Due Date Day! Did you have any signs of labour & When did your First babies arrive?

[Anonymousm]

Ive woken up on my due date still pregnant of course! Please to me your labour and delivery stories, what were your signs, did you have any & what made you go to the hospital? How long was your labour for your first baby & how far along were you when going into labour? Really want to avoid an induction if I can and only have a sweep as a last resort hoping for a spontaneous labour!

@Waitingfordoggo

Literally all I’m doing in sitting on the sofa, playing with my cockatiel watching tv that’s basically all I’ve done for the last month 😆😂 I’m trying to relax as much as possible, It is the not knowing i think as soon as I just stop thinking about it that will help me immensely I think, probably what my body needs to calmly start me up!

I’ve got the Freya app to record the contractions and help breathing through to try and minimise tensing up, I haven’t actually done any hypnobirthing or anything really, my natural instinct even with horrific gas pains/IBS pain is to breathe more to relax so hopefully I’ll be the same with this, I need to just think my body is made for this, women have done it since the beginning of time with no information their bodies just did it! Amazing really!

I will update if I get any signs of it’s slow progress or if it’s quick I’ll announce 😊

@Dontmesswiththeyakult
I’d be happy for it to last a day but when you hear of horror stories for days on end that’s abit worrying and I feel like out of sheer exhaustion I’d start thinking about epidurals for sleep and being transferred to a bigger hospital which I really really don’t want to do!

luckily my midwife hasn’t really pressured me into anything and has said I can change my mind at any point as to what I want there’s no solid “you have to have this”! She’s been really good actually, that’s probably what I needed because im really not into white coats at all never go doctors or anything usually! 😂

my partner thinks with the way I handle situations I’m best having no notice and it happening quick so I don’t have time to over think the situation, we will see though I don’t want to end up giving birth in the car or at home unassisted 😆

Hi Op

I Went 12 days over! Couldn’t believe it

Had 3 sweeps, I was happy to do those I wanted to avoid induction.

Decided on the hospital as opposed to midwife led, just in case. My family has had some issues so I thought for me that was the right decision.

Signs for me were feeling sicky and diarrhoea etc. on the day things all started.
Some people had told me to expect this as body “making room” for birth, but I still didn’t twig!

Around 2am I realised I had pains every few minutes and this was it. No idea at all when my waters went! I thought I was just ill 😂

4cm when I got to hospital and they gave me injection to slow contractions.

I had been aiming for water birth but the pool wasn’t free.

Ended in emergency section for me as baby was distressed and pooped, but it was still a positive experience and we went home a couple days later

Best of luck to you!

Yes- breathe long and slow- it definitely helps and that goes for any kind of intense/sudden pain. When I go for a sports massage, the therapist tells me when to inhale and exhale (exhaling when the pain comes) and it makes a massive difference (sports massage not as painful as birth obviously but can be a bit intense nonetheless!)

@DuploTrain Oh god no, that’s my absolute worst fear being sick for hours 😬 was it the pain making you sick or the force of contractions? I don’t know why I’m so frightened of throwing up!

I’ll definitely try everything I can at home from hot water bottles, hot showers, tens, paracetamol, birthing ball to help with the pain - fingers crossed it helps!

@Anonymousm Sounds like you're approaching everything with a good attitude and your midwife sounds great. Mine was quite pushy which was annoying.

Just see how you go and best of luck!

Good luck OP!
With my first my waters broke one day after due date early in the morning. Contractions started that night and she was born the next day - so two days after due date.
With my second I started having contractions on and off, three days after my due date. My waters were broken at hospital and he was born 4 days after due date.

@Dontmesswiththeyakult Thanks, I do feel like I have knowledge of different situations and it’s a matter of how I’ll react in a time of vulnerability I think!

I can’t fault the way she’s been with me at all there’s nothing worse is there than feeling pressured into things! I’ve already ordered her a small ceramic hanging gift and a thank you card & the rest of the midwives at the birth centre a card because they’ve all been really good even if I don’t end up having him there!

I threw up a bit with my first. Weirdly not at transition though which is when I might have expected it to happen. It was more in the middle bit. I was tired and contractions were getting worse and for some reason I puked a few times.

Like many things associated with labour that people worry about beforehand (being sick, being naked, pooing), the majority of women find those things aren’t really on their radar when they’re in the zone. You’re just very busy with your labour and those things don’t seem like an issue at the time.

I think it was just the contractions rather than the pain making me sick. Sorry don’t want to worry you, most women aren’t sick in labour.. hopefully you wont be.

It’s challenging, but it’s only one day of your life and then it’ll be over.

