prodromal labor?

[leanbh]

on saturday, i woke up at about six am with a bit of show and contractions about 10 minutes apart. i went to work but had to come home early for the discomfort. all day, i had contractions. and they're strong enough to make me stop and breath. strong enough to wake me up.

now, we know from my previous check that i am already 75% effaced and 4 centimeters dilated... so i wasn't expecting this.

i've been having contractions for two and a half days now. they were 5 minutes apart and a minute long for two hours last night, but they softened when i went to sleep. i wasn't able to sleep much last night. when i "woke up" this morning, they were about 10 minutes apart again and 45 seconds long. no matter if i sleep, hydrate, walk.... whatever... the contractions are still coming. but there's just no rhyme or reason to them. they're just not steady.

we've gone to the movies, gone shopping, watched tv, gone on walks... anything we can think of to keep my brain happy.

i'm trying to relax. i'm napping pretty consistently as i can. i recognize that i probably won't be able to work tomorrow. i'm just getting frustrated and tired. and i'm ready to have the baby now.

any help would be majorly appreciated.....

[keriberry]

Ugh! Sounds just like my labors. Don't stress about work. Work is a rubber ball. You're going to be meeting your baby very soon! And all this labor makes for a speedy delivery for most of us. Relax and sleep as much as you can. You're almost to the big finish!

[mighty-mama]

Mama, I've been there and it's awful...

I never had it w/ DS1, but had it so bad this time around.. I swore every day that "this was the start" and each day, I was more devastated and tired..

Mine lasted 11 days. Each day getting worse. Mine would really kick in about 10am & last until 11pm each day, but I like you it would soften up at night when I was sleeping, and I knew that this wasn't "it"..

But the 3 days before his birth, were the worst.. The contractions would range from 5-8 min apart. And they were strong, and I've labored before, and these were not "braxton hicks".. I always thought that mine were the beginning of active labor..

The 3 nights before, I was physically up every 8 min. I was exhausted, but since they were coming every 8 minutes, I couldn't lay in bed. The 2 nights before his birth, I got a total of 3 hrs of sleep.. For so many days I couldn't make it. I couldn't function, and I couldn't go out of the house, or contemplate doing a big task w/ my 2.5yr old.

********Relief...

There wasn't much but I had my doula come over and she showed me some positioning moves.. Keep remembering that this is what your body needs, and you need to help your body.. For me, it was very easy to tense up and try to fight the contraction, but that's the worse thing..

What I found was I needed to stand with each contraction. I kept a pillow on my kitchen table, and with each contraction I would rest my face on the pillow, keep my legs shoulder width apart, I'd bend my knees and lightly squat during a contraction. Also stick out your belly a bit. This helped a lot, and it's keeping pressure on your cervix. Make sure to place your hands on the table, or on a chair on each side.. Try to squat deeper, once the contraction gets over the peak, and heads back down..

You seem at the point already, where you can't walk or do anything during it, so make sure to breath thru your nose and out of your mouth..

Bless you mama, I've been there and it's absolutely awful.. Luckily my labor went quick, so hopefully yours will too..

[leanbh]

i'm just so frustrated and tired... it makes me want to cry. saturday night, i was ok. sunday, i was still in a great mood and able to keep my humor. this morning though... i'm just cranky and feel like the butt of a really mean joke.

luckily, i was able to grab some sleep on the couch this morning as it's a bit easier to roll over on the couch and easier to give the alternate hip a break.

dh just made me a cup of tea and some lunch. at least i'm still able and wanting to eat.

what are we talking when we talk speedy delivery? speedy is a good word. i like that word.

[Plaid Leopard]

Do you know what position your baby is lying in? Where are you feeling the contractions the most? Hips, back, front?
If the baby is not in an optimal postion then this could be causing the "inefficient" contractions.
If you can tell me what you are feeling and where you think the babe is lying I might be able to give suggestions to make things easier.
But maybe by now things have picked up and are moving along...
Sending you positive thoughts! Hang in there, you can do this!

[leanbh]

the babe is engaged and has been at station 0 for at least a week.

as far as laying, babe has been flip flopping from left to right for the past few weeks. usually babe's on the left, but occasionally flips to the right. it's hard to tell with the babe being so low.

i feel the contractions the most in front and under. they feel like menstrual/gas cramps to the extreme accompanied by the awesome rock hard belly. i only feel them in my back if i've been laying down for too long.

any help is so appreciated right now!

[~Katie~]

Hang in there due date buddy! I've been thinking of you often and rooting for you, you'll be holding your babe soon enough! I've had very few signs of anything so my prediction is that I still have a while to go, I will gladly take all the labor vibes I can get : I'll be sending lots of positive thoughts your way and hoping the real thing starts soon!

[danaalex]

hugs!!! and know you are not alone. i'm right there with you, have been since friday i can barely stand or move at all now. i lost my plug and have been having tons of bloody show since friday night. no sleep at night too. my pain is deep in front and low and then in my lower back. my babe is on my left and is so low i swear i could reach in a grab a hand!!

good luck! i know that i'm frustrated too and would love some real progress. i am looking forward to the " FAST" part as well

[keriberry]

Originally Posted by leanbh

what are we talking when we talk speedy delivery? speedy is a good word. i like that word.

For my 1st, it's hard to tell. I'd guess 6 hours of good, hard labor.

My 2nd was about 3 hours.

You are making progress, even if it doesn't feel like it to you. The lack of sleep was what I had the hardest time with. My pains were from 8pm until 11am for several days. Nothing brought relief either. Well, except that baby popping out!

