Molly's Birth Story

We arrived at the hospital at 9:00am on Wednesday, February 2nd ready to induce. The day before, the doctor scheduled the induction because he was afraid that the baby was going to be a big baby. We were all so ready to meet her! My mom came down for the big event and I am so glad she did. She took care of the big sisters-to-be. She cleaned my house, and she made for good moral support...as always.

So, bags in hand, Larry and I got to the hospital and I got into the bed and was hooked up to the pitocin drip by 10:00am. That started a long day. I guess maybe I was ready for a quick delivery since this was the third time I had done this. Man was I wrong.... By noon, I was already getting antsy and so ready for her to be here. At 1:30 the doctor came in and broke my water. Well, he thought he broke my water. At 5:30 and many contractions later, the doctor came back in and broke my water. This time my water broke and boy was there lots of water. Shortly after, my contractions progressed and it was epidural time. I had been in and out, awake and asleep. But I knew that epidural time meant closer to delivery time.

It had already been a long day and then my blood pressure bottomed out. They hooked me up on oxygen and monitored it closely. I didn't realize at the time, how low it had gotten. It was shortly after 8:00 when the nurses told me it was time to push. We were watching American Idol.

When I had a contraction and pushed, Molly's heart rate would go down. I pushed as hard as I could to get her out of there. I could tell that she was going through the birth canal. It is a definite feeling that is not questionable. She had never dropped before I got to the hospital and still didn't even after all day on the drip. Even after the doctor broke my water at 5:30, she was still high and hadn't dropped. I thought she would never make her way out. So I was so glad that I could feel her making her way through the birth canal.


After pushing and pushing, she finally came out. Except the doctor didn't give her to me. He didn't show her to me. He immediately cut the cord and gave her to the nursery team. They worked and worked on her. She wasn't crying. She wasn't making a sound. They sucked her nose and mouth, they thumped her on the foot, they flipped and flopped her over and over again. I could see her. I could see them working hard to get her to breathe. I was so scared. I felt so helpless. Then finally....everything kicked in and she started to cry. I didn't know at the time, but the cord was wrapped around her neck and the further down the birth canal she came, the tighter the cord got around her neck.

When we finally did get to see her, we noticed that it looked like she was missing a finger. Heart broken at first that she wasn't physically "perfect", I realized quickly that we were so blessed that she is here.

Molly's second and third fingers are fused together on her right hand. Syndactyly is what it is called. It seems that between 5 and 8 weeks of development her little digits developed and when they did, those two fingers grew together. We will see an orthopedic surgeon for a consultation and to learn more about this and see what options we have for her little hand. But if that is the only thing we have to deal with, I feel lucky. I thank GOD that she is healthy and that she is here.

She is absolutely perfect to me, to her daddy, and to her two big sisters!

Yesterday afternoon before the rain hit, Larry took the girls to the pond to fish. I went along too...to take pictures, to drive my new golf cart that I haven't gotten to drive much, for moral support, and because I wanted to.

The girls absolutely love to go fishing. Both of them. So much so, that Santa brought each of them a new fishing pole for Christmas. This is the first time they have gotten to use them. They were delighted!!
Sophie is getting really good at casting. In fact, that's her favorite part, other than reeling it in as fast as she can.
Sadie loves to catch fish. She doesn't mind taking them off the hook at all. Sophie, on the other hand, won't touch a fish. She waits until someone comes to get her fish off.

Sadly, neither one of them caught anything and our fishing trip got cut short because it did start raining pretty hard. But the girls had a good time while it lasted.

And for those of you who have been screaming for a belly shot....here is one big belly............

Doctor's appointment tomorrow will reveal Molly's birthday next week.!! Can you tell I'm ready?

Molly update.....

Yesterday I went to the doctor. This started my weekly appointments. Progress is that I am currently 50% effaced and I am dilated to a 2. I'm not getting my hopes up yet about Molly being here in the next few days, because I know I could stay this way until June. The doctor said that she is head down, but has not dropped. I have read that second and subsequent babies tend not to drop until active labor starts, so I am not concerned about that.

Basically the plan is to wait.....if she is not here by the first week of February, we will talk about inducing.

It is getting closer to time for Molly to be here! To be more exact, it is 40 days until my due date, which is Valentine's Day, and my doctor says that Molly will be making her appearance before that date. So, I am getting antsy about her arrival. I am prepared, I think, and I am so ready to see her, but I am also getting very nervous and already dreading the delivery. Larry and the girls are excited too. Life as we know it now....will change forever.

I have gained 30 pounds so far and feel that I will never see my feet again while standing up. There is nothing that I will not eat. I am so ready to be a non-pregnant person again, but I feel so blessed and am so happy in my life. I pray for a smooth (and FAST) delivery with a healthy baby girl at the end....

so I can take her home to our beautiful house with my other two precious girls and my wonderful husband.

It seems like I am running out of time. Before you know it, it will be Christmas. (I haven't even done any shopping.) Then after that it will be almost time for Molly to be here. I have to get busy preparing for this stuff!! Fast!!

