The Official Labor Watch Thread(L&D questions, concerns, and announcements)

eamarat

Did your water break? Lose your mucus plug? Sitting in L&D? Are you being induced and worried? C-section? VBAC? Have a question about L&D? Or maybe you just want to tell us what's going on. Cool.

Any questions or worries you have feel free to write it out here. And if you've made your own thread, you'll be referred to this thread.

And as always, if you feel it could be an emergency, it probably is, best to call your doctor.

@BumpAdmin @BumpTara @BumpCaitlin can someone pin this please?

threatlevelmidnight

This is a good thread!
This morning, I was about to get in the shower and a gush of water came out. I figured it was my water, but it ended up just being my mucus plug. My midwife said that if your plug comes out in your sleep, a lot of times it will be watery when you get up.
My question is did anyone else feel crampy after losing their plug? My midwife said it's normal, but the cramps have me feeling anxious for labor!

Kern91

alyssaleighw said:

This is a good thread!
This morning, I was about to get in the shower and a gush of water came out. I figured it was my water, but it ended up just being my mucus plug. My midwife said that if your plug comes out in your sleep, a lot of times it will be watery when you get up.
My question is did anyone else feel crampy after losing their plug? My midwife said it's normal, but the cramps have me feeling anxious for labor!

I was induced with my first but for my second baby I had some cramping before I lost my mucus plug and then I still had cramping afterward. It was about 3 days including the day that I lost my plug that I sat around waiting for baby to come. It varies with everyone could be hours, could be days or could be weeks.

mrssuperman918

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

japostolova

I'm so confused. I was induced with my first so I'm really lost as to when i have to go to the hospital. I've been having cramping and pelvic pain for 2 days which hasn't escalated to anything. Had my appt today ( 39 weeks Friday) and only 1.5 cm dialated, I don't get it. Lost my mucus plug today but apparently that doesn't mean anything...

Knottie12672852

Due on 11/12 with first boy. He can't get any lower. I've been going #2 5x a day for the past 3 days, some nausea and headaches, overwhelming tiredness at night and sleeping longer and a lot of pressure on pelvic area. I'm still walking 4-7miles a day outside too. I still feel as though it's going to be a bit but my body is prepping on its own which is good.

beautyundefined

mrssuperman918 said:

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

I'm having the same problem, but my contractions get 4-5 minutes apart for about an hour then I don't get none for a hour or two then they get close together and veer off again. And it's been like this since Saturday. I have a doctors appointment in the morning so hopefully they'll shed some light on this, if anyone else don't know the answer.

rubirubi89

Im due on thursday and I still don't know what a contraccion feels like. at least I know I'm dilating, so i guess my body DOES know that its pregnant.

lulamagoo

mrssuperman918 said:

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

Yes, it takes my breath away and often makes my knees buckle. Basically, baby is head butting your  pelvic region.

thefithuntress

alyssaleighw said:

This is a good thread!
This morning, I was about to get in the shower and a gush of water came out. I figured it was my water, but it ended up just being my mucus plug. My midwife said that if your plug comes out in your sleep, a lot of times it will be watery when you get up.
My question is did anyone else feel crampy after losing their plug? My midwife said it's normal, but the cramps have me feeling anxious for labor!

I don't *think* I've lost my plug, but I'm 36 weeks and have been cramping for over a week now. My midwife says it's completely normal, too, and all a good indication the body is getting ready. Too bad it doesn't mean anything concrete.

melaniejayyy

I thought contractions were the random pelvic pain I've been having, which is worse than lightning crotch for sure! But I went in to l&d the other day for decreased fetal movement and while hooked up to the monitors she told me I had 3 contractions which I didn't feel at all. I'm more confused than ever now. And of course once I got hooked up, he started moving like crazy. But I'm glad I went and made sure everything was okay!

Anyone have a good description of what a real contraction feels like?

Sballerina

@melaniejayyy : I am a FTM so I haven't been through real labor yet myself. When I went to the doctor's early last week for my first nonstress test (where they monitor baby's heart rate and any uterine contractions), my husband read aloud baby's heart rate as it went up and down a little. Then he told me there was another line that was going up and down, and suggested maybe I was having contractions. I didn't think I was because I didn't really feel anything, and definitely not anything I considered painful. Well, turns out he was right. Once I had him turn the monitor toward me so I could see it too, I was able to see how I was feeling when the machine revealed I was contracting. It was a feeling that I had often thought before was just baby stretching!

