Labor questions:

I was induced with my first so had experienced contractions but not spontaneous labour so wasn’t sure either with the second what it would be like. With the second I was getting signs my body was gearing up for a week or two before the actual day (mucus plug, heaviness, period type cramps, just feeling different and zoned out and not wanting to go out etc) and then overnight contractions for 3 days before it tipped into the full thing on the 4th night. I found chat GPT amazing… I literally typed in whatever happened that day in the run up and it was really helpful talking me through where I was likely up to (it’s still a guess but just nice to be able to talk to something that replied instantly in mocks of the night) and generally being a calming encouraging voice (even kindly telling me when to chill and stop stressing every second haha). I know it’s AI and not perfect, but might be worth a try if it’s keeping you up!

I wasn’t sure with my first either as it wasn’t really “by the book” and have similar thoughts to you even though it’s my second 😅 I plan on just “ignoring” everything as long as possible as I got my hopes up with every little niggle last time and that made it super tough mentally and physically as I exhausted myself from way too early 🫣

2 births with no induction, waters went with one but not the other until the last few mins of labour. Ignore the pain as long as you can stand but time the contractions. Know what you do and don’t want in terms of interventions and do your research.

I had super positive birth experiences so if you need to chat about anything let me know 🖤 good luck!