Disillusioned by pre-labour

I have horrifically long pre-labours. With Haz I remembered calling DH in the middle of a fierce contraction where I was on fours and couldnt move. DH came home obviously - but I didnt have him until 2 weeks later.

Worse, we were so cynical about all my contractions that we didnt go to the hospital until I was screaming and breaking furniture. I got there at 9cms, my waters were gone, I was in through transition and I delivered Haz 15 minutes later. Heres the problem. It took about 3 minutes to get to the hospital and into the delivery suite. I dont have that luxury this time. I am at least 30mins away from the hospital.

I know she has finished dropping now. I cant "walk" - only a waddling gait where I am practically dragging my feet. There is also a marked increase in pressure on my bowels. I am getting some fairly strong contractions and a bunch of little ones in between. But there has been no discharge changes at all.

Oh, and I am hot. Really, really hot. I don't have a fever, I just feel hot while everyone else is rugging up and saying its cold.

What do you think? Is it likely these contractions will become something more - or is my body playing tricks on me again?

Wow Inertia you do get put through the wringer don't you?

I don't know if I'm in a position to answer your question :p I've only gone into labour twice (was induced with the third) and have never had prelabour like you are describing.

But FWIW... with DS2 I had BH for about 2 weeks before, the day I was to be induced they were coming every 8-10 minutes - not painful but very regular - for 10-12 hours before becoming uncomfortable & then about 6 hours of 'uncomfortable' (I could doze through them) contrax before my water broke & we were away.
If the others had been the same I would have more to go on :)

So I don't have a wealth of experience to offer sorry.

I guess my question re your situation would be - do you usually go into labour the same way each time? like do your BH get stronger & more regular? Or have each of them been random?

It certainly sounds as though you could go into labour any day. And as we all well know...they are all different...but you know all this. I guess if each of your labours has started differently it's all up for grabs kwim? On the other hand if the others started out this way then it's just a matter of time.
It's great that bub has dropped.. I don't know what the temperature means (you're not sick I take it?) ... either way I would say surely it can't be long?

Sorry I can't offer more than that but big :hug: to you I hope she doesn't torment you too much & makes an appearance soon.

First of all - cry. The big ones finally caved at about 3:30 in the morning and I could get some sleep. So I am soooooo tired right now. And extremely frustrated.

DH and I just had to go to officeworks in Gossy so we did a run to the hospital in favourable conditions. As expected it took half an hour... which included doing 110kph down the rutting freeway! So we sat down and have an action plan now simply because we dont really have the petrol money to be back and forth for a dozen false starts - and dont have the time to be as certain as we were last time. Naturally as we were heading back to wyong I get another doozy and right now I am so over this.

They are usually the same but there are times where it will really get moving, the times would be good and everything is happening as its supposed to, so we'd head to the hospy and bam- nothing. I did everything I could think of to try and make it bite in with the 2 weeks of PL with Haz, but it still did it all in its own time. Endless walking, dtd, etc.

There is a difference this time though. I had suffered HG throughout the entire pregnancy the last 5 times where as this time we managed to stop it half way through. Secondly, I am taking RLTabs this time too. So I am not 100% certain I can be as cynical about my contractions this time.

*sigh* I am just so tired and over it right now. :cry:

Oh boy.... there's not much I can say or offer but plenty of sympathy and an ear to vent in :)

As if labour isn't hard enough without 2 weeks of that preceding it?!

And from what it sounds like, everything they usually tell you to look for (regular painful contrax) is happening with you... for weeks in advance. So I'm guessing the only thing you have to go on is your waters breaking which is only good if it happens early.

So what is the action plan? Obviously by the time you are certain it's the real thing it's well underway. Is your DH ready to deliver? (and I say that only half joking).

If it's the real thing, and you realise too late, call an ambulance. I guess that's all you can do really isn't it? Do you have family or friend who can live-in or pop in at short notice - a few times, if you have a few false alarms?

I dunno, I imagine one day I'll have a similar predicament if my next labour is fast...when to go? But I still think it's good to brush dh up on things to do if you realise you should stay home and call an ambulance.

And hugs :hug:

Although I didn't have that rotten prelabour, I know only too well the "is it, or isn't it?" panic, cos you only got minutes before hell breaks loose :rolleyes:

So hugs from me, and on a practical level......do you have the car prepped? Extra towels and blankets, water, pillows etc?

It's in the realms of possibility, and also that baby might be born at home - are you prepared for that too? ;)

oh inertia - i am also living in 'fear' of the super quick labour and getting to hosp on time...
and that prelabour must be awful... big hugs to you.
i agree get dh to read up on at home deliveries (my ob got dh to) just in case and call and ambulance if you need to. my ob recommended if we get stuck at home call ambu so someone is there asap to help us and they can talk us through everything
thinking of you.

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So I'm guessing the only thing you have to go on is your waters breaking which is only good if it happens early.

So what is the action plan? Obviously by the time you are certain it's the real thing it's well underway. Is your DH ready to deliver? (and I say that only half joking).

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Sadly the only time I didn't have an AROM, my waters went in transition so Harrys head basically blocked the hole immediately and so there was no discernible loss to warn me. I remember saying in the hospy when she said I was 9cms that she could break my waters now and she said "What waters?"

The plan is to go by 3min ones - which we are hoping may limit false start runs. I've had 3-5min contractions before that just stopped and went away. If its before midday we head straight to the hospital - if its after we have to get the kids from school first or risk DH not making it back in time. If I feel we left it too late we turn around and go to Wyong despite me being high risk. I am sure they would rather me be in a hospital than on the side of the road AS a high risk!

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If it's the real thing, and you realise too late, call an ambulance. I guess that's all you can do really isn't it? Do you have family or friend who can live-in or pop in at short notice - a few times, if you have a few false alarms?

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Unfortunately all my family are in QLD and DHs arent exactly reliable (or helpful) when it comes to help with the house and kids.

Thanks for the support though!

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So hugs from me, and on a practical level......do you have the car prepped? Extra towels and blankets, water, pillows etc?

It's in the realms of possibility, and also that baby might be born at home - are you prepared for that too? ;)

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Believe it or not I did put a plastic backed picnic rug over the bed the other day... just in case. Poor DH is beside himself worrying about everything that could go wrong here and there and I think its really made him miss how wonderful my family were where we all lived near by. I am hoping he has seen enough births now to know his job is to stand at the end of the bed an say "look, its a head. You are doing so well" LOL. To be honest our biggest worry is having the baby in the car on the highway in front of the kids!

I should get it ready just in case... Its funny I used to say about my sisters super fast labours that at least I dont have that problem "I get plenty of warning"... yeah. So much it seems that I can't even tell the real thing anymore. :(

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oh inertia - i am also living in 'fear' of the super quick labour and getting to hosp on time...
and that prelabour must be awful... big hugs to you.
i agree get dh to read up on at home deliveries (my ob got dh to) just in case and call and ambulance if you need to. my ob recommended if we get stuck at home call ambu so someone is there asap to help us and they can talk us through everything
thinking of you.

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Pretty much covers it. Prep DH, have a plan and hope for the best. If all else fails, paramedics rock socks!

Thanks for all the support guys. Hoping to be able to share some beautiful photos with you all soon.

Sounds like you're pretty well sorted...as planned as you can be...

Looking forward to seeing those pics :)

Good luck Interia!!! Wishing you a wonderful birthing experience