Before labour stories, can you share yours!

[Excitedmummytobe00]

Hi all, I was wondering what you felt like days before you went into labour, ie spring cleaning, emptying your bowels, tiredness, becoming snappy. Ect ect

I felt absolutely fine, not fed up at all until 40+4 when I woke up in an absolute grump. Cried on DH and made him stay at home instead of going to work. Went shopping and out for lunch to cheer myself up. Contractions started mid lunch! Didn't actually give birth until 40+6 but that's another story!
Now 38+4 with number 2 and have a 19 month old with a broken leg. Waking up every day fed up, in tears and begging DH to stay at home

With ds I felt great. I desperately wanted him to come in time for Christmas so spent days on the birthing ball, eating pineapple drinking raspberry tea. All seemed to be achieving nothing so i sort of gave up and accepted he'd come when he was ready. I was laying in bed making a mental shopping list for going to a Farmers market that day, stood up and my waters went!
I'm almost 38 weeks now and getting all kinds of pains, Braxton Hicks, aches etc. Ds is 18 months and I beg dp to stay home too Worlds.

I was induced with ds 1 and ds 3, but with ds2 I went into labour on my own. I remember taking ds1 to school and walking to morrisons to get bread and milk. on way home I had to keep stopping because of pain in my bottom.

when I got home I started cleaning up I was on my hands and knees hoovering. made my dinner and sat down to eat it but as soon as I did I had to stand up. I then spent all day stood up I just couldn't sit, I went to collect my son from school and by the time I got there i was in agony. I rang my partner but he was out delivering, it took me an hour to get home it's a ten minute walk max. when I got home I rang hospital and went in and the rest is history I had him early hours. I didn't notice anything before that happened though. good luck

Dd1 -
Reduced movements on due date. Went in for monitoring and picked up mild contractions on monitor.
40+1 - very nesty, organised hubby's sock drawer and old pictures. Bounced on ball doing fast rotations. Baby felt very low and had shooting pains down below all evening.
40+2. Back ache in morning, went out and had lunch. Very strong braxton hicks all day. Very tired after lunch, slept for three hours that afternoon then had a show at 6pm and contractions started at 7. Dd born 40 hours later.

Dd2 - very different. 39+3 had mw appointment. Very, very tired afterwards. Slept on my mums couch all afternoon while she watched dd1. Went for reflexology that night.
39+4 - bounced on ball with fast rotations and did squats to try and get baby engaged. Woke up during the night with stomach cramps like I needed the toilet but nothing came.

39+5 - woke up in morning and just 'knew' this time. Called my mum and told her I was going Into labour. Very, very tired after having bags of energy the week before. No appetite at all. Weepy. Nesty despite the tiredness.
Show started at 2pm. Contractions started at 8pm. Dd2 born 23 hours later.

36+3 - Baby felt very low, had an ache and stabbing pain in my cervix.

36+4 - Two small red pinpricks of blood on wiping after after a wee. Doctors sent me to triage who found I was 2cm dilated. Regular dull period-like cramps and tightenings. Proper bloody show ensued!

36+5 - Contractions remained regular but still not that painful. More bloody show. Triage asked me to come in as contractions were 3 minutes apart but I had only dilated 0.5cm more. Pain got worse in the lower back, but still not back enough to be labour-y.

36+6 - STILL contracting regularly but still not sore enough. Felt a small trickle. DP made me go back to triage to see what was happening. The midwife said my cervix was still only 2.5cm and long and thick. When she checked she got a trickle of waters so she twisted my membrane and gave me a sweep to encourage labour. I was booked for an induction the next evening as I'd lost some of my waters. Really achy and crampy from the sweep, I went to bed.

37 + 0 - OW! Contractions ramped up to a point where I felt I was being whacked in the back with a sledgehammer. I was very restless and clingy - couldn't stay still through the contractions. Couldn't wee as I felt something was in the way. Went to triage in the morning but I was still only 3cm although my cervix had thinned out. Given cocodomal, taught how to breathe through contractions and sent home to have a bath for a few hours (maybe until induction!) The pain got worse and worse though the contractions remained 3 minutes apart and not that long. I writhed in the bath a bit then had to get out. As I got out I felt a desperate urge to push, I thought it was as I needed a wee so much. Sat on the loo rocking for an hour with no respite. Tried to lie down but each contraction made me want to push. Very restless and panicky. Got a gush of water with a contraction and DP saw me straining desperately. Rushed me to triage where nobody seemed that bothered - the MW who assessed me earlier came to see me and told me to breathe through it, thinking I'd still hardly be dilated. I felt at this stage like something was bulging out of my arse and I was desperately clenching, rocking, powering up to the birth centre to be assessed. You guessed it, there was a head in between my legs!

