The start of your labour...

Did your contractions start quite strong or did they build from nothing?

Did they start far apart? Or pretty close together?

I know everyone is extremely different so not expecting a pattern in the answers but just interested in the responses :)

Mine all started fairly gently and far apart and got stronger and closer together as labour progressed :)

In both labours where I started sponatneously, I went from regular tightenings that were uncomfortable but painless to contractions that were very ouchie from the beginning. I had 3 or 4 really ouchie contractions though before I told anyone I was in labour because I had the odd ouchie tightening but they were isolated contractions. Once the ouchie ones started coming they didn't stop.

For DD2 they started at 4am, 15 minutes apart and were very weak. By midday they were 10minutes apart but no stronger. By 6pm I was at 8minutes and then by 11pm they were 5 minutes apart but lasting about 1.5-2minutes. I never got any closer together then that. I also never thought they got really painful either. DD2 was born at 2:34am and my waters broke 6 minutes before she came out so I never got the ramp up of contractions you usually get.

With DD1 they started about 20 mins apart and very gradually got closer throughout the day. With DD2 they started about 5mins apart.

mine were really mild and about 12-15 minutes apart on average (although some might of been closer to 15-20). they were like a braxton hicks but with slight period like cramp and had a start, peak and finish (even when really mild...you could visualise it "rolling" towards you ITMS).

they never got regular, sometimes they went to 2-3 minutes apart but never lasted longer than 30 seconds and then would go back to 12-15 minutes (at some points i wasnt even sure that they were happening anymore lol). then about 3 minutes before my waters broke i got 2 in a row and then POP! after that i would get a bigger contraction every 10-15 minutes that would last 60-90seconds and required concentration and my calm breathing exercises: an hour later of that kind of thing she was born :)

HTH!

DS I was induced but for DD from what I had read was expecting real labour to build up, you know start 15 min apart then get stronger and closer together. not mine. 1am was BAM! Mine were roughly 2 min apart, lasting 30-90sec for 26 hours. I had barely had a BH the day leading up to it. Was insane, not at all what I prepared for.

guess I'm just trying to say, dont expect it to build up, it doesnt always happen that way.

Mine all of a sudden started up. I was sitting there eating dinner, miserable about still being pregnant when BANG! The contractions were 15 mins apart at first then over several hours just went closer together.

My labour started suddenly and strongly. I had a bit of period pain for 20 minutes then a strong ouchie contraction and the 4 minutes later another strong contraction. Things just got faster and faster from there. (Though my DS wasn't born till 10 hours later as he was posterior and had a hand up by his face).

My water broke and I started with uncomfortable contractions 7 minutes apart. Within the hour they were strong and about 2 minutes apart :)

My last labour started with waters breaking in bed, followed by back contractions 5 min apart lasting 45 secs, never got closer, only slightly stronger before my csection (was planned turned into emergency)

Mine were about 10 minutes apart (on avg) getting gradually stronger for about 21 hours before labour established and they started progressing.

They all built from nothing.. DS's started in the afternoon.. DD1's about 2 hours after my waters broke.. and DD2's were in the middle of the night.. im guessing hers started from nothing as they woke me up when they started to get some pain to them. They all started around 11 minutes apart.

DS1 i felt little niggles come and go on the sat night as i went to bed, woke up about 2ish and they were still there a little stronger. I'd say in the beginning they were about 10min apart. Things progressed from there but DS still didn't arrive until 12:49am on the Monday.

DS2 it was my waters breaking with no pain whatsoever at about 8ish in the morning. I had a few hours of no pain but i'd say by about 11ish i was beginning to have contactions. I can't remember how far apart they were i'm sorry and i only had about an hour of my own contractions before i was induced anyway because of merconium in my waters.

DD i felt fairly strong (but not painful) tightenings across the front of my lower belly while i was sittng up at about 3am and they would have been about 10min apart. This continued for most of the following day with them gradually getting a little stronger. At about 4ish i had a lay down which seemed to slow them down, i wasn't happy with that so i got up and from then on things really go going.