Collin's Birth

The Birth Story of Collin Patrick Maloney

After my first two children had been born at 41 weeks, I was fully expecting my third pregnancy to go past its due date as well. I was prepared with plenty of activities to keep me busy those last couple of weeks and still had tasks to do on the to-do list. Having a due date of February 28, I had just been telling people “early March” since the beginning to try to keep the stress down as I fully expected my due date to come and go with a baby still inside. However, there was a little voice inside me that said, “maybe this baby won’t be late. What if he came early?” I couldn’t tell if it was some sort of intuition or just wishful thinking (my hips were quite sore towards the end!), so I kept that idea to myself and just kept plugging away. However, as February came around, the nesting instinct kicked in more than it had in the past and Jonny and I spent a lot of time organizing and getting things ready around the house.

We had an appointment with our midwife, Rebecca, on Thursday February 19 after work. Everything looked good and right on target. She asked us, “Are you getting anxious to have this baby?” to which we replied, “Just let us get through this weekend first. Jonny has a big paper and presentation for school that he needs to do. Then this baby can come whenever he is ready.”

The next day (Friday February 20), at 39 weeks exactly, I was having contractions throughout the day, starting when I woke up in the morning. I didn’t pay too much attention to them because I had been having contractions on and off for several days/weeks. These contractions were a bit more noticeable, but still mild and far apart. I complained to Jonny (at work) that they were annoying and I hoped they didn’t last for another two weeks til I went into “real” labor. The girls and I had a low key day at home, making some lactation cookie dough for the freezer and trying to get things cleaned up. The later the day got, the more urgency I felt to get the house clean. However, I wasn’t making progress fast enough as the kids were making messes and I was pausing for contractions while working.

Jonny got home from work around 4pm and I asked for his help to get the living room and kitchen clean. He was tired from a long day at work and felt like he was getting sick, but he joined in to put away toys and vacuum. After about a half hour of that, Jonny started to realize that I was pretty serious about it and asked if I might possibly be in labor. With tears in my eyes and feeling a little overwhelmed, I replied that I wasn’t sure, because neither of us could fathom the idea of having a baby at 39 weeks. At this point, Maggie (our 2 year old) had found a bucket of crayons and markers and was drawing all over herself and the wall. I started texting my neighbors to see if someone was available to watch the kids for an hour or two while we figured out if it was real labor. Jonny put the kids in a bath around 5pm and convinced me that maybe I should give my parents a heads up, since it was the plan for them to watch the kids during labor and birth.

I was really unsure if I wanted to send the kids away for the night, since I still thought it might be a false alarm, and the kids don’t usually do as well sleeping away from home (and hadn’t ever spent a night without me). So my dad (who was on his way home from a meeting in Green River) came here to play with the kids downstairs and my mom headed down from Ogden.

After Jonny gave the kids a bath, I took a nice hot shower, then locked myself in my bedroom and turned on relaxing music on Pandora (Steven Sharp Nelson channel) to cope with contractions and decide what to do. I texted, and then called Rebecca around 6:30  to let her know what was going on.  We decided we didn’t need her to come just yet, but we wanted her to be aware that we might need her that night.

Jonny got the kids bathed, in jammies, and made them some food while my dad entertained them downstairs. My mom showed up around 7, expecting to watch the kids at our house, but by the time she arrived, I was ready for the kids to go so I could have Jonny’s full attention. They got ready to go, and at quarter to eight as they were leaving, I let Rebecca know that we wanted her to come.

With the kids taken care of, Jonny sprang into action to get the birth tub set up and take care of my needs. I labored near him as he worked, kneeling on the floor leaning over the birth ball. Rebecca arrived at 8:30 and I was excited to get into the tub and accept the relief it offered, even though the water level was quite low still.

When I got into the tub, I labored sitting up, leaning back against the side of the tub, for quite a while. At this point, I felt like I slowed the intensity down a little bit (the water calming me down and getting into a position that wasn’t putting as much downward pressure) and we took a few moments to breathe and take in the fact that we were actually going to have a baby that night, which was still unbelievable to us! We discussed what we would name him, joking that maybe if we named him Sean (one of our top contender names), Jonny’s professor (Shaun) would give him a break on his assignment that was due. The other top name was Collin. A nickname for Collin (in the baby name book) was Cub, which I called him as I talked to him during labor.

We continued to add more warm water  as it was available (had to wait for the water heater tank to fill up again, so Rebecca boiled some water on the stove to supplement with) and Rebecca monitored my vitals and the baby’s heart beat. Everyone was doing really well. I switched positions and tried kneeling, resting my head and arms on the side of the tub. That position made labor more intense as it helped the baby continue to rotate and move down through my pelvis.

