Tell me about your spontaneous labours?

[Etarip]

If you went into labour spontaneously, how did it start? What were the first signs etc? How many weeks were you? How long was the labour in the end?

Currently 39+1. Not expecting to pop any time soon as my previous two pregnancies have made it past 40 weeks. (In fact both past 41 weeks ) but definitely starting to symptom spot in vain.

I was 39 weeks and I just woke up at 5am and my waters broke. That was the first sign. Then my contractions starts a few hours later and lo was born about 20 hours later. I had no show, or twinges etc... in fact I’d only just finished work that day!

My waters started going the tiniest bit, I noticed when I used the toilet in the morning. I wasn’t even sure if it was my waters or just discharge, I convinced myself it was discharge but it happened again... went into the hospital, first nurse said it wasn’t my waters and the next said it was an hour later. About half hour afterwards my waters completely went, it was like a waterfall!
Contractions started a little and gradually just got worse and worse, next day I was in a private room and I thought I needed a poop so I was straining on the toilet... OH called midwife in when I started growling like a caveman on the toilet..: turns out baby was crowning and I was giving birth!! Lol. So they rushed me to the labour room. All in all it lasted over a day

And he was 2 days early

I woke up at 7:45 with what felt like really bad period pains, at 41+5. The pains quickly progressed to feeling much, much more intense. I had to concentrate to get through each one. We went to the hospital and baby girl was born 3 hours later.

I was just like you back in April. In 2014 DS had been an epidural and induction job as I had pre-eclampsia, so I felt nothing at all from being induced to the moment he came out with forceps. But with DD I didn’t have pre-eclampsia thankfully, and so I didn’t know what labour would feel like.

I had a sweep on my due date. 36 hours later I had vague pains overnight but not regular...they stopped in the morning. I dropped DS at nursery, had a chat with the staff about how I’d probably get to 41 weeks (I’d been booked in for an induction then) then got home and the pains started up again. I downloaded an app to time them, and just sat and watched telly to try and relax. DH came home at lunch time, by 2pm the pains were now very obviously real contractions and were agony so we rang the maternity unit and went straight down - by 3pm I was 5cm dilated. DD was born at 10.28pm that evening. My midwife wasn’t sure if the sweep she’d done had been effective or not, or if I would have gone into labour anyway.

Good luck!

I didn't really have any prior concrete signs when I went into labour at 41 weeks. I'd been having a show for over a week and painless braxton hicks for a couple of weeks but nothing that made me feel labour was imminent. I just woke up one morning at 5ish with mild cramping which quickly got more and more painful. At 6.30 my Dh asked if he should stay home from work and I said no, then by 7 I said yes! I couldn't stop vomiting and had a really heavy bloody show. I was in established labour by 4ish and had baby at 8:15pm. There was a bit of drama and some coming and going but all well in the end. Didn't have time for an epidural, my waters went and by the time we got back to the hospital I was fully dilated.

Good luck, hope everything is straightforward for you when LO decides to appear!

My waters splooshed at 40+5 as I was on my way to get a sweep so just popped up to the labour ward to get checked instead. Contractions started 12 hours later and ds was born 12 hours after that, almost to the minute. I was given a 24 hr window for him to make his way into the world or I would not have been able to have the water birth I wanted. He made it, just. Then again if they tried to remove me from the tub I probably would have bitten their arm off

38+1 and 37+6 both time sat on bed watching early evening TV when waters broke spontaneously. No previous symptoms. Babies arrived 36 and 48 hours later!

39+1, was watching the Bake off bouncing on my exercise ball. Got off to sit on the sofa and my waters burst spontaneously!

I was 37+6, woke up on the morning at 9am and my pyjamas felt damp. Put a sanitary towel on, lay down for half hour and stood up and I gushed everywhere. The hospital asked me to pop up a couple of hours later to confirm if was my waters. It was, and I was 2-3cms. I had a sweep and was sent home with instructions to call the induction suite at 8.30am the following morning if I wasn't having any contractions. Contractions started around 2pm. I was having between 3-4 in 10 minutes by 7.30 (the hospital had told me to call when they were that frequent). They asked me to go back, went into the MLU and I was still 2-3cm at 8.30pm, they said they'd monitor me for a couple of hours to see how things weren't. Next examined at 2.30am, I was 4cm so active labour care started. At 6.30am I was 10cms. Took 4 hours of pushing, DD was born at 10.29am at 38 weeks exactly. 25 1/2 hours from when my waters went, 20 hours from first contraction and 8 hours from when I was in active labour.

Currently waiting for mine but I can tell you my DM's spontaneous ones as we were all early and she wasn't expecting us to come then at all.
With me, waters went in the morning, she'd helped move a washing machine into a house the day before. I was born 7 hours later at about 20 to 1 in the afternoon, 10 days early.
My sister she had first contraction and then 2.5 hours later was born 11 days early.
DB1 she had BH the Friday before then nothing for a week, and was then born 11 days early the week later on Easter Sunday or Friday I can't remember which. Another short labour.
DB2 was 3 days early, expected to be a big baby and she had a scan booked in for his due date to see how big. She never got it as he turned up within 5 hours of the first contraction.

She never got the water births she wanted though and had some complications with me (almost bled to death) and db1 where she needed general anaesthetic and some sort of surgery but she never talks of it. But all early babies and no other signs of us coming,but when we did we came fast!

38 + 4, thought "ooh better get the mattress protector we bought" on going to bed. Waters went about 10 minutes later and contractions started about five hours after that. I had a bit of back pain the week previous but nothing else.

As it happened, it was Friday the 13th and Ds was eventually born by emcs having got lost and wedged his giant head into my pelvis.

I was induced with ds1 at 42 weeks, but had spontaneous labours with the others.

