Contractions started at 3am, were manageable, had some paracetamol and managed to sleep again from 6am-8am since then I've had contractions ranging from 3 min intervals to 5 min intervals. At the moment they're averaging to last 1 minute every 3 and a half minutes. Had some more pain relief, using a hot water bottle and tens machine and are getting more intense and are now painful rather than uncomfortable. I phoned the midwife at 9.30 to inform her and she said to see how long I can last at home before they're either too painful to cope with or I'm having 4 contractions within 10 minutes. I'm happy with this and feel I'm managing OK at the moment but was just wondering how long people usually last at home before they decide to go in?