How did your first labour start?

[Nelbert19]

Hello all

I’m 38 weeks today and am at that stage where I’m anxiously sign spotting and impatiently waiting for labour to start!

My bump dropped over a week ago and I’ve been having very mildly painful contractions for a few hours now - not regular, just like mild period pain. Could this be the start of things?? (Probably not, but I’m hoping so!)

How did your first labour start? How long until first symptom until active labour? Would love to hear others experiences

I woke up in the night needing the loo, pulled my pyjamas down and my waters went. Looked like someone had thrown a bucket of water over the bathroom floor! Contractions started about 5 hours later, think and fast. Immediately at 3 in 10 and lasting for 1 minute.

I was 39+1. I woke at 3am with a gentle contraction, then again at 5am. I lost the plug a few hours later, then the contractions just gradually ramped up throughout the day. Went to hospital in the early evening, eventually had an epidural and DS arrived at ten past midnight. So I'd describe it as slow and steady.

Ha two very different experiences already, thank you for sharing! Would be lovely if I’m at the start of your story @DramaAlpaca... slow and steady sounds good to me

Hoping my waters break in hospital @Fandanglethat to avoid ruining a sofa/carpet 🙈

Diarrhoea in the morning after months of constipation . Plus a bit of pink cm when I wiped. I went shopping that day and had a few little painful niggles through the day that ramped up into contractions over the evening. I went to hospital at 1.30am and he was born in the pool at 5 am. My waters went in the pool maybe an hour before he was born.

We went shopping for furniture and a fridge for the house we’d just bought. We got there about 3pm and I had terrible pains in my upper back, it got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t walk so my husband had to move the car as I couldn’t walk back across the retail park car park. Pain was still my upper back so I didn’t think labour (I was 39 weeks). I sat in the car 20 min convinced it was just my back and then carried on shopping, still in pain. After 3 hours I said to my husband I think something might be starting as it wasn’t going and I decided to pick up a nursing bra from the m&s, I took off my bra to try it on and my boobs were squirting milk like fountains. I put my clothes back on and said to my husband I’m pretty sure things are starting. Went home and real contractions started about 8pm, went to hospital at midnight but our daughter didn’t arrive until 4pm the next day. She was back to back (and born in that position) so it explains why my pain was all in my back.

Second time I was again shopping for house things, curtains this time on a different retail park lol, again 39 weeks (we even joked on the way there, you watch I’ll go into labour shopping!). I was walking around dunelm and could feel the familiar early pains around 1pm, went to another shop and got some other bits and another set of curtains. Came home at 4, hung my curtains (knowing I was in early labour) and my husband went to work for a few hours. By 8pm it was ramping up to every few minutes. Went to hospital at 1am and baby arrived at 8am.

I’m pregnant again now and I’ll know when it’s time when I decide to go shopping around 39 weeks! With my first baby I didn’t think it was labour as the pains weren’t where Dr Google said they should be, google said belly or lower back. So it doesn’t always start how you’d expect. I googled and said to my husband “nope, no mention of upper back pain so it can’t be labour!”

First time I started losing the plug in 40th week. Woke up 40+3 with mild contractions at 4am. Pottered for the day. Contractions went on for daaaaays. Went in to hospital at 40+6 10pm and DD was born midday the next day.

Got up at 3.30am to use the loo (37 weeks) and my waters went as I stood up. He was born three hours later.

I felt like I had indigestion ie my stomach felt uncomfortable and then my waters went (while I was lying down in bed.

Proper labour started 18 hours later and the early part felt like heavy stomach cramps before I realised they were contractions

Wow @IsItGinOclock1 that’s such an unusual start!

@Ifawl I’m trying to prepare myself for days of contractions, or the on and off contractions you hear about. Hard not to get my hopes up!

Currently bouncing on my ball - contractions still coming with mild period pain, but not getting any stronger 🤷🏻‍♀️

My waters broke at 1am. But actual contractions came on about 4 hours later pretty strong and sudden .

Prior to my waters breaking I had diarrhoea, horrible lower back pain and a lot of vaginal pressure.

I was 37 weeks .

I woke up at 1am, thinking I might have stomach bug, I had stomach cramps, feeling sick and diarrhoea. I was 37+6. I then realised that I'd lost my plug and started feeling some contractions, they were half an hour apart. Diarrhoea stopped and I went back to bed. Woke up half hourly until about 4, when I couldn't go back to sleep. Eventually started timing my contractions, they were fairly irregular but getting stronger. Woke my husband at 7 to tell him I was in labour. Managed to wait another hour when I called the midwifes. They told me that I should stay home as my pain wasn't where it should be (it was all in my lower stomach, and not all over). I took some paracetamol which did nothing. I called again at 10 when the pain was getting pretty unbearable. Our car was broken so we called a taxi, while waiting for that my body started to push all by itself. We got into hospital (the taxi driver was pretty nervous but a trooper, I was terrified he'd refuse to take us when he saw me!) The midwife didn't believe me that I was pushing and refused me gas and air because I wasn't far enough according to her. I eventually felt that I was crowning and only then did she check and realise that I was about to give birth! Haha. I don't remember my waters breaking but I think it was on the wheelchair my husband got me to get to the ward, because I later saw that it was wet. Sorry that was way more than you asked! Once I start I can't stop talking about it!

