‘I’ll miss my baby forever’: Lubbock family coping with young mom’s death

LUBBOCK, Texas– Ariana Sanchez, 19, gave birth to a healthy baby girl on Friday, July 14, 2023, with whom she would have been “over the moon in love.” Sadly, Ariana passed away due to complications during childbirth. A year later, her mother is doing her best to keep her daughter’s memory alive for her granddaughter.

Ariana’s family named her baby Ariana Nailani Rayne Esparza. EverythingLubbock.com previously reported Ariana was told she was “a high-risk pregnancy” and was suffering from complications such as preeclampsia.

“She should still be here with us because when we went into the hospital, she was doing completely fine,” her mother Sylvia said. “She was so excited to have a baby girl.”

A year later, Ariana’s daughter, who also goes by Nailani, just celebrated her 1st birthday, and Sylvia said she is like her mom in some ways and the complete opposite in others.

“She’s a morning person, a super early bird; she wakes up in a good mood, and [her mother] was totally different. She was not a morning person,” Sylvia said.

Sunday was Nailani’s first birthday, and Sylvia said the family celebrated the milestone and remembered her mother.

“We celebrated her birthday, had a little barbecue for her, [and] also went to the cemetery to be with my baby,” Sylvia said.

“It was very sad and happy because my grandbaby turned a year, but very sad because we have to celebrate my daughter’s death anniversary, it was tough,” said Ariana’s father, Alex Sanchez.

Alex said they like to have pictures all over their home of Ariana for Nailani, to help keep her memory alive.

Sylvia said baby Nailani knows who her mother is and has seen her granddaughter kiss and smile at photos of her mom. She went on to say that as her granddaughter gets older, she wants her to know that “her mom was so excited” to have a baby girl, and it “wasn’t her fault.”

Ariana’s family encouraged young moms to advocate for themselves and ask questions.

“This is heartbreaking and I don’t want no family ever to go through this,” Alex said. “So yes, always ask questions and just be on it to prevent something like this.

“I’ll miss my baby forever. My daughter was only 19, and she didn’t know how serious [her condition] was, and she never asked,” Sylvia said. “You have to ask questions.”

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