Molly and Family

This is Molly sleeping in her swing today. She only likes her swing if it is on the highest speed! Notice the UNC onesie from Grandpa Kelly.
This is Molly McIntyre, Molly's first American Girl doll. Molly's great grandma Kelly sent the doll to us.

This is Molly with her great Grandma Ritter. Grandma has Alzheimer's, but she quickly remembered how to hold a baby.
These are Molly's second cousins Ally, Brady, and Nolan.

Ryan and I have been looking for an apartment. We decided on one today. It is a two bedroom, and the complex has a lot of amenities, including a free YMCA membership. It is located in a nice part of Fort Worth and is right next to the Trinity trail, so there are a lot of cyclists and runners in the area. We are really excited about that! The apartment we are going to get is going to get brand new carpet, which will be great, especially when Molly starts crawling. It will be fun to live in the city. While my parents will be about 40 minutes away, we'll be closer to a lot of shopping, friends, and activities. Most importantly, Ryan's drive to work will be 10 minutes instead of 35! We will move in on October 26.

Sleeping Schedule and Surgery

I had to have a little outpatient surgery last week. As I tell people, "They left a little something in there when Molly was born." No, it wasn't a metal medical instrument, latex glove, or anything like that. That would be a good story. It was about a 1 pound piece of the amniotic sac. So, I had to have a D&C. I told Ryan not to take the day off of work because he's had to miss so much school already, and I know how hard it is to have a sub. Besides it wasn't that invasive of a procedure. So, my parents took care of Molly at the hospital while I was there.

It was a long day. We were there from 9am to 5pm. I opted to have a spinal anesthesia instead of general anesthesia so that medicine would not get into my breast milk. The procedure was quick and successful. (The worst part of the entire day was not having the spinal administered, but the first two botched attempts at inserting the IV needle. I was dehydrated from breastfeeding on top of the mandatory fasting period. So, it made my veins very tiny and constricted.) Then, they wheeled me into recovery. There I was, completely coherent, but numb from the belly down. Everyone else in recovery had had general anesthesia, and they were in various stages of consciousness and were emitting various decibel levels of snores!

I asked how long I had to be there. The nurse told me several hours until I regained feeling in my legs. I asked if my family could come see me. She told me no, that people in recovery weren't usually able to talk to anyone. I asked if I could at least have some magazines. She decided that I might just drive everyone crazy due to my boredom. So, she got me transferred pretty quickly to Stage 3 Recovery, a wonderful place with TVs, families visiting, alert patients, lunch trays, and a nice selection of beverages. I was reunited with my parents and Molly there. My parents did a great job of taking care of Molly. She was pretty cooperative!

Molly is still being a pretty good baby. We aren't trying to keep her on a tight schedule, however, we try to get her to sleep after she's been awake 1-2 hours. Dr. Weissbluth in his book, Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child advises that babies get overtired after being awake 2 hours. It seems to be pretty accurate with Molly. She has a couple of fussy periods each day: after she's been up a short time in the morning and then for a few hours in the evening. We've learned that the fussiness indicates that she needs to sleep, but is having difficulty falling asleep.
We are so thankful that she's an easy baby. I'm also thankful that I've been able to shower every morning since she's been born!

Big Girl!

Molly was 9 lb 5 oz at her check up this morning. She's gained a whole pound! This is Molly with her new little friend, Jorja. Doesn't Molly look big? Jorja was 1 day old in this picture, and Molly was 2 weeks.
This is Jorja's mommy Julie.

New Life

Ryan's cousin Julie passed away this morning. She had battled Ewing's sarcoma cancer for three years. I know that many of you have prayed for her. Please pray for strength and peace for her family. She was 22 years old. She shared with us some time ago that she had placed her faith in Jesus and knew that she'd be in heaven. Ryan's grandma was with her when she passed away and told her to go to God.

Mark Schultz has a great song called I Am. It tells of God's attributes. Two lines are especially meaningful to me in reminding me that God gives new life. One says, "I am the breath of all creation," and the other, "I am... the healer of the broken." It was God that gave Julie initial breath, and it is He that gives her breath in heaven. He's also the one who has healed her striken body and made it whole and more perfect than can be imagined.

It is sad to think about how fallen is this world into which our little Molly was born. There is so much potential for evil and pain. I pray quite often that God would protect her from these things. The greatest comfort is that no matter what this life holds, Molly has been born into eternity. We pray that she would choose to follow the Lord. We know that if she does, this life is just temporary, but she is guaranteed a wonderful inheritance forever. That is the hope we have in the midst of this world of suffering.

