Tell me about your fourth labor...

[Just1More]

I'm just curious. Was your fourth labor like your others? I hear it is often the unusual one. Did anything strange happen?

[CherryBomb]

Funny, I've always heard that about #3! And it was true from me, it was a vba2c so WAY different than my first two!

[Purple Sage]

My fourth labor was unfortunately induced. However, it was actually really good - Fast, easy, and no complications. It wasn't that much different than the other labors....better than one and about the same as the others.

[MyFullHouse]

My fourth labor had just about nothing in common with any of my others, lol.

After having transitioned from having an induced/epi labor to induced/stadol labor to FINALLY a completely natural labor, I freaked out and demanded an induction at 42 weeks, against everything I believed.

While my 1st two inductions went well (in so far as they can), this baby freaked out on cervadil. It was scary.

It was the first labor that ever seemed to stall (hours later) around 4 or 5cm.
It was the first delivery dh missed (by minutes - he went home to feed the dogs).
It was the first cord I ever cut.
It was my first hands-and-knees delivery (not planned that way).

It was also the first time I had to stop to figure out a birthday. I had gone in on the last day of April, but he was born just after midnight, so his birthday was actually 5/1. It took me a week to wrap my head around how many days old he was, lol.

[~Demeter~]

Originally Posted by Just1More

I'm just curious. Was your fourth labor like your others? I hear it is often the unusual one. Did anything strange happen?

Yes! My 4th was the unusual one... my first 3 were about the same. I was induced with my first 4. The first 3 were all around 8 hours from start to finish... my 4th was 24 hours. My first 3 I pushed quite easily, had no real issues there... #4 I was so weak and tired and done, I really wasn't able to push her out. I'm hoping #5 is unique but in a good way.

[~Demeter~]

Oh... and I never developed a true labor pattern, I finally opted for an epi and more pitocin to get things really going. It was crazy... I felt so frustrated.

[nova22]

I've heard that about #3 as well, and my third labor definitely had my guessing.

#4...do you really want to know??

He was due at the end of July. On a Monday in the second week of August (at least 3wks past his EDD, but the midwife was not concerned) my water broke. It was a very slow leak, just a trickle, and I wasn't even sure it was amniotic fluid until the MW came and checked it out the next day. No sign of labor. I had acupuncture twice, walked around Target countless times, and took extra vitamin C to help prevent possible infection since my water had broken. Every once in a while I had to stop and breathe through a contraction but there was no regularity. Finally, late Wednesday night, after I kept feeling little leaks but no steady contractions, I took a ton of herbal laxative pills at my MW's recommendation. She said true labor would probably start within 2-3 hours. Sure enough, I took the laxatives at midnight and woke up at about 2:30 with contractions 2-3 minutes apart. He was born at home about 8 hours later, incident-free. So technically, you could say the labor was 56 hours long - that is the time from my water breaking to the birth of my son - but active labor was about 8 hours and was one of my easiest labors yet, probably because I was in my own home.

[2goingon2]

How odd - I've never heard this but my 4th was the odd one out.

Started having painful contractions at 36 weeks. Went to work and timed them thinking...this CAN'T be labor now...but it was. Called my doc and he checked me and I was 5 cm and ready to go.

My little guy was born 4 weeks early later that day. I think the dates were off and he was actually 3 weeks early. He weighed in at 7 lb, 14 oz...one of my smaller babies but big for being early.

Wonder what #5 will bring?!!

[Galatea]

Originally Posted by Just1More

I'm just curious. Was your fourth labor like your others? I hear it is often the unusual one. Did anything strange happen?

Thanks for this! Not what I need to hear right now!

[MamaMonica]

moved to B & B

[nudnik]

Well yes it was unusual! It took under 2 hours from the first contraction (last record was 5 hours). And it turned out to be twins. THAT was unusual!

[broodymama]

My 4th labor did take me a bit by surprise. My 2nd and 3rd labors were precipitous, two hours from maybe to baby. I was expecting something similar for #4. It turned out to be my longest pregnancy (40+4, my others had come at 38-39 weeks) but once labor started, bam! 24 minutes from 1st contraction to baby, I had no idea I was that close until I reached down and felt him crowning, DH was upstairs and barely made it down the half-flight of stairs as DS2 came flying out. And despite being my longest pregnancy he was only 9.5 lbs, my next-to-smallest babe of the four. Considering how quickly he came rocketing out I'm glad he was smaller!

[Adamsmama]

Originally Posted by Red Sonja

My 4th labor did take me a bit by surprise. My 2nd and 3rd labors were precipitous, two hours from maybe to baby. I was expecting something similar for #4. It turned out to be my longest pregnancy (40+4, my others had come at 38-39 weeks) but once labor started, bam! 24 minutes from 1st contraction to baby, I had no idea I was that close until I reached down and felt him crowning, DH was upstairs and barely made it down the half-flight of stairs as DS2 came flying out. And despite being my longest pregnancy he was only 9.5 lbs, my next-to-smallest babe of the four. Considering how quickly he came rocketing out I'm glad he was smaller!

Wow!!! I'm waiting to see what my 4th will be like. 2 and 3 were almost identical ... 1 was longer ...hoping this one is shorter (3rd was 7 hours but was an induction, 2 was natural but was 9 hours from start to finish).

[Just1More]

Originally Posted by Red Sonja

My 4th labor did take me a bit by surprise. My 2nd and 3rd labors were precipitous, two hours from maybe to baby. I was expecting something similar for #4. It turned out to be my longest pregnancy (40+4, my others had come at 38-39 weeks) but once labor started, bam! 24 minutes from 1st contraction to baby, I had no idea I was that close until I reached down and felt him crowning, DH was upstairs and barely made it down the half-flight of stairs as DS2 came flying out. And despite being my longest pregnancy he was only 9.5 lbs, my next-to-smallest babe of the four. Considering how quickly he came rocketing out I'm glad he was smaller!

This is what I'm wondering. My first was about 12 hours. BUT, she was posterior, and I was flat on my back at the hospital. Only about 30 minutes of pushing.

My second and third were much faster. My labor patterns are strange. I feel like I'm having BH. I just figure I need to drink more water, rest more, etc. Then, things turn and there we are. With my second, I was having more noticable contractions about 3 hours before he was born. The first real one was only 30 minutes before he was born, though. If I had been trying to stay at home "as long as we could", we would have stayed too long. (I had a great mw in the hospital. I had checked my cervix and discovered I was at a 5, so, even though I wasn't really having contractions, she said we should come in.) She came in the room a few minutes before the real contractions started and suggested a few things to speed it up. She walked out of the room, and transition hit.

My third labor was gentle the whole way. I was in denial that I was in transition. I checked and discovered I was nearly complete. When the mw got there (homebirth), I thought I still probably had an hour or so to go. I was feeling pushy, but never, ever felt desperate with her. She was born 15 minutes later. From, "better call the mw, just in case" to baby was 2 hours.

I live in the country, and the traffic is bad on the main roads to our house. It will take at least an hour for my mw to get here. Basically, I don't really notice/register contractions until transition. And with dd, hardly that. If we get much faster, we'll be doing a uc.

My mw said that only happens rarely. She says our bodies "know" the best time, and dh will already be here.

I'm not really worried about it, per se. I'm just intensely curious to see what will happen. (Actually, I'd almost like to be alone...I'd feel more free to do what I wanted. )

[homemademom]

My 3rd and 4th were both unusual, but I'll tell you about my 4th It was my first overdue baby, and I had a ton of prodromal labor. But once it got going, it had the same steady clip as my first two labors. Active labor was about 4 hours long.