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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

What were you doing when you went into labour?

109 replies

bunjies · 09/02/2005 19:47

I'm currently 38 weeks pregnant with my 3rd child and am curious to know what others were doing when they realised they were in labour and what time they gave birth. With my 1st I had a planned induction at 37 weeks as my waters started leaking a few days earlier but I hadn't had any real contractions so I was in hospital when I went into labour and ds was born at 4.20am. With my second, again my waters started leaking early at 37.5 weeks and was told I would have to be induced if labour didn't start naturally within a couple of days. However, I decided to take some castor oil (as I was going to be induced anyway) and my waters broke properly after an afternoon nap at 3.30pm. So I was in bed when it all started and dd was born at 12.30am. This time round I have managed to get past 38 weeks without leaking but I'm starting to wonder when things will kick off and what am I likely to be doing when it does! I would be very interested to hear others experiences and to know whether babies are more likely to be born during the night than during the day or if this is just my own experience.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

joash · 09/02/2005 23:10

DD1 - watching Hawaii Five-O (it was a long time ago & not many TV channels then)
DD2 - having sex
DS - sleeping

joash · 09/02/2005 23:14

DD1 - watching Hawaii Five-O (it was a long time ago & not many TV channels then)
DD2 - having sex
DS - sleeping

Sorry should have added;
DD1 - first contractions @ 8.30pm on Friday 24th April - had DD1 at 2.10pm on 25th April.

DD2 - First contraction around 11pm on 24th Nov - had DD2 at 3.05pm on 25th Nov.

DS - waters broke at 8.30pm on 20th Oct, first contraction at 11.15pm on same day, DS born at 11.58pm on same day.

Libb · 09/02/2005 23:31

I mowed the front and back lawns, quite big but petrol mower makes short work.

Assembled the last of the nursery furniture. Went shopping and returned with a ton of stuff, felt something "give", forgot about it and then the new washing machine arrived.

DP put on a new load, we watched it rattle across the floor because he hadn't removed the travel bolts - at 11.15pm I attempted to stop the aforementioned washing machine chuck itself across the floor. At 4am DS arrived.

It was an interesting day!

Joolstoo · 09/02/2005 23:44

I was on my way to an ante-natal appointment and had taken about 6 steps up the street when my waters went

WideWebWitch · 09/02/2005 23:46

ds = sleeping, woke 2am, ds born 2.30pm
dd = having sex when my waters broke at 1pm, dd born at 10.15pm and they wrote it up as 4 hours or something, yeah, right!

stupidgirl · 09/02/2005 23:47

With ds I was just leaving the hospital having had blood tests to determine whether the rash I had all over my body (which had prevented me sleeping for 2 nights) was anything suspicious. Ds arrived 23 hours later.

With dd I was watching Casualty! Went to bed until contractions got bad at around 3am and dd arrived at 6am

HunkerMunker · 10/02/2005 00:17

I woke up at 3.40am - my waters had gone. Labour progressed quite quickly, but DS was back-to-back, so wasn't as quick as it could have been. He was born at 3.21pm the same day.

sparklymieow · 10/02/2005 00:21

bit embarrassing, with DS me and Dh were doing what couples do, and when we had em...... finished, moved away from each other and there was lots of blood, my waters had broken and bloodly show have happened.
DD1... sleeping in hospital
DD2... we were at a hospital appointment at GOS with DS and had to rush home, but she wasn't born for 12 hours.

sparklymieow · 10/02/2005 00:22

survivour · 10/02/2005 00:30

was at Great Ormond Street Hospital, had a fetal heart scan, they told me that they could hear 2 murmurs, and it was more serious than they had first thought, and I may need a follow up apt, to make sure, this was at 34 weeks. Left the hospital with my youngest sister, got to her car and she had a flat tyre, i phoned the AA, after 45 minutes, they hadn't come, so I proceeded to change the tyre, 2 women came over and told me I shouldn't be doing that in my condition, they called over to a gentleman to come over and help, poor man was in a white shirt with tie. He helped me, then the AA, arrived, he got a bollocking off me, said he was only called on 10 mins earlier. I told him nicely to go..... finally got home, only to realise the baby was not moving, and the pain was actually labour. Got to North Mid, with in seconds I was in theatre, took them 3 minutes to cut my baby out. He had already crashed, and was blue. They saved his life......He is my 3rd by c-section.

