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virginiaunicorn11

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virginiaunicorn11

Assuming the answer is You Will Know... But how do you know when to start timing contractions? Am having BH and some back pain, but assuming they are just BH and back pain. I know "real" contractions probably won't let me talk... So I just wait for one of those and see if it repeats, then time it?

HoosOnFirst

I just went through labor and I still have no idea. DH kept trying to time them and it got a bit annoying cuz I was never sure. When I was in active labor at the hospital I certainly could tell. I'm glad my water broke or else I probably would have sat at home forever questioning what was a contraction!

glenwood82

I went into labor a week and a half ago, I "just knew" they were real contractions, but timing them was really hard. The midwives at the birthing center made clear to wait until they were 1 minute long and 5 minutes apart for at least an hour. My husband took that very seriously. Each contraction started week, got stronger and then relaxed. I was never really sure when to start and stop timing them. I told DH to pack the car and I'd take over the timing, told him they met the criteria (no idea if they really did) and we left for the hospital.

Sorry that was long-winded, but generally just knew they were real contractions and had a hard time with the timing of them.

Westypet

Hospital bag stupid question:
Should I leave my Snoogle pillow at home if I go in to get induced? It's the main one I sleep with, but I'm assuming it's way too big and bulky for a hospital bed.

Haha, I really am going to be that girl that's coming into the hospital with 1849593 bags of crap. And possibly that's just as silly as LED candles.

klkonwi

@Westypet you and I are soul mates on the bringing shit to the hospital. I've considered bringing my 6 pillows I need to sleep because of doing a night induction......... And it's not logical because they "could" get ruined ...... Lol but I also want to bring my 2 cute tee shirt gowns to wear in labor and that's not logical either.
I'm just not logical at this point!!!!
My bag is pretty full. I just need to add the LED candles and incense and were good to go..............

klkonwi

@virginiaunicorn11 timing contractions can be hard because like I said in some random post awhile back.... They come on gradually and taper down gradually but you might only be feeling the peak (most intense) part and you think that they are shorter than they really are.
Back pain is definitely something to pay attention to and just do your best to time them with an app. You know your pain breaking point and that'll be when you need to go in.

Westypet

klkonwi said:

@Westypet you and I are soul mates on the bringing shit to the hospital. I've considered bringing my 6 pillows I need to sleep because of doing a night induction......... And it's not logical because they "could" get ruined ...... Lol but I also want to bring my 2 cute tee shirt gowns to wear in labor and that's not logical either.
I'm just not logical at this point!!!!
My bag is pretty full. I just need to add the LED candles and incense and were good to go..............

I bought all these new nightclothes and a robe for labor and postpartum recovery... soft and comfortable... knowing they're likely to get ruined or stained. Who cares? Labor sucks! Shouldn't I be comfy?

Can I bring my cat? She cuddles me and her love bites are therapeutic, I'm sure. No one in a hospital will be allergic to her. She's magical.

klkonwi

The best test is walking a whole lot and seeing if you need to bend over or double over because they hurt that bad.....
@virginiaunicorn11

Westypet

klkonwi said:

The best test is walking a whole lot and seeing if you need to bend over or double over because they hurt that bad.....
@virginiaunicorn11

But the roll over in bed test isn't viable, is it?

"Doctor, it hurts like a bitch to roll over. Is this labor?"

klkonwi

Bahahaha! I so wish I could call the Dr and inform him of exactly that........ Such a bitch to roll over.... This must mean it's time. @Westypet

karaelaine1991

virginiaunicorn11 said:

Assuming the answer is You Will Know... But how do you know when to start timing contractions? Am having BH and some back pain, but assuming they are just BH and back pain. I know "real" contractions probably won't let me talk... So I just wait for one of those and see if it repeats, then time it?

