Need input--bloody show??

Hey,
I was just wondering how many of you had a bloody show before you started having contractions, and how long it was from seeing the blood until you went into real labor...
Yesterday I took castor oil and had my midwife strip my membranes. I bled a little for a couple hours after she did that, but it eventually turned brownish and went away. Then this morning, I have been having a lot of mucus streaked with blood--not brown, it's pinkish-red and a lot of it. I am feeling a little crampy but not having any more than the usual amount of braxton-hicks that I usually have. So I am wondering if I can hear other people's experiences...and how long do you think until I start labor?? I had heard before that you can expect labor within 24 hours of bloody show, but then I read that it can be a lot longer than that. What are your experiences?

I thought I was constipated... so I was pushing real hard and out came my mucous plug lol. Thats when real labour started... by the time I got to the hospital, it was too late for an epi... my labour came fast!

My mucos plug broke a couple of days before I went into labor. I didn't bleed untill the nurse checked to see how dilated I was. I went all natural and only 6 hours of labor on my first child.I decided not to try any inducing methods and I gave birth the night after my due date, and this was my first. Good luck with what you're trying.