Things to do in early labor. Why plan ahead for this? If you’ve had a couple of babies or more, you know that having some things to do to keep busy is a good idea.
Why?
Paying attention to labor too early is a bad idea.
If you’re giving birth in a hospital, you’ll leave too early (and the more time you’re in there, the more the birth team is going to want to rush things along and perform unnecessary interventions). If you’re giving birth at home, you’ll call the midwife too early and the whole thing will seem to take longer.
A lot of moms refer to this early labor behavior as “puttering”. That’s a good word for it. You don’t want to do anything too exhausting in early labor because you don’t want to wear yourself out, you just want to pass the time.
Another reason not to pay attention too soon?
Because you don’t know if it’s “real” labor early on. In addition, light activity keeps things going so that if it is labor, you’ll probably progress faster than if you were to head to bed at the first sign of contractions.
Getting excited about labor too soon can actually stop the contractions. Because you don’t know if it’s “real” labor (meaning, labor that produces a baby at the end) until after the fact. It can be disheartening to pay attention too soon, only to not have a baby at the end of several hours of cramping or light contractions. Why?
Because when you produce adrenaline, labor stops.
The bottom line: Ignore it as long as you can.
If you’ve been through it a few times, you know that real labor is generally unmistakable.
Real labor, hot and heavy labor, the kind that makes babies come, requires your full attention.
You can’t do other things during this kind of labor because it commands every bit of focus you can muster. If you start speaking a sentence and a contraction hits, you stop and “deal” with the contraction. If you are walking and a contraction hits, you stop and drop to the floor in a squat or lean over the nearest chair for support or grab onto the nearest body and hang on. You can’t ignore it.
So early labor is a great time to get some final stuff done and pass time until real labor begins to heat up (or not).
When my last baby was born, I began the morning knowing that a baby was going to happen that day. But instead of sitting around waiting, I went out for breakfast with my husband, did a little shopping, and did some cleaning and other stuff.
I wish I had been wise enough to handle things this way with my first! His birth seemed to take forever, because I paid attention too soon.
If you’re birthing at home, your midwife may have a small checklist of things for you to do when you know you’re in labor. She may ask that you strip your bed and put a set of clean, sterilized sheets down, tape a plastic bed protector over that, then remake it with sheets that you’re ok potentially birthing on.
Here are a few of the things I’ll be doing when I know I’m in early labor:
- Take a shower and shave
- Put on a little makeup – waterproof mascara is a must!
- Tidy things up. Noone wants to welcome a baby into a messy house
- Get your postpartum pads handy in the bathroom
- Take a walk
- Put the baby’s clothing and diapers in a handy spot
- Eat something.
- Drink regularly
- Make a batch of Labor Aid tea.
- Watch a funny movie (laughing is pain relief and the distraction will help take your mind off things)
- Get postpartum herbs and pain reliever handy
- Grab the birth kit and get it easily accessible for the midwife
- Do a little shopping. (In one of my births, I was at Home Depot just hours before baby’s arrival. In another, it was IKEA.)
- Make love. Midwives like to say that the activities that got the baby in also help get the baby out. Orgasm will simultaneously relax you, provide pain relief and heat up contractions. And semen contains prostaglandins which help soften and ripen the cervix.
What would you add to this list? What kinds of things do you do when you’re “puttering” around in early labor?
Update: this baby ended up coming after a super-fast, precipitous labor, so I didn’t really have time to do anything in early labor! Read more here.
Hello! 39 weeks today. Had my hubby buy a bottle of Tylenol for use after this birth – it’s only my second but I had a terribly slow healing process after the first and I mostly attribute it to the inability to rest well because of pain. IDK maybe I’m way off but my mom (who we lived with for the first two months postpartum) totally agrees.
Anyway! I’m new here, just saw you commenting at Modern Mrs. Darcy and thought I should swing by your blog!
Loving how beautifully pro-life you and your hubby seem to be. I’m currently dealing with the … “I have no idea how people have more than two kids” mental crisis, which I guess a lot of moms have or may be due to the fact that my current baby is due one day after our daughter turns 18 months. But our plan has always been for seven or eight kiddos, God willing!
For my first, I learned that I was a fantastic putterer (*sigh*) and so we rented a movie, grabbed some popcorn and just hung-out. I would have loved a long hot bath with a book, but my membranes were ruptured and light contractions didn’t start until four hours later.
Also, I would nap! From membranes rupturing to delivery was a span of 30 hrs and I only slept for about an hour and a half…not smart, but I was so excited to finally be in labor (41 weeks).
Sorry this is lengthy!
Looking forward to browsing your spot!
Yes napping – very important and I forgot to list it above. Thanks!
I have had two bouts of “pre-pre labor” as I like to call it! I am 40 weeks and at 37 I had some contractions for about 4 hours, and then again last night for about 6. Having something to do is super important. And although I know that all this pre labor will help to speed things on when we have “actual” labor, it is hard to not get discouraged when the contractions stop, and there is no baby! But definitely helps to know this is normal, and to find things to do!