[Plaid Leopard]

Originally Posted by leanbh

the babe is engaged and has been at station 0 for at least a week.

as far as laying, babe has been flip flopping from left to right for the past few weeks. usually babe's on the left, but occasionally flips to the right. it's hard to tell with the babe being so low.

i feel the contractions the most in front and under. they feel like menstrual/gas cramps to the extreme accompanied by the awesome rock hard belly. i only feel them in my back if i've been laying down for too long.

any help is so appreciated right now!

That pain sounds like what I had with my last baby. And progress was pretty slow with him too.

What helped me was:

being upright, as Mighty-Mama said, and swiveling my hips (like bellydancing) during contractions.

Also, straddling a chair backwards and leaning on the back.

being "frogged out" - with my chest on a couple of pillows and knees bent and out to the side.

Having one leg up higher than the other might help too. Putting one foot up on a chair for example, or even marching in place, raising your knees nice and high.


As the baby descended I started having a lot of pain in my hips, and it helped fro my DH or midwive to apply pressure on my hipbones - pressing in with the heel of their hands during contractions.

If you feel like the baby is lying on the right, then try resting on your right side for a while when you get tired. If it is on the left, lying on the left side or any hands and knees/forward leaning position might help.

It is good that you are able to eat and drink. Have you tried a nice bath or shower? Rest as much as possible and when you have energy try different positions.

The baby will be here soon! I'm sure I will see your announcement when I wake up tomorrow!

[HeatherB]

I have had very long, drawn out labors, so I completely know the emotional rollercoaster! The good news is that those ctxs ARE doing something! Most likely, they're working on getting baby in the best position. The movements Plaid Leopard posted can help with that - helping your body get baby moved to the right spot for birth. My last labor was similar, and I labored continuously for 3 days before active labor kicked in, and when it did, it was probably only about 5 hours long. I kept telling the baby to move down, and apparently that's a lot of what happened, even though I wasn't dilating much in the early part of it. But pushing was not difficult or lengthy at all, even being my first HBAC, and I think that had a lot to do with all of the early work of moving him down!

If you have a chiropractor (or can find one!), this is a great time for it. I had mine come during the 2nd day of my labor when my MW suggested positioning. My labor actually slowed down quite a bit afterwards (not really what I wanted!!) but what I realized later was that it went to a NORMAL pattern - an early labor pattern. I had those 5-min apart ctxs, but they weren't very long and clearly not active labor, and after the adjustment, they were more like 7-8min apart, but more consistent. It definitely made a big difference, and I think if it's an option for you, see a chiro! (Mine came to my house!)

You're already well ahead of the game being somewhat dilated and having baby so low, and these ctxs ARE doing something! Keep up with the rest, and try the various positions, etc., during the ctxs. Baby will come, and it won't be long!!

[stickywicket67]

i hear ya sister.

today is my due date and i've been having the exact same thing since Friday.
ugh! so over it. super uncomfortable ( pressure, pressure, pressure, cervical sharpshooters and regular but inconsistent contractions that take my breath away). plus, fluctuating between spurts of energy and absolute exhaustion. and it's just plain BORING. i want something exciting to happen!
whine whine...
(and if one more person calls to see if the baby is here. aaarrgghh.)
i swore i wasn't going on MDC today just to stop thinking about it. oh well. nice to know someone else is going through it too...

[leanbh]

thank you all so much for your suggestions... i will be trying them throughout the afternoon and evening.

i took a long shower, had some pizza with plenty of crushed red pepper, and now i'm back to having contractions every 8 minutes or so. i'm doing a lot of leaning forward on my birth ball and trying to stay upright while leaning over onto things.

i still just want to cry it all out. i'm scared of what happens when dh has to go back to work tomorrow as i'm not sure how good i'll be at doing this on my own. so, please, send vibes for this little one to come out tonight! or at least that i'll be strong enough to handle it on my own without breaking down...

[debra_lea]

I haven't seen much on here on the boards, but what about using black cohosh? It is my understanding that black cohosh is useful for augmenting a labor that is mild, and needs speeding up.

[leanbh]

well, the midwife didn't want to say to augment it in any way unless i went in to get checked... so we did. i wanted to hear baby anyway as i'm certainly a nervous first timer.

well, i'm very very thin and 5 centimeters dilated. she said she could feel the water bag bulging and the baby's head.

she said, go home, sleep for two hours and give her a ring tonight to talk to her about castor oil and nipple stimulation. so who knows!

[IntuitiveJamie]

Girl! You are on the edge!! You are about to teeter off and go! I can't wait to hear your birth story tomorrow

[leanbh]

and we are in a good pattern!

5 minutes apart, a minute each for the last 2 hours!

i'm so relieved that it's actually happening... i can't wait to meet our little one.

[IntuitiveJamie]

Yay!!!
I was wondering who was in labor on labor day! You never know you might still have this baby toDaY. I wouldn't be suprised. Sending you lots of great, QUICK labor vibes! Please update if you can!!! Good luck!

[danaalex]

that's great news! i am so glad things are moving in the right direction for you.

i can barely walk at this point. i'm about to get in the tub, but i am not having any good or real pattern so i am not hopeful that anything is going to organize itself tonight. i did convince DH to stay home tomorrow and wed, to help with kids, school, and just in case.

i keep envisioning my water breaking and the head being right there.

[lactivist]

Hooray! I hope you are already holding your baby!
Wendi