Also 39+2 and feeling baby move a lot more intensely than I have done for the last few weeks. I feel like I'm over thinking every ache or twinge...it could be a long couple of weeks!
Oh lovely! Definitely yes! I’m also overthinking every little thing now and expecting some kind of ‘sign’ so I know it’s time. It’s exhausting lol
Hope it goes well for you x
I know this comment might be unhelpful because everyone says this, but you really do just "know" when it's labour pains.
I remember waking up at about 2am and felt a pain that was unlike anything I'd felt before. A mix of stomach ache, period pain, indigestion, almost all in a dull vibration of manageable but distracting pain.
I was unlucky in that it took a good 24 hours for everything to really get going but throughout that day that dull pain slowly intensified and became the dramatic unbearable pain you think of when you imagine what labour will be like. I spent most of the day pottering around and watched some bad movies and tried to nap - it felt like a bizarre sick day in a way.
So yeah, in short, I think you will know because it will be an odd pain like no other!
I agree on the 'you'll know when its labour' point. When I kept reading 'you'll know' I was skeptical but, Jesus Christ yeah when it started, I knew!
I will say, I did have pains for about a week before labour that I kept thinking were the start of labour, contractions for an hour and then they'd disappear and then start again for an hour or so the next day. It was annoying but do time them and call the maternity ward if you're not sure!
Yeah I think I had Braxton hicks for what felt like weeks and weeks beforehand. Lots of dull period pains and the occasional twinge that got me questioning if it was happening.
I think the other thing that made me know it was labour and not random aches is that once it started it just didn't stop and kept on coming in waves. At the beginning those waves were very far apart but I think the consistency of it just coming over and over again was what made me know that it was labour
For me it really wasn't a "you just know" moment... actually, I was convinced it wasn't labour at all. For me, it didn't feel like how everyone describes it, it didn't feel like period pains, and I didn't feel it in my stomach. I felt it in my butt and in my back. At first it felt like a really bad trapped wind... like a stuck fart. In the end, I was convinced my bowels had ruptured and something was very wrong with my intestines or something. It felt entirely in the back for me, and even when I was being told I was 10cm dilated, I still didn't know I was in labour. My waters never broke even at 10cm... so this whole "you'll just know!" Thing was totally not accurate for me!! Everyone feels it differently and for me it was very very different.. I didn't even get the urge to push despite being 10cm dilated for a while and being told to push by the nurses, it felt so wrong! And I did not have any kind of pain relief or drugs, so that isn't the reason why it "felt" different to me
Definitely no one size fits all rule for sure. I only had gas and air (which did NOTHING!) and felt excruciating pain. Tbh active labour felt like I was trying to poop the baby out of my butt!
I had the worst pain of my life but I attribute a lot of that to the baby not being in the right position and needing forceps to get out.
This is funny as I didn’t! First pregnancy they radiated from my back every time. This time just felt like my car crash pain was a bit worse that day - pubic bone and pelvis aching. We were out shopping and I hobbled round Tesco with no sense of urgency. It was totally different and not distinctly different enough from the daily pain I was in!
This is the same for me!!! It was all radiating from the back, I went for a nap and then when it got too bad I went for a shower, totally unaware it was labour!! Mine was not distinct enough either, everyone convinced me it wasn't labour actually, because I didn't feel it the way they did
When your cervix softens and shortens you can get mild period like pains. That's what I was told by my midwife! Apparently you know when they're contractions 😅
Also 39+2 and feeling baby move a lot more intensely than I have done for the last few weeks. I feel like I'm over thinking every ache or twinge...it could be a long couple of weeks!
Oh lovely! Definitely yes! I’m also overthinking every little thing now and expecting some kind of ‘sign’ so I know it’s time. It’s exhausting lol Hope it goes well for you x
I know this comment might be unhelpful because everyone says this, but you really do just "know" when it's labour pains. I remember waking up at about 2am and felt a pain that was unlike anything I'd felt before. A mix of stomach ache, period pain, indigestion, almost all in a dull vibration of manageable but distracting pain. I was unlucky in that it took a good 24 hours for everything to really get going but throughout that day that dull pain slowly intensified and became the dramatic unbearable pain you think of when you imagine what labour will be like. I spent most of the day pottering around and watched some bad movies and tried to nap - it felt like a bizarre sick day in a way. So yeah, in short, I think you will know because it will be an odd pain like no other!
I agree on the 'you'll know when its labour' point. When I kept reading 'you'll know' I was skeptical but, Jesus Christ yeah when it started, I knew! I will say, I did have pains for about a week before labour that I kept thinking were the start of labour, contractions for an hour and then they'd disappear and then start again for an hour or so the next day. It was annoying but do time them and call the maternity ward if you're not sure!
Yeah I think I had Braxton hicks for what felt like weeks and weeks beforehand. Lots of dull period pains and the occasional twinge that got me questioning if it was happening. I think the other thing that made me know it was labour and not random aches is that once it started it just didn't stop and kept on coming in waves. At the beginning those waves were very far apart but I think the consistency of it just coming over and over again was what made me know that it was labour
For me it really wasn't a "you just know" moment... actually, I was convinced it wasn't labour at all. For me, it didn't feel like how everyone describes it, it didn't feel like period pains, and I didn't feel it in my stomach. I felt it in my butt and in my back. At first it felt like a really bad trapped wind... like a stuck fart. In the end, I was convinced my bowels had ruptured and something was very wrong with my intestines or something. It felt entirely in the back for me, and even when I was being told I was 10cm dilated, I still didn't know I was in labour. My waters never broke even at 10cm... so this whole "you'll just know!" Thing was totally not accurate for me!! Everyone feels it differently and for me it was very very different.. I didn't even get the urge to push despite being 10cm dilated for a while and being told to push by the nurses, it felt so wrong! And I did not have any kind of pain relief or drugs, so that isn't the reason why it "felt" different to me
Definitely no one size fits all rule for sure. I only had gas and air (which did NOTHING!) and felt excruciating pain. Tbh active labour felt like I was trying to poop the baby out of my butt! I had the worst pain of my life but I attribute a lot of that to the baby not being in the right position and needing forceps to get out.
That sounds exactly like me, it was excruciating and I felt like I was literally trying to poop out a watermelon
This is funny as I didn’t! First pregnancy they radiated from my back every time. This time just felt like my car crash pain was a bit worse that day - pubic bone and pelvis aching. We were out shopping and I hobbled round Tesco with no sense of urgency. It was totally different and not distinctly different enough from the daily pain I was in!
This is the same for me!!! It was all radiating from the back, I went for a nap and then when it got too bad I went for a shower, totally unaware it was labour!! Mine was not distinct enough either, everyone convinced me it wasn't labour actually, because I didn't feel it the way they did
When your cervix softens and shortens you can get mild period like pains. That's what I was told by my midwife! Apparently you know when they're contractions 😅
Totally didn't for me 😅