I had no real pre-labor symptoms at all... Boring I know!

My waters broke at 7pm on a tuesday evening, no signs of any contractions. The waters were a slow constant trickle, not the gush I had imagined. And when I went to clean myself up a HUGE blob of jelly came away, and it was blood stained.
Contractions started 1am on weds morning, strong and constant, every 3 minutess straight away (apparently this was because my waters had gone prior to contractions starting).
Don't fret that you wont know you are in labor, I did this, it worried the hell out of my last month of pregnancy, but believe me - you will know.

Enjoy the experience, you will get through it, our bodies are amazing and can do this amazing thing. It was by far the best thing that has ever happened to me, and I'm now broody again!

I was in slow early labor for 2 days before I had my daughter but was not progressing. Had to go into hospital in the end and go on a drip and have waters broken to speed things up.

I started getting bouts of dull AF cramps a couple of days before my labor started and my braxton hicks intensified and became more painful. Had lots of sharp pains in my cervix and could almost feel it dilating.

This slowly turned into contractions over time. Contractions felt like a wave of intense braxton hicks accompanied by AF cramping in the back also. I definitely knew I was in labor.

With my first pregnancy, I had no mucous plug, no braxton hicks (well not painful ones) and no real symptoms except nesting about 4 days before I went into labor.I went mad cleaning and decided at 2am that the furniture needed rearranging and proceeded to do so myself! LOL

I never had braxton-hicks or any pre-labor symptoms, really. About a week or so before I went into labor, I had a sudden urge to organize one of my closets- don't know if that was related or not (nesting). From 35 to 40 weeks, I was 1 cm dilated and the morning I went into labor, I had a bloody show and KNEW something was up. 12 hours later, contractions started and we headed for the hospital. 5 hours later, my baby boy was born! So you can go from 1cm to 4-5cms in a matter of hours. I thought it would never happen and I went into labor 3 days before my due date and had my baby at 2:01 am, 2 days before my due date.

One of the best signs of a pre-labor for me is the bursting of the bag of water. A pregnant mother will experience a sudden flow or a slight trickle of water. The color should be that of a rice water or blood tinged. If it is yellowish, or greenish, inform your doctor immediately.

At times, it can be difficult to distinguish the difference between pre-labor and the early signs of "true" labor. While there are many pre-labor signs, the only sure signs of actual labor are consistent uterine contractions that become increasingly longer, stronger, and closer together. Certain signs of early labor such as vaginal bleeding that is more than spotting requires quick action.