You’ve probably noticed already how no one can say WORD ONE about a childbirth experience without LOTS of other people chiming in. There’s a certain “flock of chickens” charm to it. I notice it most often with a new mother who is trying to tell her childbirth story, and she gets to say only about half a sentence at a time because all the other mothers keep jumping in to say how that half a sentence is or is not the same as how their labors went. It’s automatic and unpreventable, and it MATTERS NOT if you have heard these stories MANY TIMES BEFORE: you will hear them again anyway.
I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw Jonniker‘s Twitter update about how she was off to Labor & Delivery because her water had broken with a weird pop first thing that morning—and I was irresistibly compelled to EMAIL HER to tell her that OMG, that’s how MY first labor started over ten years ago WE ARE PRACTICALLY SISTERS!!! Now I’m picturing that weird little email sitting in her inbox while she’s, you know, GIVING BIRTH, and unaware as yet of this AMAZING COINCIDENCE. Maybe I should see if I can find out the number of her hospital? Or I could just contact the local news.
Well. Anyway. Here is the question I have for you today: If YOU have ever gone into labor, how did it start? What was the FIRST THING? Feeling funny? A contraction? Water breaking? Did it wake you in the middle of the night, or was it first thing in the morning, or were you going about your day, or were you at a doctor appointment? Did you know right away that it was labor, or did you look back afterward and say, “AH yes! That WAS labor!”
If you’ve never gone into labor but are eager to join in the discussion (I myself feel a little sad if there’s a question and I’m not eligible to answer it), you could also write about what was the first thing that happened in your mother’s labor with YOU, or the first thing that happened in a friend or relative’s labor. Everyone can play!
I was at work and started having contractions every couple hours or so. I was fairly certain they were contractions but this was confirmed that afternoon when I went in for my weekly check-up and the doctor said I might deliver before he went off-call at midnight. That didn’t happen. I labored all day at work and through the night at home and then went to the hospital in the a.m. and gave birth to The Boy around noon.
Funny side note about laboring at work: My husband and I both work for a newspaper; I’m a reporter and he’s an editor. I’d been killing time for months, just trying to fill up my days so I didn’t have to take leave, but the day I finally went into labor, my husband gave me WORK. He said, “Can you do this? It’s kind of complicated and has to be in tomorrow’s paper,” and I said, “Sure, but you know I might be in labor, so a back up might be a good idea.” He missed the sarcasm. So I worked my butt off all day and ended up with a front-page story the day I gave birth.
Oooh, me! Me! I had the funny pop and the gushing water with the first, and the funny pop and the trickling water with the second.
The weird thing is, with the first one, I got to the hospital several hours later I was 5 cm with no pain. The baby was breech so I had a c-section, but I always thought, oh, the VB would have been so EASY, it didn’t hurt a bit.
THEN, with the second, I raced to the hospital and was there about 15 minutes later at 2 cm and I thought I was going to DIE from the pain. I was begging them to hit me over the head with a 2 x4, like on the A-team when they needed to get Mr. T’s character to fly. Wow, I have definitely had too many margaritas.
I had the exact same impulse – that Jonna simply MUST KNOW that I, too, had a 5 AM water breaking with a pop as the start of labor.
Hmm, well #1 was induced because I was pretty over due. #2 was induced for stupid reasons, and I didn’t repeat that mistake with #3. With him, I had false labor for several days and the night before I was almost ready to go to the hospital and they stopped again. I decided to go out to dinner with my girlfriends, as we had planned, and started having closer, stronger contractions during dinner. I wasn’t hungry or eating, just talking with the girls and timing contractions. hehe
Finally, they were about 2 minutes apart and one of my friends drove me to the hospital.
I called D and he met me there. That was about 9-10PM and baby was born at 2:34AM.
All three were induced. I kept waiting and wanting to have one of those “It was the middle of the night, and I woke up feeling funny…” stories. But alas.
The morning before my due date I went to the OB, got my membrane sweep and went home at 2 centimeters and 20% effaced. About 4pm after eating a load of Taco bell (soory delivery nurse) I all the sudden wet my pants, luckily I was in the kitchen off the carpet. By the time I called the OB office, showered, loaded the car, drove to the hospital, and checked in I was contracting every 2-3 minutes.
You’re right. I just can’t resist! First child was induced and so all I felt for the first hour was the intense urge to poop. Then I started having contractions – 3 every 90 seconds. My water didn’t break until about twelve hours later and my baby was delivered 24 hours later via c-section. Second was a planned c-section but the night before I was supposed to have the baby I lost my mucus plug around 10pm. By midnight I started having contractions starting every half hour and increasing through the night to every 5 minutes by 7am. But those contractions were much more manageable than in my first delivery. I stayed at home, slept between contractions, and then went in to the hospital a few hours earlier than scheduled and had my c-section. I remember thinking that it felt much more natural. I know it would have gotten a lot more painful but I dilated to 4cm on my own without losing my mind that time. With my first I had thousands of contractions with no progress for at least 15 hours. I’m convinced my body just wasn’t ready to deliver her yet – I was induced at 38 weeks because I’m diabetic.
Ok, so that was really my whole labour story. I couldn’t stop myself! :) Oops! (Shannon@livinginthegray.com)
Kid # 1 – water broke 5 weeks early after a middle of the night pee. Thought I was still peeing myself until it wouldn’t stop.
Kid # 2- Was induced for pre-eclampsia at 38 weeks.
Kind of boring “going into labor” stories, eh?
With my first, I just felt kind of sick and went to lay on the couch. Pretty soon it progressed into contrx every 2 min, and I was 6 cm by the time we got the hospital. With baby #2, I was having stronger pain than usual (thought they were still braxton hicks) and my water broke when I stood up to go pee. I was just thinking through my labors last night, when I heard Jonna was at L&D!
i had the worst pregnancy from the very start, but the best and easiest actual delivery. the “labor” started at 32 weeks with a gush of scary red blood, followed by 6 weeks of bed rest (oh, terrible bed rest, the thing a mother of a morning-loving two year old now dreams of).
after that it was easy- a 5 hour or so pain free labor (thanks epidural), a little pushing, and a healthy little girl at almost 39 weeks. i was lucky, i know!
Oh fun– I get to share, even though my labors were twenty years ago?
Baby #1- I had a back ache all day and didn’t realize till bedtime that it was probably contractions. Baby was born at one-something AM after hard back labor. The doctor couldn’t decide if the baby was three weeks early or five weeks early. (All through the summer he had kept changing my due date, which was a little annoying.)
Baby #2- Went into labor six weeks early and didn’t know any better than to just let it happen. Had mild contractions all afternoon and evening and all night. Went to the hospital in the morning and gave birth around 3 in the afternoon. It sounds bad, but it was actually a pretty easy labor and delivery. And this was my only baby to be born in the DAYTIME, which was a big plus.
