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September 2016 Moms
erinmarie86
member
Freaking out about Labor & Delivery
erinmarie86
member
So i'm 34+ weeks along now...and i guess reality is just hitting me and i'm starting to freak out a bit about L&D. This is my second child/birth and i would have thought i'd be more nervous about my first one then my second one. But i think "ignorance is bliss" was a true statement for my first delivery. I had no idea what to really expect--I mean you read birth stories and what not but you don't actually know what it feels like until you do it. So this time around i'm just remembering how my labor was. It wasn't bad, in fact i do sorta hope it happens the same way. But I also know "every pregnancy/birth is different" so my mind is getting the best of me and telling me i was fortunate with my first birth and this one could be way worse (of course it could be better too but who ever thinks of the better scenarios when all the bad ones can fill your head).
So i guess what i'm wondering/hoping for is...for those of you who have already had 2 kids...how did your second labor compare to your first? Did #2+ come earlier or later than the first? Was labor longer or shorter? Did you feel more prepared for delivery #2+? What did you do differently and did it make things better in your opinion?
In short: every thing happened on the same day, within 5-6 hours of each other. I lost my mucus plug (around 3-4 AM)...water broke (around 5:30)...labor started...got to hospital (around 7-7:30 AM)...baby born(9:27 AM). (and this all happened just shy of 37 weeks)
Here are my fears:
So i guess what i'm wondering/hoping for is...for those of you who have already had 2 kids...how did your second labor compare to your first? Did #2+ come earlier or later than the first? Was labor longer or shorter? Did you feel more prepared for delivery #2+? What did you do differently and did it make things better in your opinion?
In short: every thing happened on the same day, within 5-6 hours of each other. I lost my mucus plug (around 3-4 AM)...water broke (around 5:30)...labor started...got to hospital (around 7-7:30 AM)...baby born(9:27 AM). (and this all happened just shy of 37 weeks)
Here are my fears:
- what if it happens sooner (prior to 37 weeks)?
- what if it happens faster? and i can't make it to the hospital? (i live in the mountains and it's about a 30 min drive)
- what if labor is much longer this time? (does that happen??)
- what are the odds of having complications this delivery even though last time it went so smoothly?
Re: Freaking out about Labor & Delivery
When I had my third, the nurses all said that third + are usually wild cards for length of labor. Seconds normally come faster. I have no idea how true that is as it wasn't the case for me.
For me, I'm just hoping I don't have the kid on the side of the road. With my second, I delivered him about 10 minutes after reaching the hospital and with my second, it was around 15-20 minutes. With my third, when I finally got the to my room (that I walked too!), the nurse checked me and was like "OH! You're at 9cm and your water is about to burst! BRB!" LOL
Edit: i should also mention i'm currently reading a post that has an article about emergency home births...probably not helping...https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12587032/emergency-delivery-if-youre-alone
My sons delivery was very uneventful and I went into with the same perspective you did, ignorance is bliss.
I have so far just chosen not to think about it and just take it as it comes. We shall see how long that last.
I was cavalier for the first birth. "It will be hard but nearly half the population does it." And "you can do anything for a short period of time!"
Ha.
I fell into the 1% of people who end up with a random 4th degree tear and giving birth was literally one of the worst experiences of my life.
I think id be more confident if things had gone well in any regard the first time. @erinmarie86 it sounds like you had an ideal labor, it's VERY unlikely that things will go horribly the second time for you, from everything I've heard, given an uncomplicated pregnancy.
They got me started on pitocin and we figured baby would come pretty quickly. A few hours later we tried the foley bulb to speed up dilating. I wasn't even at a 1 yet. That didn't work and we had to manually remove the bulb which was absolutely excrutiating. Then we tried cervadil. Still nothing. Day 2 came and went. I had multiple rounds of pitocin (if your pitocin doesn't work they continue to increase the dosage. After you're at the max amount, they start you over again at 0 and build you back up) and was also on antibiotics bc I was Strep B positive. My iv in my hand blew the vein from the antibiotics so we had to move that to the other hand. The baby's heart rate monitor went off 3 times causing the nurses to run in and put me on oxygen and flip me over to try and essentially "bring him back".