@SallyWD Thankyou! Well according to my calculations my due date would be tomorrow but the sonographer put me a day forward, so it’ll be interesting to see if something kicks off tomorrow! 😬

I’m just praying it’s manageable and not totally over bearing if it’s a long slog!

@DuploTrain Well I’ve felt sick with bad pain before (think it was gall bladder pain) and was heaving not actually sick, I suppose if it happens it happens as you say it’s only a short time of my life and I get a baby as an early Christmas gift at the end of it so it’s not THAT bad! 😊

@Waitingfordoggo Ive read it can happen as a clearing out in the early stages shits/vomiting not necessarily because of pain but because of hormones relaxing everything and putting all of your energy into your uterus and I’ve also heard like you it can happen due to the intensity of transition. Probably a way of your body reacting to fight or flight that’s why I think I need to just calm my brain 😆😂

Woke at 5:30am.on my due date with a show of mucus when I went for a wee. Went for a bath with mild contractions. Rang thé hospital at 8.30 and was told to go in. Big mistake should've stayed put with with my tens machine. Put on a static monitor for over an hour they were very short staffed. By thé Time I got to a delivery room I needed gas and air but no time to practise.
Dd was born just after 2pm. Was left for long periods on my own which left me scared and tense which probably slowed things down.

The midwives asked me to complain as otherwise nothing would bé done.

@newtb Sounds a pretty quick labour! Doesn’t sound a great experience though 😕. It’s a shame the way the NHS is going with staffing! Hope you complained!

My first I was 41+4 days overdue and on the day woke up at around 4am with period like cramps. I got on with the day as normal in discomfort until the evening where the contractions were stronger. Went into hospital at 8pm and delivered the following day at 5am at 41+5 days exactly.

My first baby was 8 days late. I had a sweep and it worked well for me in that I went into labour less than 24 hours later (although who knows if that would have happened anyway). The first sign for me was my waters breaking, then contractions started soon afterwards. I went into hospital about 6 hours later and I was 5cm dilated by then. I had a slow labour - after 15 hours in hospital I was still only 8cm dilated. I had an epidural at that point, as I needed more pain relief than gas and air. He finally arrived 6 hours after that (so 27 hours after my waters breaking). Slow but we got there in the end!

Good luck OP!

update, last night I started having weird bands of pain across the top of my belly, not very sure if it’s braxton hicks or what but it went on for a few hours and then stopped then woke up in the night feeling like there was loads of movement in my pelvis almost, then about an hour ago these tightenings have started again it almost feels like a tingling stretch/burny not so much noticing obvious waves though? Just a heaviness below

Sounds promising OP! Keep us updated!

Oooh, sounds good OP! Does sound like Braxton Hicks to me. I got those from 20 weeks in both pregnancies so got used to ignoring them and never quite knowing ‘is this it?’ But if you haven’t had them before (or not noticed them before), then maybe this is the start of things. Do you feel like the baby has ‘dropped’? It really does feel like trying to walk around with a melon between your legs- most uncomfortable! I also got a lot of shooting pains in my cervix and bum (known as ‘javelin arse’ I think on MN), but I think that was only in my second pg and DC2 was bigger!

Sorry, probably TMI in there but I enjoy reminiscing about it all, as uncomfortable as it was at the time! 😂

Induced at 41+5

He just wasn't going to shift otherwise

@Waitingfordoggo Well im awake this morning, cant sleep and getting the washing done was on my mind 😂! Had a small glass of wine to relax last night I was assured it wouldn’t do me any harm off the midwife so sod it!

Yesterday I Had a few more tightenings/tingling in my back and had midwife appointment in the morning, she said he was very low and hopefully wouldn’t be long, she also asked if I wanted a sweep I said no for now as I’m only 2 days over ill wait til next Friday if I get that far! She said good for you 😆. I’d say I’ve had them very sporadically from about 36 weeks, think I actually felt quite a breath taking braxton hick walking around Leeds for the day at 35 weeks never had such a bad one again though I haven’t walked about as much since ! But yes, I feel like I’ve got a bowling ball in my pelvic area, I wouldn’t say so much stabbing in that area more of like I can feel like I’m sitting on something and I’m aware of it 😂 hopefully not a babies head! No more pains though! Might go and do some shopping for stocking fillers today and hopefully he comes tomorrow or he’s sharing his birthday with my partners brother!

@WeeSleekitCowrinTimrousBeastie

Congratulations! How did that go for you and what did they induce with? Did you manage without interventions and how long did it take from inducing to giving birth? I’ve a lot of questions about inductions haha

Oh and 2 nights ago it felt like the baby was going to stick his arm out of me, I was violently being wacked down in the pelvis it woke me up 😂 I thought something was going to happen!

Try eating pineapple and twiddling your nipples , both known to help things along.