Baby #3- Had Braxton Hicks regularly almost as soon as I found out I was pregnant, all the way until delivery. Had to stay off my feet for several months. Went into labor six weeks early, but this time the doctor stopped them and gave me horrible medicine to keep me from going into labor, which I had to take for three weeks– only three (instead of six) because baby insisted on getting out then. However, with all that medicine in my system it was like my body forgot how to have real contractions and I was in labor for a very long time. Like, I thought he would be born in the evening on Sunday, and instead he was born at night on Monday… :p
Baby #4- Same song another verse: I went into labor six weeks early, hospital visit, IV and other medicine to stop labor. Two weeks before due date, at eleven o’clock at night, my water suddenly broke. Contractions started about an hour later, and at three-something AM baby arrived.
There. Even though by now I can’t remember all those details about cm’s and effacement and stuff, that’s still probably more than you needed to know, but like you say: it’s compelling. Me too! I did it too! Here’s what happened to me! I guess it’s the sisterhood of giving birth. Thanks for letting us all tell our stories!
For the first I was up late reading, and GUSH. I was 6 weeks early, so very surprised! ( no worries, she is a perfectly healthy junior in college now).
The second, a slight backache for a day or so, then I was induced when he was 4 days late.
Opposites fir sure!
With my first two, the very first sign was my water breaking – once in a store, once in a store parking lot. With my third I woke up at regular time with contractions that were already 1.5 minutes apart.
Induced with all three so I guess the FIRST thing was the sting of pitocin in my veins.
It’s true I have to force my mouth shut during birth stories so I don’t interrupt. But I LOVE hearing them!
First of all, I’m cracking up, because the ad on the side of your site has a woman with a green speech bubble that says, “How much info is TOO much?” HA!
With our first baby, I was having contractions from about 3.5 months. I just didn’t know they were contractions, because I had never done this before. At 32 weeks I was 3cm and 70% effaced, so I was put on bedrest. I made it another four weeks, until one night I got up at midnight to use the bathroom. I sat down and peed. A lot. And thought to myself, man, I haven’t peed that much in MONTHS. And then thought to myself, Beth, that’s not pee. But didn’t have any contractions for another hour.
I proceeded to wake my husband, touch up my make-up and curl my hair (people take pictures at these occasions, after all!) while my husband freaked out.
We made it to the hospital at 1:30am, baby girl was born at 4:48am. Crazy fast for a first, thank God Almighty for epidurals.
With our second baby, I just started having contractions closer and closer, almost like you read about in books. We went to the hospital, but since my water had not broken I stalled out for a few hours. Blessed epidural – I didn’t even care that I stalled! Once my doctor broke my water, I delivered in 27 minutes. Done.
So, Swistle, what are your stories?? :D (Maybe write it as an update so we all can read :)?)
Well of course I have to post now!
With my first, my water broke at 2:55 am. I thought I had peed in bed! Labor started shortly after my water broke. It wasn’t a gush, just a slow leak. On the way to the hospital is when the leaking water so conveniently really started to almost gush! She was born at 1:43 pm. I had an epidural with her.
With my second daughter, I woke up at my normal time (7 ish) crampy. I started timing then and realized that they were pretty consistent. I had my first daughter (2.5 years old now) help me breathe through contractions. We got to the hospital at 10:00 am. My first daughter stayed with me until she left for lunch and a nap. We have pictures of her helping me breathe through contractions which are some of my favorite! My second daughter was born at 3:44 pm. No drugs this time, by choice. It was wonderful!
And that’s the short version!
I had only been asleep for about 1/2 an hour when I felt a pop and a gush. I flew straight out of bed and ran down the hall to the bathroom. I didn’t know I could move that fast that big!
My husband considers himself a true man of steel because he can sit through labor and delivery stories. He’s also learned to slip away as soon as one woman mentions childbirth, because he knows that the conversation — with my enthusiastic participation — will go on for a very long time.
I’ve had only one labor to go right: my first. I was asleep and woke up to a strange thump, and then the first contraction squeezed me. “Oh, that hurt,” I said. 4 1/5 hours later, my daughter was born.
(With the other two, my water broke but nothing happened for a long time, and I ended up with c-sections. Blah. By the way, the blithe reassurance of pregnancy books notwithstanding, I would not have wanted to be in public when my water broke. It was no mere trickle.)
Grinding to a halt now…
Midnight water pops, both times. The first time I went straight to the hospital and they weren’t even sure my water had broken (puddle on my bathroom floor notwithstanding). They sent me home and said to sleep and come back at 10am. I did not sleep at all (because I was in LABOR) and made my husband take me back at 6am. My daughter was born at 9am.
Second time was harder because my son was a full pound bigger (mostly head, I believe), was facing the wrong way (back labor), and had a very short umbilical cord. Every time I had a contraction he would squeeze down a bit and then get yanked back up. At one point I UNdilated half a centimeter. I don’t tell this one to first-time moms because they hear plenty of “hardest labor ever” stories.
Well you and I are practically soulmates–my water ALSO popped except for me it was when I was out to dinner. At a restaurant. With my parents. I win.
Baby #1 water broke in Chili’s. It was like sitting on a water balloon- pop! And I didn’t get to eat. (I had worked a 12 hour shift and I was hungry!)
Baby #2 woke up from a nap with bloody show. Contractions were already 2 minutes apart. But, I labored forever- contractions 1 minute apart for 12 hours and they wouldn’t give me an epidural becuase I was “already at 9.5 centimeters”. Yeah. Not fun to be that dilated, for that long, with no pain meds! Finally, the anesthesiologist caved. I had an epidural for 30 minutes and she was out.
My water broke in the middle of the night. I felt a little pop but nothing really happened. I spent 45 minutes on the computer and reading my books trying to figure out if my water actually had broken since there wasn’t much going on. Soon the contractions started so I woke up the husband who went into panic mode right away. He tried to hustle me out the door but I wanted to make sure everything was straightened for the relatives I was sure would be at our house while I was in the hospital. I finally relented and got in the car. Peanut was born about 14 hours later.
Baby 1: huge gush when my water broke. I was 38 weeks and doing kick counts in bed, freaking because the baby wasn’t moving much. Then I started to feel a little wet and raced (as much as a 9 month preggie woman can) to the bathroom. No question it was my water breaking. But I wasn’t dilated or effaced, and nothing happened until I was induced that night. It only took 6 hours from the time I had the pitocin till I was pushing. But then it was 3 hours of pushing…with no epidural.
