I am getting close now (6 1/2 weeks away!) and have started thinking about how the whole labor and delivery thing is going to go down. I think I had a lot of preconceived notions based on friends stories (like somehow it could never happen another way...right?) and was honestly a little surprised in birthing class when we began talking about this. I would love to hear stories of how it all began for you guys...when did you know? How long did it take to progress? What time did it start? Where were you? Please break me of my belief it all starts calmly in the middle of the night with a small twinge lol I need to be prepared!
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DD:
40 weeks 2 days I was sleeping and felt a sharp punch in my belly at around 2am. Got up, labored on the toilet for a bit, hopped in the shower, woke my husband and mom, we left for the hospital. Baby was born at 2pm (12 hours total from start to finish).DS: I was dilated at 3-4cm and effaced 90% for about 4 weeks. At 39 weeks 4 days we decided to induce because my mom was taking off in 2 days and we needed someone to stay with DD while we were at the hospital.
I got my IV at 11am and baby was out at 3. 4 hours from start to finish.
My OB had to break my water for me both times. -
Haha, mine started with my water breaking! I got up, went to the bathroom, and then whoosh! It was a very weird feeling! I couldn't feel the contractions at first, but I could tell when I was having one because whoooosh more water! That part was gross, haha! It was like peeing myself repeatedly.
I was supposed to be induced a few days after, so I was surprised and pleased when it broke on it's own!
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I went to sleep the night of 37 weeks + 3 days and an hour later at 11pm my water broke in my sleep.
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With an IV of pitocin at almost 42 weeks. Never went into labor on my own.
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First time it started with little twinges late morning, I progressed very slowly. Second time it started with my water breaking and I progressed very quickly.
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@JoJoGirl: random, but did you have a waterproof pad on your bed? I'm wondering how you clean up your water breaking and it is currently one of my greatest fears.
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@ladybee: You know what's funny? I'd been sleeping on a towel because my greasy stretch mark oil was staining the sheets. Not that it helped much... but at least the sheets didn't get stained when my water broke (the snoogle was not so lucky). Anyway, we have a waterproof mattress pad on all the time (under the sheets) because our mattress is super super expensive, and just assumed it would work (although everyone told us labor would NOT start that way.. bahah). It did, the mattress is fine.
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Mine started around 8am. I went to the bathroom and started having some pains so I went to my yoga ball and bounced while timing contractions. They were 11ish minutes apart and then all the sudden within 20 minutes they were 3-5 minutes apart. I woke up DH, headed to the hospital where they just got worse and worse. Was 5cm when checked in. 9 hours from start to finish.
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My water broke at exactly 39 weeks. No signs of labor beforehand.
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@JoJoGirl: Our mattress is super cheap that DH bought in college. I put down a waterproof mattress pad that doesn't cover the whole mattress. I wouldn't mind getting a new one but that wouldn't be the best time obviously.
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@ladybee: no get it now! ours is new
we figured we wouldn't get around to it with a baby and the very few hours we were sleeping we wanted to be GOOD.
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On my due date, My water broke on the toilet when I woke up to go to the bathroom at 2:30am. BH contractions the evening before.
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my water broke a couple of hours after having sex, i waited till the next day to go the hospital where they confirmed my water was broken and then they induced me (I was already a week late and set to be induced the next day). I was in labor for another 28 hours i think before i finally had a c section. I never got past 6.5cm, had the c section due to rising blood pressure, fever and the fact that it was 48 hours since my water broke.
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Water broke at 1030 while I was sleeping. At hospital by 11, holdi baby by 2am!
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Well... My started calmly in the morning with a small twinge! I woke up at 6:30 in the morning with what felt like menstrual cramps coming and going. They very slowly got stronger and closer together through out the day, but I didn't call the midwife until 9 on, at which point they had gotten worse than the worst cramps I ever had but still bearable. I think active labor started at that point, wet to the hospital at 3:00 when in couldn't take it any more, checked in at 3:30 at 4 cm, had the baby at 7:16. My water broke during a contraction in the hospital in a huge gush.
I was so nervous about our mattress too! We just got a really nice expensive one (which made pregnant sleeping SO much better). We also had a good waterproof cover on it at the salesmans recommendation so I figured it would do the job but I'm glad I didn't have to find out.
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I can't believe how many people's labors started with their water breaking! I thought that wasn't very common!
I was induced early so I feel like I'll be clueless in this department when I get pregnant again even though I'll be a second time mom.
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@Mrs. Confetti: haha, me too except I was induced at 41 weeks for GD.
I was 2-3 cm dilated and 75% effaced for about three weeks prior to my induction. Pitocin started at 8 AM, water broken for me at 6 cm and baby was born at 3:39 AM the next day.
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Started at 6-7a on Tuesday with back spasms, which slowly settled into timeable back contractions (15-20 min apart). At 7p they were 12ish minutes apart and by 11p they were 4 minutes apart. I was admitted at L&D at 3a, got the epi around 4a, my water was broken at 9a (at 9cm), and I delivered him at 1:30p on Wednesday.
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With my first, I was a day before due date and a Tropical storm was projected to hit in the next few days. My OB said to come in in if I wanted and I said heck yeah and got induced. I started pitocin around 6 and had DD by 11 pm.
