Sunday, June 25, 2006

At long, long, LONG last!



Amelia was born at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday evening. She weighed in at 7 lbs, 12 ounces, 20 1/2 inches.
We had a really long labor. It lasted about 40 hours, and was pretty hard because she was posterior presentation-- back labor is no fun! Things progressed very slowly, too slowly. After 40 hours, I hadn't dilated past 7, despite maximal contractions. We ended up having a cesarean birth. At that point, I was really ready to be done and to just have Amelia. It had been hard on both of us, and I was relieved to know that she would be born within a half an hour of making the decision. We found out afterward that she had the cord wrapped around her neck, came out kind of gray, with labored breathing. I was even more glad then that we had gone ahead with the surgery!
They took her to the NICU, but they sent her over to the nursery within a few minutes because she was doing so well. So amazing to finally meet her!

In spite of a difficult birth and some disappointments, we still had a very positive experience. We had the birthing "dream team," I think: Jeff, my mom, Jeff's mom (who is a nurse,) our friend Sarah was our nurse, and we have a wonderful OB doctor. All of the other staff at the hospital was amazingly kind and supportive, as well! One of the nurses that I had before Sarah came called later to see how things were going and to let us know she was praying for us. A couple of others that were friends of Sarah's also let us know they were praying for us throughout. What a sweet sense of support! Although I am 100% glad I'm done, I can honestly say that I enjoyed much of the process, mostly because of the community experience in that birthing room with Jeff, Mom and Amy. So even though the birth came later than I was hoping (date-wise) the timing was great that the moms could attend.

This picture is like a dream for me. I have waited so long to feel Amelia against me, and i cannot get enough of her.

This is a little blurry, but I love those eyes! She seems to get sweeter every day.

6 comments:

annie said...

Ariana, she is wonderful! I am so glad she's here,too. It sounds like you had the support you needed to make the right decision under difficult circumstances. Thank God.
I hope you are recovering well, and enjoying her. I just love the photo of the two of you, that's a beautiful sight.

Nathan said...

Awesome! It's great to see more photos. We are really glad she's here! She's so sweet.

Erin said...

She's a beautiful girl, Ariana. It's so fun to see her in person! Congratulations to you and Jeff!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations! She's so beautiful and I'm glad everything ended up so well. The last picture looks so much like your dad! Hope to see you soon.
Love to you guys...

Anonymous said...

Ariana and Jeff you have a beautiful daughter!! BLESSINGS

annegreet said...

Hey, congratulations with such a beautiful little girl! I'm amazed, they use exactly the same pink and blue hats in the Belgium hospital where I had my last internship. They must be universal! (c: