Did you have a home birth or non-medicated natural birth with 1st child?

HRP22 · June 2012

I've heard that the first time labors can be long. When people talk about laboring for 30+ hours, I'm wondering if they are just talking about the time when they first got contractions, but ones they could still work though fairly easily etc. I'm just trying to get an understanding so my expecatations aren't too high or too low. Everyone I know that had long labors were also medicated, and so I know that can slow things down.

If you weren't medicated with your first, what was the time frame? Intensity of contractions/labor?

For instance - 10 hour labor where you could walk/drink/talk, but 1 hour of high intensity contractions, then 30 minutes of really bad contractions...

stahlop · June 2012

I had early labor for 3 days before I went into the labor I counted. Wednesday was easy, workable contractions (no one at work even knew I was having them). They weren't too painful and I could still teach through them. Thursday I got sent home from work because they were much more painful. I seriously thought I was going to have my baby that day. Friday they were pretty much non-existent. Then they woke me up Saturday morning and that's when I started counting it as my real labor. I say my labor was 25 hours but I guess I could easily say I was in labor for 4 days before LO arrived as well. I birthed at home by the way, which I'm glad about, because I think if I'd gone to the hospital with my contractions on Thursday, I would have ended up with a c-section for failure to progress.

pinksweetpea2 · June 2012

My water broke and I was in active labor (contractions were 5 minutes apart) for 40 hours. No early labor for me. I also pushed for 3.5 hours.

That said, it was totally doable. I actually found my second labor (which was only about 12 hours) MUCH harder because it was so fast and intense.

GL

reederah · June 2012

It really differs based on the person. But for mine, I started having contractions at 10pm on a thursday night... they were just bad menstrual cramp feeling (enough that I didn't soundly sleep at all, but I wasn't writhing in pain). Those continued and I went to my midwife for my 39 week appointment at 1pm on Friday. She told me I was 7cm dilated and 80% effaced and to go to L&D. At 6pm on Friday they broke my water and all hell broke loose... awful pain. Started pushing at 9:15 or so on Friday and had my son at 10:31pm. Total of 24 hours of "labor" but only 4.5 hours of unbearable pain.

vintagejjane · June 2012

I was in labor for 48 hours from the time my water broke until she arrived. Contractions were pretty bad throughout labor and I was exhausted, but when it was time to push, I got a huge rush of energy.

funchicken · June 2012

My first labor was 9 hours. I was able to walk and talk through my contractions for most of it. I was at 8cm when I got to the hospital, and I had the baby 2.5 hours after I got there. I actually felt very calm and present through the whole thing, but I think that's because my contractions never got closer together than 5 minutes.

My second labor was less than 5 hours. It was very intense, but I was able to walk and talk through my contractions up until my water broke. At that point they got very very intense and things started happening really quickly. We almost had to pull a random OB in from the hall to catch the baby because the MW had gone to check on another patient thinking I still had a little while. I had the baby 1.5 hours after being admitted to L&D with that one.

jennyann28 · June 2012

My labor was 5 hours. The first four were ok, the last hour was extremely intense.

cyclek8bride · June 2012

My labor was about 11 or 12 hours. Yeah I don't remember exactly when the contractions started. I was pretty sick at the time. Things were doable for about 6 or 7 hours. I went through transition without a blink. I couldn't tell I was in it and neither could anyone else. It was second stage where I had felt undone. I was in second stage for 3.5 hours. The first hour and a half was being told not to push so this was what screwed with my mind.

StefandTodd · June 2012

I could feel contractions all day on my EDD...but I went to my dr appt, went to lunch with my husband, drove to Target and walked all around and then drove home. I remember feeling the tightening all throughout Target and driving and thinking, "wow, that's cool...that's really a contraction!" Not painful at all. So I don't really count that as part of my labor at all.

I consider the start of my labor when a contraction actually woke me up (that night, after the day full of mild, easy, noticeable but not painful contractions). I remember waking up and knowing it was a contraction and thinking it kiiiind of hurt (like if you got a leg cramp, but a really mild one that went away quickly). I got up to use the bathroom and about 5 minutes later, I felt the contraction come back, build build, then release. I just sat there and felt them consistently for a little bit before my H came in to check on me and said he wanted to time them. They were about 5-7 minutes apart. They were definitely different and unique compared to the day before, and consistent, and exactly as they'd been described to me...building to a peak around a minute, then releasing and I would feel gloriously pain-free and relaxed for a few minutes...I could tell they were the real deal, but I was vacuuming, eating, picking up the house, showering, blow drying my hair, etc...all while it was going on. The breaks made it all not too bad.