Rebecca reminded me that all over the world, women were doing exactly what I was doing, that we were sharing in this sisterhood of labor. I remember being filled with gratitude at that moment, and saying, “and I’m one of the lucky ones.” I was so grateful to be in a safe, comfortable, loving environment with an awesome husband by my side and a competent caring midwife monitoring the safety of myself and my baby. There was only love and joy and peace in our birth, no stress or anger or fear. Our baby was healthy and we had a safe loving home waiting to welcome him.

I started pushing as the pressure got lower and lower and at 10:22, my waters broke. At this point, I was expecting him to be born immediately since my girls were born within 1-2 minutes after the water breaking. He needed to move down a bit more though, and it took a few minutes for his head to be born. Everyone was excited that they could see that he had lots of hair. After his head was born, it took a minute for the rest of his body to be born, as he wasn’t rotating all the way, so I asked Rebecca to help him a bit. He was born at 10:28 pm and we were instantly in love! I was able to bring him right up to my chest as his cord wasn’t wrapped around him at all. His face was puckery and his eyes were squeezed shut as his vernix-covered body stretched out for the first time outside the womb. It took him a minute to start crying (although the cord was still giving him plenty of oxygenated blood so he was fine) as we talked to him and rubbed his skin. Once he had that first gurgly cry, he didn’t stop talking the rest of the night!

After bonding in the tub with him for a bit (and waiting for the cord to stop pulsating), Rebecca helped Jonny cut the cord and gave him the baby to hold while I moved to the bed. The placenta was slow to deliver, and our baby wasn’t quite ready to latch on (still working out fluid in his nose), so I got a shot of pitocin to try to help move things along. Even with that, it still wasn’t coming along very quickly. I was starting to get stressed that I was going to require a catheter (as a full bladder can inhibit the delivery of the placenta) or further interventions, so I asked Jonny to say a prayer that things would continue to go as smoothly as they had, and I would be able to deliver the placenta and be able to enjoy snuggling my boy! Gratefully, after that, the large placenta was delivered and the bleeding was minimal.

We finally weighed our baby boy and it was announced that he was 9 lb 1 oz and 21.5 inches. I felt so grateful to have delivered a 9lb baby and have no stitches needed! Rebecca gave him a full checkup and everything looked great! We put him in his first outfit (newborn-sized froggie jammies that we then decided were too small for our big boy!) and took lots of pictures and enjoyed snuggling with him. All night that first night he just purred and whimpered with every breath, which was so sweet. Once he got the hang of latching on, he was a great nurser. We enjoyed the quiet night with just us and our little boy, but we were anxious to introduce him to his sisters, who came back the next day mid-day. They thought he was pretty cute, and then the chaos of having three kids began! :) It took us a few days to “officially” decide, but we decided to name him Collin Patrick Maloney. And he is very loved by his parents, sisters, grandparents, and so many more!

and an updated photo (now 3 mo old):

Next class: Fall 2014

My next class session will begin in fall 2014 (late October/early November) that will be appropriate for early 2015 due dates! Contact me for more information or to reserve your spot.

Summer & fall due dates, register now!

I am now taking registration for summer/fall due dates. Classes will be held on Thursday evenings from 6:30-9 in Bountiful. Starts May 1 and ends July 3. Contact me with questions or click the "register" tab above!

Register Now! Class starts in January!

For those of you with due dates in 2014, now is the time to register for childbirth education classes. I'm planning on teaching on THURSDAYS -- dates have changed -- please contact me directly for the schedule.  Thanks!

Happy Holidays! 2014 class schedule coming soon....

If it wasn't for the snow blanketing my yard, I'd have a hard time believing that 2013 is drawing to a close. It's been a wonderful year for our family, enjoying watching our two girls grow and thrive. I've been blessed to meet amazing people as they prepare for the births of their babies!

I'm now finalizing my schedule for my first 2014 class series, which will finish in time for April-June 2014 due dates. Email me at hailey@birthutah.com if you are interested in this class series! I'll post details here and on facebook as soon as it is scheduled.

Happy Holidays to all and a blessed new year!

A Birth Center Birth Story

I am so grateful today to be able to share an incredible birth story from a beautiful family. Thank you for sharing in your words your experience!



