Hi friends,

Today, exactly one year ago, my Aria Star was born. I have been waiting, praying, and dreaming about this perfect moment for so long. But in my case, it was not as perfect as I anticipated… On January 16th, 2017 at 7:00am my water broke. I remember screaming in the bathroom, “Meesh! My water just broke!”. It was the most surreal experience ever! I remember packing my bags, taking a shower, eating breakfast, and even watching a movie before we head out to the hospital. My contractions were very mild. And I thought to myself, “Hmm, this is going to be a piece of cake” I remember walking to the hospital, my husband Meesh, recording me and we were laughing and getting so excited to meet our baby girl! Once I was admitted, a nurse came and checked how dilated I was. And to my surprise I was only 1 cm dilated. And that was 5 hours after my water broke. After hearing the news that I was only 1 cm dialated I knew it was going to be a very long process. Hour after hour would pass and still I would not dilate. The next day, January 17th, 25 hours into the labor I started to feel the strong contractions. And man, those felt like a knife stabbing my stomach. I was screaming and crying from pain, and was ready to get the epidural ASAP! Suprisigley, the epidural did not hurt as much as I thought it would. Contractions hurt way more than the epidural shot. At that point I was only 5 cm dilated. It was such a long waiting game. After the epidural I was not able to eat or drink, and only able to eat ice chips. I was so exhausted and my contractions were getting stronger and stronger. After 38 hours, I was at 10 cm and when the midwife came to check me, she told me I had to wait another hour for my baby to drop. That made no sense to me! How could I be 10 cm dilated and still not ready to push?! So I waited another hour and on January 17th, at 10:30pm I began to push. I thought to myself, “Okay, here we go, 30 mins tops, and I’ll get to meet Aria!”. Thirty minutes passes, and I’m still pushing. An hour passes… I’m still pushing. Two hours passes… still pushing. I remember looking at Meesh, with tears in my eyes and saying, ” I cannot do it. I have no strength”. Three hours passes and still no baby! January 18th, 2017, 1:00am I was still pushing. After this moment, it was all a blur for me. I heard nurses shouting, “there’s the head!” and then all of the sudden, I hear, “CODE BLUE”. Ten doctors and nurses run into my room. One nurse jumps on my bed, held my shoulders and screamed in my face, “PUSH!!!!”. Another nurse started to push my stomach with such force that I still get shivers thinking about it! It was literally a nightmare! After they got Aria out, they placed her on my chest but she was not breathing. All of a sudden I felt such darkness and fear enter the room. We prayed for Aria, the pregnancy and birth everyday from the day I found out I was pregnant. We prayed for the easiest delivery and I could not understand what was going on. I remember looking at Meesh, he was shocked and so frightened. But I remember him praying and calling the name on Jesus in that room. I remember warmth and light come into the room and all of the sudden I heard the most precious noise, it was Aria’s raspy voice! Peace came into out room. Because when He walks into the room, everything changes! I remember holding her and instantly falling in love with that chucky girl. On January 18th, 2017 at 2am, after 43 hrs at 9.3 pounds, Aria Star entered this world. The greatest miracle happened.

I had several complications after giving birth. And had to get another surgery after 8 weeks of giving birth. Last year, was definitely one of the hardest year of my life. But I am thankful that through it all I had Jesus who I felt so close to me in the good and in the bad. I get frightened sometimes thinking of delivering my future babies, but then I stop myself and reflect on His promises and His goodness. Even in the worst times and in the hardest situations, I know He will always be there.