So last night around 12:30am, I started getting really regular contractions that felt different from my previous Braxton-Hicks. I timed them and they were about 9-11 minutes apart. I rested for a while until they got more intense and seemingly more frequent. Around 1:30 they were 6-9 minutes apart, and I started experiencing chills and some nausea. I went to bed to get some sleep. At 4:30, they were 5-7 mins apart, in my back, front and cervix and lasting more than a minute, so I called my doctor's office. I still wasn't sure if it was real labor or not. They advised me to go to the hospital.
At the hospital, they found me to be 2cm dilated and 80% effaced. Baby is at -1 or -2 station. (They weren't sure.) My contractions increased and strengthened and went to about 3 minutes apart for an hour or so. They sent me out to walk for 2 hours, but when I came back, contractions were stronger and more painful, but still at 2-5 minutes apart, and there was nothing new with my cervix.
Now I'm at home with some pain medication, instructions to rest and eat and then walk, walk, walk, and to come back when it's time. My big question is this. How in the HELL do I know when it's time? My contractions are already pretty painful (though not unbearable.. just difficult to walk and speak through for some, just discomfort for others) and very frequent. What else is going to change if my water doesn't break to let me know it's time to go? More pain? I'm a little freaked because I was relying on contraction timing to know when it was time to go to the hospital. Now I have no idea. Does anyone have any advice? Please?
P.S. I wrote the previous post yesterday and scheduled it to post this AM. That's why I have a long post when I should have been worried about the baby.