I have read and heard from women I know that contractions feel different from woman to woman. Some are low and just feel like period cramps. Some feel like stronger cramps/tightening all over the front of your abdomen. Some feel like pain wrapping from the low back to the front. Still other women feel only back pain! Plus, they can feel different in terms of intensity as you progress through labor. You can definitely have contractions that I suppose are technically Braxton Hicks (because they eventually fizzle out) that are barely noticeable.

I am trying to not analyze all this too much. It's a lot to emotionally keep up with! Just trying to relax. Ultimately I know it's in God's hands and it's best to trust Him rather than take on the worry myself. Many FTMs have a fear of not realizing when "the real deal" starts, but I figure I will need a few hours to figure out if the contractions are more than BH ones. Generally FTMs have at least slightly longer labors than second or more timers, so it should be hard to miss

WeirdAlice

melaniejayyy said:

I thought contractions were the random pelvic pain I've been having, which is worse than lightning crotch for sure! But I went in to l&d the other day for decreased fetal movement and while hooked up to the monitors she told me I had 3 contractions which I didn't feel at all. I'm more confused than ever now. And of course once I got hooked up, he started moving like crazy. But I'm glad I went and made sure everything was okay!

Anyone have a good description of what a real contraction feels like?

When I went in for monitoring Thursday I didn't feel any contractions that morning and half that afternoon, but the monitor at the dr office and hospital were picking them up on the machine.
When I finally did feel them they were three min apart and honestly it just felt like when you have to pee and you hold it and start cramping from holding it (tho I did have to pee I wasn't holding it lol) so for me it was bladder cramps. Felt it in my back and stomach, and it took my breath away.

KW12

I had my son 10/27. I was having random contractions but in my back. 10/25 and 10/26 I thought I was getting sick. My water broke in it's own. The pain went from I don't feel soo well to I can't do this pretty fast lol

ewhitledge

I've been having contractions for a couple weeks sporadically but today they became painful, to me it feels like bad period cramps coupled with someone sitting on my chest making it hard to breathe

modanz1

melaniejayyy said:

I thought contractions were the random pelvic pain I've been having, which is worse than lightning crotch for sure! But I went in to l&d the other day for decreased fetal movement and while hooked up to the monitors she told me I had 3 contractions which I didn't feel at all. I'm more confused than ever now. And of course once I got hooked up, he started moving like crazy. But I'm glad I went and made sure everything was okay! Anyone have a good description of what a real contraction feels like?

For me they feel like someone hugging you way too hard, tons of pressure and I can't breathe. Combine that with a debilitating menstrual cramp and you've got a contraction.  At least that's how they feel to me...I've heard they can be different for everyone.  I do get the feeling of having to pee while I am having one, but I just assumed it was my bladder being extra squished by the pressure.

melaniejayyy

I've definitely felt where I just thought baby was stretching or getting comfortable and everything gets pretty tight. I've also had the pelvic pain, cramping, back pain, and hard to breathe feeling. There's so many different things going on in my body it's hard to know what's what. My midwife keeps reassuring me that when its time I'll know and baby's not just gonna fall out of me. But that's one of my biggest fears, not being able to get to the hospital in time.

I wish there were a definite description of one, that everyone felt so I'd know exactly what it was when it starts.

CocoR04

I'm 40w6d (EDD was 10/29) and just started having irregular, sporadic contractions a couple of days ago. I just woke up to painful, timetable contractions that may or may not be real so I'm not getting my hopes up. They are the same as when I went into labor with my son. They start in my back like a menstrual cramp and wrap around my pelvis, into my lower uterus and tighten while the pain reaches a definite peak, then the pain softens. i hope this helps any of you since the PPs were talking about how contractions feel to different people. Hoping these are real and I have this baby soon! Tired of being pregnant.

jbaldwin14

I'm 39+2 today and have been stuck at 1 cm "finger tip" and only 25% effaced since my 36 week apt. after that apt. I thought I had been loosing my MP just a little by little, apparently I was wrong. It just came out full on with out a doubt!! (Idk why it kind of made me excited haha) So my question is, for STM+ how soon after you losing it did labor really start? Just curious. I have BH ALL the time. I'm also a FTM and can never hear enough labor stories!!

gipfish

Great thread!

I'm being induced tomorrow and am supposed to be getting a good night's sleep, but the contractions had other plans. My lower back is killing me. Never mind being rested. Haha.

