# How did your labor start?



## MommytoTwo (Jun 20, 2004)

Did it feel like menstrual cramps? Like strong BH? Something else entirely? Did it start in your back? Did you have diarrhea first? Did you know right away this was it or did you have to wait and see? I want to know all the ways it could feel!!!! Mine started with menstrual cramps with DS - but then again, I was induced, so who knows whats normal for me.


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## Faith (Nov 14, 2002)

My two labors started exactly the same.
I woke up not long after midnight, and just after my eyes opened I felt my water brake in bed.
After that I got up, had to go to the bathroom a lot (if for no other reason that I was leaking everywhere), and then contractions started.
Both labors were short- about three hours.

I am due in a few weeks and wonder if it will be the same!


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## DalaiMama (Oct 12, 2002)

Ditto to what Faith said! My labor started at 2 pm when my water broke.... contractions started about half an hour after that, and he was born at 6:56 pm.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

First birth- No BH contractions ever, no dialation, no nothing 2 weeks "overdue". At midnight I heard a pop, felt a gush, stood up realizing my water probably broke, 5 minutes later contractions started with a bang, 3 minutes apart and 1-1 1/2 minutes long. They did feel like menstrual cramps but got more and more painful really quickly. The hardest thing for me to do was stay still, making the car ride to the hospital hell and the nurses telling me I *had* to stay in bed even harder. All in all contractions lasted 5 hours.

Second birth- Again, no dialation. I had BH contractions about 10 minutes apart from somewhere around week 15 (







seriously!) So I wasn't sure if I was in labor or not the night it started. They were still about 10 minutes apart but something felt *different*. I called in work sick and felt guilty all night wondering if I really was in labor or if I should go to work. After trying to rest all night I finally decided it was real and called my MW at 6am. 7am she came over and told DH to take me for a walk outside. After we got back from our walk they were getting stronger. Totally felt like menstrual cramps but stronger, more painful.

I never felt anything in my back like alot of people talk about. Both times it was all in the lower front like menstrual cramps. I never got diahrea either (I wish I did, maybe I wouldn't have had the little poops with pushing







Mine were both just like real bad period cramps that got worse and worse to where I though I must absolutely die, Something horrible is going to rip. There is no way one can have so much pain and still be healthy and live :LOL I guess in technical terms they call that transition.


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## oohlalabags (Jul 2, 2004)

my first i started to get cramps and diareha ... lots of it ... i was in labor for 36 hours and the contractions were 3 mins apart for almost the whole time ... transition was rough ... lots of pain ... i only had to push 3-4 times for him to crown ... the 2nd time i was induced with an epi because i was high risk with twins (lots of complications early on) it was only 7 hours ... even though i had an epi i could feel the pressure and knew when to push .... i even felt that i was about to rip at the top so i got a few snips ... greyson was born with just 2 pushes ... gotta love pilates! and poor peyton was a c-section ... can't wait for a few more years to see how my next labor will go


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## hipmamawnc (May 30, 2004)

With my first it started with my water breaking at 11pm. Contrations started right away, slow and steady and I got the shakes from all the birth energy.

With number two I woke up around 5 am having to pee (surprise, surprise!) and remember thinking what a bad night sleep I was having. I got back into bed and noticed the contractions, they were ten minutes apart. My DH's alarm went off about an hour and a half later and I was pretty sure by then that I was in early labor. I got up with him and had something to eat a drink, but sent him on to work promising to call with updates and have him come home whenever I wanted. (he ended up working a full day, labor stayed slow and steady all day, me and DD just hung out.)

With number three it was very simalar to my last, waking early and realizing what was going on, only this time I was more surprised as my last two were 9 and 8 days each past EDD. It was about 4am and my first thought when I got up to pee (yes, again) was 'my cervix hurts'. It took me awhile to believe it was the real thing and I labored through the morning while DH worked half a day. It took me until 12noon to believe it was the real deal.

Happy Birthing Mommytotwo and may you experience labor beginning naturally.


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## Nikki Christina (Mar 27, 2003)

with both my water broke & started feeling contractions about 45 min to an hour later..
Davids birth was a little under 6 hours after it broke..
Kays was 2 hours later


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## Evergreen (Nov 6, 2002)

Slight cramping sensation(2 am here also!) which became regular hugging in the abdomen.

Water never broke, no nausea or diarrhea


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## mcsarahb (Aug 25, 2003)

I had tons of BH all through pregnancy - from 5 mos. on. Two days after my due date, I started getting "real" contractions about midnight. I just knew they were the real thing. They weren't painful or hard, until about noon the next day. Water broke during pushing. Then DD was born at 6:30 pm. No nausea, diarrhea, etc. - just contractions started.










Sarah


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## Lisashepp (Feb 12, 2002)

8:45PM I had a strong contraction that hurt bad! I was having them about 10 minutes apart and after 3 called my dh to come home.

