The Birth Story of Katie

Some people have been asking to hear our birth story. While we never had an official “birth plan,” we are happy to share the experience of Katie's birth. If you’re afraid to read ahead—don’t worry. We’ll keep it clean.

Monday, June 30, marked 41 weeks and 1 day of our pregnancy. I (Ashley) awoke at 3am with cramp-like pains. Undoubtly, these were the beginning of labor. At 4:30 I began timing them. They were light and anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes apart. At 5:30 I woke Bryan. We continued to time the contractions, but they did not become stronger or more regular. We decided that Bryan would go to work since he worked a half day in Milwaukee and a half day in Oconomowoc; if I needed something, he would be able to come home.

Monday morning and afternoon were uneventful. Contractions were still there, but I couldn’t tell a difference in the strength. Around 3pm I called up my doctor’s office, and they wanted me to come in to check me—just in case. My alternate doctor, Dr. Macomic, took care of me since Ann Martinelli, our normal doctor, was on vacation in the Bahamas. Dr. Macomic checked me out; I was 3 cm dilated. She recommended that we go on to the hospital that evening. There was no need to rush, so we arrived at Waukesha Memorial around 6pm.

I wish I had eaten dinner earlier. I didn’t know that the hospital people wouldn’t let me eat dinner! Bryan went to Cousin’s Subs for a tuna melt. He brought back 2 chocolate chip cookies and tortured me as he ate them.

That evening we walked the halls of the birthing center. I think we went 4 or 5 laps. Around 11pm we were tired, so we went to our room to watch TV. Contractions were getting stronger but not unbearable.

11:30pm rolled around…still no baby, but I was dilated to 7cm. Bryan and I were exhausted, so we went for an epidural. Once that was in, I had no pain. We got a good 3 hours of sleep as the contractions grew. I couldn’t feel a thing!

At 7am, the night doctor and resident OB/GYN woke me up because I was 10 cm. However, the contractions were not strong or even. I pushed for over 2 hours, but no baby came of it! There was something funky with the baby’s heartbeat. It would be normal, but then it would dip into the low range. At one point, there were 2 doctors and 3 nurses in our room, staring at the monitor. They analyzed the heartbeat and decided that perhaps the baby was holding onto her umbilical cord.

Around 9:30am, Dr. Macomic came to the hospital. She had me push for a bit, and then recommended that I go in for a c-section. This was because of the funky heartbeat and having pushed over 2 hours. I was nervous about the surgery—but Bryan was extra nervous.

Once in the OR, I was given more drugs, and Bryan was given a white gown and cap. Thank goodness we had a blue sheet to separate us from all the surgery happening! Even though I was awake, I could hear the doctors and nurses chatting away. Evidently, Dr. Macomic performs this surgery multiple times a week.

At 10:34am on Tuesday morning, July 1, Kathryn Elizabeth Bell was born. Bryan saw her being lifted from me. I’m sure this was gross.

I fell asleep in the recovery room, but I awoke as Bryan was praying for our family.

Then recovery…that’s another story. We stayed in the hospital until Friday, July 4th. I ordered chocolate chip cookies for lunch (in addition to other food). They were way better than the ones from Cousin’s Subs.