I started timing them when they started being uncomfortable as opposed to just tightening. My hospital said that if you had more than 4 BH an hour they wanted to know because it could mean labor was approaching. I ended up not calling at all until it was time to go in, but this time frame helped me gauge when I should start paying attention.

virginiaunicorn11

Thanks, ladies! Just back from doctor (regular 40 week exam) and apparently they're "real" and about 10 minutes apart. Got no better advice than I've gotten here from @klkonwi and you ladies on timing them further... So just hanging out, waiting for the fun to start!

SammeMotley

@virginiaunicorn11 yay!!! So exciting! Good luck!!

henrytviii

virginiaunicorn11 said:

Thanks, ladies! Just back from doctor (regular 40 week exam) and apparently they're "real" and about 10 minutes apart. Got no better advice than I've gotten here from @klkonwi and you ladies on timing them further... So just hanging out, waiting for the fun to start!

Yeah! I wouldn't bother timing them for a while you could drive yourself nuts. I was wondering this time for about two days but when they got "real" the peak of the contractions was obviously painful for a few seconds. Then they quickly built to longer segments of pain. Good luck!

rklinge0

@virginiaunicorn11 I am not so sure about the contractions because I had bh since 20 weeks and pretty much 2 months up to delivery. Also if your feeling them often your threshold of pain will be higher. I only felt bad contractions for an hour or so during my delivery and had to bend over to have my dh soothe me. This was 2 hrs before I delivered. My water had broke so thats why I went to the hospital.
G/l and hopefully it will be soon.

rklinge0

Sorry don't know how to edit on my phone, but daily 2 months up to my delivery I had contractions.

HoosOnFirst

Re pillows: it's one of many things my hospital had socked away everywhere and gave me liberal amounts. Want a pillow? Here's three! So from my experience I would not bring any.

KaLikeAWind

virginiaunicorn11 said:

Assuming the answer is You Will Know... But how do you know when to start timing contractions? Am having BH and some back pain, but assuming they are just BH and back pain. I know "real" contractions probably won't let me talk... So I just wait for one of those and see if it repeats, then time it?

Am SO glad you asked this cause I was going to ask something very similar. Since I've only recently become aware of BH and my sister had been having contractions all day that she couldn't identify as 'this is it' contractions until her water broke like @hoodoll82 and she knew that for her sign to go in. So I've been afraid that maybe our pain tolerance is higher, leading me to not notice the BH until they are fairly strong, so then HOW am I going to know when its the real deal? I'm just trusting that I'll somehow know the difference, and also putting stock in what @klkonwi said - if I stand up and walk around and I have to stop and compose myself each time I feel one, then I better start paying attention.

And - good luck @virginiaunicorn11! Hope there is some action over there for you, soon!

KonaCoffeeBean

Westypet said:

Hospital bag stupid question: Should I leave my Snoogle pillow at home if I go in to get induced? It's the main one I sleep with, but I'm assuming it's way too big and bulky for a hospital bed. Haha, I really am going to be that girl that's coming into the hospital with 1849593 bags of crap. And possibly that's just as silly as LED candles.

I'm strongly leNing towards bringing my snoogle. I haven't slept without it months, and I'm not sure if I can now.

JunB25

Who's having BH that are more than the 4-6 per hour 'limit'? I've been having at least 10 an hour in the afternoons and while I feel it's just normal for me, (I vaguely remember them being this frequent with my first pregnancy) I'm curious to see if anyone else is having them this frequently. I'm drinking water alllll day- laying, sitting, walking doesn't change them.

HollyJo11

Hopefully this isn't tmi... But I am 40 weeks as of this morning and started losing my mucas plug last night. Now this morning I am still losing it. Is that normal? I called the doctor last night because I felt like there was a lot of discharge coming out and she didn't seem too concerned, but I've never heard of someone losing it again in the next morning. Also can't tell the diff between contractions. Are they BH? They are so irregular.

karaelaine1991

hoodoll82 said:

Re pillows: it's one of many things my hospital had socked away everywhere and gave me liberal amounts. Want a pillow? Here's three! So from my experience I would not bring any.

