False Labor

lblu43

Braxton hicks mutated into something else; I'm now on day 3 of solid contractions. Finally went to OB, "false alarm", no dilation but was told, "I may not be pregnant next wk" for my 37wk appt. DS was born around 37 1/2 wks, and so far this LO has measured over a wk large. I'm 36wk1d today.

The hurry up and wait experience though?...Yup not a fan. We live an hr away from the hospital, and DS ended with a C despite all of my efforts.

Yesterday they ranged from 45min-30min, today its been 10-15min at a 'moderate' pain level. I kept thinking they would stop, but they're constant night/day. I wish there was a thermometer or alarm i could use. "Danger,  danger, you're in active labor". The worse part is I feel responsible,  as if I should know better. DH already called off today (He works nights), and it takes at least 30 min getting DS to his grandparents. So it's not as if "Go time" is simple. 

Anyone else fighting to keep distracted?

kwilliams3402

I'm not experiencing this, but I did see a June and July thread while lurking over there... Might take a look at those to see that you're not alone!!

gingersnap-mama

@lblu43 I'm in the same boat as the "hurry up and wait" I'm not having daily contractions like you but Sunday I had them for 4 hours but they were 10-15 minutes apart and never progressed past that!! Im a FTM so idk what to expect! The uncertainty of when I will got into legit labor is nerve-racking! Part of me is jealous of everyone that has induction or c-section dates .. lol all well our little ones will arrive when they're ready I guess. 

lblu43

@jkershaw2013 I hope you are able to get some R&R! It is very challenging. ...especially getting sent home from the 'false alarm'. Same thing happened with DS 7 yes ago, only I went into labor the next day. I waited so long because I was embarrassed of being wrong we were dilated @ 7 by the time we got there.

Stephanie7693

I already warned my husband we might have a false alarm or two. Being my third, you'd think I'd know. But, with my labors being fast we really don't have the time to make sure at home. If this baby comes any faster than the first two, we need to be on the ball. And with 2 kids at home we have to wait on a babysitter to arrive. It's nerve wracking just waiting for labor to start. Since my appt this morning I pay attention to EVERY contraction. There's a lot of them every day, so it really sucks. Why can't there just be one certain thing that tells you "hey, get your ass to the hospital! "

1faceinacrowd

I've been having tons of contractions too and it's seriously exhausting, so I feel your pain!! They've been starting in the late morning or early afternoon for the last several days, but today they woke me up at 4 a.m.! It's now almost 9:30 and I'm still having them, but nothing consistent or painful enough to be "real" labor. This will be my second baby and I do not remember this with the first. I went in on Tuesday for my 36 week checkup (I was 36w3d at the time) and she said I'm dilated 1-2 cm and 50% effaced, so I guess at least the contractions are making a little progress. But good grief, I'm tired.

Stephanie7693

@1faceinacrowd.. contractions don't have to be painful for them to be real. Both my kids, when I left for the hospital,my contractions were just consistent, every 7 or so minutes apart, but not painful. For me I wasn't in pain until my water broke.. then I was in pain 5 minutes later lol. So this time I plan on leaving if they are 10 minutes apart, and hopefully I can get to the hospital and get drugs before my water breaks, but I don't know if that will happen! But yay that youre dilated and making progress! 

searchingforameaning

Im with you. My dr appointment is in 10 min. and I don't know if he will say, go downstairs or not. Last week he said if we saw any dialation or contractions it would be reason enough to do the c/section. Im 36 weeks now. so don't know what will happen... will i go to work? or get a room? is today the day???

1faceinacrowd

@Stephanie7693 I have heard of that happening! I'm just assuming they'll be as painful as they were with my first once I'm in active labor, though I should probably start timing them just in case, since it has been about 6 hours straight now.

charmedlifex3

We had this happen on Sunday, we're also an hour away from the hospital.

