How did you feel in the week or so before labour?

[MisselthwaiteManor]

Did you start feeling different, did anything happen in the run up before the obvious early labour signs showed up?

Not for me! I've given birth twice and neither time did I feel any different until the first labour pain!

Nothing to add but will watch with interest as am currently 36+3 and have started having all sorts of odd niggles. Was convinced it was. going to happen last night but no such luck. Baby can come whenever he's ready now!

I'm the same indecisive 36+4 and lots of little things but nothing for certain!

I just feel 'not-quite-right' and hoping it's the run up to something. I'm already getting really really impatient

Suddenly very heavy & very uncomfortable. But it's different for everyone! I didn't have any pre-labour pains, but some friends had them on & off for a few days before going into labour.
Good luck!

i dont recall a change with dds 1 + 2 maybe because they were both induced due to leaking waters.

with dd3 i had nesting in the form of baking for about a week (think batch in oven, washing up straight away and mixing the next lot for ten hours a day) in actual fact i was so busy with that and looking after the girls i had forgotten about giving birth and was quite put out when my labour started at 6am on my due date as i was going to make vienesse whirls lol

My braxton hicks got really strong and frequent and it felt like DS was so low he was already half way out.

I also felt utterly shit as one often does

None at all with DD who was induced post dates at 42 weeks. When I turned up or the induction though I was already 2cm dilated so how I managed that with no clue I don't know. I'm 38 weeks with dc2 and have some soreness in my cervix which has gone squashy (tmi) so I'm hoping this is a good sign! Other than that nothing

Constipation got even worse and was in tears. Could barely wee. Walking I could sort of feel his head grinding against my pelvis - sore.

Quite a lot of mucus gross plug stuff, then quite a bit of belly pain which I decided was wind, but turned out to be contractions... Oh and I started hiccuping a lot at random intervals, like a tramp. Nice.

Sore and very very tired at the end, just wanted to sleep

Does everyone have the 'bowling ball between the legs' sensation? or is it just some people?

Forgot to say those bad b'hix were actually very mild contractions and id dilated 3cm without realizing. Wasn't in active labour til a few days later though. Then it only lasted 4hrs!

Good luck.

And remember that actually you don't always know if you're in labour! :P

Well last time I felt awful because I had bronchitis. I was in bed, on antibiotics, barely able to move - terrible SPD and basically I thought I was going to die.

I did feel as though the baby was very low, towards the last day and actually he was kind of almost there...I went into proper active labour at about 9pm, by the time I got into hospital at about 11.30, I was 6cm dilated (she said he was right there, she could see his head) and he was born at 12.53am.

Mind you my previous labout lasted 3 and a half hours. This one took longer, sort of - I was having random contractions from about 2pm. The other one came from nowhere.

I have no idea if I'm a week away from Labour but 38 wks and I just have a feeling. I don't feel quite right. . I've had a sore cervix for the last 5 days, back ache and niggles since 34 weeks but in the last few days I've been getting period pain. Bowling ball between legs. Today I have an upset stomach and flit between exhausted and having to cook and clean. I need all the clothes washing done but i dont know why. I'm either getting near or have a bug. Baby is moving very strongly and is pushing downwards a lot.

With ds I was shattered, sore, emotional and very scared.

oooh cupcake that sounds promising. Good luck!

Dd2 was born at 39+4. As dd1 was 9 days late, I was convinced dd2 would be too. It's only with hindsight I realised the signs were there in the last week before she was born.

I was on a mission to get everything done (freezer loaded, Christmas organised- dd2's a December baby) even though, in my head, I thought I'd got a couple of weeks left.

The weird thing was my behaviour. Two days before dd2 arrived, I actually stood up to my bullying and critical fil when he was being unpleasant to dh. I don't know if it was some sort of protective instinct kicking in.

Grumpy as hell and really resigned to being pregnant for ever. (DS was 9lb 8 and 10 days late!)

cupcake it does sound like you're very near the end (or the beginning!).

Last time around, I had fairly loose bowels and mild period-like pain and lost the mucus plug a couple of days before the waters went in the middle of the night (just a trickle thankfully).

I'm 38+5 with number 2 and went for a walk this morning, felt like I was holding a ball in between my legs, it felt low and uncomfortable (more than before). Hoping it will be sooner rather than later.

Lol it may not be as promising as I hoped. Suspected UTI rather than suspected labour

Same thing has happened to me cupcake! have had to stay overnight in hospital for antibiotics! wishful thinking eh?

I had a gradual show...it was really drawn out and little bits for days and then the day before I went into labour I had loose bowels and period type pains. Cleaning is a good sign...much to my DPs horror I was cleaning and putting on washing in between contractions

I gave birth for the first and last time 8 weeks ago.

I had 'period' type pains for 10 nights between about 8-9pm.

Then one morning at 6am had same pains, got up & had breakfast, went back to bed.

Noticed blood at 2pm, went to hospital where I was already 6cm & had her at 8pm

Body clearing out stomach contents pretty thoroughly (thought it was just diarrhea from too much fruit tbh) and very mild lower back pain now and again. Nothing else, but did not really make much of it as was only 33 weeks...

At almost 38 weeks I lost some waters, felt a trickle in my pants that I knew wasn't pee. Went to get it checked out as I had read online that it might be the hind waters. Was examined and told that the waters were intact but that I was 2cm dilated (!) And asked if I would like to go home to labour there. Said yes! Lost some mucous plug that evening so figured it was only a matter of time. It was a full 2 weeks later when my waters went -fully and in epic flood manner- and contractions started straight away!

I'm not sure about the nesting thing though. My house was spotless and I baked, but only because I didn't have other dc and hated the thought of visitors seeing my usual messy house after the birth!

P.S. I think that my hind waters, whatever they are, had in fact ruptured first at 38 weeks, even though doc said all looked fine. It wasn't pee.