I'm 29 weeks, This is my first time having a baby I'm kinda scared, My cousin just had one and she was in labor for 26 hours, I haven't been to the doctors in a while and I'm trying to get to get to one soon but its hard with the condition I'm in, I don't know what contractions feel like, so I don't know if I'm getting them or not, can you explain to me what it feels like please
Thanks

Hello..

1st of all congradulations on your baby! :)
I haven't had a baby before this is my 1st, i wondered the same question and i just got told you will know when the time has come.
Everyone is different in every single way so don't ask too many questions as you'll just get nervous & scared.
I'm nervous about having mine i'm due in 20days! :D
But at the same time think of it like this, it will all be worth it in the end!

Best of luck!!

To me they felt just like the really bad period pains I used to get as a teenager! I felt them more in my back than at the front. I was the same as you when I expected my 1st baby but trust me when they really started, I knew and probably will too!

My waters broke a few hours before my contractions started so i knew i was def in labour. As far as i can remember (you forget as soon as baby is born) my contractions were like back pain and gradually got more painful as labour progressed. i was in labour for 14 hours which is fairly standard for a first baby but the time flew past i couldnt believe it was 14 hours. I do think that you will know when the time comes, your body is clever like that. My best advice is keep an open mind and relax as much as you can. I am not usually very good with pain but i thought giving birth was fantastic and my beautiful daughter was worth every second of it.

My waters also went before my contractions started when I had SBJr. They are hard to describe and everyone is different. I know this isn't helpful but I can safely say - you will know! trust me!

they a re the tightening of your uterus a strong pain all over and are just stronger than braxton and generaly they will start of not too bad then gat stronger and stronger u will defo know when you are in labour. hope that helps a bit xxjojoxx 36+6

they are different for everyone hon and its not true that you will just know, you wont always. some people do but alot dont.
i was in labour for 40 hours and can honestly say that my contractions even though they were extremely strong they didnt really hurt and they came from my lower back, i had a light period pain in my front but it was concentrated in my back and between my legs,mild shooting pains.xxx

hi, first of all congrats! dont worry u will no when ur contractions start. at first i thought i had bad wind lol, but realised the pain was coming every 30 mins! everyone feels them in dif ways, i suffered wiv pain in my back as baby was lying back 2 back! my labour went on for 44 hrs but is hard to describe the feeling of contractions. jus make sure u no how 2 breathe through as it honestly helps so much! hope everything goes ok, n good luck! xx

The only way to describe contractions is like period pain.. bad period pain. but how deal with labour depends on your own pain threshold. I only had gas and air as pain relief as I do have a high pain threshold so it didn't feel as painful to me as it does to some.

As far as the length of labour goes, don't listen to anyone elses stories. That goes for any part of labour to be honest. Every labour is completely different, even if you've had a child previously. My sister was in labour for 72 hours with my nephew, but I was only in labour for 3 hours with Tarran. My mum was in labour for 90 minutes with me. The partner of someone my fiance works with was in labour for 2 weeks. They are all completely different.

True to form of this was the fact that on my first, my waters broke while i was on the toilet. And I mean they broke. They went with one big gush. 5 and a half hours later, my daughter was born. With Tarran, my waters didn't even trickle. The midwife had to manually burst them as Tarran's head was crowning because if she'd left them in place, I never would have been able to continue a natural birth.

Please don't listen to anyone elses stories about labour. Some people do have horrible labours and hearing these stories will only scare you. Enjoy your pregnancy and try to enjoy your labour as best you can because as soon as you hold your baby in your arms for the first time, you'll forget all about what you have just gone through to get them there. It will all seem worthwhile, no matter how easy or difficult your labour is.

Congratulations and good luck for the future.

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Hello and first of all stop worrying!!!As they say everybody is different so there is no point comparing yourself to the others or expect the worst.I spent half my pregnancy being sure my waters were leaking,my baby wasnt moving,i was having contractions and my baby would be really premature etc...When my waters finally broke,there was no mistaking what happened,but funnily enough,i wasnt sure i was having contractions until i started pushing!!!!I was kinda breathing heavily every few minutes to keep my furiously watch checking husband happy while having tightenings really low down in my stomach and expecting the really bad thing start any moment.Then suddenly I was vomiting and in serious pain yelling for gas and air when the midwife who run in said it was to late and all i needed was one push and it would be over.I seriously thought she lost her marbles.Minutes later(see i didnt believe the midwife and refused to push until she lined up some pain relief which she refused to do repeating it was no longer neccesary)my beautifull daughter has arrived.The whole 100 times worse than bad period pain and if u dont know if u are in labour than ure not never happened for me.I dont have high pain treshold,was really sure i was gonna die beforehand,am the world class worrier and it was my first baby,so see,it can happen to anybody.Good luck and all the best!!!