by Sara McGinnis posted in Pregnancy

My two experiences giving birth were nearly identical. Twice my water broke unexpectedly, twice contractions failed to ever getting going on their own, twice things went bonkers when I got pitocin, and twice my babies were born after 20 some-odd hours of labor.
The same went for a friend of mine, in that her first two kids arrived similarly. For her it was a quick onset of contractions, and a hustle to the hospital. Her labors were drug-free, and no more than four hours with both her son and daughter.
Then came baby three.
We'd all joked about how she better haul heinie to the hospital as soon as she felt anything. (Seriously though, I even quizzed her about what to do if she found herself giving birth at home, possibly alone.) No one imagined that baby three would take hours upon hours, and eventually she'd need to be delivered by c-section. It's like you think you know how it's going to go, and then -- bam! -- baby three flips the script.

Apparently my friend isn't alone in having her third birth be a "wild-card" experience. Members of the BabyCenter Community have been discussing their experiences as well. A sample of what they've shared:
"First two made it to their due dates, third little one came early!"
"My third was almost exactly like my second, 11-12 hrs of contractions that I knew were the real deal, pushed for a few minutes. My first baby was 33 hrs so the second and third were a breeze in comparison...