Baby 2: she was a stinker. Kept feeling like my water broke in a trickle–and the docs kept saying no. She had me in false labor for 4 days–contractions got as close as 6-7 minutes, and then backed off to every 10. Again, I wasn’t sure what was going on, because of being induced the first time. Then I woke up at 4:30 with horrible cramps and feeling like I was going to throw up. When I peed, it felt like I was still going. Didn’t wake up the hubby for a good hour, b/c I wanted to be sure. Then we went back and forth as to whether I should go to the hospital or wait until the ob office opened at 8:30. We decided to go b/c I was in excruciating pain, and by the time I got to the hospital at 7:30, I was almost 5cm. Baby girl 2 was born 5 hours later, with the help of an epidural.
Totally different experiences! And I am a little sad writing about this, because we are probably done having babies.
I didn’t even believe I was in labor, I guess because I was convinced that there would be a pop and a gush as my water broke, and that I would feel big contractions in my belly. My labor started out around 11 at night, when I woke up feeling nauseated and with “cramping” in my low back. I spent a lot of time throwing up and complaining that it felt like I had to poop before I let my husband call my midwife. At 2PM the following day, they finally convinced me to go to the birth center, and as we were driving there I was still insisting, “Marcia’s going to tell me I’m just constipated and send me home.” Instead she said, “Honey, you’re five centimeters. Now do you believe you’re in labor?” And I never really felt the contractions in my belly, and my water didn’t pop until I’d been in labor for almost 24 hours (there was a definitely ‘popping’ sensation, though.)
I was induced at 41 weeks so I have no idea what it’s like to go into labor on your own. BUT! Funny aside. A few weeks before I had Bub I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. I wouldn’t notice them sometimes and other times I would. I got worried that I wouldn’t know when I was having a real contraction. After having many hours of real contractions all I have to say to that is Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha.
#1 was a scheduled c-section because he had the bad grace to flip into a kneeing breech position at 39w6d. I never had any Braxton Hicks contractions or anything.
#2 was a VBAC. I had B-H’s for a week & was begining to wonder if I would have any clue if I went into real labor. Then one morning at exactly 6am I woke up to a huge *snap* from my uterus and I had my first real contraction. It felt like a snap, it even sorta sounded like a snap, and I certainly knew that I was in real labor. My water held off breaking until I was bouncing on the labor ball at the hospital, thank god because what a huge bloody mess that was. 5.5 hours after the snap #2 arrived
Well, my mom says that I gave her a swift kick and that’s when her water broke, which to me doesn’t make a lot of sense since I wasn’t breech, but ANYWAYS…
My labor started with an hours-long afternoon walk around my neighborhood, the kind of walk I had been taking each of the TWENTY days I was overdue. I always had contractions on my walk and then they would die down at home. It was frustrating. It was about 9:30pm when I realized that they weren’t quieting down this time and from there, labor came on fast and furious. My son was born less than 7 hours later after a majorly scary emergency c-section.
Since he decided to arrive so late and with a tiny placenta and we had a very complicated delivery, all my future babies will be scheduled c-sections (which is FINE BY ME, thankyouverymuch).
I was induced with #1 so didn’t really get any of that.
With #2, it was thinking I ate something bad- not really contractions, but just that crampy yuck feeling, accompanied by diarrhea. I guess my body was cleaning itself out and getting ready. My son was born five hours later and I didn’t realize for so long it was actually labor that I didn’t get to the hospital in time for meds, and the doctor almost wasn’t there.
Ooh, LOVE. I find myself COMPELLED to tell my labor story, because, please, how can I not? I suspect I will also squeeze “and delivery” in there at the end.
My favorite going-into-labor story (of my TWO), is my second: I worked all day, went to the staff Christmas party that night, all the time feeling uncomfortable (nine months pregnant, etc.). The stupid Christmas party food was LATE so all I got was a couple of bites of salad and some bread before having to rush off, jetset style, to my three-year-old’s Christmas program. Which was in a hot and crowded auditorium where I had to stand at the back, shifting back and forth from foot to foot, increasingly and increasingly uncomfortable as my Braxton Hicks got ever more, um, noticeable. By the time the twenty-minute program was done, I was wincing. By cookies and juice and conversation I was in NO MOOD for any of them. On the way to the car I started saying things like “I think we need to go to the hospital RIGHT NOW.”
So then we went home and my husband MADE A SANDWICH. Forty minutes after we finally got to the hospital my daughter was born
I love you Swistle – I’m getting a big fresh cup of decaf to sit down and read all these stories! Eeeee!
Yay! Totally delurking to answer this question because, as you said, I just can’t resist.
With both of my boys my water broke. With my first, I was a lot more calm than I expected I would be, phoned my husband and unloaded the dishwasher while I awaited his return. After 20 hours of labour I ended up with a c-section that time.
The second time, three weeks before my due date I was having trouble sleeping and tossing and turning in bed. I finally fell asleep probably around 11:30 and my husband woke me up at midnight to ask me to move over. I remember lying awake plotting to kill him for waking me up when I had to get up to use the bathroom. I knew right away what the feeling I was having was – my water had broken. We waited until the morning and after no contractions headed to the hospital and ended up with a c-section a second time with number two.
oh fun! i love reading thest types of things!
with my first i rolled over at 3 am, heard a pop, went to the bathroom & realized my water broke (i joked a LOT about going to into labor at 3 am, guess i jinxed myself). we had just picked up my mom from the airport 5 hours before so we didn’t get much sleep. we went to the hospital & i was in labor for 18 hours with NO progression even on pitocen. so c-section it was. he was ginormus, 9 lbs on the dot.
with my daughter i was 35 weeks 6 dats on a saturday, laying on the couch with this uncomfortable pressure in my hips. all day. no contractions. called the on call doc & she told me to go to the hospital & get checked. i was having contractions but they didn’t want to let me have her that day so they gave me that shot that stops contractions. i went home & slept for about 4 hours & woke up in PAIN. PAIN folks. waited for a few hours, there really wasn’t anything to time. so at 10:30 we go back. they admitted me. the nurse kept using that strip to see if my water had broken cause i told her it had, but the strip came up negative each time. finally at 4 am she tried a new pack of the stips and whaddayaknow, it was positive. i was in surgery for c section 40 minutes later.
Oh, how fun!
Baby 1: We were late for work and got pulled over for a ticket. Then when I got to work I started feeling a weird low pain. It pretty soon they were regular contractions about 4 min apart. I kept teaching and pausing everytime one would hit for a few hours. I was so afraid it wasn’t really labor I waited 3 hours at work, then went home for another 3 hours. I wouldn’t let anyone wheel me into the hospital, in case I wasn’t really in labor.
Baby #2 I was induced. Because I have scoliosis and they had a hard time with the epidural the first time, they gave me the epidural before the pitocin. So I never felt a single pain! 5 hours later she was born! Awesome labor.
My water has never broken on its own, my big fear is having my water break in front of a class of teenagers.
I love labor stories!
Mine is here.
