December 2015 Moms

What My Contractions Felt Like/Our Birth Stories (LOOK HERE BEFORE ASKING ABOUT CONTRACTIONS)

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Re: What My Contractions Felt Like/Our Birth Stories (LOOK HERE BEFORE ASKING ABOUT CONTRACTIONS)

  • My contractions started out feeling like REALLY bad cramps then progressed to horrible BH and then after an epidural they just felt like normal BH only lower than they had been for the months previous.
    mc April '14, September '14
    chemical pregnancy February '15

    Rainbow baby EDD 12/19/15
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  • Hello i wondering what to do on Monday i got checked out and i was 3cm Thursday the 17 was my due date and on Wednesday night me and my bf got intimate but after that i went to the bathroom and saw light pink blood when i wiped and after like two hours it went away and again today a little earlier it happened as well is it normal or should i call my doctor
  • @yazminemonique7 you are probably better off calling your care provider and asking that question.
  • @camilajaleesa what week were you? Before due date??
  • @kimia222 i was 38 weeks and 6 days...
  • I basically posted my birth story with my announcement, but I just want to reiterate that when you're having a labor contraction, you will know.

    I had a ton of back labor and it was incredibly painful. In transition and pushing it felt really good to have a heating pad on my lower back and constant pressure applied (DH and doula FTW). By painful, I mean when they were coming 15 seconds apart I was whimpering and on the verge of losing control.

    Other contractions felt like super duper painful menstrual cramps.

    I just want to add that my labor started at being awoken at 4 am to some cramping. I had had similar cramping, but by 4:30 the gushing liquid signaled something different was happening. Again, you'll know when it's real!!
  • @Court11152325 I'm feeling inspired as I have a posterior baby as well and want to labour without medications! Way to go! Hoping the doula/husband/mom/husband will help me cope.
  • I honestly didn't know I was having actual labor contractions. Me and my nurse thought I was getting early contractions pushing on a gas bubble. Turns out we were wrong!
  • It was painful, but doable. @laurabwalker just be strong and practice a breathing routine. I'm not going to lie, though, when they numbed for the c-section not feeling those contractions was really nice. But after pushing for 3 hours with no change in her station, I was feeling really defeated.
  • It was painful, but doable. @laurabwalker just be strong and practice a breathing routine. I'm not going to lie, though, when they numbed for the c-section not feeling those contractions was really nice. But after pushing for 3 hours with no change in her station, I was feeling really defeated.

    Thanks for the tips! Sounds like you did so great, 3 hours of pushing sounds exhausting after that labor. Congrats on your beautiful baby :)
  • ACarter0914ACarter0914 member
    edited December 2015
    39+5 I'm only 1 cm dilated and absolutely zero sign of this baby coming anytime soon. This might not seem like much but I had my daughter on her due date so I was really looking forward to having my son early or at least on time...definitely not happening.
  • I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.

    Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!
  • I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.

    Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!

    No real advice ... But This is my third and have had the idea that labour is going to come full force in the next 24 hrs and am a lot freaked out too. Even though I know what to expect during and after labour, I feel super unprepared and totally nervous about it all. You are not alone. I'm sure many many many women can totally relate.
  • I'm sorry if this isn't the right place for this, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread. I haven't been having real contractions, and I go see the doctor tomorrow. At my last appointment he alluded to bring induced because of baby's size, I'm 39+3 tomorrow. I'm not sure what the plan is as of yet, but I'm starting to get really nervous. I want baby here, but I don't know if I can do it!!! I mean, I know I can and have to, but this is such a scary thought and it now feels like 9 months wasn't enough time to actually process. I've been so worried about making sure he's safe and healthy I haven't been thinking about what's to come.

    Sorry for the book, but I didn't want to freak my hubby out, as I've been so calm about it all!!!

    I was 8cm along and didn't think I could do it and was nervous and worried about the process to come. Luckily you don't really have a choice -- you'll do it when the time comes and then you'll have your adorable little baby!

