Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Charlene,
    
    My second labor took roughly half the time of the first. I was
    amazed, because our childbirth refresher teacher said this was
    likely, which to me meant it was *un*likely, based on my experience 
    -- anyway, it was true. 
    
    Second-stage (pushing) was also half the time of the first. The
    pain level was about the same.  
    
    Hope this is true for you too (but not the pain part!)
    
    Lucy

    I hear a lot of women seem to have an easier time the second time.
    This is a relief to me too; 32 hours of induction for a stillbirth
    is something I figure is easy to beat! 
    There is a another woman at work who is due in a matter of days, she
    too had to engage in some really hard work to bring her first into
    the world -- 22 hours of induced labour....We were both telling one
    another that it better be easier for us this time!
    
    My mother, who'd had a reasonably difficult labour with me, had a 
    breeze with my brother; he was breech but nearly made a midwife out
    of my dad on the way to the hospital. 
    So far, I have only heard of one or two women having a MORE difficult
    time after the first. I also hear a lot of doctors telling women that 
    they should not wait as long after the labour starts to contact the 
    hospital and come in....
    
    So, Charlene, lets all cross our fingers that we will have an easier 
    time! 
    
    Monica
    (almost 33 weeks!)

    That is my fear, and I am not even pregnant!  I don't think I could
    tolerate it.  I had a really hard delivery.  I was 8 days late and
    my daughter just loved to stay where she was.  I pushed for 4 hours
    and had a mild labor, every 7 minutes.  
    
    Good luck, and let us now how it goes!
    
    

    Is the 2nd one easier??  Well, I brought my wife in for the 2nd and got
    to the hospital at 7:00.  She gave birth at 7:07!!!  You never saw
    nurses move so fast in your life!!  :^)
    
    Chris D.

    My second (4 hours) is a lot faster than my first (20 hours).
    I also had back labor with my first.  My son was also too
    big and I pushed for 2+ hours.  With my daughter, I only pushed 
    3 times and the labor was not as painful as my first.
    
    Most the womem that I know have an easier 2nd labor.
    
    Wendy

    My first - 10 hours start to finish,  of active labor. Contractions
    every 3 minutes for that time.
    
    My second - 3 1/2 hours active labor in the hospital. Delivery itself
    though was tough.
    

    Can anyone give input on their second delivery vs. first if the first
    was a c-section.  Does the faster birthing process also apply to the
    second baby when you did not delivery vaginally the first time?

    For my first baby, I was in labor for 12 1/2 hours and pushed for about
    an hour.
    
    For my second, I was in labor for 2 1/2 hours and it only took about 3
    pushes to get him out.  
    
    -Joy

    - 2
    
    With my first, I had a c-sec after 13 hours of labor, and only being 2
    cent. dialated
    
    With my second, (VBAC) I had 25 hours of labour, 2 hours pushing. 
    
    I believe that if you had a c-sec for your first, the first vaginal
    delivery is like a first child delivery - that is the cervix, etc had
    never been stretched by the first delivery.
    
    Good Luck ! 

    re: .7 and .9  (2d, after a Caesarian)
    
    I think .9 is probably right, tho it might depend on how far along you
    were before the C-section.
    
    Our first was to be born at home, ended up 48 hrs into labor with at
    the hospital with a c-section. The 2d was to be VBAC, and the labor
    went faster, but still ended up c-section. Gave up and scheduled the
    3rd.  
    
    Kit

    I had my first via C-section after 4 hours of early induced labor (she
    went into fetal distress).  I really had no idea of what labor actually
    felt like.
    
    With my second, a successful VBAC, I was told that vaginal deliverly would 
    be like delivering your first baby.  I was in labor for 16+ hours, 45
    minutes of pushing.  I was very slow to dialate, I was stalled at 6cm
    for 6 hours.
    
    Angie 

    
    My first daughter was delivered by a scheduled c-section as she was
    breech.  This was a good experience, but I never got to experience
    labor.
    
    My second daughter was born VBAC after 12 hours of pitocin induced
    contractions which were about 3-5 minutes apart and 2 hours of pushing. 
    They finally had to use the vacuum extractor, which was quite the
    thing!  It was definitely similar to a first-time birth experience.
    
