Did you sense labour was near in the hours/ days leading up to it? Or did it just start out of nowhere?

[IMissTheLittleBluePackets]

I'm doing allllllll of the things to induce myself. Sex, eating curry, sniffing essential oils, drinking raspberry tea etc.

And I still don't feel any different. 😬🤬😡

I wonder how most women feel pre- labour, whether there's a sense of 'something is going to happen tonight' or whether it just appears out of nowhere?

What was it like for you? Did you have any inkling? What was the first sign that things were starting?

No it just went with a full fanfare really during the night

I was a week overdue so I was totally on watch for any hint something was stirring

No. Both times it just... started. One moment I felt normal (or as "normal" as you can feel at 40wk) the next I was having contractions. With DS I decided to go and buy a magnum from the corner shop and had the first contraction on the walk home. With DD I was cleaning my teeth. DS came at 41wk, DD at 39wk.

No sense at all. Went into labour walking home from the shop the day before my due date.

My water broke with absolutely no warning, no pain, no cramping just felt a pop internally and gush, water. I was 3 days over my due date. Hadn't even had any braxton hicks either. Complete surprise.

No warning, 2weeks early waters suddenly started trickling as I opened the door to the Tesco delivery man 😂

No idea at all either time. First one got up for my seventieth wee of the night and my waters went all over the bathroom floor. Second one I got out of the car to do the food shop and waters went in Sainsbury’s car park 💁🏻‍♀️

Have you had a sweep?

I think they can work..!

I didn’t. But dp did-both times. I remember the day before dd was born, he insisted I stayed in bed and slept-he said later that he “knew” dd would come that night. And with DS he said “come on-let’s just go to the hospital-they can always send us home” He was right again!

None whatsoever. With DD1, woke up to a tiny leak at 38 weeks which was confirmed by Obygn appointment to be amniotic fluid, so induced that evening. DS1 didn't count because arrived exactly as planned with scheduled c section at 39 weeks. With DD2, woke up at 37.5 weeks to the feeling of having my bladder rammed from the inside which then progressed to contractions within the hour, 1 week before scheduled c section she was born by unscheduled c section instead. She had previously made attempts to arrive at 33 weeks though.

DC#1 waters went, no warning, at 38+something. Labour started 24hrs or so later while I was in the admissions ward waiting for a bed on labour ward to be induced.
DC#2 waters went prematurely, 34+whatever. Stayed in hospital for 48hrs. I never went into labour but needed an emergency CS instead. Long story.

Have you tried walking up the stairs sideways? Or go for long walk with 1 foot on the kerb and the other foot on the road. I remember chat with the antenatal group about this being good to get labour going.

Woke up with an awful period like pain at 6am, nothing more till 9pm that night when my waters spontaneously combusted all over the bedroom floor! That was at 36 weeks!

No indication beforehand just started getting pains at about 2am one morning

No warning whatsoever either time.

They were both over a week late so I knew it would be bound to come soon.

DC1 I had a contraction out of nowhere.

DC2 I was woken up by my waters breaking.

My bump felt lower in the few days before.

But with my first I got up the night to go to the toilet, felt a popping sensation and my waters went.
My second I was getting ready to go out shopping so I felt fine, again felt a popping and my waters went.

It's different for everyone.

I'd been having pretty notable braxton hicks contractions from about week 32, had a "show" late in week 35, assembled the crib at 36+5, and woke up having minor contractions followed by a small break of waters at 36+6.

Naturally when I arrived at the hospital they tried to tell me I wasn't in labour, had probably just wee-ed a bit, contractions were really going on, you should probably go home but we'll just do a quick examination and test, oh, you're 1cm dilated and that IS amniotic fluid, better start you on antibiotics and book you for induction tomorrow.

I did have moderate ICP (risk of early labour and induction recommended at 38 weeks) and come from a family that drops babies early, so I wasn't entirely suprised by any of this.

After a day of being in labour that I really didn't know anything about (hung out in a private room trying to come up with a baby name with my husband) labour really ramped that evening and I had a full on TV style waters break and "call the midwife moment", thinking back I was probably already in transition as I vomited everywhere as they desperately tried to get me downstairs to delivery room in a wheelchair and the baby was out <1h later.

So, you might know and still give everyone one hell of a shock. I nearly gave birth in the antenatal ward. I wouldn't have made it to the hospital if I'd not already been there...

Totally out of the blue. I was scheduled (on medical advice) to have a section at 38 weeks. I remember feeling good and energetic at just under 37 weeks, huge but walked in to town, got my hair cut. After dinner we watched tv and as we got up to go to bed - waterfall!
My 10lb 4oz son was born, via section, at around 10 the next morning.

Nope: DS1 36.3 - very strong braxton hicks for two days that got worse. Went to the hospital when I couldn't take the pain anymore. They had a look, laughed but said it was early labour and to enjoy the revelling on the Fulham Road until it was worse. The lift arrived and as I stepped in, my waters broke exploded. Admitted at 8.30, baby born in the early hours. Classic posterior labour. Christmas Day 1994.

DS2, 27 weeks. Waters broke. Arrived swiftly.

DD: 41.5, coaxed out with maternal semtex (induced). Not much happened all day. My waters broke as they were getting the drip ready. She was born about two hours later.

Three very different labours. No signs whatsoever, except with DS1 I did clean the house from top to bottom 24 hours before the niggles started.

I suppose each lavour really started woth waters breaking and after that things moved pretty fast.

@RosesAndHellebores 27 weeks? Was everything okay?

Even though I was induced with both (4 days each - 37 weeks) I still didn't know what labour started.

Ds1 I woke at 5am with diarrhoea, lost my plug at 7am then contractions started. He arrived 3 hours later at 9:50am. 37wks

Ds2 I dropped ds1 off at school, went and done the food shop, came home put it away, made lunch, watched some tv., then went to the loo and I'd lost my plug. Contractions started 2:20pm and he was born 1 hour 45 mins later at 4:06pm 38wks

I had no idea either time that I was going to go into labour.

3 days of on off contractions all night and would stop in the morning. On the 3rd day they ramped up and I knew that eve I needed to go to hospital born the next morning (for both DCs this happened). Midwives told me if it’s false labour ie contractions that will stop having a bath will make them stop whereas if it’s real labour having a bath will intensify them. This was true for me

Started out of nowhere. Waters broke at 1am, ds arrived and 2pm.

Nope. I was 9 days over when contractions started. I’d been for a stretch and sweep two days earlier, munching pineapples, the bloody lot. The little bugger stayed in there til they dragged her out two nights later 😂

With DD (40+6) I was in agony and generally quite poorly for a couple of days, but it turned out I was on the road to pre-eclampsia which explained it! I was probably in very slow labour for awhile, then suddenly things ramped up when we got to the hospital (and then slowed down, then got intense again...).

With DS (38+5) I remember saying to DH it would be fine if he came on any day other than the Sunday, because if he came that day it would mean DH would go back to work the same day DD started her summer holidays, leaving me with two kids (which seemed impossible at the time!). As soon as those words left my mouth I knew when he'd arrive. Sure enough, the Saturday night I started feeling weird, and along he came (very quickly) the following afternoon. Cheers DS!

Two weeks overdue so was booked in for induction. I woke up early in the morning with waters breaking (and discovered that it isn't just one gush, it refills then lets go again, and again, and again...) so went into hospital dutifully. Contractions all that day, and the next... was getting pretty bored of it by the end of day two but at least he was finally out just before midnight and I could have a cup of tea at last