With my second I had just celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary with a huge Italian meal and even joked with another patron that this meal could be my last (even though I was still 10'days out). We were shopping for furniture after dinner since DD was being watched by family and I started getting bad cramps. We drove 30 min home to get my bags and then another 30 min to the hospital and I had DS right before midnight.
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I was 40 wk + 2 days when I saw some blood when I used the bathroom - I figured this was part of the bloody show. The next morning I woke up around 6am with some mild period-like cramping. It slowly progressed throughout the day and we went to the hospital around 2pm. Got the epi around 5pm, water broke soon after and she was born at 7:30pm!
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39 weeks, 1 day- noon I had bloody show & lost mucous plug, 2pm water broke, 4pm hospital at 5-6cm with big contractions, 9:50pm baby arrived. I'd had not so fun contractions the two nights before, but it stopped when I went to bed.
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40 w, 5 d. Period like cramps, progressively getting worse over the next two hours, until they were 5 min or less apart lasting a minute or longer. Then my water broke. Got to the hospital an hour later and immediately was given the epidural (only 3 cm). Total labor time was 12.5 hours.
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38.5 weeks, 6(ish) in the morning. I flopped over in bed and POP, gush, water broke. Very sudden. My contractions didn't start, though. so I was given pitocin at the hospital to get them going. Had the baby about 15 hours later!
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charlie - day before his due date - i took a nap and woke up around 4:30 with stomach cramps. i had to poop then noticed i was leaking some pink tinged fluid. the contractions started pretty much right away. i headed to the hospital within 2 hours of the contractions starting when they were consistently 5 minutes apart. my water broke at the hospital.
olive - very similar! woke up from a nap with cramps (it was around 5). i had to pick up charlie from daycare (a block away). waited for mr. bee to get home from work (1 hour) then headed straight to the hospital and got my epidural as soon as i was admitted.
both labors were fast. contractions started right away and got painful fast.
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My labor started at 39+5 (a Thursday) at around 7 PM. It felt like strong menstrual cramps. By Friday at noon I was having to be quiet and breathe through them. I was in agony by 6 PM Friday. Had baby at 5:14 am on Saturday.
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With cervidil.
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Losing mucus plug early am, late aft bloody show, followed by back cramping which turned into lovely back labour *thumbs up!*
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At my induction in the hospital bed.
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First- water broke 5:30 pm, contractions started right away every 3 minutes...
Second- went to bed at midnight, half hour later woke up to horrible back pain, back labor every 3 minutes... -
My water broke unexpectedly at 36 weeks
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With DS:
I went for a walk with DH, by the end of the walk, I was super tired. By the time I sat down in the car, I started to feel my stomach get super hard followed by some pain - worse than period cramps. I timed the pain, when it my stomach would release and how often they came. It was every 7 minutes. The contractions stopped but by 3am the next morning, I lost my mucus plug and by 6am by water broke.With DD:
I was on the way to the hospital to be induced because of high blood pressure and my stomach kept getting hard frequently. I didn't feel or time them. When I was hooked up to the monitor at the hospital, they were 8 minutes apart consistently. With pitocin, I went to 4cm's in 30 minutes but the nurse was positive I was in early labor without the pitocin. -
I woke up at 38.5 weeks and went to the bathroom and saw my bloody show, contractions started and were 5-10 minutes apart for the next two days. I decided I needed to get out of the house and went to dinner for my MIL's birthday. Shortly after getting there my water broke in the restaurant, went to the hospital and had her after 17 more hours of labor....
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Started about 3 am with the urge to go #2 light cramping started soon after. Then contractions gradually progressed.
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What time did it start? 9:30 pm. I went to the bathroom at home and noticed bloody show. So I threw in a liner and thought labour might start sometime in the next couple days. 15 minutes later my water broke.
How long did it take to progress? Arrived at the hospital around 1130. First contraction at 1:30, was in full labour by 3:30 with coupling contractions coming about 2.5 minutes apart. In labour (Stalled at 8cm for 2 hours) for about 8 hours. Pushed for about 20-25 minutes and she was out at 11am.
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I woke up really early in the morning on my due date feeling mildly crampy. The cramps continued to get worse, but every time they were almost close enough and long enough to call the hospital, they'd start spacing way out. I started having intense contractions around 7PM, and my water broke at 9, which is when things really amped up pain-wise. I was at 3cm then, and by 3 or 4AM I'd only progressed to 4. Things started progressing more quickly after I got an epidural and I got up to 8cm, but I ended up having an emergency c-section at 7AM.
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After 90 minutes of cervidil, my water broke. I didn't go into labor on my own, and was induced at 42 weeks.
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calmly in the middle of the night with a small twinge
my water broke at 1:30am, and contractions started immediately after that
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I went to bed at 38+4 and couldn't get comfortable because my back was hitting. About an hour later my water broke in a small gush (it kept leaking afterward). Contractions started a couple of hours later but weren't getting stronger so I was put on pitocin (at 4cm) and delivered 7.5 hours later! (Water broke at about midnight- delivered at 3:26pm)
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I had my membranes stripped on my due date. The next day I felt like I had the flu - my whole body was achy and I was miserable. That night around 2am I woke up with the WORST period like cramps of my life...and the pain was just awful in my back and tailbone...about 5-7 minutes apart...and stayed like that for several hours. I left for the hospital around 6am and was at 4cm when I arrived. Only got to 7cm and LO was in distress so I had an unplanned csection on 11/11/11
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