With my first, Adelay, I had my 36 wk. appt. (after a month of bedrest) and the dr. said that he expected to see me at the hospital that night. He was right! I woke up around midnight with a lot of cramping and back pain, and was up pacing the house and even kneeling against the couch, moaning, but there was nothing to actually TIME- I’d been having real contractions on and off for a month, so I knew what they felt like, and this was different, just this low, constant pain and pressure. I finally woke Jim up around two in the morning and we got to the hospital around three. My pain went away once I got in the car, and I felt perfectly fine all the way through the registration and gowning and IV process. But when they checked me, I was six cm. and completely effaced, so… labor! She was born five hours later.
With Eli, I had false labor for like a week before he was born. I was four cm. dilated by then so I kept thinking this HAD to be it, but it wasn’t. The night I finally decided I WAS having this kid (I had begun having bloody show and stuff) I just refused to go to bed and made the contractions keep going until finally at six in the morning we went to the hospital. They broke my water eventually, because the contractions just WOULDN’T get stronger or closer, and then I had him about two hours later.
I woke up first thing in the morning with mild cramps that came back every couple of minutes and then went away, and I just KNEW.
My water never did break, always been bitter about that one.
I woke up around 4 a.m. with contractions that I thought were just BH, but they continued to get stronger and stronger. I went in to L&D to get checked actually thinking I’d get sent home but lo and behold I was 4 CM dilated with a bulging bag, so I got to stay!
We are SISTERS! My first, 8 years ago, started with the weird pop of my water breaking…
I never got the fun water break. It just started out with contractions really far apart, then closer together. Just lots and lots of boring contractions until I ended up with a c-section about 28 hours later. Fun! (Look at me: such a downer!)
I do love to talk about different people’s labor and deliveries, though.
my water broke with a very slow, almost imperceptible leak…i just assumed i was having pregnancy related incontinence issues and went about my day. the larger gush came about 5-6 hours later in a restaurant parking lot right after eating a burrito. i still wasn’t sure this was it so i called the doctor, who told me to get my butt to labor and delivery! :-) after waiting a few hours to see if labor would begin on its own, i was induced, and the muchkin was born about 7 hours later :-)
Both times I had just gone to bed when my water broke. I have often wondered if labor would have been easier if I’d had a good night’s sleep first, or what passes for one in late pregnancy. But I was too surprised to think much about this at the time as I was 3 and 6 weeks early respectively.
On my due date I decided we needed to actually clean the part of our house that wasn’t under construction. About 10 that evening I was watching TV and got up to pee, and GUSH. It felt so weird and so right at the same time. Called doc, told us to go to hosp. Got epi about 2 or 3? Slept through the rest until 6:30ish when they told me I was all ready to push. Delivered at 8:57 am.
You know that whole statement about how Enemas aren’t needed anymore? Well that was true with me.. at 3:30am on August 9, 2005, I was woken up by THAT urge…
Contraction started… no water breaking. Stayed at home til 8am when Doc’s office opened, was dilated about 4 cm, told to go to hospital, checked in, then waiting another 2.5 hours of painful pictocin induced contractions, then epidural heaven. Pushed from about 2:30pm til 4:53 when Lil S was born.
And I get to do it all again approximately this July 23, 2009. Fun times :)
Yep, my water broke around 2:30 a.m. It took me a second to realize what was happening. I called my doctor and he told me to get to the hospital. I was only 32 weeks 3 days at that point so they held off labor for 2 days while the steroid shots for his lungs kicked in.
I’m excited to read all these comments! I’m now 37 weeks pregnant with my first (a boy) and on total “labor watch”.
It was about 8:30 in the morning and my husband was ironing a shirt for work. I went to the bathroom and something was different . . . no big “pop” but I knew my water had broken. When I went out to tell him, my husband said, “But I have to go to work!”
Labour didn’t even start until 1 the next morning, and my daughter needed a lot of pitocin to get her to make her appearance: face up and 48 hours after the water breaking.
Was induced with #1 three years ago.
Will let you know with #2 because it is time for her to GET OUT NOW PLEASE BABY COME OUT NOW…
Was Overdue….woke up one morning at 230 2/16 with contractions crying. We went to the hospital, they offered me the choice of staying and they induce, or going home. (The contractions weren’t strong enough that I was dilating). There was a chance I wouldn’t progress and they said then a c-section COULD happen IF THAT OCCURED. So I was like NO WAY I’m going home. Next morning same time, same contractions. We went and I was fingertip, so they admitted me and asked if I wanted to be induced. And I was like YES PLEASE and epidural please. I gave birth to my son at 552 that night.
With my daughter she was breach, we scheduled a c section and she turned around the night before. So when we went in they were like whoa she’s down. Do you want to induce or wait a week. I said induce and she was born the next morning. She was sunny side up so that was an experience. But, both happy labors b/c my epidurals worked well and healthy happy babies! And baby girl came a lot faster with the pushing than baby boy.
I love labor stories. So will have to read all these!
I woke up at 5 am with cramps. I sat up, and my water broke. No popping noise though!
At the time, I wasn’t sure I was in labor, but looking back at it, DUH my water broke.
I always wanted the “rushed trip to the hospital” kind of story. However with my first, I was admitted to the hospital at 42 weeks as my amniotic fluid had ‘disappeared’ (didn’t break, didn’t leak) and they planned to induce me the next morning. The medication was literally on my bedside table when labour started naturally. It was a long, semi-complicated labour, which thankfully resulted in a healthy boy.
I’m 35 weeks now and hoping for a more normal labour and delivery story. However, I’ve developed obstetric cholestasis so I’ll likely be induced in the next couple of weeks.
I love labour stories, too!
What a great topic! It was fun to read everyone’s stories.
With #1, my water broke while I was in bed around 2 a.m. I went to the bathroom thinking I had wet the bed–then I woke my husband up and made him help me decide if it was pee or amniotic fluid! I started having some mild contractions and took a shower. We got to the hospital around 4, had the epidural around 11 and she was born at 2:01 p.m.
With #2, I was hoping my water would break because it was so easy to know I was in labor. But instead I had false labor for a week; I got sent home from the hospital once and I was determined not to go back again until I was sure it was real. We were watching American Idol and I waited until it was over at 8 p.m. and my contractions were at 5 minutes apart before agreeing to go. My son was born at 5:59 a.m.
#1 started with a Hollywood-worthy splash/bust of the water all over Hooters! Yep, I said HOOTERS.
Seriously, can I win a prize for that one?
#2 started with cramping at 5:30 am. Didn’t really believe it was labor for a while, but by 6:30 am I knew it was serious. She was born at 7:30 am without medications b/c duh! No time! I’m just lucky I made it to the hospital!
With #1 my water broke right as I was brushing my teeth before bed. It was just a slow trickle, but I knew that’s what it was. When I went downstairs to tell DH he said, “You’re 4 weeks early, that’s not it. Go to bed.” We went to the hospital instead, and DD was born 12 hours later.
