Were You Surprised By Labor Or Were There Warning Signs

[Jodi AKA BostonTeacher]

Tomorrow will mark week 39 for me. I finished work last Tuesday (end of the regular school year, not b/c of pregnancy). Since then I've been exhausted. I wake up 1-3 times each night to pee, but fall right back to sleep and have a hard time getting up in the a.m. Also, I have taken on napping as a hobby and can basically fall asleep anywhere. In general I feel wonderful although I find my inner thighs are sore when I first stand up.

The baby is still moving, but definitely not to the extent that I was used to feeling him/her (translation=when I put my hands on my belly I feel some wiggling and such, but none of the spontaneous thumps I had felt in the past).

Other than those random things I've got nothing at all going on.

I go back to the doctor on Wed and I think he'll do another internal then. However, my question is this...

For those of you who went into labor on your own did you sense it was coming? Was something different? Did you feel different? OR were you completely taken by surprise by contractions or your water breaking?

Although I don't really have much going on and we are about as ready as we are going to be, I still have a (false?) sense of security that it isn't happening anytime soon b/c I basically don't feel any different.

[BTB]

The afternoon before my water broke, I had an ob visit. When the nurse weighed me, I was down a pound or two from a few days before, and she asked when my due date was. It was still three weeks away - I told her the date, and she shook her head, saying, "you're not going to make it." My water broke about 12 hours later. (hormonal shifts that precede labor cause many women to lose a little bit of weight not long before it begins)

The only other thing I remember noticing right now is having so much energy that day. I was itching to clean the whole dang house top to bottom.

In terms of whether I "sensed" it, or had any hunches... no, none at all.

[Mrs. M.]

I kind of had a hunch. We went out that evening and I had a ton of gas :o For some reason I thought this was an indicator. Labor started at midnight, so I was right :)

[moderngal]

I was shocked. I was overdue and had had false labor a few times. I was finally resigned to the idea of being induced. I woke up at 5am the morning I was to be induced already in labor. I had no sense it was really coming and until I started having back labor, I still thought it may be another round of false labor.

[Sarah]

Nope, no clue. My water broke with no warning or anything, at 36 weeks. I didn't feel crampy or tired. But come to think of it, that day I did make a quiche and a pie, something which required more energy than I had had in a long time at that point.

[pompomgirl]

I had no idea. I was sitting in bed watching TV (1am, the day after my due date), thinking, wouldn't it be nice if my water broke (I'd just read in "What to Expect..." that only 30% break), and boom! Once that happened, I called the doctor on call, who told me to wait until morning to check myself into the maternity ward. WRONG! My contractions were coming hard and strong, and by 2:30am we were in L&D, and I was 3 cm. dilated. I delivered my baby just a few hours later at 9:17am!!

[LeighW]

Warning signs only in hindsight. I felt crappy, couldn't get comfortable sitting down or lying down, and had mild cramps that were really contractions. I was also leaking fluid, which they later decided were pin-hole leaks in my amniotic sac.

My water broke about 15 minutes after I arrived at L&D for a scheduled c-section (I was 39 weeks, 3 days). The serious contractions followed immediately.

Good luck! :o

[Cohl]

I was really sick the morning before I went into labor. I thought it was food poisoning because it was that bad. 12 hours later my water broke.

[maggieb]

I had irregular contractions that radiated into my thighs several nights before I went into labor. On Monday morning I had a dr's appt and after that spotted a lot and felt really crampy. My back ached all day, so I sat on my birthing ball. Monday night the contractions started coming regularly and by Tues morning I had delivered DD.

I never dropped, lost my mucous plug, had diarreah, and my water didn't break until the dr broke it. It all started for me with menstrual like contractions that started a couple of weeks before I had DD. I was 3-4 cm for weeks and got to 5cm when I got to the hospital and still felt pretty good. By the time dr broke my water I was 8 cm and starting to really hurt!

[Koala_Gurl]

Hi there! I didn't notice anything different before (I lost my plug about a week before I went into labor). But my labor was very slow & gradual...it felt like period cramps coming on & off all day. I started around 7am, and went to the hospital at 10:30pm. By then they were coming 5 mins apart, and were somewhat painful (like really bad period cramps).

