What! Yes! My KC

The Beginning…….1981

Only five months after Kendy was born, around Valentines day to be exact, I got pregnant. It's not an uncommon phenomenon, just think of how many people you know with birthdays around November 14th! My birthday calendar is pretty full around then. We were delighted for another baby.

It was an easy pregnancy other than this baby I was carrying would stretch out so aggressively in the womb I'd yell out "Ouch". Baby 2 was an active baby and much bigger than the first. I kept myself busy during the pregnancy doing a writing for children correspondence course. I had a yard sale to raise money for items I would need for the new baby. With some of the money I bought the darlingist owl clock for the new baby's first Christmas. The eyes went back and forth as it ticked. (I got this same clock 28 years later for his baby, Lux, for his first Christmas.)

The year before, Marty gave me a shotgun for Christmas. Yeah right your thinking was his name engraved on it. No it really was for me. He had his own and he knew I liked the outdoors. I enjoy going fishing, horseback riding, motorcycle riding, hiking, repelling, and shooting because we had done all these things together from the beginning. We had fun doing things together. This shotgun became an important part of Casey's entrance to the world.

Thursday October 15th 1981 journal entry: "Kendy took her first real steps tonight. Four of 'em! Both Marty and I were so proud. She was holding onto his wicker chair when he said to her “Walk to Daddy” and she sure enough did. The she did it a couple more times and finally decided that was enough for the night."

Sunday November 1st 1981 journal entry: "Today was my due date but I had only one small contraction throughout the entire day." Nov 2nd: "I had a doctor's appointment and there wasn't really any progress other then I didn't gain any weight but my stomach grew 3 inches!" Nov 3rd" Back to the doctor because Kendy has an infection in both ears. Poor little thing, she gets sick so often."

Friday Nov 7: "I had quite a few contractions tonight but they were about 15 minutes a part. We had read a chapter in the Book of Mormon and then had our evening family prayer. Marty gave it and in it he thanked the Lord for our relationship and love for one another. It mad me feel so good to know how happy he was, especially since both Kendy and I haven't been easy to live with recently. I don't sleep well lately and Kendy has been fussy because of the ear infections."

Nov 8: "Marty woke me up at 4 am to check on how I was feeling. I told him fine and to go ahead and go hunting. So he and Jay left at 5 am. He had a good time but still no elk."

Sunday Nov 8: "I started having pretty regular contractions tonight so we went to the hospital. I had barely started dilating so they sent me home."

Nov 9th: "Marty stayed home from the doctors. The doc did some things to help things along and sure enough the contractions started up again. This time they admitted me. We spent the night but the pain petered out and was sent home again." I was listed as admitted to the hospital in the local news in the paper so people called to find out if it was a boy or girl. Embarrassing!

Nov 14th: I awoke unable to go back to sleep at 2 am. Sat up in the big wooden rocking chair in the living room just thinking until 3 when I began to have labor pains. First they were 8 minutes apart. Then 6 minutes apart then they were only 4 minutes apart. It was getting close to 5 am so I thought I would wait for a few more contractions and then call Dr. van Gemert. I waited and waited but after 15 minutes had passed no contraction!!! At 8 I call and told him about the pains. He met me at the hospital at noon planning this time to break my water. But the head wasn't engaged in the birth canal. "

"Marty and I were so discouraged we decided to do something to get our minds off things. We went pheasant hunting. I took my shoot gun and we walked through two fields. I had mild contractions every once in awhile. Finally we decided to go home and take a nap, exhausted from the sleepless night. I was awoken at 3:30 pm by an intense contraction, painful. I let Marty continue to nap. Eight minutes passed and another one. Then the pains were 6 minutes then 4. The contractions kept up for two more hours as I rocked back and forth in our chair.” The chair I rocked and sang all my babies to sleep in through the years. One of two chairs Marty's mom and dad had bought thinking they would rock in as they grew old together, Glenn had passed six months before I met Marty and Bernadine a widow, they were both only 41. Britt, our fourth child treasures, this chair and rocks her babies in.

Marty took me to the hospital at 6 or so and at 10 pm the Dr. van Gemert broke my water and shortly after the pushing pains came. I had Casey natural, no drugs, I did special breathing techniques to work through the pain while Marty coached and supported me. “The doctor wasn’t in the room when I started to pushing, which concerned me. He was a couple doors down the nurse said as she rushed out the door to get him. Casey's head crowned as the doctor put on his gloves in earnest. I was ticked. He said, "wait, wait!" but I wasn't in any mood to be bossed around by a doctor who should have been in there with me. He had done the same thing last time! The babies’ broad shoulders gave the doctor a chance to finish putting on the gloves. With the next pain Marty announced "It's a boy!" Tears flowed from my eyes as I exclaimed "My son, my tiny infant son” I loved him so immediately as I cuddled him close. “Casey Martin Robbins was born November 14, 1981. It was a Tuesday at 10:37 pm. Casey weighed 7 lbs. 12 ounces and 19 1/2 inches long. He was a hungry guy with a head full of dark hair.