Baby Aleah Has Arrived!

Today we welcomed our newest Sweet Pea to the Johnson family. Aleah Kathryn Johnson made her grand arrival at 4:31 am this morning weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs, 5 ozs and was 19 1/2 inches long. We are thrilled!!!

It has been a very long day. Kristen is doing great, but Baby Aleah has had a tough day. She was sent to the nursery soon after delivery to regulate her oxygen saturation. After several hours she was moved to the pediatric ICU. Mark had a chance to briefly hold her before her trip to the nursery, but Kristen has only been able to rub her chubby little legs, arms and cheeks. Her little head is covered with a hood to provide her the extra oxygen she needs. She is hooked up to several monitors and has an IV for nourishment. They cannot let her eat until her breathing patterns slow.

Her breathing is labored and after multiple visits with her today, we have yet to see her little eyes open. She has been sleeping most of the day, maybe due to the fact that she was awake kicking mommy through the contractions all day--and night--on Monday.

She is very precious and reminds us of her big sister Alivia. She has lots of dark hair with a little bit of blond mixed in. Based on her ability to kick, she will surely have a bit of her big sister Avery's feisty spirit. The two new big sisters came for a visit this afternoon and we had a great time, laughing, snuggling and hearing about their second day of preschool. Baby Aleah had helped Mommy pick out special new "pajamies" and a book for Alivia and Avery. They were able to see pictures of their new little sister, but will have to wait to meet her and give her hugs.

We are blessed to have three precious little girls. Although we know many babies in the ICU are much worse physically than Aleah, it is still very difficult to see your little baby in this way. Please keep Aleah and our family in your prayers. We will update you all as soon as we can. In our haste to get to the hospital, we forgot the cord to download photos, so be sure to check back for pictures in a few days.