[nancy drew]

no real warning signs here. i had just had a breakdown thinking i was going to have to be induced and that i would be pg forever and that night i woke up after 1 hour of sleep with contrax that were 5 minutes apart. i wasnt even sure at that point if i had lost my plug or not.

[ahavnes]

I had a hunch...for the whole 2 weeks before! ;) I had heart palpitatinos when I hadn't before, which clued me in that something was going on in my body. Other than that, nothing until my water broke. But then, I was only dilated to about a fingertip before my doctor stripped my membranes. (By the way, I went into labor about 72 hours after the stripping...it really works!) :)

[IrishEyes]

The day before I went into labor, I went to a local mall to get a lap in (it was too hot outside to walk my usual route). I remember feeling much more pressure in my groin (like baby had dropped a little further) and feeling like it was more work to get my legs moving. It was a weird feeling to struggle like that. I told my husband that night that I was probably going to go into labor that night or the next day. The next morning at 5:40am I had 3 contractions then at 6:05am my water broke.

I had no other signs. I was dilated 1cm at my 36 week appt and had been uncomfortable "down there" for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy (weird scraping feelings on my cervix, groin pain on one side, lots of pressure) and had lots of B-H contrax.

[kimthebride]

I had a "sense of impending something" :p a few days before. But the morning I woke up on my due date I felt no different until I noticed I was leaking a little fluid. When I noticed this I told DH to keep his cell phone handy because It Could Happen Today.
Three hours later I had my first (and painful!) contraction.

[ktdelsur]

Bump!

[Marisa]

I had back labor and had no idea that 'this was it'. I'd been having bad back problems throughout the second half of my pregnancy, and was seeing a chiro for it. The night I went into labor I was sure that I was just having these spasms and couldn't get comfortable. Then my DH started timing them and they were exactly 3-4 minutes apart... so we called the Dr. and headed for the hospital. :)

[jenjen0713]

I started to lose my mucous plug and then about 4 hours later my water broke. No contractions with any of it. Also, at my last doctor appointment (5 days prior to water breaking) I had gained no weight. (This was a first for me as I was gaining weight right and left throughout the whole pregnancy.)

[newyorkgirl]

I must have known somehow. The night before my water broke, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking something was totally off. I freaked out, thinking the baby wasn't moving, and we actually went into the hospital that morning for a NST (everything was fine, but the nurse said I was having tiny contractions, which she said could mean impending labor, or I could be contracting for weeks). Then, all day long I was compelled to rush around getting errands and stuff done (including getting my carseat installation inspected). At 10 pm that night, my water broke. :)

[hmbay]

I started losing my mucous plug a few days before. I was up the night before my labor started with mild cramping/diarrhea but the cramps stopped the next morning so I went to work, worked the whole day and went to bed that night at 11 pm. Contractions woke me up at 2am. My water never broke until I got to the hospital and the nurse checked me at checkin. In the process of checking me she broke my water.

[daisysue62]

I had AF like cramping off and on for about a week before labor started, but the biggest indicator for me was waking up to bloody show on a Friday morning. Every time I went to the bathroom that day (it felt like every 20 min!) there was more bloody show, so I figured I'd be having the baby that weekend. I wound up going into labor Friday evening around dinner time, went to the hospital at around 2am and had our daughter at 7:10am Saturday morning!

[usafwife]

I had no real signs that I would be going into labor. I had an appt when I was 4 days overdue (also had a NST and biophysical profile). I was a fingertip dilated and thining but that was all. I was having tightening/B-H contractions but I had been having the B-H contractions for 4/5 weeks before so that was nothing new. Then a couple of hours after I went to sleep I was awakened by a strange feeling (it was my water breaking). By the time I got to the hospital (less than 30 minutes after my water broke) I was nearly 3 cm.

[JRPAGV]

Bump

[Jenn]

Bump!

