I keep hearing that third babies are a crapshoot... some labors are quicker and easier, others longer. Curious what you mamas of 3+ have to say! 
My first was a 12-hour unmedicated hospital birth. It was tough. Second was a 16-hour unmedicated birth but it was so much easier and she came with just one push.
grapefruit / 4584 posts
I was induced with DD#3 due to IUGR. The actual active part of my labor was VERY short - to the point that I was told NOT to push because the neonatologist wasn't in the room yet. She was literally out in 1.5 pushes.
However, this isn't atypical for me - DD1 was also induced, and DD2 came naturally, but both were fast & furious labors, minimal pushing (babies were all super small, luckily for me!!!) once things got going.
So I guess to sum it up I'd say my labor just followed the typical pattern for me!
pear / 1961 posts
DD1 was 60h from 1st contraction to baby in arms. Obvs some prodromal there. Pushed for about 40min.
DD2 was 2.5h from 1st contraction to baby in arms. Pushed twice.
DS was 6h from 1st contraction to baby in arms. Pushed twice.
Soooo...basically the 3rd was in between the first two (and welcome at that! i hit the extremes previously!), but the overall experience in terms of pushing, pain, recovery, etc was very similar to #2.
nectarine / 2466 posts
First -
Water broke first, contractions about an hour later. Pushed for 45 mins. Was just under 6 hours from water breaking to baby in arms
Second -
Irregular contractions in the morning. Contractions got regular in the early afternoon. Had water broken at hospital. Pushed twice. Was about 4 hours from when contractions got regular to baby in arms
Third
Water broke on own, contractions about 30 mins later. Pushed twice ( like once and a small tiny push the second time.) Was just under 3 hours from water breaking until baby in arms. My contractions weren't that painful at first though and it's very lucky we went to the hospital when we did. It was literally only about half and hour of painful contractions ( but man were they intense!)
My third had no medications at all and my first two I had a small dose of fentanyl.
My Dr warned me as well the third labour can be a wildcard, but it wasn't really any different, aside from being faster.
persimmon / 1458 posts
All 3 of mine were so different
#1-ended in emergency c section after failed vacuum assist. My water broke in the middle of the night and he wasn't born until 4:12pm the next day.
#2-worked all day starting feeling contractions around 6:30 pm. Got to the hospital around 8pm, water broke aroun 10:20pm and he was born at 10:27pm. So fast I didn't have time for an epidural.
#3-starting feeling contractions around 4pm on Friday night, went to the hospital around 10 pm and was in labor all night so no sleep and I wasn't really progressing so around 5am I asked for a c section. Went back to get the c section and suddenly I was 8 cm but I made the decision to have a c section and stuck with it. It may sound crazy to some to ask for a c section but I was concerned about my ability to deliver what I knew was going to be a large baby and it felt like my #1 all over again and because he was an emergency I knew the risks were higher and I didn't want to take any chances.
Interestingly my first was 10 days past my due date, #2 was 1 day after my due date and #3 was 12 days after my due date.
persimmon / 1096 posts
LO1 - 17 hours of labor, epidural after 14 hours, he was born after 30 minutes of pushing.
LO2 - 7 hours of labor, epidural after 5 hours, out in 15 minutes of pushing.
LO3 - 4 hours of labor, no time for an epidural or any pain meds by the time I was admitted to the hospital, out in 1 push.
So, fast and furious 
blogger / persimmon / 1231 posts
@keepcalmcarrie: @Canoli: @MrsB2012: Thanks for sharing ladies! So interesting how each birth can be so different!
pomegranate / 3350 posts
My third labor was great! It was pretty much textbook. I had very mild contractions start the night before my due date and continue all day. I had an afternoon appointment and it was questionable if I had a leak so I was sent to L&D and the more accurate test was negative so after a quick scan I was sent home with instructions to hurry back when things picked up because my second labor progressed quickly. We returned MOTN but no progress so sent back home. By the following afternoon contractions had picked up for real so we went back in and this time I was admitted. I planned to try gas & air but it was in use so I got the epidural. The only bad part of the labor was that - it took a while to take effect so they gave me more and it was way too strong. My blood pressure dropped too low and I couldn't feel anything. They gave me something else to help the BP so that was fine but I had a hard time pushing (Lo1 was out in 2 contractions and Lo2 in one). I felt like we were just hanging out with everyone between my legs waiting for contractions that were 5 minutes apart. Lol. I finally got him out but it would have been much easier and faster without the extra strength epidural! They automatically gave pitocin afterwards to help with bleeding, which I think is standard for third babies, and recovery was SO much easier.
Good luck!!!!
pomegranate / 3904 posts
My first two were super similar, my water broke, and my labor was then augmented. With my first I was in active labor for arpund8 hours and my second was closer to 12 hours, once I was ready to push I pushed for less than 10 minutes each time. Also, my first two were at 35 and 36 weeks respectively.
My third labor was very different. I had bleeding which was later determined to be a partial placental abruption and early labor starting three nights before actual labor. Once I was in active labor it was pretty quick, I think 5 hours at most. The doctor had to break my water, I pushed for 20 minutes, and my third was born at exactly 38 weeks.
kiwi / 573 posts
So fast it was scary.
#1 38 hours start to finish, 1h45m pushing
#2 11 hours start to finish, 2 pushes and out.
#3.....2 hours start to finish? No time for meds, almost born in the car, body took over and I really didn't even push. Hour of shock and shakes for me after, big hemorrhage.
pomegranate / 3601 posts
Mine is a little different since pregnancy no. 3 was twins but it was similar to my other two unmedicated natural labors before that.
While the first stage of labor was different with each pregnancy they share the pattern that once at 4/5cm the babies are out in less than 30 minutes. So once I hit transition it is fast and furious. With the twins I actually got some pictocin on the lowest setting and it was in less than 30' that both were out.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
Induced with all 3
First was sunny side up and required 3 hours pushing/laboring down. Lots of pushing even with an epidural.
Second I was crowning and didn't know it and then only pushed one or two times before he came right out.
Third went really fast and came out before I Could get the epidural!
| Today | Monthly Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Topics | 0 | 1 |
| Posts | 1 | 3 |
Ask for Help
Make a Suggestion
Frequently Asked Questions
Bee Levels
Acronyms
Most Viewed Posts
Hellobee Gold
Hellobee Recipes
Hellobee Features
Hellobee Contests
Baby-led Weaning
Bento Boxes
Breastfeeding
Newborn Essentials
Parties
Postpartum Care Essentials
Sensory Play Activities
Sleep Training
Starting Solids Gear
Transitioning to Toddler Bed
All Series
Who We Are
About the Bloggers
About the Hostesses
Contributing Bloggers
Apply to Blog
Apply to Hostess
Submit a Guest Blog
Hellobee Buttons
How We Make Money
Community Policies
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
13 comments