I count from the time I'm truly "working". If I'm having contractions, but can still go to the corner store, do some laundry, stuff that takes my mind off labour? That wasn't true labour to me. Pre-labour, I called it. When I'm in "true" labour, all I can focus on is labouring.
With my first, I was in pre-labour for up to 24 hours before he was born. Working labour was about 9 hours.
With my second, pre-labour started about 7 hours before he was born, hard labour for about 5 of those.
No, none of this is probably very scientific, but that is how I define it for myself.
A woman told me not too long ago that she was in labour with her daughter for a MONTH!! I just smiled and nodded. Prodromal, perhaps, but there is NO WAY she was in true labour for a freakin' month.
Edited to say sorry for posting when I'm not technically part of this ddc. I posted before I realized where I was.
With my first, I was in pre-labour for up to 24 hours before he was born. Working labour was about 9 hours.
With my second, pre-labour started about 7 hours before he was born, hard labour for about 5 of those.
No, none of this is probably very scientific, but that is how I define it for myself.
A woman told me not too long ago that she was in labour with her daughter for a MONTH!! I just smiled and nodded. Prodromal, perhaps, but there is NO WAY she was in true labour for a freakin' month.
Edited to say sorry for posting when I'm not technically part of this ddc. I posted before I realized where I was.
