How long was your early labour stage?

[PurpleTurtleMoose]

I started having contractions yesterday, and I've now had a full 18 hours of painful contractions, ranging between every 5 minutes to every 20 minutes. It's so painful I've been throwing up, I'm exhausted and I'm really feeling like I can't do this.

I went to triage at one point but was only 1cm dilated so just got sent home.

I didn't think it would go on this long. Am I doing something wrong?? Is this normal? I'm a first time mum.

I'm not sure when my labour stopped being 'early' but it was about 40 hours between first twinges and going to hospital because contractions were at the right timing. They were pretty intense in the 2-4 hours before we went and I was on a high level of tense machine almost from the start.

How close together are your contractions? Is anyone there to support you?

I was induced. My waters went and baby arrived 6 hours later.
I was very lucky!

No idea. By the time I got to hospital (and we headed there within an hour of contractions starting) I was ready to push, both times which I wasn't expecting. Mine were fast and furious - 4th degree tears on the first so there's something to be said for taking it slower. You are doing nothing wrong lovely, every birth is different. Do you have someone to advocate for you to make sure you are getting what you need?

Had the same, contractions every minute for 11 hours, dilation 1 cm. They said I must go home. I refused, thank goodness. Turns out that the baby was in danger and I had an emergency c-section, she came out blue. Listen to your instincts.

Twinges started in my back at 9am Saturday,
proper contractions Sunday 10am,
Drove to hospital 4pm Sunday afternoon when they were about 8 mins apart.
Waters broke 7pm Sunday,
ds finally arrived (with a bit of help) 7.50 Monday morning.

Agree with others, go with your instincts and be very stubborn if necessary

You're doing nothing wrong. Everyone is different.

You might want to stop reading now: DS1 waters broke 8pm. Went to hospital 6am, baby born 8am. DS2: first twinge 4.30am, baby born 7am (like 2.5 hours).

5 days. A sweep on day 3 just managed to slow the contractions down for a while. Eventually we went to hospital at 4.5 days and the midwives kept me in even though I was still only 1cm. Even with induction progress was very slow. DC was born with some help several hours later, narrowly avoiding an emergency C section.

Good luck. I hope your labour is not as long as mine.

48 hours from first contraction to birth. The first 24 hours weren’t that bad, the next 20 were bad but manageable. Contractions were never consistently spaced so by the time I went to hospital in desperation I was 10 cm, ready to push. 4 hours pushing stage. You’ve got this, good luck!

My waters broke. I went to hospital having mild twinges. I was 0cm when examined. They tried to send me home and I refused to leave. 28 minutes later i delivered feet. I had a emergency csection under general minutes later. Everyone's different. You know your own body. You also need to advocate for yourself.

Both mine 4 days, started in the evening went on 12 or so hours then stopped then started again. I knew on the 4th day it was the day as they just ramped up a lot and having a bath didn’t stop them. Not sure if it’s an old wives tale or not but it was true with both of mine, if you have a bath and it’s not the real thing your contractions should slow / stop if it is the real thing they will continue with more intensity so no harm in trying?

help please!

looking for some guidance from those who may have been in similar situations. My baby will be 4 weeks old on Saturday, from the off he seemed to struggle bringing up wind, I could spend hours patting and rubbing, but he wouldn’t burp. He’d be doing one dirty nappy a day. He’s on regular kendamil, I tried infacol which didn’t seem to work. I’ve since got colief and I’m using it for every bottle. Every nappy change it’s dirty and quite wet in consistency. I’d say I’m able to burp him easier and he’s passing gas. Now my problem is, it gets to 6/7pm every night and he begins to continuously cry, no matter what we do he doesn’t stop. It’s as if he’s hungry, he tries to take the bottle, but starts struggling after a few gulps, scrunching his face and body up and carries on crying again. I thought maybe it’s trapped wind but no matter how hard I try to bring something up nothing works. He’s definitely a hungry baby, he’s been taking 150ml with 5 scoops and has this every few hours. I’m wondering is it the formula he’s struggling with? I hate to see him work himself up and not know how to help. He’s absolutely fine during the day and doesn’t struggle at all but the same time each night he’s inconsolable. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I hope you’re further along by now!

With my first I was in early labour for about 36 hours but that stage was very manageable. By the time it got super painful I attended hospital and was only 1-2cm. I refused to go home so they put me in a side room and two and a half hours later my daughter was born! No pain relief, no monitoring, just my DH running into the hallway looking for a midwife to catch. Don’t let them fob you off.

@Elsbythesea have you spoken to a health visitor? My DS used to cry for hours from that time until he fell asleep (probably around 3 hours per night). Like yours, he was fine in the day. The health visitor said it sounded like colic as that was the standard colic time. She said it would likely improve by the time he reached 12 weeks and it did. He’s 3.5 months now and it’s a thing of the past.

Thanks so much for everyone's responses. I had no idea there was so much variation and that it could last so long! After a painful 32 hours, I went back to the hospital and was found to be 8cm dialated. Several more hours, and baby is finally here!

Congratulations.