Second time was wonderful - sharing with scared second-timers.

[Purplelooby]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childbirth/2013020-Due-in-2-weeks-with-no-2-and-I-suddenly-need-to-share-last-birth-story?

Hi ladies, I posted the above post a couple of weeks ago with my horrific first birth and I just wanted to post about my amazing second birth to reassure those second-timers who had a traumatic first birth.

My second birth could not have been more textbook. I started very mild contractions at 6 pm ish after a sweep in the morning. I was just relaxing when my waters went at 8 pm so we very slowly headed to hospital. In the car I started to feel proper pain but I felt better when I got up to walk. At around 9.30 pm the midwife (who commented how well I was coping but honestly I'm a big wimp, it just wasn't that bad yet!) examined me and I was 6 cm. This seemed to set me off because it suddenly got very intense and I got to transition very quickly - by 10.30 for sure. Actually after this my body started pushing but I didn't realise until it was literally shoving the baby out - I panicked a bit but they the lovely midwife persuaded me to push (this definitely eased the pain by the way!) and the head came out in 2 pushes (the second of which wasn't even during a contraction). The head bit didn't hurt one bit and I only got a tiny nick - nothing worth stitching and I haven't had a single stinging wee or anything. I also had my dream - the physiological 3rd stage - and it was easy and painless too.

So very pleased - I feel elated when I think about it. Although the speed of it did make the last hour very intense and painful.

This is so good to hear, thank you and congratulations :-)

Congratulations purplelooby so pleased it was a happier experience for you. Bet you are still on cloud 9?!

Oh congratulations!! Read your 1st birth story and crying a little.

And thank you. My first labour was straightforward so I was very lucky, but it was also 30 hours and agony… dreaming of a shorter, easier one this time. Or at least shorter...

woohoo! well done you and congratulations. I'm due in 2 weeks and am as nervous as you were when you posted your first birth story. I also had a very traumatic first time (71 hour labour, mind-altering levels of pain even before established labour, making zero cm progress despite wanting to be shot in the head to make the pain stop, then three hour 2nd stage, forceps and eventually a mahoosive baby on the 99.6th centile for weight and head circumference).

I'm hoping for a birth like yours second time around. Enjoy the newborn baby snuggles and bask in the glow knowing you did it.

thanks for sharing. I really felt for you after reading your birth story. I had my first child 8 weeks ago and am still very scared by the whole thing but finding it helpful to read and share.

Congrats OP! That's fantastic news, v v happy all went so well.
I'm current 39+4 with dc2 and feeling incredibly anxious about labour. How did you feel when things kicked off this time? Did you manage to stay calm? Any tips?

Congratulations, lovely that you could share such a positve experience, gives hope to others

Thanks so much for sharing - my first experience was horrendous too. It's great to hear how different this birth could be - huge congratulations xx

Thank you so much ladies, I feel truly blessed and DD is such a calm baby compared to how DS was - I'm sure this is because of the births.

Cardilover good luck! I had a sweep on that day but the consultant said I was already 2 cm and felt ready to go anyway. I didn't stay calm at the end but it happened so quickly that I didn't have time to panic before that!

Learnasyougo 71 hour's visiting awful. I can honestly say that the pain at 6 cm this time was no where near as bad as the pain at 2 cm last time xx

Another positive story here!

My first birth was a planned home birth, but after labouring in increasing, and eventually maddening amounts of pain for 16 hours, DS's heart rate dropped so low that we had to transfer to hospital by ambulance. DS was then ventoused out. It was all extremely painful and very frightening. I was lucky that I didn't tear even enough to be stitched, but I still felt as if I'd been hit by a train for several days - and then had to cope with the idea, and reality of finally being a mother!

Couldn't have been more different with No 2. Woke in labour at 4-5am - the pains were immediately very strong and urgent. I could tell he was in a hurry. We went to the midwife-led birth unit at 8am. I was examined just before 9am and was 9.5cm dilated. Got into the birthing pool (which gave me tremendous pain relief), had a few puffs of gas and air - I don't think they did a lot of good really, but they did at least make me focus on my breathing, which I think did help - and DS2 was delivered shortly before 10am. Physiological third stage (in accordance with my wishes). No tearing, no stitches, no other complications and he breastfed easily.

We left the birth unit at 2pm, with most of the intervening time being spent on me having a bath, eating a big lunch and making DH fetch me endless cups of tea. I was home and writing out invitations to DS1's birthday party before I knew it!

Oh that's great!! Congratulations!

I just read your first birth thread too. I had an extreme first birth - 80+ back to back labour ending in forceps with spinal in theatre, haemorrhage and retained placenta

Stories like yours give me hope for any subsequent births I may have. Two friends IRL also recently had their seconds after forceps & shoulder dystopia and an unplanned c section respectively first time around. For both of them, they had normal deliveries and labours less than 8 hours second time around.

So glad people are getting hope from this - it seemed a bit egocentric to be sharing my birth stories...

stuck that is a horrific birth. I hope you have wonderful experience so in the future xx

oh my word, stuck. Eighty hours back labour [stunned]. You're a hero! word of caution though: don't tell your child about how difficult the labour was until they are an adult. I know of people who carry tremendous guilt around for what their mother told them about their birth, when it was a difficult one. I plan to tell my DS only how happy and excited we were to meet him, and how the sun shone so beautifully the day he was born. I'll leave the trauma until he's an adult and maybe approaching fatherhood himself.

It's not egocentric to post a positive birth story, it's wonderfully heartening to read. I had a long chat with my midwife today about birth plan this time around and how to avoid the damage caused last time (mine was definitely NOT text book in timings and pain patterns) and she also reminded me that a second labour has every chance of being entirely different to my first experience. Each baby is different, each pregnancy is different and each birth is also different. I'm so much more at ease with the idea of childbirth than I was a few weeks ago.

I'm heading for a big baby again this time but I'm encouraged by your birth story that this birth may well be much better (and if things start going rogue, I can request a c-section sooner rather than later).

Good to hear OP! I had a prolonged traumatic labour ending in EMCS and haemorrhage with DC1 but a short intense but transcendent home water birth with DC2. It was a dream! The first is no indicator of the second. Your body is so much more open to birth the second time.

Just seen this - so pleased for you OP!. I was on your first thread. I'm really delighted things have gone so smoothly for you now.

Purplelooby just wanted to thank you again for starting this thread and sharing your experience. I had dd2 on Monday and reread this thread while in early labour. It really helped to feel more positive and not panic! Things went well and while I struggled again with the pain I definitely felt more in control and calm this time.
Good luck to any peeps coming up to labour take 2

Thanks for sharing :)