With #2 I’d been having irregular contractions for several days, and after a false trip to L&D the night before I noticed that my contrax had gotten to the 5 minutes apart stage while I was grocery shopping. So I went to DH’s office (on the same military base where I was shopping and where I’d deliver, but not where we lived) and laid down on his couch. 15 minutes and a bottle of water later they didn’t go away, so we went to L&D where I was admitted and delivered 3 hours later.
Well, this is tough as I was in labor for a month (as you’ll remember).
At 30 weeks I was having BH contractions every five minutes for hours. The wouldn’t stop and I knew that was a RED ALERT DANGER DANGER and sure enough I was in pre-term labor, hospitalized for a week and on bedrest for the remainder of my pregnancy.
The Real Deal happened 5 1/2 weeks later. Granted, I had been contracting throughout my glorious bed rest, but these contractions were different. Plus I started spotting after my check-up which I had never spotted before ever even with all the invasive stuff I had done to me in the hospital. So that got me thinking. THEN my, um, bathroom situation changed from one end of the spectrum to the other which I also knew was a sign. Finally add back cramps every 3 minutes and I knew this train was leaving the station. This was all over the course of a weekend, and the night before I had Theo I had a TOTAL BREAKDOWN about being on bedrest and not being able to clean the base boards. I was hysterical. I finally waddled to our master bathroom and got on my hands and knees and cleaned the floor and toilet, bedrest be damned. My nesting instinct was so intense at that point, looking back I know that was something too.
Yeah for labor stories!!! And yeah for Jonna and baby Samantha!!!
There is something so delicious about telling your birthing story (over and over and OVER). Here’s mine: I woke up at 4am with what felt like bad period cramps, which continued to get more rhythmic and more painful for the next, oh, TWELVE HOURS. I was pretty proud of myself for getting through the pain with yoga breathing. Once I got to the hospital, my water finally broke on its own, and then my uterus suddenly felt like a bucking bronco. At that point, I was like, *$%&! the yoga breathing! Bring on the drugs, stat! Which they did, and then I was happy and peaceful and had a fabulous experience. Sigh. Good times.
I’m SO excited for Jonniker! Can’t wait to hear her story.
I don’t tell my story often, because it’s the horror story you just don’t tell pregnant women. So if you’re pregnant, STOP NOW!
Okay, so warned. I woke up around 6am and thought, hmm, I think that was a contraction. 20 min later, hmm, I think that was another one. I expected a long early labor and so I was surprised when I was having trouble timing them because they just never seemed to stop! We arrived at the hospital about 9 (3 hrs after my first contraction) and everyone was taking their time asking questions, getting forms etc. Finally the Dr. checked me and I was 9 cm! So proud of myself, got an epidural, and everything stopped–labor, contractions, and the baby’s heart rate. Cue a crash emergency c-section with me under general anesthesia b/c we didn’t have time for the epidural to take full effect. Thankfully, the boy was just fine, and so was I, but it was the scariest moment of my life, being put to sleep and thinking that my baby wasn’t going to make it.
Of course, now he’s an incredibly active almost-2 year old, and I’m wondering about VBAC or scheduled C for #2.
Oh, and Swistle, I’d love to hear your stories!
School had been out for the summer for only 4 days. Around 8:20 am I was feeling like I was having gas pains – not unusual for me at that point. I noticed a smidge of blood in the morning when I went potty. I wondered about it, so I called my doc’s office. He was out all day in surgeries, but I could go to the hospital for a check if I wanted. I did not want. I was scheduled to have a C section in 5 days. I would just wait it out.
I curled up on the couch, but funny thing, my undies kept getting damp. Damn pregnancy! Taking away my dignity by making me leak urine. So glad school is out. I went and got myself a panty liner and arranged myself on the couch again – I had an online anatomy test to study for.
As I studied I grew more and more uncomfortable. I finally figured that I was in labor, but I had to take my test, and my final was the next day! I threw some clothes in the laundry and retrieved my suitcase. Then while the clothes washed I took my test, and shot an email to my prof that I might be in labor, and therefore might not be able to take the final the next day. I threw the clothes in the dryer and headed for the shower.
By the end of my shower I was experiencing moments of significant pain. It was about 1:00. I knew I wouldn’t make it long enough to blow dry my hair, so I tossed my clothes in my suitcase and emailed hubby (who was at work) that I was in significant pain and was going to the hospital.
The hospital was about 30 or 40 minutes from our house. About halfway there, it occured to me that perhaps driving myself wasn’t the best idea. That would have been when I started praying that the pain would be over by the time the light turned green, because I really couldn’t focus my eyes very well during the contractions. I made it to the hospital, but we hadn’t done a hospital tour yet,so I didn’t realize that mothers in labor could park in front of the maternity ward. I headed to the parking garage. On my 2nd circle through I found a spot on the top floor. I grabbed my suitcase and hobbled the block or so to the maternity entrance. Hubby barely made it to the hospital in time for the delivery :). On the good side of things, I didn’t have to wait in the waiting area at all, and they prepped me for surgery AND checked me in at the same time – a very efficient method I must admit.:)
I woke up in the very early morning hours with weird cramps. Like, I felt like I must be getting my period. They were so uncomfortable that I woke up my husband (asleep on the couch, he couldn’t sleep with me and my awful pregnant snoring) and had him come rub my back. I never ever do stuff like that, and yet I don’t remember thinking, “Oh, this must be the beginning of labor.”
When my water did break, it was much much later on, I was already in the hospital and waiting on my epidural. I’d had an ooky enema and was back in bed and felt a big gush. I figured it was just gross stuff and told the nurse, “Um, I’m gushing down there.”
OMG! Jonniker’s in labor! Damn me for not being on Twitter.
I had contractions for a week–real ones but that were not doing a thing. It went on and on forever and I had decided that I would never give birth. And then right as my husband was trying to get me to go to sleep my water broke with a pop.
And I sprinted down the hall. We had just bought a new matress and I hadn’t covered it.
Oh how I love birth stories.
It was early evening, i decided that at 38 weeks pregnant and huge, i MUST clean out the bottom shelf of the fridge. I stood up to take dishes to the sink and a huge gush of water came out. Called the OB, headed to the hospital, had a great c-section and met my kid. Hadn’t even packed my hospital bag yet. Went with my purse and the camera!
Baby # 1 I was induced at 37 weeks due to pre-eclampsia.
Baby # 2 I was induced at 37 weeks because my amniotic fluid was really low and the Dr. just had a “feeling” something was wrong. Turns out baby’s cord was tied in a complete knot!
Baby # 3 I had a c-section at 37 weeks because of pre-eclampsia and baby was breech and I wouldn’t allow them to try and turn him after baby # 2 ended up with a knot after being turned.
So I never made it past 37 weeks and never went into labor on my own!
With my first son my water broke with a gush when I was 31 wks pregnant. I spent a few days in the hospital before giving birth to him.
