Cassie's Birthstory

Told by Candy (her mom!)

Cassandra Erin Beauchamp “Cassie” was born at 11:57 AM on Tuesday, February 11, 2003.  She weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces and was 21¼” long.  I’m kind of fuzzy on times and even some events, but the birth time I know for sure J

I was due February 5^th, but was told I would probably deliver early, as my body was already rapidly getting ready for birth.  Well, my due date came and went and I was still 4 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced.  I had been having contractions on and off for 3 weeks and was quickly becoming tired of the drama.  After meeting with my doctor on February 4^th, we decided that we would give her one more week, and then induce.  My job was to do everything in my power to get labor going.  You name it; I did it over that week.  I really didn’t want to be induced, but was showing early signs of toxemia, so it was safer to get the baby out.

Sunday I decided to vacuum out the sofa, mop the floors and vacuum the playroom.  Sunday evening I had pretty much come to grips with the fact that I was not going to go into labor on my own, so I may as well relax and just plan on visiting the hospital Tuesday to be induced.  I went to bed late that night looking forward to sleeping in a little on Monday morning.  I woke up at 4:30 having mild contractions that kept coming every 4 minutes.  I had been down this road many times over the past few weeks, but around 5:00 AM, I knew something was different, they were feeling a little more intense than usual.  I got into a warm bath (knowing they would stop).  At about 5:30, I decided to wake Tom up because they weren’t stopping and were starting to hurt.  We putted around for a while.  I think at this point, I didn’t really believe I was in labor; I just “knew” it would go away.  I called my doctor’s office (she wasn’t on call so I got to talk to someone else) and they told me to hang around the house for a while and if they didn’t stop, to come on into the hospital.  Tom called his mother and asked her and his sister to head on in and I called my Doula.  All this time, I was thinking how stupid I would feel when everyone has to go home because this is a false alarm.

My first concern was Jamie (my 2 year old son).  Thankfully, my sister in law was able to stay with him.  I’m sure he got spoiled rotten J and loved it.  I was glad I didn’t have to worry much about him, it really made me feel much better knowing that he was okay.  Jennifer (Tom’s mom) was there for the birth as was my Doula, Cynthia.

We hung around the house, the contractions were 2 to 3 minutes apart and I had to stop and breathe through them.  Everyone was asking ME when to go to the hospital.  Hello?  I was in denial; I just knew they’d stop.  Eventually, we decided we’d better head on out.  I was so nervous.  Jamie’s birth was a bad experience for me and I was honestly so scared of doing this again.  I didn’t want to go through all the stuff I had to with Jamie.  So, off we go to the hospital (with me complaining that Tom had to hit EVERY single pothole on the way there).

We pulled up to the hospital and Tom and I got out while Jennifer parked the car.  I had a major case of nausea while walking in.  WHY do they think it’s a good idea to put a coffee bar right as you walk into the hospital?  The smell made me gag.  Between that and nerves, I had to stop at the bathroom to settle my stomach.  We finally found the elevator and headed on up.  The doctor was already there and took one look at me and said I was staying.  Again, I thought “yeah right”.  I hadn’t even let Tom bring up all my bags and stuff.  I just knew we’d be going back home.  They checked me and I was only 5 centimeters, but completely effaced.  I found out once they put the monitor on me, there was no way I could leave so I took a minute to think about if I wanted to labor more at home.  I could tell Tom didn’t want to do that and I was worried that things would go quickly, so we stuck around (ha! Little did we know at the time….)?  We got checked in and all by 10 AM.  I walked.  I sat on the birthing ball (that thing is GREAT).  I laughed.  I cried.  I shook.  I squatted.  I showered.  You name it; I did it.  Two hours later, I was 6 centimeters.  We kept doing what we were doing.  TWELVE hours later, I was STILL 6 centimeters.

Around 9pm we started talking about what else to do.  I was getting SO tired and so was everyone else.  Because I was so nervous, I couldn’t decide, but knew I didn’t want the epidural right away.  I was worried that if they broke my bag of water, I’d be in a huge amount of pain too quickly.  I was worried that if they gave me Stadol so I could rest, I would wake up to a living hell of pain.  So, I decided to let Tom decide for me.  It just wasn’t something I was prepared to decide for myself.  He made the right decision, and we had the doctor break my water and give me a dose of Stadol.  I got a good hour or two of sleep and then had a second dose of Stadol.

Around 3am or so, I had this odd urge to push/bear down (still no idea why).  The nurse came in, told me I was complete and had me push while she was checking me.  She then told me to stop pushing that she thought she felt an arm sticking up above her head.  Of course, I panicked not knowing what was going on, so I stopped and she got another nurse.  Come to find out, the first nurse was new.  I was only SEVEN centimeters and there was no arm sticking up.  I was completely devastated and I remember screaming, “How can you go from 10 to 7?  That’s not possible.  I want the epidural.  I can’t do it anymore”.  In my mind, I had made it to 10 and I knew there was NO way I could “redo” those 3 centimeters again.  I was so tired and worn out.  Tom asked everyone to leave and we decided that I had had enough of the natural labor stuff this time around.  I mean, I made it nearly TWENTY-FOUR hours with just some Stadol after only 2 hours of sleep the night before.  So we had them call for the epidural.  We were told it would be “awhile” so they dosed me with Stadol again.

The worst part of this labor was the back labor I was having on and off (at least I think that’s what it was… OUCH) - and some sort of pelvic separation pain.  I felt so bad for Tom and Cynthia, they were taking turns basically squeezing my hips together to counter the pain.  That was absolutely horrible, easily the most painful part of my entire labor.

