Signs you were in Labor?

I actually didn't figure out that what I was feeling was contractions for a long time. There are sort of practice contractions that are not labor per se (I forget what they're called -- Higgs comes to mind, but that's not it), I felt them when walking (especially shopping), but it just registered as pressure, didn't realize they were contractions. Those were going on for a week or two before labor started in earnest.

When the same thing got more and more pronounced, to the point where I was yelling each time, we realized they were probably contractions.

That was about 2:00 AM, after I had gone to bed at about 1:00 AM, after manically insisting on finishing a quilt that was the main decorative feature of the baby's room. Nesting instinct.

Water didn't break until later, much later -- they broke it to try to speed things along.

for me it was pretty obvious


my water broke.



hehe


But, contractions feel like.. your stomach , from the bottom of your rib cage to your bu**hole is tightening.. and pushing.
It is a distinct feeling.. trust me. ;-)

how are you??

Braxton Hicks

That's it, thanks!

One thing I've discovered is that the feeling of contractions really varies. That tightening/ pushing is what I expected, but all I actually felt was pressure on my cervix.

For my first, I felt them in the middle of the night. They were not severe (at least then), but felt them some what consistently. My husband woke and I told him I thought my labor pains were started, but they were very far apart. We both went back to sleep (that is how minor they were). In the morning I sent him to work as they were not so severe, but every twenty minutes or so. By 1:00 they started to be painful. I called him, then called the doctor and lied about how close they were because they hurt so much.

I went to the office as they didn't want me to go all the way to the hospital and be sent back - they said my contractions were not that severe yet (easy for them to say), but my water was leaking - didn't even know - so they sent me to the hospital.

Second child - Similar feeling (of course during the middle of the night - why is it always in the middle of the night?), but this time I could tell that my water was leaking - we did not go to the hospital until early morning though.

I was in a childbirth class with my wife. It was the second to the last class. My wife started having contractions. The nurse/teacher verified that my wife was in labor. (I think the "mucous plug" was already gone.) A few hours later we were in the delivery room. I was glad to have a rehearsal right before the real thing. Every husband should be so lucky.

That would be perfect. To go into labor while at a birthing class.

I'm already having Braxton Hicks, but I've had them since the 2nd trimester. A few times I've been brought to my knees, but they weren't repeating or anything. I always hear real labor contractions are much worse. I'm still afraid I'll get confused and not know.

I've peed in my pants a few times. He'll jump on my bladder, it'll trigger "hey, i have to pee" ...and before I take a few steps to the bathroom, he makes another jump and... a'leaking I go!

For me, what I thought was a backache turned abruptly to late stage labor. When the big ones came, it was unmistakable. That was with my second one. With the first, I was induced, which was much more painful but felt a lot more like very very strong menstrual cramps.

I myself have never had a child, but my friend once told me her story... she was sleeping and at about 2 in the morning she woke up and didn't realize the pain she was experiencing was contractions.... so she went to the bathroom and thought she was peeing and was wondering what was taking so long.. she didn't realize her water broke right over the toliet (at least she didn't have a mess)... so she went back to bed.. a few hours later she woke up and realized she was in labor... they brought her to the hospital and she basically delivered a short while after she got there

That has to be the worse. Having stayed up all day and going into labor some time that night.

First baby was induced.

Second baby water broke at 4:30 a.m., baby delivered at 8:15 a.m.

The nurses called her a zero-to-sixty baby.

Welcome back, btw. How many weeks at this point?

Joahaeyo,

In case your husband is nervous: when I was in the delivery room with my wife, it seemed like there was nothing for me to do. I just stayed out of the way of the obstetrician and his nurse. (I did stay close to my wife to let her know I was there.)

Thanks DrewDad. I still won't be able to post much, but I figure I can sneak on in the middle of the night when I have to take care of the kiddo. 33wks 2 days.

Sure you will. Uh, huh. okbye.

Sleep when the baby sleeps. You can't force him to fit your adult schedule at first, so let him tell you when to sleep, eat, etc., for the first little while.

I had a couple episodes of false labor with my first pregnancy. I didn't go to the hospital because the contractions stopped but I was sure it was time - it wasn't. One night, shortly after dinner I looked at Mr B and said, "I've had it, I don't know how much longer I can deal with this". I went into labor 3 hours later.

The same thing happened the second time. Not the Braxton Hicks contractions, but getting to the point where I was totally fed up with being pregnant. I went to bed one night saying I was sick and tired of being pregnant and delivered at 10:00 the next morning.

Best wishes to you Joa! It's good to hear from you.

That's funny J_B. Right before I went into labor with the second, I was on the phone with the midwives who were telling me they were going to have to make an appointment for induction since I was (again) approaching 42 weeks. I thanked my daughter profusely for not waiting any longer.

Yep, same here, sozlet was born about 2 hours before her scheduled induction. (Although labor started a bit before that... I won't say how long before that in deference to Joah...)