Did you know it was coming?

[KLC2013]

Did you know you were going to give birth before you did? Any symptoms? Did you use anything to speed up having the baby?

 

[GrowingMum]

Nope. I was 7 days past my edd, contractions started about midnight and I had a baby in my arms about 5am.

 

[luna_19]

I had no advanced warning, went into labour suddenly at midnight and gave birth at 4:45am. My water didn't even break or anything!

 

[Eleanor ace]

With my 1st I didn't. I wa sin hospital being induced and it hadn't worked so I was going to bed ready to start ont he drip the next day. I got checked at 11pm-ish and was totally closed, hard and high cervix, no contractions or anything. An hour later I started contracting and he was born 6 hours later.

With my 2nd I had some signs that labour was near, but at the same time thought I'd end up being induced. I was 41 weeks when I had her and I'd been 3cm dilated since 36 weeks. I had a sweep a couple of days before I went into labour and the next day had a bloody show which I hadn't had with my DS until I was in labour. I woke up in the night with mild contractions, uncomfortable enough to wake me and make me think it would probably be the next day I had her.

 

[Attalu]

I had no clue, I was 10 days overdue and had my second membrane sweep that day. I felt perfectly normal all day, stayed up and watched a movie with OH. I woke up at 2am with mild contractions (I had no idea they were contractions though). Went into birth unit 40 minutes later because my contractions got a lot more painful pretty quickly. I didn't have a bloody show, just lost my plug around 4 before!
My waters didn't break, mw broke them at 7cm. The only thing I did was bounce on a birthing ball and walked around the car park to speed labour up and keep things progressing because it was slowing down a little.

 

[lov3hat3]

I had no idea, at 3 days overdue I had a sweep. On the 4th night at like 7pm I was getting bad back pain coming and going. I just thought it was back pain took me till 1am to realise it was coming and going every 3 mins. Went to the hospital at 6am and had him at 3pm. Waters didn't break, didn't have any niggles before so didn't have a clue

 

[phoenix333]

Nope. No clue whatsoever, we went out shopping and had a nice meal, I don't think I would have risked going out if there had been any inkling labour might be imminent. We did DTD though and contractions started pretty much immediately, I'm pretty sure that sped things along.... x

 

[MindUtopia]

Nope, I had no idea. I never had any BH, never any contractions beforehand really. I felt great. Lots of energy. Actually, I went to the gym and swimming the day before. I had LOTS of EWCM like discharge, which really annoyed me because I thought I had BV. It was the first real day of my maternity leave, so I was especially annoyed as I just wanted to relax and not have to worry about something like that. Probably should have been a sign as I think that was my mucus plug coming away.

Went home that night, went to bed and woke up at 2:30am to my waters going. Mild period like pains started about an hour later. Full on established labour about an hour after that. And I was fully dilated a few hours later when the midwives came by. My daughter was born just less than 12 hours after waters went. I'm was only 37 + 5 with my first, so had no clue she was on her way as I'd barely had time on maternity leave to get everything ready yet.

 

[RUBY2122]

Mine started with increased bh at 38 + 1...I genuinely hadnt noticed them thru pg but suddenly they were coming so often I realised what they were. The next day I was super emotional, just wanted to cry for no reason. That night I had a random blocked nose, I hardly slept and remember in the early hours just having this really intense realisation that I was going to have a baby! Sounds daft but I guess it was my hormones surging as I went into labour that night. I woke up having a contraction..when it passed I wondered if I had imagined it..then about 20 mins later it happened again. I then had a large bowel movement and got my bloody show. Contractions kept up about 20 mins apart until about 4pm the next day when active labour got going! Baby was born at 6.32am the next morning - 38 +5

 

[GI_Jane]

No, I didn't have any idea- I had been at work during the day and been out and about in the evening, two hours later it started, 10 hours later he was born.

A couple days leading up to this I was having problems trying to wee- in hindsight this is prob where the babies head moved lower, there was also some pressure down below when I was walking but this was on and off.

 

[Dolly84]

I had no clue, I had been shopping and for a walk the day before lol,
I woke up at 6.15am to a popping sound (my waters) and it gushed everywhere, and for the next few hours continued to "leak" went and got assessed at 10am and they said I was 1cm and not very favourable so go home and relax, which I did, hubby went to work, my contractions started but wasn't anything I couldn't handle.......decided to go to bed at 10pm the contractions were getting more frequent but I wouldn't say any more painful. Then I decided to go and get checked out at 3am as the pains were getting quite intense , once I arrived they told me I was 7cm almost 8cm and I kept having the urge to push. They filled the birth pool and I got in there, I was in it just over an hour and our baby boy was born at 5am. My "active labour" was documented at 1hour 18 mins lol, I only did 2pushes and he was out ;-) all in all a very pleasant experience and one which a plan to have again soon ;-) xxxxx