Molly Siobhán

Summary:

• Molly Siobhán
• Born 28 Dec 2009
• 7 lb. 10 oz.
• 19 in. long

Mother and baby are doing very well. The siblings appear to be adjusting relatively well. But the cat still appears a bit jealous. :)

The Details:

My wife was scheduled to be induced on Tuesday. But apparently Monday turned out to be less busy than the hospital anticipated. So they called her up just before 9 AM and asked if she could be there by 10 AM. She was happy to have the baby sooner than later, so she said she would try. I got a call from her after that. I quickly wrapped up what I was doing at work and zipped home. My sister-in-law and her husband were there to pick up the other kids as I arrived. We quickly rushed to gather everyone up and send them off to grandma's house. Then my wife and I drove to our new hospital.

We arrived at the hospital just after 10. Mom was checked in and on an IV by around 10:30. From there, things progressed very quickly. At first Mom felt a bit awkward being in a hospital bed ready to give birth but not actually having contractions. She started out at a three. But the pitocin worked its magic really quickly and she was well on her way to hard labor. The contractions were very strong and frequent by 1 PM, but she endured them well. Water was still intact, and the nurses were keen to keep it that way until the doctor could arrive to break it for her and complete the delivery. But the doctor had been called away to an emergency cesarean section across the valley. So we had to wait. In the meantime, the contractions became worse and the pain more unbearable. So we sought out the staff to arrange for an epidural, even though the original plan was to wait until after breaking the water. But alas, the anesthesiologist at our hospital was occupied in a cesarean there. So my wife pressed on through the pain until she was complete. The nurses were starting to appear quite anxious, and the doctor was still not back from the other hospital. It very nearly appeared that she was simply going to deliver without him.

Then the doctor rushed in through the door, threw off his coat and slipped on his sterile gear. There was some difficulty getting the bed to break apart. Apparently the bed had not been properly prepared. The linens were put on wrong, not to mention the blood marks from a previous use still on parts of the bed. Yecch! Mom was really hurting at this point, but still enduring with an amazing amount of calm. When almost everything was in place, she started pushing. After four pushes, the baby was born at 2:37 PM. Apparently my wife was the first to deliver at the hospital that day, despite arriving at the hospital three hours after everybody else. For our first child, she was also quite rapid to progress and was very nearly complete by the time we arrived at the hospital. The other two births were also somewhat smooth and quick. I guess she's just good at this sort of thing. :)

I'm really proud of her. This was her first time being induced. This was also her first delivery without an epidural. Though it was not intended to be that way, she worked through labor and delivery marvelously. Still, she indicated that it was excruciatingly painful; and she says she would not recommend it to anybody!

The recovery after birth has gone remarkably well. Both Mom and Baby are home resting now. The siblings finally get to meet her and interact with their new sister. They weren't allowed to visit in the hospital due to the restrictions related to H1N1 influenza. We did set up video chat sessions with a netbook at the hospital to help them start to connect. But once they got to meet her in person, they were immediately smitten. The girls just love to hold her and be with her. Our son was originally dismayed at still being the only boy among the children. He had asked us to move him downstairs so he wouldn't have to be disturbed by the baby's crying in the room next door. But once he met her, he too was excited to have a new baby sister around. And while the first night at home had both Mom and Dad getting up several times to attend to a crying baby, our son apparently went through the whole night without waking up once!

The cat had already shown some signs of jealousy toward babies. During a recent visit from our infant nephew, the cat was constantly seeking out attention and behaving slightly suspiciously around the baby. While we were away at the hospital for Molly's birth, the cat was growing increasingly stir-crazy. Every time I stopped by to check up on things and feed him, he chased me around the house to garner a few moments of love. He's not declawed, and he definitely has his extra "playful" moments. So we're keeping an eye on him as well as going a bit out of our way to give him some extra attention so he doesn't become too competitive or spiteful to the point of causing harm.

About The Names

The names Molly and Siobhán don't necessarily have any particular family significance. They just happen to be names that Mom liked, and I was happy to agree to. Both names are Irish. Both my father and one of my brothers served as voluntary missionaries for our Church in Ireland. So we're happy to make somewhat of a leap to grasp at that connection. Molly is simply a variation of the name Mary. Siobhán (pronounced sha-VAHN) is the Irish form of the name Joan, the feminine of John.