Our Sweet Molly

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Pregnancy with Miss Molly

On New Year’s Day, 2008, my husband (Garrick) and I went to a local Walgreens Drug Store and bought a pregnancy test. We knew the possibility was strong that we were pregnant with our first child, and though we were anxious, we were so full of hope and excitement. Sure enough, the two pink lines showed up clearly, and we began our journey. My name is Briana Mueller, and this is the story of the most amazing blessing we have ever received, our daughter, Molly.

I was blessed with a very enjoyable and easy pregnancy for the most part. I can count on my two hands the number of days that I felt bad. I loved all the planning, shopping, and preparing for our little girl. We did choose to find out her sex during the 20-week ultrasound. Because of the close relationship I have with my mother and her mom, my MaMa, I have always wanted a little girl so that I could foster a wonderful relationship with her. Well, the ultrasound told me that my wish would be granted! At that point, Molly was the proper size for her gestational age, and no birth defects or problems were evident using usual ultrasound techniques. We already had names chosen for a girl or a boy, but that day we began calling our baby by her name, Molly Kathryn Mueller. We thought that was the most beautiful name, and we still do!

Molly's Birth

We chose not to have the amnio testing done, so we did not know that Molly was a Trisomy-18 baby until a few days after her birth. I looked every part of 35 weeks when Molly decided to enter the world. On July 30th, my water broke at 5 a.m., so we rushed to the hospital, assuming we’d have a small but healthy baby 3-1/2 weeks early. No labor began naturally, so they tried pitocin. It didn’t work, either, because it stressed out Molly’s heart. We didn’t know why at the time, but because she wasn’t responding well to it, they decided to do a prompt C-section.

I couldn’t see Molly when they took her out, but I did have Garrick in my sight, and I saw him start to shake when he saw Molly. He had the camera in his hand, but he wasn’t moving. I thought he was just emotional, but then I heard the doctors talking about the fact that Molly was half the size she should be. Miss Molly was 2 lbs., 7.7 oz. and 14-1/2” long…our little teeny princess.

In the next couple of days, the doctors explained their suspicions that Molly was either a Trisomy 13 or 18 baby. They ran the tests and told us they would let us know the results as soon as they had them. In the meantime, Molly stayed in the NICU on oxygen, feeding tubes, and heart monitors. We were able to visit her two people at a time. Our families were so good to be there for us and spend time with Molly, too, and we had many family members, friends, and co-workers praying with us for our daughter.

On the day the doctors and staff told us about Molly’s certain Trisomy diagnosis, we felt as though our world fell apart. We’d never heard of T-18, but here they were telling us that we’d lose our little girl. They couldn’t say when, but when we pinned them down for a “best guess”, they said two to four days. Tears never ended, it seemed, but we spent as much time with Molly as we could. The hospital graciously gave us a private room for Molly and our family.

Molly's Life

We feel so blessed that Molly’s life far surpassed the medical staff’s “best guess”—she lived 56 days, and we loved getting to know our little angel. The time with her was so wonderful, it’s beyond description, really. We loved hearing her noises, watching her baby moves, and just seeing her look right into our eyes. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—the connection was so real! And I must say, she was the most adorable baby I’ve ever seen. She looked just like her daddy.

Since Molly’s passing on September 24th, 2008, we feel broken-hearted. We grieve every day, and we miss Molly every moment. Nothing feels quite right without her. But there are several other things we know and hold to—Molly’s life and death had a purpose, and still does. God allowed this cute little girl into our lives, and we thank Him for every minute we had with her. We are grateful that she is now whole and healthy—no monitors or tubes or wires. We have hope in Christ that we will see our little girl again someday in heaven, and it makes the thought of heaven that much sweeter. We hope that her life has served as a reminder to all of the many blessings given by our Heavenly Father and the fact that God cares so much for each of us.

We know that we’ll never stop loving or thinking about Molly. The joy she brought and the love we felt as a family can’t be taken away. We pray for healing and comfort and also for opportunities to help others who have been in this situation. Thank you to all of our friends and family who have been a phenomenal support system during this difficult time. We love you all, and so does Molly!