Cassie's Birth

As my husband Dave and I left the doctor's office, I noticed some mild contractions, but I figured they were from the exam and would go away soon. They weren't any different than the Braxton Hicks contractions I'd been having for weeks and weeks, so I took Dave to work and then went to do errands with Katia.

We went to the park to play--she loves to swing! Then we went to the library and grocery store. The whole time I was having mild contractions about 8-10 minutes apart. Since they didn't let up, I was timing most of them just to see what was going on.

When I got home I put Katia down for her nap and decided to take a hot bath. I have read that "false" labor will sometimes stop if you take a bath or shower. It didn't make things slow down, but did make them feel better. The contractions were getting a little stronger, just slightly painful at this point. I was talking to my sister Tina on the cordless phone while I was in the tub, but the battery died. :( So I got out and decided to lay down and see if that helped any. I dragged the regular phone over to the bed and called Tina again. The contractions stayed about 8-9 minutes apart, but I had to stop talking for them.

Then at 4:10 I felt a little pop and gush. I told Tina I thought my water had broken and would have to call her back. I went to the bathroom and determined that yes indeed my water had broken and was continuing to leak. So I got a handful of towels and went back to lay down on the bed. The contractions picked up then, about 5 minutes apart and stronger. I called Dave and told him to have someone bring him home as it was time (and I had the car and wasn't about to drive anywhere!). Then I called Tina back and told her to call her husband Brian and for them to come get Katia.

I had about half an hour before anyone arrived. I worked hard at relaxing and breathing during the contractions and felt like I was handling things pretty well. In between contractions I wrote a list of things we needed to take with us. I had planned to pack our bag that afternoon, but obviously didn't. So when Dave got home he got everything together. In the meantime, Tina and Brian arrived to take care of Katia. She woke up or was gotten up about then. Just before we left I had to throw up. I had eaten an orange when I got home and it wasn't sitting well. I did the same thing with Katia. I guess my body prefers to be empty when in labor.

Dave helped me get some pants on and to walk to the car. I learned then that leaning over during a contraction helped a lot. I may have looked strange but I did not care at that point. I was able to say goodbye to Katia and to tell her that I was going to the hospital to get the baby. We had read some books about that and also been talking about the baby a lot. Dave drove very carefully to the hospital, avoiding all the bumps he could. It only took 5 or so minutes to drive there; it's very, very close.

When we arrived they were going to put me in some room to see if I was really in labor (duh) but changed their minds when I told them my water had broken. They could see that working pretty hard by then. (By now it's 5:20 or so) They wheeled me off to a birthing room as walking was stimulating the contractions even more and my room was clear at the end of the other hall.

The nurse came in and helped me into a gown and started to get the monitor hooked up. I hate the monitor, but had agreed to an initial 15 minute strip. Contractions were definitely picking up in strength, but I don't know what kind of interval they were at. I labored the whole time on my left side (the same with Katia). When she checked me I think I was at 5-6cm and could be stretched to 7. The nurse kept messing with the monitor as they couldn't get it to keep a continuous reading during the contractions. She kept moving it and messing with it. I really hated it. I just kept breathing and trying to relax. My hands and arms went to sleep, and the nurse told me I was hyperventilating some. Oh, well, it helped during the contractions.

They tried to ask me some questions for some form. Dave answered some, and I answered the others in between contractions. Dave was great, offering me lots of ice and touching me just a little. I didn't want anything else from him, so he did all he could. Plus he was not offended when I told him to stop or to do something different.

Then the contractions changed, and I told the nurse that "That one was different!" I think I could feel her start to move down. The nurse checked me again and found I was at 10 with a lip on one side. After a couple more contractions she checked again and I think was pushing the lip back during a contraction. She didn't tell me what she was up to but it sure hurt! Then I could definitely feel the baby moving down and the contractions were really hurting. I started to get pretty vocal at that point. I think the only thing I said was "Ow-ow-ow!" and not quietly. I told them that "She's coming now!" as I could feel her moving down quickly. By now there was more than one nurse in the room, but I didn't ever look to see how many.

They had called the doctor much earlier. One midwife was in Guatemala, one was out of town and one had some family commitment or something. So there was a doctor from the same practice on call for that night. She arrived as Cassie was crowning. The doctor had just enough time to throw on a robe and gloves and to catch the baby. I delivered still mostly on my side. The only time I pushed was the last contraction to get her head out and then only one short push. Right after her head, her right hand popped out. So I guess she had it up by her face or neck. Then the rest of her came right out and up to me.

Time: 6:38pm, just 2 1/2 hours since my water broke. The doctor had Dave cut the cord. It wasn't something we had planned, but I think he liked it. Then they did the usual kinds of clean up stuff. I asked to see the placenta as I was too out of it to ask to see Katia's. It was interesting. I thought the whole thing looked too small, but I'm sure it was bigger filled with fluid and baby. I did tear a little, along my episiotomy scar I think, and got a few stitches. I think the precipitous nature of my labor didn't give my body much time to stretch. They let me hold her for a while during the cleanup. I think Dave may have held her then too. The exact order and details are fuzzy in my mind. They never tried to take her from the room and did everything there where we could at least watch or participate. My sister, Brian and Katia arrived somewhere in here. I was able to nurse Cassie sometime in here too. We had a little trouble getting her to open her mouth enough to latch on right, but I just tried a few more times and she got it. They actually never said anything about when I could do it. I just decided we were both ready, and I was right. I guess I forgot to tell you, she was 6lb 9oz and 19.5 inches. Her full name is Cassandra Lynn. Everything went great, and I was able to eat dinner sometime not too long after she was born. She was born Wednesday night, and I was able to stay in the hospital until Friday morning. I had the choice of going home Thursday night, but wanted one more night of being fed and taken care of.

Copyright 1997
Used by permission of author, Carol.