does it feel like the worst imaginable period craps? or does it feel like your muscles (and other parts) are ripping/stretching/tearing? or does it feel like you're being stabbed? is it in particular spots, or is just about everything from the chest down in so much pain you can't really tell what hurts?
just mentally trying to prepare! i know it hurts, just wondering what KIND of hurt!
Re: what does labor feel like?
Every woman is different, for me the first 1-4 centimeters were managable with breathing through them (oh I begged for drugs and a epi). When I got the epi it was bearable. I didn't feel much between 4-9 centimeters, but I tried to rest (haha, like that's possible). I never had any burning sensation, and I could feel when to push and I think I was worried about pooping on the table more than having a baby. You also have to understand my baby was small (4lbs), so check back with me in April when I have this little girl, and I'll let you know the differences.
it's a crampy feeling, sometimes in your back, in your belly and pelvic region.
No ripping/stretching tearing feeling here, or like I was being stabbed.
Honestly , I had a med-free homebirth and I didn't think it was unbearable at all.
And this would be why I've got Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" on my L&D playlist...hoping it will be motivational, although I could end up throwing my iPod at DH. We'll see.
I love your sense of humour!!!
This is my first post on this board in a while!! I guess I feel compelled to talk about my pain since I am about 7 weeks away from going through it all over again
Anyway, at first my contractions felt like gas pains and then they felt more intense (like when one gets diarrhea). Then, I got an epidural and things were OK until the pain started to peak through the meds. At that point, I was ready to push and the contractions felt like someone was wringing my uterus with their hands (like when you wring water out of a towel for example). Pushing helped a lot. I don't remember what it felt like when my DD came out, but getting a 3rd degree tear stitched without meds will be forever burned into my memory.
For me starting around 9pm I was getting some cramps. They mostly felt like a tightening in my ute and staying on the couch and sitting through them was uncomfortable. I just wanted to get on my feet and move.
I went to bed around 9:30 and started texting down to DH every time I had another one. I *thought* I was in labor but wasn't really sure.
He came up around 10:30 and we tried to get some sleep.
The cramping and desire to move was getting more and more frequent and I called the OB around 11:30.
She asked me if I could talk through the contractions and conveniently this was right when I had one that I couldn't talk through so she had me come in!
The 25 minute drive to the hospital was torture because all I wanted to do was move when I had a contraction but I couldn't, obviously!
I got an epi as soon as we got to the hospital, I was about 3-4cm.
I didn't feel anything after that. My OB broke my water at 5:45am and I felt the desire to push around 6:45.
DD was born at 7:30.