Post Your Signs of Labor...Or False Alarms :) « Back to Group Discussions

[Gemini529]

I figured since we are all starting to near the end of our pregnancies, we should have a thread where we post our signs of labor.  I've already had two "false alarm" situations where I've started timing out contractions that went nowhere.  

I know there's no way to really know, but we can also post all of those traditional signs that mean labor is coming...like dilation, effacement, baby dropping, water breaking/leaking, all that fun stuff :)

I have an appt tomorrow morning so maybe I'll be able to come back and update with something interesting.  I'll be 38 weeks this weekend so I've started somewhat of a countdown!

[meesh933]

Man...I'm only 35 weeks, so no signs of labor here! I can't believe all of you are about to start popping out babies! I'll probably be the last man standing, lol. I'm not even due till the last week in November, anyway, and my other two came 4 and 6 days past my due date. I'll be pushing December, here.

[MrsKatie]

Yay for this thread! I'm 38 weeks tomorrow so I'm on high alert 24/7.

Night before last I had 2 long, strong contractions back-to-back that were actually quite uncomfortable.  I got all excited.  Then... nothing.

Yesterday I had my 38-week appt and my midwife asked if I wanted her to do an internal check; out of curiosity (and with the acknowledgment that her findings would likely be meaningless), I said sure.  I mostly wanted to know how low baby was, since the only lightening signs I've experienced are the ability to eat more (like, WAY more) and the relative absence of heartburn (oh, hallelujah).  She said baby was super low and that I'm about 50% effaced and .5-1cm dilated.  So... meaningless, I know, but it's good to know that my near-constant BHs are doing something!
 

Also she pulled out lots of mucuousy blood with her, so maybe a little plug?

I can't wait to meet this baby!!!

[Abraisme]

I'm 35w4d and so far I've got nothing.  Which is fine, I really don't want to have labor signs this early!  :)

[A-time-to-live]

38 weeks here.  Low back pain which I haven't had during the rest of the pregnancy and then two nights ago menstrual-like cramping.  Also had a super intense hot flash yesterday - which I also haven't had this pregnancy.  Don't know if that's a sign or not but - different.  Oh - and I've been getting super moody about my daughter not being my only child anymore.  Fortunately she's super excited to have a baby sister so her "I love my baby sister sooo much" comments help.  :-)

[Gemini529]

Originally Posted by A-time-to-live 

38 weeks here.  Low back pain which I haven't had during the rest of the pregnancy and then two nights ago menstrual-like cramping.  Also had a super intense hot flash yesterday - which I also haven't had this pregnancy.  Don't know if that's a sign or not but - different.  Oh - and I've been getting super moody about my daughter not being my only child anymore.  Fortunately she's super excited to have a baby sister so her "I love my baby sister sooo much" comments help.  :-)

I had a really intense hot flash yesterday!  I had been freezing all morning and suddenly started sweating and had to change into shorts and a t shirt and open a window.   I don't remember that happening with my last pregnancy, but I'm guessing it's some sort of surge in hormones causing it?

[Paigekitten]

From 35 ish weeks on I was having tons of contractions and cramping, and then last week I couldn't sleep, couldn't get comfortable, and about 4 am I woke up DH because I couldn't breath, it felt like a band constricting around my rib-cage, and then my little contractions that I'd been having all the sudden were BIG contractions and I started vomiting.  It seriously felt like I was going to start pushing any minute.  So we called the midwife, and she talked on the phone with us for a while and decided to come out.  

By the time she got here everything had totally stopped, and it stayed completely stopped for about a week, and now I'm having BH again in the last couple days.

It was really weird.  

[MrsKatie]

Oh! And near-constant BHs.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by meesh933 

Man...I'm only 35 weeks, so no signs of labor here! I can't believe all of you are about to start popping out babies! I'll probably be the last man standing, lol. I'm not even due till the last week in November, anyway, and my other two came 4 and 6 days past my due date. I'll be pushing December, here.

Me too!

[TalkToMeNow]

Well, I don't know that this is a false labor sign, just a sign that something will happen in the next few weeks! (Duh!) I lost what I assume is the rest of my mucus plug tonight. Started losing it yesterday morning. Yucky, but good to know things are happening!

[Jaimee]

I know that some women can lose mucus plug when they're like 20 weeks pregnant and it just regenerates, but personally I have not known anyone who has lost their plug and not gone into labor within the week.  Anyone else?

[rhombus]

I'm 38 weeks 1 day and have not yet had any discernible labor signs. Can you believe that I've never (and this is my 3rd to term pregnancy) felt a Braxton Hicks contraction?! I drink buckets of raspberry leaf infusion every day, so I like to hope that *something* is gearing up inside, but I sure haven't noticed anything.

[Abraisme]

Yeah, I've only known people who lost theirs within days of birth.  I personally have only lost any mucus plug after I was in labor for a while.
 

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I know that some women can lose mucus plug when they're like 20 weeks pregnant and it just regenerates, but personally I have not known anyone who has lost their plug and not gone into labor within the week.  Anyone else?

[jbk21]

I lost some of mine at 24-ish weeks this time.  WIth DS1 I was losing pieces of it from 35 to 41.5 weeks.  I was induced.  

Originally Posted by Jaimee 

I know that some women can lose mucus plug when they're like 20 weeks pregnant and it just regenerates, but personally I have not known anyone who has lost their plug and not gone into labor within the week.  Anyone else?

[Gemini529]

Originally Posted by rhombus 

I'm 38 weeks 1 day and have not yet had any discernible labor signs. Can you believe that I've never (and this is my 3rd to term pregnancy) felt a Braxton Hicks contraction?! I drink buckets of raspberry leaf infusion every day, so I like to hope that *something* is gearing up inside, but I sure haven't noticed anything.

