How do you judge how long your labour was?

[~ Zarava Flutterby ~]

I was told from 'regular' contractions, DD1 was 9hrs and DD2 was i think 5hrs.
Someone said to count from waters breaking but for me that would be DD1 20mins and DD2 8mins..
No more for me, DP would need to be armed with a catchers mit and some towels

Checked my notes from DD1 and they have it listed as 9hrs 30min.
1st stage being 8:55
2nd 0:25
3rd 0:10

I didn't find out with either of the girls how dialated i was so i guess i can't go by that either?

[Fleur]

No need to apologise here Jas, I for one didn't take offense
Just to clarify though - when I say 4 weeks of pre-labour, it wasn't every day, more like one or two days every few days - which physically was kinder but messed with my head

And for real labour, my waters didn't break until about 10 minutes before she was born, and my first internal I was 9 cm. So I really have nothing to base it on but how I felt ITMS.

[Razzberry]

This is a really interesting thread!

I was 4cm dilated and had NO idea - I had had no contractions and had not felt that good in weeks, it was only at my obs appointment at 38 weeks he said "your 4cms and your waters are bulging - you'll be having your baby sometime today!!!"

However, They put the synto drip on to hurry things along for various reasons (not that it worked mind you! It was after about an hour of being on the drip did I start to feel contractions.

I remember asking so am I in labour? and the midewives kept saying - yes you are in active labour - just felt ridiculous cause I couldnt feel anything!

[Antheia]

Ive no idea on how far dilated i was having a homebirth and all. But with Jackson i had my first contraction at around 8pm. The next an hour later and then another at 11. Then 11:30pm. Then at 12am they were around 10 minutes apart. So i considered my labour to have started at 12am. At 1am they went to 7 minutes and that is where they stayed until transition. Labour was 5 hours. They werent very painful at all. I could easily breath through them until i was around 9cms.

Different story with Orson. I didnt knopw i was in labour until transition. I had 5 contractions varying between 6 minutes and 2 minutes but they were't painful at all so i thought they were braxtion hicks. All of a sudden they were so painful and less than a minute apart!

[Dansta]

DJ's labor all up was 31hours - i had rthe ouchy, rythmic ones from the get go. (first one at 7:30am the next at 7:35am lol and DJ finaly came out at 12:50pm) but if i was to go from 'active labour' it was just under 5 hours.

Vics labor was a case of waking up in transition (the shakes, the wanting to spew and one.word. responses. his labour was 1 hours and 43 mins. (first 'pain' was at 3am. vic flew into the world at 4:43am)

[Mum2Romone]

I was in labour from the Thursday before I gave birth until the Sunday when DS was born. So three days.....

My midwife said my true labour was 20 something hours but the labouryou get with a posterior birth is longer and different so we will see next tIme.

[sconeonamission]

The day (Friday) before my due date (saturday), I had a s&s and was told I was 4cm dialated. The following Friday night, I went to bed with a heat pack like I had period pain, but there was no pain, just uncomfy. 10pm I told Andrew not to drink any more coz you just never know what will happen. He came to bed not long after. 1am I woke up with that feeling you get when you're asleep and you've got "the runs" and you need to get to the bathroom before something disastrous happens. But before I could go anywhere, the hind waters broke in bed. Contractions started not long after (I had time to shower, toilet, call hosp, shower, BB and head off). DS born 7:58am. Hosp count it as a 7hr labour, as do I. Probably would have gone quicker if someone had told me to push in the right spot. Least I know for this time round!