    I was contemplating a third child and asked my physician if I could
    schedule a c-section, but he said they don't allow it after a
    successful VBAC....so much for the third child :}
    

    With my first I was in labor a total of nine hours and pushed for 25
    minutes. (My son was 10 days early and weighed in at 5'1, 17 inches long).
    
    My second delivery was 1 hour 34 minutes with 6 pushes and out came my
    second son weighing in at 7'6, 21 inches long.
    
    I thought the pain was more intense the 2nd time around. But it was
    well worth it. 
    
    Lynne

    Well I want to wish you good luck and I found your question interesting
    as I am due for our second in about 3 1/2 weeks and have been wondering
    all of the same things.
    
    My first delivery was long, and tough but no complications.  I was in
    labor for approx 24 1/2 hours and got stuck at 5 cm and then again for
    2 hours at 7 1/2 cm, don't push yeah right!!!!!! 
    
    Pushed for about 45 minutes and Morgan Elizabeth came into the world,
    our little sunshine.
    Now we are awaiting this arrival with all of the same thoughts you have
    will it be half the time as they say, will the pain be more intense
    etc... I can say that my 8th month I have had some very significant
    Braxton Hicks and that it feels like something is definately about to
    happen.  I have definately felt alot more twinges this time around, the
    doctor says that is because your body has already been through it and it
    it is more sensitive.
    
    Well best of luck to you and yours.
    
    Regards
    
    Gayle
    

    
    I know when I got pregnant with my second, the first, well maybe
    second, thing I said to my husband and Dr. was I WANT AN EPIDURAL (sp?)
    
    With my first I would have never considered it, but with my second, I
    KNOW what labor felt like and I didn't want the pain if I didn't have
    to.   I know this isn't the right decision for everyone, but for me and
    my husband we enjoyed the labor and birth of our second so much.  I had
    a good experience with it.  It numbed me from about mid chest to mid
    thigh.  The nurses would say, oh here comes a contraction, and I would
    look at the monitor and watch but didn't feel a thing!  I thought it
    was great.  If you ask my husband about it he says "It was like a Tea
    Party!"
    
    Oh, BTW, this didn't seem to hold up my labor at all.  It still took
    about 1/2 the time of the first.  They gave me the epidural (sp?) at 5
    cm, and about 4 hours later I was pushing!
    
    

One thing that my Lamaze instructor emphasized was that your experience
will be different for each child you give birth to.

My first, a homebirth, was 8 hours of active labor, what I considered to be
the worst pain I would ever experience, and ended with a healthy 7lb 8oz
boy born right on his due date.

(I apologize to those who feel it's unkind to say it hurts, but who are we
kidding?)

With my second, 9 years later, I was told it may be like a first (5 years
seems to be the dividing line) or it may not.  I went into labor STARTING
with contractions 5 minutes apart around 8am. I wasn't sure it was "it" as
I'd been having alot of Braxton-Hicks contractions that felt sharp - the
dr. said that was my cervix dilating and getting ready (I starting dilating
at 36 weeks) -so I waited before calling anyone until I timed them a bit.
After the doctor convinced me this was it (I was only a week late after all
-I was convinced this kid was never coming out!) we got to the hospital
about 10am and Graham was born at 12:25 after about 20 mins of pushing, a
little back labor, and labor pains that I considered more intense than the
first time around.  But the whole ordeal was so much shorter in duration
that I think it was better than having a less-intense labor stretched out
over hours and hours.

~Caryn

    Every person is different and every pregnancy is different.  What is
    right for one person may not be right for you.
    
    #1	8 hrs labor including 20 minutes of pushing - my son
    	weighed 6 lbs 10 oz
    
    #2	6 hrs labor including 1 hr of pushing - my daughter weighed
    	9 lbs.  12oz.
    
    I was fortunate and did not need to use any drugs.
    I feel very lucky and consider these "easy" deliveries and am very
    grateful!
    
    I do remember that the pain during contractions felt "more intense"
    or "stronger" during my second delivery.
    