My daughter went to 38 weeks before my water broke with a trickle. Labor never really got started until they gave me pictocin at the hospital. I ended up with a c-section because her cord was wrapped tightly around her neck, arm, torso and leg! It was an emergency surgery, so I had to be put out for the delivery.
My second son was even more exciting. My water broke when I was 23 wks along. I spent 6.5 weeks in the hospital on bedrest before having him c-sectioned at almost 30 wks.
I am obviously done with the babies since the Breeding Fairy is not kind to me. I’ve had my share of miracles!
With Harper there was no labor. She was breech and an attempt to turn her was unsuccessful, so we trotted off to a planned C-section one morning when I was 39 weeks pregnant.
With Michael, as you know, the whole birth story is kind of s fuzzy mess. I was having contractions on and off while on bedrest for the entire week before he was born. My water broke two weeks before he was born, but leaked out imperceptibly along with the bleeding from my partial abruption. I had regular contractions from Friday morning until Sunday evening when they finally decided I wasn’t going to make any more progress and had a c-section.
Now that we know we won’t be having any more, I’m having trouble getting over the fact that I’ll never have a more normal labor/delivery story.
With my first I was induced
With my second I was trying to get my son up from his nap so we could go to the grocery store. He was being exceptionally pokey that day and as I was walking into my bedroom I felt a little “trickle” and thought ‘hmm…that was weird’ (it was two weeks before my due date) and the trickle turned into a gush and I started to panic a little bit (in the heat of the moment water breaking= baby coming this instant) so I went to grab a pantiliner before I left for the hospital. A pantiliner? Seriously? That’s like using a band-aid to patch the Hoover Dam. I arrived at the hospital with soaking wet shorts sitting on a beach towel.
I love reading everyone’s experiences! Great question :)
With my first, I was induced at @2 in the afternoon about a week early due to low amniotic fluid (BTW, we had made settlement on our first house that morning). Didn’t really hit “real” labor until 4am…Michael arrived around 7am. Baby#2-Well, I went for my weekly doc visit and when she checked me, she asked if I was having contractions, I said “I don’t think so”…she said something like, “You are almost 7cm dialated”. She checked like 3 times because she was shocked. Sent me right over to the hospital. All the nurses were looking at me in disbelief because I just walked right in at about 2pm. All I felt was some pain in my side which I had for at least half of the pregnancy. Then along came Liam at 5:50p.
My tummy tickled. Like a pulling fun kind of tickling… and I didn’t think much of it. For another five hours when I realized it was happening regularly. That started at around 2 or 2:30 in the afternoon while I was at work…. by 11pm, it was so painful I was completely paralyzed (literally) with every contraction but couldn’t dilate past 4cm. *sigh*
I woke up at 5 am with what felt like period cramps. I was pretty sure I was going into labour though because I felt like I had gotten everything squared away the night before and I was a week overdue. You see….the day I was due, our Jeep, our only vehicle caught on fire while I was driving it and burned up completely. It took a week to find, buy and insure a new (to us) car and somehow, even though I was so pregnant it was my job to deal on, secure financing, decide what to buy and do all the paperwork. lucky me. So I finished it all and then I went into labour. I guess that is the long version.
I’ve never been in labor.
But a friend of mine started feeling contractions after having a roast turkey dinner at my house. Because it was her first child, she wasn’t entirely sure at first…but it did result in a baby girl the following morning.
During her second pregnancy, I never served turkey when they were over for dinner.
Was it the turkey or would any big dinner have done the trick? Or mere coincidence?
By the time I was 40 weeks with #1 I think about 90% of my total body mass was baby/belly (or so it looked/felt at the time). My first Hubby was a huge man who came from a family of huge people (not fat by any means, just big/tall/broad shouldered. No man under 6’3 no woman under 5’8) & I am barely 5’3, so I was fairly terrified of giving birth to what I just KNEW would be a giant baby.
Three days after my due date & nothing but false labor pains to show for it, I was standing in my MILs kitchen(we were living with the inlaws at the time as we were both only 18) washing the lunch dishes when all of a sudden POP! My water broke in an incredible gush all over the floor. I was alone in the house(Hubby and inlaws were in the backyard planting tomatoes at the time) and kind of freaked out. I convinced myself that the baby wasn’t really coming yet & I had probably just peed my pants, so I cleaned up the mess, changed clothes/showered quickly, and finished up the dishes.
Contractions started less than 1 hour later, hard and fast and so different from the Braxton Hicks I’d been having for the past month that I knew this was the real thing. They were coming strong about every 5-6 minutes, so I finally told Hubby that I was pretty sure we needed to get to the hospital NOW. MIl tried to tell me that there was no rush since my water hadn’t broken yet and this was my first baby, so things would probably slow down before picking up again later. So we waited about another half hour & the contractions were still regular at 4 minutes apart and so painful I was couldn’t talk through them at all. This is when I mentioned that maybe my water HAD broken already,& I told her about the pop and gush earlier. Everyone kind of freaked out and demanded to know why I hadn’t told anyone at the time. I told them I was convinced I had just peed myself & was too embarrassed to mention it. By this time we were now on the way to the hospital.
By the time I was checked in I was 9cm dilated and it was too late for an epidural! I was terrified. I’ll spare you the graphic details, but suffice it to say I was kicking myself for not getting to the hospital sooner (like as soon as my water broke)!
4 hours of pushing later my daughter was born. 13lbs 4oz 24inches! As soon as she was out my first words were “Never again!” lol lol
I’m now pregnant (6 days overdue, actually) with my 6th (and final!) baby.
P.S. Sorry this is so long! Obviously I need to start my own blog or something. Never realized just how wordy I am!
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Okay, so I am not good at leaving comments. I forgot to write about my second labor so I had to write a second one, but after I posted it, I realized I didn’t write my complete story for baby #1, so I deleted them and am starting over!
With baby #1, who was due 4/21, I mentioned at dinnertime on 3/31 that as tired as I was of being pregnant, I didn’t want him to be an April Fool’s baby. Of course, Austin being Austin, my water broke shortly after midnight. He was a big baby and apparently was tired of living in my body, as well. Anyway, I got up to go to the bathroom and–TMI, I know, but you did ask!–although I THOUGHT I was finished, I kept hearing “tinkling.” So I turned on the light and noticed there was a pinkish tint. We called the hospital and since I wasn’t contracting at all, they said to just go to my scheduled doctor’s appt the next morning. So we put a bunch of towels in the bed, just in case, and I went back to bed. Not too long afterwards, there was a huge GUSH (thank heavens for the towels), so we got up and went to the hospital to have our Fool. Long story short–no contractraction for a while, weak contractions for a while, Pitocin drip, weird hallucinatory drug, epidural, nothing much happened for about 9 more hours, finally dilated completely, pushed for 30 minutes, baby boy arrived healthy and happy almost 22 hours after my water started breaking.
