How quickly can you go from no signs of labour to it happening??!

[whinegums]

I'm looking for some positive stories here! I'm now 40+6 or 40+1 depending on whether I go from scan date or LMP. No signs at all of anything happening - cervix high and closed, baby not engaged at all, bump still high, no show - apart from a few painful BH a couple of times a day. I know I could be waiting another two weeks at least, but I wondered what the fastest time was for any of you going from zero- labour??

EPO contains prostaglandins - so you can take it and also insert a capsule into your fanjo to soften the cervix. Semen also contains prostaglandins - think I will keep swallowing the EPO, and get DP into action on the other area!!!!

Mip, do come and join the June antenatal thread if you fancy, there is a group of us on there who have become the overdue crew.

Mmmm, champagne......

Pitched up at the hospital for ds3 because of odd pelvic pain. No BHs, no contractions. Turned out I was 9cm dilated and he was born 40mins later.

15 mins from 1st contraction, no idea how engaged or dilated I was pre that.

with dd2, i woke at 1#:30am to go to the toilet - felt nothing. at 4am woke with sore contraction. knew by 4:30am it was happening. dd born 5:54am. so just under 2 hrs from 'zero'!

hope to happens fast for you. i can remember the waiting game being very tedious!

Any news Whinegums?! Absolutely nothing here. Getting soooooooo frustrated. And a friend just called, had her baby three days ago, not due till 10 days after me...

The mw attempted a sweep at 40 wks (my 1st) and told me I had a cervix of a 38 weeker - gutted.

A week later at 40+8 I went into spontaneous labour. I woke up in the middle of the night with regular contractions that felt like period pain. I had no warnings/feelings that labour was imminent when I went to bed the night before. Baby was not fully engaged, I'd had very few bh's during the pregnancy, my waters hadn't gone and I hadn't had a show.

So you see, there is hope!

It will happen, you're living on borrowed time atm, so carry on with everything you have planned and don't worry that things don't seem to be happening.

Hi Mip, nah, nothing happening here, just a few more very irregular cramps once or twice a day. How annoying of your friend!!!

ILike... that made me smile about living on borrowed time - I'm sure I'll long for these days when I don't really have to do anything (read the papers, eat chocolate, watch TV) very soon.

I'm hoping my monster has moved down a wee bit as the dreadful heartburn I've had all the way through has eased off.

Ooh, irregular cramps... has to be good (though obviously better if regular!).
Yes, lots of deep breaths and 'smile and your heart will follow' kind of mottos needed as I heard my dh answering the phone to her and sounding excited! Bad bad me. Actually it was of course lovely talking to her, she sounded so very, very happy and in love with her baby - made me even more excited and impatient!
Well off to some friends for dinner now, good luck you! Oh and tried nipple stimulation twice and now they're so sore so have given up. I have no willpower!

Great thread, girls.

M4MB - wish my bubble would burst I'm 40+2 and have been gardening today in the hope that all that bending over might make my little fella shoot out soon as fed up with no sleep due to being so uncomfortable and I've got elephant feet; they're nearly as wide as they are long! Also fed up with with well-meaning relatives phoning to see if anything has happened. Got sweep on Tuesday. Mip & Whinegums, let me know how you get on x

Hi missingwine (aren't we all?!!!) your poor feet! Have also had the rellies/friends on the phone/texting etc....

Mip - I know a few other people who were due around now, and most of them have already had their babies. Of course am pleased for them, but I want mine now!! Hope you had a nice dinner, and don't be too tough on your nips!

I have a sweep on Tuesday as well... Here's hoping for us all that it won't be too much longer.

Hi Missingwine (great name by the way... would champagne do the trick? had a glass a few days ago as heard it set lots of people's labours off, didn't send mind off but it was a great excuse!) - any signs over night after your gardening? Such sympathies about the feet - mine are elephantine too. Am only able to wear two sizes bigger than normal Birkenstocks and the swollen flesh oozes through the straps. Seriously pretty.

Whinegums - dinner was very nice thank you! Came there a bit grumpy as just wanted to stay home and wallow and not have to talk about it. But after homemade pizza, a huge bowl of ice cream, sweets and my v kind sil insisting I put my feet up on the sofa to watch telly afterwards, I was very happy indeed!

Just back from hospital and I'm pretty glad we made a fuss and insisted on seeing someone before this Friday afternoon (42 weeks) as it turned out there was very little amniotic fluid left. The doctor gave me a sweep (much more hardcore than my midwife's - now I understand why people say it hurts! Was definitely reminiscent of that vet programme from the 80s with Peter Davison... what was that called? All Creatures Great and Small or something) so hopefully that will kick things off, otherwise I'm back on Wednesday morning to be induced. Feel a lot calmer now that an end is in sight (though am sure will start panicking about the fluid levels any minute!). Really hope your sweeps go well tomorrow (it was not pain-pain by the way - and quite satisfying as I really felt it was doing something), please let me know!

