They say you'll just know

Fianschneid · October 2012

A year ago, I was home from work, thinking I was in labor but not completely sure. I had what I thought were contractions but they weren't too bad, so I thought they might not be. I even walked to a local sandwich place for lunch and my water broke but, again, I didn't realize it because I was upright and DD's head was acting like a cork. When I finally went to the hospital, I felt like an idiot because I told them my water hadn't broken yet and they had to inform me I was wrong.

All along, I was told it would be pretty obvious but as a FTM, I just couldn't be certain. Any similar stories about pregnancy, labor and delivery or motherhood where you were supposed to "just know" and you missed the boat?

shediva1 · October 2012

I think for me it was the lack of sleep, I had no idea that I was capable of holding so much baggage under my eyes. I blew if off when people said you will not sleep for the first few months. Thank goodness the swelling came down slightly.

tmadden · October 2012

I agree about the water breaking - I didn't know. I expected a gush of water, but it was barely a trickle that didn't last long and I just wasn't sure that's what it was. When they asked me at the hospital if my water broke I said no, but when the Dr. examined me he said it had, so I sort of figured out in reverse that's what it must have been.

wilsontl19191 · October 2012

One year ago today, at 5am, my water broke and I didn't know it! (It felt like a pop) I was laying in bed and since I thought it would be a "gush", I didn't think anything of it. Once I stood up, there was more of a trickle, but I STILL didn't realize what was going on. It wasn't until the contractions started, that I ate some breakfast, took a shower, and THEN called the dr. Once I was at the hospital, he confirmed my water did in fact break. 19 LONG hours later, my precious boy came into the world!

btsrc5 · October 2012

I was at church on Sunday morning. I went to the bathroom and there was a tiny tiny bit of red on the toilet paper. When I stood up, I felt like i had to pee again, so I sat back down really quickly. (My water apparently broke, but DD's head was pushed so far down in my pelvis that she was blocking it) I called my dr about the blood on the toilet paper and he said it was nothing to worry about. But I felt different. I felt like something was going on. I was emotional and worried.

I went back into church and sat between my husband and one of my best friends (who just had a baby 6 weeks prior). I turned to her and said "I would know if my water broke right? I will know when I go into labor, right?" She assured me that I would DEFINITELY know.

My church was throwing me a shower right after the service. Again, I felt like something was going on, but I wasn't feeling contractions and a couple of my friends kept telling me there was no way I was in labor. They told me to go home and rest.

When we were in the car on the way home, i started having some pain in my lower back. Dh told me that i was "overreacting" and "it was nothing." Halfway home I started having some discomfort wrapping around to my stomach. By the time we got home, I was having contractions 1-2 minutes apart. I called the dr and he told me I needed to come in immediately. I couldn't walk. I was trying to yell at DH to pack a bag, but he kept asking me what to put in it (which did not go over well). Then I started puking everywhere. We got in the car and I knew we weren't going to make it.

DH called 911 and had an ambulance meet us halfway. When I got to the hospital, the nurses checked me and immediately went to get the dr. The dr came running in and said, "your baby is coming!" I kept saying I wasn't ready and there was no way. And he insisted... "No, it is time. I can see her" He told me to push, but I was too scared and I wasn't ready so I faked it (I told DH this later and he said "you are kidding me? I was working so hard holding your leg and telling you you could do it, and you were faking it?" hahaha) Two real pushes later, and she was here.

So I think I knew something was going on, but I didn't want to believe it.

ETA: Sorry, that turned into a novel

morsey2011 · October 2012

I think I was in denial. I had horrible bladder issues during pregnancy, so when my water did break I assumed I had just peed myself. I changed my clothes and put a pad on and got back in bed (it was 10 at night). Laying there I felt a trickle again, so I got up and sat on the toilet still thinking I was peeing but wondering if it was my water. When I had to change clothes for the THIRD time, I figured it must be my water because it was becoming more than a trickle. I called my BFF, because she's a post partum nurse, and knew she would be working the night shift. She talked me into calling my hospital and told me to go. I decided to take a shower and then wake my DH. I can honestly say I didn't "just know".

tmadden · October 2012

Oh yes - I forgot about the puking. NOBODY told me you throw up when you are in labor. WTH?? Later, everyone was like, "Oh yeah, I threw up, too." I started throwing up at home and threw up in the car all the way to the hospital. Sure would have liked to expect that one!

kagl08 · October 2012

I was 33 weeks when regular contractions started. I kept telling him and he kept saying it was normal for a 2nd time mom. I called him he kept saying the immense amount of pressure I was feeling was normal too. And because I was able to care for my DD just fine and the contractions weren't that bad I kept going. My dr told me I would know when I couldn't talk through them. I definitely could talk through them!

