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I certainly did not but my good friend only labored for six hours and said it was never worse than period cramps for her...WTF so jealous lol

in hindsight, my labor with #2 was pretty easy. 6 hours from start to finish, no meds, pushed twice and she was out...

the real intense contractions were for about 2 hours also... during that time, I got out of the shower, my doula arrived, DH picked up DD from preschool, my cousin came over to watch her, we caught a cab to the hospital and got to the L&D floor. After waiting for 15 mins or so, it got VERY bad and I got checked by a Dr right away... I was 9.5cm dilated, rushed to the delivery room and had her within 10 mins. the first 4 hours were pretty manageable... I was very lucky.

I slept through most of mine. Went in at 11 am Sunday and walked the halls for a while. Got pitocin at 10 pm. Fell sleep and slept until 2 am when they broke my second bag. Then it got hard until 6 am (well i had two periods of transition with a break in the middle for another nap) when he was born after just a handful of pushes. After that was hard as I passed out off and on for 5 hours. But ultimately I would say it was pretty easy.

I didn't get the epidural til 10 cm and +3 station but my entire L&D was 4 hours from water breaking to birth so I can't really complain!

My labor was painful because it was unmedicated, but I thought I had an "easy" and smooth labor in the sense that it only lasted a total of 9 hours from the first contraction to when she came out (which is pretty short for a first pregnancy). It took me 3 pushes and she was out. Also, everything went according to "plan". My birth plan was pretty much followed exactly to a tee, and nothing happened that I didn't expect.

Mine was easy, compared to how I had imagined it would be! 11.5 hours from water breaking and first ever contraction to born child, incl a measly 45 min of pushing. The pain was only bad for the last hour or so before pushing.

I was in labor for 29 hours total/ 3.5 hours of pushing with an epidural. I don't think it was easy, but it was ok since I got an epidural. I hope my 2nd time will be quicker.

With my second one I was to be induced the morning I woke up already in labor. I got to the hospital at my normal time only dealing with minimal contractions. Got my epidural since they had already been waiting on me. My water broke right after my epidural was put in and 4 hours later I pushed 6 times in 10 mins and my almost 9lb baby was born.
Can't ask for better. Had my BP not gone nuts as soon as she came out it would have been perfect. But, the labor itself was great.

Just wanted to put my 2 cents in. While I haven't had a labor yet, this is a really encouraging thread and was a good way to wake up on Monday morning :). Thank you for sharing your stories and encouraging others!

i agree with @Mrs. Lovejoy, especially at almost 35 weeks! love the encouragement!

mine was pretty easy. my water broke at 5am, contractions started at 6:30am, epidural at 9am (~4cm dilated), 10cm dilated at 1pm and baby was out at 3:23pm. the worst pain i felt before the epidural was probably like the worst menstrual cramps i've had. so it was manageable.

Super easy pregnancy and super easy labor. Once my water broke (at a restaurant), we went to the hospital. They asked me if I wanted an epidural, I said yes, thinking I would have to wait until I was 5cm, but they gave it to me right away. All I had to do from then on was wait. I didn't feel any pain or pressure, and didn't even realize that I was ready to push until the doctor checked me. I only had to push for 2 min and she was out. I don't think I could have asked for anything better than that!

I had a labor that was both easier and harder than I expected. I was scheduled to be induced on a Thursday (I was due on that Monday) and I had convinced myself hat the baby was not coming before the induction. I wound up going into labor on my own at some point on Tuesday but basically had no idea. I was a bit sore and assumed it was because of the exam I had had on Monday. I had some trouble walking on Tuesday during the day but just figured it was nothing.

Fast forward to 2am Wednesday morning... I couldn't sleep and just figured I was having a stomach ache-- yes, I am that naive! I wound up taking a shower, eating a bowl of cereal and even attempting to go back to sleep! At 4am the pain became unmanageable and I woke up my husband and w called the doctor. We arrived at the hospital an hour later and I was already 5cm!

I labored in the hospital from 5am (got my epidural around 6:15am) until about 10:30am when I was 10cm and started pushing. My water did not break on its own and my doctor had to break it at the hospital. I pushed for 2 1/2 hours (that was the hardest part for me, believe it or not) and then our son was born.

All in all, it was much shorter than I ever expected.

I didn't, but I know someone who gave birth 2 hours and 45 minutes after she felt her first contraction. Not first painful contraction, but just first contraction ever. She said she was only in extreme pain for ten minutes and had to push only three times.

I think mine was pretty easy. I started with contractions around 11am, but didn't end up heading into the hospital until 11pm - because they were never bad enough that I was feeling much pain until that point. Once I got to the hospital and checked in it was around 12am. I got into the tub and labored there for a couple of hours. Once my water broke things finally got very painful and went very fast. I think I only actively pushed for less than an hour before LO popped out.
He was having trouble breathing towards the end though, and I was told that I either needed to push very hard to get him out quickly, or they'd need to go in and take him out...so that provided some incentive.

My first labor was really rough. 24 hours, failed epidurals, going thru transition, spiking a fever, getting stuck at 9 cm.

My second labor (induced with pitocin) went much more quickly and smoothly! 8 hours or so and almost no complications other than my epi turning into a spinal. The aftermath sucked but the labor itself was great.