The Start Of Labour

I've been having contractions for the last 24 hours roughly 30mins apart. It happens for about 8 hours then goes away. I had a rough night sleep last night with cramps, then stopped most of today then started again tonight about 30mins apart. I dont even know if i have dilated yet. I have talked to the hospital they just said to rest and call if my waters break or any worries. my due date is on the 11th aug so my ob is going the check if i have dilated then. It's so frustrating thinking it's started, then it stops so its not regular enough yet. i just want it to happen

Lozza it sounds like "prelabour" - your body warming up. Sometimes it this happens for a little while before your body reaches the hormonal levels it needs to be at to kick labour off properly and keep it going.

Often a long prelabour will at least efface and sometimes even do some of your dilating before labour establishes so it does have some positives...even though it completely sucks especially when it's hard to rest :hug:

It's really important though that you try not to let this wear you out physically, or wear you down emotionally. So do whatever it takes to distract you when you're awake (don't time your contractions, it just makes you obsess about them even more and it doesn't mean much this early in the game), and when you can, get some rest. That's so, so important otherwise you'll be wrecked before you even start and that can make things harder when you do go into labour.

Good luck I hope it won't be too much longer...

I TOTALLY agree with what Tobily said about putting too much emphasis on timing etc. I stayed up all night when I first went into labour so excited that it was finally happening and by the time I went to hospital 9 hours later, I was so exhausted (understatement!!!) that I was falling into comatose sleep between 1 minute contractions and ended up needing a vacuum extraction because I was too weak to push properly. I even had a stopwatch and a graph and was plotting all my contractions thinking this would help the midwife. I know this time to sleep and rest as much as possible.

Good luck and I hope this happens soon for you.

Hi Lozza,
I recently experienced what you are going through. Although i went in to early labour at 34 weeks only to have it all stop. I then experienced regular contractions on and off for the remainder of my pregnancy.
In the end i just tried to ignore it and not think of it as anything other then braxton Hicks, this way i didnt get upset, although i was still frustrated. In the end my baby boy was born a week overdue, but my labour was only 55 minutes.
As annoying and upsetting as they are, they are doing a good thing getting everything ready for labour. Enjoy your last few days of pregnancy as it will all be over very soon. Take care and rest up.

Hi. How are you going now??
My 2nd labour was similar.
My contractions started at 2.15am on the Saturday morning. They were 15 minutes apart for 3 hours. Stopped at 5.15am. Then at 8.15 they started again for about 2 hours, 15 minutes apart.
DH & I decided to go for a long walk - I was 6 days overdue already & was ready!!
We ended up walking about 5 k's. Very slowly. I only had 2 contractions the whole time.
At about 4pm we drove 10 minutes away to drop my sister off to my mum & had 2 in that 10 minutes.
They were intermittent til 10.30pm. They were 30 minutes apart, but regular & way more painful.
By 11pm I was making noise, so I went to try & sleep on the lounge so DH could get some sleep.
At 1.30am I couldn't handle it anymore. They were still 30 minutes apart, but hurt like hell!
Got DH up & they hit 5 minutes apart. Just BEFORE my 40 minute trip to the hossy!
Anyway I was 6 - 7cm dialated when I got there.
She was born at 7am.
I really think those 30min contractions were doing something otherwise the first 6 - 7cm took only about 1 - 1 1/2 hours, but the last 3cms took 5 hours.
So, hopefully your contractions are doing more than you think!

Thanx for that guys, it's day 3 after they started and now they have stopped today. I'm not happy it just makes me anxious waiting, but i do agree, i'm not going to time them at this stage because you do become obsessed with them. I'm doing everything i can to bring on the labour, so i don't get induced.

Hi Lozza

I went into prelabour 2weeks before MJ was born, on the monday of 38 weeks i would have regular contractions all day and then they would go away that night. the first time it happened i was sure this was is and thought that i was in for an easy ride as i was hardly in any pain at all...
1 week later (to the day) it happened again, this is it i thought - but again the contractions went away that night.
6 days later i had a tiny weeny show and then at 3am monday morning (one week later again!!) the real thing happened. Through the 'prelabour' i wondered if i really was in labour. when the real contractions started I KNEW this was it.

Please dont get to wrapped up in timing the contractions, i did and it took away all my focus and was one of many mistakes i made.
Your baby will come when its ready, it knows what to do and your body is trying its best to prepare.

Try not to hurry things along yet, you still have at least another week before any talk of inducing starts. Rest and enjoy these last days as your life is about to change in a huge way (but an utterly fantastic one:))

Good luck

Loz I had the same pre labour for two days before my birth, please get some rest, I was exhausted by the time I got to the real thing and still haven't recovered!

thanx guys i had a boy on day 4 of having pre labour pains lost my plug that morning had him at 8.20pm on the 10th August Aston Maxwell so i was in labour. it was an experience thanx for all the advice

Hi Lozza,
Congratulations on the birth of your son!!
Well done!