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So it's 11:30pm and I haven't been able to sleep. Do I stay up and hope that J wakes at midnight for his first feed like he has the last few nights or try and sleep and hope he doesn't? *sigh* I feel like this is going to be a lose lose situation.

@ShootingStar: Close to 4 hours. Ok.... going to wake him. Let's see what happens.

The baby woke up and wouldn't settle at about 7, but my husband didn't have to leave until 8- so I handed him off and slept by myself in bed (on my belly!) for the first time in 4 weeks. I passed out so hard for that one hour!!!! I have to get this kid out of my bed!!!!!

@T.H.O.U.: I hate co sleeping except for about 10 minutes in the morning when he's cute.

@Silva: @T.H.O.U.: @MrsSCB: I am hanging in there with you on the sleep side! My little guy has a couple of good stretches, but has moved his first long stretch of the night (about 2-2.5 hours) way up to around 8:30ish. I'm just not ready to go to bed then! I am trying to sleep more when he sleeps, but by the time I shower and/or eat, I lay down and he starts stirring not long after. We are hosting our daughter's birthday party tomorrow, so after tomorrow, I am going to try to shift his sleep patterns a smidge. Because he is definitely a better day sleeper than night sleeper!

@ShootingStar: oh hell to the no. Sounds like you handled it like a pro.

Ugh. We are getting better with her first stretch being 3 hours (usually like 8:30-11:30pm). But then at 1 or 2 am she's up again (2 hour stretch which I can usually fall asleep for ok). But after that 1 or 2 am feeding its impossible to get her back down. She's passed out on my lap but going to the crib she wakes within 5-10 minutes writhing in pain. Of course I'm the most exhausted at this point. I've tried to sleep with her after this feeding but it turns into a mess by 4 am then.

@T.H.O.U.: so tough. The waking up and nursing is tolerable to me, but when they won't go back down its so hard. That's when I start calculating how much sleep in getting (bad idea).
How's the transition to 3 going?

4 a.m. And I just changed my shirt for the third time. I guess he's figuring out its better not to swallow the spit up? At least we are sleeping relatively well tonight
And I lied- I still hate cosleeping but I do maybe love all the snuggling just a little, sometimes

@agold: my older two were fine in the crib. But since she has reflux we've been doing a mix of the incline and flat crib. That first stretch when she's not as fussy she's in the crib. Then later stretches are in the swing. I'm not really worried about "bad habits" just yet as long as I know she CAN sleep flat.

Is anyone so over snaps in the middle of the night? Now that we are up to size 3m sleepers we don't have any with zippers.

@T.H.O.U.: we are having the same issue! I'll get one good stretch of sleep from him, but he wakes up to eat around two or three. After he's done, I can NOT get him back down! Either he just doesn't fall asleep and lies on me grunting, or I think he's asleep, put him down, and then he's crying five minutes later. It's exhausting. Why don't babies understand how wonderful sleep is?!

LONG birth story ahead! I tried to edit it down!

