CLEAR LAKE RIVIERA — The suitcase had been prepared and packed for four weeks, but Mary and Jose Martinez”s baby was delivered at their home last month in the Clear Lake Riviera with the bag still sitting right next to the bed.
They had planned on spending a quiet night at home the night before the baby”s due date — which was May 5 — in the company of both of Mary”s parents, Bill and Sally Glass, also of Clear Lake Riviera.
As it turned out, “It was just my mother, my father, my husband, myself, four paramedics and a firefighter,” Mary Martinez said.
When she started having contractions during the night, Jose initially called Sutter Lakeside Hospital”s Birth Center, where Dr. Jonathan Davies was scheduled to deliver the baby the next day.
Since the contractions were more sporadic than what two birthing classes had led Mary to expect, she didn”t immediately prepare to go to the Birth Center, but instead went into the bathroom.
There, “I grabbed the doorway when the second contraction hit and I could feel the baby on her way,” she said. “Then Jose called 911 and they came within five minutes.”
The 911 call was placed at 6:58 a.m. The paramedics wanted to get Mary to the hospital, but the baby had other ideas.
By 7:12 a.m., Linda Mary-Elizabeth Martinez was in Mary”s and Jose”s arms, their very own Cinco de Mayo baby.
“She was going to be our only child,” said Mary, “and we haven”t planned on it, but this birth was so easy that I bet I can cut the 14 minutes in half next time.”
The couple has been married for 10 years, moving to the county four years ago.
They recently dropped by the station with homemade treats as a thank you to the fast-acting fire department personnel.
Mary sends special thanks to the staff of Kelseyville and Clear Lake Riviera Fire stations; Susan McGuire, R.N.; Dion Tsugimura, R.N.; and all the nursing staff in the Birth Center.
Contact Cynthia Davis at cdavis@record-bee.com.
