[Gismobabe]

I just wanted to check if all of you have the feeling that your own labor follows its own tendencies or if you have had a birth that was completely different.

My past 3 births all started with my water breaking and no contractions

They all started before my due date (2 days, 13 days, 13 days)

My labor takes relatively long (27 hours, 4 hours, 11 hours)

I am hoping for something different this time: contractions before membrane rupture (taking Vitamin C for it) and a short labor....

 

[~Katie~]

Some similarities and some big differences. Not enough to make me think there's really much of a predictive pattern to it or anything to indicate when labor will start, I'm prepared to be surprised this time.

My first labor started out of the blue on my due date and lasted about 11.5 hours, early labor started around 2pm and hard contractions at 5pm. I had AROM but my water would have likely broke while I was pushing. He solidly engaged during labor.

My second labor started around 36.5 weeks with contractions every night, I had one episode of bloody show. By 37.5 weeks I was 5cm and then everything stopped until I hit 39/4. I woke up that morning with a backache and bloody show. My contractions started sometime after 5pm and she was born 4 hours later, water broke while pushing. She dropped very early, I want to say she was engaged by 30 weeks.

I've had mild contractions for about a week and a half now. I'm 3-4cm and about 75% effaced, that's pretty typical for a multipara. This baby solidly engaged a few days ago after moving in and out of my pelvis for the last couple of weeks. I'm 38/3, I expect to still be pregnant next week.

 

[scheelimama]

Mine have all been pretty different.

#1 Was induced at 41 weeks and took 36 hours.

#2 Slow, steady, gradually increasing contractions, 4 days early, 5 hours of active labor.

#3 Membranes stripped and sex at 40 weeks caused sudden and hard contractions, 4 hours of active labor.

#4 Water broke 9 days early, went into labor 6 hours later, 1.5 hours of active labor.

I have no idea what to expect this time, but feel like it could be very soon. I've been incredibly crampy the last few days.

 

[greenmama66]

Labor 1. Midwife broke my water to start labor as I was 10 days late with twins and fed up. First twin born 4.5 hours later. Born in my tub. Second twin born 1 hour and 10 minutes later on my bed- ran out of hot water.

Labor 2. Mild contractions started, 1.5 hours later son born. Born on due date in caul in my tub.

Labor 3. Mild contractions started, daughter born after 4 hours of contractions. Born on due date, water broke when pushing, in my tub.

Labor 4. Very mild and irregular contractions for 2 days- prodromal labor- when labor pattern kicked in finally son born after 3 hours of regular contractions. Born a few days before due date. Water broke sitting on toilet at 8 cm dilation, born in my tub.

 

[melinstar]

A little off topic, but how do you know the baby is "solidly engaged"? I was induced at 40/5 first pregnany, and never had a natural contraction or felt "lightening" or what I would think was engagement (water broken by doc at some point between 2pm start of pit till 11:30pm delivery, I was only 1cm before start of pit). I'm 37/6 now, and been having about a week of mild, sporadic contractions, and no feeling of engagment.....although I'd be curious to know what that feels like (if it can be described). Perhaps it's something I'll know when it happens?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Katie~

Some similarities and some big differences. Not enough to make me think there's really much of a predictive pattern to it or anything to indicate when labor will start, I'm prepared to be surprised this time.

My first labor started out of the blue on my due date and lasted about 11.5 hours, early labor started around 2pm and hard contractions at 5pm. I had AROM but my water would have likely broke while I was pushing. He solidly engaged during labor.

My second labor started around 36.5 weeks with contractions every night, I had one episode of bloody show. By 37.5 weeks I was 5cm and then everything stopped until I hit 39/4. I woke up that morning with a backache and bloody show. My contractions started sometime after 5pm and she was born 4 hours later, water broke while pushing. She dropped very early, I want to say she was engaged by 30 weeks.

I've had mild contractions for about a week and a half now. I'm 3-4cm and about 75% effaced, that's pretty typical for a multipara. This baby solidly engaged a few days ago after moving in and out of my pelvis for the last couple of weeks. I'm 38/3, I expect to still be pregnant next week.

 

[SuburbanHippie]

#1 Induced 4 days early, but was already contracting regularly when I got to the hospital 4 hour labor

#2 Induced on due date, hooked up to pit for 7 hours with no ctx, went pee & ctx started, 2 hour labor

#3 Induced 10 days early due to pre-e, hooked up to pit for 5 hours, they broke my water & labor hit hard, 5 hour labor

#4 Induced myself 2 days after due date with castor oil to avoid pitocin induction set up for 2 days later, started ctx 4 hours after my "shake," 6 hour labor

This time my OB wants to induce me at 39 weeks by hooking me up to pit and breaking my water right away.

