Welcoming Molly Kathleen

Introducing...

Molly Kathleen Brandt 

Born on March 27, 2015 at 3:56pm

Weighing in at 6lb 7oz

Measuring 19.5in

We are so happy to finally meet our little girl! Throughout 9 months of pregnancy, I kept saying, "I just want to meet her. I want to see what she looks like and who she will resemble. I want I hold her and just stare at her. I am just excited to meet her." I think there are so many other anxieties that come with your first kid that you can't think of the pure joy of just enjoying your child. With baby 3, it has been so much fun to just enjoy little Molly! 

The Birth Story

Here is the list of details leading to Molly's arrival:

Wednesday

8pm - Contractions start during family worship

Evening -  Nothing picks up and I sleep through the night, mostly 

Thursday

Morning - Contractions are still coming every 9-12 minutes, but I send Justin to school and tell him to have his phone close by.

Mid Day - While having contractions all day long, we proceed with our normal day (story time, walk to the park, hang out, etc). Justin was anxious to hear from me and said the day was hard on him because he was not prepared to teach :)

Afternoon - I went to practice while having contractions. After getting through warm ups and seeing the kids off to their workouts, I did sit down and work on some computer projects. 

Evening - Justin had his basketball banquet at EVHS, so he brought the kids to school to set up after my practice was over. When I started chasing the kids around, my contractions intensified and I didn't know if we would make it through the evening. After Justin presented his awards, I walked the kids home and the contractions picked up even more. I was able to get the kids in bed and then rest some more. 

Late Evening - A little Melinda-ism...Since this baby was for sure coming, I took a couple of   hours at my computer and completed every little track project that was lingering...and I am so glad that I did! 

Bed Time - Contractions are still coming, less than 10 minutes apart, but not getting closer. I go to bed, expecting to wake up at any moment to head to the hospital. While I did wake up and the contractions were getting stronger, they were not getting closer together. I had a rough night of sleep, waking multiple times an hour to contractions that I had to focus and breath through. 

Friday 

5am - After 33 hours of contractions, I woke up and called my doctor's on-call help line. After sharing what was going on, she suggested that I come into the hospital to see how I was doing. 

5:30am - I woke up Justin with the idea that we would go to the hospital and likely be sent home. Justin had to call in his sub and getting things gathered (slightly slowly I might add :)

6:45am - Arrive at hospital, contractions are still about the same (painful, breathing through, yet not getting closer together). 

7:30am - All checked in and brought to our room. 

7:40am - Nurse checks my progress and we find out that I am dilated 4cm! We are here to stay!

10am - Anesthesiologist gives me my epidural. She actually missed twice, digging around in my back (an unpleasant experience). But once she got it all in, I was feeling much better! 

10:30am - Dr. Kohn comes back to check on me and says I am progressing nicely. She is super sweet and decides to spend her off day wandering around Vail Village while I progress in labor

1pm - Still progressing, but Dr. Kohn breaks my water. 

3pm - Progressing but not quite getting there. Dr Kohn gives me 1ml of pitocin. 

10:30-3:45pm - The most calm five hours of my past year....seriously! Justin and I napped, read our Bibles, read magazines, didn't really leave the room, and it was amazing! The nurses kept asking me if I needed anything and I said, "Nope, this is so peaceful!" It was truly a blessing, kinda the calm before the storm. I was reading in Psalm 23 and the second verse says "he leads me besides quiet waters, he refreshes my soul..." This could not have been more true of those five hours - who would have thought you would have experienced that in labor! It was refreshing!!!

3:50pm - I asked the nurses to check me because I was feeling some pressure. They saw little Molly's head and told me to hold tight. Dr. Kohn got dressed really quick and they all came back in. 

3:56pm - Three pushes later, Molly took her first breaths! Praise God! She did a great job nursing right away and we enjoyed our skin-to-skin time until it was time to clean her up and take her measurements. What a perfect little baby! So good to meet you! 

First Bath 

Molly's first bath took place the night she was born. Our nurse Katie did all the work for us, but it was fun to watch! She didn't like getting in or out, but she actually settled while she was soaking. 

All cleaned up! 

The Hospital

Vail Valley Medical Center prevailed again. We were so happy with our care. We loved our nurses. We had a wonderful, clean room with a great view of the mountains! 

The Name

After much debate and many wonderful choices, Molly's name was chosen on the way to the hospital.  We had decided a while ago to stick with the M theme going on in our home. Molly was a name that I had loved for a while. It has lots of great nicknames. It is a classic. I liked the sound with the big kids names. So essentially, we just liked the name! Her middle name was decided many years ago. Macy's middle name is Elizabeth after my mom and now Molly gets to share a name with Justin's mom. I love the family middle names. 

Brandt Babies 

I didn't get quite the same picture as the other kids, but I think Molly fits in with the family! Molly, Macy, and Macklin below. What do you think? Everyone asks who she looks like. We say that she looks like Molly! We see glimpses of family members in her and sometimes she looks just like Macy, but most of the time, she is just Molly!