[hula]

I had no warning signs at all. I thought for sure that my DD would be late, and she arrived exactly 2 weeks early. My water broke in the middle of the night while I was sleeping, and we didn't even have our hospital bag packed yet! Also, my OB hadn't done an internal at my weekly appointments, and when I got to the hospital, I was 1 cm dilated.

[ajb524]

I was completely surprised. THe only sign I had was that I started losing my mucus plug that morning, but from what I read it didn't necessarily mean that labor was about to start. When I got home from work I lost more of the mucus plug and my water broke at 11:45pm. My baby was born at 2:27am. By the time I got to the hospital I was already 7cm and was at the hospital just an hour and a half before he was born.

Next time I'll be calling the doctor immediately when I lose my plug ;)

[Jenzen01]

I had lots of little signs, but I didn't recognize them until afterward ...

I was leaking something a week before I had DS. Went in for a test in L&D, and it came back negative for amniotic fluid, and yet I was having regular, painless contractions on the monitor. The nurse said I was in early labor.

A few days later, the BH contractions were really bad. By the weekend, I had a lot more leaking and woke up to bloody show on Saturday morning. By Sunday, I was having sporadic contractions and just felt crummy. On Monday morning, more bloody show (probably should have figured things out by this point). I went in for my checkup, and I had lost weight. The dr. tested the fluid and it was my water leaking, so I had been leaking for at least three days.

He marched me straight to L&D, and DS was born about 12 hours later.

[tgray99]

I was totally and 100% shocked by labor. Everything I'd read and been told led me to believe that I would ease into it and not even know I was in it for a while. Nope, labor attacked me head on, I went from no contractions to contrax every 10 minutes. They were never more than 10 minutes apart. It sucked. A lot. But worth it. :D

I had lost my mucus plug about a week before but I was taking so long to dilate that my OB scheduled me for an induction. I went into labor about 12 hours before I was supposed to come in to be induced.

[Brady]

Nope. I had my 39 week appt., and my OB pretty much told me I was in it for the long haul. I still felt relatively good, had never had any sort of contraction and was convinced I'd go past my due date. A day before my due date I woke up early and didn't feel "right", I was convinced it was the mexican food I had the night before. When I finally realized the pain was may more than something I ate, I went to the hospital and was 4cm- my son was born about 6 hours later... :p

[bamboo]

I was shocked. At noon on Saturday I had a contraction that felt different from the BH ones I'd been having, but I was positive it was just very early pre-labor stuff that would go on for weeks and weeks still. I was 38w 1d pregnant and convinced I'd go to 42 weeks.

At 10:45pm my water broke, which was my first real sign- I didn't lose my mucus plug until then. 8 hours later my daughter was born at home, labor was easy and awesome and not painful at all. It did take me quite a while to believe I was really in labor- both because it didn't hurt and because I was so shocked to be in labor before my due date!

[JATTNJ]

Completely Shocked!

I was 36 weeks.....not feeling uncomfortable at all, not nesting, etc. I had a doctor's appt the day before & was told that nothing was happening at all......no thinning of the cervix, etc.

In the middle of the night, on my way back from the bathroom my water broke. 18 hours & lots of pitocin later, the baby still hadn't descended AT ALL....hence a c-section. I guess my body really wasn't ready after all & my water broke for whatever reason. :o

[ellybelle]

I was 38 1/2 weeks, and I felt fine in the morning and early afternoon. I was enjoying my first real day of maternity leave, and went to lunch and walked around town with DH. No nesting or anything -- just relaxing.

Then, at about 4 or 5 in the evening, I started feeling flu-y and crummy. I even remember saying to DH "so this is why people say that they hate the last couple weeks of pregnancy!"

My water broke with my first (big, painful!) contraction at around 7p.m. I wasn't sure whether it had until I went to the bathroom and there was a steady trickle.

I was 4 cm. when we got to the hospital at 9, and my daughter was born at 11 the following day.

[jeggink]

Nope, water broke at 34.5 weeks at work, no signs of anything.

[ash313]

I was in complete SHOCK! At 5 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and out of nowhere my water broke! I ran to get DH and asked him if he thought it was my plug or my water. He said it was my water - I was in complete denial. We both freaked out. I was only 35 weeks and we hadn't even had the labor talk with my doctor. We were supposed to be packing our hospital bags and getting ready for the baby THAT day! I went through every emotion humanly possible in about 10 minutes. We cried and laughed all the way to the hospital!