    Kathy
    

    WOW 16 replies in here since I opened this topic yesterday. Thanks for
    all the feedback. 
    
    I have a question, I read all the baby literature and everything but I 
    never heard of VBAC. From common sense I would imagine it stands for
    Vaginal Birth after Ceserean. Is this right?
    
    Now I am even more terrified of getting a Caserean than going through
    delivery # 2. That would stink!
    
    Sometimes when my daughter is having a terrible two night (she'll be
    3 a day before this one is due) I wonder why I am even doing all this
    again, but then again she has her great moments too. I think a lot of
    it is be going through pregnancy mood swings more than her being her. 
    
    Charlene
                                     

    
    	I too am due on June 12th, my first via C-Section.  I'm scared
    	to death about going through a VBAC..but my Dr. isn't giving
    	me a choice.  My first was an awful experience...Went into labor
    	Thurs, went back home Thurs night, and went back in Friday.  Had
    	Matthew at 1.a.m. on Sunday, after hours of being induced by
    	pitocin, and having his heartbeat decline many times.  They were
    	monitoring him through his head, taking blood from his head...I
    	felt so bad for him!!  They finally took him C-section after I
    	wasn't progressing, and his heartbeat wasn't' doing well.
    
    	I hate reading the thought that the second time around may be like
    	a first pregnancy....I was in labor almost 64 hours!  My Dr. says
    	the only way they'll take him/her is if it's a bigger baby...Matt
    	was 8'2.  Is this because I had a C-Section on the first.
    
    	I'd love to hear any VBAC experiences...were they
    	good...bad...quick!!  I had no fear the first time around of going
    	into labor..now it's all I think about.  Do they monitor you
    	any different if your first was a C?
    
    	My Dr's office doesn't have any VBAC classes, so any info that
    	would put my mind at ease would be appreciated.  
    
        Ellen - 32 weeks and counting!
    	

    Again...what is VBAC stand for??
    
    Charlene

    What should one expect if the first delivery was relatively easy?
    
    When Nick (our first) was born, Kathy's first indication that something
    was happening was when her water broke at 8pm. We got to the hospital
    by 9pm, at which point she was already 3cm. Nick was born approx 2 hrs
    later, after approx 30 minutes of pushing. At the time, the nurses
    joked that we had better move closer to the hospital for the next one,
    so that (s)he's not born in traffic on rt 93. We laughed then, but after
    reading some of these replies, I'm not so sure that they're too far
    off the mark. Any experiences to share?
    
    Freddie

    #1 -- I was in labor for 3 days.  The last 2 days the contractions were
    less then 5 min apart.  I could not have an epidural until 6 hours
    before the actual delivery (I was not dilating enough and they were
    afraid labor would stop).  Once I had the epidural I slept for four
    hours.
    
    #2 -- about 12 hours of labor.  The minute I got to the hospital and
    they said I was 4 centimeters dilated, I said I wanted an epidural,
    they said that they'd have to call the doctor (I hadn't bothered I just
    came in), but to be honest the pain was not as great as the first time
    around.  The doctor got there about 45 min later and I had my epidural
    and the birth was 2 hours later.
    
    Roberta

    My first was born by cesarean section, because he was footling
    breech, 8 lbs., and 21 inches long (I'm 5 ft. 2. and was 106
    lbs. when I started the pregnancy).  I never really went into
    labor with James.  My water broke at 3 a.m. on a Saturday, I
    had some contractions, and James was born by C-section at 2:20
    in the afternoon.  (The surgery had been scheduled for the 
    following Monday at noon!)  If he'd been head down, it's likely
    he would have been born vaginally in about the same amount of
    time (11-ish hours).
    
    My daughter is a VBAC baby.  I had some off-and-on contractions
    early on Sunday afternoon, but didn't go into "real" labor till
    8 p.m. or so that evening.  By 10 p.m. I was uncomfortable.  I
    did much better sitting up in the big armchair in our living
    room and dozing between contractions.  I watched the WEather
    Channel all night and timed them by the little time thing they
    always have on the bottom of the screen.
    