New Year’s Eve 2012. I had an evening of errands and a little cleaning planned while Andrew worked . . . errands that included picking up one or two ‘girly’ clothing items for the baby, in the case that our little ‘he or she’ was the latter. Our baby’s room seemed fully stocked with gender neutral clothing (maybe even a little heavy on the blue), but I had some gender biased notion that bringing a baby girl home dressed like ‘girl’ would be sweet. I washed and packed away the new little outfit into our only packed-for-the-birth-center bag (no need to have anything else ready to go yet, right, as this baby was staying in until our due date . . . or so we naïvely thought). Time to finally wash the kitchen floor (a task I had put off for at least two weeks; bending and scrubbing and a nice sized baby bump just didn’t seem to go hand in hand, so I procrastinated). But the Lucian hair was starting to collect in the corners (the dog that didn’t shed a wink for the first year of his life seems to have become your standard d-o-g, shedding and all). I don’t think I had even really started the sweeping when I started feeling a little uncomfortable . . . general tightening (like the Braxton-Hicks we’d been feeling for months, but actually somewhat ‘painful’). Maybe I wasn’t paying attention during our wonderful childbirth class, but I couldn’t remember what an early stage labor contraction was supposed to feel like. I figured this sensation was just the result of a little dehydration, opened a coconut water and went back to cleaning, pausing every once and awhile to rub my very tight, uncomfortable belly. I won’t claim to have done a solid job cleaning that floor (by the end of the short cleaning session, the waves of tightening were fairly strong, but I was clearly in denial). By 8:30pm or so, Lucian and I were snuggled on the couch, watching Enchanted (half-heartedly) and catching up on some emails, waiting for Andrew to get home from work. I played around with baby names (we still hadn’t settled and our ‘top five’ girls list was still a ‘top fifteen’ or so) and started dinner. Andrew came home at around 9:30 or so, and I distinctly remember saying “don’t worry, I don’t think it’s labor, but I’m feeling a little weird and it’s kind of regular” . . . He and I both figured that these came on too quickly, not strong enough, and too regularly (what were we thinking?! Wouldn’t regularity be a clue?) for them to be actual labor. We thought I would drink some water, get some sleep and by morning we’d be back to normal. Silly kids! We did sit down and figure out our top five girl names . . . my “just in case” instinct. I didn’t make it until “Happy New Years!”, but instead headed up to bed at about 11:30 to try to sleep. No such luck. I downloaded a little contraction timer and squirmed around in our bed, timing these now significantly uncomfortable contractions. Significantly uncomfortable might be downplaying it, but I had nothing to compare these to, and I figured ‘real’ labor would be excruciating. I googled ‘early labor’ and saw story after story of ‘false labor’ (we call it ‘practice labor’, which I much prefer). Nonetheless, the contractions continued . . . averaging about 50 to 60 seconds, every two and a half to three minutes. I know, I know . . . looking back on this, it seems silly that we didn’t recognize this as labor-labor, but I’ve been so mellow this whole pregnancy (part of the reason I thought it might be a girl), it kind of was par for the course for us to brush aside these strong, frequent contractions. Andrew went to bed a little after midnight (as we joked, “you ready for a baby?!”) and I tried to sleep. No such luck (again). I wandered around the house, pausing every two minutes or so to crouch/squat on the floor and hang my belly in between my legs (trying to relax into the contraction). It was strong, but the ‘go with it’, ‘ride the waves’, ‘this is only temporary’, and ‘I’m not alone . . . think of all the women in the world that are going through this in their own way right now’ mantras were helpful. I ran a bath, thinking that would slow things down . . . Nope! Time seemed to go by both quickly and slowly as I passed through the house, followed by Lucian’s watchful eye. I was trying to eat small things (kefir, fruit leather, a cliff bar . . . ) between contractions and drink plenty of liquids. When I’d pause on the floor, Lucian would check on me. It was comforting to have ‘someone’ to share this crazy (difficult?) movement through time with and I had no need to wake Andrew (at this point I was pretty sure the labor was for real). I figured it was best to let him rest while he could. By 4:15 in the morning, the contractions were unbelievably strong (I had one minor breakdown on the living room floor, thinking ‘woah, what did I get myself into’, but it lasted through one contraction . . . I refocused on all the positives – we get to meet our little one soon! -- and it set me in motion to get Andrew). Climbing the stairs and getting to our bedroom took another two contractions, and then I worked through another on our bedroom floor before I was able to get Andrew from bed. “I think it’s really time to call Becky . . . “ (our midwife on duty). She’s beyond well versed and I think she could tell we needed to head on into the birth center. We (Andrew) told her we’d be there in about 45 minutes and then Andrew had to race around the house to get our labor bags finalized. I had all these wonderful labor snacks and goodies and toiletries ready to go, thinking we’d be laboring at our birth center for hours . . . hmm . . . is it foreshadowing to just come out and say that all this running around to gather things was highly unnecessary?

