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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Original poster

What were your early labour symptoms?

34 replies

Mummytobe333 · 08/09/2022 07:34

Just wondering what everyone’s first signs of labour were & how long before contractions started? 😊
love hearing how it all started! First time Mum due in 2 weeks 💓

OP posts:
Doodledeedum · 14/09/2022 21:56

Bump

Whataboutno · 14/09/2022 21:59

Dodgy stomach with my first, gave birth the next day!

Second was different and was in latent stage for days so won't be helpful to you!

Good luck!

SomethingFast · 14/09/2022 22:01

Period-type pains, which got rapidly worse within an hour. Unfortunately it wasn’t a swift labour despite that!

Aretheyhavingalaugh · 14/09/2022 22:01

Woke up on a Sunday morning feeling crampy period pains, I was 4 days overdue, within a couple of hours these turnt into contractions. Had contractations all through Sunday 5 minutes apart. Woke up Monday morning with contractions still 5 minutes apart but noticeably stronger, went to triage at 10am to get checked and was in active labour, 7cm dilated. Baby was born Monday afternoon at 3:31pm

wishuponastar1988 · 15/09/2022 04:15

Woke up Saturday morning and cleaned my oven at 10am, waters went and contractions started at 12.30, baby born 12 hours later

wishuponastar1988 · 15/09/2022 04:16

Sorry forgot to add - was 0cm at 12.30, went home and back to hospital at 8pm and was 6-7cm so was kept in!

Skiingwithgin · 15/09/2022 04:28

Lost my mucus plug about midnight, back cramps started a few hours later in bed, progressively got worse, stomach tightening stop but more in my back. Went to hospital about 1pm, only 1cm dilated but pain all in my back. Walked around outside for about 5 hours (covid), stayed in over night. Pain in back got worse. Waters went with merconium about 4am, sent to delivery suite to be monitored about 6am.
needed the drip to speed things up as baby starting to get distressed. As soon as that went in I transitioned and now felt contractions in my front not just my back and it bloody hurt. Checked dilation at 11am was only 3cm. By 12pm I delivered at 10cm!!!

im due again in 2 weeks and eager to see how this one goes!

Original poster
Mummytobe333 · 15/09/2022 14:51

Thanks for sharing everyone! Love hearing everyone’s labour stories and how it all began. Due in less than a week and no symptoms at all yet - love hearing what everyone’s early symptoms / signs were !

OP posts:
Emmyhm · 17/09/2022 10:53

I had something called a “Malar flush” I had never heard of it before but the night before I went into labour my face was BRIGHT RED. Like I had a reaction to something 😂
I had no trouble with circulation or blood pressure it was solely related to the onset of labour!

georgarina · 17/09/2022 18:43

Day before/day of labour starting:

Very tired - just wanting to curl up on the couch.

Hungry, especially for easy high-energy foods like ice cream.

Achy and crampy like PMS feeling.

orangehour · 18/09/2022 01:07

i was super jittery at bedtime - heart going, trembly, jumpy and quick tempered. Waters broke at 3am and baby was born 10.35am!

Blossom45 · 18/09/2022 02:14

Two days before I went for a long walk and felt an intense ‘something is going to fall out of me pressure’ feeling. The day before I had an urge to clean everything. Also had on and off nausea. The day of no signs at all other than feeling a bit ‘off’, waters broke and then period-like pains started and became more and more intense until I was ready to push. Time from waters breaking was roughly 11hours and active labour was 5 hours.

Patri90 · 18/09/2022 03:13

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octoberfarm · 18/09/2022 03:19

With my first I had a week of "prodromal labor" - basically a heap of painful but totally irregular and unproductive contractions for hours a day (10-14 hours at its worst!). The day he was born I went for a 2 mile walk and felt something shift, and later that day things started moving pretty quickly. I had him 37 minutes after arriving at the hospital!

With my second, I felt like I had a really awful stomach bug - nausea, upset stomach and bad stomach pain like you'd have with a virus. In fact I spent two days trying to convince myself it was just a stomach bug (he was 4 weeks early). Don't do that 😂 Best of luck for your delivery, OP Flowers

ThatsNiceEh · 18/09/2022 13:58

I didn't want to leave the house for about 3 days before I went into labour. I had been very active up until then, out walking, running errands, meeting friends for lunch, that type of thing.

Then my waters broke, full on gush of water, like you see in films!

TooHotToRamble · 18/09/2022 15:08

My first sign of labour was my waters breaking.

