Springs Baby Makes Dramatic Entrance
As the record-setting blizzard got under way late last month, Kristin Marchese of Springs was a day into labor with her first child.
The baby was five days past his due date, and as she and her husband, Aaron Marchese, planned for a natural home birth, they did their best to block out news of the blizzard heading for the South Fork.
After 30 hours, though, Ms. Marchese’s contractions were three minutes apart and not progressing further. The snow was falling fast, and with a forecast of nearly two more feet to follow, her midwife recommended that she head to the hospital. While she had pictured a “peaceful, beautiful” delivery at home, “after the 30 hours, I was exhausted and somewhat scared at that point and I was willing. If I waited any longer and there was an emergency it wouldn’t have been safe” to get to the hospital, she said.
Even so, they could not make the drive alone, so they called the Springs Fire Department to their Cedar Ridge Drive house at 8:55 p.m. on Jan. 26.
The ambulance arrived nine minutes later with Karen Haab, an advanced emergency medical technician, Kay Dedona, and Ana Nunez, both E.M.T.s, Carlson Jacobs, as a helper, and Chris Harmon behind the wheel.
“We just couldn’t believe how quick they were to respond,” Ms. Marchese said. “There were guys here who hand-shoveled our driveway to get the ambulance in there,” she recalled. Chief David King, Ryan Balnis, Tim Taylor, Pete Grimes, and Oscar Cascante, along with two East Hampton Town police officers helped get the expectant mother in the ambulance.
The rig began the 16-mile trek to Southampton Hospital at 9:20 p.m. “I was definitely in distress,” Ms. Marchese said. “They did their best to get us there as fast as possible while being safe.” The ambulance arrived just after 10 p.m.
As it turns out, the baby was in the transverse position, and his delivery required a Caesarean. Cortland John Marchese was delivered on Jan. 26 at 11:27 p.m., about an hour and a half after his mother got to the hospital. At 8 pounds, 6 ounces, he is healthy and happy, and after a very dramatic entrance, he has turned out to be an easy infant, his mother said.
“I guess he just needed to wait for something exciting,” Ms. Marchese said. She and her husband had high praise for the volunteer crew that helped them. “They facilitated getting our baby boy here safely. We really feel grateful.”