What it's like??

Question

So I'm 32wks now with my first and I'm very nervous about labor and delivery! I was just wondering how can you tell when the baby drops? Is it really that obvious and really hard to mistake your water breaking?? What's it feel like inside as it breaks? And last...do believe in the !?(epidural)

Answer 1

i never felt when the baby dropped... i have had two kids.
On the epidural.. my advice is YES!! the are awesome. I will say that they don't always works. I had one with both of my kids.. my first baby it worked like a charm! I didn't feel anything, i felt the pressure to push at the end... but that was about it. Walk in the park. The second time I had one, and it didn't work. I felt everything!!! Plus he was a large baby (almost 9lbs) and was faced the wrong way. Either way, if had to do it over again.. knowing what i know now... I would of still had the epidural BOTH times. Why make this life experience any more painful then it has to be!!

BTW.. both of times my labor was enduced, so they broke my water at the hospital. It just felt like i had peed all over my self.. YUCK!

Answer 2

You can tell when the baby drops because your stomach will have shifted lower. most generally it's pretty noticeable especially for a mom who knows what her body looked like the day before.
When your water breaks A.) It gushes out onto the floor everywhere (generally begins breaking when woman is in a lying or sitting position). B.) Comes out in a trickle which is easily noticed because it will be a constant flow of water soaking your panties and/or a sanitary pad (I always laid down a pad when I was leaking anything so I could monitor exactly how full the pad was an hour later). If it is a constant trickle, call your dr. and get into the hospital or office right away for a PH test on the fluid you are leaking. If you leak amniotic fluid for more than 24 hours you will need an IV of antibiotics as the risk of infection for baby is high.
For me, two of my waters popped and gushed everywhere. It was when I was asleep both times and the first time it felt like I was wetting the bed but I couldn't make it stop. When I stood up it was all over the place! It's just a completely uncontrollable spill of water. I heard a "pop" as well. When my water was leaking I knew something was wrong so on a Saturday I went to the hospital with contractions ten minutes apart and some leaking. When they tested the fluid they tested fluid that had been on the outside of my vagina for a while and it would not show up in the PH strip because it was old. So they sent me on my merry way back home. I was still leaking on wednesday when I'd had enough and called my dr. He said for me to get into the hospital and when I went there my contractions were 8 minutes apart and again they did the PH swab determining that I had not ruptured. They did a fern test where they put some of the amniotic fluid onto a plate and view it under a microscope and it will fern out if it were amniotic fluid. Again, old fluid doesn't work that way. So one last test where they go up inside and get a sample on a PH strip and place it in a container of chemicals and the strip changed colors and lines if it is amniotic fluid. Alas, it was and I was a keeper at the hospital. I had to have antibiotics considering my water had been breaking for 4 days.
I had an epidural with my third pregnancy but not my previous ones. I prefer no epidural. Not that I don't believe in it, it just didn't do anything for me. It did not take away any pain, dulled it a bit I guess. And I was itchy everywhere and I couldn't get up to urinate or anything. So if it were me, I wouldn't opt for it again. But for your first baby you might want one so you aren't so scared.
Good luck!

Answer 3

Congratulations first of all. With first pregnancies you usually don't notice the baby dropping cause it is done gradually over the last month. With subsequent ones sometimes ones do notice, it sometimes doesn't happen until the very end plus you are more in tune with your body with second, etc., ones. And you will notice water breaking, cause it's hard to ignore fluid coming out between your legs. I personally don't believe in epidurals, I think they are way overused. I had 2 of mine natural and the one that was Cesarean I had to have an epidural if I wanted to be awake, which I did. My daughter had a severe reaction to her epidural a few years ago, and we almost lost her, and she has never been sensitive to anything in her life. Just keep telling yourself, or tell your coach to remind you during labor, that your body is not out of control, it is only doing what it's suppose to be doing to get that precious baby out. Wish you the best.