  • @angbrienza and @jennknitspretty thank you. I keep trying to remind myself that I want this baby to snuggle, so he has to come out, and I'm the one who has to do it. I know in the end it will be OK, and I'm sure it will do it again to have more babies, but I might not be able to sleep tonight.

  • @stephaniearthurs I feel u. This is my second and feels like my first with all these laboring thoughts. I'm 39+3 tomorrow and my induction is next week. I'm already sleepless. Best to u and like they say we have no choice, go with the flow. One thing I did think of tonight is that I like the element of surprise and in a way wish I would just randomly go into labor rather than have it scheduled. Probably because it gives me less time to freak out? :smile:
  • Didn't know I was in labour for 16 hrs because it started so small I thought they were Braxton Hicks. It was only after they didn't go away and started getting quite painful that I thought they were real. Even when we went to hospital at 7cm (found out later, thought I'd be like 1cm) they were irregular and up to 4 mins apart. Anyone in doubt, listen to your body and nothing else. I never lost the plug or waters.
  • Any moms experience extreme fatigue before going into labor? Like bone-deep can't-keep-eyes-open, first trimester style fatigue? I had a decent night sleep last night and just passed out cold on the couch for 2 solid hours (and could easily sleep some more). It's very unusual. Wondering if maybe it's a sign of labor...OR just that I'm getting sick. :/
  • I have not had the baby yet but I had his fatigue feeling! I thought I was getting sick too but I didn't, just stayed exhausted. @Alyssaerin996
  • @laurabwalker Was afraid of that! I know a lot of people actually get a big burst of energy right before but was kind of hoping someone would chime in and confirm the opposite. Wishful thinking! Due tomorrow. No sign of baby.
  • @Alyssaerin996 I was hoping that too, someone even said to me "oh maybe you'll go into labor". I'm due tomorrow too, I feel your pain :grimace:
  • It's a glimmer of hope @ammnam14 ! I'll take it. ;)
  • I was napping A LOT in the week or so leading up to labor. A couple days I took 2 naps.
  • @laurabwalker @Alyssaerin996 I'm due tomorrow too and no sign of baby yet. No extreme fatigue either, just so tired of being pregnant. Have an appt for induction tomorrow morning.
  • My mom keeps telling me that the baby will stop moving (as much) before I go into labour. If this is true, I don't think I ever will, this kid moves so much!!!!
  • My mom keeps telling me that the baby will stop moving (as much) before I go into labour. If this is true, I don't think I ever will, this kid moves so much!!!!

    The ladies in my life told me this as well. I stopped feeling her when contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and it was terrifying!
  • Hey all! This is my story..
    My water broke at midnight. I was asleep and woke up feeling like I had peed my pants. As I got up and ran to the bathroom I could feel water gushing out of me. My pants were soaked and I was sitting on the toilet in disbelief. I woke up my husband to let him know my water had broken, we called the hospital and were told to make our way over as soon as we could. We hopped into the car and headed over, by this time I wasn't feeling anything. Just anxious and ready to meet my little girl! We got to the labour and delivery room where a nurse checked to see if my water did in fact break by using a swab test. They confirmed it. They did a quick check and let me know that I was 3cm dilated and 80% effaced. I was told they were going to administer oxycodine to kick start labour and get my contractions going. (This is because after your water breaks you have an increased chance of infection the longer your labour lasts) I asked if I could get an epidural first and they said okay. The epidural was quite painful.. Tons of pressure and pinching, not fun! It took effect within 5 min and I was in heaven! A couple hours later I started to feel a lot of pressure in my lower abdomine. I told the nurse who then checked me and I was 10cm and ready to push. Two hours later, my baby girl made her entrance! I had an episiotomy so they needed to stich me up.. Also not fun. Now I am home and trying to recover. Recovering after labour- especially after an episiotomy- is absolute hell! In my experience, this is worse than labour itself. (Not to mention my boobs are bigger than Pam Anderson's, and my nipples feel like they could fall off at any second) Totally worth it X1000 though! :smile:
  • The birth announcement is in that thread, but here are some details:
    I went in for my doctor appointment at 4pm, after a full day of running errands. Good thing too! All day, I had been having a "tight cramp" type feeling every 20 min or so lasting about 40 seconds at a time. I thought it might possibly be the start of something, but they were so light, I wasn't sure. The only thing that made me think they were real, was that my mom had said "when they make you stop what you're doing and think about it, they're real." Some were hard enough that I had to stop for a bit, but they were still pretty mild. My hips felt super tight though, and getting in our Explorer was a challenge to lift my leg enough to get in.

