How will I know???

[hillaryjudd]

Last night I was having contrax every 5 minutes for over an hour. They were not painful and unless I put my hand on my belly I wouldn't even always notice them. Since it was almost 11 PM I decided to follow the advice I've been given by my midwives and others and just try to go to sleep. I fell asleep pretty easily and they went away by the morning. Today I have been having contrax again off and on and a few have been slightly painful but this time they aren't regular at all and are at least 20-30 minutes apart.

My concern is that when I was induced with my twins I also never felt painful contractions. I was at 5 cm. when I got an epidural (and I didn't get it for pain, I got it because I was at high risk of a c-section) and up until then I never would have known I was even in labor if not for the monitor showing me having regular contrax!

So, how am I going to know when I'm really in labor? I know it's nothing to complain about if my contax aren't painful but how will I know the difference between BH and "real" contrax if the real one's aren't painful??? I am starting to worry I'm going to have this baby on the side or the road b/c I won't know I'm in labor until I'm in transition!

ETA : I should mention the hospital I am planning on delivering at is 30 minutes away, and since I have 2 small kids I don't exactly want to be rushing over there if I'm not really in labor, especially in the middle of the night!

[*~Danielle~*]

I'm pretty sure that if you have a painless labor all the way to the birthing of the baby...then you are super lucky and can UC. Just make sure you have a suction bulb and something for the umbilical cord.

Otherwise, I'm thinking, the closer you get to transition, the crappier you'll feel, even if it isn't super hurty. You'll know...or the alternative is a painless UC. Seems like a win/win.

[YouKnowMe]

It's hard to explain but the "real" ones are just different. It's like the experience shifts or something. The theories go: you won't be able to sleep through them, you won't be able to talk through them, a pattern will form that will get closer together and last longer (over what period of time is different for everyone and every pg).

As far as I remember, the area where you "feel" them is different as well. It will no longer be something you only feel by touching your abdomen, but you "feel" it down there as well. Since the job of the contractions at first are to open your cervix.

Hope that's fairly correct.

[Motherto4]

In my experience Real contractions will hurt from the top of the uterus to the bottom. With BH they just tighten.

[freestyler]

Trust me, you'll KNOW! It's unmistakeable. For one thing, the more intense labor contractions hurt in your back and spread all the way around, feeling both like back pain and strong menstrual cramps at first. And often there is the bloody show. But as labor progresses, you'll just KNOW. It will become obvious.

Our hospital is an hour away up in L.A. But even with our fourth and fifth, I never delivered on the highway! If you are wanting to birth your babe in the hospital, just don't wait until your legs are shaking (at which point you are probably in transition!). Head over when you are sure you are in labor, but have not waited too long. When your contractions are 3-4 minutes apart is usually a good time to go.

You'll do fine!

[lanielayne]

With a few of my other pregnancies I have done the same thing, thought they may be real and one time even called dh home from work for them to just peter out. Once I was in labor and going to stay in labor I did "just know". It wasn't that they even necessarily felt different I just knew. Trust your instincts!

[RGsMom]

I get a lot of painful BHC, sometimes quite regular especially at the end of the day. I knew it was the real thing last time around when I had cramping in my back - period like cramps ALONG w/ the contractions that were every 10 minutes apart for over an hour.

I had BHC's every 10 minutes apart previously, but not w/ the period like cramp, so that is how I knew it was different.