Arianna Earley

Finally the moment we have all been waiting for...

Introducing...
Arianna Earley
Born May 23, 2010, at 5:58 pm
8 pounds 4 ounces
21 inches long

Mike and I are completely and utterly in love with her! Her birth was not an easy one. My water broke around 11:30 pm Saturday night, and I was in labor for about 19 hours after that. Oddly enough, my water broke just after we finished seeing Date Night at the movie theater. It was a relatively small amount and barely noticeable. On the way home from the movies, I called the on-call doctor at my hospital, and she told me to come in right away. We went home and started gathering items I would need in the hospital in case I would have to stay. My water kept gradually leaking more and more, and I was becoming more and more convinced that this was the real thing. The only thing that kept me guessing was the fact that I hadn't had any contractions that were really painful. In addition, I was a week ahead of my actual due date. Once we arrived at the hospital, my water started gushing. My pants were completely soaked as we went up the elevator, and I was admitted to triage to get checked out. They decided to not check my cervix. They only wanted to test the water to confirm that I was starting labor. We didn't have to wait long to find that it was. The nurse talked to us a little about what would happen once we were admitted to the maternity ward, and then we were officially on our way. The nurses gave me the option of starting labor right then with pitocin, but I decided to forgo that option and try to get some sleep. At around 3 am the contractions started to get more and more intense, and sleep was impossible. I started to get up and walk around a little bit to get more comfortable. My plan was to see how long I could labor drug-free. However, if I needed an epidural, I wasn't opposed to getting one. Mike was a great coach throughout the process helping me with breathing techniques, accompanying me on walks, and massaging my back for me. As the contractions became more and more intense, it became harder and harder for me to focus. It was a hard decision, but at 7:30 am I decided to get an epidural. I was only dialated to a 3 at that point, and felt more disappointed than I thought I would that I wasn't able to labor drug-free. However, I hadn't slept the whole night and was so tired. I didn't see how I could keep going at that point the way my labor was progressing. It was a relief to finally catch up on some sleep.

The nurses came by every few hours to make sure that I was rotating sides I was sleeping on. Our little baby did not like it when I slept on my right side and the heart rate was starting to alarm the nurses. They gave me an oxygen mask for the rest of my labor to make sure the baby was comfortable. By the time I was dialated to a 7, the contractions were getting more and more uncomfortable despite the epidural. By then I had been laboring over 12 hours, and the nurses decided to start a pitocin drip to speed things up. It worked perfectly, and I was dialated to a 10 in no time. by this time the doctor came in and asked if I felt like pushing. I felt a lot of pressure, so I quickly agreed to start trying. The doctors and nurses were great coaches, but I found myself getting discouraged that I wasn't getting anywhere. Throughout the process they were closely monitoring the baby's heart rate and kept me on oxygen. After a while, I noticed that the doctor was becoming more and more uneasy, and exited the room for a few seconds. The nurse I had stayed with me and helped me push. Suddenly, the doctor came back in, told me to stop pushing and that the baby wasn't reacting well to it. Every time I would push, her heart rate went down, and my doctor tole me that they needed to do an emergency C-section right away. Before I had time to digest the information that she was giving me, the doctor wheeled me into the operating room. All I remember after than was everyone telling me not to panic and the doctor telling me that I could still deliver vaginally with future children and to not feel bad that I had to have an epidural. All I could think about was my baby and started crying. I think I cried throughout the whole operation, but I was so grateful that Mike was there with me. After a while I heard the doctor say that the baby's heart rate was stabilizing and that she was coming out. I heard our little baby cry and Mike kept saying over and over that she was such a beautiful baby. I cried and cried tears of joy that she was ok. They laid her into Mike's arms and I was able to meet her for the first time. It was the most overwhelming feeling, and it made the whole experience worth it.

I'll post more pictures soon :)