anyone had a good labour with their first?

[jades91]

hi
so im expecting my first baby, and i i really am expecting it to be an absolute nightmare (labour and birth that is) im 34 weeks now and i want my baby here so much but all i can think about is how hard and painful labour is going to be. im oppting for a water birth all being well.
my sister tells me of her labour with her daughter and it was absolutely hurrendous for her really long and slow.. we are similar size shape and build and obviously we are sisters.. do u think this may mean my labour will be similar? and are there any things i can d to speed labour along or anything i can do now to help labour be easier? if anyone has anything to share please do xxxxx

 

[meandu]

Was induced but under 12 hrs start to finish & no stitches, tens machine & gas/air

 

[jades91]

ooh that sounds good haha. iv never used a tens machine what are they?xx

 

[Eleanor ace]

Yes, I loved it . My labour was about 6 hours long, I dilated quickly (went from nothing to 6 cm in less than 2 hours) and my contractions were strong with short gaps in between from early on but it was totally manageable . I had a big LO so I think that helped to move thing on quickly (my body was no match for gravity lol) but moving around and being upright (either leaning over the bed or on all fours) helped to move LO down too.
I wanted a water birth but didn't get one and ended up labouring on the bed from 7cm which wasn't great, I bet the water will help .
I'd recommend going into it with as positive an attitude as you can. Yes it may hurt but before you know it the pain will be over and you will have the best reward ever. Try to keep calm and focus on your breathing when you're having contractions, it really does make a difference. Don't focus on other peoples labours because there's no way of knowing what your labour will be like- I focused on preparing myself for labour in a positive way and am glad I didn't focus on the horror stories people tried to tell me as I would have wasted my time worrying over nothing.
Good luck, I'm so jealous that I have to wait so much longer until it's my turn again

 

[jades91]

aw thank you! thats a really positive story! i guess your right i should be positive shouldnt i! lol im so excited and nervous and scared its just sooo overwhelming!! hehe x

 

[lovie]

I had my first baby a week ago and my birth was lovely.

I had gas and air and a mobile epidural (low dose epidural wher eyou can still walk around and feel the contractions but it takes the edge of the pain)

My advice is to keep upright, don't lie on the bed, it felt like i was being ripped apart when i was on the bed, I had to go on the bed for a few mins for monitoring and to have a drip put in, when i was stood up the pain was really manageable even plesent and fun (might have been the gas and air)

Pushing only took 15 mins I had been drinking raspberry leaf tea for weeks so that might have helped. I pushed on a birthing stool with my dp behind me, it was a great position and id recomend it

I stopped the gas and air and the epidural had worn off by the time I started pushing which I would really recomend, I have such clear memories of the moment my baby was born and his 1st breaths


Good luck! I think about my son's birth every day and it makes me feel so happy and proud

 

[jades91]

Aw that's so lovely ! I'm really excited I hope mine is like one of these well done ladies x x

 

[Leids]

I gave birth in the US so didn't have access to gas & air but overall I had a good labor and delivery. I went into labor naturally the night before I was supposed to be induced, and got to 5cm on my own before they decided to start pitocin (was a low dose, primarily started due to the fact I was scheduled to be induced anyway).

I had a walking epidural, so I could feel contractions but they weren't painful. About an hour before I delivered they turned off the epidural, so I felt the entire delivery. It was 9 minutes worth of pushing, and I didn't feel him crowning, he came out in one push (head and body in all) and I had a 2nd degree tear that honestly didn't bother me at all. I had no problems healing, and the stitches weren't noticeable.

My active labor was 8 hours, much quicker and easier than I expected. I think everyone gets very nervous beforehand though, it's completely normal. Delivering your baby is primal though, you just do it and although it seems overwhelming you just kind of know what to do. Hard to explain! I would do it all over in a heartbeat, the next go round the labor and delivery will be the least of my worries. I say that after feeling the entire delivery (but not labor) without pain meds!

 

[staralfur]

I had a great labour!

I was induced with the prostaglandin gel and went into labour right away. My labour was 18 hours from start to finish but the first 10-12 hours weren't really painful, just uncomfortable.