I was having contractions every 10-15 minutes and was not really in pain - then they moved to every 5 minutes and started to hurt and I was like "uh oh, better start tracking these!" They progressed to every 4 minutes and we called the doctor, by the time we got to the hospital they were every three minutes apart, and I had dilated to 2cm... the nurses even came in to have a talk with me about how they won't try to stop it now I am over 35 weeks (barely) - they put me on fluids, and within a couple hours of that, the regular pattern of the contractions started to peter out, and I was still at 2 cm.

So frustrating. I can't really not go in, in a situation like that, but I feel bad taking up their time for my body being a giant faker. Waiting until my water breaks isn't really an option because 1. will I really know? Isn't sometimes it just a slow leak, which with all the third tri grossness can be missed and 2. Sometimes the dramatic unmistakable "whoosh" is like - right when the baby is coming. Being an hour away... not good!  My doctor thinks I have been dehydrated, which is triggering this (due to vomiting, I drink a TON.)

I hate to say, but I am glad I am not the only one. It makes me feel like maybe they don't think I am a crazy person (which this whole situation has made me fee like I am!) since this is all a normal-ish part of the process.

1faceinacrowd

@Allisun85 no need to feel bad! If I were having contractions like this as a FTM, I would've been in the hospital 8 times by now. lol. The only reason I'm not at the hospital today is because I've been through labor once before and know that it gets much, much worse. Haha. And since I'm trying to go med-free, I plan to do most of my laboring from home.

Stephanie7693

@Allisun85... I thought I was in labor a couple nights ago, but after drinking a ton of water and laying down they went away. I was really close to going to the hospital though, and this is my third, so don't feel bad! But now that I'm dilated to 3 and baby is way low, I don't think I'll wait again if contractions pick up. If I get sent home oh well. Although the hospital is 15 minutes away, baby will probably come fast so like ypu, I don't have time to wait it out. It's definitely torture just waiting and not knowing!

emmeline714

@1faceinacrowd i am trying to do the med-free and staying at home as much as i can so i can just pop this girl out quick.

As a FTM i already had my scare last friday but i keep praying that all goes well because I am scared of labor once it is all over i will be happy. Baby girl just has no room and everything is uncomfortable now a days i have to lean just anyway but for a few than i move to different position and it is uncomfortable. 

charmedlifex3

Well, and I wonder if they would have stopped if I hadn't gone in too - I wasn't keeping fluids down, so if the contractions were edging into productive and were cause by dehydration, that wasn't something I could resolve at home. And I assume there is some point of no return...

I agree. I want a magic button which flashes when it is go time! Like the space shuttle - big red and flashing and labeled "LAUNCH"

@Searchingforameaning keep us updated!

1faceinacrowd

Oh man, a big alarm would be fabulous!
I just started timing my contractions and they're actually pretty consistent right now... about 7-8 minutes apart. I guess I'll keep timing them and see what happens. TMI I also just had a little bit of "bloody show" when I went to the bathroom... so, maybe real labor is closer than I thought? Only time will tell!

Curls919

1faceinacrowd said:

@Stephanie7693 I have heard of that happening! I'm just assuming they'll be as painful as they were with my first once I'm in active labor, though I should probably start timing them just in case, since it has been about 6 hours straight now.

My doc said if they are regular and continue past an hour or two to give a call even if they're not painful. It's worth a call to your ob at least!

Curls919

Allisun85 said:

Well, and I wonder if they would have stopped if I hadn't gone in too - I wasn't keeping fluids down, so if the contractions were edging into productive and were cause by dehydration, that wasn't something I could resolve at home. And I assume there is some point of no return...

I agree. I want a magic button which flashes when it is go time! Like the space shuttle - big red and flashing and labeled "LAUNCH"

@Searchingforameaning keep us updated!

honestly, it sounded like you needed to go to the hospital for the dehydration anyway. And your docs I'm sure would be much happier with that situation than you not coming in at all!

kecoff01

Curls919 said:

1faceinacrowd said:

@Stephanie7693 I have heard of that happening! I'm just assuming they'll be as painful as they were with my first once I'm in active labor, though I should probably start timing them just in case, since it has been about 6 hours straight now.

