Feelin' Birthy--come share your journey to Birth with the symptoms/changes you are experiencing! - Page 8 « Back to Group Discussions

[sweetmilk]

no baby yet. my contractions slowed down around 9 this morning .so i am laying low wondering when this is going to really kick in.if nothing happen tonigth ,my midwife want me in her office tomorrow because my water is broken, so we will see what she think then. but hoppefully it will all happen tonight!!!

[stegenrae]

Kate, I felt the same way last night with the bloody show--reassured that this babe would not stay in forever, lol.

Lulu, still thinking good, gentle, but quick birthing thoughts for you...

Sweetmilk, I hope things pick up quickly for you!

Sego, I'm so sorry you're still dealing with the neverending contractions! I hope you get some good rest and birth that baby soon. ((hugs))

Kel, sorry you're suffering with cold crumminess--get well soon!

AFM--babe is "locked and loaded", engaged and looow. But kicking the crap out of me, lol. I really hope she makes her entrance soon. Well, I know it will be soon, but you all kwim.
Edited by stegenrae - 12/10/12 at 9:02pm

[chicajones]

Stegenrae, "locked and loaded", lol, love that! 

sweetmilk, excited to see what tomorrow morning brings for you!

Sego, I really feel like you've been laboring on and off for what seems like forever! But I have a feeling you're going to be the next one posting that the babe has arrived!

[nhklh]

Just popping in to note down some probably-nothing stuff.  Sunday (38wks) I felt period-pain-y all day.  Possibly just everything feeling tired lugging around the belly weight?  I was also super cranky and tired.  Yesterday I didn't have that pain so much, but caught myself dozing off 3 times shortly after 3pm.  This afternoon I've had that period pain feeling again.  It doesn't come and go, hence me thinking it's nothing, it's just there.  I've had lots of stabby vagina pain all week too, and plenty of BH.  Sometimes it feel like baby is stretching out during a BH, so I'm getting stabby vagina pains from the head on my cervix, and short of breath from feet in my diaphragm.  

[chicajones]

Started having some timetable, somewhat achy/uncomfortable contractions--about a minute long, every 6.5 minutes. Could be nothing...or something. :) Midwife is coming over for my 38 week appointment at 11:30 so we'll see what's happening then.

[chicajones]

Update -- my appointment went well. She said it sounds like it could be early labor -- I ran some errands and am about to take a nap. I stopped timing, but she said to time them again after the nap and then let her know. I feel like they've stayed pretty consistent, although slightly more uncomfortable now. !!! Trying not to get my hopes up....

[esp831]

I'm so excited that more babies are ready to make an entrance!  Keep us posted ladies...and of course I'll be sending only the best peaceful birthing vibes there ever were :)

[sweetmilk]

Well I am back at home waiting for labor to kick in. My MW let me go home one more night since the baby was doing very well and I still have plenty of fluid in there. But i have to go back tomorrow at 10 and probably will not come back home. I told them they could keep me there but I refuse to be induce unless there is a medical emergency. As long as baby is find everything is going to happen on its term.

[chicajones]

Well, that was it! Charles (Charlie) Marlin Jones was born at 8:46pm on 12-12-12. 6lbs 8oz and 21.25in long. We were at home for 36 hours of labor. After four hours of pushing and no progress after the last two hours, we had to transfer to the hospital where he was delivered 20 min later after a small episiotomy. Not thrilled about the cut or the transfer, but almost all of our labor was at home and we had a natural, drug free birth. It feels a little bittersweet that we didn't get our home waterbirth, but we were at home for 99% of the birth with my wonderful midwife and doula, and I am happy with the experience as a whole. Breastfeeding already going wonderfully and we're all doing great!

[Wendyesm]

I've been up with painful but irregular contractions the past four nights -- not super strong, but painful enough to have to focus, and keeping me awake for hours. Two nights ago, they did get strong for a while and I thought it might be time to think about going to the birth center... and then they spaced out again. :(  They fade out more during the day, and then come back at night. I know a lot of you ladies had the same pattern...  did it end up that your "real" labors, when they finally kicked in, were generally quick?  Or did you feel like this sort of pattern predicted a difficult active labor as well?   I'm trying not to stress about it, trying to stay out of my head (hard!!), but can't help worry that it's positional or something and that all of labor might be hard.  But then again, I know lots of women with their 3rd+ babies have had these kinds of patterns and then easy births once it gets going.... so I'm really trying not to worry.  Just very discouraging that it hasn't turned into active labor yet -- I'm so ready to meet my baby!  (I'm 38 and 5, so I know I've got time yet, but you know how it is when you are contracting all the time with nothing to show for it (that I can see anyway).   But yes, I know my body is doing good work and it is all as it should be. :-)   But it'd be great to hear encouraging words from you wise mommas on the other side of this!!

Congrats to all of you who've had your babies, and I hope your postpartum healing and bonding and baby moons are going beautifully!!!  Sending peace and sleep your way....