Looking back I guess there were signs but I never put two and two together. DS was born on a Sunday. That Wed. I was SO sick. I did possibly think there could be a connection there but when I asked the nurse if this meant I was going to have the baby soon she said no and I just had a bout of f. poisoning.

The day before DS was born it was DH's birthday, I made him a tres leches cake, we went to brunch, we went shopping, took a walk, went to dinner, stayed up late - I had so much energy!

I also had this strange pain in my back which I just thought was normal at that point in the pregnancy- possibly from all the walking or something we did that day. I had no idea!

6 hours later I was holding my beautiful baby boy. That was one year ago yesterday!

[kdotp]

No real clue here, either. I woke up with a start when my water broke at 2:30 am when I was 39w and DS was born at 5:33 pm that afternoon. Looking back, I had had more than usual BH contractions the day before and had more energy to run errands, but I figured it would be at least another week.

[AttyGrl74]

In retrospect, I should have known. Of course hindsight is 20/20.

The day that my water broke, I was exhausted and extremely anxious. Despite working almost 10 hours that day, I spent the majority of my day in a state of heightened anxiety reading online birth stories.

I also had been losing bits of my mucous plug and felt like I was sitting on a bowling ball.

I'm a very laid back person - so this level of anxiety was completely out of the ordinary.

I got home, ate and went to bed at 7 - woke at 9 pm and got up to watch Law & Order. My water broke at 9:30pm.

ETA - I was 38 weeks

[cocopop]

I felt uncomfortable all day long, which was unusual because until then I'd had a really good pregnancy. The contractions started around 11:00 that night and I had DD the next morning! :D

[marchfamily]

For those of you who went into labor on your own did you sense it was coming? Was something different? Did you feel different? OR were you completely taken by surprise by contractions or your water breaking?

Nope. Nope. Totally taken by surprise (other then being overdue) - my water broke without any contrax. In fact, I didn't get any contrax until I had pitocin around 4-5 hours later.

[Bloomwood]

anyone else?

[fwgirl]

Nope. My water broke (more like trickled) at 37w1d. I had no idea I would go into labor that early. In fact, at my doctor's appt two days before she was telling me I would probably be late. I was having contractions all day, but I just assumed they were BH. I was wrong and DD was born 27 hours after my water broke.

[cr8zyforaf]

I was in shock..I thought that DD was never coming out. I was due 9/4 which was a normal day (although looking back, I felt horrible and my mom and sister both said they knew when they saw me it wasn't going to be long). I actually worked in the yard and cleaned the garage..went to bed disgusted because I was still pregnant. Woke up at 4am on 9/5 with cramps - went to the bathroom and lost my plug. I knew then. I labored at home until 3pm. By the time I got to the hospital, I was 4cm - water broke shortly after that and I had her at 12:25 on the 6th.

[red_canuck]

looking back, there were tonnes of signs. At the time, I was convinced I' dbe pregnant forever!

The night before (saturday evening) I was very restless, reading birth stories online, creating address lists, looking up car seats...which lead to at 7pm on that saturday night me decided I didn't like our car seat and that we needed to buy a new one *right-that-very-second*. I dragged DH to 3 stores (everything is open late on sat. here) until he convinced me to sleep on it and we'd buy it tomorrow. I took our hospital bags downstairs (evne though I wasn't due for another week!) and was paced the floor making lists of eveyrthing I wanted to clean the next day. Took a belly picture at around 11pm before crawlinginto bed. 4:15 sunday morning my water broke :p DS was born Monday morning, 25 hours later!

And yes, we did end up buying a new carseat while I was in labour that Sunday. Completely irraitonal, now we have 2 brand new perfectly fine infant carseats :rolleyes:

[DianeCourt]

I was completely surprised. My due date was 10/21. I was overdue and, funny enough, just had a feeling that I was never going to go into spontaneous labor and that I would have to be induced at 41 weeks. DD had other plans. I woke up at 6:45 am on 10/24 with mild contractions. Even though they matched the description of "real" contractions, I still didn't believe it. I didn't believe I was really having a baby until they admitted me at 7 PM that evening! That was after being sent home from L&D once and coming back later that evening. My water never broke on its own. They artificially ruptured my membranes at about 8 cm.

