What is labour really like and how do you know what to expect? Truth is even though I had seen it on TV, attended antenatal classes and heard peoples stories, I STILL worried about how I’d know when I was in labour! With my first it was different, I was induced so the doctors told me when I was contracting – literally – I had a machine that told me when it was time to push. So coming up to 39 weeks with Jaisal and I had constant anxiety about whether I would know or what pain I should be looking out for. I can’t tell you what it will be like for you as I’m fairly certain every labour is different but I can show you the changes in my contractions over time as I kept a thorough record on an app 🙂
I can also try and give you an idea of how the contractions actually feel and how the feelings change overtime.
So here’s how it went.
About one week before the due date, I started getting Braxton hicks / tightening. So at around 39 weeks I started to feel some slight cramping and tightening across the bottom of my bump. They never lasted long at all, maybe 5-10 seconds if that. It always felt more like a digestion pain rather than labour.
A couple of days before the birth I felt mild period pains, mostly irregular time wise. The pains were a mild cramp type sensation, as if someone was kind of pushing my skin and pulling at my tummy at the same time. My body ached slightly. I remember my hips and thighs feeling really achy and tired, like I’d walked for miles.
The day before little one was born, again I had period pains but this time they were fairly regular. The period pains were slightly more intense now and more constant. I could still walk around and clean etc. I went for a couple of walks that day, I remember feeling hot and needing fresh air.
The big day…
From around 2am on 8th Nov I started to get much stronger pains. I couldn’t get comfortable in bed and if I did fall asleep the sudden pressure on my rectum woke me. The strong pains continued in my tummy/pelvic region and legs. The pressure in my rectum came less often, approx every 10-15 mins for about 60-120 seconds at a time. The pressure wasn’t super intense but it was strong enough for me to know to resist it. I was able to breathe through it and not “push” when this sensation came. Over the hours that followed, the pains got a stronger, more frequently but lasted less longer.
The tightening and rectum pain (urge to push) is the contractions. I don’t know how, but I knew I needed to resist the urge to push when the contractions came – I was able to do this fairly easily for most of the labour. The real intense discomfort wasn’t until the evening (about 4-5 hours before the birth). Throughout my labour, the tens machine and deep breathing was a godsend – I never knew the meaning of “breath through the pain” until this labour. If I have one piece of advice for anyone expecting, it’s focus on your breath-work. I genuinely believe that all those times I practised deep breathing during pregnancy, allowed me to have the water birth that I wanted. Otherwise, I would have gone straight for an epidural. [The birthing centre is a drug free zone so it was gas & air or nothing]
I called the midwife at 6am who advised me to wait until 3 contractions within 10 minutes unless I was worried, or until my water breaks. My contractions stayed at every 10-15 minutes for a long while, I fit so many last minute things into my day. I arranged Myla’s childcare for the next couple of days, had a bath, had lots to eat, did a whole skincare routine, watched LOADS of friends episode, squeezed in a nap and got baby’s moses basket ready <3
Finally I went into the hospital at 4.45pm straight to the birthing centre. I was only 2cm dilated but the midwife was so so lovely and let me decide whether I wanted to stay or go home. I decided to stay as the centre was really relaxing and I didnt want to risk it. It was a great shout to stay, as after a very short walk my water broke. I was told it still wasn’t so we went back out for a walk, I barely made it down a flight of stairs and I could barely move from the pain. The baby was ready to come. I had to come back up in the lift as I couldn’t even move! Two hours later and we were FOUR 🥰
The following screenshots show how my contractions changed overtime.
~X~