DD was born at 39w4d gestation, and all throughout this pregnancy I had heard that second babies tend to come at around the same gestational time. So, 39w4d came and went, 40w passed, and finally in the early hours of 41weeks, I went into labor.
I woke at 1:30am, for no reason. I was just awake, I had a headache and took some tylenol. I read on my phone, closed my eyes, meditated, but nothing really worked. At about 2:30, I noticed my bloody show. At 2:50am, I had my first contraction. I had been having contractions every day for about an hour, starting at 38weeks, but with *this* contraction, it was like welcoming an old friend. I thought to myself- Yes, now this is labor. Funny how that old saying “you’ll just know (when you’re in labor)” has been true for me. DD woke after my second contraction, I went to her and she said she had dreamt that we had baby’s birthday party and that it was a Princess party. That should have been my fist clue that a girl was on her way. I hugged DD and rubbed her back, I told her I had to go potty and that I’d be right back. Instead I told Dh, who had woken up due to my restlessness that I was in labor and I couldn’t lie with DD in my condition. I went back to her room to tell her daddy was on his way, but she had fallen back asleep.
By 4am, we had made DD’s snack and lunch for school, to help my mom out, and I was getting in the shower to help manage contractions. I hadn’t really found a rhythm yet, but the pain was intensifying. Dh made me a PB&J, as I was really hungry and knew I’d need my strength.
Around 5 am, I was out of the shower and I lay in bed. I fell asleep for 10 good minutes till a contraction woke me. I threw up my sandwich, and was amazed I was able to throw up, during a contraction and not pee myself.
By 6am I was asking to go to the Birth Center. I wanted, nay NEEDED, that tub. The pain in my back was intensifying and I wanted to labor in water. Dh called and then jumped in the shower, the midwife, Greta, called back and I answered in sobs. She said to come on in, and I said we’d be in in 20-30 minutes. We finished packing our bags, Dh woke my mom and I woke up DD to say goodbye. Saying goodbye to her was so hard. I knew next time I saw her, our lives would be so different. I hugged her and cried, I didn’t want to leave her. But we got out the door and to the BC.
We arrived at the BC by 6:30, Greta checked me and said I was at 7cm, BUT, she felt a nose. She fired up the ultrasound machine and we took a look, baby was face presenting. This was all new to us, I never even heard of face presenting. At first I mistook it for sunny side up, but no, this was a different situation all together. We walked back to the birthing room and I was instructed to rock on my hands and knees over a ball to try to rock baby into a better position. CeeCee came on at 7 and she immediately checked me, I’d already progressed to an 8/9, but she too felt the face, in fact baby latched on to her finger. Greta and CeeCee conferred and agreed that we would need to transfer to the hospital. This was the first time, of many times to come, that I broke down and cried. I had wanted a BC birth so badly, and now we had to say goodbye to that dream.
By 7:30, we were at the hospital, in my L&D room with nurse Erica. Contractions were coming on strong. I had an IV placed, and was attached to monitors. I seemingly stalled out at 8/9cm and the attending OB from the group that consults with the midwives was called in for a check. He checked me, agreed with the face presentation, broke my waters, attempted to manipulate the baby and left all within what seemed like 2minutes. It was suggested I get an epidural to help relax my cervix, relax me and hopefully allow baby to move, and or, allow for another attempt at manipulation. Erica and CeeCee gave Dh and I time to confer and we decided an epidural would still allow us the best chance for a vaginal birth. And the option of a epidural was preferred to a spinal block if a c-section was necessary. We called the nurse back and said we would do the epi. The anesthesiologist came in, he was very nice and very pleasant. He raised my bed to his level, I sat on the edge of the bed away from him, holding onto Dh’s hands who had to be sitting. I was to round my back out, and relax, all while laboring. The dr was patient and kind, working well with me even though it was harder to do an epi on someone who had progressed as far as I had- because my body was so tense. After two attempts, we got the placement right, I was put into bed and told to relax. Around 10am Dh took the chance to go get some breakfast, and he left, Erica also left. I lay in bed, alone in the room, watching Grey’s Anatomy, when suddenly my room filled with nurses and CeeCee. The baby’s heart rate had dropped and they needed me to move to help baby- they rolled me to the left, worse, rolled me to the right, a bit better, then CeeCee checked me and baby stabilized. I had texted Dh as soon as my room filled up to come back.
Another OB from the group came in, I liked her a lot. She checked me AGAIN and suggested a ball between my legs, and roll to my right side, as to open up my pelvis and let baby move. I lay like that for maybe 45 minutes.
By 11, 11:15 it was determined this baby wasn’t going to move, that baby had shifted to the worst possible position- left mentum posterior. Meaning face was to the left, chin down. Until this point, we were still optimistic of a vaginal delivery- but Erica had walked us through what pushing with an epi would be like, and what to expect if we had a c-section. But now my room was filled with my two newly acquired OB’s and two residents, my midwife CeeCee and Erica my L&D nurse. It was clear a c-section was necessary. I asked for 5 minutes to ourselves, Dh and I cried, and I barked orders to him about the placenta. I needed something to be in my control, and it was that placenta. I had lost everything I’d hoped for- an unmedicated birth center birth, and was trading it in for a cesarean section- major abdominal surgery- all without any planning or understanding. We trusted everyone in the conclusion for the c-section, but it was still very hard to wrap our hearts and mind around. They gave us exactly 5 minutes and the anesthesiologist came back to administer some antibiotics, a different more potent epidural. I was catheterized at some point- maybe when I got my epidural?- and the anesthesiologist and Erica worked to get me ready. I had to drink a shot of antacid, the anesthesiologist was impressed how well I took it and I joked about it not being my first shot. Dh was handed his mask and jump suit, he could be with me during, but had to wait till I was all prepped. We all walked out together, well I was rolled, and Dh was left in a waiting room. I arrived in a cold OR, I was already shivering due to the meds, once I was moved to the operating table, I was covered in warm blankets on my legs and my chest. My arms were splayed out, monitors were attached to my chest, my fingers, etc. My constant companion was my anesthesiologist who talked me through everything, held my hand and comforted me. Finally Dh came in, and sat at my head on my left, the drape was already up, and without any warning, I was told they’d already made the incision. We could hear the doctors talking, the anesthesiologist told us when he could see the baby and that they were working to get it out. I heard someone say the baby was “lodged” in, later they discussed grabbing the skull to get her out of my pelvis. We waited and finally someone yelled “it’s a girl” at 11:54am and Dh and I sobbed. A resident brought her for us to see- I said she looked just like DD1 even though she was severely swollen from pressing on my pelvis for hours, we couldn’t get over her full head of hair- but she still hadn’t cried, so to the NICU (standard procedure to have them there for every c) nurses she went. We waited and waited. I said to Dh “she isn’t crying” and I told him to go look. I remember the anesthesiologist grabbing my hand to hold again, since I had sent Dh away. Finally she cried, and we cried in relief. Her apgar scores were 4 and 9. Everyone wanted to know her name, we named her Molly Margaret. D, Molly and the NICU nurses disappeared and I was left to get sewn up. I heard the scrub nurses counting instruments and the doctors gossiping. I was transferred to another bed and wheeled back to my L&D room to hold Molly and attempt to nurse her. Dh was doing skin to skin with her. She latched on to me pretty well and I was so relieved to be with her.