[esp831]

Wendy--I had about 3 weeks of birthy type feelings before my LO came along at exactly 39 weeks.  He's number 3, and both of my girls were 40+5.  I had a couple of episodes of light contrax in week 38 and I did feel like the more work I did then, the less I would have to do later, which was very true!  My water broke first, and then active labor didn't kick in for 14 hours.  So I just hung around, but once active labor did start, my baby was born 2 hours later :)  I didn't really believe anyone who told me it was going to go fast, but it did!  His birth went very well, and part of that I attribute to all of the "pre" work my body did for me.  It was annoying and frustrating, but it helped!

[annaka]

Feeling the same as Wendy;s and nhklh's last posts. Very crampy tonight. The most I have in a while. I think the baby may finally be settling down in my pelvis and preparing. I've been dealing with labor on and off, also mostly in the evenings and at night, since 10:30pm on the 6th, so I'm getting very tired of all the guessing and am trying not to get discouraged. At my appointment on Wednesday I let them check me and am at 4cm dilated, slightly softened, and not much effaced. I think I'm having a hard time just relaxing during the contractions. I never had that problem with my first two because my water broke first, and unless I focus on relaxing down there, I'm tensing up as not to pee. :P I'm hoping my story will go like yours, esp! Three weeks is a long time, but two hours of active would be very nice. :) The only thing is, my blood pressure has been high and it may mean I will be pressured to induce this coming week if I don't go on my own before then. Anyways, that's me catching up! Here's hoping everyone has a few good nights of sleep, or even some peaceful hours, before we get to hold our little babes in our arms! Good luck!

[mamadiamond]

i had my first bout of real contractions this evening, with lots of back and thigh cramping, and they were 3-8 minutes apart for about 3 hours. but then they spaced back out and the cramping lessened. i've had a lot of extra discharge the past two days, and it was really watery today to where i wondered if it was water breaking, but it didn't keep up so i think just watery mucus or i peed myself. and my belly looks like it is dripping down my body. every day it looks lower. i think i'm getting close. 

[Wendyesm]

Thanks for sharing, esp!!  Gosh, I hope I have a similar story to report soon!  Last night I finally had some good sleep, so now I'm feeling appreciative and grateful for the time, and trying to enjoy this beautiful Sunday with my partner and family to relax before the big excitement, whenever it does come!  Annaka and mama diamond -- good luck to you both.  :)  I know we'll all soon be on the other side of this!

[nhklh]

39wks yesterday.  I've had more energy since Friday, in the morning at least.  Needing an afternoon rest/doze each day.  Baby is lower, feels like everything's going to drop out of my (puffy) crotch.  MW said that there's a head in my pelvis, she could only feel up to the point where eyes would be on Thursday.  Stabby vagina pain.

[jakesmama]

I have felt no change at all right up until yesterday/today. Things seem more achy and like she's trying to find a good position to get engaged in. MW visit yesterday she was high (and she's been pretty low the whole time) but mw said I have really ample amounts of fluid so baby has lots of room to move around. I'm having cxt but they're different from the bh and not very timeable, just low, achy - like menstrual cramps. Definitely different.

I still think we'll make it through Christmas before baby comes but my body is gearing up. Of course, this may be wishful thinking instead of actually being in tune - because I don't feel ready to have a newborn yet!

[nhklh]

Some interestingness here.  Went to bed last night at midnight, with the period pain type sensation I've had for the last week and a half, just a bit more intense.  Woke up at 5am (I KNOW, 5 hours sleep!), toilet trip, then back to bed.  Still had the same sensation, but then had a different one.  Kind of felt like a squeezy sensation at the top of my uterus.  Had chiro this morning too, so I'm good to go any time from now on.

[Harmony96]

I've been having contractions that hurt more than BH but still aren't labor contractions about every 5-10 minutes for the past half an hour. My doula's other client is already in labor and my doula is on her way over there. I have no idea what the status of my midwife's other client is (I plan on texting her tomorrow). These contractions hurt, but I can still talk through them and they're totally irregular and I STILL don't have any bloody show, so I really don't think anything is happening. I've been somewhat active today so they'll probably slow down this evening when I have some time to relax more after DD's dress is done. Even so, what's been going on for the past little while is enough to cause me to download Contraction Master for my phone, lol.

[Harmony96]

They went to nothing, lol. I'm going to call them BH again. (But I think everybody who was following this thread has already given birth and doesn't care about it anymore, lol.)

[kel]

Harmony - I'm still on here, too;)  I care!  haha

I've been having similar stuff going on.  On both the 20th and again last night - I had strong BH or false labor contractions that were every 6-10 min apart and continued for about 8 hours each time.  They weren't painful (except for crampy) and didn't ever increase beyond the 6-10 mins - but what a pain in the butt!  I've never had prodromal labor with any of my other pregnancies, so this is strange to me.  Hopefully it's actually doing some good, because I've noticed that my babe is moving less during these phases - which is causing me stress and worry (although the midwife said it's normal for decreased movement during contractions).  I think I'm going to try and get checked out today, just to make sure baby isn't being too stressed by the constant squeezing. 

I'm due Jan 5th and usually go a week late...

xox