Answer 4

Usually,your doctor will let you know some women don't really realize it.As,for water breaking not all womens bag of waters break at start of the labor.Your doctor may have to do this for you,but it feels like a trickle or from experience a gush of warm fluid kinda as if you may have had an accident.I had an epidural with my pregnancies and can't say i regret it. Listening to other people screaming in pain I made the right decision since your num from waist down.

Answer 5

I couldn't really feel when the baby dropped but I could see it and so could everyone around me. It was also not obvious to me when my water broke since it broke at the top. It was more like lots of thin discharge every couple of minutes. I've spoken to people that had the big "gush" though and couldn't mistake that. I did not have an epidural but early on I did get stadol (iv drug) to take the edge off. But after that wore off, it wasn't that bad until I wanted to puch and the doc wasn't there yet. The actual pushing was exhausting and scary but not nearly as bad as I always thought it would be.

Answer 6

My baby came 6 weeks early. I don't know if she dropped or not, but my water broke. I was in a movie theatre, so I didn't hear anything (I've heard you can hear a pop). But it felt like I just wet my pants! Very strange, lol. I guess it didn't break all the way tho, because the doctor had to puncture it-that didn't hurt, but I've heard it does. I tried to go with the contractions, and just deal with them but they hurt too much, so I had an epidural. I was really scared that it was going to hurt, and it does. But the feeling afterwards is so nice! Like being in a warm bath, ahhhhhh. And no more pain. I thought that it was kinda like novicane, I could feel the baby and the pressure but there was no pain.

Hope that helps, and good luck-you'll be fine!

Answer 7

I was induced with my oldest because the doctor couldn't figure out a due date (I got 4!!!) Labor was very quick and easy, he never dropped. I was induced at 9 am, my water broke at 11am which felt like a pop or like he kicked and gush! I got a back ache at noon and he was born at 2:59pm. I had NOTHING for pain....I seriously wasn't in any!!! My second son was a different story. I woke up thinking I was coming down with a UTI...so at 9 am I called my OBGYN and they told me to go to L/D. I got there and they said I was in labor, but only dilated 1 cm. I was admitted 2 hours later after walking around and finally dilating to 3cm. That was at 3pm. He didn't drop either...my midwife broke my water around 5:30 pm which was painless...she did it during a contraction and just popped it. I felt like I had peed on her!...LOL....I had him at 6:07pm..after very painful contractions. They hooked me up to Pitocin even though I was already in active labor, which made my contractions one on top of the other, so I had NO break between them. I can give you a bit of advice, DON'T bother with demerol...it does NOTHING for pain, makes you feel drunk, but doesn't touch the pain. I never had an epidural, but I heard that it makes you numb for literally HOURS. You get a catheter (a tube into your bladder so you don't pee on the doc or your baby.)
As far as what dropping feels like, the baby sits lower in your belly so you will have some relief with breathing, but some pressure in your pelvic region, it might even ache a bit in your bone, lay down with a heat sac on the bone..NOT a heating pad that you plug in but maybe a hot pack made out of a sock filled with dry rice, pop it in the microwave for 20 seconds at a time until it's warm. Don't keep it in too long at a time it'll catch fire! OR you can run a hand towel under hot water and put it in a ziploc bag. Anyway, I hope this helps...labor is scary when you're waiting, but once you're in labor, it's not too bad, the pain can be a little but once you see, hear and hold your new little one...seriously, you don't feel the pain and you forget about it. Good luck and God bless your soon to be new arrival!

Answer 8

I never felt that my daughter dropped when I was pregnant. Only about 20% of women have their water break before they are in labor. The other 80% of womens water breaks in the hospital, whether naturally, or by the doctor. My water broke and I knew exactly what it was, as it kept on coming.

Answer 9

when the baby drops u will more presser when ur water breaks u will know its a big gush get epidural it help a lot good luck on the baby

Answer 10

cogratulation!!!!!!!!!!!! on your pregnacy i wish you lots of happiness with your baby. too answer your question,when the baby is resting on your blader and you can hardly walk then you know that the baby has drop. yes you can sometimes mistaken your water braking, when it is time for the baby to be born it can happen when you are out shopping or when you are at home and you feel like you want to pee and all along your water brakes.