my waters didnt break until 5 mins before she arrived! waters breaking isnt always the first sign of labour. i had back ache all day then labour started at 11pm, with contractions 4 and a half mins apart. then baby was born just before 5am. so 6 hours of labour. i dont think i could have been in the car for an hour though with contractions 4 and a half mins apart! i had a homebirth.
so how do you tell the difference between baby twinges, period like cramps and the onset of labour and contractions, I just want to get straight into hospital so I can hopefully get the car journey outa the way and settle a bit
You'll know once it kicks in properly. I was so worried about that, but you just know.
Regularity was a major sign for me. My (very mild cramps) started at about 4pm on the monday, my mam told me to write down how often they were, and since there was a pattern she was adiment this was the begining of labour. By 9pm that evening i was swaying around to the idea, by midnight there was no denying it!!! I went to hospital at about 7am when my contractions where a couple of minutes apart and had Lucy at 6pm x
I don't think you can say all first labours are long. Mine was 28 1/2 hours from first contraction to birth but I work with a girl who was only 3 1/2 hours with her first. So really does depend on the person.
An hour in the car when you are having regular contractions will be hard going so I would suggest that you contact your hospital and explain that you have an hours drive and what their policies are. Some hospitals will not let you stay in until you are 4 cm which can be a long wait and you will not want to be doing the return journey.
As for when you know, its one of those things that your body just tell you. The pain I received for a contraction (all in my back as ds was back to back) was like nothing else in my pregnancy and I just knew from the start. As for waters breaking mind were broken in labour by the mw so you can not rely on this is a sign.
Also wanted to reassure you on the prem side of things my mil could not carry full term and both her children were prem, however my sil has had 3 children and only one was a few days early.
my local hospital is literally 5 mins from my house, if I need to get to a hospital pretty quick, but the hospital an hour away said just to come in as soon as the contractions started or waters break and they would not expect me to travel home again.. just to sit tight in hospital until the actual event! I am not really fussed about how long the labour is, but getting to the right place and giving myself enough time is crucial, having said that if the contractions are light and I can't tell and I get in the car and realise I can't stand the journey I'll just go local.. hopefully it won't be too dramatic, but having said all this knowing how unpredictable this can be, baby will come when its ready and I might not have much choice in the matter.. we shall see! X
I am one of the super quick ones, my total labour time was 2 hours 4 minutes for my first, I was told that if I choose to have any more I may book a home birth. I followed the trend of my mum though whose first labour was 1 hour 40 minutes and longest labour was 2 hours 30 minutes. My sil also had a fast labour with 4 hours 30 minutes.
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Regularity was a major sign for me. My (very mild cramps) started at about 4pm on the monday, my mam told me to write down how often they were, and since there was a pattern she was adiment this was the begining of labour. By 9pm that evening i was swaying around to the idea, by midnight there was no denying it!!! I went to hospital at about 7am when my contractions where a couple of minutes apart and had Lucy at 6pm
An hour in the car when you are having regular contractions will be hard going so I would suggest that you contact your hospital and explain that you have an hours drive and what their policies are. Some hospitals will not let you stay in until you are 4 cm which can be a long wait and you will not want to be doing the return journey.
As for when you know, its one of those things that your body just tell you. The pain I received for a contraction (all in my back as ds was back to back) was like nothing else in my pregnancy and I just knew from the start. As for waters breaking mind were broken in labour by the mw so you can not rely on this is a sign.
Also wanted to reassure you on the prem side of things my mil could not carry full term and both her children were prem, however my sil has had 3 children and only one was a few days early.