Welcome Home Molly!

Drew and I were ready to get home once Friday rolled around. We really missed the boys and were anxious for them to meet their little sister. So once we were cleared by my OB and Molly’s pediatrician, we told the nurses we would like to get out as soon as possible. They got the ball rolling and soon we were free to go.

The ride home was quiet. Molly slept the whole way. I was beginning to wonder what our new life was going to be like, how the boys were going to react. Drew and I were joking the night before that it felt like we were on vacation. How sad is that? I mean minus the revolving door of doctors and nurses it was just us and Molly. It was great bonding time.

I rang the door bell when we arrived home and Andrew gave us a very warm welcome. He was so excited to see us and to meet Molly. Matthew on the other hand stayed very close to grandma. I asked him if he was mad at me and he said, “mmm hmmm”. He did finally warm up enough to see his little sister and give mom a hug.

Molly gave the boys a ride on tractor as a big brother gift. The boys were so excited to tell us about it and show us how it worked. They gave Molly the train Molly from the Thomas series.

After naps Drew’s parents arrived from Oklahoma to meet our new bundle of joy.

Honestly, it was a tough night. The boys were still out of sorts from us being gone and then there was more change. They were totally on overload. Drew was so excited to show his parents our new house and new baby and it was hard to balance the attention the boys were requiring. And me, well I was hormonal. Bedtime was really hard for Matthew. He was beside himself and mad at me because I couldn’t lift him to put him to bed. As he cried and cried I just felt horrible. I knew he would get over it but it was hard.

Molly did great her first night. She woke up every three hours to eat and went back to sleep quickly after she finished. Thinking back on our first night with Andrew I think I was awake the entire night worrying about him. Thankfully I didn’t have those fears this time and was able to rest while she did.

Molly Decided to Make her Debut

The nurse came in and checked me about 10:30 to see if I had made any progress and I had made a little but not much. About an hour later Holly, the nurse came in because Molly had a decel in her heart rate. She turned off the potocin and put me on oxygen. Molly came around and I started feeling a lot of pressure. She said well maybe that's why the baby was acting up. She checked me and I was ready to push! We were all surprised so she rushed to get Dr. Shaner. He came in and said, "oh wow, let me get set up real quick. By the time he was set up it was 11:58. He told me to wait 2 minutes to make sure she was delivered on the 18th so I got a full hospital stay. I was shocked that he didn't want me to push 2 minutes before midnight. Was she really going to come out in two minutes? Well he was right, I started pushing at 12:00 and she was officially born at 12:02!!!
We got up to our room about 2:30 and I was STARVING! Thankfully the nurse dug up at turkey sandwich for me and I was able to function for the check in to the recovery room. The nursery brought Molly in all squeaky clean from her bath. They said she was not happy about it at all. I fed her and she was much happier. Then I sent her back to the nursery and Drew went to bed. Unfortunately there was more they needed to check and do on me so I was up until about 4:30. I was able to sleep for an hour before they brought Molly back in and then again for about 45 min before the rotating door of doctors and nurses started.
Molly also had her first visitor this morning, her uncle John. John and Molly now share a birthday! Happy Birthday Uncle John!!!

Contractions, epidural, burst!!

The biggest loser (tbl) is over. It was the make over show. A rather enjoyable episode.

With 30 minutes to go in tbl Dr. Shaner rode in on his steed. Liz gave him the business about being an absentee OB. He didn't realize what she was talking about until she recounted the events.
He sais..and I quote, "That beeping, stinking computer! I hate them. For 34 years I haven't had a computer and now they are forcing me to use it." Liz feels better after getting this off her chest.

With 15 minutes to go in tbl Liz got her epidural and the doc broke her water. The nurses are amazed at Liz's pain tolerance through the contractions. They are off the charts, literally.
Dr. Shaner said he expects Molly to come some time tomorrow before 2:00am. If he is right, Molly will share her birthday with her Uncle John.
Stay tuned.....or just go to bed and check your email with your morning toast and coffee.
Drew McLaughlin, CPA

Update 3

It seems like we've had a lot of hurry up and wait. Liz's OB should be
coming by soon. Her contractions are getting pretty strong and Liz is close
to ordering her epidural. There has been discussions about breaking her
water but we don't know yet.
We finished The Proposal without tears. It was a nice "Chick Flick" and
worth the time. Not much has happened since part 2...I beat Liz in Gin and
I got soup and salad from the cafeteria. We also have a new RN that will be
here for 12 hours. I hope Molly comes on her watch. Stay tuned...I'll
update again after the OB stops by.

Drew McLaughlin, CPA
Vice President, Enterprise Trust Co.

