Natural progressive Labour, what did it feel like?

[lucylu79]

Because it never happened for me with ds so I have no idea!

My waters went on my due date and 28 hrs later I was on the pitocin drip experiencing what I felt to be an awful time

I'm 37+4 and getting 'mild' period twinges with absolutely no pattern, in fact they last quite a while making me feel like i've just overdone it cleaning or something.

It's got me wondering though, what does natural progressive labour actually feel like?

I'd love to hear your story if you are willing to share

 

[MummyToAmberx]

Im not sure im able to explain it. My first started fully on its own but i had 2 week bulid up - bh for hours on end every evening.

One morning i was woken by a 'pain' i instantly knew something was different.

As day went on (not in any pattern) the pains were different in how they felt and where i felt them.

I still would get a pause which lasted hours, having a bath brought them on. Then it was just literally, boom... regular, longer and getting stronger.

 

[MindUtopia]

I had an afternoon of a couple hours of mild period like cramps about 5 days before. Then a day of really heavy EWCM discharge, like lots of clear stringy stuff, so much so it started to make me feel itchy and I worried I was getting BV or something. My waters broke that night. I was 37+5. Had bloody show and clear out within the hour. Then mild period like cramps started. They literally felt exactly like period cramps. I can't remember if they were constant or intermittent like contractions. Within about 2 hours, these became obvious contractions lasting 50-60 seconds every 5-6 minutes. That's the only time I timed them, so I don't know how much they changed in frequency, but they definitely got a lot more intense and I was fully dilated and starting to push a little within 6 hours of the first more intense period pains starting. I imagine that the established labour phase is probably similar, but more manageable than what you experienced in your previous labour. It was intense, but doable and not overly painful. I used a TENS until I started to push. But I think probably my experience is less common in that I went from nothing to established labour very quickly (within 2-3 hours). I think a lot of ladies probably have a longer period of early labour or more cramping or build up before, whereas I had pretty much nothing except for that little bit of period pains a few days before and the discharge the day before - neither of which I thought anything of at the time, but I think now they were a sign things were starting up. I had my daughter at 37+5 after an 11.5 hour labour, which was spontaneous and all natural (just used a TENS).

 

[lucylu79]

That sounds like a dream labour to me!

Thanks for sharing both.

 

[icegurl470]

I was sitting on my couch playing with my breast pump and I got a huge cramp and immediately had to go #2 around 8pm. It felt like a squeezing type pain in my lower back that wrapped around to the front. 30 Minutes later it happened again then it was 20 minutes, then it was 15. We started timing it when it was around 10 minutes apart. It stayed 10-12 minutes apart for a while. The cramps were painful but I was able to make phone calls and get ready and stuff. I had diarrhea so it was a lot of back and forth to the bathroom. Then I started getting nauseous and vomiting. I tried to sleep around 10pm, but my contractions were like 5 minutes apart and I couldn't sleep, eventually had to use the shower.

By 11:30ish they were 3-4 minutes apart and pretty painful so I got my husband up and we went to the hospital. I was only 3cm dilated when we got there. Labored for 5 more hours to get to 5cm. During this time they were painful, couldn't talk or anything through them, had to stop and breath, but to me it was "bearable". I personally had back labor and it felt like a wave of pain that would come over and squeeze harder harder harder until the pain got really intense and then slowly start to release and back off. I also had a lot of pressure and had to poop a lot lol.

Then I got into the labor tub and went from 5 to fully dilated in an hr and a half. The pain was definitely at it's worse during this time. It's hard to describe, the waves of pain just build up to a really intense level and when you think it wont get any worse it just keeps getting worse and you start to panic and act crazy haha. To be honest it was pretty unbearable, but luckily when my Dr got there it was time to push.

 

[jlw617]

With my first, I was just restless with mild period like cramps throughout the night, by around 4am I couldn't take it anymore, the contractions were coming pretty consistently by then, I showered and went to my Drs office who was connected to the hospital and I had an appointment that morning anyhow he checked me and I was indeed in labor so they transferred me to L&D.

My second was quite different, I was having very mild period like pains but they never got more painful until after they broke my water (I wouldn't progress until then, the same happened with my first. After that, I went pretty quickly...maybe another couple hours, once it was time to push, I only had to push about 4-5 times

 

[lucylu79]

Thanks so much ladies, it's nice to hear that a progressive labour although hard work sounds bareable.

AFM, I'm still having period (mild) feelings and my lower back is sore. I've also just had to rush to the toilet for yet another bowel movement (shouldn't moan, I've been so irregular for months!)

I was standing doing the ironing about an hour ago and I felt a bit 'moist' on my pad and when I've wiped my plug is coming i'm sure of it. Some of it has come away but there's a lot still there (Sorry!!!)

 

[jlw617]

Sounds exciting! You will probably go pretty soon!

 

[lucylu79]

Trying not to get over excited but fingers crossed!

 

[cinnamum]

i should be able to answer this question, but the truth is: i can't remember myself as they've all been very different.
i tend to have very short bursts of labour, i will stop contracting if i move too much or change position.
you sound like you're well on your way to meeting your baby though xx good luck xx

 

[lucylu79]

So I thought I was losing my plug but its very runny today, tmi alert!!!! I have had 4 bowels movements in the last 12 hours (very uncommon for me atm) and the last time I had a lot of discharge but nothing like yesterday which was stringy, long and clear like. Today its the same colour but really runny, like I can feel it trickling when I'm having a bm. I suppose its just me straining a little bit?

 

[o0oCharlieo0o]

With my boys my labour started out,of nowhere with pains 8 mins apart, not painful but tight at first, they progressed over the hours staying at about 8 mins apart then gradually got closer together, with my daughter the pains started the same out of nowhere about 8 mins apart not painful just uncomfortable for a while but then they got irregular, one at 8 mins one at 5, then 8 again then 2 mins, it was very strange and I was sure I couldn't be labouring right because they wernt consistent, but they were bloody painful still like labour lol, went to hospital and I was in labour 6cm and she was born an hour later, so just keep in mind that it's not always consistent, I never had period pains int he days before my labours or anything like that, just bang out of nowhere they started

 

[jstarr]

I like reading these, gives me some hope lol

 

[Willow82]

I didn't have mild period pain either, just contractions from the very beginning that were in my back and spread around to the front. I felt really constipated and uncomfortable in between contractions as well which I didn't expect. It took 19 hours of contractions every 5 minutes to get to 2cm, I was rubbish at dilating!

 

[MyFavSurprise]

My labor with my first son started out as the worst period pains I'd ever had at around 9pm, then by 4am I was in the hospital dilated 4cm with back to back contractions that were..unfortunately..completely unbearable. I went from wanting a natural and unmedicated birth to screaming for the epidural heh.. I couldn't breathe between contractions, it was very difficult but so worth it! My body did no preparing for it though, no braxton hicks, nothing until the labor started.. maybe that had something to do with it.