Signs of impending labor?

[MG01]

I know I will drive myself crazy wondering.. but I had to post. What has signaled that labor is imminent for you? I am a first time mama so I have no idea what to expect.. of course I know all the usual things, bloody show, mucous plug, etc.. but just want to know what others have experienced as being signs in hindsight. My due date is the 22nd "officially" and I know babe could be here any day or not for weeks, but my "guess" date was the 20th (today!) I just was writing stuff on my calendar a few months ago and wrote today as my guess for the baby so now I am wondering. (Even if I went into labor now baby probably wouldn't be born until tomorrow at least.. but still fun to guess!)

I have apparently been contracting/BH for at least a couple weeks, but I didn't really know it. I fell on the ice at 38 wk and they wanted to monitor me with an external fetal monitor and the contraction measuring thing, and they said I was contracting and I could see it on the monitor, but I wouldn't have known that is what it was without being told. I could feel it once it was pointed out to me, but it just felt like the baby moving sort of, I wouldn't have distinguished it as any different of a sensation than to be expected.

Today I woke up for a couple hours and was just exhausted and ended up going back to bed for another four hours. I have been tired during the pregnancy, but not tired to the point of sleeping all day! Now that I am up, my hands feel a little shaky, and I am getting what feel sorta like menstrual cramps, very low in my abdomen, and having to pee more often.

I also had a breech baby up until a few days ago, so I wonder if this baby turned because s/he is getting ready to come out! I don't want to get impatient but I really want to meet my li'l one!! Getting jealous with all the birth stories here

[LionTigerBear]

A bit of bloody show, and feeling kind of irritable and antisocial. The other signs went on for days but those signs, for me, signaled that that was the day.

[juliebelle]

i have never had any show, lost a mucous plug or anything physical like that as a sign with my previous two births. so for me...it was just contractions that demanded my attention.

[sunriseiz]

It was different with each of my pg's. Twice saw my mucous plug (1st and 3rd time). Increased fatigue, though I never recognized it as a sign; only in hindsight. More BH. This time, the evening I went into labor I was sooo tired, a lot like before AF, but I still didn't know it was coming. So I guess I'm no help. Every time I did have a feeling to stick relatively close to home, but that maybe that's just because it was getting closer to my due date? I'll be curious what others have to say. Best wishes!

[JamieBrewHa]

I'm 'due' on hte 23rd and waiting and scrutinizing everything too -lol...but of course I know it could be a ways off still.

[nettlesoup]

I'd be interested to know too; my due date was the 20th February. I'm only a day overdue but I'm already pretty keen to go into labour!

[RabbitDancer]

I'm so glad your breech baby turned! My new little girl was breech at 34-35 weeks but flipped soon after we discovered it, thankfully.

For me, labor contractions feel like menstrual cramps that wrap around to the back. And unlike the prelabor/prodromal/BH contractions, you'll be clued in that true labor is beginning when changing your position or activity doesn't stop them from coming. Best of luck -- it'll happen soon!!

[kssinca]

I had really bad cramps/contractions and a constant feeling that I had to have a bm but nothing would happen. I couldn't move or talk during the contractions. Nothing made it better, sitting, lying down, walking, eating and trying to sleep was impossible.

[MG01]

Well I lost some chunks of my mucous plug a few hours ago.. Yay! One more sign to overanalyze, haha.

I cannot believe, though, that people are already badgering me about when the baby is coming, like s/he should be here already. My "due date" is today, and it's my first baby. It would actually be abnormal/in the minority for me to have spontaneously had the baby by today in my understanding. And people have brought up induction already too.. "how late will they let you go?" etc. Seriously!? I am exactly 40 weeks, why is everyone already thinking about/ mentioning induction?? Really putting the cart before the freaking horse.. leave my child alone and s/he will come when s/he is ready lol. Some people.

[justKate]

I lost my plug about 24 hours before I was in serious labor--although I didn't know it at the time because it was all in my back. I also had a feeling of wanting to dig a hole and crawl into it...away from everyone... She was my first baby and arrived two days after her due date.