Mums - what was your experience?

[K1999]

Interested to hear people's experiences with the days leading up to their labour. Don't hold back the nitty gritty!

A let down TBH, due date came and went and still no baby.

Sex, curry, RLT - nothing, just had to wait it out.

DC1 I got fat ankles and ended up being admitted even though no labour signs at all. A thoroughly boring 24 hours followed, with mild period like pain (only in my back) before baby arrived.

DC1 25 minutes from start to finish. The worst pain imaginable for the last ten mind.

When are you due?

Nothing at all. Two spontaneous labours with no clue until the moment my waters went and two c sections before labour began.

Nothing for me.

DC1- woke up in pain- born 6 hours later

DC2- 2 weeks over due, went in and got waters broken

DC3- eating dinner and pains started, 6 hours later was born

I'm due in 10 days. The past couple of days I've just felt..different. Looser bowels, period pain type feelings, back ache a lot and maaaaany braxton hicks. I know you can't predict it so I'm not thinking this is it. Just got me thinking, wonder what others went through in the days before their due date

Sounds like your body is getting ready. DS came 2 and a half weeks early, thought I just had a stomach bug as I had diarrhoea, it was actually my body preparing for labour. I remember feeling the baby really low in my pelvis and waddling around, and people commenting on how low my bump was

Oooh that's another thing @littlefawn he's felt so low too. My pelvis is struggling! My partner has to help me off the sofa almost every time I pee because it's so uncomfortable!

I had braxton hicks and DS was head well down but 2 sweeps didn't get him moving. I was so fed up by 11 days overdue (Hallowe'en) that I let DH paint my bump as a pumpkin.

I largely remember being fed up.

@MinnieMountain what happened on the build up of your actual labour?

I thought I had a stomach bug too, DD was born a couple of days later 2 weeks early

I'm due this month and I am really fed up now lol. I can't imagine going 2 weeks over. I'm thinking of trying to bribe it out with a biscuit 😂.

I was induced three times. 😭 Started getting pains had awful upset stomach and then they broke my waters. Another 11 hours and she arrived!

I had a sweep and mild cramping afterwards that then vanished. But then my mucus plug came away at lunchtime 48 hours later, the day before my due date. At 7pm, my waters suddenly went when sitting in the sofa with my DH. I stood and cried while he frantically tried to find a towel Then contractions started and I was worried about DD's movements so we went in to the MLU about 9pm and she was born by EMCS at 5am.

I didn't feel much different overall. Very tired. Waters were broken all 4 times and plug always in labour too! Never any early signs. My labours were short so always started up quickly by backache.

My labour was more long than anything else. I was due on the Sunday 30th august 2015. Nothing happened. In fact on my due date I stood and did a pile of ironing. And on the Tuesday we went to my mums for the day. I stood on the train as no one offered me a seat. In fact someone asked when my due date was, I told them it had actually passed and I was overdue, they said oh right, and just carried on sitting there. Other people nearby also heard and no one got up. (I know I could have asked but I never would. I would never want to appear like I thought I deserved a seat. But if one was offered I would have taken it). I I was booked in for a sweep originally on the Wednesday, but I started having contractions on the Tuesday so I decided to see if things would progress naturally. They didn't so I ended up having a sweep at 3pm on the Friday (40+5).
I got to the hospital at 9 that evening, was in the birth centre by 10.30, had my waters broken around 2am, then gave birth at 6.58am the Saturday morning (40+6).
It didn't hurt or feel uncomfortable at all and it did help move things along (the head wasn't fully engaged so things wouldn't have progressed on their own).

Bloody show came in parts starting 4 days before. Lots of aches and pains. Increasingly uncomfortable.

Not much movement from the baby the day before labour. Then early the next morning, my waters broke with a big gush (40+5). Contractions started 5m later.

I have had 3. Each started with backache and a bloody show. Also diarrhoea.
I had braxton hicks with the third, but on and off for a few weeks before she came.

Both of mine were induced, DS 12 was fairly straight forward... dd7 not so much, due to a medical condition I wasn’t allowed to to go over my due date, the dr I saw last didnt book me into have an induction aNd I was struggling so I spoke with my midwife. The dr I was originally dealing with had gone away so referred me to said doctor who told me I was fine to go over due as long as it wasn’t 2 weeks despite the written instructions in my notes. So anyway midwife calls the hospital and told them i was having trouble etc etc, we went there they measured heartbeat and sent me home, midwife does the same thing next day finally my dr is back and books me in for the following day. After that I was induced. Only had a 2 hr active labour with dd so was quite happy about that.

I had a show three weeks before my first arrived, so got a bit sick of the 'won't be long' now comments.

I also got a lot of 'oh your bump has dropped, nearly there' from 36 weeks. She was a week late, it was very hot and I was ready to punch the next person who told me that!

Labour started with 48hrs of Braxton Hicks at home, followed by waking next morning with a constant pain in one side of my bump (so went in for monitoring) and another show. Oh and vomiting. So glamorous . Baby arrived 24 hours after admission. Waters went at 8cm.

Good luck OP, hope it's soon

Dc1 I was two weeks early, that Friday I went for a big walk it was very warm, I was wrecked after. Got home and slept the night. The next day I was on the toilet for most of the day and couldn't really eat I felt sick. Woke up at 8.20am with period cramps they got worse went to hospital he was born at 4.40pm.
Dc2 was also two weeks early, woke up at 5.15am with period cramps didn't think anything of it as had them on and off for 2 months. I tried to go back asleep but got the biggest contraction I jumped up with pain. Before I went to the hospital I was vomiting in the sink and shitting in the toilet at same time sorry TMI. Got to the hospital at 7am she was born 7.14am funny thing is she would have been born sooner if I didn't hold it in was afraid I was going to poo but it was just her head coming out 🤣🤣 my husband had call the nurse she was out in 5 minutes.

I only got back ache as a sign with my 2, everything else was basically the same as it had been the last 9 months

I was induced at 13 days over OP. I had a slight show before that. Pessary was inserted at 3pm, I woke up with contractions at 4am. They didn't really feel separate, which I put down to the drugs.

DC1 - due date arrived and I felt brilliant all day (was very disappointed). In the afternoon I was supposed to have a sweep (concerns over baby’s growth) but the midwife couldn’t actually do it as I was too nervous. That evening went for a curry with DP and later we DTD. Waters broke at 12pm and contractions started straight away.

DC2- Due date arrived and had some minor cramps and lost my mucous plug in the afternoon. Contractions started at 12pm (again!) but waters didn’t break until the next day, shortly before giving birth.

Induced. Was sat their fine watching hospital tv then BAM. He was born less than 2 and a half hours later. It was bloody awful.

Absolutely nothing. I was 39 weeks, felt no different to how I'd felt for the whole 3rd trimester and then my waters just went, a few hours later contractions started and twelve hours later DS was born. I was really surprised because I was due to be induced at 39+6 and totally expected that that was what would happen.