I may only feel this way right now because it's so fresh in my mind, but this was probably my most difficult labor (although, I can't complain too much, it wasn't all that bad). It was certainly the longest.
During my first pregnancy, I quietly experienced near-constant (but mild) Braxton Hicks contractions throughout my third trimester. Then, 3 days past my due date, before bed, I suspected the contractions were getting stronger, but wondered if I was just overly optimistic because I was getting anxious for labor to begin. Sure enough, I woke at 3 the next morning having regular contractions, which continued to get more intense over the next 12 hours until Jonah was born.
In my second pregnancy, the Braxton Hicks started earlier - in my second trimester - and continued all the way to the end. Four days before my due date, I started bleeding. We decided to head into the hospital to see what was going on. It was just a 3 mile drive to the hospital, but on the way there, I started having some serious contractions. Three and a half hours later, we met sweet Cora!
This time around, my Braxton Hicks started much later into the pregnancy. And they were much more inconsistent. A week and half before my due date, I started having some intense contractions, but never very regularly - and mostly in the middle of the night :( This made for many nights of fitful sleep, and I became increasing uncomfortable. I thought for sure this baby would come early and fast, just like Cora. But I made it to my due date, after all. That morning, however, the contractions did start to pick up, and were consistently 10 minutes apart. This continued all day, but they didn't really get much more frequent. Around 9pm, I had a series of intense contractions right on top of one another that convinced us we should head to the hospital.
Our friend Bonnie came over to stay with the older kids, and we were settled into our room around 10pm. Things continued slow and steady for the next four hours, until Esther was born, just before 2am! She was almost born on her due date - my closest one yet. My contractions never really did speed up much, which is maybe why labor felt longer/more difficult than with Jonah and Cora. Overall, things went pretty well. We had a little bit of drama at the end when, after I delivered Esther, the cord avulsed (broke off!) before the placenta had delivered. But my doctor, one of Brandon's classmates, was able to quickly resolve the issue. We spent the next hour getting to know our new baby girl before moving to a room in the postpartum wing.
Here's a look back at each of our babies, with their dad, about a day or two old:
In my second pregnancy, the Braxton Hicks started earlier - in my second trimester - and continued all the way to the end. Four days before my due date, I started bleeding. We decided to head into the hospital to see what was going on. It was just a 3 mile drive to the hospital, but on the way there, I started having some serious contractions. Three and a half hours later, we met sweet Cora!
This time around, my Braxton Hicks started much later into the pregnancy. And they were much more inconsistent. A week and half before my due date, I started having some intense contractions, but never very regularly - and mostly in the middle of the night :( This made for many nights of fitful sleep, and I became increasing uncomfortable. I thought for sure this baby would come early and fast, just like Cora. But I made it to my due date, after all. That morning, however, the contractions did start to pick up, and were consistently 10 minutes apart. This continued all day, but they didn't really get much more frequent. Around 9pm, I had a series of intense contractions right on top of one another that convinced us we should head to the hospital.
Our friend Bonnie came over to stay with the older kids, and we were settled into our room around 10pm. Things continued slow and steady for the next four hours, until Esther was born, just before 2am! She was almost born on her due date - my closest one yet. My contractions never really did speed up much, which is maybe why labor felt longer/more difficult than with Jonah and Cora. Overall, things went pretty well. We had a little bit of drama at the end when, after I delivered Esther, the cord avulsed (broke off!) before the placenta had delivered. But my doctor, one of Brandon's classmates, was able to quickly resolve the issue. We spent the next hour getting to know our new baby girl before moving to a room in the postpartum wing.
Here's a look back at each of our babies, with their dad, about a day or two old:
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| Jonah (2012), Cora (2014), Esther (2016) |
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