How did labor start for you if you weren't induced?

[poorlittlefish]

My first labor was fast and began immediatly after my Dr. stripped my membranes. I am just curious how it starts if it comes on it's own.

I am 37w6d today and all weekend have been having non-stop bxt hicks contractions and the baby is so low. This morning I woke up feeling a little nauseated and am just curious how it starts for people. I had my daughter at 39w6dy so i was expecting a similar timeline but I don't remember these feelings last time.

Did Bxt Hicks lead into regular contractions for you all? How did your labor start?

Thanks!

[finnegansmom]

The morning of the day I went into labor, I woke up with VERY STRONG menstrual cramps. They last for about 1-2hours and were enough to wake me up. No spotting, not contractions, just really bad cramps like when I get my period.
I went to an outdoor fair with my son and husband and pushed the stroller for 4 hours. Came home, and felt "off". Very hot, tired but restless. Stripped sheets, made beds, set up the spare bed for the inlaws. At 10:45pm that night I had a contraction. It was undeniable and nothing like the BH contrax I had been having for weeks. It wasn't just a tightening, it was a painful contraction that would start at my cervix and go up and back down it felt like. They were 5 minutes apart and get stronger and closer together. I had bloody show about 130am... We left for the hospital at 2am and he was born at 4am, at 41weeks on the nose.

Good luck to you! I'm sure you're close!

[Lit Chick]

With #1, I was 38 weeks on the dot and I woke up an hour earlier than usual feeling different. I had a feeling of openness. Went to the bathroom and had bloody show, and noticed contractions for the first time. (I had been having BH, but never noticed them - my midwife had to point them out.) Since this was my first, I thought it would take a while, so I went to work. The contractions were always there, but mild, like average menstrual cramps for a few hours. When they started to get distracting, I went home. On the hour ride home, they started getting bigger and I knew it was baby day (mom was drving me, thankfully). And as soon as I got home and was in my safe space, my water broke.

Sounds like you are probably getting there. Have a great birth!

[Sharlla]

i ave bloody show then start haing contractions a ouple hours after that. i have 4 hour (or less) labors so its nic to have the eads up. my water doesnt break until baby is coming out
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[Lisalee2]

For both of my pregnancies, birth began with really light contractions. They were stronger than BH, but not very intense either. Both times, I was woken up by them and knew I was in labor.

[Diyan]

Mine was very gradual. I was forty weeks and two days. I had menstrual-like cramps, and noticed they were coming regularly all day - uncomfortable, but not enough to keep me from going about my day. It was about 8 hours after I noticed them that I started timing them, and they were 5 minutes apart, and about 45 seconds long. It was a couple of hours before my usual bedtime, but I decided to go to bed and get what sleep I could before labor got going in earnest. I only slept two hours before the contractions started keeping me awake, so for the rest of the night I would doze for a few minutes, then wake up for a contraction. They still felt like menstrual cramps, just fairly intense. Meanwhile, I was having bloody show. I went to the bathroom about once and hour, and was wiping pink, and having some on my underwear as well.

[gradstudentmommy]

At 41 weeks 1 day I went in for a Non Stress Test and they told me I was having contractions, but they just felt like the Braxton Hicks I'd been having for months. I stopped at the bathroom before leaving the doctor's office and I was bleeding. The contractions started coming regularly about an hour later (5 minutes apart for over an hour).

[MaerynPearl]

With DD, 39w#d (yes I forget) Started out as what I figured was back pain from walking so much that day... and a tiny bit of bloody show... progressed slowly (over about 3-4 hours) to be very obviously contractions. An hour later we headed into the hospital and 3 hours later she was born!

I could have avoided the hospital for 2 more hours but since we were staying at my grammas house almost an hour from the hospital I decided better safe than sorry.

[Peony]

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Originally Posted by Lisalee2

For both of my pregnancies, birth began with really light contractions. They were stronger than BH, but not very intense either. Both times, I was woken up by them and knew I was in labor.

Same for me for all 3 pgs.

[Mosaic]

DD1: slight spotting, followed by an aching back and tons of BHs that just got stronger, longer, and closer together, all focused in my back (ah, back labor).

DD2: pink-tinged CM at night, then I woke up at 4am with bloody show and waves 9 min. apart very low in my pelvis. As it progressed, they came closer together and crept up my abdomen.