We had words over that one. She has since agreed to wait to break my water until after I get an epidural. So if I never agree to an epidural, then she won't have the chance to break it. I'm so sick of fighting about this delivery with her. You should have heard her reaction to my birth plan. She almost fell over when she heard that we don't vaccinate.

 

[~Katie~]

I'm pretty familiar with cervical checking due to charting and my first midwife taught me quite a bit about dilation, effacement, and station so I'm comfortable doing my own checks. Once they're fully engaged I can reach inside and feel the tops of their heads through the vaginal wall, the lower they are the less reaching up I have to do. With this baby I can still feel a little bit of forewaters in front but much less than last week. It's actually pretty cool really

External indication of dropping or lightening would be feeling the baby's butt much lower and developing a shelf above their bum, you can also tell by feeling where their head is from the outside in relation to your pubic bone by taking your forefinger and thumb and sort of grasping on either side. A lot of women have a sensation of fullness is their pelvis, I like to call it "softball in the crotch"

Quote:

Originally Posted by melinstar

A little off topic, but how do you know the baby is "solidly engaged"? I was induced at 40/5 first pregnany, and never had a natural contraction or felt "lightening" or what I would think was engagement (water broken by doc at some point between 2pm start of pit till 11:30pm delivery, I was only 1cm before start of pit). I'm 37/6 now, and been having about a week of mild, sporadic contractions, and no feeling of engagment.....although I'd be curious to know what that feels like (if it can be described). Perhaps it's something I'll know when it happens?

 

[greenmama66]

I also like to do my own cervical checks but I can't reach this time , cervix still posterior, baby not engaged but still floating as midwife said last week his head is still moveable (I am 37 weeks and measure 39.5 weeks so either he's larger or it's because he hasn't dropped but his head is way down there right in the middle). I also check my cervix when I'm in labor, feel the suture lines and all.

 

[~Katie~]

I've been measuring bigger all along and this baby continues to do so despite being engaged. I measured 39 last week at my 37 week visit. I'm wondering if position and where the placenta is (posterior) have something to do with measuring larger. At my 36 week visit I measured 37 but baby was ROA with legs stretched out to my left, last week they were OA. I measured pretty much spot on with DS and never measured bigger than 36 with DD, they were both 7lb. babies. So either position/placenta or I'm going to have a 10lb. baby

 

[greenmama66]

Katie, I never measured over 36 weeks as well with my other singleton babies either (all were 7 lbs or a bit over 7 lbs) but this is a different father and he weighed 10.9 at birth so it's likely this baby is larger. My placenta was posterior early on in pregnancy but now it's anterior (kind of wraps around toward front).

 

[~Katie~]

The biggest difference for me is the Brewer diet this time. I really didn't eat a whole lot of protein with my other pregnancies and I never had a huge appetite, I really forced myself to consume more to meet the guidelines of the diet and all that protein had to have done something different I would think. For my other two I had a fundal placenta and a slightly anterior placenta that stayed to my left side. My husband was a huge baby as were his siblings but my MIL went far over her due date with all of them. I'll be interested to see how big our babies are!

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenmama66

Katie, I never measured over 36 weeks as well with my other singleton babies either (all were 7 lbs or a bit over 7 lbs) but this is a different father and he weighed 10.9 at birth so it's likely this baby is larger. My placenta was posterior early on in pregnancy but now it's anterior (kind of wraps around toward front).

 

[greenmama66]

I've always kept protein levels at 85-100 grams per day each pregnancy (except the twins where I did 120 grams) but still had small (7lbs and 7.5 lbs babies) but my ex was very tiny man so no wonder. Yes I will be interested to see how big our babies are.

 

[melinstar]

Thanks, Katie! Those internal investigations are way too advanced for me, but so cool you can do all that yourself. I'm going to feel around for exterior signs, and hoping for the softball crotch feeling this time around!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~Katie~

I'm pretty familiar with cervical checking due to charting and my first midwife taught me quite a bit about dilation, effacement, and station so I'm comfortable doing my own checks. Once they're fully engaged I can reach inside and feel the tops of their heads through the vaginal wall, the lower they are the less reaching up I have to do. With this baby I can still feel a little bit of forewaters in front but much less than last week. It's actually pretty cool really

External indication of dropping or lightening would be feeling the baby's butt much lower and developing a shelf above their bum, you can also tell by feeling where their head is from the outside in relation to your pubic bone by taking your forefinger and thumb and sort of grasping on either side. A lot of women have a sensation of fullness is their pelvis, I like to call it "softball in the crotch"