@OldpuebloJenn: Even though it is not what you wanted I am so happy you and Molly are ok. What a rare presentation!

@OldpuebloJenn: I'm sorry things didn't go how you had hoped, and were likely kind of scary. It sounds like you handled it with tremendous grace and strength, and I'm so glad you are both okay. I hope recovery is going well

@OldpuebloJenn: wow. All sounds very dramatic. I'm so glad you and baby girl are safe. Home births and birth centers scare me a tad. I'm glad you were able to get to a hospital even though it clearly wasn't your plan. I likely would have died if I didn't deliver my girl in the hospital. And it's great you had your phone on you and could watch TV! Small silver linings. Molly is an adorable name!!! Congratulations!

@AprilFool: my L&D nurse looked it up- face presentations are 1 in 800 births, but then her posterior face presentation is 30% of all face presentations- so .06% of all births?! Crazy!

@Silva: @T.H.O.U.: thanks ladies!
@agold: our birth center was 3 minutes from the hospital, and clearly we trusted the midwives! I had a textbook perfect birth with my first, so we were perfect candidates for a birth center birth. But, obviously, I'm very thankful for their partnership with the hospital, and our access to all the interventions we received!

@Silva: Wow, you're brave. DH offered to take both to the grocery store and I just couldn't let him do it, lol. I would've felt too guilty to enjoy the free time.