Cynthia Rodriguez recalls chaos at Natasha’s birth
To hear Cynthia Rodriguez tell it, her husband Alex — the third baseman for the New York Yankees — caused quite a scene at the birth of the couple’s first child Natasha Alexander, 3. Although we knew previously that Alex passed out during the delivery, in a new interview with the YES Network program ‘Yesterdays’ Cynthia says that it was sometimes hard to tell who was having a baby — she, or her famous husband.
The one nurse had a cold cloth on his head, the other nurse had the blood pressure on his arm and my mother was … rubbing his back — and he is passed out on a couch.
And I am there, in the middle of labor, and really, I am not being paid much attention to besides the doctor and a couple of nurses. And he is there, moaning. In between pushing, I am going, ‘Honey, are you OK?’ And are you breathing? Are you OK?’
That he recently missed the birth of the couple’s second child, Ella Alexander, 2 weeks, by just ten minutes prompted Alex to again joke that "the timing came from God."
For more from the interview, click ‘continue reading.’
Though extreme, Cynthia said that Alex’s reaction to childbirth was not entirely unexpected. Despite appearing "tough and big" the 32-year-old three-time American League MVP is actually "real wimpy around doctors or any type of medical situation," Cynthia revealed.
I don’t know why I thought the birth of our child would be different. In the middle of the night, I realized that I needed to go to the hospital [to deliver Natasha]. I wake him up. The first thing that comes out of his mouth, ‘Can we call your mother?’ … A few hours later, I said, `I think you can call my mom now.’ The color came back to his face when I told him he could call my mom.
In the biographical program, Cynthia and Alex also recount their first meeting at a gym in 1996. The couple has been married since 2002. The full interview is scheduled to air today.
Sources: MLB.com, Sports Illustrated via YES; Photo by Startraks.
Thanks to CBB readers Maya and Kate.
- Posted on May 7, 08 at 6:31AM
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- 11 Comments
May 7th, 2008 at 8:23 am
Love A-Rod….Can’t wait for him to get off the DL and I am really looking forward to seeing a picture of baby Ella
May 7th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Omg how funny!! This is the reason why women have the children!! we are stronger!! lol
May 7th, 2008 at 9:01 am
That is one of the most enjoyable articles I have read in a long time. I have always liked A-Rod. It’s ok buddy, we still love ya! lol
May 7th, 2008 at 10:42 am
When my cousin was pregnant with her first baby, her husband passed out at the VERY FIRST OB appointment….so A-Rod shouldn’t feel too bad! haha
May 7th, 2008 at 11:31 am
My ex-boyfriend was sick at Pierre’s birth-he couldn’t handle seeing this pink baby covered in goo come out of me- he called him a ‘disgusting miracle!’ He didn’t meet the baby until he was 25 mins old, cos by then he’d been cleaned and weighed and fast asleep and my ex-boyfriend was calmer and in a better state to finally meet him!
May 7th, 2008 at 11:56 am
I can relate…I don’t do well in hospitals at all. The smell, the needles…when I had to have my wisdom teeth removed, I passed out before the I.V. was inserted.
Although, ironically, I handle pain, blood and gore really well.
So I’m thankful this site publishes stories on birthing experiences outside of hospitals, cause I think if the time comes for me to have a baby, it will probably be somewhere other than a hospital. Hospitals just stress me out too much.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I couldn’t handle that. I had a boyfriend in high school that had that tendency. Makes me appreciate my fire fighter husband, he sees it all. It’s strange how people are so different and you don’t realize it until you read interviews. Kudos to his wife, she seemed to do a wonderful job handing that situation, mothers are powerful.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
My sister did Peace Corps duty in Honduras, on a public health project, and she said she could not convince a lot of the men to get immunized! They were afraid of the needles!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
For anyone that is interested: YESterdays airs tonight at 11:00 pm ET on the YES Network (regional cable). You should get it if you are in the New York area and/or subscribe to a sports package of some sort.
I plan to watch it myself but I do not know if it will be blacked out like they do for Yankeeography.
In addition to his wife Cynthia, some of the other guests I saw in the promo are Alex’s brother (Joe), sister (Sussy), ex-teammate (Doug Mientkiewicz); ex-manager (Lou Piniella).
This is the second in the series, which is taped in front of a live audience. Michael Kay (Danny Aiello’s nephew) hosts. The show promises Kay and the featured guest are joined on-stage by the latter’s family members, childhood friends, and current and former teachers, coaches and teammates. The audience and viewers are treated to revealing stories about the guest’s early years in sports, humorous anecdotes on the field and at home, and what set the athlete out on the path to fame.
I wouldn’t expect to see Ella, as this was taped in Miami back in February.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I was so scared that my husband was going to pass out. I’ve been with the guy for ten years and he’s only been to the doctor once and that was because he had a kidney stone. Thankfully he managed to hold it together and was there for me. He did refuse to cut the cord though.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Too cute, men are funny sometimes LOL!
but….. who am I to talk, I was on the table pushing (you know how they put that mirror down for you to see?) I took one look and dont know how my baby got out LOL (I woke up he was on my chest in recovery LMAO. That was my 3rd baby, but it was the 1st time I was offered the gift of watching it LOL…