    By 3 a.m. I woke my husband up (actually he got up because James
    was restless and then when Mike went back to bed he noticed I
    wasn't there!), and we finally went to the hospital at around
    5:30 a.m.  Hollis was born at 8:20 after about 40 minutes of
    pushing.  I yelled when I was pushing and my doctor kept telling
    me to settle down, so I said, "Then YOU have it, you s** of a
    b****."  I'm just an ideal patient.  :-)  I probably scared the
    living daylights out of every laboring woman in that hospital.
    
    So this is a long way of saying that both of my labors were 
    probably about the same, except one baby ws delivered thanx
    to surgery and the other was delivered vaginally.
    
    .0, I don't blame you for feeling scared/nervous/etc.  I was
    terrified of my second labor, because I'd never really been
    in labor before.  And delivery?  Forget it!  I was scared
    senseless.  The actual labor pains were like bad menstrual
    cramps, and since I've had plenty of those in my time, I
    was able to cope with them.  Pushing was definitely the worst
    part, but it was over surprisingly quickly.  I do remember
    that it took me all night to get to 5cm, and I remember
    thinking that at that rate, the baby wouldn't be born till
    9 p.m.!  But that wasn't the case at all.
    
    Feel free to write me off line if you want to talk some more.
    
    

RE. .22    What should one expect if the first delivery was relatively easy?
    
My first was a breeze ... I didn't know I was in labor 'til I lost my plug. 
It was hard to time the contractions because I couldn't feel them very much.
We took our time, got the the hospital around 2:30 a.m., I was 6 cm dialated
by that time, and my son was born before 5:00 a.m.  The nurses said if I ever
had another one I should get to the hospital as quickly as I can.

Well, all during my 2nd pregnancy I was terrified by thoughts of having the
baby in the car on the way to the hospital.  I lost my plug 3 weeks before my
due date and panicked and went to see my dr. I was 3 cm. dialted then.  LOTS
of braxton-hicks contractions that night that I thought for sure was "IT", but
they finally stopped.  I had dr.'s appointments twice a week and each time I
was only 3 cm. dialated.  Two days before my due date I had bad side & back pain
and ended up going to the hospital and was 4 cm. dialated, but they told me I 
*was* in labor. I didn't really feel any contractions.  I didn't progress at 
all for several hours, and the baby was high (hadn't dropped at all).  They 
were concerned there was an infection because I was running a temp. of 102 and 
still had these pains in my side (I ended up with a torn placenta) so they 
broke my water. That didn't speed things up so they induced me.  The whole 
time I was asking for an epidural (like I did with my first delivery...but I 
was too late that time) and when the time finally came where I could have one, 
I was told the ONLY anesthesiologist on duty was busy with a C-section.  Being 
induced was sheer HELL!  I had about 1 to 1.5 hrs. of hard, intense labor, but 
only pushed for about 5 or 10 minutes.  This time I got to the hospital at 
10:00 p.m. and the birth was just before 7:00 a.m. the next day.

    Well, unfortunately Leominster Hospital is where I will be deliverying
    and they DO NOT do Epidurals. I have no idea why...But that would be 
    so nice. With my first delivery they ended up shooting me in the butt
    twice with Demerol, but it just slowed my contractions down, so at that
    point after 24 hrs, I said no more drugs, I will just stick it out, I
    want it to be over, I remember being hysterical because of the hunger
    pains I was encountering...All they would give me was those damn taste
    less popsicles. I even had to brastfeed her the second she came out 
    because they said after me not eating a total of 24 hrs and the amount
    she was crying, that she was starved too. No shame! Just layed there
    on the table, while it seemed like everyone and their brother was 
    either showing me how to breastfeed or stitching me up. That took
    1 1/4 hrs to do. 
    
    Whew! like I said, this one better be easier. 
    
    This one is definately quieter than she was in movements, I know that.
    
    Charlene

    Baby #1: 22 hours of hard labor, 3 hours of pushing
    
    Baby #2: 2,200 hours of labor :^) (preterm labor at 24 weeks)
    	     3 hours hard labor
    	     3 minutes of pushing.
    
    The second easier? I don't know...
    
