Will it Hurt?

For me, it didn't hurt that bad. It felt like bad period cramps. I was in labor 7 hours before they took me for the c-section and I only moaned/yelled once. Deep breathing will get you through it, and when the pain gets bad try rubbing up and down your thighs.
When it gets really bad, try standing with a birthing ball. Walking around made the pain go away and when I was standing with the ball I just imagined I was channeling all that pain through my hands into the ball.
The thing that helped the most was counting to 60 over and over again. It came down to 1-20 seconds I felt the contraction coming, 20-45 the pain was intense, then 45-60 was a cooling down period. I lost count a lot, but it helped distract me and get me through it. It also gave me a little predictability so I knew what to expect next.

I don't remember a lot from this stage of labor, but I remember the cool washcloth helped.