I had the same experience! Were they nice fluffy hotel pillows? No. But if 1 wasn't enough, they had plenty more!

HoosOnFirst

@mellymar my pain tolerance is total sh*t so I wouldn't worry

HoosOnFirst

Once DH goes back to work: how long can I leave the baby unattended for safely, if she is asleep? For a pee? A shower? Somewhere in the middle? Do I bring her into the bathroom when I shower?

Frogger5

hoodoll82 said:

Once DH goes back to work: how long can I leave the baby unattended for safely, if she is asleep? For a pee? A shower? Somewhere in the middle? Do I bring her into the bathroom when I shower?

As long as she's in a safe place, you can leave her for a while, like 20 minutes, we were told. This was in the context of needing to take a break so you don't freak out. If you need more time than that to get it together, you should call someone who can come and help you (obviously if you can). Even if she's crying the whole time (which is why you need the break!) she will be fine.

Seems like a long time, but apparently taking a break is better in the long run than feeling like you cannot do anything alone, being overwhelmed, and something bad happening. I know that's not exactly what you asked, but I guess it's still valid! Also FTM, so I realize it might be hard to actually leave a newborn alone, just passing on what we learned in one of our baby classes!

Frogger5

hoodoll82 said:

Once DH goes back to work: how long can I leave the baby unattended for safely, if she is asleep? For a pee? A shower? Somewhere in the middle? Do I bring her into the bathroom when I shower?

Totally missed the "if she's asleep" part. Until she wakes up? Of course unless she's on a deal where you have to wake her up to feed her. Shoot, sleep time is your golden time, right?

ihartbb

Ok so DH and i had sex last night, we've been doing it regularly bc I find him highly attractive with these pregnancy hormones ) anyway afterwards he said ummm is that part of your mucus plug? There was like a creamyish kinda clumpy white substance on him, it wasn't a mucus plug and it wasn't the consistency of cum....Wtf was that?! It was weird and kinda gross, like cottage cheese almost!!! Grossss!!!!

ihartbb

HollyJo11 said:

Hopefully this isn't tmi... But I am 40 weeks as of this morning and started losing my mucas plug last night. Now this morning I am still losing it. Is that normal? I called the doctor last night because I felt like there was a lot of discharge coming out and she didn't seem too concerned, but I've never heard of someone losing it again in the next morning. Also can't tell the diff between contractions. Are they BH? They are so irregular.

Typically it can take a few days. You can lose a big clump of it or a little bit at a time. Irregular contractions are usually BH. BH Normally don't hurt too badly, your stomach gets hard and sometimes they take your breath away. Contractions will start to be painful, you'll know the difference when it happens!! Good luck!! Losing your mp is a great sign!!

HoosOnFirst

Frogger5 said:

hoodoll82 said:

Once DH goes back to work: how long can I leave the baby unattended for safely, if she is asleep? For a pee? A shower? Somewhere in the middle? Do I bring her into the bathroom when I shower?

Totally missed the "if she's asleep" part. Until she wakes up? Of course unless she's on a deal where you have to wake her up to feed her. Shoot, sleep time is your golden time, right?

Ha it didn't occur to me I could leave her if awake. Her two modes are angry or asleep

Sammy K

I know my experience is not the norm, but just be aware the 5-1-1 rule is more of a guideline. My contractions never reached a minute long, so we weren't even thinking about heading to the hospital. But my contractions were so bad, I was on all fours on the floor, caterwauling like an animal. Our doula stepped one foot in the house and told us we needed to leave, NOW. I was fully dilated when we got to the hospital.

So, moral of the story is that if you are at the top of your pain threshold, go to the hospital, 5-1-1 be damned.

