My babies love to stay nice and warm in my belly. The closest I've come to going into labor on my own was with Gracie Claire. And even though I'd started labor with her, I still got some help with the pitocin. When I had Sydney I was induced and it went the same way with my Molly. I have to admit, I do enjoy knowing the day that they're coming. It takes a little of the anxiety away. Anyway, we woke up super early, around 4:30, to get to the hospital by 5 on Wednesday, October 29th -- the day our youngest baby girl would make her big debut. My mom spent the night with us the night before so she could be with Gracie Claire and Sydney when they woke up. Even though I had done this twice before, I was still nervous. Giving birth, having three kids, and everything that comes with having a newborn can do that to you. Mostly though, I was super excited. I couldn't wait to see what Molly looked like, what her demeanor would be, etc. We made it to the hospital right on time and they took me right in to get my gorgeous gown on and everything set up. My nurse, who would only be my nurse for a couple of hours, got busy having me sign all of the paperwork, wrapping the fun monitors around my huge belly, and asking me all of the fun questions. After all of that was done, it was time to get the IV in. She told me she has a "one stick" policy, so if she missed the first time, she would hand it off to another nurse. She missed. Thankfully, getting stuck doesn't bother me. Really it was more comical than anything. Paul, who hates needles, was trying to ignore everything that was going on. His head was buried in his iPhone...a great distraction. When the next nurse came in, she missed too. She told me I was "valvy." OK. That explains it. I've been told over and over that I'm a hard person to get an IV into. It sort of makes me laugh because every nurse that tries is always really confident that they'll be the one that gets it in the first time. Oh well. Third time's a charm. With the IV in, they got the pitocin going. Going in, I was already at a 2 and starting to thin out. But, I'd stayed there for the last couple of weeks. Once we got the the pitocin going, they pretty much left us alone and we both snoozed for a little while. When the sun finally came up, I woke up to my next nurse. I wish I remembered their names. She was adjusting everything and told me she had turned my pitocin up. She then checked me and said I was only at a 3. WOOT! That's progress! My Dad came by on his way to work to pray with us. He has done that with us for all three of my girls. They are sweet memories. My doctor came in soon after, checked me, and broke my water. I have to give a shout-out to my doctor. He's the best! He's been there for all of my births and he's there from when I start pushing until the very end, as well as checking on me several times throughout the day. He's definitely not one of these show up to catch and go doctors. I totally appreciate that about him. He's totally laid back as well. And funny. He told me after he broke my water that I could get an epidural as soon as I wanted it, but, that the anesthesiologist was getting ready to go into a C-section, so if I wanted to wait it might be a little while. I decided to wait. The contractions were coming consistently, but they weren't really that uncomfortable yet. He was cool with that and left to do his rounds. My mom got there sometime between 10 and 11 and we told her I was at a 4 and slowly progressing. She checked her e-mail, Paul went and got breakfast, and I ran through all of the channels on the TV. During this time, my contractions were getting much more uncomfortable and I decided that when the anesthesiologist was available, I'd take the epidural. I know we all have our own opinions, but the miracle of pain medication is fabulous in my opinion. I told my nurse, she let the doctor know and we waited. My nurse checked me again right before my epidural and I was still at a 4. Not shocking. The very sweet anesthesiologist came in, did her magic, and I sat in the glory of numbness. Since I got up at 4:30 and had gone to bed around midnight the night before, I was super sleepy, so since I could feel no pain, I went to sleep. My mom and Paul went and got lunch, sat and chatted, fiddled on the computer, and made calls to update on the progress. Around 2:45, after a pretty restful nap, I woke up feeling some pain. I figured my epidural needed a little boost, so I buzzed my nurse, told her I thought I might need a little more numbing, and she asked me if I was sure it wasn't pressure. I didn't think it was pressure. I remembered what the pressure felt like from my two other babies, and it didn't feel like