I just spent a lot of time in the shower and used gas & air from 7cm-pushing.

It was an awesome experience!

 

[cupcakepie]

My labour was 8hrs from start to finsh! Waters broke at home at 4am, contractions started straightaway but were fine and only like period pains.. Got to hospital at 6am got examined at 8am I was 3cm. Contractions started coming 4 in 10mins. Just breathed through them, found them manageable. Try not to stress just go with it.. I literally breathed through all my contractions and i had back labour :/. The midwifes were amazing and got me hot towels for my back which helped loads. At 10am the pain got to much and I remember asking for epidural I got examined and I was 10cm fully dilated I was so shocked it was unreal lol.. I pushed for a hour which I didn't expect.. I found that the hardest bit! My LO was born 11.07am so 5 hours after I arrived at hospital. I honestly loved my birth experience. Sounds crazy I know lol... I was in your position this time last year my LO was born on Feb 17th - and I remember worrying so much about the birth but try not too as you never know how it will turn out. Mine was so quick and painwise was I would say was only really painful for the last hour! It makes me all excited for you... not long till u get to see your LO! Best of luck Hun xx

Ps - I wouldn't compare it to your sisters, as they say your meant to be like your mums birth and I was really worried as my mum was in labour for 24hrs with me and dilated slow with my bro and sis still 18hr and 15hr labours. My mum nearly missed my birth lol as I told her I was fine and only "3cm" and then she rang when I was pushing and OH was like quick come now she made it with 10mins to spare x

 

[jades91]

Cupcakepie, that is such a good story! Infact I love them all everyones are really good I guess everyones labour is different even if u are related! My mum had C sections with all 3 of her children, 1 becos baby was stuck 2 becos of low lying placenta and 3 becos she'd already had 2 before lol. Hope its not a c section for me!
Is there anything that u ladies did before labour/at the end of pregnancy that u think might have helped the labour come easy? Like excerise or eating certain things or anything like that? xxx

 

[lovie]

I'd recomend raspberry leaf tea to help make your pushing stage shorter

Also sex helped bring on labour

 

[jades91]

I'd recomend raspberry leaf tea to help make your pushing stage shorter

Also sex helped bring on labour

When should I start drink rasberry leaf tea and what exactly does it do ?xxx

 

[lovie]

I started drinking it around 35 weeks, I think it strengthens the muscles at the top of your uterus which are the important ones when pushing, it gave me Braxton hicks when I drank it. It's actually fairly tasty

 

[LegoHouse]

My first labour was 4 hours. Gas and air. 15 minutes of pushing.
My sisters first labour was 3 days, she got to 3cm dilated and ended with a section.

EVERYONE is different. Trust your body. It knows what it is doing!!

 

[Eleanor ace]

I'd recommend keeping as active as possible, labour is hard work and if you're out of shape it can be harder.

 

[nalurose]

hi
so im expecting my first baby, and i i really am expecting it to be an absolute nightmare (labour and birth that is) im 34 weeks now and i want my baby here so much but all i can think about is how hard and painful labour is going to be. im oppting for a water birth all being well.
my sister tells me of her labour with her daughter and it was absolutely hurrendous for her really long and slow.. we are similar size shape and build and obviously we are sisters.. do u think this may mean my labour will be similar? and are there any things i can d to speed labour along or anything i can do now to help labour be easier? if anyone has anything to share please do xxxxx

Hey we have the same due date...Feb 11th

 

[Bay]

With my first i think i laboured close to 24 hours, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds. My contractions were very irregular and only came as close as one every 10mins. I laboured most of it at home and was already 9.5cm by the time i got to hospital (midwife said there was just a small lip left).

If you know you are in labour, keep moving as it will help speed up the time between contractions. Like other ladies have already said, keep a positive and open mind going into it. Good luck.

 

[jades91]

Aw wow I'm loving reading all these posts so glad I started this thread its makin me feel loads better, so nice to here stories of birth that are not terrifying!xxx

 

[nikki79]

I had an excellent first labour. Was admitted to ward at 4cm at midnight and Sam was born at 3am. 4 pushes and he was out. I had been contracting on and off from 7am the morning before but they were very irregular.