They started at 12:45am and I think the first real doozy contraction that I couldn't talk through was maybe 5am?...by about 7am, they were 3 mins apart consistently and we left for the hospital. I was still moaning through them and felt in control. By the time we were at the hospital and checking in (maybe 8 or 8:30), I was having the ocassional double-peak contraction and they were bad enough I was trying hard not to focus on and dread the next one coming. I was 8 cm dilated at that point, still maintaining control. My water broke around 9 and by 9:30, I was losing control and contractions were rough. I was saying things like, "help me" and "please get it out" and "I can't do this"...I was 9+. I started pushing at about 10:45, and he was out by 11:01.

I consider my labor to be 12:45 to 11:01 am - about 10 hours, and only think about 2-3 hours of it was "hard"...I generally describe my labor as "quick and easy"...it was a really good experience overall.

Good luck to you!

*LrCg* · June 2012

My water broke at 5am in the morning. I had no contractions. In fact, I cleaned the house and started to prepare dinner. I thought I'd be in for a long night since it was my first labor. I started having contractions around 3:30 pm and less than 4 hours later our baby was born. Our midwife almost missed it because I waited so long to call her. Was the contractions hard- yes but I managed it by myself. I had read ideas of what to do in Ina May's book (we took no class) so through contractrations I stayed relaxed and arm wreslted (it explains this in the book). I truly think this is why it went so fast. I got into the tub less than 1 hour prior to our baby being born. For me, birth was amazing and fun and I was so excited to do it all again.

Sawyerplus1 · June 2012

My first, and unmedicated, labor was about 30 hours. I woke up that morning with some strong contractions and spent all day at home contracting. It was technically early labor b/c they weren't getting closer together; their timing was pretty irregular, especially when I changed activities (walking, sitting on ball, laying down, etc). But they lasted all day, pretty painfully, varying from 4 minutes to 15 minutes apart. By the time I got to the birth center, about 15 hours after my first contraction, things picked up and everything gets fuzzy. They started regulating and becoming more intense. I was 6 cms when I got there, got stuck at 8 cms for a long time (no dilation, but contractions didn't slow), and then pushed for an hour.

alanap · June 2012

Total 7.5 hours, natural/unmedicated birth at a hospital with a midwive practice.

2pm - water broke

9:45pm - daughter born

MrsPez07 · June 2012

I had about an hour of contractions on a Thursday night, and then they went away. They started at nearly the same time on Friday night, and didn't go away. I hadn't had BH contractions at all before this, and I felt like they were pretty intense from the beginning. Maybe if it had been in the middle of the day, I might have been able to do stuff through them, but I was trying to sleep and it wasn't working very well. So I consider my labor to have started when the contractions first started, so total, it was 21 hours.

If I hadn't had a doula, I think I would have ended up in the hospital sooner (after about 7 hours of contractions) instead of 13. While in my head going to the hospital meant progress, I didn't like laboring there with intermittent monitoring, etc.

wannabigfam · June 2012

I had a beautiful non-medicated intervention free vaginal childbirth with my first. He was born at 36 weeks but was very healthy and 7 lbs. Here's my rough time table:

7:00 am - woke up and felt something "drop" while I was in bed - it just felt different. Went to the bathroom and had my "bloody show" (sorry TMI)

8-12:00 - went to work, sat in a meeting for most of that time. Was having what I thought were braxton hicks (my first!), roughly 20 minutes apart. I had plans to only work a half day b/c I had company coming to down.

1:00-5:00 - best friend came over to prepare for my weekend-long baby shower with 5 of my closest friends. We went to the grocery store, ate lunch, went to the garden store, came back and planted flowers. I was doing a lot of squatting during that time and I thought it was causing braxton hicks that were about 5 minutes apart. On a scale of 1-5 I would say my pain was like barely a 1 - I had no problem talking with her, working in the yard, etc. I will say that all that squatting was probably helping what I didn't know was really going on :-)

5:30 - The "braxton hicks" seemed to be very regular so I decided to time them with my itouch app and take it easy on the couch since our childbirth class had said that braxton hicks would go away if you change positions. They didn't go away. I was still laughing and joking with my friend bc my baby shower was that night - we were googling bloody show to see if it really meant labor would come. Info said anywhere from hours to a month later, so I still 100% thought they were my first braxton hicks.

