Help! Mucus plug just gone, pain down there - is it time?!

[Noodles81]

Hi guys,

I was due yesterday and had a sweep yesterday. Woke up this morning from pains in my lower back which then transferred to pain in the front, they were coming every half hr.

Just went to the loo now and my mucus plug has gone - it was flegm like and browny/redy in colour. The pains have also come back they happen every so often maybe half an hr.

Does this mean labour is imminent? What shall i do? Friend said now is the time to have sex to get it all going - isn't it dangerous to have sex if the plug has gone?

I'm so nervous!!!!

Of course you're getting somewhere - all these pains are helping the cervix do what it needs to do. What you need to do (however hard) is try to stop thinking about it or worrying that nothing is happening as any anxiety can prohibit labour. The more your conscious brain is active, the harder it is for the primal part of the brain it is to try to get on with it. If you do think about what's going on, try visualisation (seeing the cervix open like a flower or something) If it doesn't help at least you've not worn yourself out. YY to some ball bouncing but not too much - someone said upthread, this is a marathon not a sprint!

Friday is AGES away yet

Do you have anything fun or important planned for this week (other than induction!)?

By the way congratulations on your 30th!

Thanks cervix!

Thanks guys,

No nothing planned at all! I'm also getting very annoyed with family ringing and constantly asking is he here yet? Where's my Grandson, come on hurry up etc etc - i just feel like telling them to leave me the f alone and slamming the phone down.

I'm gonna see if i can get to the hosp to be checked out.
x

chin up honey.you are making progress,plugs gone and pains are coming.it can feel disheartening as you want to get in there and have done...i knew someone who had a baby from plug to birth in under 2hrs and went into shock after so be quick is over rated.keep upright (and rocking if its comfy)
a trip to hospital for a check will reassure you
the zoo house are all rooting for you!!!!

Come on Noodles!

You are making more progress than some of us 2nd/3rd and in my case 4th timers!

Which is why you are getting lots of positive posts and warnings not to wear yourself out, as we know how frustrating yet exciting it can be the temptation is always to try and get things moving, but trust your body, it knows what its doing!

And in my exp having a longer latent phase does prepare your body better for when things ramp up, its like trying to start a car that hasn't gone for a while, a few tries of ticking it over and at some point it will catch and you will be on your way!!!

Have a gentle bounce, a bath and a cry to release some tension then something nice for lunch with your lovely DH!

Oh and ignore all 'have you had it yet/whats happening now' questions from well meaning friends/relatives as that just adds to the pressure you are putting on yourself, you are not a performing seal! I know during my home birth as I was more 'accessible,' family members once they knew things were happening did make me feel as though I should have been progressing more than I was. DH eventually sent me upstairs as I was getting frustrated and sent people home, inc the midwife who had a student with her that was desperate to see a home water birth (thus was hanging around!).

Another thing, you may start to feel a bit restless and teary a bit like a caged lioness, not knowing what to do with yourself, that's normal and a good sign that you are moving into the next stage.

I never lost my plug with the first, waters went right at the end. With my 2nd I had a sweep and started to lose the plug, but nowhere near the quantity you have described went into labour within days had 3 hr labour. My last my waters went with a trickle, took hours for labour to get going, but when it did labour was 1hr 40 mins!

X post, thought you must be getting the annoying calls by now!

IGNORE IGNORE IGNORE!!!

Awww thank you zoo that's so lovely of you. :)

Thank you merrier for your words :)
You're right i do feel like sobbing, this feeling of feeling so helpless and not knowing if it's going the right way or indeed how long it will take, or if it will happen before Friday as some say it can take weeks!
Do you think that i shouldn't ask for another sweep then and just let body get on with it? What if it doesn't happen by Friday?

I hope the hosp will let me come in, i have a feeling they might try to fob me off and tell me to stay at home. Do you think they will be able to let me know if i'm dilated at all? I hope something is going on down there at least!
x

Why don't you and dh go to the cinema or out for lunch or something? Something to take your mind off it might be just what you need . You can always come straight home if you need to.