Lost the plug then a couple of hours later I started to feel uncomfortable and like I wanted to wee but nothing was forthcoming.

Looking back I wish I'd been more active in that early stage. They were quite painful from the second day and enough to keep me awake at night. I stayed curled up in bed when I should have been out of the house pounding the pavements or up and down the stairs. If you feel contractions are starting then get moving and start practising those lovely long slow breaths (which I still use when I exercise!) Big breath in and release it as slowly as you can until your lungs are empty. Just focus on clearing the air out x

@Niki06 I’ve heard quite a few stories where midwives don’t believe labouring women, despite not having examined them! Unbelievable! You must have really looked in control

Thank you @Ifawl, I took it really easy yesterday and nothing has progressed. Still a bit crampy this morning, but seem to have settled 😡 I’ve taken the dog for a walk and will now be deep cleaning the kitchen to see if I can get things going again!

So impatient for him to get here!!

Please try not to symptom spot, I know it's hard but it's even harder when you are overdue and it's not happening.

With my first I started to lose quite a lot of my plug at 37wks. My bumped dropped about then and every week became so hard. Thought I was going to go soon. I even had contractions one night for 4 hrs and then we disappeared at 2am.

My blood pressure kept rising the closer I was getting to 40wks so I kept having to go to hospital for monitoring and to see the midwife. Got a sweep just before due date at hospital. They thought I was very favourable and said they cld probably break my waters but thought I wld go naturally in a day or 2.

6 days later I was bk up the hospital coz of my blood pressure. They did another sweep and told me to come back next day for induction.

They broke my waters put me on the drip and she was born 15hrs later by emcs.

I went at 37 wks with my second, waters just broke one night in bed.

Good luck the last few wks are so hard.

Mild period pains day before, which only lasted a few hours. My plug had started “going” about a week before.
Next day I’d gone out to the shop, come back and was having lunch when I started getting strong cramps and they were regular and far apart but they never stopped! Phoned midwife about 10pm (home birth) and he was born about 6am. My waters didn’t go until about an hour before he was born! he was born exactly 40 weeks since starting last period to the day

I woke early morning thinking I just needed a wee.I went to the toilet and as soon as I sat down it was like a waterfall.I decide my waters had broken as no way could my bladder hold that much liquid !
Contractions then started coming around 45 minutes after that.
I was fully dilated by the time I got to the hospital.DC was born 2 hours after waters broke.

Thanks @Shelby30, I know I need to just chill out and stop driving myself mad! That’s a long time between losing your plug and baby appearing, how frustrating!

I felt WEIRD the day before. I didn’t want to leave the house but couldn’t really explain it. I had been having irregular contractions for aaages.

On the day of, the difference was the timing. Suddenly the contractions had rhythm - 15 minutes apart, just strong enough to wake me up and look at the clock. They stayed like that for about 8 hours. Then they changed - they got closer together and stronger, and it felt like they were building up.

Afraid I didn’t lose my plug until contractions were about 2 mins apart, and waters broke shortly after. DD horn about an hour after that.

As you can see - lots of different ways the early stages can go, mine doesn’t match the experiences of the others here. For me, this was all at 38 weeks.

My contractions started on the Thursday at lunchtime and by midnight I went to the hospital to be checked only to be told I was 2cm dilated.

Contractions then continued at a rate of 1 every ten minutes for another two days so I was knackered. Waters went in a great gush over the chair at Costa Coffee in the hospital and ruined their upholstery

DD was born Sunday 6am after 18 hours of active labour but she had turned back to back mid labour and then got herself stuck. I ended up with an emcs.

Thank you for your stories, it’s so interesting how different it is for everyone!

Looks like I’m going to be one of the ‘mild cramps on and off for days but nothing happening’ crowd. Gah!

Bit jealous of your dramatic, movie-style public water breaking @moonlight1705 🤣

Started as a mild period pain at about 7am, stayed home to rest and eat all day. Steadily got stronger.
Gave birth 7:20am next day, with around 10 pushes maybe after going to hospital at midnight. Midwife broke my waters. No Idea about the plug.

Was straightforward really.

The pain was fine for me, didn't have any pain killers as the wave of pain only lasted about 20 seconds

I was 40+7. I'd been having more and more Braxton Hicks for the previous few days, but otherwise no signs really. My labour started (at about 5pm in a Sunday when I went into the bathroom and my waters broke all over the floor! Contractions started soon afterwards and I went to the hospital around 11pm, by then I was 5cm dilated. DC1 didn't arrive until the following evening (around 8pm) though.

Good luck OP!

I was 36 week and waters went in the middle of the night DS was here 5 hours later!

I was about to sit down to eat my dinner and my waters broke (38+5). No signs that I recall prior to that. We'd just finished decorating the nursery that afternoon. I started getting period like pains around 30 mins later. My 'contractions' felt more like back pain so didn't appreciate how far along things were progressing and made it to the hospital just as I needed to push so not sure how long active labour was but my son was born 8 hours after my waters broke. My only advice is trust your body. I held off going to hospital as thought I was just being a wimp and didn't want to get sent home again but in hindsight I probably should have gone earlier.