[Allegra]

I was feeling kind of icky that afternoon (2 days past my date) and finally laid down around 5 PM knowing my DH would be home soon. He came home and freaked out that I was in bed and wanted to know if I was having contractions. I said I was having cramps but I didn't know of those counted. We started timing them and ya - they counted. Went to the hospital by 10 PM and had DD by 5:30 AM.

Allegra

[DisneyGirl]

Completely shocked!

I was feeling fine then all of a sudden my water broke. No ached no pains no nothing. At first I thought..HMM did i just pee myself..so I went into the shower washed up got dressed and again i felt warm water and my clothes were wet..So, at that point I knew baby was coming.

[achickwwit]

The night before I went into labor, I was at my mom's house watching a movie. Mid-movie, I had to get up and pace the room because I was having contractions. (I had been having off and on contractions for several weeks already, and there was no real signal that these were any different.)

We drove back to our house that night, I went to bed at midnight, and a contraction woke me up just after 3am. This was the first time a contraction was strong enough to actually wake me up, so I had a funny feeling that it might be time. I paced the bedroom, then finally woke my husband, who started timing them. They didn't get painful until the end of the first hour, which is also when we were certain *this was it*. I chose to labor completely at home and only deliver in the hospital, and two hours later, that's what I did. :)

[cocoa_femme]

BUMP!

I'm 39 weeks today, and would love to hear more stories.

[TOMama]

Overall, crampiness and loss of appetite were my warning signs.

I had gone to the doctor for my 39 week visit and nothing. . . 1 cm dilated, not effaced at all. We actually discussed and scheduled induction which seriously gave me anxiety! After the appt, I felt crampy "down there" and had no appetite-- I ate carrot cake for dinner :) I chalked it up to the internal exam and figured that I would just have to wait a week and be induced. I had cramps all night and was uncomfortable, but not uncomfortable enough to wake up. The next morning at 6 AM, my water broke. My labor progressed quickly and I delivered at 1:30 PM.

[nuhmah]

Kind of shocked, kind of not. ;)

I had two days of pre-labor so that clued me in that something was going to happen. They kept fizzling out by the end of those two days, and then a day later it hit all of a sudden. The worst contractions yet, and they came fast and steady. I progressed very quickly - I delivered 6 hours later.

[maybebaby]

very surprised.

[Franni]

There were warning signs for me. I did an excellent lamaze class and that helped me a great deal.

On tuesday, I lost my mucus plug.
On wednesday, I woke up at 8 with lots of water, no contractions.
so I proceeded with my day, knowing that it's coming soon.
I didn't go see my doctor until 6:00 pm, didn't check into the hospital until 8:00 PM. In the meantime I walked and tried to move baby along. By the time I finally checked in, I was almost 7 cm dilated already and everything stayed on course.

[Bloomwood]

I went into labor at 40w4d, so it was pretty hard to be surprised since it WAS ALL I WAS THINKING ABOUT! :)

My water didn't break, I just started getting contractions more intense and more frequent. I went into labor Monday night, but had been having on and off contractions since Saturday, so I wasn't convinced I was in labor. I had DH start writing down my contractions - length and spacing - they were coming anywhere from 4-7 mins apart and lasting well over a minute. Totally manageable. But I still didn't buy it until I went to the bathroom and had bloody show. Even when I called my ob after that, she didn't think I was working that hard b/c I could joke on the phone with her. That was at 9 pm; when we got to the hospital 2 hours later I was 5 cm dilated and totally effaced. Another 2 hours and I was complete and pushing. That sounds like a long time, but in labor time it was the blink of an eye ;)

And, btw, I have no idea when my water broke. I could've been in the shower at the hospital or on the toilet. We never figured it out.

[BusyBee]

I had constant AF type cramps all day long a week before DD was born. Then nothing.

