How Long Will Pushing Take?

This is a question I get from ALOT of women, and of course, I don't know what the answer is. But one thing almost all women can count on is it is usually easier and faster with each subsequent child you have. So this mom (who pushed for 3 1/2 hours with baby #1!) was REALLY hoping that pushing would go by much quicker this time around!

I received a call from mom at about 4:00 Friday morning, saying she was on her way to the hospital. I asked if she wanted to me to meet her there, or if she wanted to call once she was checked etc. She said she would call once they were all set up at the hospital.

5:25 am, Dad calls and mom is already 7 cm! I get up and out of the house in a whopping SIX minutes! A personal record. :) But even with my speed, mom is complete when I arrive shortly before 6:00. I felt SO bad that I had missed the entire labor. I was with mom and dad with baby #1, and we joked that #2 would surely feel ripped off because there were no pictures of his labor. So we quickly took this picture to at least have one of the labor! :)


6:15 mom begins pushing. So of course we are all thinking things are about finished, but we were pretty wrong. Mom opted for intrathecal pain meds, with is a lot like a spinal but not as strong. It works much quicker than an epidural, but doesn't last nearly as long. Moms like pain meds for obvious reasons, but they do inhibit pushing. Combine that with a posterior baby, and this mom was gearing up for a lot of pushing.

Goal #1: Rotate Baby.
This mom is always positive and willing to try anything. She was a great sport about changing position every three contractions. She pushed in almost every possible position: each side, hands and knees, squatting etc. 1 hour and 45 minutes later, baby was in the exact same spot. UG!

Goal #2: Push baby out. :)
But as the pain meds began to wear off, not only did mom's pushing get more effective, but the baby started to rotate too! So once that happened, baby was born in about 20 minutes!

Welcome to the world, Baby Preston! Born at 8:26 am, Friday April 23rd.

A big boy: 8 pounds 14 ounces.

The birth of baby #1 was not only long, but stressful and ended with a trip to the NICU. It definitely took it's toll on dad. But this time around I don't think dad got faint or queasy at all!

There's no lack of love for this little guy. Here he is being adored by both grandmas, and mom's best friend.

So mom still spend quite a long time pushing. But she did shave off about 30% of how long it took her to push out baby #1. That is actually really good progress!

Thanks for sharing your birth! You guys did great!