It's so interesting how some women experience them constantly while others never get them.  I have a friend who is pregnant for the first time and when we describe BH contractions to her, she has no idea what we are talking about.  I think she is maybe 32 weeks or so.  For me, it pretty much stops me in my tracks when it happens.  Not because it's painful really but because of how intense it is.  I seriously get at least 3 per hour from 25 weeks on.  When I go for a walk or something, it happens even more.  

I also have a (different) friend who claims to have never had a menstrual cramp! So these things can vary quite a bit. Lucky!!!!

[Mal85]

Agreed on the mucous. I know what they say, but everyone I know has gone into labor pretty quickly after losing that. I didn't lose all mine at once. I passed chunks of it for 2 days before going into labor (nice thought, huh?). I did the same thing when my water broke too. It didn't all come out at once. I had several small gushes with leaking in between. 

So far, no major signs of labor but I sure wish I would! I do get a lot of BH. Some of those get intense depending on what I've been doing. I also have a lot of cervical pain. I had some of that around 35-36 weeks, but it had kind of stopped the last couple of weeks. Now, it's almost anytime the baby gets active, I get sharp cervical pain. Seriously feels like she's trying to claw her way out. I attempted to check myself the other night, but with no success. My fingers are just too short. I can just barely feel where my cervix is, but can't get any further than that. 

I'll be 38 weeks on Sunday, so I'm on the lookout for any signs and not above urging things along any way I can. My last one went a few days overdue, so I'm not really expecting anything but hopeful. My body just feels soooo done, I wish the baby would agree!

[Gemini529]

Mal, that happened to me when my water broke, too.  It wasn't like the big gush you read about or see in movies.  I wasn't even totally sure that was what it was for at least an hour!  It was weird.  I did hear a popping noise before it happened, but it wasn't as dramatic as I had imagined it being.  

I had an appt today.  No change as far as dilation.  Still at big fat zero!  But he said I was very soft and still about 75% effaced.  I was down about 5 lbs from my last visit, but they didn't seem concerned.  Also, my BP was higher than last time.  Last time it was 130/78.  This time it was 142/88.  Dr said he wasn't concerned about it, though so I guess it's not a big deal.  Last time I didn't have DS with me, though and this time I had to carry him in because he wouldn't walk with me and he was kind of stressing me out! So maybe that accounts for the BP spike.  

Not sure why I lost weight because I've been eating like crazy lately and haven't exactly been making healthy choices (Apparently, it's not a good idea to buy your "trick or treat" candy several weeks before Halloween when you are in your last month of pregnancy!)  I'm going to have to go out and buy more or the poor kids in my neighborhood are going to end up with a bunch of Whoppers.  

[TalkToMeNow]

No, Gemini, Halloween candy in the house even a day before Halloween is a bad idea!  We don't have any, but at least once I week I find myself grumbling, "Why is there no *&!% chocolate in this house?!"

If you search for losing the mucus plug, it seems like most people lose it weeks before labor. Or, if not most, than a lot. 

When my water broke with dd2, I swear it was all out in like 5 seconds. It was crazy! 

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by Gemini529 

It's so interesting how some women experience them constantly while others never get them.  I have a friend who is pregnant for the first time and when we describe BH contractions to her, she has no idea what we are talking about.  I think she is maybe 32 weeks or so.  For me, it pretty much stops me in my tracks when it happens.  Not because it's painful really but because of how intense it is.  I seriously get at least 3 per hour from 25 weeks on.  When I go for a walk or something, it happens even more.  

I also have a (different) friend who claims to have never had a menstrual cramp! So these things can vary quite a bit. Lucky!!!!

I get BH ctx constantly, too.  I remember feeling the sensation about halfway through my first pregnancy, and this time I could feel that rock-hard feeling at the end of the first trimester- of course it was just way down low in my pelvis since my uterus wasn't that big, but it was unmistakeable.  I get them ALL the time.  Drinking lots of water sometimes makes it worse because if I have to pee, I have BH ctx.  Damned if I do, damned if I don't, lol.  They are more uncomfortable this pregnancy as well.    My sister, on the other hand, never got them.  So weird. 

Oh, I'm having one right now.  Ouch!
 

Originally Posted by Gemini529 

Mal, that happened to me when my water broke, too.  It wasn't like the big gush you read about or see in movies.  I wasn't even totally sure that was what it was for at least an hour!  It was weird.  I did hear a popping noise before it happened, but it wasn't as dramatic as I had imagined it being.  

I wish it was always a big gush, lol!  With all the cervical mucus changes it's hard to know if it's amniotic fluid leaking or just... wetness.  Sorry.  TMI :-)  
 

[jbk21]

Originally Posted by TalkToMeNow 

No, Gemini, Halloween candy in the house even a day before Halloween is a bad idea!  We don't have any, but at least once I week I find myself grumbling, "Why is there no *&!% chocolate in this house?!"

If you search for losing the mucus plug, it seems like most people lose it weeks before labor. Or, if not most, than a lot. 

When my water broke with dd2, I swear it was all out in like 5 seconds. It was crazy! 

Whew, I'm glad I'm not the only odd man out with losing my mucus plug WEEKS before labor is even close to beginning.  Lol!  I know it was normal but it's strange that nobody else knows anyone who loses it early.  I wonder if some people just miss it when they wipe?  If I didn't inspect everytime I could have easily missed some of the times that I lost parts of it.  Sometimes it's just wiped away, especially when you just lose a little bit at a time.