Has anyone not had hardly any contractions, then bam, they're there and labor begins quickly?

[mrstmb]

Has anyone not had hardly any contractions, then bam, they're there and labor begins quickly?

I don't have any painful contractions, and I'm wondering if its neccessary to have them, or if labor can just start suddenly and progress quickly. If it is gradual, then I think I have a ways to go, even though I'm dialated 2 cm and my bag is "bulging"

[bethrw]

I'm wandering the same thing! I'm 2cm and 90% effaced, but haven't had any contractions yet.

[MissyLissa]

My SIL just had her baby on Wednesday and she had no signs at all that he was coming. I was with her just a few minutes before she started leaking and we were joking about how I would probably have my baby first since I'm already having regular contractions and she hadn't had any yet (she was due 3 weeks before me). Well, I went home and she started leaking fluid within minutes of me leaving and had a baby 10 hours later!

[Teddy'sMom]

My first labor started with my water breaking and progressed quickly, but I don't kow if I had already started to dilate since I don't have vaginal exams. So, all that to say sometimes you get a different sign first....other than contractions.

[Devaskyla]

With ds2, I never had a single contraction I could feel. My water was broken for 3 days, going on 4. Around 7pm, I finally got a contraction. I got a couple more between then & about 9:30 when I went to have a shower. By 10:30, I was in active labour, with strong regular contractions. We never timed them, so I have no idea how long they were, but I started needing to push by about 2 am. If ds hadn't been stuck, it would have been about a 6 hour labour. As it was, it wound up being closer to 20, but it definitely wasn't due to not having contractions before labour.

[ilovebabies]

My sil went to bed feeling fine and woke up suddenly in the middle of the night throwing up and the baby crowning! They called an ambulance and thought she'd deliver on the way but she made it.

[dearmama22]

I sure hope so because I have had no labor signs, no contractions, Nada and I'm due in 5 days!

[LowFlyingAnimals]

That's how my first two were. Arrived in 3 hours from having water break. Absolutely no real contractions with the first other than some bh throughout pregnancy. The second, I had a few episodes of prodomal labor within the weeks before he came, but nothing right before.

This one, however, is proving to be a different story altogether. I've had plenty of painful contractions, dilated to 4+ cm right now, but still no active labor to speak of.

[MomtotheMAX]

YES!!! I was 7 days past my due date with the last baby and was not having a single contraction or symptom. In fact, it even seemed like the Braxton Hicks contrax had slowed down! I decided the baby was NEVER coming!

Then, all of the sudden, my water broke (with no warning what so ever), and 3.5 hours later I had a baby in my arms.

[eewieew]

YES

i had slight cramping on and off for weeks, but otherwise just braxton hicks. was completely effaced and 1 cm dilated....then, last sunday night, my water broke, contractions started immediately at 2-4 minutes apart and stayed that way throughout. i stayed at 1 cm for awhile and them went from 1-5 in about 4 hours...delivered the next afternoon.

[nuwavemomma]

It wasn't a quick labor with my son, but it was a direct one, if that makes sense. I had really no discomfort at all and then I woke up on my EDD, had show, started contracting. The contractions took a long time to get intense but they were very regular and productive the whole time. 28 hours later my son was born.

I thought it was a really nice way to labor - the whole fear-of-long-labor thing is kind of unwarranted I think. You get to really acclimate to each part of labor that way, it's more of a gentle hike to the summit.

[Purple Sage]

My first labor was like that. I had nothing more than mild BH, then out of the blue one evening about a week before my due date my water broke, contraction started within the hour, and dd was born about 6 hours later.

[eewieew]

Originally Posted by nuwavemomma

It wasn't a quick labor with my son, but it was a direct one, if that makes sense. I had really no discomfort at all and then I woke up on my EDD, had show, started contracting. The contractions took a long time to get intense but they were very regular and productive the whole time. 28 hours later my son was born.

I thought it was a really nice way to labor - the whole fear-of-long-labor thing is kind of unwarranted I think. You get to really acclimate to each part of labor that way, it's more of a gentle hike to the summit.

i wish mine had been like that. it started off intense and stayed intense and i ended up not having the birth that i wanted because it was just too much.
the end result is the same though, so i'm not too broken up about it. my daughter is beautiful

[DanelleB]

I had preterm labor with these two and was dilated to 3-4, but the day before they arrived, I had no signs of labor. No contractions, no extra pressure, nothing. Just BAM tons of pressure and the first arrived less than 2 hours later.

[JJ'sMom]

I went on a date with my hubby three days before baby was due. Went to bed that night and woke up at 1:15am in transition. Called midwives and had baby in arms two hours later. No warnings at all.

It does happen.

[L&K'smommie]

I had no contractions whatsoever with my first two until labor started...with dd that was 12 hours start to finish and with ds 4 hours start to finish(and with him I was 5cm dilated, 85% effaced with bag bulging for a week prior to his birth(and dilated to 3cm starting at 36 weeks). So yes it does happen...

[Malva]

My first two were like that. No signs whatsoever then quick labours.

[hunterofkyle]

This thread is kind of encouraging. With my last baby, I had prodromal labor for weeks before it finally escalated into actual labor. I'm hardly having any BH this time and I keep thinking I must be broken or something. I'll keep my chin up that my body can still kick it into high gear when the time is right.

[kat726]

Yes - with my last I had NO signs of labor, no mucus plug, no braxton hicks, no water breaking, no dilation - then 10 days after my due date labor started without me even realizing it. Took 2 hours for me to decide I was in labor. 5 hours later I had my first homebirth.

[fuzzypeach]

Well, I haven't had the kind of labor you're describing, but I've had kind of the opposite - I was 5cm dilated w/bulging bag the day before I went into labor w/DD, then labored for 12 hours... pushed for two. I was expecting a shorter, easier labor than that!