6:30 - Called my husband to see what time he was coming home because the contractions were coming closer to 3-4 minutes apart. Decided that JUST in case perhaps I should start to pack for the hospital. Remember this was a month early, and I'm a planner, so it had never crossed my mind that this could be the real deal previously. Still walking, talking, joking with my friend. Started helping her bake cookies. Pain still a 1. Told my husband not to come home early but to stop and get wheat thins just in case we had to go to the hospital - I wanted to sneak food in.

7:30 ish - husband arrives home and the contractions are more intense. I no longer wanted to hang out with my best friend, stayed upstairs in the bedroom instead and had my husband help pack a bag between contractions. Needed him to push on my back to relieve the pressure and I needed to use relaxation techniques from the Bradley method. This is when they say my "active labor" started and this is what they used for my "starting labor" time for my chart.

7:30 - 9:20 - Labored at home; mostly on my hands and knees w/ husband applying counter pressure. Tried the bathtub; didn't like it that much because I was shivering when I got out of the tub and it was hard to stay relaxed when I shivered. Threw up around 9:00. Got on the toilet to labor and thought I needed to BM around 9:10. Had husband call the hospital just in case we decided to go in - I still wasn't totally sure this was real labor. They started asking so many questions that were incredibly annoying - just told my husband to hang up on them because we needed to go in bc I no longer felt safe at home (another labor signpost according to bradley class) According to my itouch labor app, I never went above a 3 on the 1-5 pain scale :-) When I didn't BM and still felt SOO much rectal pressure, we decided to leave for the hospital. My baby shower guests arrived during this time :-) They thought "no way is she in labor" . They were WRONG.

9:35 - arrived at hospital. Went directly to a room. Was checked by midwife while laboring off of bed; 9.5 cm!

10:00 - 100% convinced I was going to crap all over their floor, they thought perhaps it was time to push. Got on the bed in sidelying position at midwife's recommendation (I wanted to squat but she thought baby would fly out in side-lying). Pushed for barely 10 minutes.

10:10 baby was born!

My chart is flagged as precipitous labor meaning start to finish it is less than 3 hours long.

nicholssquared · June 2012

I'll keep it short and sweet - from my first contraction to delivery it took 11 hours.

sschwege · June 2012

I say my first labor was 17.5 hours because that was the point where I couldn't sleep through the contractions anymore. I know I was in labor for at least two hours before that, but was only woken up twice by contractions, so I don't count the first two hours. Anyway, I never tried to be active and do stuff while in labor, I was always relaxing/breathing through contractions, so it's hard for me to say when it really kicked up. I remember for the first at least six hours or so I would have a stronger contractions, followed 4-5 minutes later by a very weak contraction(I called them mini-contractions) and it would just keep alternating like that. I definitely could have talked through the 'mini' ones, not sure about the stronger ones. I know that by the time I got to the hospital I absolutely had to stop and breath through contractions (that was 10 hrs into labor and I was 6cm dilated). Hope that helps to answer your question!

Celyn · June 2012

My first labor, I had a posterior baby with mildish contractions that started in the middle of the night a few hours after my water broke. I wasn't really able to sleep through them, but I tried. By 5am, I couldn't sleep through it. By 8 am, I couldn't walk or talk through them, and was afraid to leave the house for fear that I'd deliver in the car (that was so not the case). By late afternoon, I was only 2cm dilated... They started the pitocin at that time and I delivered at 10:22 pm, since I was at a hospital with a 24-hr time limit. Had they left me to labor on my own, it most likely would have been longer.

I'm currently waiting on a first time mom who started contracting 10 minutes apart on Tuesday. They were light and manageable, and still are, but now they're 6 minutes apart. Last month, I had a first time mom who had 3 hours of light contractions (she described them as mild cramps), and delivered unexpectedly when she reached down to put on her shoes and felt an urge to push.

You never know what you're going to get But the average first time mom has 12-20 hours of early labor, 6-12 hours of active labor, 15min-3 hours of transition, and 30min-3 hours of pushing.

AshNish · June 2012

This got long - sorry...