At my 35 week appt I was checked because I insisted he check me. Turned out I was already 7 cm dilated. I should have went with my gut on that one!

Mrs. Mo · October 2012

I was going to have a c/s, anyways, because DD was breech. I ended up having it a week early due to some serious blood pressure issues. The week I had her (on a Sat), I had been sent to the hospital 3 times for monitering due to my bp being so high. I should have known it was my body telling me it had had enough.

Since DD was breech, I was trying everything in the book to get her to flip. After they took her out, they noticed an abnormality with the umbilical cord. They said had she been head down & I gave birth (or attempted) vaginally, it would have ended up as an emergency c/s. So, I should have just realized there was a reason that little girl was being stubborn and not flipping!

June0609 · October 2012

I didn't know I was in labor either. I had back pain on and off and thought it was simply because my tummy was getting bigger. MIL said that it might be contraction, we started timing it but it never got to the 5-1-1 rule so we didn't call the doctor for 2 nights. Finally I told DH that I want to ask about my back pain and was told to have it checked at the hospital because it was Sunday. We took our time because we didn't want to be one of those people that got sent home. Turned out I was already 100% effaced and 5 cm dilated but water was intact. Haha...

Fianschneid · October 2012

tmadden:
Oh yes - I forgot about the puking. NOBODY told me you throw up when you are in labor. WTH?? Later, everyone was like, "Oh yeah, I threw up, too." I started throwing up at home and threw up in the car all the way to the hospital. Sure would have liked to expect that one!

I started throwing up when I was pushing. In fact, that's how I pushed DD out. After about two hours, one big puke led to one big push. The doctor wasn't ready for her, quite yet. Yikes!

mrsgabus · October 2012

I have always been induced.

With ds1, my water broke well I was sitting in a hospital bed and due to all the "cream" they had put in me, It fricking hurt like hell.

with ds2, They broke my water the moment I went in for my inducement. Im pretty sure I would have known if it had broken though, because my OB told me I had more than usual amount of fluid.

anasazi17 · October 2012

I remember waiting for the moment of "here she comes!!!", but it never really happened like that. I remember having slight contractions around midnight so I went to watch t.v on the couch. They kept coming about 10 minutes apart, but never increased or became closer. It wasn't until I went to the bathroom and had some blood. I called the dr. around 4am and she told me to head to the hospital just to get checked out.

By the time I got to the hospital my contractions had stopped, and I knew we would be going home. Haha, not so much. After some weirdness/drama, I was being taken in to be induced.

I never really knew it was time.

BeesMomma00 · October 2012

My water broke (apparently) 2 days before I had B. And, I think the only reason I had her when I did was because they noticed it at my regular Dr's Appt.

I was a little wetter down there, but I never once thought my water had broken... until the doctor checked me and told me.

At that point, they sent me in for an induction since they don't want an infection to occur now that the sac is perforated.

Like the OP... B's head was like a cork.

ETA - In fact, her head was such a cork that the rest of my fluid didn't come out until AFTER she was born. It actually caused a bit of a disturbance with the doctors who, for whatever reason, had no idea why I was gushing reddish tinged liquid afterward. You would think this would be more common.

BeesMomma00 · October 2012

tmadden:
Oh yes - I forgot about the puking. NOBODY told me you throw up when you are in labor. WTH?? Later, everyone was like, "Oh yeah, I threw up, too." I started throwing up at home and threw up in the car all the way to the hospital. Sure would have liked to expect that one!

I threw up at the hospital, 2x. The worst part was that I had gorged myself on a solf pretzel before wlaking into the hospital knowing I couldn't eat again until after. That was a mistake.

babes12 · October 2012

DD was my third birth so you'd think i'd know! I had my 2nd membrane sweep that day and went home and had on and off contractions. but they seemed to fizzle out only to return again around 8-9pm that night. I even did squats against my wall to promote labor. LOL!! i decided to change into my pjs and get in bed. i started timing contrax but again still didnt know for sure b/c the contrax were not painful however they were coming 5-7min, then every 5-2-3min. etc... i still just wanted a sign like my water to break. finally i went potty and saw some blood and knew it was time!
Let me add i was hesitant too b/c it was getting late around midnight and my mom had an hour drive to my house, plus BIL was coming over to stay at the house to watch DS and it was a work night. So i wanted to be sure this was it!