@melaniejayyy I'm a FTM, but the contractions I've experienced so far have consisted of a tight pressure in the top of my abdomen that spreads to cover my whole abdomen, sometimes lightly, sometimes painfully, sometimes coupled with lower back pain. And by lower, I mean like from the small of my back down into like the top of my butt area.

Ceridwen77

jbaldwin14 said:

I'm 39+2 today and have been stuck at 1 cm "finger tip" and only 25% effaced since my 36 week apt. after that apt. I thought I had been loosing my MP just a little by little, apparently I was wrong. It just came out full on with out a doubt!! (Idk why it kind of made me excited haha) So my question is, for STM+ how soon after you losing it did labor really start? Just curious. I have BH ALL the time. I'm also a FTM and can never hear enough labor stories!!

Loss of mucus plug has no indication of when labor will start. It can actually regenerate. You can do a search and see people lose them weeks before labor begins.

jbaldwin14

@ceridwen77 I understand that and have seen the other threads. They never answer that question. I'm just curious to hear from other women this far along that had lost there's. I've heard it's more unlikely for it to regenerate this far into pregnancy.

Petal19

Yep that happened to me two weeks ago, lost my mucous plug called midwives, I had planned on going away that weekend, they told me not too in case I went into labor. Painful cramps that I thought were contractions all weekend went in to L&D on Sunday, nothing. Fizzled out that week and I have been waiting ever since, 39w 3d now.

Ceridwen77

jbaldwin14 said:

@ceridwen77 I understand that and have seen the other threads. They never answer that question. I'm just curious to hear from other women this far along that had lost there's. I've heard it's more unlikely for it to regenerate this far into pregnancy.

My point is you can't compare your pregnancy to others as they all are different. You will find that people lose their plug and go into labor shortly thereafter, while others lose it this late and still have to be induced. Sorry but you're not going to have anyone here tell you you're about to go into labor just because you lost your plug.

I lost mine a week ago; still pregnant at 39w 4d.

jbaldwin14

@ceridwen77 I'm sorry but I never asked someone to tell me when or if I was going into labor. I asked to hear about other moms experiences with losing there's and then going into labor. Thank you though!

BowWowBowie

jbaldwin14 said:

@ceridwen77 I'm sorry but I never asked someone to tell me when or if I was going into labor. I asked to hear about other moms experiences with losing there's and then going into labor. Thank you though!

Xette

Today is my due date. I woke up at 3:53 because of really bad lower back pain and period like cramps but no contractions. I have an appointment at 9am. Not sure if I'm in early labor right now. I've been having a lot of strong contractions the last couple of days but they subside after 2 hours or so. I'm just waiting for the real thing!

BowWowBowie

@Xette hope you get great news at your appointment today! Wishing you the best!

SoFlaMommie1128

Thanks for posting this thread. I had some tightening/pain that felt stronger than BH yesterday evening, and woke up around 4:30 with a lot of pain and pressure. No real "contraction" per se since waking up, just a constant tightness across my abdomen.

Pontot31

mrssuperman918 said:

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

I think that's still lightning crotch. Just the way the baby is positioned. Not so much the onset of labor.

Pontot31

jbaldwin14 said:

I'm 39+2 today and have been stuck at 1 cm "finger tip" and only 25% effaced since my 36 week apt. after that apt. I thought I had been loosing my MP just a little by little, apparently I was wrong. It just came out full on with out a doubt!! (Idk why it kind of made me excited haha) So my question is, for STM+ how soon after you losing it did labor really start? Just curious. I have BH ALL the time. I'm also a FTM and can never hear enough labor stories!!

It never did start for me. Lost it and 3 days later had to be induced. Losing it means nothing.

TKG83

My contractions started out feeling like severe period cramps. They'd come and go and gradually get more intense. I honestly felt they were like menstrual cramping and denied that they were contractions for about 5 hours. Just keep track of them because you'll notice that they become more regular and a lot more intense. Eventually you'll end up bent over in pain, they'll take your breath away and you probably won't be able to continue a conversation while having one.
As they get more intense you'll start feeling the need to bare down. It'll be second nature. Most women also start making grunting type noises as well. This is when baby is just about ready to come.
Keep your L&D number handy. You can always call them and ask if you're really not sure.

Gapeach83

Pontot31 said:

mrssuperman918 said:

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

I think that's still lightning crotch. Just the way the baby is positioned. Not so much the onset of labor.

More intense? Lightning crotch makes me buckle in pain it can be very intense. That's why it's named lighting because the pain is very sharp and shooting through your pelvis or vagina.