I think I was in active labor for 6-7 hours before DS was born. I was having lighter contractions during the morning (uncomfortable only) and during this time I baked muffins and danced around the kitchen to music. Had a m/w appointment around noon, had my membranes swept and they told me that I should just get rest that afternoon. They did not think I was in early labor yet and neither did I. I went home and after lunch I napped on the couch and decided not to make dinner before DH came home cause I "wasn't feeling well". Started timing contractions around 5:30pm and an hour later called m/w to say contractions were 5 min apart lasting 1 min - still totally manageable and we still did not think I was in active labor. M/w told me to take a hot bath to see if they seemed to slow down. M/w called back about 8pm and I told her contractions were still manageable and seemed to have settled down - she suggested I warm the bath up and keep her posted. We thought I was perhaps in early labor now. Around 9pm I couldn't get comfortable in the tub anymore and wanted to get out. While getting out of the tub I started shaking contractions seemed to have gotten worse and very soon after I started pushing with some contractions involuntarily. Called m/w back told her it just got worse and sometimes I would automatically push without meaning to. We decided she would come to my house (this is about 10pm now) to check me because I still didn't think I needed to go to the hospital as it was still manageable (although I was pushing which we thought was just a premature urge to push) - I was just going to try and sleep while she headed over (from about 1/2 away). She arrived around 10:30pm checked me and I was 10cm - no wonder I was pushing! Contractions only ever came 3 min apart even at the end. M/w suggested a home birth and we said lets go to the hospital. Got to the hospital and needed to run antibiotics as I was GBS+. Was finally able to push actively (and didn't have to try to breath through contractions) around 11:30pm. DS was born 1 hour later. I can honestly say that it never once occurred to me to want pain meds and I actually kept saying "I thought this was going to be worse" (through pushing and all).

I'm hoping my next birth will go as smoothly but I will attempt to get to the hospital before I'm pushing! lol

lily225 · June 2012

DD1: 12.5 hours total labor/pushing. I would say the first 6-8 hours were pretty manageable. I went to the hospital at the 6 hour mark because my contrax were 2 minutes apart and DH was nervous. But it was really only the last 4-5 hours that were bad.

DD2: about 7 hours total labor and pushing. I'd say the last 3 were bad.

DS: 4.5 hours total labor/pushing. I was induced with him, though, so things go intense pretty quickly and I got the epidural (which was only for the last 30 minutes, in the end).

kami1977 · June 2012

I didn't have a long labor with my first it was just under 12 hours from the time I felt my first contraction, but I had a very short 3 hour labor with my second. I honestly have to say I much preferred my longer labor to the shorter one. The contractions were much more manageable and I felt really exhilarated afterwards. With the shorter one the contractions came fast and furious with little break and I was just stunned afterwards.

Nechie122 · June 2012

I was in labor for nine hours, which I'd consider a short amount of time. The first three hours were nothing -- DH and I actually spent much of it debating whether I actually WAS in labor. My contractions were consistently four-five minutes apart but easy. The next three hours were harder. I needed to "work" through each contraction (changing positions, breathing, showering, doing that awkward slow dance pose with DH). DH actually slept through most of that part because I STILL wasn't sure I was in labor. (Clearly I was an idiot but I really didn't think it was THAT bad.) The last three hours ... Well, they were rough. Transition. But, because NOW I finally had the bright idea that maybe I was in labor, there was a lot of activity going on. Calling the doctor, getting our things together, driving to the hospital, triage, and then finally pushing (I arrived fully dilated.) So three hours seemed almost like no time at all!

dosafyre · June 2012

DD#1 : water broke...15hrs early labor (mild), 1.75hrs of active labor contractions (intense)...20min pushing.

DD#2: water broke...3 hours early labor (mild)...3hrs active (intense)...25min pushing

bdutton0005 · June 2012

I had planned to do natural last time unfrtunately it did not happen. I did not feel a single contraction untill I hit transition at about 7.5 centimeters. My contractions were about 3 mins long with only about 45 seconds to a min between them. I feel had I felt something (like a build up) I would have been ok. I do plan on trying for a natural birth this time around.

AmyRI · June 2012

I did not have a long labor. I woke up at 12:30 am to my first contraction. I immediately could not sleep through them. 3 hours later, they were consistently 6 minutes apart and I had trouble talking through them, definitely wasn't walking through them. I was bent over swaying and concentrating.

About 7am I hit transition (6.5 hours into labor at that point) and things got really tough during contractions, but I started sleeping between them. I was tired from running on only 2 hours of sleep since the previous night, but the rest between contractions really helped.

OB broke my water at 7:30ish I think and things got really hard. I dilated almost completely right away, only had to change positions to get a lip to go away. The next half hour passed ridiculously slowly, and finally my OB got back in the room and I started pushing at 8am.