But look at what I do have so far, thanks to my BFF, Kristi. She sent me some things this past weekend that Molly will be able to use. I am so very proud of these...

A beautiful cradle that will rock Molly to sleep....

A very cool and very comfortable rocker that I can rock Molly in...

A bouncy seat that Molly can jiggle and bounce in when I am cooking supper, or drying my hair, or doing laundry...

And a car seat to bring Molly home in and to take her where ever she wants to go...

All of these things, plus a tub full of precious little clothes, shoes, and receiving blankets, Kristi sent to me all the way from NWA.

I put all of these things in Molly's room and just sat in there for a while and took it all in. Now that the house is done, I am ready for Molly to be here! Ready to hold her and feed her and kiss her and hug her and love her. It's funny how you love them so much even before they get here.

Larry put together Molly's baby bed that I ordered, almost before we were moved in to the house good. I know he is excited too. The girls love going into Molly's room and they can't wait for her to be here too.

The bedding was given to me also from a friend. Louise had a bed set up at her house when her granddaughter was a baby. The bedding is so cute. She passed it along to me to use for Molly.

I am now around 29 weeks.......which means 75 days left.

Our house is finished.

We are moved in.

I love my new house.



Now we will sit back, relax, and wait for Molly.

I can say this from the bottom of my heart. I have been a little cranky pregnant woman.

But when I say little (I don't mean little) because I feel that I have gained 40 pounds this month.



But I REALLY have been a little cranky pregnant woman.



This pregnancy is so different in so many ways. I still have four months to go. I already feel:



1: As wide as a jack-o-lantern...

2: Emotionally unstable...

3. Like my feet have grown 2 sizes...

4. That heartburn is the devil...

5. Really sorry for Larry and the girls....I hope it is not too miserable for them...

6. Constipation is the devil...

7. Ready for the house to be ready which adds to #2 and #5...

8. That demons and aliens have taken over during my sleep because of all the wild dreams...

9. Ready for Molly to be here!

The doctor said everything looked wonderful on the ultrasound Monday. We also saw that we are having a girl. She measured to be 20 weeks, just as we expected, and 12 ounces.

I have been feeling her alot lately. Those little bumps that I thought was it... but couldn't be sure was it... is definitely it now. There is nothing sweeter in the world.

I think everyone wanted or expected her to be a boy, including me. But I know that everything happens for a reason and we are not in control.

I am already in love with her precious little profile and can't wait to see her. Her name is Molly.

Update...

My results came back from my glucose testing. The good news is that my sugar levels were within normal range at all checks. The bad news is that I have to do it again around 28 weeks.

I bought a book of 100,000 baby names. Larry and I have been having a tad bit of trouble agreeing on a girl's name. He likes the new current names that everyone uses. It's safe. It's familiar. It's boring. I, on the other hand, like the old fashion or unique names that have some spunk, that everyone doesn't use.

So, I bought the book and brought it home with 2 different colored highlighters. Larry and I both went through the girl's names and the highlighters never matched. We still have a long time to figure it out, but our list of 'maybes' is very short.

The names that are on our list right now are:

Cade Monroe (boy) Molly Addison (girl) Berkley Maddison (girl)

I must say that I have been a whiny baby lately. I have felt just awful. I have had more days of "morning sickness" this time than with my two girls. I have had several headaches. I have been so tired that I could quite possibly lay down in the middle of Walmart parking lot at any given time, on any given day, and take a nap....even if it scorched my backside. I have been that tired! This pregnancy has definitely been different.

Maybe because it is going to be a boy.

Maybe because I'm older.

Maybe because I might have gestational diabetes.

I got a call from my doctor's nurse yesterday and she said that I flunked my glucose test. She said that my blood sugar was 156 and that it was too high. The normal range is between 60 and 120. So, I have to go back next week and do a 3 hour re-test. I have already been researching special diabetes diets and such, just in case I flunk this test too.

Gestational diabetes occurs in non-diabetes pregnant women. It seems that extra hormones in some pregnant women block the insulin that the pancreas produces. So the sugars that are taken in are not getting broken down by the insulin.

In general, I don't think it is a whole lot to be concerned about. If I flunk the test, I will just have to force myself to a strict diet instead of the 'see and eat' diet that I have been on.

Well, here we go.... our little surprise is growing. Dr. S says that I am 12 weeks along and gave me a due date of Valentine's Day. We could hear the heartbeat at 156 heartbeats per minute and we could see the baby on the ultrasound very distinctly. You could count the fingers and toes and see the heart beating. You could see the spine, the brain, the eyes, mouth and chin. It is amazing that you can tell where the knees are and the elbows and the stomach and the umbilical cord and the baby is only a little over 2 inches long.

Even though it is way to early to tell, the nurse predicted it was a baby girl because there was so much early brain development. (cracks me up)

Yesterday was the sickest I have been yet and it lasted all day. All I wanted to do was lay down. When we arrived at my appointment, the nurse gave me the yucky-sugary-orange drink for the glucose test. I prayed the whole time that I just kept it down, and thankfully I did.

The girls are super excited and want a baby brother. It will be a little while before we know....