Birth #2 was FAST. My daughter was induced and my water broke and I started contracting HARD almost immediately. But as soon as my epidural was put in, I took a nap after. The nurse woke me up a while later to check me and I was completely dilated, so we waited for the doctor to arrive (she got stopped at a train-track). When she got there, she washed her hands and put on scrubs, and I pushed 2.5 times and out my baby came. Very, very easy labor that was about 2 hours long start to finish, but most of that was spent napping.
I woke up at 7am with bad backache. Then it stopped completely, and I tried to go back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later, bad backache again. Ah.
That carried on pretty much all day long, sometimes more like 20-30 minutes apart, sometimes only 10-15. They didn’t start getting closer together until about 9 or 10pm. Just after 10 we went to the hospital, and I won’t tell the whole long story here, but my daughter was born at 9:55am the next morning.
The midwife broke my waters once I was fully dilated. Who knows when it would have happened by itself.
I think I may never recover from reading Clover’s story. THIRTEEN POUNDS. WITHOUT DRUGS.
I never had anything cool and dramatic like that! With all three of mine, it was just fairly regular contractions getting steadily worse and closer together, and the dawning realization that “hey, this is probably it”. With the first and third (both girls, coincidentally), I went to bed with contractions that eventually woke me up, and we verified our labor suspicions at the doctors office, because I already had appointments scheduled. With the second, I had contractions all day, and ended up calling my husband at work and calmly telling him he needed to come home so we we could go to the hospital. And they broke my water to speed things up with my first, and it broke naturally when I was about 5cm with the second and third.
Ah, good times.
Clover, hats off to you lady! Wow!
Baby #1- I was 5+cm at my scheduled doctor’s appointment on Friday. The doctor said that he’d see me this weekend, and that was that. Saturday passed. Sunday passed. Monday passed. On Monday night, the doctor called me and asked if I was okay. Yup, just fine. Nope, no contractions. Sure, we can schedule an induction for Tuesday. We lived about an hour a way from the hospital in another state and I did not want to have my baby in the car on the freeway. At the hospital they hooked me up to pitocin. I wasn’t feeling a thing and was at around 7cm when the doctor broke me water. That’s when I went from 7 cm to 10 cm in about 3 horrible contractions and my daughter was born 20 minutes and 10 pushes later. No drugs because it was too fast.
Babies #2 and 3- I was 6cm again at my routine doctor visit on Friday. Only this time I had horribly high blood pressure and over the top proteins in my urine. They sent me to the hospital after the visit. I got a bad epidural that did nothing. They broke my water, and 10 minutes later, my son was born. As they were cleaning him off, I got an ultrasound to check baby #2 (weird eerie feeling of being pregnant with only one baby) and he was head down so they told me to push. Out he shot. The doctor wasn’t ready and almost dropped him. The peds were not ready either and she had to hold him up and announce “Baby!” to them so they would come and get him.
So I guess I’ve never actually GONE into labor but am a walking time bomb (doctor’s words, not mine) at the end.
With my first, I had been having irregular cramps all evening, and though labor might be starting. I was 39W 5D, so totally in ANY MINUTE mode. But they stopped around 10pm, so my husband and I went to bed. Then, around midnight, I felt a bubbling sensation in my lady parts and rush to the bath room. There was a SPLASH and a trickle. My water had broken! Contractions started an hour later.
With number 2, I was six days over due. Took some castor oil – nothing. Took some more two days later. I started having contractions 15-25 minutes apart. For TWO DAYS. On the third day (10 days overdue by this point), I raked the leaves in my front yard, and I finally went into active labor. The contractions just got closer together: 12M apart, 10M apart, then 6-7M apart, then 3M apart. This happened over the course of five hours. For the record, I don’t think it was the castor oil or the leave raking. I think the baby was just ready
On of the biggest differences, is that in my first labor, the contractions were initially mild and got much more painful as I progressed. With my second labor, the contractions were more painful to begin with, but did get all that much more painful as I progressed, just more intense.
and that would be LEAF raking. Oh, and with my first, I totally woke my husband and said, “It’s time!” As a joke. Because I’m funny.
First baby came with water breaking as trickle at 5:30 am- but I thought I was leaking urine until contractions started about 30 minutes later. 10 hours of labor later with an hour of pushing and NO drugs my sweet Samuel was born weighing 8lbs. 9 oz.
Second baby came with contractions starting at 2:30 am and laboring at home until 6:00am. When I arrived at the hospital I was 8 cm and then my water broke with a huge pop. 30 minutes later I was 10 cm and I thought piece of cake this second bundle of joy. Boy was I wrong. After pushing for 2 and a half hours drug free our daughter Harper entered the world weighing 8 lbs. 3 oz. Boy did she do a job on me!
First labor, was dilated at a four for SIX weeks. For real yo. I got me some real nice pitocin action. Big heart.
Second labor, dilated to a FIVE for six weeks. My placenta was slowly tearing off the wall (good times. nothin like the fear of death to make them last weeks fly on by..) and at week 36 I started bleeding heavily. It’s a sad example of what a crapfest of a mom I am that my first thought, was “Thank God!” And that I made my husband stop at a McDonalds before arriving at the hospital because I knew they wouldn’t feed me there. (I feel obligated to note that if it were a true emergency, and i knew it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have stopped for the McMuffin.) (Oh, and they made me sit in a plastic chair in the check-in area for FOUR HOURS after I arrived before I demanded to be seen by an OB. I mean, I was bleeding for heaven’s sake. Does this conote a problem to anyone else? Not at my rockstar hospital. They don’t care if you die on their watch, as long as you have INSURANCE.)
At the time I did not know it, but I spent a couple hours feeling vaguely crampy and just…blah. And then vaguely crampy turned into intensely uncomfortable and hey! Contractions? They are cramps! I mean really super serious big painful not like real life cramps, but still. Why did no one tell me that?
Sadly, I never went into labor on my own. I mean, I lost my mucus plug…WEIRD, especially if you don’t expect it to look like that, and um…have to google it to see if it looks the same as someone else’s…I had a few contractions here and there, but ultimately went in for induction and never really felt a bad contraction the entire time.
My verification word is : blogger. That seems strange to me.
Oh, you are so clever, just skip ahead and ask us to talk about ourselves.
I had had contractions several times the week before, but they always stopped before they got close enough together that I would call the doctor. Then I spent one miserable day just feeling achy all over and spent all afternoon wading in the pool because the warm bath? NOT HELPFUL.
Then I spent the evening trying to find a comfortable position on the couch and reassuring my husband that it hurts, but it’s probably just nothing again and it’ll pass. At 10pm I realized – holy cow! – these contractions have been regularly coming in 4-5 min intervals for the last hour and a half. Mother Nature isn’t punishing me. THIS IS REALLY LABOR.