    When we got to the doctor, my bp was higher than its been (140/100) which isn't too high, but my normal is basically the textbook 120/80, so I suppose for me, that's high enough to notice. Anyway, since it had been creeping higher each week, and I was 3cm, 75% effaced and station -1, he decided to send me to the hospital. We got there, not sure if we were being admitted or if it was just for a few tests. Turns out it was to admit us. So, I called my mom and she came right over so she'd be there when the doc came back, cos we weren't sure if they wanted me to labor that night or wait til morning. We waited til morning. During the night, the crampy feeling got worse, and my legs basically decided that they were done and it was hubby's job to help me get out of bed to the bathroom, not theirs. Little man definitely had dropped a little more too. I could feel him! So odd.
    After a long night of cramps and woken to check BP and vitals every hour, it was finally time to see the doctor. He arrived at 6:30am, broke my water and started pitocin and magnesium (to prevent seizures) after discovering that I'd gone to 6cm, 100% effaced overnight. Now, I'd heard all the horror stories about induction and the need for epidural, etc... But I did NOT want an epidural at all!! I declined when the anesthesiologist came in to ask. They warned that this would mean general anesthesia if I needed a c section. I wasn't planning on getting one, so that was fine with me. The magnesium was the worst part of the whole thing. It made me hot and sweaty and very groggy and out of it.

    Contractions (why everyone is reading this in the first place) started getting stronger and closer together about an hour into the pitocin drip and continued steadily harder through labor, which is expected. I found that they weren't as bad as I was imagining. They hurt, don't get me wrong, but you can feel the purpose of them. I started breathing hard, and mom and DH reminded me to slow my breathing. That helped. Apparently I had a vice grip on DH's hand through the contractions... (Sorry dear). Mom rubbed my lower back/tailbone area when I was having them, and that was amazing relief! I highly recommend it. It is so possible to labor naturally. Just focus on the muscles rippling down to push baby into the right position. That helped me. It was like a cramp/Charlie horse/muscle spasm type feeling that you can't stop it on your own, you just have to work through it.

    Anyway, about 10:30, they noticed baby's heart rate was dropping a bit, so they hooked him up to a monitor in his scalp and had me switch positions to see if that'd help. Nothing helped. They made the call to do a c-section, just in case it was an emergency. I think I was a 7, but I was in transition and active labor throughout that... Mom thinks it I had another hour, he would have been fine and I would have delivered since everything else was progressing so quickly. Anyway, they put an oxygen mask on and wheeled me away to surgery, knocked me out, and did the section. Q was born at 11:04am.

