Arie Alex: The latest IT girl!

Airawen Alexandra Mohr graced us with her presence during the blizzard of '08. She was born March 5th, 2008 at 2:50 A.M. She was 20" long and weighed 6lbs 9oz. She has brown hair and blue eyes, (for now) and came out screaming like a rock star! But I am getting ahead of myself.

I was scheduled to induce last Tuesday March 4th, after 4 P.M. When I woke up on Tuesday morning the snow was just beginning to fall around 7 A.M. I started working in my home office, thinking I had all day until we went into the hospital. Around 11 Tim called and said the hospital was ready for us. Apparently the 8 inches of snow already on the ground had spurred a few people to cancel their inductions, and St. John's was delivery ward was empty.

Tim came home and we hurried around to get ready to go to the hospital. It took us an hour and half to make the trip which usually takes around 20-25 minutes. They gave me Cervidel (to start contractions) at around 2:30 and the contractions started pretty much right away. It killed but I was able to talk and kind of joke through them. I was talking on the phone, and getting encouraging text messages from my friends. My water broke on it's own around an hour later, but I was only about 1 1/2 cm dilated. So I went through another hour of contractions that were 1 1/2 to 2 min apart. I held on to Tim for dear life when when they checked to see how dilated I was, and was the only time I really screamed b/c of the pain. I still wasn't dilating though, so they gave me Stateal, so slow everything down and give me a little rest b/w contractions. My contractions slowed to 4 to 6 minutes apart and was able to recover a little in between. Next came the Pitocin. These were the "good" contractions. It was horrific pain. They were 4 minutes apart, then three then 2... I was staring into Tim's eyes hard, silently begging him to take it away. I was squeezing Susan's hands and they both said, "Bailey, breath." "In and out, in and out" "Good job, Bailey." "I am so proud of you, you are so strong." Tim's mom and my mom were rubbing my back and praying and trying to keep me distracted between contractions. I could hear Airawen's heart beat on the monitor, I remember the the thinking, "This really sucks" I remember taking turns focusing into Tim's eyes, then focusing on Susan's eyes.

After, 2 or 3 hours of the most intensely, painful experience of my life, Susan, my most amazing nurse, told me I was at 4cm and it was time for the epidural. I had 5 or 6 more contractions while they were giving me the "spinal tap" (See Juno) and then-- it was all good. The pain was gone, and it was 10:30 P.M. I had made it through, I was alive things were progressing, and Tim was holding my had the whole time. Susan told everyone to leave and that it was time for Tim and I to try and get some sleep. I texted some people that I had my epidural and I was going to sleep. I was almost asleep, when for some reason Susan came back in and checked my cervix again. No pain this time. Then she said, "Bailey, you want to hear something really cool? Your done! You're at 10cm!" I went from 4 to 10 in about half and hour. Tim went to tell our parents and one of my dr's came in and started the practice pushing, I guess to see if I knew how. Apparently I'm really good at pushing. Susan and Tim and one of the residents got me through almost three hours of pushing, and puking. Susan started to look nervious after about an hour and a half. Arie had stopped progressing down the birth canal. She was about an inch from crowning, and wasn't moving any further. Her heart rate was dropping dangerously low after the contractions, which isn't the norm and we were only able to push on every other contraction to give her heart time to recover.

Dr. Knight showed up at about 1:30 A.M. and gave us a few options, but said that the safest thing for Arie Alex was a c-section. Within an hour they had me preped and wheeled me into the OR. Tim scrubbed in and they stuck in him a chair in the hallway where he could see the whole OR, but due to a huge machine in his way, he couldn't see me. He said he felt like he was in the dunce chair. I was really happy at this point. Susan said, that I said, "I feel like I'm floating." I remember saying, "I feel like I'm on the set of Grey's Anatomy." When they were ready to start they let Tim come in. I remember talking to the doctors accross the sheet about my iPod dock that they wished they had in the OR. I remember seeing Susan zooming around taking pictures for us. Tim was on my right with the video camera, talking to me. I remember shaking so bad from the chest up I felt like a fish flopping around on a dock. My body was so warn out!

Dr. Knight said they were about the pull the baby up and a woman behind Tim pulled the curtain down, told him to stand up and turned him and the video camera toward the surgery. He had no choice but to watch as they pulled our daughter from my body into the air. The anesthesiologist on my left pulled the curtain down a little for me to see and as one of the doctors held Arie Alex up I could see my bright purple, screaming baby. That scream was the sweetest sound I ever heard. Tears came to my eyes as I breathed, knowing she could breath. They told me they were going to donate the cord blood and it was a really long umbilical cord, that was wrapped around her little body and that was probably what had her lodged in the birth canal.

They took Airawen over to a little bed where the cleaned her up. I could see the pink spreading trough her body every second. I could see Tim with the video camera, faithfully capturing every moment, with one hand and touching Arie's check with the other. I could see him crying, with joy, relief, exhaustion...

They sewed me up and wheeled me into the recovery room. My mom and Tim's parents took turns holding her and crying and praying, thanking God their prayers were answered and everyone was okay.

I fed my baby for the first time a few hours later. We spent 5, much needed, days in the hospital. I feel like half of Saint Louis came to see us, bearing gifts and flower, and everything pink and cute and that you would expect in celebrating a baby girl! It is so amazing how much love and encouragement we have from the people God has put in our life. Everything was perfect.

We have been home about 3 days now, and things are going smoothly. I'm healing well, and I'm only taking my meds about three times a day now. Arie Alex is eating well, sleeping in 4 hour shifts through the night, and the doctor says she is perfectly healthy. She almost never cries unless she is hungry and she is the cutest little bird when she wants to eat. She tilts her head back and opens and closes her mouth like a baby bird. Thus, earning herself the nick name "Bird".

Arie Alex is a week old today, looking pretty in her sweet pink outfit from Grandma Heath!