DS was born at 8:15am, 7 hours and 45 minutes after my first sign of labor. It was all pretty high intensity since I was dilating so quickly.

angluvsammon · June 2012

With DS, my first, I was induced at 41 weeks due to low amniotic fluid. The induction process took awhile, but my active labor was only 4 hours. It was a VERY intense 4 hours, but I was able to do it without any pain meds. 2 hours of that was pushing. I planned a homebirth with DD, but was induced at 38 weeks due to pre-eclampsia. Again the induction part took awhile to get started, but once I had consistent contractions it was just 2 hours of active labor! I only pushed 3 times. I am hoping this time around I FINALLY get to go into labor on my own. I honestly don't even know what labor contractions feel like without pitocin.

pixieprincss · June 2012

My labor was 63 hours long. I did 55 hours without meds before I elected a (medically advisable) epidural to allow me some rest rather than head for a c-section because of exhaustion. DS was OP and then OT which ties to long, wacky labors. The pain was very intense back labor for much of that, so much that I had signs of PTSD after the labor. I did great at using walking, a ball, water, Bradley relaxation, etc. and my hospital medical records from the nurses say over and over again how I was laboring extremely well. I did everything "right" (save for perhaps not seeing a MW or chiro through the PG who would've focused more on fetal positioning than even Bradley classes did), but, it still was one of those things. That said, I recognize that my labor was extreme. I wouldn't expect many others to face that. But, I share my story because some of the "if you just relax" things you hear do have validity, that is not a magic bullet in every case.

barnwife · June 2012

I've had 2 HB.

First HB: I never had braxton hicks. One night just after my EDD as I went to sleep I thought "I wonder if that was a contraction I just felt." Then each time I got up to pee that night I had another one. When I woke up for the day, I peed again and noticed I lost my MP. Then I had bloody show. Contractions continued. These were easy to deal with. I actually ran errands and went to garage sales that morning. By afternoon I needed to concentrate through them.

At 5 I told DH I wanted the midwife there. I was fully dilated a couple hours later. Those last 2 hours were horrendous (but manageable with counterpressure) back labor. Then I pushed for a little more than 3 hours.

So from the first contraction it was about 24 hours. But only about 6ish hours of really intense contractions and pushing.

superned · June 2012

My labor was about 15 hours total. From 4:00am to about 8:00am I was having regular contractions and lost my mp, at which point we called my OB. Around that time I started having to really concentrate during contractions, but was fine in between (about 5 minutes apart - I ate breakfast, took a shower, and got my hospital bag together).

I labored that was with the contractions getting a little closer together for about the next 4-5 hours. We got checked at my OB's office (I was 5cm), then went to check in at the hospital (at 6cm). At about 2:00pm the fun was over and I was really laboring. I got in the tub and about 20 minutes later my water broke...and the contractions got even worse.

For the next 4 hours I was in transition, mostly in the shower. I would ask DH for water in between contractions, but otherwise I couldn't talk or do anything except concentrate.

At 6:30pm I was complete and started pushing and DD was born at 7:20pm.

alice2Bcheshire · June 2012

I had a med-free hospital birth with DS. My labor started in the middle of the night, and I was aware enough to realize I was having contractions by about 1:30 am. I was able to sleep off and on until around 5:30, and after that I had to stop moving/talking and breathe through each contraction. We got to the hospital at 6:30 and my water broke at 8:30, after which things got pretty intense. I was in the tub for about an hour (which really helped keep things manageable), and went through transition between 9:30 and 9:45 (by far the worst part). DS was born at 10:25 am.

So the short answer: 9ish hours total labor broken down into 4 hours of easy contrx, 4 hours of intense contrx, 15 minutes of Hell, and 45 minutes of pushing.

mjr12 · June 2012

From the time I noticed consistent pressure in my back (back laborer here) to the time that my son was born was about 12 hours.

Unmedicated Hospital Hypnobabies Birth.

10:00 noticed Contractions.Contractions stayed far apart for quite some time.

2am (ish) noticed them getting closer'

7am (ish) 2 mins apart, got ready to leave for hospital (45 mins away)

9 am (ish) at hospital, dilated to 7 cm

10:10 am DS was born.

The worst part: the car ride. I could not handle the pressure on my hips sitting (while I was essentially in transition). Everything else, great!

For the record, it felt REALLY good to push. AND my water didn't break until baby was almost out.

jteneback · June 2012

My water breaking was the first sign of labor. By the time I got checked out 3 hours later I was having mild contractions and was 5 cm. Things got intense and DD was born 3 hours after that. I thought it was pretty manageable but I know my labor was atypical.

