Youre coming to the end of a long nine months and every ounce of you is on the alert waiting for a sign that your baby is on his way. Heres how to tell if the big day has arrived.
It's still a big mystery how your body
and your baby know when it's time for birth. But basically it comes down to your hormones adjusting themselves to the right levels - just as they did when you first became pregnant. For some women the triggers don't go off, however, and they have to be induced.
There are some easy dead giveaways that your getting ready to go into labour:
Your babies head engages in your pelvis. the best way i can describe this would be something like a feeling ofa grapefruit in between your legs pushing your hips apart and making you walk funny. hence- the WADDLE! this will probably make you pee more too.
Braxton Hicks contractions. fake contractions, often referred to as 'practice'. in my experience, they felt like hunger pangs. and went away after a chocolate bar or two. how do you tell if they are braxton kicks or the real thing? easy. real ones get quicker. and much stronger.
The 'nesting' instinct. nasically the want for your partner to be around, stock up on tinned foods, cook clean and be domestic in general. make the most of it, you wont have much time when bubbs comes, just dont overdo it! and scrubbing floors on your hands and knees can bring great releif from back pain
:)
Signs your baby is on the weay.
Diarrhoea. this can occur as a slight tummy upset. generally labour wont get underway until your bowels have completely emptied.
weight loss. yay!!!! in the few days before labour you may notice about 1-1.5k wight loss. this is bexause of a reduction in blood vulumn, nothing wrong with your baby and is NORMAL! this is the only time a woman will get upset because she lost weight :) it is also cause d by less fluid retention, which means if your feet havebeen turning into balloons everytime you sit in front of your computer, it wont be as bad now,.
A show. I wont go too far into the details as I still get squeemish over this sort of thing. but dont be worried if theres blood in it. perfectly normal. DONT go rushing off to hospital, as althoug hthis does mean things are starting to happen, they will probably just send you back home for now.
water breakin. contrary to the movies, it doesnt always cause a flood that will sink titanic. call the hospital- you may need to go in and be observed if things take too long after the water breaks as there is risk of infection. in most cases this isn't necessary.
contractions. every pregnant womens worst nightmare. i was told by a midwife in one of my checkups that it feels like a period pain. unless your in for a very long labour, i would begin to doubt this. go to the hospital when they get to be about five minutes apart. remember to call ahead first! if your having nive light once, go about your day. but keep tming them. relax, rest and even get some sleep if you can. the longer this first easy part of your labour is, the longer its likely to be. i didnt get this part :< i feel a little ripped off!
for those impatient ones- how to help get started
if none of these tell tale signs have appeared and your getting a bit impatient with your due date coming up, or you've gone over and a re just fed up, here are some ways to help kick-start your body.
Long walks- but don't wear yourself out.
eat hot or spicy foods (if you can still handle it). this can help empty your bowel. drinking oil cocktails works too but tastes gross.
'playing'. your partner will sure like this idea! to put it how i understand it, certain aspects of his wriggly bits can stimulate the servix into action.
i hope this can help put some of you at ease a little. but i know there will always be that little nervous worry until its all ovwer. then you lbe an expert like me! :) the most important thing to do is relax, take it ias it comes and make it your own labour. dont try to do this because someone said you should. do something if you feel it is going to help and make you more confortable :)
(August 2006) (
Lexi xxx
