a sign of labour?

hello all..

just went to my hosp visit yesterday and she said bubs is 3/5 engaged.. when i went 2 weeks ago he was not engaged at all.. is it normal for him to move down so fast?

I have been getting some pains on and off like af pains and also increased bh.. i'm tired and have no energy.. i have back ache

i can feel babys head way down low

the other night the pains i was experiencing woke me up.

I have had loose bowel movements for the last couple of days

it hurts my belly to breathe in deeply and everytime i sit down and get up it hurts my ligaments.

sometimes when i'm walking or standing i get sharp, short stabbing pains way down low.. where babys head is.

do you think all of this means i will go into labour early?? my midwife seems to think i might go early.. but as they usually tell you "its too hard to tell when you will go into labour"

Sorry to say hun, that these are pretty much the same things that happen to alot of pregnant women at this stage. The stabbing pains you are feeling (like someone is sticking a knitting needle in your fanny ?) are bubs head pressing on nerves down there. Your ligaments are sore because they are stretched so much, same as your back. The loose bowel movements could be a number of things, but also could just be from bub being that bit lower pressing onto your bowels that bit more.

Ok, I know now I have depressed you. But, all these things do mean that your baby and your body are doing the right things.

Goodluck and I hope your body eases up a bit for you.

I have to agree with the other Trish! My bub engaged three weeks ago and since then I have pretty much had the exact same symptoms as you have described and no sign of a baby actually coming out yet. I think once they engage it just sets off a whole lot of new aches and pains in different places to before.

Thanks Trish, glad to see that you agree with me. I see your first is a Joel too. What do you think of Brandon as a name ;)

lol - we have great taste in names Trish! Brandon is a great name, but we have something else picked out for this one ;)

Unfortunately the 'Trishes' are right and I do believe first time babies do engage earlier then subsequent babies. I've got all your symptoms and no baby! The good news is that the head is down so you shouldn't have to worry about a breech birth, etc.
All the best.

I have all those symptoms too and have been 3/5 engaged since 36 weeks.. I have 11 days to go, and no sign of bubble yet!

Bub has been engaged for over a month. Soft bowels too. Oh and those lovely hormones that relax your muscles just when you need them most...yep. Some days I swear Im 4cm dilated already, and those stabbing pains even some that have brought me to my knees, great fun. Yet here I am overdue, overcooked and still waiting.
Just means your very prg.
Hang in there.
K

PS that stabbing pain is when the baby is resting on your Sciatic nerve nearest your bladder. Hurts!