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Best part - I had an easy, quick labor (4 hours total and 10 minutes pushing)

Worst part - I had complications after labor - blood pressure dropped to 50/20 and I passed out a few times. I ended up getting a blood transfusion though and was fine after that.

DD1- best part- the incredible high after she was born. I had an unmedicated birth with a very supportive nurse and midwife and the high after she was born was amazing.
Worst- her heart rate wasn’t right towards the end and they wanted her out ASAP, so I had a vacuum assist with no epidural. Not fun.

DD2- best- it was fast- less than 3.5 hours from it might be Labor to baby. And pushing actually felt good, even though it hurt.
Worst- getting stitched up after felt like it took forever. And the car ride in very active labor 45 minutes before she was born.

With both, I felt like super woman afterwards. Sore, exhausted, super woman.

DD-best part was the dry turkey sandwich the nurse scrounged for me once I got to my recovery room.. I'd had a 3 day induction without food.. needless to say it was the BEST sandwich I had ever had!!!
Worst-after she was out and they started to sew me up I was kinda delirious (prob from lack of food) but anyway I remember saying over and over "ow, that hurt" so they asked if I wanted pain meds and my DH answered for me and they gave me something that made me LOOPY.. I basically passed out and didn't get to see our families meet DD

DS--best part was that I only had to push 1-2 times and he was out
worst--loonngg induction again, I remember just wanting to cry in the middle of the night as I was stuck there attached to all the machines and the leg compressors and the bp cuff...

Best: Having an uncomplicated c-section after what seemed like the most complicated pregnancy I could imagine. Also, my husband being dumbfounded when the doctor held up the baby so my husband could tell me boy or girl.

Worst: This sounds totally cliche ridiculous... but that first postpartum poop. My iron tanked, I barely avoided a blood transfusion, they loaded me up with iron... And O my goodness, I thought I was going to die while pooping with my 5 day old baby boy sitting in his bouncer next to me.

ETA: Worst hospital part was the nipple nazi that made me pump colostrum and cup feed it to my baby because I wanted to BF. I was fine with a bottle if that's what it took, it was miserable.

LO1 - the 51 hour one
Best: Eating a lamb chop on my hands and knees between contractions.
Worst: Being too exhausted/traumatized after days of labor to enjoy meeting DD.

LO2 - the <2 hour one
Best: Sitting on the couch, eating cookies, timing contractions from 12 min apart to 2 min apart without pain.
Worst: When the pain suddenly hit and we had to drive to the hospital at 10cm (the lack of pain in early labor left me in complete denial).

Best: LO was out in 2 pushes after a fast labor, I was in complete shock because I was expecting it to take hours!

Worst: Last contractions before I started pushing (it was a natural labor with no option for an epidural for medical reasons and I had no idea I was getting close), followed a close second by having to be repeatedly cathed afterwards due to swelling. The nurse was like "it's a mess down here, I can't find where this goes in" (duh, that mess was why I needed it) and had to bring in like 5 different people before they got it to work...

DS1 - best: labor starting naturally. My blood pressure was going up and I was borderline pre-e (I was being monitored closely). My doc wanted me to be induced no later than 39 weeks (earlier if I started showing more signs of pre-e). I went into labor at 37w 5 d.

worst: pushing for 3 hours and needing a forceps delivery. I was so incredibly swollen, I had to have a catheter for over 24 hours while the swelling went down.

DS2 - best: recovery was a breeze! I only needed 3 pushes and he was out. My husband kept commenting on how much better I looked/moved around than after our first.

worst: the epidural didn't have time to kick in. I went from 4cm to 10cm in like 30 minutes after the epi. I remember yelling that I was feeling everything while the nurses were telling me not to push because the doctor wasn't there yet!

DS
Best: When I got the epidural! After my water broke the contractions went from a 0 pain to a 10 really fast!
Worst: The week after delivery when I ran out of the good pain meds.... I tore pretty bad and was in soo much pain but since I couldn't talk to my actual OB they wouldn't renew my prescription - I cried!

DD
Best: I barely tore and was barely sore at all after birth, SOO much better than after DS.
Worst: We had a scary moment where they lost her hb on the monitors and had me lay on my back, a ton of nurses rushed in and the OB told me to push! Luckily they found the hb back once I flipped over and she was just fine. We also had a scare of a possible c-section b/c her fingers were on top of her head, but it ended up being a non-issue (after laying with my butt in the air for an hour).