[AmyKT]

I'd been having very convincing BH ctx for weeks before labor actually started, but on the day it did, they were different. At first the ctx were not painful, but I had a tugging sensation from my crotch to the top of my uterus. This started at about 10 am. The only way I can describe it is that it felt like I was getting a uterine wedgie. The ctx started far apart but were continuous and fairly consistent. Later in the the day I lost my mucous plug, and by early the next morning, the ctx were 3-4 mins apart and were definitely uncomfortable. I had the baby later that day.

Good luck!

[lilmiss'mama]

DD#1 my mucus plug fell out and I had light contractions that built up all throughout the day...she was born over 24 hours later.
DD#2 contractions started after dinner and started off stronger than my first. they continued to build and she was born in the early morning.

[babymango]

I woke up at 40w3d with cramps that were different from my usual BHs. They came every 10 minutes for 2 hours, then kind of faded. I had stretches of contractions like that on and off during the day. At night, I had some spotting and i lost some of my mucus plug. The contractions were mild enough that i was able to walk to the grocery store and carry my groceries back.
I went to bed, but the cramps were annoying and i couldnt sleep. Then at 4am, all of a sudden they got much stronger and more regular. I would assume that this is when I went from latent phase to active labor (24h after the first cramp, 12h before the baby was born)

[CherryBomb]

Dd1 I was induced, dd2 and dd3 I went into labor naturally. I had prodromal labor both time (1 day with dd2, 3 days with dd3) and then finally went into full on labor. I had some bloody show leading up to the prodromal labor, but nothing major.

[beckyand3littlemonsters]

1st : woke up at 9am on my due date with mild contractions (20mins apart) and had a show she was born 23hrs later
2nd: had a show in the morning, continued to loose more and more of my show in little bits through out the day as well as having period type pains then at about 6.15pm stood up to go to the toilet got a sharp pain under my bump and then just 3 stairs up my waters broke, he was born 5hrs later.
3rd: had a show and some contractions at 26wks panicked, then 38+3 wks had a show and mild cramps on and off through out the day and then had some contractions for a few hours at night but nothing major and then woke up at 6am the next day with contractions coming every 1-5 mins she was born 8hrs later.
4th 40+6 wks i woke up at 2.50 am with contraction every 10 mins he was born 4 hrs later.

[Melly24]

The night before (41+1) I had a major emotional meltdown. I dont remember why, but it left me feeling great afterwards and I had a fantastic nights sleep. I would wake up every now and then that night with a crampy feeling in my lower back, but didn't really wake enough to register what was going on.

Got up in the morning and the mild cramps in my back started to come in the front like menstrual cramps. Got stronger throughout the day and contractions started in earnest at about 8pm that night.

[Greenlea]

I went to work & threw up my breakfast. I felt extremly uncomfortable so I went out on my lunch break and bought a whole new loose fitting outfit. I realized later I was so uncomforatble because baby had dropped. I threw up my lunch, but it never registered that I was in labor. Went home a little early and was exhausted. Had some tea, but threw that up. Slept for a couple hours, like a log. My water broke while I was sleeping at 8:30pm. Ctx started very mild, but at 5 mins apart. I waited until they got more intense before heading to the hospital at 3:00am - son was born 12 hours later.

[3girls+1]

First sign of labor for all 3 of mine was my water breaking. We'll see in a few weeks if #4 follows that trend.

[umsami]

I was induced for #1 and #3. #2 had other plans. I was supposed to go to the OB that day for a "normal" appointment, so I dropped my husband off at work. I then went home and made some Cheerios for me and his elder brother. In the middle of my bowl of Cheerios, my back started to feel rather achy...so I decided to take a hot shower. The next thing I knew I was throwing up...and going through transition. Baby #2 was born about 3 hours later.

I had Braxton Hicks and other cramps/tinges for about a week prior, but nothing unbearable. I honestly had no clue that I would be going into labor and that it would progress so quickly.

[HeatherB]

Slowly. As PPs have said, my labors have all started with very light contractions that came at regular intervals, but were not painful. More than BH, but could possibly be mistaken for BH. With my last, I remember those starting on Sunday. I realized it was entirely likely we'd have a baby that week (he was due about 10 days later). They gradually got closer together and slightly more intense over the next few days, and by Wednesday night, were serious. DS was born after a very leisurely labor on Thursday (which ended with a precipitous trip from 6cm to birth).