DS2- 41+3, from the early hours kept waking up to go to the toilet, realised after a while that this was happening every 20 minutes or so, turned into a bit of diarrhoea, after a few hours of this experienced a big proper contraction, ds2 born 2 hours and 45 minutes after that. 4 minute second stage and he was born with his head and face still in the caul, waters never broke so as he emerged so did a whole lot of liquid. Easiest birth of the lot.

DS3, 40+4, woke in the early hours leaking, wandered around for a few hours insisting I wasn't actually going into labour, called midwife to say I was leaking and had lost the plug and was having tightenings but wasn't in labour, midwife came over, I insisted that despite the tightenings becoming powerful and painful I was not in labour, she humoured me but said she'd stay, DS3 was born about 2 and a half hours after the midwife had arrived. Painful delivery that took a fair bit of work as he was born with both hands on his bloody head. I was insane during that labour. Properly vile and angry and unreasonable.

Thanks for the replies. I can't imagine what it must be like for your waters to just go! It always happened much further into labour for me. I kind of feel like that's what will happen this time too

Mine didn’t go until an hour or so before the baby came out. They covered the midwife, and my gorgeous surgical stockings. I thought the baby was going to come out in the sac.

Woke up 2am with a contraction, asked DH to time them and fell asleep. Woke up with the next one, checked his watch and it was two minutes. Kick bollock scramble to hospital where ds was born at 10am after a lovely epidural, litres of gas and air and great chats with the midwife. Beautiful labour compared to two inductions with dd1 and dd2.

DS1 - 40 + 5, started with contractions - not very painful just there. This went on for about 5 hours so went to hospital. The midwife examined me, yes I was in labour and dilated, she called the Dr who announced I wasn’t in labour and should go back home! Midwife had a quiet word so they gave me something to make me sleep and kept me in. It worked and I fell asleep. Woke up another 3 hours later still with the same pains and this time WAS in labour. They broke my waters and he was born 2 hours later after pushing for 1 hour.
DD1 - 37 + 3, woke up at 4 am having really painful contractions every 6 mins so went to the hospital at 5.30. My XH said he couldn’t get in til 10 am and to ‘hold on’. After they examined me, they put me in a room and left me with the gas and air! I’m sure they kept checking on me, but it’s all very fuzzy. Come 10 am - still no XH mind, they broke my waters and she was delivered 25 mins later. XH finally arrived at 2.30 pm.
DS3 - 41 + 1, woke up at 3 am to pee and swoosh, tidal wave! I dropped to my hands and knees as I thought he’d come shooting out riding the tsunami. Made it to the loo, woke DS1 up to ask a neighbour to phone the hospital as XH was out. She came to sit with me to watch the DC as the ambulance was on its way. XH turned up at the same time as the ambulance, by now it was 5 ish. The pains didn’t start til around 8 and he was born at noon.

Sporadic cramps for a few days became Increasing cramps (like menstrual cramps). Then they became quite annoying.

I think waters broke as I was pushing 'em out.

@Etarip my waters didn’t go until he was half out with my youngest! The midwife refused to burst them because she said it provided cushioning for my contractions and things were moving fast enough without popping them... so I was well into pushing when they burst, all over my midwife and OH! Lol. But yeah it was a weird thing to happen when they suddenly gushed with my first, I wasn’t having contractions or anything at that point

DS1 was an induction.
I had diarrhoea for two days before DS2 was born, that was the first sign. Had a sudden gush of a small amount of liquid in the evening on the day before he was born, followed by very light contractions every 15 minutes. Baby born 9 hours later (only 2 hours of really painful contractions though).
I hope your LO decides to come soon!

On my due date i fell asleep on the sofa and woke at 3pm with really bad tummy ache. Had a bout of awful diarrhoea immediately after followed my first contraction 5 mins later.
My waters never broke until 14 hours later when the hospital broke them for me and then ended with emergency section anyway :-(

Woke up knowing that it was a full on contraction and they didn’t quit. Waters broke as she was being born. Dd1 born 3 hours later. Dd2 waters broke and then labour started about 30 mins later. Born 4 1/2 hours after that.

Got up at 39 + 1, had a show at about 6.30. Contractions started an hour later after DH had gone to work. Had to get DD1 to school so couldn't get to hospital till 9.30. Waters broke after my lift had driven off. Managed to get into the hospital and up to the ward. DD2 born at 10.17am. Less than 4 hours since the show. DD1 was induced at 40+2, the midwife broke my waters at 5pm after I'd been at hospital since 8.30am and she was born at 7.23pm.

Only had 1 spontaneous labour out the 3.

Baby no.1, 40+2 started with contractions for that night and then stopped. My waters burst the following day around dinner time and contractions started straight after and baby was born just after midnight.

Dd I'd had a few hours of contractions in the the middle of the night every night for about a week but never amounted to anything. Then went shopping for house furnishings at 39 weeks exactly and had terrible back ache, but upper back not lower. Got to the point I was in agony and couldn't walk. Kept on trying to shop (no idea why). Dawned on me after about 3 hours maybe it was starting but Google said it'd be lower back pain ... Went to hospital about 8 hours later, our daughter arrived after a very long back to back labour, she was born face up at 4pm 24 hours after the first pains, I avoided forceps by minutes!

Ds again I was out shopping for home furnishings (there's a pattern here) similar time of day and again I had back ache. I realised a bit sooner what was going on so went home and hung my new curtains. Arrived at the hospital again at the same time, only this time it only took 16 hours from first niggles for him to arrive. He was born 8am at 39 weeks exactly. I seem to be quite consistent. If we have a 3rd I'll be sure to go home shopping at 39 weeks, seems to work a treat!