short term sacrifice for a long term gain

Well here she is! Suri Elizabeth Azhar (8lbs 4 oz, 20.5 inches long, with RED HAIR and blue eyes)
And here is the story of how she came into the world.

At 4:00 on June 18th we checked into Meriter Hospital in Madison, WI and met our nurse Nicole who took our vitals and we were then put on the neonatal monitors.
Then at 6:00 the OB resident Liz Sullivan came in to check on my cervix and I was just 1.6 -2 cm dilated so they inserted cervidil to help soften my cervix.
Then at 6:30 Grandma and Grandpa Murphy arrived to visit.
Then at 7:00 Nicole the RN put in an IV just in case they would need to give me anything.
At 9:00 I received sleeping pills because the contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart. So then I was out cold.
At 11:10 the contraction were so hard that I called Nicole in to check me out and to get the 2nd half of my sleeping pill. When the OB resident checked me I was already 3.5 cm dilated and so out went the cervidil and we were moved to the 4th floor. Nicole was thrilled that it only took 5.5 hrs for the cervidil to work because my neighbor had been there for 2 days with cervidil and it wasn't moving her along.
At 12:30 am they were seeing if my contractions will take me into labor on my own or if I would need pitocin. They also were sweet enough to give me an epidural. YEAH!!!!! Also they did decide I would need pitocin and in went a catheter. So off to lala land for me.
Throughout the night they came in and checked on me but still 3.5 cm dilated.
Christine my new RN came in this morning at 6:15 am to assist in breaking my water and placing new fetal monitors which will tell us the intensity of contractions.
Now it's 6:45 am and we wait.
Grandma and Grandpa Azhar arrived at 8:00 am on June 19th and then at 10:30 Grandma and Grandpa Murphy arrived. They administered more pitocin and I started to dilate again.
It was noon and at this point I was around 4.5 cm...moving right along.
At 1:00 pm they checked me and I figured I would only be 5 cm but instead I was 8!!!!!!! We were amazed.
2:00 and we were there. 10 cm!!!!!!
So now the hard part starts.
From 2-4:00 I pushed ever which way I could and she was not coming out. So in walked Dr. Henry to check on the progress. He informed us that she was opaque which means she was coming down sideways and her head was actually ramming into my left hip. So the anesthesiologist came me a stronger epidural and they asked me to flip from side to side while pushing. So we would pushed through 3 contractions on one side, then middle for 3 and then flip again for 3.
At 5:00 they came in and checked me again. Still no head popping through. So Dr. Henry said I had 3 options. #1 keep pushing maybe for hours and she MIGHT change positions and come through. #2 Keep pushing and he would use forceps that could traumatize me or the baby and still wind up in a c-section or #3 C section. After 3 hours of pushing-Bring on the C section.
So at 5:45 I was in the operating room and at 6:00 the cutting began. I felt a lot of the pain because again she was in the wrong position and slightly stuck. They actually had to pop her out from both sides.
Finally 6:26 and she is born.
Asif was such an amazing coach and dad immediately. I on the other hand was so exhausted/drugged that I fell asleep in the OR once I heard her cry. Asif really wanted me to open my eyes to see her but I was a little in shock and shaking like crazy that I couldn't keep my eyes opened.
Asif was the first to hold her and to show her off to the grandparents. She officially was bathed at 9 which she thought was the worse thing in the world and by 10:00 everyone left. So now for a little R&R which was much needed by the whole family. What a LONG 55 hrs but oh so worth it.
I hope you enjoy the pictures that our wonderful friend and photographer Kristi Schalow took of her just 3 hours old.
Will update you in a few days but for the time being we are still at Meriter Hospital until Tuesday.

Well Prepared

Having these past 5 weeks off has been great for the baby preparation down to the fact everything even has batteries in it. So here is the final outcome of all our love and labor. Hope you approve.

Anticipating her arrival...

Well since I have been home on short term disability since May 1st I figured I would follow my brother and sister in-laws lead and start a blog. This blog is for all the family and friends that can't be with us on a daily basis but would like to keep up to date on how our little family is doing. I would just like to thank everyone for their love and support through these 9 months.

So here is a little background on how Asif and I decided (well we really didn't decide but discovered) we were going to be parents. On October 24th I found out that I was being let go from Novartis Pharmaceuticals due to downsizing. On the 26th we had a wedding in Chicago that we were attending and I actually felt a little funny. My first indication that I might be pregnant was that I had the nose of a bloodhound. I actually smelled a jalapeno cheeto on Asif's breath that he had eaten 6 hours beforehand. At that point I told Asif that I was going to buy a pregnancy test but then I just figured I was overreacting so I just threw it in a drawer. So then on Monday I went home to visit family and friends for a few days. When I returned home on Wednesday Oct. 29th I thought I might need to take that pregnancy test. So It was at 9:00 pm on Oct 29th when I found out that I was pregnant. We still didn't believe it but Asif refused to go to the grocery store for another test that night so the next day I took 3 more and when all four were laying on the counter positive we he came home from work we thought it might be a good time to call the doctor. Needless to say we found out that we got pregnant on our 2 year anniversary which Asif had taken me and 5 of his co-workers to Smokey Johns BBQ (how romantic I know). Also fun little fact is that Suri has already completed her first marathon. I was 3 weeks along when I completed the Milwaukee marathon.

So that is how we discovered we were expecting. Now we just sit and wait for her arrival. The Doctors are going to induce me on June 18th due to some slight complications with her. You see at 26 weeks we discovered Suri had CCAM. CCAM is Congenital Cystic Adenomatoid Malformation which means she has cysts in her lower right lung. The physicians have monitored us closely. Actually since March 16th we have gone to the perinatal clinic twice a week for 2 hour appointments requiring close monitoring and tests. The good news is that the cysts only affected 20% of her right lung and are they are not growing. So the pediatric surgeon doesn't think that he will have to do immediate surgery unless she is having difficulty breathing at birth. Instead we will take her in at 6 months and he will go in and remove or shave the affected portion of the lung. The outcomes of the surgery show a 95% success rate and she shouldn't have any more additional breathing complications.

So now the true count down begins. 8 more days and counting....