So I think I'm having contractions...they feel different than my usual bh. The top of my belly gets rock hard at the same time I have pressure and cramping really low, it lasts about a minute, and then fades away. I'm also having a lot of lower back pain. They've been going on for about 3 hours at this point, coming at least every ten minutes or less. Trying not to get my hopes up, but this is different than before so it's exciting!
That's how my MOTN ones are. Could be real labor! My doc categorized mine as "prodromal" labor which is different than BH because you get painful and intense ones and they can be timeable. And they usually happen at the same time of day. But hopefully they keep coming for you!
So I think I'm having contractions...they feel different than my usual bh. The top of my belly gets rock hard at the same time I have pressure and cramping really low, it lasts about a minute, and then fades away. I'm also having a lot of lower back pain. They've been going on for about 3 hours at this point, coming at least every ten minutes or less. Trying not to get my hopes up, but this is different than before so it's exciting!
Keep us posted! A bit of advice from my last labor: get some sleep tonight!
So I think I'm having contractions...they feel different than my usual bh. The top of my belly gets rock hard at the same time I have pressure and cramping really low, it lasts about a minute, and then fades away. I'm also having a lot of lower back pain. They've been going on for about 3 hours at this point, coming at least every ten minutes or less. Trying not to get my hopes up, but this is different than before so it's exciting!
Post by cabbagecabbage on Jul 14, 2016 19:55:12 GMT -5
My first OB asked to speak to me during a contraction when I called to see if it effected my ability to talk. My midwife this time told me not to call until I had a "wall grabbing" contraction but to call then because second labors are faster.
Post by sarcaztic10 on Jul 15, 2016 5:29:58 GMT -5
Ray I have a pretty high pain tolerance as well and can distract myself from really feeling most pain. I couldn't talk, walk, or even focus on anything but the pain during my ctx last time.
I have a pretty high pain tolerance so I don't really know when what I'm having should be classified as "painful".
Puncturing my eardrum was painful. Foot surgery was painful. Separating my pectoral and chest wall was painful after a while.
Is that the kind of pain they're talking about when they say "don't come in until you have regular, painful, contractions" ?
Definitely painful, painful. I have a - get a cavity filled with no pain meds, rib tattoo without flinching - pain tolerance. There's literally nothing that describes contractions when they first hit you and knock the wind out of you. Once you can anticipate and breathe through them, they're not as bad.
Agreed with others, I have a relatively high pain tolerance and slept through most of my beginning contractions last time. But eventually they were so painful I couldn't sleep and was holding on to the wall and couldn't talk.
I have a pretty high pain tolerance so I don't really know when what I'm having should be classified as "painful".
Puncturing my eardrum was painful. Foot surgery was painful. Separating my pectoral and chest wall was painful after a while.
Is that the kind of pain they're talking about when they say "don't come in until you have regular, painful, contractions" ?
Because I'm a lurky loo stalking you guys to read birth stories...
When I finally decided to call L&D with DS, the guy who answered was going to tell me to stay home because I could talk "easily" (I was just trying to stay as relaxed as possible by focusing on my talking) but the length and timing of my contractions had him really confused about how far along I was so he had me come in. Got there, checked in at 4cm and 90% effaced, and got a ton of comments from nurses and my doula that I could talk surprisingly well given the length and timing of my contractions.
They hurt a lot, just FYI. But I figured if I didn't try talking normally and acting as normally as I could, I'd tense and make the pain worse.
So. Basically, trust your instincts about the pain. Lots of pain, even really bad pain, is manageable as long as you can find something that helps keep you from tensing too much or at least keeps you from feeling afraid of the pain.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Jul 15, 2016 17:50:08 GMT -5
thelittleredm I totally agree. My contractions hurt, yes, but it's more that I went to a different place of hard work than I was writhing in pain. I'd compare it to talking during a run or workout, doable but distracting and unwanted. Last time I got an epidural when I felt I could handle everything just fine but I didn't want to wait too long if it got a lot worse. This time I'm not opposed to pain meds but I want to labor and move longer it's such a mental game.
thelittleredm I totally agree. My contractions hurt, yes, but it's more that I went to a different place of hard work than I was writhing in pain. I'd compare it to talking during a run or workout, doable but distracting and unwanted. Last time I got an epidural when I felt I could handle everything just fine but I didn't want to wait too long if it got a lot worse. This time I'm not opposed to pain meds but I want to labor and move longer it's such a mental game.
Absolutely. And it's a tough game, for sure. I remember thinking more than once that that pain was exactly why people got epiderals but apparently I never said a word about the pain lol I cried a lot when I ended up restricted to laboring on my back (I had awful back labor) because it was finally the only way the nurse could kind of find DS's heart rate. She apologized the whole time and later mentioned that she was surprised I never asked for an epi by that point. But, mind over matter to some degree. I had a lot of people to prove wrong....lol
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