Original poster
Mummytobe333 · 18/09/2022 16:59

@TooHotToRamble Did you have any feelings or signs before the waters or just a complete surprise? 😊

OP posts:
TooHotToRamble · 18/09/2022 17:50

Mummytobe333 · 18/09/2022 16:59

@TooHotToRamble Did you have any feelings or signs before the waters or just a complete surprise? 😊

No, he was two weeks early, still very high up so didn't seem to have engaged. No braxton hicks or anything. I woke up one morning. Felt a "click", stood up and they gushed out. I think I then went to the toilet shortly after, had a poo 😬 and a show, then contractions started.

BarnacleNora · 18/09/2022 22:45

Absolutely none sorry! Woke up at 3am with strong contraction and they continued every 7 minutes or so for the rest of the morning. Decreased in length between contractions and went into hospital. They gave me co-codamol which killed them off for a bit so was sent home for a few hours but contractions ramped back up on journey home. Carried on at home with contractions staying same distance apart but ramping up intensity back into hospital at about 10.30pm

Baby eventually born by emcs at noon the following day but apart from the brief co-codanol lull the contractions stayed regular, decreasing in intervals until they were on top of each other from the very first one.

I'd had NO warning. No urges to clean, no dodgy stomach, no wanting to stay at home or sudden bursts of energy, absolutely zero 'oooh labour's on its way' symptoms. I was 40+6 when baby was born so I mostly was just bored and increasingly fed up trying to find anything at all to indicate labour was about to start but there seriously was nothing to indicate it until that first contraction woke me up! So don't panic if you're near your due date or overdue and aren't getting any symptoms, it really can change in an instant! My ex husband did come home from work and suddenly declare he needed to get a haircut because he wasn't meeting his baby with messy hair so we trooped to the salon and he got a haircut and I got my fringe trimmed. Went into labour that night so I dunno, maybe do that if you're desperate 😉

Second baby was an ELCS so I suppose in his case it was the maternity ward calling me to say they could bring my appointment forward and would I like to come in on Monday and if I did could I make it in that afternoon for my pre-op appointment 😂

KennAdams · 18/09/2022 23:55

TMI but major clear out before all my labours. With two my waters broke before hand with my youngest my waters didn't go until the last minute.

Disneydatknee88 · 19/09/2022 01:41

Dodgy stomach. Once I'd "cleared out" I laid in bed with cramps and the contractions started. I was about 12 days overdue at that point! Was definitely my body telling me to make way for baby

Bramblecrumble22 · 19/09/2022 11:24

Another one with no signs before waters breaking, 3 weeks early, not engaged.

Katnissx · 19/09/2022 11:44

With my first, I kept having random trickles of water/feeling very wet throughout the day (mostly when I stood up), thought it was just lots of CF, but went in to get checked in the afternoon and it was my waters. Then I was induced the next day as labour didn't naturally start within 24hrs.

With my second, I woke up in the early hours with intense contractions (this was after a couple weeks of loosing my mucus plug too), got up bounced on my ball for a bit, they were getting closer together as the morning went on. Called the labour ward, they said to come in. Called my mum to come and watch my DS, she was a couple hours drive away. By the time she arrived my contractions had slowed down (I wonder if the stress of it all stalled my labour?) And then I was only getting the odd contraction every 30 mins or so. This went on for 3 days, contractions would become more regular- I would think this is it!- and then they would slow down or stop again. It was so frustrating! I decided to go in for a sweep (on the labour wards advice), and then following the sweep I woke up the next morning at 3am for a wee and when I laid back down I felt a pop sensation inside me. When I stood up again and went to the bathroom waters were dripping out of me (but not a big burst). I also started to get contractions very intensely and coming quickly. I started to get bright red blood as well which panicked me, I called the labour ward and they said to come straight in. Got there, midwife did her first examination and was basically like- are you ready to push?! I was like what 🤣🤣🙈 and DD was born within about 10 mins of me entering the room 😍 (turned out the bleeding was because my cervix dilated very quickly)

I love hearing everyone else's labour stories 😄 good luck OP for when the time comes!

Belladonnamama · 19/09/2022 11:54

I was induced so slightly different. I had a dodgy stomach and vomited just before my waters broke and contractions started

greenerfingers · 19/09/2022 12:04

Felt a small pop and waters broke. Contractions started once every ten minutes immediately and progressed quite fast and regularly. At about 6cm felt a massive gush as I stood and realised the small water in the morning was my fore/hind waters and the real deal broke later. Once they broke it got to the 'OMG why did I do this' stage 😅 and baby was born not long after. I did think the contractions were pretty manageable. Once my waters broke properly I experienced what everyone meant!