Shwee2685 · June 2012

By the time i felt my contractions and went to my birth center to be checked (12:00 in the afternoon), I was already 5 cent dilated. I was put into the bath, and decided to get up after a few hours to walk around (4:00) and progress everything. The contractions before that, were all minor and I was able to walk fine until I starting doing laps around the center. I was having painful contractions and decided to get back into the tub for comfort. I got out again around 7:00pm to do some rotating on the exercise ball next to the bed, and that seemed to calm the contractions again. Then after rotating and trying to eat a little bit, I got back into the tub till 10:00. I got out of the tub and onto the bed and pushed for an hour, and had my daughter at 11:05pm.

rxredhead · June 2012

I was slightly unusual. With my first labor was 6 hours from the first mild contraction (I only barely moticed it and thought it was gas) to delivery. I probably had easy active labor for 4 hours, then hit transition and decided maybe the hospital was a good idea, got there a little over an hour later, water broke walking in, THEN I had bloody show and I had him less than 45 minutes after getting there. Pushing only took 5-10 minutes

CurbsideProphet · June 2012

Overall I was in labor about 12 hours. Contractions woke me up around 5 am and I tried to go back to sleep but could not. It felt better to be up and moving around. Things were pretty manageable at home. Walking around felt good, but was tiring.

I think we decided to head to the hospital a little after noon. I believe we were there about 4 hours before DD was born. After the initial check to determine how far along I was (I was happy to hear I was already at 8 cm) we moved into a L&D room. They did their initial monitoring, which was horrible because I was stuck in the bed. Finally I asked if I could get up and someone said sure, so who knows how much sooner I could have gotten up. Just being able to stand/sway felt better than having to be in the bed.

We had a birth pool set up and I was in the pool for about an hour (I think I pushed for most of this time). I got out of the pool to try and go to the bathroom. I determined pushing felt more effect out of the water, so I did not get back in. I pushed for about another hours and DD was born at 4:56 pm.

I know a lot of people find pushing a relief, but this was not my experience. I never thought about asking for pain meds, but shortly before she was born I did wonder if I was going to have enough strength/energy to push her out.

ABeautifulMind · June 2012

I am a FTM who had a HB. I was in "pre-labor (crampy and uncomfortable)" for 24 hrs. before my water broke, but I don't count that as real labor. What I counted as real labor was 5.5 hrs. I had one contraction, my water broke and immediately my contractions were 4 minutes apart. By the time my MW got to the house and checked me (1.5 hrs. later) I was already 7cm. I was at 10cm and pushing 2.5 hrs. later. I'd say of the entire 5.5 hrs., the last 1.5 hrs. were really hard. Painful and intense, but definitely manageable. I NEVER felt the "I can't do this" feeling that some women talk about. I knew I could do it the entire time which may have made things easier.

LadyMadrid08 · June 2012

My water broke around 9am the morning of my labor. I got out of bed and called my midwife, took a shower, everything fine. Contractions started for real about 3 hours later and by 1pm I was on my way to the labor room.

From 1pm to about 4pm I would say my labor wasn't too difficult. I was managing contractions well, bouncing on a ball, laughing and talking between contractions, etc. Around 4pm (my mom kept a log with times) my contractions got very close together--every two minutes or so and I started throwing up. I was sure I was headed into transition. A check showed I was at 5cm and I got discouraged. I got in and out of the tub and laid in the bed for a while (which was so uncomfortable!) until around 8pm I finally hit transition. The rest (well from 4 onward really) is a blur because I remember being in pain, but the endorphins kept me going. I was in transition for a couple hours and started pushing around 10. I pushed two hours and DD was born a little after midnight.

So my labor was in total about 15 hours counting from when my water broke, but only 11 hours of real, active labor. The worst was not transition or pushing, but the odd few hours from 4pm to 7pm when I had contractions right on top of each other, could barely manage, and felt like I couldn't go on. I was very close to asking for an epidural if I hadn't made it past 5cm at my last check around 7 or 8 which is when I was told I was 7cm.

Good luck! You can do it!

ambercfor3 · June 2012

Both of my births were un-medicated. My first, the labor was 9 hours from start to finish, with 45 minutes of pushing. He weighed 9lb 12oz.

My 2nd was 11 hrs start to finish with about 45 minutes of pushing as well. She weighed 9lb 15oz

CTri17 · June 2012

I had early non-painful labor for probably 8 hours then labor went away while I slept.

It started at 730am the next morning and these were definitely real labor, by 1030 I needed my DH home because they were much stronger. I had all back labor, it was hard but I never had the I can't do this phase

Water broke at 1245 was at 9 cm

started pushing at 1

dd1 born at 215

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