With dd I had loads of braxton hicks from early on. I had had a lot of 'oh this might be it moments' over the two weeks before my due date

39+3 I lifted a plant pot and felt dd just drop, was bizzare feeling she had been mostly engaged but I think this got her fully there. Went to McDonalds and had my first proper painful contraction, brought on by preggo rage as they gave someone chicken nuggets before me. The staff looked at me like they would have to deliver my baby there and then.

39+4 I woke up at 6am with contractions 3 minutes apart but mostly painless. Spent the day getting progressively worse, went to hospital at 10pm but only 2cm

39+5 I had dd nearly 24 hours after my 6am contractions.

Dd1 - Saturday evening at 4 days overdue, I felt really restless. Couldn't sit still or get comfortable. Lost a large blob of bloody mucus and spent all evening on the loo. Premenstral type pains started and turned into regular, weak contractions overnight.

I was induced with 2 other dc.

Thank you all for the replies, so exciting to hear how people felt before hand. I've not lost my mucus plug and my waters haven't broke. But the last few days I've had such irritable bowels sorry tmi I've become snappy and I'm either extra tired or completely full of energy. Also getting some twinges in my stomach and terrible back pain. Wanted to know if I'm any closer to labour.

Oh god, it went on for weeks! I finished work at 39+2 and that night had really strong Braxton Hicks - felt like it was 'it'. Didn't tell boyfriend, just laid awake all night being annoyed that I wasn't going to get any pre-baby maternity leave.

Baby didn't arrive until 42+1 after two weeks of on off latent labour with obvious contractions for a few hours here and there. The night it all kicked off properly was post a sweep at 41+5 - was 6 minute contractions for about 72 hours I think, and still only 3cm dilated when I got to hospital. Knackered obviously.

I'd spent a lot of time in the few weeks leading up to it all being quite nesty, but it was rather about getting things done that needed to be done rather than unnecessary sort of faffing. I was miserable the whole time though, could barely walk so was pretty cross and grumpy, raging heart burn.

How far along are you OP?

I had no signs at all! At 35+5 I was still working and remember coming home and putting my feet up, but felt nothing other than some tiredness. The following morning, I rolled over in bed and whoosh, my waters went. Rang the hospital and went in for monitoring, but didn't feel any pain. At midday I started to feel some mild contractions, which gradually ramped up over the next few hours and made it impossible to get comfortable. By 4pm I was fully dilated and DS arrived soon after!

pixie I bet that was defiantly a big surprise, was that your first baby aswell? And I'm 38 +4 today,

He was a huge surprise, albeit a lovely one. He was my first. I'm currently 30 weeks with no 2. My midwife assures me that there's no reason this one will arrive early too, but who knows! (Eek!)

Congratulations, I'm sure it will feel unusual if you were to go full term with this pregnancy seeing as you were early before.

I suspect you're probably right . Hope all goes well with your little one.

10 days of latent labour as described by pp. Dh thinks my nesting energy came when we had a weekend away at 38 weeks. I walked miles. I was very emotional a few times when ds didn't arrive when I was having hours of regular and sore contractions that would just stop.

39+4 - 6 pm bloody show, irregular contractions from about 9pm, waters at midnight confirmed at the hospital at 2 am, back home to sleep and induction booked for due date.

1 pm walk to the shop for supplies. Contractions re started. Gradually longer and stronger. 4 pm, 1 in 5, called assessment, hospital full! Closed!

Called next hospital. I seemed okay, stay home a bit longer.

Off phone, blood. Dh calls back to get directions and tell them were coming. Get stuck in rush hour for an hour. Arrive at hospital at 6 pm. Straight to delivery room. Assessed as 7 cm. No other assessments. Ds born at 7. No time for any pain relief. Very ouchy, bad tear as he came very quickly so off to surgery.

Overall pretty good experience.

Other than just having a feeling that labiur was imminent I was the same miserable cow that I had been for the few weeks before that. No changes :)

DS born last week!
35+5 was getting really bad lower back ache (didn't think anything of it)
35+6 back pain ramped up
36 saw mw, said all was fine.. That night lost my mucus plug
36+1 back pain continued. Spent all day in triage as was positive waters were leaking during night, apparently waters still intact.
Got home 11pm that night, had a bath and was in bed by 12
36+2 woke up at 1:30am with huge contraction (actually thought I needed to poo ), waters broke when going to bath room. Went to triage at 5am, labour ward by 8. Was put on drip to speed up contractions as they were slowing.
36+3 little man was born 00:48 in theatre!

^just adding- 24 hour back -to-back labour.
Didn't even expect it