My water broke in the hospital several hours later and I cluelessly informed the nurse, “Hey, I think I just peed the bed.” Duh, I had read that’s what water breaking could feel like, but it didn’t occur to me that’s what happened.
I had just turned 17 and obviously naive and oblivious to labor when I was pregnant with my son. I wasn’t due for almost two months and was sitting at a friend’s house watching an episode of ER where the materinity ward basically ends up in the er birthing their babies because the fire alarm had gone off in the labor and delivery unit and there was water everywhere.
We were laughing and making jokes like “I’ll be there in a couple of months.” “That would suck if that happened to me.”
My back was hurting really bad and when I got home my mom made me help her carry all of the groceries into the house and when I complained that my back was killing me she said “You’re PREGNANT…get over it.”
Needless to say, went to bed and woke up bleeding and having contractions – and the earlier back ache had been the beginning of labor. I was already 7 centimeters when I made it to the hospital.
I was all prepared for the kind of labor they tell you about in birth class – feel some contractions, time them, relax until they are five minutes apart and then head to the hospital. Instead a week after my due date my husband and I were sitting down to Thai food and a rented movie when out of nowhere my water broke. Surprise! No earlier contractions, absolutely no clue it was coming – I’d been to the doctor that morning to discuss inducing. I guess that got my son up and moving ;-)
Irresistable. Commenting on labor.
I was induced on the first baby, and ended up with a c-section. The second one I waited as long as they would let me, and then had to have another c-section. I never get to go into labor now. It’s a stupid thing to whine about, but I thought it might be a huge finale to the misery that is pregnancy. I suppose major abdominal surgery will have to be enough for me.
So, I have a question….what do you do when your water breaks in public? Do you clean it up yourself? Guiltily scurry away from your puddle and pretend it wasn’t you? Ask someone else to clean it? Gah. I’ve never had a baby, but just cause I’m easily embarassed, I think I might should just stay home from 6 months on.
I was so disappointed that you posted this over the weekend, when I typically don’t comment.
#1 I was having horrible back pain and I had the runs. I went in for my regular OB visit (I was 2 days overdue) and was asked repeatedly if I was sure I wasn’t having any contractions. I was 5CM. Then they did an ultrasound and said “Holy Crap, this baby is at least 9 lbs!!” He was also posterior and delivered with the aid of pitocin and a vacuum after 6 hours of back labor and 4 hours of pushing. And he ended up being 10lbs 2 oz.
#2 My midwife stripped my membranes in her office because her sister was in town and she was hoping I would go in to labor and get her out of the house. I woke up at about 2AM in considerable pain and proceeded to get things ready and laid out for Bud. I didn’t even wake Hub up until 3:30. We left the house at 4, my water broke in the driveway, and I delivered Lucy at 5:37AM— all 9.5 lbs of her– without an epidural.
#3 I was induced because I was afraid of Liv’s size and blood sugar. I couldn’t bear the thought of her being in the NICU for days like Lucy was. So no drama; no story, but things worked out exactly how I wanted them to.
all 3 of mine began with being awakend about 1 am with noticeable, but not horrible, contractions.
With the first, already 2 weeks late, we rushed to the hospital. Where they broke my water to move things along, but the contractions remained gentle-ish & 2 min apart until mid-morn, then became double labor (two peaks for each trough) which is when I went for the epi. and was bored, bored, bored until 4 pm.
With the second, already a week late, I decided to stay home as long as possible, the same two minutes apart but bearable went on until 5 pm, when the doctor said come in anyway. Where they broke my water & sent me for a walk, from which I barely made it back to L & D at 7 pm.
With the third, 2 days early, things progressed to omigosh.can’t.think/move/talk type peaks by 5 am, and my water broke as he was delivered at 7 am. I was on the ward in time for breakfast.
I was induced with my first. But with my 2nd, I woke up about 8AM the morning she was born with contractions about 4 minutes apart that I couldn’t talk/move thru. Sent my then husband to work. Made him come home 10 minutes after he got there. Had her 4.5 hours after I woke up and about 45 minutes after I arrived at the hospital.
OH! I love talking about my labor and delivery…seems I’m in very good company!
With darling daughter #1 – I woke up to pee (OF course!) at 2:30am and on the way down our hallway heard the little “pop” and felt the gush…thought I had peed myself. And then realized, no…it was not actually pee! Took showers, ate, waited for the contractions to kick in and headed to the hospital about 5am. Walked, walked, and walked – finally got to start pushing at 11am and she was born 12:20pm. Woo hoo!
With darling daughter #2 – my OB helped me along by “stripping my membranes” (eeee…yuck! and painful too!) at my appointment and by midnight that night I had some full on couldn’t walk contractions. Got to hospital around 2am, was dialated to 6, walked and walked some more. Finally got to push, and she was born in 2 pushes at 6:50am.
Man…almost makes me want to do it again. Almost. :-)
Talk about a great post to get lots of comments…who doesn’t love talking about their birth stories.
Both times my water broke, waking me up out of a dead sleep. One at midnight and one at 2AM. My children really like to torture me. Still.
Wow – I’m rethinking this whole pregnancy thing. I want this baby out of me (and not in the way any of you described)!
I can’t resist either. I love birth stories.
Labor#1 Woke up around 5 am with regular contractions about 10 minutes apart. Sent my husband off to work that morning, got myself showered and ready. Contractions got more painful and closer together, called my husband home that afternoon, off to the hospital. The midwife broke my water at 9 cm, and my daughter was born 20 minutes later at 8:14pm.
Labor#2 Easiest labor of my three. Contractions started sometime early evening. I got my daughter ready for bed (bath, bedtime story, etc.), and I remember thinking “this is it – our last bedtime before your sister is born.” Contractions progressed, my parents stayed with my daughter, and my husband and I were off to the hospital. Again, my water didn’t break until the very end. I felt a gush as my second daughter was born at 4:44am.
Labor#3 Contractions for weeks!! Painful cramping and contractions came and went literally for weeks. By the time I was actually in labor, I wasn’t sure. My mom and husband had to talk me into going to the hospital when my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart. I kept thinking it would slow down again. I waited until my oldest got home from school, kissed my girls goodbye, horribly painful ride to the hospital because, yes, I really was in labor. Third daughter born at 8:21pm.
With each pregnancy I was secretly terrified my water would break in public. Never happened, membranes of steel apparently.
ME TOO!
Weird , oddly loud pop, gushing fluid, my husband waking up going “what is happening? what is happening? what is happening? ” incoherently. Violet was born two and half hours later.
Hoping the next one is just as quick.
I’m another sister of yours – POP!
Caley (sublime bedlam) just pointed me to your blog. I likey.
First labor, 13 days overdue, pop of water and intense contractions within 30 minutes. Second labor, leaking of water, making me wonder if I lost all bladder control. Contractions started a few hours later.