@KT326: I was so annoyed. I was in the birthing room overnight, couldn't pee, and needed to be cathed there. When they sent me up to the mom & baby floor, they told me they didn't do ice packs in mom & baby because now the best thing to do was the sitz bath, which made it even worse. I was so uncomfortable from not being able to pee at all yet desperately needing to. Ultimately DH demanded more peri ice packs...

@KT326: yeah, something about infection...I really don't get it since you're using a pad down there anyways. I also used ice packs for like a full week at home, complete lifesavers...

DS1
Best: Recovery was much better than I expected, I was only in minor pain while sitting for a day.
Worst: Pushing, and getting an episiotomy without being asked or told. DH later told me I was passing out between pushes, and thought that was clearly the right decision.

DS1:
Best: Getting to hold him right away after delivering
Worst: I was in a lot of pain in the hour between my water being broken and getting the epidural. I dilated from 5 to 8 in that time.

DD1 -

Best part - my L&D nurse
Worst part - doctor with terrible bedside manner, 4th degree tear, manual placental removal

DD2
Best part - having the same L&D nurse plus a new doctor
Worst part - experiencing true labor when my epidural ran out minutes before pushing my baby out

LO1:
Low: 24 hours of unmedicated labor, like 8 of those spent in transition.
High: Having my mom there with me. DH was there too, but I needed my mommy

LO2:
Low: Toughing it out for about 8 hours before getting an epidural.
High: going into labor naturally at home was pretty exciting (water broke), but then getting the epi was FANTASTIC and I was so happy for everything afterwards and blissed out

#1
Best - getting through a med free birth! It was really important to me to give it my all and luckily nothing got complicated.

Worst - transition without drugs which was endless the first time

#2
Best - super fast! My total labor was about 4.5 hours but the first 3 I was totally fine just having some contractions and figured I had lots of time. My water broke, things got crazy, we rushed to the hospital and I was pushing right away.

Worst - fast labor is so intense! So it’s good and bad I guess. I was disoriented by how quickly it all went and them asking me if I wanted to push!

#3
Worst - I got shingles the week before and was soooo wiped out and not in a good mental place as my induction wasn’t picking up but

Best - got an epidural this time and it was just what I needed! The dr did a great job (still had movement) and it cured my bad mood and led to a peaceful delivery.

DS1-
Best: Getting into tub to get through transition. My labor progressed very quickly in the tub.
Worst- Ring of fire & puking...so much puking

DS2-
Best: the sweet mellow entry DS2 made due to getting an epidural @ 1 hour before delivery
Worst: not having a tub at the hospital and not having enough air in my yoga ball. I had a hard time getting on top of my contractions.

DS: one of the best parts was when they told me I'm ready to push. I got up on the bed, gave it a try, and when it didn't quite work the nurse said she'll give me some time and walked out. So I just went and fell asleep! I hadn't really slept for two nights before. I woke up maybe 20 minutes later and freaked out because I'm supposed to be giving birth here, not napping... but that catnap was so nice, and I felt so much better after.
The worst part: my hair has a mind of its own sometimes. No one had told me it frizzed so much it was standing on end by the time he was born. And there were pictures. Lots of pictures. If anyone had bothered to point it out, I could have brushed my hair so I don't look ridiculous in every single one.

DD. The best part: I actually slept well and ate a proper meal before going to the hospital.
The worst: DD had no clue what's going on. The whole time I was in labor, she was kicking and wiggling and getting herself into places she shouldn't be in. One time she wedged her head against my hip during a contraction - it hurt for days, and still acts up sometimes. She came out screaming bloody murder, kicked me on the way out for good measure, and was a bit bruised and very upset. I was very relieved that at least she calmed down when I held her!

Best: Laboring in the whirlpool tub at the hospital (and being lucky enough to get the only room with one). The lights were dim, there were colored lights in the tub, the jets whooshing, and the warm water really helped me stay in the zone and get through labor. Idk how I would have dealt without it!

Worst: Pushing! I was so afraid to give into it. But after two hours of pushing I finally realized there was no other way out of it so I just had to give in to the pain and push as hard as I could.

@birdofafeather: are you rh sensitized? I've been meaning to start a thread on that..... my friend is, and trying for a 3rd LO.

@DesertDreams88: I’m not. Ours is an ABO incompatibility (I’m O, first two were A so Coombs positive and higher levels of jaundice as a result, third O so no incompatibility issues!) not the -/+ issue. Sorry I couldn’t help more!