I think it sometimes really hard to know especially if you have a really long prelabour like me.

I was always told, "oh, you'll always know when you're REALLY in labour." Well, it had been going on so long, I really didn't know and the only reason I went to hospital was that I was sick to death of pacing the floor for the third night in a row while DP slept. At that time, my contractions were still completely all over the place. Sometimes 2 mins apart, sometimes 15 mins apart.

I was just so completely over it and actually wanted some company and people to talk to! When I got there, I was about 6cm dilated but I would never have known from the actual pain - it felt pretty much the same as it had done two days earlier.

I remember huffing and puffing more than I needed to when I got to the hospital because I was scared they were going to turn me away and I was BORED and didn't want to go home.