https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 03 May 2026 23:54:44 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-643013 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:12:27 +0000 mrskc 643013@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My labor was fairly quick. It started roughly at 3 am. I tried to sleep. Gave up at 5 am. DH and I got up and packed the hospital bags. I took a shower, ate breakfast. I was on HB posting a question whether it could be the real deal. Then they started getting really painful around 10 am. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-643004 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:08:41 +0000 FarmWifeGina 643004@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@hellobeeboston: Actually, if left on their own, LOTS of laboring women crave small, dark corners to labor in. It's not weird at all! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-642037 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:35:19 +0000 prettylizy 642037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My water broke at 9pm, no real contractions though. DH and I just tried to stay calm and get some rest. I slept on and off that night, then woke up the next morning concerned that labor hadn't really picked up so I spent the next day and a half alternating between pacing, bouncing, pumping and then resting when I was sick of it all waiting for labour to really start. I slept on and off on the couch the second night, waking with contractions then falling back asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-642018 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:32:13 +0000 hellobeeboston 642018@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I labored about 9 hrs at home before heading in... The beginning I bounced on my ball, watched tv... Then I was pacing/walking.... Then I was in and out of the shower for some back pains - maybe spent an hour total in there .... Then at the end I was in my bedroom, leaning over my bed and standing in my closet in the dark - I don't know why! Wanted it dark - and was pacing in between contractions. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641954 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:23:25 +0000 lovehoneybee 641954@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I bounced on a yoga ball and watched The Stand. When my contractions got really bad I paced around the house, hunched over the counter, knelt on the bed, sat on the toilet and tried twice to take a bath. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641947 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:22:32 +0000 Sweet T 641947@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My water broke at 3:30ish in the morning. I got up, got ready, and ate something. We left about an hour after it broke because I wasn't having any contractions. I wish I had waited a little longer so I could have called my midwife and asked her if I should wait or not. I ended up with some interventions that I didn't want and I wonder if they would have been avoided had I waited. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641929 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:20:43 +0000 yellowbird 641929@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>walked around, knelt on the floor with my head on the couch, took two showers, took a bath. Moaned a lot. Thought i was dying! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641919 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:19:45 +0000 Bao 641919@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I woke up at 8am with contractions, and by 9:15am they were 3 minutes apart. I had no time to do anything! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641915 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:18:50 +0000 Maysprout 641915@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Next time I'm going to rest A LOT and take a couple walks. What I did was clean, cook, go to already scheduled drs appointment, take the dogs on a walk and even ran a little bit with them, gardened, went out to dinner, tried to watch a show but was getting uncomfy at that point so just paced, and then I paced for the next 4 hours while my husband occasionally suggested going to the hospital until my water broke and then we went. My labor wasn't like my moms but she had all her kids within a half hour of her water breaking so I was a bit freaked out since I'd already been having contractions for 24 hours that were getting closer and closer. It took me another 12 hours in the hospital though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641252 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:27:31 +0000 Ree723 641252@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Once the contractions got to the point where I couldn't sleep through them, I took my exercise ball into the baby's nursery and bounced on it nonstop. DH kept me company and when I wasn't having a contraction, we were talking, laughing, and looking around the nursery in wonderment, knowing the next time we saw it, we were going to have a baby with us! I also tried emailing my mom between contractions but I gave that up pretty quickly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641227 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:23:17 +0000 KT326 641227@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess I was kinda lucky and didn't know I was in labor. We had a busy day, lunch with friends, shopping and then dinner with the in-laws. I kept having to stand up and move around since sitting in one spot for any length of time was uncomfortable. Looking back I was totally having contractions. My water broke at 1am and that is when I finally realized I was in labor. I spent around 2 hours in the bathroom and then DH and I went to the hospital. I kinda wish I had showered and stayed home for a bit longer though. Once I got to the hospital I had to be monitored the whole time because of previous blood pressure concerns and I couldn't move around very much. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641174 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:08:35 +0000 matador84 641174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>my plan was to labor at home, but if i had done that i would have birthed at home too! my water broke--we went immediately to hospital and i delivered in less than 3 hours. we didn't even have time to make one phone call! it was crazy! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641136 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:56:45 +0000 googly-eyes 641136@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Watch tv, sit in the bathtub, shower, complain...lol! When I was admitted to the hospital I was 8 cm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641134 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:55:58 +0000 kml636 641134@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I tried watching Tv... a bath... even got onto my work computer and sent some emails. