my first signs with my son was my water leaking wich i was unsure about, u feel like ur peeing or something but you cant stop it, its clear fluid, unless u see it tinged brown or something then you need to head out asap, some peoples water breaks thats noticable. With my daughter it was the contractions, they came at even intervals and got stronger and closer and then my water broke. Then i headed out to the hospital. both my labors were really short though, 6 and a half hrs and 4 hrs.