How did your labour start?

[rubberduckling]

I'm 39+4 with DC2 but was induced with DC1 & it was all rather artificial. Just wondered how natural labour started for you ladies out there - did you know straight away? Having loads of braxton hicks but have had them for a while so doubt it means anything.

With DS my waters broke vigourously and then had niggles for the next 12 hours. When labour started properly it was like very painful period pains that got closer together.

With DD I woke up at 40+4 and felt a niggle or so and within 10 minutes it was full on contractions. Again I knew .

Hope it starts soon for you.

DS1 - tightenings in bump that became regular and increased in intensity over a period of hours, pain then radiated from my back round to my bump.

DD1 - period type pain, tightenings in bump that became regular and intensified quickly. No back pain.

BHs were no indication of labour for me, though I had loads more BHs throughout the pgcy with each baby.

Ds1: kept being woken at about 1am by crampy backache from about 37w. One night, just before 40w, the backache didn't go away so I thought I'd try out the TENS machine. By 3am I realised that the backache was coming in distinct waves and getting more intense. Didn't stop until ds was born 48h later. Long, but perfectly endurable.

Dd: similar to ds1, but all through shorter - days instead of weeks of midnight backache, and just over 24h before dd born.

Ds2: completely different! Every evening, from about 40w, just as I was settling down to a bit of TV before bed, I'd start getting contractions. Irregular but uncomfortable, and they would go away when I got up and walked around. One night they suddenly turned into full-on contractions at midnight, and ds2 was born 2h later.

With all 3 my waters did not break until I was at the pushing stage.

ds1 - fairly big leak of waters at 3am, mild contractions from 7am, stronger contractions from late afternoon, baby born just after midnight.

ds2 - painful braxton hicks every day for a month, one day at dinner they were coming a bit often so we timed and found they were every 3 minutes! (I still finished my dinner as was slightly skeptical about this being the real thing) Ds born less than 3 hours later.

DD1 my waters went with no discernable contractions until the next day (period pain-like tightenings gradually becoming regular and more intense).

DD2 I got regular BH particularly in the evenings for a week - patches of getting them every 5/10mins. On the final evening they got very regular, 10min intervals during dinner. They never stopped, and smoothly and gradually got closer together and more uncomfortable (period pain-like again) till I could definitely call them contrations (at 2am they were definitely proper). I couldn't tell you exactly when BH stopped and proper contractions began - they just blurred into each other. Waters went just before my v short 2nd stage this time.

DS - Sweep in the morning, then really painful period pains from about 3pm, got to hospital about 6 @ 2 cm dilated, by 9pm was 7 cm (and begging for epidural) DS born at 1.50

DD - Waters went at 5.30am with blood in them, got to hospital by 6.15am, according to notes, was in established labour for 2.57 hours, DD born at 09.30

Was due to be induced with both and both decided that they couldn't wait

after a really busy day, (out and about shopping, visiting friends and family etc), finally collapse into bed.

when i finally got comfortable and relaxed i started to get period pain like pains.

knew it was labour as i was already overdue.