CharminglySouthern

Gapeach83 said:

Pontot31 said:

mrssuperman918 said:

Did anyone experience random but several shooting pains through your pelvic region at the onset of labor? I'm having what I believe to be irregular contractions but constant pain and keep getting shooting pains through my pelvic region. Note, it's way more intense than 'lightning crotch'

I think that's still lightning crotch. Just the way the baby is positioned. Not so much the onset of labor.

More intense? Lightning crotch makes me buckle in pain it can be very intense. That's why it's named lighting because the pain is very sharp and shooting through your pelvis or vagina.

This. The Lightning crotch. You haz it.

AmoLovesAud

I guess this is the best place to post this?  Scheduled my C-section yesterday, for the 17th.  Kiddo is complete breech (butt first, legs crossed).  I'm an okay candidate for a ECV, but being my first kid and since she's been that way since her anatomy scan, they didn't think it was likely to work.

So.  Ahhh.  Freak-out.  We have a firm date on the calendar now, have to stop pretending that she'll totally be a week late and that we have loads of time.

I read the C-section thread, didn't have questions to add to it worth bumping it back to the front page, though.  Who else is a c/s momma this time around?

helsbels222

AmoLovesAud said:

I guess this is the best place to post this?  Scheduled my C-section yesterday, for the 17th.  Kiddo is complete breech (butt first, legs crossed).  I'm an okay candidate for a ECV, but being my first kid and since she's been that way since her anatomy scan, they didn't think it was likely to work.

So.  Ahhh.  Freak-out.  We have a firm date on the calendar now, have to stop pretending that she'll totally be a week late and that we have loads of time.

I read the C-section thread, didn't have questions to add to it worth bumping it back to the front page, though.  Who else is a c/s momma this time around?

I have a RCS scheduled in less than 3 weeks. It's definitely weird knowing when LO is arriving. However, they can still decide to come before that so I just look at it as my EDD was moved up but there is no chance of going over so it's more like a DD.

mamavbs

In regards to all the MP questions... I had a sweep on Friday which hasn't worked, but I've been losing plug ever since. And I'm still pregnant.

With my DD I had a sweep, thought I had lost my plug 2 days later and then went in to labour on day 3 and lost tons more.

So basically who knows what the eff is up with the MP. There must be tons of it for me this time.

Also I've been having contractions (painful ones) since Sunday, but they're irregular and erratic. So again, who knows what is going on. I was 2cm on Friday, I'm assuming that the contractions are slowly doing more but I won't know until I know!

I've actually never been this pregnant, both my other two were born around 39w, I'm 40w on Friday so it's a bit of a shock for me and I'm starting to go a little crazy...

Starting to want to punch people.

mommynorris

Love this thread! 36+5 here. Been having Bh for quite a while, nothing steady and they have always been in upper abdomen. LO definitely dropped this week as his feet are no longer in my ribs and I have to pee constantly. Just this morning I have been having what feels like period cramps in my way low abdomen and lower back, its more of a constant ache right now though. This is baby #2 so I'm hoping these signs may mean baby is coming soon! I have 37 week apt on Friday so we will see what they say.

ooooner

Awesome thread, thanks for starting this. I have a question that may be very silly but FTM here, 38 weeks exactly and would like some input if anyone cares to give it. Basically my baby has been being very active the past few days and even more so this morning to the point that I cannot tell whether it's just him moving or if I'm actually having BH contractions. I do know what BH feel like because I had them prior to 30 weeks which was confirmed by an L&D visit, but they went away and I haven't felt much of anything like them again up until the past few days and today where again baby is being super active. I honestly can't tell if my belly is tight because of a contraction or whether it's just LO sticking his big butt up and out as far as he can. All I know is that when he moves I also feel tightness in the uterus and the tightness is getting stronger and stronger each time it happens, though there really isn't any consistency to it. To be clear I am not asking if I'm in labor as I do not believe that I am. My question for those more experienced Moms is when you are experiencing BH or true contractions, does baby usually remain still through it or are they moving the whole time? Or it could be both? Thanks for any input, it is appreciated.

Xette

Still no progress...Not at all effaced nor dilated. We are scheduled for an induction on Monday...

kdsmith43

melaniejayyy said:

 Anyone have a good description of what a real contraction feels like?

My best description of a "real" contraction is the worst period cramp you have ever had in your life and the worst bowel cramp I-am-about-to-shit-myself pain at the same time.