Almost 37 weeks pregnant... Need advice!

if your water breaks.. your in labor

if your mucus plug falls out (sorry it sounds gross) you'll go into labor

any pain that you can time and intensifies as your timing it (say from 10 minutes now your still having the pain and its 5 minutes) your in labor

Labor can start in your back

Labor can feel like indigestion..

Best of luck!!!

Not to repeat what the OB said, but you can definitely tell the difference. I was terrified of not knowing when I'd be in labor, but you can tell.

With my 1st, I woke up at 5am in labor. I'd slept through all the early stages, and woke up with contractions about 7 or 8 minutes apart. They will be steady in terms of how much time is in between them. You won't have one now, then in 2 minutes, then 10 minutes later, then 4 minutes after that.

They will come in regular intervals, and slowly get closer together- or quickly get close together, but they'll stay consistant.

With my 2nd, I woke up with tiny little contractions- they didn't hurt, they were noticable, though. That was at 9am. I stayed that way pretty much all day, till mid evening when they finally started getting stronger, and closer together. I didn't go into the hospital until 10pm- after eating, and having a bath, cause I knew once I got there, I wouldn't be able to do one, and wouldn't want to do the other! ;)

With Gillian, I was induced.

With all 3 kids, I had to have my water broken for me. It's gross, and wet, and it feels like you just wet yourself, but you can't stop it. ;)

I never noticed a mucus plug with any of my 3 pregnancies.

Thanks for all the info. I've heard some ladies don't even have their waters break and they don't notice the mucus plug. I am just thinking that I wont have time to get to the birthing center if I don't know I am in labor until the contractions are coming consistantly at such short intervals...

With my first I had tons of pre-labour that felt like really bad cramps all the way around to my back. They started around 37 weeks and I had her at 42 weeks.

With my second I didn't have any pre-labour at all. The contractions just felt like tightening, just in the abdomen. I called my midwife and we had this conversation:

Me: I'm having contractions, but I don't think I'm in labour, they don't hurt at all.
MW: How far apart are they?
Me: ... about 2 minutes.
MW: I'll be right over!

My son was born 3 hours later.

So it can vary from woman to woman and from labour to labour. My water never broke with either until I was pushing. Both times I lost the mucous plug gradually.

With my first I had no breaks in between contractions, just 16 hours of pain that got continuously worse.

With my second I didn't feel any pain at all until transition and by that time my body was pushing and I only had maybe 20 minutes of anything that could be described as "pain", but it wasn't that bad.

I know what it's like to want to know what it will feel like, but no one can tell you for sure because each labour is so different. It can feel like really bad diarhhea cramps, or it can be just pressure, it depends. It can also sometimes be throughout your whole body or it can be just in the abdomen, sometimes it hurts a lot, sometimes not at all. Sorry I can't be of more help! 

It is so different for everyone. I don't think anyone can give you a real answer that will be helpful.  I didn't have any false contractions.  I had a lot of pressure in my back but nothing that felt like a contraction.

My water started leaking at 37 weeks so I went to the hospital. I was given meds to start labor because nothing was happening and they were worried about her not having enough amniotic fluid.  When labor hit it hit hard.  It was excrutiating and exhausting and lasted 14 hours but it's hard to describe.  When it came time to push I pushed for over an hour and nothing happened.  The baby was in distress, emergency c-section...she was stuck.  While I was pushing, I was actually pushing her face against my pelvic bone, my hips hadn't spread at all.  She was bruised and swollen all over her face, it was so sad.

My son was a scheduled c-section, he was almost 9 lbs.  The doctor said if I couldn't have a 7lb baby there was no way I was going to give birth to a 9 lb baby.

Oh! And I didn't have breaks between contractions, it was constant.  And I didn't notice losing my mucus plug with either pregnancy.

My water didn't break, they had to break it. I lost my mucus plug when they broke my water. I was in labor though. You have contractions about every 30 seconds for 5 minutes, thats how you know it's time to go to the hospital. About 2 weeks before I had my daughter I had "contractions" at night. It felt like really bad period cramps. It hurt but it wasn't anything i couldn't deal with. The one morning I woke up and it hurt so bad I couldn't stand. It didn't go away either. I told my hubby I wanted to go to the hospital and sure enough I was 4cm dialted and ready to go. I had my daughter at 39 weeks. Good luck!

Good question. I was in labor with my first child and only knew it because the "feelings" came at regular time intervals.

With both my labors, I started going to the bathroom a lot. I never had the "water break" so I assume it was while I was on the commode.

With my son, my tummy area felt tight, then I'd get these feelings of relief. No way would I ever have thought that was a labor "pain." With my daughter, I recognized the "pains" but while not feeling bad, they didn't feel good either. My experience may be unusual, but had I "known" I'd have managed to make it to the hospital before having birthed my child.

Since you'll be with the midwife, she'll be experienced enough in the different labors to help you out. Beyond that, if something is happening, start timing it. Whatever the feeling is coming at 5 minute intervals, you'll know.

I hope your childbirth goes as easily as mine did and that you get as great and healthy a kid as I did, too.

I had false labor with my first child. My OBGYN said if you can keep walking with out knees feeling the need to buckle the the concractions are not ture full on contractions.

Wow I can not imagine just waiting for labor to start. It felt like forever to me ~ make sure you have something to keep you busy during that time.

I don't know about that, I was up and walking pretty far into labour with my son. They were definitely "true full on contractions" and I was in active labour, like I said, it's different for every woman and every labour is different.

I've heard so much different stuff, it makes me wonder and stress more cause it truly seems like it is different for every woman/ labor

When I was pregnant with my first child, I felt a tightening in my lower back. A couple of days later, I had my regular OB/GYN appointment and my doctor told me to head straight to the hospital! He said he could feel the baby's head! I didn't even have a chance to go home and get my suitcase!!

He had to induce my labor and shortly afterwards, my contractions began. He had to perform a C-section because my pelvic area was too small. My daughter weighed in at 8lbs 2ozs!

For me, I had the BH contractions & they were not too bad. Slightly painful, but not like the contractions you read about...so I didn't worry.

My real contractions though...didn't come steady & they were painful. They were timed odd like 2 minutes, then 5, then 3 then 7 minutes.

Once I went to the hospital they gave me something to help the contractions to be more consistant. But they were much more painful than the BH's

U was a whimp  I had c section with each child,,,  I will tell horror after baby is born