What was your first signs of labour?

[emilylouisee]

Hey all, due date is quickly approaching 9th June! First time mum...

What were your first signs of labour? Don't know what to look out for or expect! 🙈

Pooping every 15 minutes for 8 hours. On the bright side there was nothing left in my system to embarrass me during labour. Or at least that what I've told myself.

Pooping all night, vague contractions (but compared to what ? Braxton hicks ???)

You will know without doubt when labour is starting OP, I can remember DH telling me to try and go back to sleep as it was the early hours, and the midwife said no rush with first baby etc. no way on earth could I have done that, your body just takes over. Really hard to explain, but you just know.

@emilylouisee honestly? you won't know, we are all so different in how we go into labour. My first, I had the nesting instinct and cleaned like a maniac up until I went into labour. Second, went into labour quite smoothly with a gradual increase until I delivered but, with hindsight, too fast and painful - he was back to back and it hurt,

DS3, did hypno-birthing - was amazing I had minimal pain and discomfort and delivered my third +10lbs baby comfortably

@jayho I'm hoping PP knows by now and is holding a cuddly 6 month old 😅. I enjoyed reading those as I casually wait for my time to arrive.

I know this is from May, but I'm very jealous of all the people saying "you'll just know!". I'm 36 weeks and have spent the last 3 nights with hours of painful regular Braxton hicks (pain is on a par with being 5cm dilated with my last baby). They go off by about 6am and I've had my cervix checked (closed). The first night I thought this was definitely it, now I'm just knackered, moody, and painful!

I was awake throughout the night with period-like pains. I never even thought it was the start of labour. Went about my day the next morning, when my waters went everywhere, in public😅

Sorry to hear that @airwrapped. Have they checked baby's position? Sounds like it could be back to back and is triggering braxton hicks while trying to realign itself. Perhaps ask for a check up on baby's position and if you don't have spd go up and down stairs sideways or kerb walk

@greenerfingers annoyingly it's not position (his back is lying to my side - I've had a few growth scans to confirm position/size and he is big). I've had painful BHs since about week 20 and as this is baby 3 the midwife has said it's just my uterus getting into gear - she described it as a balloon that's been inflated and deflated a few times, so it needs to strengthen itself 😂 I'm sure it's not helped by a) PGP and b) the size, I'm small framed and baby is on 93rd centile (my last 2 babies hovered around 30th) so with a few weeks to go I am the same size as I was at full term previously. The things we go through to bring life into this world!!!

Oh gosh we sound similar. At 34 weeks I wondered how I could possibly get bigger. First two pregnancies I was tiny, this is my third pregnancy and I'm 3 stones heavier than first two (and it's all on the bump area). My legs and back are broken from it. Keep telling myself only a few days left.

Interesting about the braxton hicks, I haven't had any this time and now I'm thinking oh God I hope my body is gearing up 🫤. It's just so different to my last pregnancy. And my first pregnancy as a second trimester loss so no idea how that would have carried on.

So sorry to hear of your loss @greenerfingers

It's wild how pregnancies can differ, do you have an long gap between your last and current one? I'm 9 years since my last so age might be playing a factor. With you on the big bump - I've had so many "oh what a wonderful neat big bump!" comments from HCPs, have literally put on zero weight elsewhere, but by god it's so difficult to sit, stand, lie, exist with so much weight being carried at the front, and I assume distributing the pain in more concentrated ways on the pelvis and ribs. Not long to go....

@greenerfingers ha ha! good spot, must have been having labour remeniscising attack.

Hope it all goes well for you.keep us posted x

Bottom line I think is that it's a complete mystery, different for everyone and no definitive milestones. I'd say, trust your body, go with it, in most circumstances it will go well and don't give headspace to the times it might not.