this. She decided to check me anyway just to see. She said, "Think a 7." OK. Thinking 7. While checking she says, "Your weren't thinking 7." Oh well. I wasn't surprised I hadn't progressed that far. Then she said, "You're at a 9 and fully effaced!" WHAT?! It has never happened this fast before! YAY! I was thrilled. She said she was going to call my doctor and we would get the show on the road. My only worry was that my sister wasn't there yet. My mom and my sister have been there for all three of my babies' births. I was afraid Gracie might miss this one. I told mom to call her and tell her she better get here. Mom also called Dad and he headed our way too. Paul's Dad and Janice were on the way and we were so excited that we weren't going to have to wait much longer. When my nurse returned from calling Dr. A, I told her I was feeling the urge to push. She gave me permission (as if I needed permission) and she decided that she better call Dr. A and tell him to move fast. When he got there, my sister had still not gotten there and I was sad that she might not make it. My nurse had said no one would be allowed in after things had gotten going. Really?! Shouldn't it be up to me? When she showed up, I was at a place where my nurse was not willing to let her come in. Thankfully, Dr. A came to the rescue. He calmly used his authority and said somebody needed to let her in. YAY! She only missed a little of the pushing and within three good pushes and 7 minutes, my beautiful Molly Joy joined our world at 3:38 p.m. Paul cut the cord and they laid her on my chest. My easiest birth yet! She was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She is a complete delight and such a sweet, calm, and content baby! We are so blessed to have been given our third baby girl and couldn't imagine life without her!!
Our littlest princess now. Accessories courtesy of her biggest sister.
Reading Directions
Mommy and My Sweet Gracie Claire
It's Sydney's (and Daddy's) Turn
Gracie Claire's Turn
Paul and Our Precious Syd
Mommy and Sweet Molly (She took her turns with me ;)
Gracie Claire's Reaction to Winning...So Excited!
The Girls' Faces in this Pic Cracked Me Up
Playing Some Wii after Hi Ho Cherry-O...she "beat up" Daddy!
Strategizing
Her Kissy Face
CHEESE!
Once we get the shams done and some throw pillows, I'll post a picture of the whole bed.
The backing is done in all minky so it's super soft.
Love it!
Molly's room is done in black, white, and pink. I thought this precious little lamp would look so cute in her room. Love it!
They have lots of fun shirts, t-shirts, etc. I loved this t-shirt (which is what I mostly wear as a stay-at-home mommy.) If you can't quite see the words at the bottom, it says, "Is the Reason."
My babies love to stay nice and warm in my belly. The closest I've come to going into labor on my own was with Gracie Claire. And even though I'd started labor with her, I still got some help with the pitocin. When I had Sydney I was induced and it went the same way with my Molly. I have to admit, I do enjoy knowing the day that they're coming. It takes a little of the anxiety away. Anyway, we woke up super early, around 4:30, to get to the hospital by 5 on Wednesday, October 29th -- the day our youngest baby girl would make her big debut. My mom spent the night with us the night before so she could be with Gracie Claire and Sydney when they woke up. Even though I had done this twice before, I was still nervous. Giving birth, having three kids, and everything that comes with having a newborn can do that to you. Mostly though, I was super excited. I couldn't wait to see what Molly looked like, what her demeanor would be, etc. We made it to the hospital right on time and they took me right in to get my gorgeous gown on and everything set up. My nurse, who would only be my nurse for a couple of hours, got busy having me sign all of the paperwork, wrapping the fun monitors around my huge belly, and asking me all of the fun questions. After all of that was done, it was time to get the IV in. She told me she has a "one stick" policy, so if she missed the first time, she would hand it off to another nurse. She missed. Thankfully, getting stuck doesn't bother me. Really it was more comical than anything. Paul, who hates needles, was trying to ignore everything that was going on. His head was buried in his iPhone...a great distraction. When the next nurse came in, she missed too. She told me I was "valvy." OK. That explains it. I've been told over and over that I'm a hard person to get an IV into. It sort of makes me laugh because every nurse that tries is always really confident that they'll be the one that gets it in the first time. Oh well. Third time's