My doc said if they are regular and continue past an hour or two to give a call even if they're not painful. It's worth a call to your ob at least!

Ditto.  My OB told me if I have 6 in an hour, with our without pain, to call.

Curls919

I'm personally hoping that my water breaks like it did last time so I don't need to worry about contractions being real labor or not. 

KJ1416

I had some false labor last night. I went to bed feeling a lot of pressure on my tail bone area and having BH. I get BH all the time, so I just made sure I drank a tone of water.  I woke up two hours later at 1am because the contractions were uncomfortable and the pressure on my tail bone was really hurting. I started timing them and they were 4-7 minutes apart. Since this is my second LO and the contractions weren't "really" hurting I was pretty sure I wasn't in labor. Luckily after eating some and trying lots of positions to get the pressure off my tail bone they slowed. I was able to sleep until 5am when they woke me up again. Since I've been up, I'm still having some BH, but they don't seem to be consistent.  Ugh, this is exhausting...

I'm a planned c section, so if I go in and I'm having contractions they'll just do the c section.  This makes me really avoid going in. I guess I'm waiting for those contractions you can't talk through and have to stop walking or doing anything.   I want the baby to wait a little longer. 

I'm 38 weeks tomorrow and have a dr Appt tomorrow too.  I'll see how much progress I've made. 

bearsandbeets7

Can I just say how excited I am that we are finally at this point where we can just start popping babies out!

Stephanie7693

@1faceinacrowd yay! Hopefully it's really time!!! Sounds promising! !

mamaqdubu

I don't put myself in the false labor category at all yet, but a question for all you STMs... Is it obvious when you start to have real contractions? (Painful or not, progressive or false). Sometimes parts of the top of my belly become really really hard, but I cant decipher whether it's baby pushing their bum against my uterus or if it's my muscles contracting. 

jacmkelley

caitlinj187 said:

I don't put myself in the false labor category at all yet, but a question for all you STMs... Is it obvious when you start to have real contractions? (Painful or not, progressive or false). Sometimes parts of the top of my belly become really really hard, but I cant decipher whether it's baby pushing their bum against my uterus or if it's my muscles contracting. 

Not for me, I've got no clue what labor is lol. I'm still timing contractions etc and this is my second time around. Every pregnancy is different and I assume labor is too. 

kecoff01

caitlinj187 said:

I don't put myself in the false labor category at all yet, but a question for all you STMs... Is it obvious when you start to have real contractions? (Painful or not, progressive or false). Sometimes parts of the top of my belly become really really hard, but I cant decipher whether it's baby pushing their bum against my uterus or if it's my muscles contracting. 

I was induced with my first and didn't really feel the contractions.  I got my epidural before I could start feeling them, so I can't answer to it being obvious.  I also wasn't aware of my BH contractions with my first, but something was happening at some point because when I had my first internal exam at 36 weeks I was 1 cm dilated.  I was induced at 38+6 and before my induction started I was already 2-3 cm with no obvious contractions during that time frame. So I also have no clue what labor is lol

One way that I can tell if it's baby or a BH this time is to feel other spots.  A BH contraction will cause your entire uterus to harden.  Baby will only be hard in spots and will likely move if you press on him/her.  Also, the firmness caused by a BH is, in my experience, a lot firmer than the baby.  

mamaqdubu

thanks @jacmkelley & @kecoff01 if nothing else, I at least feel better I'm not alone in this confusion! lol

jamiesc58

Let us know how it goes @searchingforameaning! Good luck!!!

jacmkelley

caitlinj187 said:

thanks @jacmkelley & @kecoff01 if nothing else, I at least feel better I'm not alone in this confusion! lol