Chandra · 10/02/2005 00:37

Running to pick up the phone!

biglips · 10/02/2005 00:42

on the hossy ward bed as i went in to be induced (10 days overdue)

nightowl · 10/02/2005 01:45

not sure what would be classed as my labour as right up to the birth i was told i wasnt in labour! but here goes,

was in a restaurant on my due date and suddenly felt a nasty ache, getting worse. went home and had contractions all night every 20 mins, didnt sleep at all.

next morning and all day..nothing. contractions started again as soon as i got into bed and carried on until morning, every 20 mins..no sleep again.

next morning, nothing (again). waters broke around 6pm, went into hospital to be checked, told to go home as (icky bit) midwife said she couldnt tell if i was dilated at all as she couldnt see for fluid..yeucuuuh. went back to hospital around 8.30 as contractions were every 10 mins and was told to go back when they reached that as had a previous section. midwife at hospital asked why i was there and didnt seem to believe me when i told her i was asked to go in! sent to bed with paracetamol and sleeping tablets. contractions all night, no sleep for the third night.

next morning contractions coming every five mins, still told i wasnt in labour and at dinnertime, under threat of induction and baby's heartrate all over the place i asked for another section. baby was born at 5.30pm.

nightowl · 10/02/2005 01:47

oh and with first baby i wouldnt have a clue as i had a section early on for med reasons and never had a labour!

acnebride · 10/02/2005 08:43

4 pm, making spag bol and lying on sofa waiting for mince to defrost - waters broke, a bit. Took a few seconds to realise it was my waters as it was only a leak, but i'd had a sweep at 3 pm so it didn't take long for the penny to drop.

HeyEnidYouveLostWeight · 10/02/2005 08:48

same as misdee...

sleeping and sleeping, 1. waters broke in the bed (dd1) and 2. woke up with massive contraction (dd2 born an hour and a half later).

Bozza · 10/02/2005 09:09

Both times I was woken up by contractions between 3 and 4 am. Both times waters did not break until well into second stage. DS born 12.01 pm in hospital. DD born 7.46 am at home.

Hausfrau · 10/02/2005 09:14

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

bunjies · 10/02/2005 09:35

It's great reading all your stories but they have obviously completely disproved my theory that most babies are born at night! I think this is more wishful thinking on my part as I was hoping to be able to have another home birth while ds and dd are sound asleep

OP posts:

Mirage · 10/02/2005 09:45

I was asleep.I woke up at 3.15am on my due date with what I thought was as upset tummy.Went to the loo & saw I'd had a show so rang the hospital.They asked if I'd hasd any contractions & just as I was saying no,the 1st one hit me.They were 3mins apart immediately,so I made dh take me to hospital.He was telling me that it was too early & we'd get sent home again,but he was wrong.When I was examined I was 7cm dilated already & dd was born at 7.06am.

I'm 24wks pregnant & want to have this baby at home-otherwise I have a nasty feeling that it'll arrive on the way to hospital.Don't fancy giving birth on the back seat of the car much.

elliott · 10/02/2005 10:17

ds1 - lying on sofa at about 3pm. he was born next day at 9.30pm
ds2 - asleep - woken in the early hours with mild contractions - ds2 born at 5.45pm
Though officially both labours recorded as lasting 6 hours-ish and pretty much all the full-on labour happened during the afternoon.
It seems a lot of people start labour at night - must be some hormonal reason I would guess.

pinotgrigio · 10/02/2005 10:24

Decorating the Christmas tree the day before I was due to go in and be induced. We had visitors so I kept quiet through the contractions and ate dinner. Went into hospital the next morning at 11am, contractions 3 mins apart. DD born at 11pm.

suzywong · 10/02/2005 10:25

waiting to go into labour
went in to hospital far too early with ds2

that's very dull isn't it?

suzywong · 10/02/2005 10:26

should say that both boys were bang on their due date

sweetkitty · 10/02/2005 10:36

aww these are great stories especially you lot that were doing the dirty deed at the time, I'm impressed thats the last thing I wanted to do looking like a whale.

I was sitting on the sofa watching friends on E4 and saying to DP do you fancy pizza for dinner? Then I though I've wet myself cue DP and me in the bathroom sniffing my pants and me on mumsnet with the thread "Help is this my waters breaking" and loads of replies saying "of course it is either that you've suddenly became incontinent" and "theres gonna be a baby tonight! I was still in denial.

DD was born 4 and a bit hours later much to the annoyance of everyone on the Due in August thread that I was over 2 weeks early and had a short labour for a first timer, sorry girls!!

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