When I woke up, I was hurting really bad, but the epidural guy came soon after.  Ugh.  Have I mentioned I’m terrified of needles?  This poor guy; I was shaking SO bad I don’t know how he ever found anything.  I always freak out, I mean, this a huge needle, some but worse that some dude is sticking it IN MY BACK.  He missed the first time and hit a blood vessel.  I knew he had missed, could feel it dripping down my back (gross).  The second time he got it right.  I was shaking and crying hysterically so bad, he was having a hard time I think.  It was traumatic, but I knew I had to do it at that point.  When that thing took effect, it was like heaven on Earth.  The relief was so wonderful at that point, and very much needed.

Doctor Landwermeyer came in at 8am (I jokingly told her we’d been waiting over 24 hours for her!).  She knew my birth plan and what had been going on.  She apologized for the nurse earlier that morning and asked (kind of sheepishly) if she could augment my labor.  I looked at her like she had lost her mind and told her something like, “Well, we are going to have to do something here, I have the epidural, start the pitocin already”.  It really wasn’t bad this time.  I have no idea if they used a lower dose than did with Jamie, but it really didn’t bother me bad until right before we started pushing.  So, we got that started and I was 10 centimeters (with just a lip) by around 10:30am.  I’ve asked myself why it took me so long to dilate, and I think a lot of it was tension.  I was still so wound up by my previous birth that I was scared.  Maybe my body just wasn’t letting itself work.  But the epidural and pitocin did its job.  The nurse, Kem, was so great.  She helped me push through the lip we had there and then we started the hard work of getting this kid around my pelvic bone.  I didn’t think she’d ever come down.  Once she did, things started happening very quickly.  She told the nurse to call Dr. Landwermeyer because this baby was coming soon.  I think she told me not to push much.  Yeah right, that’s going to happen, I think I told her she’d have to catch if the doctor didn’t come in, no way was I waiting. 

The doctor came racing in with nurses throwing a gown and gloves on her.  The next push I felt the baby start to come out.  Oh my god.  I hadn’t realized that they had turned off (or down, but I swear it had to have been off) the epidural.  I got excited because I could feel everything.  That’s the one part of Jamie’s birth I have always treasured, being able to feel him leave my body.  I felt like crying because I wasn’t sure at first if this was going to happen this time.  Just 2 other pushes and the baby come out, all at once they tell me.  Dr. Landwermeyer said, “That’s one pudgy baby you got here”.  Tom cut the cord and they put her on my chest for a few minutes.  She was the most beautiful little girl I’ve ever seen and showing off those lungs.  They took her away to the warmer to get her cleaned up and everything.  I was so happy and relieved.  The doctor said she had a little sewing to do.  I didn’t even know she had done an episiotomy!  I was SO glad she remembered my last experience and decided to do it right and not to say anything.  Had she said something, I probably would have freaked out.  I was jumping a little knowing she was sewing me up, so she asked if I was actually feeling anything or just in my mind.  It was in my mind, of course, but I was so glad she asked.  I ended up with only a first-degree episiotomy and a skid mark (skid mark hurts way more than the stitches do!)

They gave her back to me and Tom and I tried to figure out her name.  She wasn’t a Sabrina (his favorite); nor was she a Josie (my favorite), but she was most definitely a Cassie.  There’s a story to her name.  We asked Jamie what he wanted to name his baby sister a few months before and he said “tractor”.  We just laughed and went on.  Later we were talking my mom and sister and laughing about calling the baby “John Deere”.  Then we remembered that we had a “Case” tractor growing up, which turned into Casey, but we didn’t like Casey, so I came up with Cassie.  It was really a joke, not really a serious name choice… until we met her.  So she’s Cassandra Erin - Cassie for short.

She nursed right away (in fact, she came out rooting and was rooting the whole time they were cleaning her up) for about 30-45 minutes.  She had NO problem latching on.  She’s 8 days old now and it seems like nursing is going to go okay, I had her weighed today at a breastfeeding support group and she took in the same amount she pooped out, so we know she’s getting food.  She was 8-14 at birth, 8-7 when we left the hospital and 8-10 today!

Jamie has been so wonderful!  He wasn’t all that impressed when he first met her in the hospital.  He was like “okay, so… it’s a baby… let’s play a game”.  He has been a wonderful big brother since we got home.  He helps change the diapers and rubs her head to keep her awake when we are nursing.  He tries to share all his toys (but does get a little frustrated when she won’t hold them).  There has been a little jealousy, but overall he’s been wonderful.

I won’t say this was an ideal birth for me.  BUT… it was an amazing birth.  It was longer than Jamie’s by more than double, but I felt in complete control of everything going on around me.  Not once did I feel like decisions were being made without my input.  I think that is really what an ideal birth experience is all about.  As a woman, we need to feel empowered by giving birth to a child, not to be made to feel like our labor and delivery has to be monitored and managed the entire time.  I was able to take things at my own pace and make my own decisions and judgments.  I feel so much more at peace with this birth than I ever will with my first experience.

Having a Doula there this time was wonderful.  She was able to give us ideas of things to try.  She was there for comic relief when we needed it, and she also knew when to back off when we didn’t need her.  I alternated between listening to her and Tom.  I paid attention to mostly her when the pain was bad enough that I needed someone’s voice to focus in on… I usually would listen to her and look at Tom.  I think she made a huge difference in how I was able to cope with labor as well as answering questions I had during the whole process.