You are sooo far from alone lol. It's scary and new for even us second time mommies. It's part of all the fun! Lol 
Also I have a family member who just had her 2nd she went to L&D three times before being admitted due to BH she thought all 3 times her timing was correct etc... Nope. So I know it's not just me - we really are clueless. I will say your gut will know when it's real. You won't hesitate or wonder. You will go to hospital and say "I think I'm in labor" and you will be. 

squishy0511

I've been having tons of BH and got put on the monitor last week.. Turns out they were 3-5 minutes apart for a couple hours. I got iv fluids and nifedipine and neither helped. However I wasn't dilated nor effaced so was sent home. This week I'm still not dilated, so the contractions aren't doimg anything. I didn't think much of them cause they weren't painful at all just tightening - but I guess they really were contractions! Hopefully when I'm really in labor I'll just know.. Yikes!

searchingforameaning

at my appointment today I had my 20 min NST and had 4 braxton hicks during the test. I guess they were not strong enough though since OB did not even comment on them and said everything looked normal. He did not do a cervical check either and just said that if there is any cervical change then they can do the c/section. I think he really just wants me to be in full blown labor before taking baby out. Kinda glad baby can cook longer... but also soooo uncomfortable and don't want to go into labor at home when it can take up to 2 hours to get to the hospital with traffic!

1faceinacrowd

My contractions FINALLY slowed down around 7:00 last night. So, solid 15 hours of contractions, and then they stopped/slowed down. My midwife has changed the rule to just call if I'm having them every 4 minutes, lasting more than a minute, for at least an hour (4-1-1) because I'm past the point where they'd stop labor if I went in. They never got quite that close together yesterday.

I'm a STM and with my first, the contractions didn't REALLY start hurting until after the doc broke my water in the hospital (I went in because of consistent contractions and was admitted because I was past my due date and dilated to 3 but I didn't realize at the time that what I was feeling was NOTHING compared to active labor contractions).  I really want to labor at home as long as possible this time, but I do sort of worry that the contractions won't get to the point of "can't walk/talk through them" because they didn't last time until my water was manually broken. 

Abfisher

I've been having more and more frequent BH contractions over the past week. They are intensifying and sometimes uncomfortable, along with some menstrual-like cramping. I am also 3cm dilated and 90 percent effaced as of a couple of days ago at my 37 week appt. I haven't lost my mucus plug or broke water yet. Once I get painful contractions or break water, I will go in. But I have been experiencing rhythmic, consistent contractions that I attribute to dilation/effacement, but not true/active labor.

Abfisher

@1faceinacrowd
Like you, I will have pretty consistent contractions for hours at night the past three nights, but then they go away for a while. They are around 10 minutes apart and will last for over an hour. It's happening more frequently and intensely every day. It obviously isn't the real sha-bang since the baby is still in me. I think it's just our cervix priming for the big day. Delivery is right around the corner for me. I see my OB again Monday for an induction (for a few different medical reasons). As of Thursday I was 3cm/90% effaced. A good sex-capade will probably knock me over the edge hehe. 

danjoly

***Lurker from July

I was one of the July girl who had prodromal labor for weeks. Contractions started around the 34+6 weeks point. I was dilated 1-2cm and 50% effaced. I was giving the shot for the lungs and they stopped my labor the first time. After being discharge, they continue for days. I was having 10-15h of contractions daily varying from every 3 minutes to every 30
minutes. I was miserable and starting to get very exhausted and impatient from all this. Baby boy was born at 37+1 after an induction for low fluids. Althought I had contractions for weeks I was still 1-2cm when I got in for my inductions. Good luck ladies. what was helping me was moving around, swimming and drinking over 120oz a day of fluids. 

lblu43

@danjoly Thanks for the info!! I sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat. LO is still inside,  kicking my ribs happily three days later so I'm assuming its prodromal. I've been trying to walk and keep myself distracted with small todo lists. I'll be eager to see if there's been any progress at my next doc appt Wed. Crazy how time has flown. I do hope LO comes on his own before we lose the option of a VBac. We have a scheduled C for 8/4.