In general one's mothers labours indicate little about one's own. My mums labours (she had 6 kids) varied from 4 days (96 hours - her fourth and smallest child, 4 weeks overdue) to 4 hours (her third and aside from me, biggest child, 2 days past EDD - #5 and #6 (my brother and i) were both sections, him for praevia, me because VBAC was not heard of in 1980).

Expect the unexpected and KEEP THE FAITH. A NORMAL first labour is 12-24 hours. Days of prelabour (painful ctx which seem to intensify and get closer but then drop away again) is normal. Being as much as 14 days post dates is normal. My advice to ANY woman is when labour begins do whatever you would NORMALLY do until it is impossible.

Sleep if it is sleeping time or if you are tired and would value a wee rest - slow labours and long-prelabours often get properly underway once mum is refreshed with sleep and food...so..

Eat at the normal times until you REALLY don't want to anymore. If you can't decide try a little something easy (chopped fruit or toast is good). The worse that will happen is that you'll vomit and that helps open your cervix - win/win.

Walk, clean, launder, MOVE - don't get into an "i'm in labour, better lie in bed". You keep doing whatever you normally do until you can't.

Talk, laugh, sing. Stay aware and don't close your eyes until you feel you really have to.

If you can eat or talk during contractions, if you can walk with pauses to contract, if you can have a conversation while you contract (pausing perhaps to contract but keeping the thread of the conversation in between) you are labouring well and still have a ways to go.

The time will come when all you can do in a contraction is focus and breathe and use your relaxation techniques and all you can do in between is rest because each one is overwhelming. There will be a time when you think you might MAYBE be able to do ONE more ctx, but not 2, and certainly not more. You will be positive you cannot possibly go on. You will have the intellectual idea that the only thing to do is chuck in the towel and go home because all this baby-having is not happening. This despite the fact you can barely open your eyes in between ctx, let alone get up and walk off... When you feel like that you're baby is coming REAL soon.

Bx