midwife can stay on the phone and listen to her during a contraction and she will be able to tell over the phone if you should come in or not (hopefully)

Good luck :)

[outthere]

One thing to add: I was always under the impression that true labour contractions would be regular ie every 2/3 minutes but in actual fact it's the number that you have in any 10 minute period that counts.

When my labour started my contractions were as you describe: 2 mins then 4 mins then 2 mins then 5 then 3 etc... I thought they were too eratic to be true labour contractions but they weren't.

Luckily I was already in hospital when my labour started and the midwife on the ward sat with me and timed the contractions. She wrote on my notes that I was having 3 in 10 for example rather than the specific time interval.

Sounds like it's definitely all staring - Good luck!!!

[sleepevader]

Good luck!

Agree about midwife listening to wife on phone. Eat and drink normally and try and stay active.

[morrison1976]

Well, when we got home, she went to sleep. At about nine in the morning, she had a showing, and it was quite alot. She had the same sort of contractions throughout the day, but the last 2 hours, they have been bad. To the point where she is shaking. One of the contractions lasted 10 mins. I range the midwife again and told her what was happening. She also spoke to my wife. She said when she is having about 4 contractions every 10 mins, then she should ring again.

She is having a bath at the moment because the midwife said this might help. Damn this is stressfull :(

[wompoopigeon]

It is stressful but also exciting and wonderful as it means you're going to meet your baby soon (sorry if that sounds cheesy).
A bath sounds like a great idea. I deep conditioned my hair in early labour! Try to relax as much as possible (that goes for you too!) and remember this is all doing what it should be doing. You will know when contractions are taking her breath away and four in ten minutes.
Good luck- sounds like you're at the beginning of a big night.

[issynoko]

Good luck - very hard to tell until things are established sometimes. Just wanted to wish all three of you well.

[mandoo]

Is baby Morrison1976 with us this morning?

[wompoopigeon]

I was wondering that mandoo!

[morrison1976]

Well, last night my wife was having a bath. She called me in because there was blood in the water. First just red, then a dark brown/red mucus. I rang up the hospital. They said it was normal, and did not need to got to the hospital until her contractions were every three mins and lasting for a min. I said i wanted to go to the hospital, and they said ok, just to be on the safe side.

So, we went up the hospital, and she had an examination. The midwife said she was two cm dialated, but said there was nothing they can do at the moment and gave my wife some pain relief and told us to go home. At this time, her contractions were not regular.

So, we got a taxi home. Was just about to go through the front door when my wife had a gush of light red water run down her leg, and she was in agony and said she felt like she wanted to push.

I rang them up again and told them. They told us to wait another half hour and check to see if the water was a brown colour, if yes, then ring them in the morning. This was happening at about 12 at night. I told them about the pushing, and that the contractions were closer now, and each one she was screaming in pain and could not help but push.

She had a bit of an attidude with me and said "well, you are determined to come in, so come in"

So, i rang a taxi again to go up the hospital. By the time we got there, the contractions were coming every 1 min and 30 seconds, and lasting about a min. She said she felt like something was coming out.

By the time we got the lift up to the ward, she was in agony and shouting that the baby was coming out. The midwife said the baby was not coming out, even though it felt like it.

The midewife layed my wife on the bed, abd had a look. And guess what, the head was half way out. After 3 pushes, the baby was out, just like that.

She was 6.14 in weight, and was so quiet :)

Thank God its over. All i can say is go with your gut feeling. These people are sometimes wrong! :(

[diddygirl]

Aw that's lovely news!!!! Congratulations to you all.

There's no questioning the urge to push. What a good job you went when you did.

Enjoy your little girl.

[MixedBerries]

Ohhhh! Congratulations to the three of you. I'm due in 3 weeks so have taken your experience on board. All the advice from the health professionals on when to go to the hospital has been a bit sketchy up until now to be honest! Hope you're all doing well.

[Flisspaps]

Congratulations :)

[wompoopigeon]

A baby girl! Congratulations Mr and Mrs Morrison. What an eventful night. That sounds so quick after you were posting last night. So pleased for you.

[mandoo]

Wonderful, sounds like it came close to a home birth! I wish you all the very best :)