Hi: My girlfriend does Crocheting and when I asked her, she brought out the needles. She says "h 3" means "half crochet three times" ... "dc, h 3" equals "half double crochet three times." Hope this helps.
Following the entire directions you wrote, she made what appeared to be a small "teardrop" looking shape -- "chain 3 times, in the same loop work half double crochet three times and two double crochet"
I understand bowling pins much better than crochet needles.