Drew's 2nd Update

3 hours and 51 minutes into a rainy overcast day in the big city.
When we hitched our wagon this morning in Dardenne Prairie, Liz and I
thought we would be in the pre-labor part of LDR most of the day like
Matthew's birth. Once we got settled the RN checked Liz and called her OB,
Dr. Shaner. They collectively decided on the quicker induction method which
excited Liz and I......2 hours later Karen came back and said Shaner had
problems with the new computer systems, like many of the more senior
doctors. It all got worked out and Liz finally started her induction
Medicine.
Once she was hooked up we decided to watch a DVD Liz picked out this
morning huddled under a Redbox canopy in the rain. Our selection this time
is "The Proposal." We are mostly through the movie but the remote keeps
tricking me and the disc is scratched.
Liz is having real contractions. She asked that I check them out on the
monitor. For you rookies out there, the monitor has a tape it prints the
activity on, like a lie detctor. When it comes out the nurse folds it up.
When I checked the tape as Liz asked, I was able to knock it in a way that
unraveled the entire tape like a slinky down a long stair case. I was
trying to fix my mistake when the RN walked in, I am sure I looked like
Will Farrel because what I was doing was not working.
Anyway, Liz is having contractions about 4-5 minutes apart and progressing
nicely. Still no good ETA for Molly. Stay tuned.
Drew McLaughlin, CPA
Vice President, Enterprise Trust Co.

Here we Are

Drew wrote a nice little blog while I was getting checked in so I'll just copy and paste it here:

To family and friends across the US. Let me answer the first question, YES
we have private health insurance and NO we don't want Obama's health care
plan (not in its current form).

We had a fun family morning waiting for our place in line. We woke up
around 6:00 am, which was 45 seconds after Andrew woke up. Next we cleaned
the house a little bit and got the boys ready. Next we went to Target,
Chic-fil-a and Best Buy to kill time. We were waiting for a call from the
hospital starting at 5:30 am. Caron's house (Caron is Liz's mom) was next
on the road trip (because it is 5 minutes from Carons school and the
hospital). After we arrived it only took 20 minutes before the hospital
called. Next we dropped the boys off at Caron's school, traded cars and
headed to the hospital. We arrived in the delivery room at noon, our RN's
name is Karen B. and now....we wait.

No (enter delta symbol here)

Well I learned today that in medical writing the delta symbol means change. And as I expected there has been no change as far as my progress with Miss Molly. SO, Dr. Shaner wanted me to have a non stress test to make sure everything is good with Molly. Luckily Andrew was at school and Drew was able to sneak away from work and come to the appointment and help entertain Matthew. Matthew was SUCH.A.TROOPER. He was at the office with us from 9:30 until 12:30 AND THEN we had to rush to pick up Andrew so he didn't end up eating lunch until 1:30. I was so proud of him.

Anyway, the test went well so Dr. Shaner is going to have his nurse call to schedule my induction for next week. Just got the call that I'm the 6th induction on Tuesday morning. They start calling at 5am so hopefully I'll get in early and have Molly the same day. I'll keep you posted.

FYI: My due date is tomorrow, Friday the 13.....never know!

Molly Update

Well I had my appointment on Thursday. I really thought I made some progress and I did progress in the weight department...not what I was going for. As far as Molly making progress, she's stayed the same for the past 3 weeks. 1 cm, 75% efface for those of you who like the numbers. I have my LAST prenatal check up on Thursday and Dr. Shaner said we would probably schedule a date to induce at that check up. So unless Molly decides to make a move looks like she'll be here some time next week. I'll keep everyone posted!

Let the Monogramming Begin

So after much thought and mind changing we have decided on a name for our baby girl!

Molly Christine McLaughlin it is!

If you are curious about how we decided on this name here it goes. Molly is the Irish form of Mary. Mary was my grandmother's (who just passed away) middle name. We chose Christine because that is Drew's grandmother's name. And last but not least we love the name!

Hopefully she'll be making her big debut soon! Until then here is a picture of Molly all warm and cozy.

Never Say Never

So...we began to realize that even though my Explorer has a 3rd row it was going to be a very tight squeeze for 3 kids in car seats. So I thought I had the perfect solution, a Suburban or Yukon XL. Well Drew wasn't so convinced by this solution. Even though he agreed they are great he knew it may not be the best choice right now because of the price, gas mileage, and size. I continued to look online at finding a great deal but soon began to realize there was no such thing. So to make a long story short...I am now a soccer mom, yes... I have a mini van. Obviously, mini vans are great, make like a lot easier, etc., etc. It's starting to grow on me and the boys think it's the coolest thing ever invented. AND I am very thankful we were able to purchase a new car and make my life easier...Lord knows I'm going to need all the help I can get;)

So we purchased the new car Halloween morning. It was a long complicated process that Drew mainly dealt with. So I took the boys to the pumpkin patch (we went on Andrew's field trip but didn't buy any pumpkins) and got some pumpkins to carve and then came home and enjoyed the sun! Yes it finally came out! After naps we carved pumpkins. Then grandma came over to join in the Halloween festivities. They boys were so happy to see her and show off their costumes. Drew took the boys out while my mom and I stayed back to give out candy. WOW, talk about a lot of trick or treaters! Thank goodness my mom was here, she had to go to Walgreens TWO times to get more candy! It was a fun night and both boys had so much fun.

Sunday we were able to get a lot accomplished considering our wonderful sleepers do not understand the concept of Day Light Savings. We are actually making progress on the baby room and Drew was able to set up a new closet system for our master closet. He's been dying to do this since we moved it but of course other projects kept coming up.

Here are some pictures of the boys at the park today enjoying the beautiful weather.