    The general consensus was that there were no reasons to do the c-section, other than the precautionary "what if we hadn't". So, better safe than sorry, I suppose. I'd rather have a c-section and a healthy baby than risk something happening to him because of my birth plan. They said I can probably vbac next time so that's good. We think, looking back at it, that the magnesium affected both of us, and is probably the cause of the heart rate issues. I naturally have a lower resting heart rate, too, so that is also probably part of it. But, we are happy and healthy and learning how to breastfeed since we were delayed quite a bit in starting that process.
  • My contractions came fast and furious. They started out feeling like a vice gripping and squeezing my hips and radiating down my legs. They became unbearable when they were in my back pounding away, every two minutes for two minutes, and my front was just cramping. Oh back labor :grimace:
  • Was induced on Christmas Day at 12pm because I was 9 days past my due date. Was sent home after 3 hours of being monitored at the hospital and was told to come back the next day if nothing had progressed. At 5:30pm on Christmas Day I started to feel period like cramping in my lower back. It wasn't anything bad, just slight discomfort. We had my husbands family come over for a visit around 8:30pm and I was feeling more discomfort in both lower back and in lower stomach. I sat on the couch with a hot pack. Once the family left around 11 pm, I decided to sit in the tub to try and ease the cramping. The cramping grew with more discomfort. They would switch from lower back to lower stomach. My husband said that I was having contractions but I was in denial because everyone says that your whole stomach will tighten when having a contraction. I did not feel any tightening. I called the hospital and told the nurse I had really uncomfortable cramping and she asked a bunch of questions that I had answered no to and she told me to have a good night. My husband saw how much discomfort I was in and told me to call her back and tell her that we were coming in to get checked. As I got out of the bath, I could feel my cramping coming in slow and then it would intensify then slowly let up. I was no longer in denial, this was my bodies way of contracting! I started focusing on deep breathing. It was hard getting all of our stuff packed as the contractions were coming on every 40 seconds. We got in the car and headed for the hospital. Once at the hospital they put us in a room to wait for a nurse to check me. I was laying on the bed on my side holding the mattress with a tight grip breathing deeply through each contraction. By now they are coming on every 30 seconds. My husband went out in the hallway and flagged down a doctor and told her to come check me. When the doctor pulled the cervidil out I had my "bloody show" and also found that I was 5 cm dilated. I was in so much discomfort and with contractions coming every 30 seconds I knew I would be too exhausted when it came time for pushing so I asked for the epidural. They took me to the birthing unit and I waited for the anesthesiologist. The epi did not hurt, and I was smiling and talking 10 minutes after it was inserted. They checked me again and I was close to 10 cm. They called my doctor to come to the hospital as I was going to deliver this baby soon. As soon as my doctor arrived I was ready to push. She broke my water then had me doing a couple of sets of pushing when my doctor said baby has a big head and that she will have to use a vacuum to help get him out. I pushed some more but it was tough going on getting him out. His heart rate was dropping a bit and they figured he might be in distress so they called in for a couple extra doctors and a nicu team. My doctor stepped aside and let a different doctor in helping me try to push the baby out. Within 20 minutes of pushing and with the help of the vacuum, my baby boy came out (within an hour and a half of being at the hospital I went from 5 cm to 10 cm! quick labour and delivery). My husband was not able to cut the cord as the nicu team took my baby to be assessed. While they were checking him over I was being stitched up as I had a 2nd degree tear. Thank god for the epi as the only thing I felt having my baby was pressure as if I had to poop. Couldn't feel them stitching me up. Once the nicu team was done they put my baby boy on my chest and I was able to start breastfeeding. It was quite the experience and couldn't be more happy. Since then my recovery is going really well! Just trying to get sleep whenever I can.
  • Oh btw i don't know if anybody has talked about delivering the placenta. 

    It seriously didn't hurt at all. It felt almost like a cross between a relief and absolutely nothing. After what i had just gone through, it felt like passing a small clot that you sometimes pass on your period. The placenta is nothing. Don't worry about the placenta. 

    One thing they don't tell you until after though.. if you're breastfeeding, your contractions will continue for several days. They are not strong contractions but you'll cramp right up when you bf. Don't worry. Supposed to happen. 

    If you tear (I got 2nd degree tears from my tiny 5 pounder) they'll stitch you and if you have an epidural, you won't feel much. I can't remember if they gave me additional pain management for stitches. But I didn't feel pain from stitches at all. I felt the stitching happening but no pain associated with it. 
  • I had a 2nd degree (with a 5 pounder!) and I just remember twitching when they started to stitch me up so they reached over and pressed my "happy button" ( epidural button to administer more) but other than that I just felt the weird tugging of the stitches.

    @groovylocks I completely admire your strength at handling birth when you have such anxiety from being touched by strangers.
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