Bath Time

Molly has been growing up a storm and been very pleasant for us during the day and night. At her 2 week visit, she was up to 8lbs already!

Here's Molly getting her first bath under the watchful eye of her brother who just finished his bath and was hanging out in his new blue bathrobe.

Molly

I wonder what the world will be like when she's old enough to care... this new little person, unaffected by the great unknown. I listen to her breathe as she sleeps in my arms and it's almost hypnotic. She is the picture of perfect peace... something we lose all to soon as we grow in age. When she's awake, her eyes are constantly looking around, taking in new sights and giving the occasional stare. I think she smiled at me today. I hope and wish I can give this beautiful girl the best life she deserves.... to be there when she needs me, give her the freedom to learn from mistakes, and provide a home filled with unconditional love.

Headed Home

The 2nd night in the hospital was interrupted by cluster feedings every hour and a half or so between 10pm and 2am. After the 2am feeding, the nursery was able to watch Molly while Allison and I got a few very appreciated hours of sleep.

In the morning, we enjoyed a quiet breakfast and relaxed some with our little girl. After meeting with Dr. DeAngelis, we were cleared for discharge and free to go once we filled out all the birth certificate data and other fun paperwork.

Grandma & Grandpa Stapler brought Owen in before lunch to help us get Molly ready to head home. Here he is admiring her "little" socks.


Owen would rub her head to help her feel better if she cried.

He really wanted to hold her "by himself". A few seconds were enough, and he was very attentive to make sure he supported her head.

Here she is awake and looking around!

And the more frequent state of peacefully sleeping in her swing.

The All About Women and Reading Hospital L&D staff were wonderful to work with and we thank them all for making Molly's birth and our stay a great experience.

The first day

Our first night with Molly was a flurry of activity. Between the tests, checkup's for Allison, bloodtyping, applying of security bracelets, feedings and baths, there was some activity or parade of people in and out of the room for most of the night. We did have a few hours of uninterrupted resting early in the morning. Here's the new lady bug on day 1.

Grandma & Grandpa Stapler brought Owen in to meet his little sister on Friday afternoon. When he got to the room, he was so excited to hold her "by himself". He scrambled up into the chair and held his arms out with the biggest smile ever. He was so sweet looking her over and checking out all her little parts.


Two weeks ago we got through all the fun questions when we visited Owen's new baby niece at the hospital....

"Daddy, why does her pee pee have a clip on it". (umbilical cord)
"Well Owen, that's where her belly button will be... she doesn't have a pee pee."
"Why doesn't she have a pee-pee like me daddy?"
"Becuase she's a girl ,and girls don't have pee pee's".
"oh... (pause).... Daddy, does mommy have a pee pee?"
"No Owen, mommy does not have a pee-pee because Mommy is a girl"

By then, Allison was on the other side of the room doubled over laughing because I was getting to field all these fun questions.... She got some good ones earlier in the pregnancy... like "how is the baby going to come out" and "how did the baby get in there". Gotta love the mind of a 4 year old.

Here, Owen was having a good laugh because Molly sneezed.

The proud big brother.

Grandma & Grandpa Stapler with Molly.

Whirlwind...

I was getting ready to leave work just before 5pm when Allison called and said she was on her way home from picking up Owen at daycare and having some pretty hard contractions. She thought they seemed different than the ones she had been having earlier in the week, but wanted to wait and see what happened. Honestly, I didn't think much of it, but got my bag together and left for home.

I have almost a 30 mile drive home, and about halfway, Allison called again.... out of breath this time... "You need to hurry because this is the real deal.... " So I picked up the pace..

While I was busy breaking speed limits, Allison called around and made plans for Owen. Her brother Eric was able to come over and take Owen back to his house until her mom could make her way down. Owen was so excited to ride in Eric's truck and watch one of his "Popular Mechanic's for Kids" videos with his cousins.

We left for the hospital about 6:15pm and on the way over, Allison was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. We spent all of about 5 minutes in OB triage before they checked Allison at 6cm and made the decision to send us right to the labor & delivery floor. And this is where the coincidences started getting humorous.

Keep in mind that 4 years ago almost to the hour, we were arriving at the hospital to welcome Owen into the world. Fast forward to present day and we arrived on the L&D floor, where we were taken to the very same room that we delivered Owen in: R 222.


It took just over an hour to get settled and check blood work while Allison was hammering out contractions every 3 minutes or so. The point of humor occurred when, as part of the intake questions, the nurse asked Allison what level of education she had, and followed that question up with "are you happy with how you read?" Go figure why this is critically important to a woman in labor, but I'm sure Allison contributed to the statistical majority of women with bachelor degrees that are happy with their reading skills.

Anyhow... once the labs were received and approved, Allison had an epidural administered at 7:45pm by the Dr. on call, who happened to be Dr. Early, the same anesthesiologist that put in the epidural for Owen.

Here's Allison enjoying some pain free contractions!


Our goal was to try to and have a baby before midnight, so our little girl wouldn't have to share the same birthday as her brother... So after the epidural settled in, Dr. Ghoubrial broke Allison's water and the countdown began.

Around 8:15, Allison was feeling a lot of pressure, so Gigi checked her and surprised us by saying we were ready to have a baby! At this moment, Allison and I just looked at each other in amazement at just how fast everything was going...

Dr. Ghoubrial, Dr. Metzgar and the nursing staff were absolutely wonderful during the labor process and after just about 15 minutes of pushing, we welcomed our baby girl into the world.

Here she is sunning herself in the warming tray right after delivery. She kept stretching her legs and toes, fingers and hands... it was so cute to watch her enjoy her new-found freedom of movement.

The formal weigh in at 7lb-5.7oz.

Gigi and Holly admiring their new little friend Molly.

Here's Molly getting her footprints.

And bundled up for the very first time.

Molly was so content after the birth, letting out a few yells, but mostly looking around and taking in all the sights. Here she is after the delivery with the best mommy in the whole world.

After the delivery we had Molly to enjoy to ourselves for almost an hour. It's an experience that cannot be expressed well in words... cuddling your new baby girl for the first time.

Thankfully, we were moved later in the evening to the New Beginnings floor and a much more comfortable bed. The labor beds are something right out of a transformers movie with how they move and contort... which unfortunately makes them not so comfortable for sleeping.

After several months of a strict diet that came along with gestational diabetes, before we called it a night, I ran out and got Allison a big Frosty from Wendy's. Not usually the milkshake or desert of choice, but at the moment in her words... "this is divine".

She's Here!

Molly Lin Horvath joined our family Feb. 5th, 2009. She was 7lb-6oz and 20" long. All the fingers and toes are accounted for and she is a beautiful little girl.

We arrived at the hospital around 6:30pm with contractions every 2-3 minutes and 6cm dilated. We welcomed our little girl just 2 hours and 15 minutes later at 8:45. The labor was quick and uneventful and Molly and Allison are doing very well.

I'm writing this on a quick stop at home before heading back to the hospital... I promise more details and a lot more pictures later this weekend. A quick thank you to Eric, Dave & Linda for all their help watching Owen!

Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers and support and we are so very happy to have a healthy little girl!

Week 38

Here she is... week 38 and almost done!