Tbh, I'd avoid the hospital. Having an exam and knowing how many cm you are isn't going to speed anything up. I've known people go in and then the staff try to persuade them to stay for induction/breaking waters 'seeing as they're already there'.

Keep going .

PS unplug the phone and get dh to screen calls to your mobile. Sens a text to all the kind pesterers saying "thank you for your concern, we're a bit preoccupied right now, as I'm sure you'll understand, so no need to text or call again Don't worry we will let you know as soon as there's any news ". Then IGNORE them all.

When I was in latent labour with dc1 we went out for a v posh lunch. I sat on a plastic bag just in case. I had pâté and champagne (but just one glass) and a rare steak. Go and do something nice.

Go for a walk with DH, only a short one, or go somewhere nice, just do anything to get your mind off it, & get DH to intercept the calls, as all the posters have said. He will come when he's good & ready!!

As for forcing you to stay in, I wish!! My hospital is so over stretched that they sent me away as I was only 1cm then I was back in less than 1.5hrs at 9cm... I know someone who was less than an GT away from delivering her 2nd & they tried to turn her away because they were 'full'. She said no way & delivered in a triage room!! If you would feel better knowing how far along you are, call them & ask if they'll see you, but as another post said, it won't change things. Just go with the flow...

Do try to relax & enjoy the peace & quiet though, you'll miss it soon enough!! Good luck :)

GT should read HR - sorry!!

Oh and I agree with the above post about being quick can be s shock. As I've said, I laboured for less than 12hrs and at 5am on the ward I just sat staring at my DD, saying oh my god, that's my baby over & over in my head. I was in a bit of shock & couldn't sleep, & didn't get a full night's sleep again for about 4mths!!! You have time to get your head around the fact that he's coming... Use it wisely :)

oh i know its disheartening but what flissflaps said, all these contractions ARE doing something they are making things ready for your little ones arrival! with any luck all this will mean that once you actually go into full blown labour its quite quick and easy!

i agree that you need to rest but do go for a walk, go to the cinema, get your hair cut, do some htings you wont be able to do for a while once the baby arrives! i know its hard but you really need to relax and not think about it as that will not help.

unplug the phone or get your dh to answer it, i got lots and lots of calls like that as i went 2wks+ overdue with all mine, the 'havent you had it yet' made me its quite simple, tell everyone ONCE you have had the baby you WILL call them and in the meantime they need to sod off and leave you alone!

oh and do have a good cry, it will help you unwind, its normal to feel anxious, fed up and upset, so let yourself do that for a bit and then get on with life as much as you feel up to. even if that is nothing more than wathcing some crappy film or reading a book. but if you can face it then a nice walk or going to the cinema or out for a meal are lovely things to do with your dh in the last few days whilst you have the opportunity :)

I think if you were to go to the hospital and they examined you, it could make you more disheartened tbh.

With ALL of my labours I have been told the following, DS1 'you are to comfortable to be in established labour, (and after waters went) it could be 12-24hrs yet,had him 1 and a half later.

DS2 you are only 3cm, and (on feeling my tummy during a contraction) 'they are not very strong!' Well, I labour in my back, again after trying to convince me to go home had him within the hour and it was panic stations as they had left me in a side room and then had to get me over to delivery!

DD was Home birth, I had wised up at this point and I actually put in my Birth plan, 'do not tell me where I am up to, I will agree to examinations but I do not wish to hear your opinion on how long it will be. I will let you know. Again, examined as waters had gone and was 'on the clock' at midnight found to be 3cms, noted exchange of 'we are going to be here all night' look between midwives,but they did not comment. DD was born in the pool 1 hour 40 mins later!

Even at that point when I said her head was crowning, I recall a midwife saying to my DH it must be the waters about to pop (hind waters had been trickling)!

