With my 1st pregnancy baby was breech and although I was told I was having contractions while waiting for my planned c-section, I never noticed them myself. Baby also wasn’t able to drop at all so labor never had the opportunity to start naturally.

This baby is head down and has already dropped. To have my best chances possible of a VBAC I decided to go ahead with the membrane sweep this past Wednesday. The dr also told me then that I was 2cm dilated and 70% effaced. (TMI up ahead!) There was all of that normal blood-tinged discharge after the sweep and plenty of cramping. It subsided for Thanksgiving and then on Friday I lost my mucus plug and had a decent amount of brown bloody discharge. Today I’m having lots of menstrual-type cramping, which I’ve not experienced in the pregnancy at all up til now.

Does this sound like things are moving along? I don’t know what contractions feel like, as I haven’t had them before. Right now I have a lot of pressure (like I have to pee even though I don’t, especially when I start walking) coupled with a menstrual cramp/strong gas/bowel pain that lasts awhile and then goes away until another comes. Is this what I’m supposed to be timing? I feel like a labor dunce!