About 10pm I had diarhea & lost most of my mucous plug & started bleeding (bloody show).

I hopped in the tub because I thought it would feel good

Left to go to the hospital at about 11:30ish

Got there about 12 4cm dialated

had dd at 4:13am

7.5 hours total labor including pushing

This one will be born at home hopefully in water, I think I will go faster!


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## USAmma (Nov 29, 2001)

With dd#1 it was just like they tell you in childbirth class "never happens." It was like in the movies, where one minute I was just going about my business and the next minute I was doubled over with very intense labor pains. That was about 10 PM and she was born at 6 AM. I had no warning, it was that fast.

With dd#2 I had lots of prodromal labor from 23 weeks, so when I went into actual productive labor at 38 weeks I didn't dare believe it until I was actually at 5 cm and admitted to the hospital. And I'm still not sure I really believed it until I got to the pushing stage. lol!

Darshani


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## 2+twins (Apr 20, 2004)

First labor I woke up after being asleep for about an hour and had to go to the bathroom. When I went, there was blood. I also noticed that my back was aching really bad, the same way it had gotten (during pregnancy) following intercourse. I didn't immediately recognize that I was in labor mainly because I never felt a single contraction in my abdomen until after the baby came out. I didn't expect it to be all in my back like that. I also had diarrhea pretty much. Baby was born just short of 10 hours later.
Second labor began about 15 minutes after I felt my water break while lying in bed (which was a bit painful, IMO). Once contractions began, there was the diarrhea again and baby was born 90 minutes later! I never doubted labor with that one b/c the contractions were so severe right from the get-go and in my abdomen where you might expect them to be.


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## Mom2baldie (Oct 29, 2002)

With my VBAC (the only labor Ive experienced) I started having easy contractions (but stronger than BH) in the middle of the night. After several hours of wondering if they were going to get stronger I fell back asleep, lost my mucous plug the next morning, had easy contractions all day and they finally picked up that evening. Baby was born next morning.

I never had diarhea or nausea and my water didnt break until I was pushing!


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## SaraC (Jan 11, 2002)

With DD #1 my water broke at Wal-Mart and contractions didn't start for about 8 hours. I took a shower and they hit full force. I had nausea and diarhea for about an hour. I was 2 weeks late. It was a homebirth that ended in a non emergency transport due to fetal positioning. I pushed for 10 hours with very little progress. I ended up with a vacuum assisted delivery.

With DD #2 I had bloody show at about 9 am and then went to the store. I had a little bit of a backache and walked around the block. By 6 pm the contractions got more serious and we left for the birth center. Got there at 8 pm and I was 7cms. By 8:30ish I was 9cms. But then my water broke and I sort of freaked because I had a lip and it reminded me of my preivous birth. I had one bout of diarhea and vomited in tranistion. I gave birth at 1:47 am.


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SaraC*
With DD #1 my water broke at Wal-Mart and contractions didn't start for about 8 hours. I took a shower and they hit full force. I had nausea and diarhea for about an hour. I was 2 weeks late. It was a homebirth that ended in a non emergency transport due to fetal positioning. I pushed for 10 hours with very little progress. I ended up with a vacuum assisted delivery.

Wow! Pushed for 10 hours? My nephew was born two days ago and she pushed for between 5 and 6 hours, I was thinking that must have been some record! I am so amazed there are wonderful L&D nurses out there who "let" you guys push for so long without alerting the authorities, er, doctors, for a c-section LOL! Great job!!! Those type of stories help me ease my fear of hospital births and L&D nurses.


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## SaraC (Jan 11, 2002)

Well I was only at the hospital for about an hour before I gave birth. I was at home with my midwife until then and the only reason we transported was because it was very obvious that she wasn't going to come out without some help. I believe it I had been at the hospital the whole time it would have ended much sooner with a c-section. I am very glad I avoided a c-section but the emtional price to me was high. They treated me like crap and lied to me about my baby. They zeroed in on my fears and exlpoited them. Then they denied it when I called them on it. And although I know my three epsiotomies were nessicary( I have had several MWs review my chart and my DD's presentation almost always ends in a c-section) it was still very hard for me to come to grips with. My last birth was very different and I am so thankful for that. If we had transported again then I had decided that we wouldn't have anymore children because of the way I had been previously treated. Thankfully that didn't happen and our next baby will be born at home(finally).


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## orangebird (Jun 30, 2002)

Darn it!!! There you go turning it into the type of experience I would assume it to be. I am so bloody scared of hospital births! I think the only L&D nurse I would want is me or Dawn or someone from here. Nope, I'm staying home next time LOL! I am so scared I would end up being transported. My luck I'd be transported to my own hospital and my nurse would be one of my co-workers who is blatantly against homebirths and all I would hear is "I told you so" "what were you thinking putting yourself and baby in danger by thinking you could stay home" blah blah blah!


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