Remote birth? Stefanie Andrade welcomes baby Cali with a little help of 911 dispatcher Corine Batista
WEST ISLIP, N.Y. - It was an unusual entry into the world for a Long Island baby.
She was delivered at home with coaching over the phone by a 911 dispatcher.
We do a lot of things remotely these days. Baby Cali got here with the help of a remote coach, of sorts.
Her mother, Stefanie Andrade of Amityville, a week before her due date found herself in sudden labor Thursday, and home alone.
"I called my husband. I said, you have to come back, you can't leave me here, I'm going to have this baby right now," Andrade said.
She got on the phone with Suffolk 911 dispatcher Corine Batista, who, as an experienced mom herself, knew the baby was not waiting for the hospital.
"She started to go into another contraction, so I realized we were going to be delivering immediately," Batista siad. "I had her put a towel underneath her, and we started delivering the baby."
"She told me to lay down. I said I can't. She said, 'Yes you can, you're going to be OK.' She told me to breathe through it, which I did," Andrade said.
A calm voice, making her feel less alone.
"She really did coach me, even though she wasn't physically there. I appreciate her so much for that," Andrade said.
"She was screaming, going through her contractions, but in between them, she was letting us know Dad was hopefully on the way," Batista said.
Husband Chris Castro came through the door just as Cali was arriving on the bathroom floor.
"He realized, oh, this is happening now. She's coming! He assisted her with delivering the rest of the way," Batista said.
"As police I arrived, I gave them my shoelace, and they put my shoelace on the umbilical cord," father Chris Castro said.
Two Suffolk police officers say hearing the baby's first cries brought great relief.
"The mom did a fantastic job. She's the real hero. She did it by herself. We did what we could with our training," said Suffolk County Police Offficer Diego Montero.
Amazingly, Andrade said she didn't feel any pain. She was focused on delivering a healthy baby, who, at 1 day old, already has quite a life story.
"She made quite the entrance, the wildest, but one of the happiest days of my life," Andrade said.
And quite the fearless team who helped make it happen.
It's a second child for Chris and Stephanie. They also have an 18-month-old son who was born in the hospital with a C-section.
