How many weeks of dropping before you went into labor?

I'm going to be 36 weeks on monday with my first child. I've noticed the bump is slowly going downwards (for the last week) and I can feel more of my ribcage. Today I looked in the mirror and was astonished that my bump has gone decreased in size overnight.

How many weeks/days of dropping did you experience before you went into labor? Just curious.

EDIT: This may be a bit TMI for some readers... Yesterday I had a cyst drained and there was a LOT of bleeding for a few hours afterwards. It stopped right before I went to bed. Today I've noticed light pink blood every time I wipe. I wonder if it could still be the cyst bleeding or if I'm spotting... Anyone experience this also?