We also have great news of new life! My friend Julie had her baby Georgia just after noon today. We plan to go visit her tomorrow, so that Molly can meet her new little playmate!

I was reading John 1 today. At the end of the chapter, Jesus is calling the disciples to follow Him. He tells Simon that his name will now be Peter. I was struck by how the disciples immediately gained a new identity. Simon went from being known as a fisherman to having a new name given by Jesus and being known as a follower of Jesus. He gave up his livelihood and former life to take on a life of moment by moment obedience. Our lives should be the same!

Molly is still doing super! She is a delight to us. She is a very efficient eater! She doesn't nurse for very long each time (usually less than 10 minutes), but she has lots and lots of wet and messy diapers (this is the indication that she is getting enough to eat). She also seems to be getting bigger. She is a very good sleeper. I am praying that she continues to be this way!

Mom and I were posing Molly in her pretty white dress. This is her at 12 days old!

Visit to Michigan

We bought tickets to Michigan for Thanksgiving week. We're flying in on Sunday and leaving Friday morning. We'd love to see our friends and family in the Detroit area, Lansing, and GR. Just wanted to let you all know that we'd be around then. We'll have a quiet family Christmas here in TX. We may go to Austin for a couple nights.

I'm going to try to get to Dayton to visit friends there sometime in the winter or spring. Remember, we're always up for visitors here. All of our runner friends, don't forget about the two marathons down here: http://www.cowtownmarathon.org and www.runtherock.com

Life with the Kelly's

Ryan went back to work on Wednesday. Right now, his job is much more stressful than mine. He has 12 hour days of inner city teaching and coaching. He was out for the baby's birth for three days. He has my empathy. I know that first year teaching is very difficult, especially when a sub covers your classes for several days. Molly and I pray for her daddy throughout the day, especially in the early morning when he's driving to work and from 8:35 to 1:15 when I know he's teaching. After 1:15 he has lunch, his planning period, and volleyball. The last period of the day all of the volleyball coaches run a practice session with many of the players. Many athletes have an athletic period during the school day. His day ends anywhere from 6 to 9 depending upon when practice is over and whether he has a meeting or volleyball match.

His team had a great week. They won their matches on Tuesday night and Friday night. This morning they won their first match in a tournament. One of his starters was out this morning. These were their first wins, and so everyone is excited. Molly and I made it out for the tournament this morning. I want to get out and do things, but I want to protect her from too many germs also. We went to the 8:00 match, and there were not many people in the stands yet.

The baby is very content. She is eating and sleeping really well. I'm praying that she will continue to have a spirit of joy and peace. I have not had any baby blues yet. I'm praying that my emotions would continue to be stable! Ryan is hoping for that, too! We're hoping that the honeymoon isn't ending soon!

Molly had a couple appointments at the pediatrician this week. They were just standard check ups and weight checks. On Tuesday she was down from her birth weight of 8 lb 5 oz to 7 lb 14 oz. By Thursday she was back up to 8 lb 3.5 oz. She is probably back to her birth weight by now.

I have been feeling a little weak. I lost a lot of blood at delivery and was closely monitored at the hospital. It is taking me awhile to feel strong. Molly is also taking a lot of my calories. She is a good nurser. I'm trying to eat a lot.

My parents have been helping us out a lot. They've been helping with laundry, ironing, meals, and lawn mowing. I'm so thankful! Our friends Julie and Brian also brought us a meal this week. Julie is going to be induced with her baby this Friday. Molly will have a little playmate!

Finally home!

Welcome home party! (Harrisons and Grandparents)

Beautiful roses from sweet husband

Relaxing with Grandpa Ritter

Exciting first bath

Molly in a pretty pink dress

Visitors

GRANDMA AND GRANDPA RITTER
PROUD DADDY
COACH BURNS
JULIE AND BRIAN
GRANDPA KELLY

Precious Pics

Change of plans

Thank you all so much for praying! I've gotten several e-mails from friends today. I decided yesterday to cancel my induction. I was dreading it and had no peace about it. I was praying for God's wisdom yesterday and felt like I should cancel it. I believe that inductions are very important if something is wrong, but there is nothing wrong with my baby or my body. She's just slow in coming!