Tuesday morning was day 3 and I was exhausted, starving, and absolutely terrified baby and I might both die during this process. The dr on call checked me and I still hadn't even dilated to 1. I begged for a c section and our son was born about 20 minutes later.
During the entire ordeal I had back labor (baby was sunny side up) and never took a single pain reliever or epidural, didn't eat, and didn't sleep. They gave me a spinal for the c section which didn't have enough time to really take effect and after they pulled baby out I started screaming bc I could feel them stitching me back up. They floored my iv with ketamine and I remember hearing everyone but seeing a black hole close around me. I'm not sure how long I was out before I got to hold my baby. And for the next day afterwards my whole body itched, especially my face.
It was so much worse than I ever could have imagined and it took me months to be able to even talk about it without crying. I was able to speak to the head nurse about the horrendous treatment and care I received but I don't really know if it made much of a difference. Thank the Lord, we have moved since then and I will be delivering at a new hospital with a new OB, and this is a scheduled C Section. It turns out I have a narrow pelvic inlet and the chances of ever delivery naturally are slim to none. I am so relieved to never have to labor again (this will be our last baby).
I'm sure none of you will have such a terrible time, but maybe if I had heard a story like this I would have at least had some idea of what could happen. So I guess I'm sharing so you know how slow labor can go, along with the many stories other moms are sharing about their quick deliveries. In the end, I healed up fine, my son is absolutely perfect, and we had an amazing 20 month run of breastfeeding. It was absolutely worth it!
I was 39 weeks exactly I labored at home for a while, took a long walk, swam in the pool (seriously, lol). By the time I got to the hospital I was about 6 or 7 cm dialated. I got an epidural, slept, and when I woke up I felt like I had to push. They could see the head already and he was out in 3 pushes.
My recovery was so much easier too. I was up walking around an hour after the delivery, I didn't have as much pain. I also only had one stitch.
Evelyn (3.24.10), Graham (5.30.13) & Miles (8.28.16)
@erinmarie86 this is baby #3 for me, and I was definitely more scared the second time around. Ds1 came 11 days early and DS2 came 20 days early. First labor was 12 hours from water breaking to baby born (slowly lost my mucus plug the day before/day my water broke). Second labor from my first contraction to baby born was 3.5 hours!! So baby 2 came sooner date wise and faster labor wise!
I'm expecting this one to be somewhere in between.
My second labor was so much easier as the first was sunny side up and the second wasn't.
Sebastian 3-11-14
Simon 5-2-15
Baby #3 Due 9-29-16
Eta: we had very similar experiences. Multiple rounds of pitocin, baby's poor reaction to it, oxygen, blown veins, Monday-Wednesday labor. Our stories diverge where you had your section and i delivered vaginally.
Things that the OB said while I was in labor/while she was stitching me up:
"Oh, there's another tear. You tore again."
"You may never deliver vaginally again."
and, I'll never forget it, after she was finished stitching me up
"This will look like a vagina again."
hand to god. a doctor said that to me.
@erinmarie86 I only have 1 so far but I'm also freaking out about the second labor. My first was under 2 hours start to finish and unmedicated (I like to say "by choice" but it's not like I had time to get anything). It was fast and furious and I, too, have been googling accidental home births and how to deliver in a vehicle lol. The one thing I would say is please don't try to drive yourself and your son to the hospital if you are in labor!!!! What happens if it progresses quickly and you are behind the wheel? I fully plan on calling an ambulance if I am by myself with my toddler and my contractions are super close immediately.
My close friend just gave birth to her third boy. Every time she was overdue, had big babies, and so on. The only difference with this last one was he was so big, facing wrong/breech, and had the cord wrapped around his neck that she had to have a C-section. So yes, each one is different but they can be very similar also.