Thursday was my last day at work and DH came with me. In the morning I had cramps once or twice, briefly, and they didn't come back. At 1pm we left the office and there was another one. That was my last warning.

6pm the cramps started again, but stonger, longer, and suddlenly every 10 minutes. By 11pm we were at the hospital, and DD arrived at 1:30am (c/s because she was a surprise breech) at almost 39 weeks.

[lindybug]

I was shocked, although maybe I shouldn't have been. I was 38w6d and had the "bloody show" that morning. Went to the OB at 10am and I was 2cm dilated and 80% effaced.

Contractions started that night around 9pm, although I didn't realize what they were until about 10:30. Thet got really painful around 11pm, we got the the hospital at 1am and I was already at 10cm and ready to push. DS was born at 1:38am!

So I knew it was coming, just didn't realize it would be so soon.

[maplekitty]

Does anyone recall actual "symptoms" or things your body did in the days/week leading up to labour?

I know there is the usual baby dropping, and loosing the mucous plug....but just wondering if anyone noticed anything else?

[PinkMartini]

Obviously I'm not there yet, but I've heard of discharge (NOT the plug, but a heavy, white discharge) and a loosening of bowels (diarrhea) being present right before labor begins...

[mrstim]

Search for a thread "did labor take you by surprise or were there warning signs" - That's one I looked at often. I'd look it up - but R is crying!

[maplekitty]

thanks mrstim!

http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1396&highlight=warning

it was in the 0-18 months forum - no wonder I couldnt find anything (moved it to this forum BTW since it's more appropriate over here!)

[maplekitty]

*bump*

[snoopy30]

My back really started to hurt about a week or so before I went into labor. I *think* DS must have dropped or something but I couldn't tell. I did lose my mucous plug around that time too.

The day I went into labor I was really crampy and kind of restless. I remember too that it seemed like the baby wasn't quite as active.

HTH!!

[solongtogo]

pms like cramps are a good indicator

[MMH]

I never lost my mucous plug and I felt fine up until labor started. I specifically remember I HAD to have meatballs for dinner. At 2am I got up with a stomach ache, had horrid diarrhea *sorry tmi* and then the contractions started. The bathroom troubles were a deal giveaway for me!

And the contractions were unlike anything I've ever experienced, you'll know when they hit!

[Phen]

I was Grumpy as Hell for a few days leading up to my water breaking. And since then, I've noticed that a lot of the pregnant twinmamas I know tend to get the same grumptastic moods within days of having their babies.

~ Phen

[sue-bert]

It was my due date, and nothing was happening (that I could discern). I woke up at 5:30am to exercise. I had already resigned myself to being late, and I didn't want to sit around feeling sorry for myself, so I just carried on with my routine. As I was putting on my running shoes, I felt a bit crampy (like a mild menstrual cramp), so I stretched a bit and the cramps went away. Then I headed out the door, and the cramping started again, so I stretched and they went away again. I started running, and 5 minutes into my run, the cramp came back. I slowed down but kept running, and the cramp worked itself out, only to come back 5 minutes later.

Suddenly it dawned on me: I am having contractions, and they're 5 minures apart!

I headed back home to shower and to wake up DH. Our weekly cleaning lady was scheduled to arrive at 7:00am, so I decided we should get out of the house (I can't imagine laboring w/her in the house). So we drove to the hospital. They checked me when I arrived at 6:20 that I was 6cm dilated. I had the baby at noon sharp.

I heard that the pains were supposed to radiate from back to front, or something like that -- but they never did for me. They just felt like strong menstrual cramps.

My water didn't break until I was pushing.

[savannahgrl]

bump

[lkendra00]

I was surprised. I didn't sleep at all the night before, I got a little bit that morning and woke up with the insane urge to poop. After that my contractions started. 9 hours later my son was born.

[meatpie]

I was Grumpy as Hell for a few days leading up to my water breaking. And since then, I've noticed that a lot of the pregnant twinmamas I know tend to get the same grumptastic moods within days of having their babies.

