Speeding up labor?

[JTA Mom]

I have been in prodromal labor for weeks. However, it's picked up tempo the last few days. I'll have a few hours of consistent, intense contractions, then nothing.

Until last night at 8pm. I started having contractions. And they haven't stopped. They aren't very close (think 15/20min apart) but I feel them. I've been nauseous since 3 am. And have diarrhea. Tmi, I know, but I just want to lay it all out there.

No mucus/bloody show, however.

I don't know how much more of this I can take. It's been over 24hrs. I am tired. I can't nap well, I can't eat very well (but I make myself). I am hydrated since my pee is light.

Right now I just want to cry, I feel so miserable. Is there anything I can do to either stop these things OR make it speed up? The thought of another 24hrs of this.....

I am also a VBAC, if that matters.

Ami

[Sfcmama]

Oh, mama - I feel for you. I was in labor 60hours and eventually had to get an epidural to get some sleep. My best advice is to STAY HYDRATED. I got dehydrated from nausea, vomiting, exhaustion, etc. and my contractions started to get really funky- super long and unpredictable. The good news is that I was able to turn the epidural off once I was rested and rehydrated and had a beautiful vaginal birth.
Hugs! You're going to meet your baby soon!!!!

[sewingsparklz]

Here's my : to stop things, you could take a warm bath or shower. Mmmm. Relaxing.

To speed things up you could go on a walk or dance around. I also heard eating pineapple helps? I tried that once (I walked around the Sam's club and we bought and ate some pineapple) and I had my baby the next day. Coincidence? Who knows?

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by sewingsparklz

Here's my : to stop things, you could take a warm bath or shower. Mmmm. Relaxing.

This doesn't work for me (JTA and I are in the same predicament)

Ive even tried taking long, frequent warm baths and still contracting with no change to the cervix.

glass of wine = no change

walking = no change (even taking steep steps...)

sex = no change

spicy foods = no change

nipple stimulation = stronger contractions, no change to the cervix

so... frustrating...

JTA... hope we both get rid of this craziness soon.

[GoBecGo]

Nothing to suggest except encouragement!

My last labour was very stop start and it did begin to exhaust. My DD was born with a true knot and i realised right away why she had been so cautious. I know i will trust the process so much more next time. Babies are smart, and even if it's not clear now, even if it never becomes clear, there will be a reason for this pattern of labour.

Hang in there mama's, these are the hard last few yards to your baby

[dejagerw]

Maybe you could try a red raspberry leaf tea infusion. Good luck!

[orange_mommy]

Just wanted to encourage you that things can go from "when is this going to happen?" to "Baby!" SOOO quickly. I don't remember any bloody show with my son. The nurses at the hospital kept telling me "You are not in labor" until I vomited and had diarrhea, and only then did they take me seriously. One nurse told me "You will not be able to last without pain meds, this could go on for days" and my doula suggested they check me one more time before caving in and sure enough, I had dilated a ton in a very short time. And my beautiful son was born not more than a few hours later! Hang in there, it can happen so fast... hoping the same for you also!

[DanielleT]

Originally Posted by dejagerw

Maybe you could try a red raspberry leaf tea infusion. Good luck!

RRT is suppose to organize and make contractions more efficient

[Galatea]

Well, if you want to just sleep, 25-50 mg Benadryl always works for me. With my last, my water leaked a bit at 11 pm, but I didn't think labor would start, so I took Benadryl and went to bed. 4 hours later, real contractions woke me and she was born 3 hours later. It was very pleasant to sleep through early labor. (The Benadryl won't stop real labor.)

I feel your pain - I had an episode of this 2 nights ago from 11 pm to 4 am, and it made me crazy, but by 4 am, it was too late to take Benadryl (it makes me groggy for about 8-10 hours.) So last night I took 25 mg Benadryl at 10 pm and slept very soundly until 8:30 this morning (with the usual pee breaks but no prodromal labor.) Today I feel human!