3rd Labor's a Charm

As my due date inches closer I have begun to realize that in order to have this baby, I have to first give birth! Ugggg. Obviously I've known this all along, but I don't go around thinking about labor much. It's just not something I like to relive in my head.

The first time around, I was scared out of my mind to experience childbirth. Mostly because I simply had no idea what to expect.  From start to finish (from first contraction to holding Ryan in my arms) my labor was 11 hours, and I opted to get an epidural. Recovery was horrible. You can read my birth story here.

The second time around was faster and much more intense. Going in to the labor I knew I wanted to try and prove to myself that I could do it drug-free. I am proud to say that I did. However I know I would have accepted an epidural if labor had lasted much longer! Total labor time was 5 hours. Birth story is here. The delivery was a bit rough but recovery was SO much better this time!

I have an idea of what I'd like my 3rd experience of childbirth to be like. Of course, there are so many unknowns when it comes to labor and delivery. But in a perfect world, this is what I'd like to see happen. First off, I want labor to be really short! If Ryan's lasted 11 and Lucas' lasted 5, I figure this one should last no more than 2-3 hours max, right? I would love to have a natural drug-free labor again. Not because I have anything to prove this time around, but because I think it helped with my recovery a lot last time. And finally, I want this baby to come out facing down! None of that sunny-side-up nonsense that happened last time. That was pure torture.

Obviously a healthy baby is all that matters, but a Mom can dream for the perfect delivery, right? If you had a 3rd child, what was the childbirth like? Was it faster than the first two? Share your story!