~ Phen

My sister only had one baby - but man it was like she was having triplets she was so grumpy. I could not touch her - literally. My mom was going to tell her husband to take her in if she didn't go into labor because she had never seen her like that!! With No. 2 the big joke was every time she was nasty to someone - we got out a mop expecting her water to break at any moment :D

For me, I was induced to not deliver after my due date. I did lose my mucous plug days prior, but no contractions until I was medicated.

I had to laugh at your "signs" Phen.

[Tracie]

I didn't really have any signs that I noticed at the time other than losing my mucous plug on Monday. But looking back, I remembered that I cleaned out the cabinets in the kitchen on Sunday, which was actually pretty necessary to fit in bottles. However, it wasn't necessary to completely reorganize the pantry. Nesting anyone? I went into labor Wednesday and had DS just after midnight on Thursday.

[Sare79]

*bump*
Anyone else have a story to share?

[ShannonGH]

Contractions started Wednesday evening at 6:30pm. I knew they were definitely stronger than the BHs I’d been having but didn’t yet know if they were the “real thing” so I paced the house trying to bring them on stronger and more regular. About 3 hours later I had bloody show and had lost more of my mucous plug (which I’d been losing bits of for the previous 3 days) so I knew *something* must be happening. By this time, contractions ranged 6-10 minutes apart. DD was born 19 hours after 1st contraction.

Prior to contractions starting, I was 1cm dialated and I believe 50% effaced. Baby had not dropped at all (I could still very easily cross my legs the morning of going into labor). I didn't have any sort of mood swings or nesting urges prior to labor.

To me, real contractions didn't really feel like PMS cramps. They felt "different" because they affected my whole tummy, whereas my BHs would only ever affect the top or bottom of my tummy.

[Lizard]

I was completely surprised. I'd been 2 cm for 3 weeks and losing my plug nearly as long, so those weren't IMMEDIATE signs for me. I went to my 39 week OB appt., and there was no change from the previous appointments, so I figured I'd be late. 12 hours later I woke up with contractions, and had DD 21 hours after that.

[jesseybell]

Absolutely surprised. I never had regular Braxton-Hicks. I was 30 hours away from being induced at 41 weeks. I went to bed at midnight and the baby kicked me causing my water to break. At first I wasn't sure if that was actually what is was until I got up just to check and water was pouring down my legs. Contractions didn't start for 10 minutes and were immediately 3-4 minutes apart. So I literally went from nothing to full-blown labor in 10 minutes.

[kemorr]

Completely surprised. I was convinced the baby was going to be late. I never felt her drop, never had bloody show, never had diarrhea etc. At 38 weeks, 5 days my water very suddenly broke, just as I was about to get into bed. I was extremely shocked.

[junkinmytrunk]

Completely surprised. I was convinced the baby was going to be late. I never felt her drop, never had bloody show, never had diarrhea etc. At 38 weeks, 5 days my water very suddenly broke, just as I was about to get into bed. I was extremely shocked.

.........I could have posted this - the only difference is that I had a scheduled csection set up for a week later....

I worked the day I gave birth and actually asked a co-worker this same question -- were there any signs she was about to go into labor? She said a few things, and I remember replying, well, I haven't had any of those symptoms so I guess my little guy is still comfy inside me. A few hours later, a swoosh of water at bedtime!

[MichelleRenee]

I had warning signs.

The night before I had very mild menstrual like cramps. The next morning I had light brown spotting. I was checked a few hours later and was 3 cm and had tons of bloody show when she checked me. After being checked I started to have more painful contractions. Over the next 15 hours they got stronger and stronger (but not much closer together than 10 minutes). The next morning (about 24 hours after I started spotting) I was 5 cm and was finally admitted to the hospital.

Earlier in the week I had been very irritable, which some people said was a sign labor was about to start. I just thought it was a sign that I was 9 months pregnant and ready to be done!

[mrselle]

I had no warning signs at all. In fact when I went to the doctor for my 38-week appointment I was only a fingertip dialated and not effaced at all. Two nights later as I was trying to get comfortable in bed I told DH that I didn’t feel well. Five minutes later my water broke.

[Kimmer]

Bump I am almost 39 weeks