Serenamarr

I had a panic attack when I thought of how in the world am I going to bring things in from the car? If LO is in his car seat and I bring him upstairs to our apartment, I can't leave him up there while I unload the car so I will have to carry one single bag of groceries at a time in my other hand and carry that whole heavy ass car seat up and down for each bag of groceries????????

lindsladle15

Serenamarr said:

I had a panic attack when I thought of how in the world am I going to bring things in from the car? If LO is in his car seat and I bring him upstairs to our apartment, I can't leave him up there while I unload the car so I will have to carry one single bag of groceries at a time in my other hand and carry that whole heavy ass car seat up and down for each bag of groceries????????

Yep, you can leave him . It's so good for mommies and babies to have some alone time, even if one day it just involves carrying/putting away groceries.
Also, @hoodoll82, you can leave her if she's awake, assuming there's no scary dog/monster/young sibling/etc that will attack her while you're out of the room! And if she's asleep, shoot, leave her alone until she wakes, and maybe even longer (as she gets older). And make noise while she's sleeping!

seesea

These are pretty good questions!

I say leave the snoogle at home and ask for as many pillows as you want.

As far as what to bring to the hospital I guess that's up to you. I say pack wisely. With my first we left my hospital bag at home on our way out to the hospital. My contractions weren't so bad and I though they'd send me away. So dumb I know. Anyway after giving birth I sent DH to get the bag. He comes back with extra bags because he decided to bring in half our closet and ALL the baby clothes and blankets. One of the nurses asked if we were moving in. It was kinda embarrassing to say the least. His rationale was that he didn't want me to get mad at him for bringing the wrong things.

@Serenamarr use a baby carrier. You'll have both hands free to carry other things.

mjschenk

Ok so I slipped on my last stair last night and baby is moving and no spotting so I am sure he is fine but man I have the worst carpet burn on my one knee any suggestions on how to make it feel better for this ever so clumsy prego lady?

dancegurl1118

Don't feel bad about leaving LO to shower, blow dry your hair...be a human! As long as baby is safe you can leave them unattended for a few minutes. Otherwise you can kiss your sanity goodbye. Mines currently in the mamaroo as I sit my swollen tush on the sitz bath in the bathroom. I know she's tucked and safe and if she starts crying, so be it. If you let their actions consume you, you will go nuts.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Babies sometimes just cry. And cry. And you do everything possible and can't console them and you can feel an overwhelming force overtake you...just put the baby somewhere safe and step out of the room for a few minutes. Cry..sob..maybe scream into a pillow...do what you need where you can let your emotions overtake you in a safe space away from the baby. Obviously for 10-15 minutes not hours but something to regroup. It's normal, it's okay, and you are not a bad parent.

Edit: I apologize if this comes off as a know-it-all tone even though I'm a FTM. Not my intention. I will have to remind myself of all this as well. I was a nanny for a sometimes really sick, mostly inconsolable baby for a year and that's how I came to this knowledge the hard way.

klkonwi

^^^^ yes. If walking through them are difficult go in.

@HollyJo11 you can lose your plug multiple times.

Sammy K

Purple crying is what our hospital calls it and every parent has to watch a video and sign a form before being released. I've been there. It's OK to put them down and let them cry sometimes.

virginiaunicorn11

Sammy K said:

Purple crying is what our hospital calls it and every parent has to watch a video and sign a form before being released. I've been there. It's OK to put them down and let them cry sometimes.

What does this mean? Purple crying is bad, but otherwise things are ok?

ETA: Oh, sorry, no. Google answered for me: https://purplecrying.info/

Thanks for sharing this!

starrysmile18

What kind of tops should I bring with me to the hospital? I plan on bf'ing and I have nursing tanks and bras, but with random visitors, I feel like I want to be covered more, but I don't have button down shirts/don't really want to buy clothes only to wear at the hospital.

Westypet

mjschenk said:

Ok so I slipped on my last stair last night and baby is moving and no spotting so I am sure he is fine but man I have the worst carpet burn on my one knee any suggestions on how to make it feel better for this ever so clumsy prego lady?

Clumsiness! I hate it.
Tea tree oil may soothe your carpet burn.
I love Miracle Oil; it has a bunch of oils in it that seem to always take away stings and burns.