Four Births at the Hospital

SYDNEY’S BIRTH – Because of PCOS, Cassi had to use Clomid to conceive all but one of her babies. All in all, it took 15 months to conceive their first child, Sydney. The pregnancy was fairly uneventful, but Cassi was diagnosed with a marginal placenta previa at the end of it and was given a choice between an induction and a c-section. Though there was a significant risk of hemorrhage with a vaginal birth in this circumstance, she chose the induction and was induced just before 39 weeks. After 17 hours of labor, she requested an epidural, which needed to be placed twice because the first try did not work. Three hours after getting the epidural, Cassi was complete and ready to push and, just twenty minutes after that, Sydney Rose was born.

hospital epidural birth story

ELOISE’S BIRTH
While trying for their second baby, Cassi had a miscarriage at 7 weeks and visited a reproductive endocrinologist (fertility doctor) for the first time. As she prepared to start injectable drugs, she and her husband conceived Eloise unexpectedly on a cycle they thought was a bust. The pregnancy was a hard one, full of anxiety, high blood pressure, and a lot of doctor appointments. At two days past due, they discovered that the baby had turned into a breech position and Cassi was scheduled for a c-section. The next day, Baby had turned again and so Cassi was scheduled for an induction instead. The induced labor was incredibly hard, with contractions coming every 90 seconds for hours. Though she was once determined to have an unmedicated birth for this one, Cassi eventually requested an epidural when it was discovered she was only 4.5cm dilated after enduring hours of hard contractions. Twenty minutes later, long before the anesthesiologist arrived, she was 10cm and ready to push. Eloise was born after just another couple of minutes, sunny-side up and with no epidural in sight.

unmedicated hospital birth story


FINLEY’S BIRTH
Cassi’s pregnancy with Finley was easy and uneventful, as was the labor and birth. For the first time, she went into labor on her own just two days after her due date. She and her husband made the quick trip to the hospital in the middle of the night and Cassi labored peacefully in her room and the bathtub for a short while before she felt ready to push. Though there was meconium in her water when it broke, Finley was born without any issues, just two hours after their arrival at the hospital. He was born sunny-side up as well.

natural hospital birth


ISABEL’S BIRTH
Though Cassi’s pregnancy with Isabel was free of any significant complications, she developed eczema in this pregnancy and, due to it getting badly infected multiple times, pregnancy was miserable. When she went into labor after having her membranes stripped a few days past her due date, she was more than ready to welcome her baby. Unfortunately, this hospital birth was less than ideal. It was a comedy of errors with a room full of nurses who didn’t respect her wishes or treat her as an individual and who seemed disorganized and unprepared to have a patient who wanted an unmedicated birth. Pushing was hard and required more work than ever for Cassi to birth her baby and Isabel was born sunny-side up and covered in vernix. At last, Cassi felt as though she had the large family she’s always dreamed of having. However, the disappointing circumstances of the birth have left her longing for just one more.

Bio Cassi Robinson

Cassi has been married to her college sweetheart, Dan, for eleven years and they live in the Pacific Northwest. She’s a stay-at-home mom to their four loud and energetic children, Sydney, Eloise, Finley, and Isabel. Other than motherhood and birth, she’s most passionate about photography and travel. You can connect with her on instagram (@cassi.robinson.8), facebook (Cassaundra Robinson), by email (clrobinson8@gmail.com), or on her blog, Living on Coffee & Prayer (http://www.livingoncoffeeandprayer.home.blog).

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