All 3 of my pregnancies were like that. I went from not having all those signs to having the baby three days later. For the record, some babies' heads never engage until labour. None of mine did.

forgot to say mine were all born at 41 wks + (nearly 42 for youngest)

DD1 - nothing, induced (sorry!). DD2 - nothing to waters breaking to birth in 3 hrs. Excruciating and intense from first contraction. DD3 - nothing, then a slight pop, to excruciating contractions in 1hr, baby born 4 hours later. Had three sweeps with DD3.

Zero to birth within 6 hours! Waters broke at 1.15am, got to hospital at 3.30am and was 6cm dilated. DS entered the world at 7.24am! Pain very intense but preferred it that way! Friends labour started on a Thursday morning, didn't have her DD until the Sunday.

Hey Mip, glad dinner was good - make the most of being treated well now, everyone tells me that you become a 'non person' once the baby is on the scene!

Hope your sweep does kick things off (yes, All Creatures... does spring to mind!), and try not to worry about the fluid levels too much. I definitely feel my bump has dropped a bit now - I can breathe and I haven't had heartburn for two days! What a relief!

Thanks duchesse - I could cope with another 3 days! And am also hopeful for a speedy (if painful) labour after posts from lucysmum and mishymoo.

Oh I know, that's what I hear. Terrible! And I know I always ignore mothers when they're with their new babies - I think I'm being nice focusing on their little darlings but then my sil said how sad she got after she gave birth when everyone did that. It's like with checking up on people after their due date... feel so bad for the friends I've stalked now I know what it feels like!

Good news about your bump dropping and extra good news about the heartburn. I've still got mine, just horrible isn't it? Bitterly regretted the big glass of oj I downed at breakfast this morning, had the worst heartburn for the entire 50 min journey to the hospital.

Very hopeful stories posted on this thread I think!

DS2 6 hours from water breaking whilst I was asleep.
DD - 4 hours as above.

I too join you overdue ladies at 40+13! 3 sweeps, small shows, lots of period pains, no LO as yet. Am hoping for induction tommorrow. I say hoping, the annoying policy here is that you 'can' be called anytime from 10 days over to 14 or more depending on their workload. Its been a very tense emotional few days waiting for a call. Heres hoping for the morning...
Good luck other overduers with sweeps etc, let us know how you get on x

Hi faireyqueen, sounds like you are having a lot of positive signs, so even if you do end up being induced, it is more likely to be successful. I hope it goes well for you - keep us updated.

with ds2, 2 (or 3) weeks overdue, went into labour about ooo 30 seconds after having my waters broken, bubba was born about 3.5 hours later...result...

Also, don't be in such a bloody rush to go into labour! With DD I was having contractions for many weeks which kept stopping and starting again. She was finally evicted by CS with possibly the longest stay inside known to man or midwife!

If you have no signs that's brilliant because it means you are not in pain. Boring it might be, but boring trumps rolling round the floor screaming for many weeks in my book .

Faireyqueen - you don't have to be induced if you don't want to be you know. But if you do decide to do so, go for the minimum possible intervention you can and if it starts off slow, don't jump right into the syntocin drip - it gives nasty double peaked contractions and massively increases the chances of you needing further interventions/cs. But good luck to you if you do decide to go for it. Doesn't sound like you need it though TBH. I think you may be in for horrible hospital food this very evening

DD1 was 14hrs from start to finish.
DD2 was 3hrs
DD3 was 2hrs
DD4 was 3hrs

I went 14 days overdue with DS1, and nothing showed any sign of budging despite three sweeps.

I ate fresh pineapple (has to be fresh - chemical that helps degrades otherwise), hot curry, BD several times, cleaned all the downstairs windows, rode a bike, swam everyday, drank raspberry leaf tea building up from week 37.

I am hoping to reassure by adding this.I was induced (Sun7pm,Sun 1pm,Mon 7am pessaries, waters broken at 1.30pm on the Monday), painlessly 14 days after my due date. I felt nothing when my waters were broken, then had fast contractions and baby was born 5 hours later 8lb 11.5oz ventouse assisted, but all very smooth and straight forward.

Mip and Faireyqueen, any news? My sweep wasn't successful - cervix high and closed still - so I have an appointment for another attempt and a scan on Friday.

Blackrock, thank you for positive induction post. I know induction has gone well for some people.

WMMC - take your point about not being in a rush, but being overdue and worrying about potential induction etc is no fun! If I go from my official date, I'll be 14 days over by Friday, so it really is time for this baby to pack his bags and get out!