My Ari Berry is Finally Here!!

My baby girl made her entrance on Saturday, March 11, 2006 at 11:23 pm. She weighed 6 pounds, 4.7 ounces. 19 inches long.

She is just beautiful. She is doing absolutely wonderfully. I love her so very much and I couldnt be happier.

Ok I will give you the condensed birth story. I went in for the induction at 7 am. They gave me a gel to open my cervix and I started having contractions pretty soon after that. I was still only 1 cm dilated. At 12 noon they started the dreaded pitocin. The contractions got stronger, but I was still doing well with them. I didnt want to have any drugs. At 1 pm they broke my water. I was still only 1-2 cm! They kept turning up the pitocin every 15 min. The contractions were really getting stronger, but I was still ok. I was watching the 2nd season of 24 on DVD. At 4 the doc came and checked me again. I was only 2-3 cm! He was getting concerned because I wasnt progressing consistently with the amount of pitocin he was giving me because my contractions were very strong. He thought that despite the fact that I was very relaxed, my muscles were staying tense, preventing my cervix from dilating. So he told me he wanted me to get an epidural. I didnt want it, but he said that I really should get it to allow my muscles to relax because without it he didnt think they would relax on their own. So I consented to the epi. But it didnt work on me. The anesthesiologist tried 4 times to adjust my dosages but I still felt all the pain. I got relief for only 15 min. So I labored on in full pain despite the epi. They kept cranking up the pitocin to "challenge "my cervix. The baby wasnt handling the pitocin well. Her heart rate kept dropping because the contractions would "couple" I would get 2 or 3 in a row about 10-20 seconds apart. Then I wouldnt get anything for about 2 min. Then 2-3 in row again. It was stressing teh baby. So they turned off the pitocin to try to let the contractions even out and to let the baby and me rest a bit. They did even out, so they turned the pitocin back on. The baby seemed to be doing better, so they kept cranking up the pitocin. (The contractions were REALLY bad, but I was still handling them, although I have no clue what happened at the end of the 24 DVDs!) At 10 pm the doc came to check me again and he said I was onlt 4 cm! UGH!!! He said that something was wrong because the amount of pitocin I had and the strength of my contractions should have delivered the baby hours before. He said the baby wasnt tolerating the pitocin well and heart rate was dropping showing that she was under stress. He said I needed a c-section. I was upset and frustrated because that was the last thing I wanted but I didnt want to endanger my daughter. So I consented to the c-section.

When I went in for the surgery at 11pm, they were going to try an epi again but of course with higher doses. It seemed that it was working pretty well, despite the fact that the other epi failed on me. The other options were a spinal tap or general anesthesia to knock me completely out, which i didnt want. So they started the surgery. I was fine until they started to pull the baby out. I started to feel pain. Once they pulled her out and started to work on me, I was in terrible pain. I was happy to see my baby girl, but I couldnt even focus because the pain was becoming overwhelming. I guess the medicine wasnt fully effective on me. My sis, Auntie C, told the lady manning the drugs that I was in pain, that I felt way more than just pressure. The lady started pumping me with drugs but it wasnt helping. By that time I was on the verge of screaming. I dont know what the lady gave me but the next thing I knew I was waking up in the OR. I guess my body may have just shut down and let me sleep until they finished stitching me up. I woke up and they put teh baby in my arms.

It turned out taht Arden had turned (I think during my labor) and her butt was coming out first, so she wouldnt fit. Also the cord was wrapped around her neck, hence the lowered heart rate. So I went through 16 hours of labor on pitocin only to have a c-section

At any rate, she is doing great now. It wasnt what I planned but the end result has been heavenly. I am so in love with my little Berry and I cant wait to watch her grow.

Here are some pics for everyone to enjoy!