What am I leaking?

[GooeyRN]

It is not pee. Its not enough to believe it is my amniotic fluid. It seems TOO much to be just cervical fluid. Its thin and clear with a trace of mucus. I have been having light contractions FOREVER now. (about 5 weeks, with little breaks) This is frustrating!

[joannalovesyou]

i vote amniotic fluid. it comes as a gush for some ladies and a steady dribble for others.

:::

[dcgrl]

I vote AF, too. Exciting!

[Undercover Hippie]

Hmm, I dunno! I know I feel my undies and/or pad seem kind of damp all the time these days, but I don't actually seem to be leaking anything. Yours sounds more promising! Have you talked to your OB/MW?

[sorteep]

ohhh sounds like af... yay for labor, hopefully..

[GooeyRN]

I didn't call the MW. It stopped, whatever it was. So I guess it isn't AF. I am having regular contractions that are a bit more intense than usual, but I am still not getting my hopes up. I guess time will tell.

[renaissanceed]

Hugs. Hoping that it does mean something, even if it's slow in starting.

[GooeyRN]

Now I am leaking more of it. It seems mucusy, no odor. (definatly NOT pee, and it is coming from my vaging.) Still lightly contracting. I don't know what to do. I am supposed to work nightshift tonight (I go in for 7pm). I don't want to call off it is nothing. (I dont' want to deal with all of the phone calls that would come tomorrow asking what sex the baby is, etc. I will feel like a goof if it was just false labor and cervical fluid.) It would cause a staffing problem, but there are still a few hours to find coverage so I wouldn't feel TOO bad. But I don't want to go to work and then create a staffing crisis if I had to leave urgently. That I would feel bad about. My mom is to come and watch my dd while I am at the hospital. Its a 1.5 hour drive from her house to mine, so I need to give her plenty of warning. I don't want her to have to miss work for nothing, either. sigh. I just don't know what to do.

[chrysalis]

that doesn't sound like cervical 'fluid'. mucous is mucous as far as i know, and not thin like AF. it does sound like drip/trickles...it may come and go.....you also said ctx's are getting stronger....i'd think ctx's will get stronger as you leak more...your body knows what to do. hang in there...i'd call in work and stay home.............i know its annoying for everyone to think there is baby real shortly thereafter if you call in thinking AF/labor but you know what...that is how it goes and they will have to edumacate themselves if they are that lame about baby being here sooner than baby arrives. focus on YOU and baby...never mind them. baby could be plugging a lot of the AF from coming out right now...so that explains the delays/light trickling...keep us posted mama. thinking of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! it was so cool to have my water break. i didn't have that w/ megh and i was sooo glad it happened. man there is a LOT of AF in there. and i leaked all the way thru labor on thru birthing. did you know your body keeps making more? my AF cleared a lot towards the end which was great........keep on trekkin'. rest up. you'll need it. you'll be holding your babe in no time.
HUGS.

[chrysalis]

gooey i hope you are in labor and not at work. hopefully that is why we haven't heard more from you mama. thinking of you!!!

[GooeyRN]

I went to work. I just got home. I don't think its labor. I had a little more fluid leak, but not much. Contractions are 5 mins apart but they aren't very strong at all. I can still do whatever I want, the pain doesn't stop anything. sigh. I guess I just wait some more!

[LittleBrownDog]

A friend of mine had something similar, she even went to the hospital to make sure it wasn't AF- and it was her third baby! They determined it was her mucous plug breaking down and it was just very very watery for her rather than chunks of mucous like some people get. Either way, sounds like something is gearing up!

[joannalovesyou]

Originally Posted by LittleBrownDog

They determined it was her mucous plug breaking down and it was just very very watery for her rather than chunks of mucous like some people get.

ohhhhh. that sounds logical. i bet it's that.

[GooeyRN]

I was thinking that. Earlier when I went to the bathroom the stuff was a bit more mucusy than fluid like. I lost some mucus a few weeks ago, I guess i am loosing the rest of the plug now.

[lisarussell]

I totally vote for AF. Do you know that if you spring a little leak, and baby's head is fully engaged, it isn't GOING to gush at all. the GUSH happens when there's nothing plugging up the pathway. If baby's head is firmly engaged, there isn't much room for anything else to come through.

AF smells a bit sweet I've heard, but mine has only ever broken in the depths of labor, so I can't really remember a scent.

Teeny bits of mucous are dislodging as baby's head presses down upon the cervix, it softens up and loses its "hold" the plug isn't one solid thing like a cork. It's more like a wax seal slowly melting away. You get big pieces, you get small pieces, you get long stretchy slivers of goop.

You're on the way, girl.

Don't insert anything into your vagina right now, because you don't know when ctx will start and keep an eye on your temperature. If you're a doctor-and-hospital birthing kind of girl they will want to birth in the next 24-48 hours, so keep that in mind when you casually ask them if this is or isn't amniotic fluid. If you're a more natural type, just celebrate that this is the beginning of "it" and enjoy your labor!