First Time for Everything

This has been a great first few weeks of Mollie's life! We've had a great time watching her experience her "firsts" and have enjoyed all the new adventures that come along with being parents. Here are some pictures of Mollie's eventful first few weeks! 

 Mollie had the honor of meeting her favorite cousin Maddox for the first time! He was very sweet to her and have her a hug. I can't wait for them to grow up together...I think Maddox will be a great "big brother" to her and teach her a thing or two :o) 

 Mollie also experienced her first holiday which just happened to be Valentines Day. Aunt Layce gave her the cutest little Sweetheart outfit. Mollie enjoyed sporting it, although she looks a little exhausted. It's tough celebrating a holiday only being 4 days old!

She very gracefully made it through her first week of life; and so did we! It was such a blessing having Momma Shelly and Papa Kelly stay with us; they were SUCH a huge help as we adjusted to having a little one to care for. I don't know what we would have done without them! And it was great having Jason home for a week. We enjoyed having that time together to figure out what it means to be a family of 3! 

Here's a picture of Mollie celebrating her first week. I've decided to start a tradition...I saw somewhere where this mom took a picture each year of her children's life wearing their dad's shirt. Once they're all grown up, it was neat to look back and see how they've grown into the shirt. So, I thought that would be fun to start. Just don't let me forget to continue it! It looks more like a blanket on her at this point.

 We also had the pleasure of enjoying some pretty weather this week, which prompted Mollie's first stroller ride!! She sported her stylish sunglasses (which actually were quite functional keeping the sun out of her eyes). And she loved the beautiful weather. Well, actually she slept the whole time so I'm not even sure she knew what was happening, but I'd like to think she had a great time. 

One thing we didn't catch on camera was her first check up with the pediatrician! She was great and behaved wonderfully. She's already up to 7lbs and 4 oz, which means she's a good little eater! Everything looked great health-wise, which is always a relief. She did have to have her heel pricked again, which seemed quite traumatic judging by the screams of the baby that went right before her. However, our Mollie is a champ! She only whimpered just a bit as if she was saying, "Mommy, that is a bit uncomfortable. Please tell them to hurry!" She was such a big girl, and we were very thankful for that. I'm not sure her daddy and I could have handled her screaming in pain! 

This brings us to today. She's almost 3 weeks old and we've already enjoyed a lazy Saturday morning hanging out with our sweet little girl. We were all still in our pj's (yes, it was noon!!) and Mollie decided to have a little nap on her daddy. She obviously takes after him judging by how much she loves her head rubbed! We caught her reaction on video and thought it was hilarious. Sorry it's kind of long, but watch the whole thing anyways. It's funny. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3wtYQtH6Ao

We can't wait to experience more firsts with our little girl! 

Our Little Lady has arrived!

Here's how the big day unfolded...

We arrived at UMC at about 5am on Tuesday morning. When we got there, they had a nice big room waiting for us! I got in my lovely hospital gown and they started the pitocin (not sure how to spell that) and hooked me up to the fetal monitor. Then Jason and I got comfy and took a nap! 

Here's the last picture of Mollie in my belly! It's crazy to think this sweet little thing was inside me only a week ago...

We pretty much just hung out and watched TV for most of the day. I didn't progress just too terribly fast, so there was a lot of waiting. My doctor didn't want to break the water too fast because she was in a pretty big surgery that morning and wanted to make sure she was out before anything happened. But once that happened, the contractions got stronger and I got my epidural! That was quite amazing at first. Didn't feel a thing all afternoon! And the procedure itself wasn't as bad as I though. Well worth it. However, once things reached a certain point, somehow I started feeling pain. Mollie was facing the wrong direction and they had me changing positions to get her to turn. From then on, I felt EVERYTHING! Luckily, at that point I was almost fully dilated and there wasn't much left to experience. Within the hour, she arrived! Even though it hurt at the end, at least I didn't spend the whole day in pain. It was worth it anyways. 

Mollie Michelle Fellers was born Tuesday, February 10 at 7:01 pm. She was 6 pounds 11 ounces and 20.5 inches long! The delivery went very smoothly and she came out healthy and happy and ready to check out her new world. She almost immediately had her eyes wide open looking all around! She hardly cried, only a few wimpers, until they started suctioning her mouth out.  As you can see, she's blessed with a full head of dark hair! It wasn't red like we had thought it might be, but she's still got some time for it to change :o) 

She got to meet most of her family right away! Mollie's grandparents, aunts and uncles were there to welcome her into the world and we were so excited to show her off. We're still getting around to introducing her to Great Grandparents and other relatives, so I'm trying to keep the pictures coming in the meantime! 

Aunt Carol (CiCi), Aunt Lacye, Uncle Kyler and honorary Aunt Bri...Uncle Bradley was taking care of Cousin Maddox who wasn't allowed in the delivery room :o( 

Mollie has 3 excited grandmas! Grammie, Momma Shelly, and Nanny

The proud dad and grandpas! PaPa, Pop Pop, and PaPa Kelly

So far, at 1 week old, Mollie is very healthy and has a great temperament! She only cries when she's hungry or needs to burp, then just makes cute noises and sleeps the rest of the time. She's learning to be a good eater and is making sure we know her digestive system is working properly...thank heavens for disposable diapers :o) She does like to spit up quite a bit, so I'm pretty sure a bib will be a permanent fixture on her body. Here are a few pictures of our sweet, beautiful little girl! 

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

So, it has become evident to me that we are truly blessed. 

We are surrounded by some very generous folks that have completely provided for our little Mollie! After our showers, we've been blown away at 1) how much stuff such a little person needs and 2) how much of that was taken care of for us. I've posted a few pictures of Mollie's new things from the showers, which includes everything practical, sweet, cute, comfy, homemade, decorative, large and small...

I've heard these swings are a lifesaver! 

The lovely ladies of Westminster...thanks for being hostesses! 

The pack and play that she'll be sleeping in for a while...

Mollie-mobile! 

The matching car seat is already in the car ready to go! 

Gifts from one shower...

Gifts from another shower...

Sorry, I don't have a picture of the hostesses from this one yet! But hopefully I'll get one soon. Want to make sure you all are recognized for being so thoughtful as well :o) 

Also, I don't have any pictures at all from the shower at City Bank...but THANK YOU to everyone that took time out of their work day to celebrate with us! 

On another note, we had another doctor appointment today. Looks like Mollie will be joining us next week! Whew hoooo! They are going to induce on February 10th, assuming she doesn't decide to make an entrance before then. She seems to be ready and they want to make sure everything is fine due to the diabetes issue, so that's why they suggested induction. I'm already dilated to about 2 or 3 cm, so the doctor said that puts us in a great spot. 

I'm very excited to know that there's an end in sight but to have one more weekend with my husband as "just the two of us". We are super excited about being a family of 3, but will miss what we've had so far. But as Momma Shelly so sweetly put it the day she found out we're expecting, "It's been 5 years! It's about time!" And we agree. 

So Praise God from whom all blessings flow...for a wonderful 5 years of marriage, a healthy baby girl, and being surrounded by a community of believers that care for us and will be around to help raise Mollie as a child of God.