a charm. With the IV in, they got the pitocin going. Going in, I was already at a 2 and starting to thin out. But, I'd stayed there for the last couple of weeks. Once we got the the pitocin going, they pretty much left us alone and we both snoozed for a little while. When the sun finally came up, I woke up to my next nurse. I wish I remembered their names. She was adjusting everything and told me she had turned my pitocin up. She then checked me and said I was only at a 3. WOOT! That's progress! My Dad came by on his way to work to pray with us. He has done that with us for all three of my girls. They are sweet memories. My doctor came in soon after, checked me, and broke my water. I have to give a shout-out to my doctor. He's the best! He's been there for all of my births and he's there from when I start pushing until the very end, as well as checking on me several times throughout the day. He's definitely not one of these show up to catch and go doctors. I totally appreciate that about him. He's totally laid back as well. And funny. He told me after he broke my water that I could get an epidural as soon as I wanted it, but, that the anesthesiologist was getting ready to go into a C-section, so if I wanted to wait it might be a little while. I decided to wait. The contractions were coming consistently, but they weren't really that uncomfortable yet. He was cool with that and left to do his rounds. My mom got there sometime between 10 and 11 and we told her I was at a 4 and slowly progressing. She checked her e-mail, Paul went and got breakfast, and I ran through all of the channels on the TV. During this time, my contractions were getting much more uncomfortable and I decided that when the anesthesiologist was available, I'd take the epidural. I know we all have our own opinions, but the miracle of pain medication is fabulous in my opinion. I told my nurse, she let the doctor know and we waited. My nurse checked me again right before my epidural and I was still at a 4. Not shocking. The very sweet anesthesiologist came in, did her magic, and I sat in the glory of numbness. Since I got up at 4:30 and had gone to bed around midnight the night before, I was super sleepy, so since I could feel no pain, I went to sleep. My mom and Paul went and got lunch, sat and chatted, fiddled on the computer, and made calls to update on the progress. Around 2:45, after a pretty restful nap, I woke up feeling some pain. I figured my epidural needed a little boost, so I buzzed my nurse, told her I thought I might need a little more numbing, and she asked me if I was sure it wasn't pressure. I didn't think it was pressure. I remembered what the pressure felt like from my two other babies, and it didn't feel like this. She decided to check me anyway just to see. She said, "Think a 7." OK. Thinking 7. While checking she says, "Your weren't thinking 7." Oh well. I wasn't surprised I hadn't progressed that far. Then she said, "You're at a 9 and fully effaced!" WHAT?! It has never happened this fast before! YAY! I was thrilled. She said she was going to call my doctor and we would get the show on the road. My only worry was that my sister wasn't there yet. My mom and my sister have been there for all three of my babies' births. I was afraid Gracie might miss this one. I told mom to call her and tell her she better get here. Mom also called Dad and he headed our way too. Paul's Dad and Janice were on the way and we were so excited that we weren't going to have to wait much longer. When my nurse returned from calling Dr. A, I told her I was feeling the urge to push. She gave me permission (as if I needed permission) and she decided that she better call Dr. A and tell him to move fast. When he got there, my sister had still not gotten there and I was sad that she might not make it. My nurse had said no one would be allowed in after things had gotten going. Really?! Shouldn't it be up to me? When she showed up, I was at a place where my nurse was not willing to let her come in. Thankfully, Dr. A came to the rescue. He calmly used his authority and said somebody needed to let her in. YAY! She only missed a little of the pushing and within three good pushes and 7 minutes, my beautiful Molly Joy joined our world at 3:38 p.m. Paul cut the cord and they laid her on my chest. My easiest birth yet! She was 7 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She is a complete delight and such a sweet, calm, and content baby! We are so blessed to have been given our third baby girl and couldn't imagine life without her!! 
Our littlest princess now. Accessories courtesy of her biggest sister.
An explanation: His wrist is twisted and he is basically writing upside down.