Off we went to the L&D around 12:30am. We arrived at hospital at 12:45am. DD was born at 1:50am!!!!! only an hour after we arrived. Needless to say it was a med free birth! I waited too long for that sign!!!!!

Chunstad · October 2012

I'm like Morsey, I thought that I had peed myself once again. I put on a pad, and kept replacing them as I soaked through them. I was thinking "what the hell?" but it really never clicked. Maybe I didn't want to believe it. Also, I kept on smelling the tissue after I wiped, trying to decipher if it smelled like pee or not. Of course it didn't have any scent. Gross, huh?

Scramblersmom · October 2012

Spicy15:
Defnitely knew that afterwards sleep would be limited, what I didn't realize was that I would encounter exhaustion unlike I have never known before. There were no longer days of the week it was just a continual time lapse from one minute to the next.

This exactly. To add to it, I knew the baby would need to be fed often and we would have to get up at least a couple of times during the night, but I had no idea that he would be up for 4 hours or more in the middle of the night and sleep more during the day. I read every book I could to try to figure out how to at least get his nights and days on the same schedule as ours.

aandg · October 2012

With DS my water "broke" around 4am. I was in bed and thought I had just peed myself. I went back to sleep and when I got up for the day around 7 or 8 I was leaking a tiny bit but I still wasn't sure. We went to the hospital to get checked out around 9:30 and then I started really leaking. Contractions started about an hour after we got there.

With DD I had no idea I was in labor. I was in the hospital for an NST and was having regular contractions every few minutes that couldn't be stopped with terbutaline shots. They felt like braxton hicks to me. I had a c section that day.

Shannon526 · October 2012

I was induced, and the doctor broke my water when I was only 2cm, so I definitely knew that was happening lol.

However, I didn't fully know that it was time to push. I was checked around 1230 and was 5cm. Around 120 or so I felt like I really needed to pee, but I couldn't. I was asking the nurse if they could put the catheter in now because I couldn't pee. She checked me and L's head was right there!
I pushed her out in less than 20 minutes... but I honestly had no clue it was that "time".

jwls84 · October 2012

tmadden:
I agree about the water breaking I didn't know. I expected a gush of water, but it was barely a trickle that didn't last long and I just wasn't sure that's what it was. When they asked me at the hospital if my water broke I said no, but when the Dr. examined me he said it had, so I sort of figured out in reverse that's what it must have been.

When my water broke it was a crazy gush I knew instantly, but I was already 8 or 9cm dilated when it broke. I had B about 1.5 hours after it broke.

As for the original post I was paranoid that I wouldn't know I was in labor. I started having contraction as I crawled into bed and they were 7 minutes apart, then after 2 contractions they were 6 minutes apart. I was nervous that it wasn't real so I kept giving DH tasks to do, like put the bag in the car, drive around the block, go to the store, then we will see how I feel. By the time we got to the hospital contractions were 1 minute apart. I labored pretty quick, 6 hours and 2.5 hours of pushing! He was stuck, it sucked but totally worth it!

Schwiingybaby · October 2012

I went into false labor 3 times before I actually had LO. My plug came out around 5am but I didn't go to the hospital until around noon. I didn't want to go there until I knew she was coming. I ended up watching Malcolm in the MIddle all morning. She was exactly a week late. They had to break my water. She just did not want to come out. I had 2 epidurals and some other magic drug. I forgot I was in labor with that one.

29 long exhausting hours later, LO and her giant conehead entered this world. I was worried when I saw her noggin. I thought I had given birth to an actual alien.

edited to add*

I had no idea breastfeeding would be so painful. I remember nights when LO would get up to eat and I would be crying from the pain my poor nipples were in. They have never been the same. Also, the recovery. LO did a number on my vagina. I had no idea that I would have to take 10 minutes to care for myself every time I went to the bathroom.

Want a personalized experience?

They say you'll just know

Re: They say you'll just know

Choose Another Board

Search Boards