How was it for your third labour?????

[littleraysofsunshine]

Heard that they are tricky?

Fastest and best.

4.5 hours total, contractions strong and regular, short second stage, no tears which I had with both previous, and no pph, I lost a litre of blood during each of my first two births.
It wasn't too painful either considering he was 8 14, although I doubt I would have said so at the time.
Ds 2 is my last so I'm glad I finally got it right!

Term, 10 hours, and birth injury, followed by 5 weeks in SCBU.

It was the easiest labour, though.

Third labour amazing; baby born in 1.5 hrs from first contraction while parents were out at dinner for my Dad's 60th - I only decided at the last minute not to go. Texted them news of baby's arrival during their dessert at 9pm; they having left the house at 7.30 with no sign that baby was on way. Other two kids asleep. First labour was 6hrs, second 3hrs, third 1.5 - not having any more as I will cough in Sainsbury's car park or something and it would fall out!

Really bloody long pre-labour stuck at 2cm (for 3 days!) not terribly painful, but tiring and awkward with the older kids and childcare. 4cm-birth 1hr44mins. Overall an okay experience.

DS (middle baby) was my unpredictable one - longest active labour of the three and had to have waters broken to coax him out!

First was 24 hours
Second was 12 and my favorite birth
Third was a home birth and 43 hours it was my worst sorry.

Where my muscles are so wrecked I have no idea how it's laying as such but I know it's movements are incredible. It's slowed down the past few days but not a lot.

I've noticed baby really pushing down lots causing backache and pressure down there. Still four weeks left yet....

Well I'm 37 weeks on Sunday, and baby is 4/5 engaged , only 1 palpable. But is still in ceph OP back to back.

But the positive is that dd2 was BTB and was fast, and not necessarily harder labour but just more intense

dd3 was in distress and had heart dips, all my hospital cared about was natural delivery although i begged them for a c-section they ignored my pleas and allowed her to get so distressed there was no choice but to use a ventous as i couldn't push her out unaided. My dd has sn now, and we think she may have autism and to this day i think her traumatic birth caused this as did the ventous squashing her head.
My 4th birth i pushed when i was ready going against all advice not to push and she was born fine with no problems.

Listen to your body and make the midwife and doctors listen to your requests. Nearly fullterm with dc 5 and i will not let my birth end up the same way as my dc3, if i feel things are wrong i will get her delivered the safest way possible by making them listen.

Oh very scary thread!

Do people think it makes a difference how long it has been since last baby was born?

Ds1 was btb, term + 14, induced after waters went with no contractions, Kielland's forceps - he's 4 now, was 2.6 years when ds2 born.
Ds2 was term +9 spontaneous water birth - he will be 20 months when this baby comes in March.

I just don't want another terrible birth... ds1's left me REELING for a long time and very physically affected in terms of walking/continence etc, also feel he was in pain a lot after birth which seriously affected feeding, which in turn affected his temperament/our relationship etc.

My gaps are 18months, and will be 19/.5months

OP, there are reports that 3rd births are tricky, which is why my cousin (a midwife researcher) investigated.

Her conclusion is that first birth are where you find out all you need to know to prepare hard and make the second birth go well. By the third you have become complacent and think you can just sneeze the baby out as the second went so well, and in any case, who has time to prepare for anything with 2 kids?.

She thinks it is lack of mental and physical prep that gives 3rd births the reputation and her advice to me was to do everything I did to get ready for dc2. I did. I was so well prepared I didn't get round to calling the midwife until half hour before ds was born at home.

Like that advice Starlight. Have been thinking similarly really, doing birth prep course on this one too, mindfulness and yoga for childbirth. Still expecting the unexpected!

Quick - 3 days overdue but just over 3 hours from firstcontraction to delivery (as I tried to get in the birth pool)

My thri borth was fine, just under thre hours, but I had lot sof stop/starting contractions in the week or two leading up to his birt, he was 18 days late in the end, once it got going it was fien, my midwfie said this was very common for third babies.

Sounds sensible working. If you're like me, you'll get to 35 weeks and think 'I REALLY don't want to go through with this'. Don't panic if it happens because a couple of weeks later the relaxing hormones will trigger and you won't mind as much.

I also found that my 3rd birth was MUCH more responsive to my mind. I had control I never knew I had, both over when labour was acceptable to me to begin and when stage 2 was best undertaken, as well as dealing with the pain etc.

I was unafraid and gave my body over to it. But I gave myself over. It never took control of me iyswim. It was my best birth but strangely more painful than my second. Somehow it didn't matter until then end, when I knew with absolute certainty that my family was complete.

I'm 37 weeks today. Always have strong Braxton hicks but the past few days baby has slowed down (still back to back) and the BH's are getting stronger (still not labour painful) but I have dull cramps in my lower back and lower front pelvis. And sounds weird but it's as if I can feel my cervix being poked or pushed when in a BH's.

No other signs, I think I'm due another slow process then speedy birth?

Quite uncomfortable tonight. Like it's gearing up.. Jabbing cervix type pains along with baby's movements being sharp. Like it's pushing down? BH's regular

2 pretty quick labours (6 hours) and then an odd experience third time round. Taken into hospital at 34 weeks with contractions. Stopped after 24 hours. Then panicked for weeks about giving birth on the loo rapidly. Ended up with 30 hour labour (luckily for me a very early epidural) and a narrowly avoided c section.
She is a cheeky minx and rules her two older brothers so I'm not surprised she was contrary pre birth :)
Good luck op. Hope it's quick but not too quick.

Has this turned into a birth thread?!

Over 2 weeks overdue - like all my pgs.

Sweep, contractions, slow labour. Hospital at 4am - baby born at 11am - one hour of pushing - nearly 11lbs.

2nd labour fastest but was in hospital as overdue and had sweeps.

It's just frustrating as I remember this with my dds but can't remember which week I felt it.. Iyswim.

Ignoring nightly stop start latent phase for #2 &3
1st was about 4 hours active labour.
2nd was about half an hour, crowned as paramedic ran into the bedroom.
3rd was about 4 hours (which gave me time to get babysitter and get to hospital). 3rd I think was made longer by laying down for monitoring. I was 5-6cm when I got to hospital, 6cm after half an hour of monitoring (I wanted to kill the midwife when she said that) got up to go to toilet, was holding baby20 minutes later. Went for a wee, didn't make it back to the bed. Gave birth standing up.

For the first and third I had gas and air, the second the paramedic brought an empty canister, and DH didn't bring me the paracetamol I had asked for.

It was odd.

First was about 8 hours start to finish, epidural, etc. no massive issues.

second was a 3.5 hour job at home, no drugs, painful!

third started with very low baby (felt like he was already half way out for a day or two) and then vague ctx at about 2pm, every 15 minutes ish,

then it calmed down and started up properly in the evening so maybe 8-9pm, I knew it was probably labour by about 10pm, hospital at 11.30 and he was born at 12.53am.

So it was a bit more start-stop than the previous two.
I'm not doing it again. That's it. I hate hospitals.

Fwiw it would have been faster had I stayed at home, not been subject to monitoring and lying on my back etc while she did paperwork...but I wasn't really coping with the pain very well so didn't want it to be any faster.

It did hurt a lot. I begged for an epidural and kept getting fobbed off, till about half an hour before he arrived.

Hospitals are so crappy. I sat on the bed, not able to lie down, sleep, move or eat for the next 16 hours just looking out the window and feeding him for time to time till someone came to pick me up. It was a lonely time - always take your mobile.

Just wondering what's going on in there. Feels like a lot of cervix poking. Sore down there like hings are pushing down. Each movement feels so strong. And BH's are stronger but not painful