So, I guess what I am trying to say is that it really can be only speculation, they cannot predict your body, which is doing a great job so far!

Personally, rather than another sweep I would enjoy a bit of intimacy with your DH, if you feel like it! Much more fun and again great for releasing that tension!

Only you can decide if you want another sweep, see how things are going, Friday is an age away and things can kick off at any time!

And get Chubs with her Pate and Champagne!

Now that's my idea of Latent labouring! (makes note for 8 weeks time when DC4 due!)

i baked at this point -a big scone that is marked into 6 and sprinkle with sugar.doesnt take long to make and i sat back against the cooker waiting to get my greedy mitts on it
its now known as labour cake in the zoo house!!!!!!

i wish id made more stuff for the freezer to use as meals afer we got back with new bundles.it soon ran down and was right at the point i was starting to tire from lack of sleep!!!

How are things going? (asked in a nice way not a "have you had that baby yet" sort of way ).

Baking sounds like a lovely idea.

Hi lovlies,

Update for you all.

I thought that my waters had gone yesterday and he wasn't as active today so i thought i'd go to the hosp to get it checked out - first time n all didn't know how waters breaking felt.

Turns out waters haven't broken, his heart rate was fine so all is good there.
She did an internal and said that i was actually 2cm - horray!
She also did another sweep and since she did the contractions have come back after being quiet all day and are pretty frequent as yes painful!

I asked if she thought he would be here before induction on Friday and she seemed to think so. Although as my friend reminded me, i am in labour and i've dilated so there isn't anything to induce and at the most, i might need my waters breaking near the time - is she right?! Is it possible that i don't progress from 2cm until Friday?
x

I still reckon your baby will be here by noon tomorrow.

Oooohhhhhh..... Noodles, sweep sounds like it might have been promising! Will continue to check in to keep an eye. Have a good night's rest, who knows what tomorrow might bring!! x

OOo nervous and excited Chub!
Was thinking i better go get my sleep in just in case!

One thing i did hate. As it's the weekend they put triage IN the labour ward. As i waiting to be seen, i could hear a women down the corridoor literally screaming the house down every few minutes.
Then a woman came in clearly in active labour and was sent to the waiting room. She was humming and making noises and looking like she was going to pass out right in front of me.
I literally said to OH can we go i wanna get out of here. I started twitching my leg and i got butterflies and suddenly i felt so nervous and scared about what was going to happen to me and how painful it would be - like everything i had read in Hypnobirthing just went out the window straight away!
Luckily they moved triage to where it is on weekdays - much to my relief and state of mind!

All sounds good! Good to go to hospital to get checked if you are at all worried.

As I understand it, if you don't progress after several days, even if you are in the very early stages of labour, then there are various things which the hospital can do to speed up your labour, including but not limited to breaking your waters. Do ring your midwife or the labour ward for advice at any stage. They really won't think you are wasting their time.

Really don't worry about not knowing whether your waters have broken - it really varies from person to person. And they may well not break until you are practically about to deliver. If you are continually leaking water, you'll know. Apparently you can tell the difference between waters and wee because your waters smell sweet, and wee smells of, well, wee.

There are lots of encouraging signs, and Friday is a very long way off yet.

Thank you Wigeon.

This is really good for me i suppose as i am SUCH an impatient person normally and i just wanna get on with it and hate not knowing - exactly what is going on at the moment and there's nothing i can do about it!
I'm one of those people who just wants an answer either way and of course no one can tell me when it's gonna happen or indeed if it is, so it's just a waiting game!

Been using the contraction timer on the phone and 7mins apart so far!!

Noodles, use your experience of your visit the labour ward to encourage you NOT to go back again until you absolutely have to!

Good luck.

Is this your first?

With my second it was 5 mins apart at 2:30 and dd was born 11:30pm. There is really no need to get there before the last hour or two UNLESS you need some pain management.

Oh there was a woman making demonic shrieking noises when I had ds. You'll be in your own zone, don't worry about it.