MOLLY KATHRYN MUELLER

Our precious daughter is here! Molly decided to come exactly a month early, so at 5 a.m. on July 30th, I knew my water had broken and we needed to get to the hospital. At 1:23 p.m., Miss Molly was officially here via C-section. She had a surprise for us, however--our little princess was very tiny, much more so than she should have been, even 4 weeks early. Molly was 2 lbs., 7.7 oz. and 14-1/2 inches long. The doctors were just as surprised as we were because I very much looked the part of a 35-week pregnancy. Several factors would be discovered in the next few days that would help explain this. On Monday, the 4th, we heard news no parent wants to here. Molly is a Trisomy 18 baby, which means that she has an extra 18th chromosome. While this is not a genetic issue in our case (good news), it is a condition that is incompatible with life, therefore we do not know how long our adorable Molly will be with us. The doctors explained that Molly has several heart issues as well, so there is no way to fix everything that Molly needs. For now, Molly must stay in the NICU on oxygen, in an incubator, and with a feeding tube. There are so many more details, but these are the basics. So, we are concentrating on enjoying every second with Molly, and every second with her has brought us complete joy. She is addicting, adorable, and absolutely amazing. We can sit around and stare at her for hours, she is such a teeny blessing. She looks just like her daddy, too, so he is really taken by her! We thank God for our little "Molly Miracle", and we ask for everyone's prayers in this situation.