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641131 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:55:08 +0000 Beehive 641131@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I dozed on the couch between contractions for a couple hours until they got worse, at which point I emailed my coworkers letting them know I was going on maternity leave right then, called my mom to let her know the baby was coming, and showered while DH packed the hospital bag. At that point things were much too intense, so we headed up to the hospital. My labor was quick, so I didn't have much time to spend at home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641114 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:48:40 +0000 FarmWifeGina 641114@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For my hospital birth, the timeable contractions started about 5 p.m. on a Saturday evening, but I learned my lesson from my first birth (home birth) and did nothing to try and get things moving, just went about my business and tried to sleep as much as I could through the night. In the morning, I started pumping and doing stairs to get things rolling, but it didn't get serious until noon on Sunday. So I pumped and watched movies and did stairs and talked on the phone until noon and then packed my bag and french braided my hair and we left for the hospital about 1 p.m. I could have waited longer, I think, but the hospital was over 50 miles away and I was ready to settle into my birthing space. My body gave me a nice little break during the drive there and checking in and then kicked into high gear again as soon as I started walking the halls. I checked in at 4 cm., which, granted, wasn't as far as I wanted to be, but baby girl was born 4 hours later, so I was happy with that. I'm not sure I could have really labored at home much longer because of how much I felt the need to get to where the birth would happen. Which is why I'll most likely be staying home to birth next time. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-641021 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:22:48 +0000 tysonja 641021@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>during ultra early labour i just did normal things like go on the computer, etc. that night we went to a bbq party near our house. contractions were few and far in between at that point -- one per hour. and they didn't hurt too bad. then i went directly into active labour with no warning when we got home from the bbq -- like, crazy scary pain and contractions 5 mins apart lasting 1-2 mins long. then i just held on for dear life until we decided to go the hospital a few hours later. </p> <p>for this next LO coming, i'm gonna just SLEEP as much as i can as soon as i start feeling any kind of contractions! i'm sure this one is going to come furious and fast and i want to have ALL my sleep saved up! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640969 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:11:07 +0000 ladyfingers 640969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Tried to cope. My water broke and my contractions started and were instantly horrible. I only labored at home for an hour because we were waiting for FIL to come over to watch our dog! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640924 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 16:00:01 +0000 lemondrop 640924@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Mine went really fast, after my water broke I finished a work assignment and watched a basketball game while my husband took down the Christmas tree. </p> <p>We headed in after about two hours to get checked since my contractions hadn't started and my doc wanted to check my blood pressure since I'd had a few issues with it. By the time we got to the hospital 20 minutes later I was having major contractions and was at 5cm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640824 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:39:29 +0000 Weagle 640824@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I ate, took a shower, and packed the rest of my hospital bag. I got to the point where contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and 1 minute+ long in 3 hours. There wasn't much time to kill. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640817 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:38:19 +0000 lindseykaye 640817@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I slept through the earliest part of labor, and then *tried* to sleep through some of it in the morning until we both woke up. Then I made breakfast for us and after we ate I took a shower and did my hair and makeup so we could take some last-day-pregnant photos (and so I could feel sort of normal during a very abnormal day). DH did chores around the house to keep himself occupied and burn off nervous energy. People totally laugh at me though when I tell them I blow-dried and straightened my hair during labor!<br /> When all that was done (things took a lot longer because of pauses for contractions), it was pretty much time to head out.<br /> I had a fairly short labor - started in the early morning hours and then had LO at 7pm that night. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640816 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:37:57 +0000 aprk 640816@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm planning on baking ... a birthday cake maybe :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640790 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:31:54 +0000 mrsmenow 640790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I shoveled snow, I was in labor during a huge snow storm. Tried to get some house work done. I played outside with the dog. Pretty much anything to keep busy and keep moving. I know I tried to lay down and rest, but it was too uncomfortable and I was too excited.</p> <p>I got to the hospital at 7 cm so I think it helped:) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640789 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:31:54 +0000 bunnylove08 640789@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i slept lol. my contractions were not that bad. i knew this was the end of sleep </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640782 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:30:53 +0000 cascademom 640782@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worked the whole day not noticing that I was in early labor. I organized yarn and the nursery. I tried to eat dinner, but couldn't. I found myself pacing down our hallway. By about 10pm, it became obvious I was having contractions. We left for the hospital about an hour later. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640768 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:27:17 +0000 yin 640768@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I went into labor on a Sunday morning and spent the whole day keeping myself busy. I went to breakfast with DH and went shopping at the mall. We drove around town and just enjoyed each other's company. Since there's not much to do on a Sunday night, I was stuck at home and completely miserable. I begged DH to get out of the house, even if it was just for a few more hours before I had to go to the hospital. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-did-you-do-while-you-were-in-labor-pre-hospital#post-640759 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:24:55 +0000 Boheme 640759@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We are planning for a natural birth - although I won't be heartbroken if plans change - and our childbirth instructor recommended I labor at home as long as possible. </p> <p>What did you do while you were in early labor and not yet at the hospital? A couple of my friends who labored a long time at home have volunteered to come over and help distract me, which will be AWESOME... but I don't want to call them if it happens at, say, 3 a.m. What helped distract you and passed the time? </p>