Prodromal Labor?

[clseale]

Anyone experience it? This is baby #2, but dd was basically induced, so I feel like a FTM. I have been having BH for months, but last night for about 2 hrs I had pains roughly every 5 min that lasted 30-45 sec. they started in my lower back then radiated up to my abdomen and down into my thighs. They were painful enough that they made me irritable and not wanting to talk (but I COULD talk). Then they just stopped. I continued to have bouts of tightening more in line with BH on and off throughout the evening, and there’s a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen when I am up and moving around, but better when I am sitting. It’s obviously not labor, but maybe Prodromal/early labor? Please?? Hopefully?! LOL

For reference, I am 39+4 and was 1-2cm with a “favorable, soft cervix” at my appt last week. I have a check up tomorrow and a growth u/s so they’ll check me again. I’m just really hoping progress has been made from last week. I’m ok still being pregnant, but I really don’t want a repeat of the induction I had with dd.

[achi]

I had something like that with DS around 38+can’t remember how many days. Lasted 3-4 hours then stalled out.

But it meant I went into my induction at 3 cm. I was induced right at 40w due to GD and low fluid.

[Susie]

I felt the same with DD the day before she was born. We were in BBB shopping for a new vacuum (lol) and I kept feeling uncomfortable in a way I couldn't articulate and kept wanting to sit down, but not because I was short of breath. It continued throughout the afternoon and evening. They were timeable, but nothing that I specifically recognized as how I thought labor would feel. It stopped by the time I went to bed, so I figured it was nothing significant. But I woke up around 1am in active labor, and delivered around 5am.  She was born at 39+2.  No idea about dilation going into it because I had declined checks.

FX for you that he's coming soon!

[corgimom]

Sort of, maybe?
At my 40w appointment my midwife was like, yeaaah, your not really dilated yet. She mentioned she could sweep my membranes and told me "Hey, it's not going to be great and it might not to anything at all, but if your body is ready it might help things get going on their own" I really didn't want to be induced so I figured, what the hell, sure!
The next few days I started having real contractions to the point that I would start to time them and then... they'd stop after maybe an hour or so. They weren't great but I could talk and breathe through them fine. At 40w3d, it was a Friday, and I was totally over the starting and stopping so when I got home from work I bounced on a ball and walked up and down the stairs, the contractions got more intense but then stopped. Again. Ate dinner, laid down and around 9-ish they started again and were way, way more intense, couldn't talk during them, etc. By midnight they hadn't stopped so DH was like, time to go at least get checked! Got the the hospital at 12:30... I was at a 3, but my midwife admitted me anyway... Long story short, DD was born 12 hours later!

I think it's a good sign since you're already dilated and what you're describing sounds similar to what I had with DD. Fingers crossed that this is leading up to something!

[clseale]

Yay! Thanks everyone. This at least gives me hope that maybe my body is in a better place than it was with dd at this point. It’s also motivation to keep bouncing on my ball and doing squats. LOL COME ON, BABY BOY!

[tiptoetulips]

Hi apparently we are the same pregnant lady. 39d3d has inconsistent contractions for 36 hours finally got 5-1-1 last night and got sent home after no progress still 1cm 80% effaced. I did not have this with DD1.
I’m GBs+ and live about 45 min away and progressed fairly fast with dd1
So all this makes me nervous. Things did not get intense with her until an hour before she was born. I could feel contractions but they were manageable up until the end.

[Susie]

tiptoetulips , I was GBS+ with my DD too.  In the 1am wakeup, 5am delivery timeline that I mentioned, I got to the hospital around 4:40am.  Totally missed the abx window.

They did some extra blood tests on her, which I wasn't even aware of on that first day.  If everything had been normal, then she'd have stayed with me on mom/baby, they'd just monitor her temp/etc., and "oh well" about the abx.  Much of the time that is what happens.  Unfortunately she had an elevated WBC count and inflammation markers on two consecutive tests, which could've been a sign of infection but might also be nothing.  They took her to the NICU for a 48h course of IV abx.  The NICU was only because they couldn't do an IV on a newborn anywhere else.  It was traumatizing as a FTM because I was totally unprepared for any of this.  Everyone said "you need to be here to get these abx doses," but no one told me what would happen if I didn't/couldn't, or how to recognize labor earlier (if that's possible for women who progress fast?) to avoid it.  She wound up with the IV in a vein in her scalp because they kept blowing out elsewhere, and all of it complicated BFing, etc.  Her pedi agreed with the hospital neonatologist's decision to do it, but he reminded me that it was only prophylactic, we were not in a scary place.  That helped.

Who knows whether it was truly "necessary" but she was fine and everything was normal after she was discharged, which happened later in the day than anticipated, but still on the same day as anticipated and the same day as me.  We got through it with the EBFing.

After that experience I was worried about it happening again with my 2nd.  But everyone reminded me that in that situation the thing that prevents you from getting the abx (a fast labor) is the same thing that really limits the baby's infection risk.  It's spending long periods of time with water broken prior to delivery that is high risk.  If you go fast, the window for infection to occur is quite limited.  Plus, if it happened again, it would be less stressful just because it would not be such a surprise.

IDK if it helps to hear, but ... just do your best and don't beat yourself up if you don't make it in time.  Sometimes you just can't, and they can deal with that if necessary.

[clseale]

tiptoetulips , that sounds awful. I’m sorry. I’m very fortunate that my hospital is only 10 min away. Hoping we both get to cross the finish line soon!

[jennistarr1]

Hoping so ... So that most of your labor is at home

Agree avoid induction