Generations of women in my family have given birth to babies of all sizes (my dad was 10lb 2 oz, I was 9 lb, and my great grandmother gave birth to 18 lb of triplets!). They all survived without medical interventions! I am trusting God to bring the baby at the right time. He brought about the pregnancy in His time. He also provided a job for Ryan and a buyer for our house this summer. Who I am to second guess His timing for the baby's birth?

Thanks for the prayers! It is really difficult to make a decision like this, and I hope that she comes soon so that I don't have to consider being induced because she's REALLY late!

Great day for MSU fans

Mom and Dad came over today to watch MSU beat UAB. Then, U of M was defeated by Appalachain State. I'm not sure which is sweeter: seeing our team win or our rival deflated.

God blessed me through Ryan this morning. This past week I have been writing down scriptures to use as motivation and perspective during labor. I had been thinking about and searching for a particular verse all week but was unable to find it. This morning, I asked Ryan what he had read in the Bible. He said that he had a couple verses for me. The first one he read was the one for which I had been looking! How sweet that God would unite Ryan and me in this way. Here's the verse: Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:3

I have an appointment at the hospital Tuesday morning to have my water broken. That should start my labor, but if it doesn't I'll have to receive pitocin. I definitely hope to go into labor naturally before then. The doctor doesn't want me to go too late without having the baby though. I'm having a really hard time with the idea of being induced. I understand that I am very blessed to have no other complications. Many women have to face scheduled C-sections. However, if I do have to receive the pitocin, the contractions will likely be much more intense than those that would occur naturally. Pitocin can also cause the baby's heartrate to drop and increases the likelihood of a C-section. If I receive pitocin, I cannot walk about during labor but must be continously monitored and will be tethered to the machine. So, I am facing a lot of fears right now. However, I need to remember the verse God gave us and recognize that my troubles are so small compared to His suffering for us. Please pray that I go into labor naturally!

Nothing New

Just checking in to say that everything is the same here. I'm heading to Walmart soon because I think it would be really funny for my water to break at the Azle Super Walmart. I wouldn't want it to happen at a nice place, but I think that the Azle Walmart would be quite fitting. My mom is encouraging me to spend A LOT of time walking around Walmart! If it really happened, I'd probably be really embarassed, but it would be quite a story to tell.

In His Time

These are some pix of the beautiful evening sky behind the house where we're staying.

God is sovereign to appoint the time of birth. We have tried pretty much EVERYTHING to start my labor, even castor oil. It was very effective as a laxative, but not as a labor inducer! The baby is just not ready to be born yet. I am 41 weeks pregnant today. The doctor determines a due date which is at 40 weeks. However, babies are considered full term anywhere from 38 to 42 weeks. It is thought that the baby releases a protein to start labor when her lungs are fully developed. Some just aren't ready to be born until 42 weeks. Both of my mom's babies were born at 42 weeks or later. Julia, my doula, reminded me that we shouldn't have a due date, but a "due month". My due month would be August 8-September 5.

I'm just praying that I don't have to be induced. It is not good to go past 42 weeks. I have an induction scheduled for next Tuesday. I'll go in Monday night to get started on cervadil to soften the cervix. Then, Tuesday morning they'll break my water. As a last resort, the doctor will put me on pitocin. But, I'm praying for the baby to come before this weekend! It would be nice to have a long weekend with Ryan.

I have been feeling really good. It doesn't seem real that I'm going to have a baby. I'm starting to think that pregnancy will just be my permanant condition! I haven't gotten any bigger in a few weeks, and I'm pretty much able to do everything I want. This morning I jogged a mile, worked in the yard doing a little mowing and weed wacking, and then went for a swim. I've been leisurely using the computer on my parents' back patio for about an hour now. I better savor my life of leisure while I'm still able!

Still Pregnant

No baby yet... I'm not getting too impatient. I just don't want to be induced! Maybe with the full moon tonight... I'm not feeling the best this afternoon. Either I overdid it this morning mowing the lawn or maybe labor is imminent.

We'll keep everyone updated. I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow. We'll see what she says!

Volleyball

Happy Birthday Big T! My brother Tim would LOVE to share his birthday today with his new niece. Maybe she'll oblige him! We went to lunch with my parents at North Main BBQ when he was here last weekend. They serve all-you-can-eat BBQ. We'd be happy to take any visitors there! It is right by the DFW airport.
Who's hiding the volleyball? This is Ryan and me after his volleyball match last night.