    Jodi-

    A couple of things made my second more bearable - I labored most of it
    standing up, and I stood in the shower for the last 45 minutes before
    transition.  The important thing, I think, about the second is that you
    can better assess what your pain level might be and how you might want
    to manage your labor.
    
    

    
    BAby #1 c-section after 16 hours of labor and only 5 cm dilated. 8.8
    lbs
    
    Baby #2 (13 months later) 6 hours of labor, 2 pushes and my placenta
    broke apart on delivery and the Dr. had to scrape my uterus to get all
    of it out. VERY painful.    9 lbs
    
    Baby #3 3 hours of labor, 2 pushes   7.8lbs
    
    Baby #4 4 hours of labor and 5 pushes she was sunny side up. 9.1 lbs

    re: 22
    
    Just saw a friend and her newborn and I was reminded of your question. 
    When her first son was born she was in labor for about 1 hour in total. 
    Before the second delivery they did switch to the closest hospital
    because they were worried about not making it in time.
    
    Well, they didn't quite make it anyway---  Grant was born in the car
    about 5 minutes from the hospital!  Total labor this time was 45
    minutes.
    
    Happy ending - she had no difficulty, and the nurses took care of
    everything when they arrived.  Apparently they are accustomed to this
    sort of thing.
    
    Mary

    OK. I am 25 weeks, on my 3rd child, but is has been 12 YEARS since my
    last child! I am scared to death of wehat it is goint to be like. I am
    trying to be calm and mature (HA!) about the whole thing, (piece of
    cake right?).  Have any of you experienced a long time frame between
    babies? If so, what was it like for you.
    

With my first my water broke 3 days before I delivered.  We spent most of
that time commuting back and forth to the hospital.  Finally, I really went
into labor.  It was about 12 hours of very intense labor and the baby was 
born fine.  No problems.

With my second it was exactly like the first with my water breaking and no
contractions.  This time we induced and the baby was born after only 6 hours
of serious labor.  I was SO glad that we induced.  The labor was not really
any different than the first, non-induced labor.  And Jordan was born is less
than 24 hours after my water broke!  


Jill

    
    	Re:.19
    
    I have 2 children delivered c-section. The first was a story
    similar to yours. My labor stalled after 20 + hours at 6-8 cm's. They
    could no longer find the babies heart beat. I was told to rock the
    baby...it was frightnening. I asked for an epidural when I got to the
    hospital but they thought I was too far along ...6-8 cm's. I did not
    progress in the next 2 hours so the nurse said, let's give her
    "Vitamin P" to move things along. I knew they meant pitocin and
    objected at first and then said let's get this over with ...give me the
    vit. P. We dialed up very far with the pitocin and still did not
    advance. The pain did but the baby didn't. Finally they did a
    c-section. I had been begging for it since they lost the heartbeat.
    I did have a very healthy 9lb boy..I'm 5'3 115lbs normally.
    
    My first post partum appt with the ob I asked what my options were for
    future deliveries and in fact I was told I COULD elect a c-section. She
    did not offer this info upright, as a matter-of-fact, she went into
    great detail about VBAC's. Then I asked point blank...Can I elect a
    scheduled c-section the next time? with reluctance the answer was yes.
    For nine months she tried to change my mind but I knew I had another
    big baby. I did an ultrasound in my 8th month and it indicated the baby
    was almost 8lbs then so...c-section it was.
    
    This was easier than the first but not without its difficulties. My
    charts showed repeat c-section so they all assumed I was an old pro.
    The first time I was so wiped I did not realize what was happening, did
    not feel anything, etc by the time I got to the operating room. The
    second I was fairly fresh and alert. No one told me about any the
    sensations that were normal to feel. They were not painful, just things
    like heaviness in the chest, etc. I thought I was in trouble this time.
    
    Well, either way, find out all the info you can, find out all your
    options, and think them out before you get to the hospital. Mayeb even
    put your requests in to your ob before hand. Ask him how long he will
    let you be in labor...he may have a limit for you ...ask him for one...
    They are the experts so we do have to trust them. It still helps to be
    an educated consumer!!
    
    Good luck and don't worry, I'm sure he won't let you go through what
    you did the first time.
    
    Kathy