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Easily the worst part of the evening was the car ride to the birth center (all of nearly 10 minutes). I couldn’t sit through a contraction at home (why hospitals make women labor in a lying/sitting position is beyond me . . . these were by far the most painful positions) so sitting through contractions in a moving vehicle was not looking to be very promising. We zipped (. . . did I say ‘zipped’? I meant wobbled . . . waddled . . . swayed . . . ) out of our house at about 5:30am on New Year’s Day . . . the air was beyond crisp (in the low teens and snowing on and off) and the streets were beautifully quiet. I felt kind of like a drunk passenger (all the twinkling lights and kind of unaware of where in the drive we were, even though it’s a drive we know so well). Only one red light . . . and Andrew drove plenty fast enough to make me feel safe. Still, I started to feel a slight need to push as we sped down 9th South and neared the birth center. If I was in a state of mind to think clearly, I would have recognized this as ‘transition’, but I was so focused on moving with and through each contraction that the idea of ‘stages’ didn’t occur to me. I climbed out of the car and ended up having a contraction on the pavement (thinking “I’m not the first one to do this!”). The icy cool of the pavement felt nice and real (out of this weird car ride dream world) and it grounded me. Becky let us into the warm, dim birthing room (one more contraction on the floor) and had me checked for dilation . . . 8 and a half centimeters dilated! I think even she was surprised. Excuse my bragging . . . Most first time mums don’t make it to 8.5cm while laboring at home (in the U.S.). Becky had the birthing tub (gorgeous ritzy hotel grade Jacuzzi tub) drawn and ready for me and I couldn’t have jumped in quickly enough. Baths have always been my place of calm, comfort and focus. It was almost simple and second nature to climb in and the urge to push was almost immediate. I felt completely empowered, as our midwife and birth attendant stepped back and let me do what my body was made to do. Every once and awhile she would remind me to move with the waves (contractions) or slow down (I had the same urgency to get this little mystery child out as this little wonder baby had to be out)! I guess we worked together, this little one and I . . . The pushing was the most comforting part (not really painful until the final two pushes, just strenuous and overpowering). Every part of this labor has its purpose and when you’re finally able to feel and see what you have been waiting all these months (years!) for . . . that becomes an easy focal point. *For those that think I’m being silly by saying the pushing wasn’t painful -- It was the contractions prior to the urge to push that were painful, don’t be mistaken!

No more than 40 minutes in the tub, pushing through contractions and she was in my arms. Becky asked if we’d like to catch her and, of course, I had been waiting my whole life for this so I was pleased that our little baby popped right out (head and elbow/arm first) and I carried her up onto my chest. She came out in the same pose she spent much of her ‘in the belly time’ in . . . One hand up by her face. In fact, as I type, she is lying across my chest/belly, body splayed open (‘yay, I can finally stretch out!’) with one hand pressed against her face.

We were in such a moment of disbelief and shock and elation that we forgot to even check whether she (yes, she!) was a boy or a girl! Finally I flipped her around and Andrew said “girl!” (he was right all along) and we just stared at her and stroked her. The water suddenly felt much cooler than it had (I was a little heater through the labor) and we covered her in a warm, wet towel, placed a little hat on her sweet head (little reddish blonde hair!) and spent about 15 minutes snuggled in the bath. Papa Andrew took some photos and then took our little yet-unnamed bundle from me to hold. I was still in a state of awe, but seeing him hold her for the first time (like a natural father!) was beyond incredible. He stared at her melted (and it’s been that way ever since). I climbed out of the tub and was given a shot in the leg (wee!) and was situated on the bed so that Becky could check bleeding and for tears. No perennial tearing (thankfully, as with the speed she came out, I think they were expecting a little something), but the little warrior with her elbow up through the birth did a little deep scratch internally, so they quickly gave me a couple stitches (my first!) and then brought our little girl back to me for her first non-placenta-umbilical meal J We did a little kangaroo snuggling, skin to skin, as she fed. Andrew climbed onto the big bed with us and we got to lay there and bask in her sweetness. It was wonderful to be left alone for our first time as a family (minus little Lucian who was exhausted at home after being my labor doula). We spent about an hour there, just snuggled together, and then Becky and Megan (the birth attendant) came back to do some vitals, check on our daughter (our daughter!!!!) and make sure I was able to get up and pee (no problems there . . . adrenaline is this incredible, natural drug). Baby girl Philp was weighed (7lbs. 0oz.) and measured (19in. long . . . much of it in her skinny – but strong – little legs). We watched as they gracefully checked her over (all while in our birthing room), with barely a peep as she was given her first little shot (braver than her Mama, already).

I watched as Andrew gave the sweet little thing her first bath (back into the water she went!) and she barely fussed as she entered the water . . . So calm. We kept looking at each other and saying “she is SO good . . . she is SO amazing . . . she is SO incredible . . . “ Maybe the midwives say it to all new parents, but they were pretty impressed with her easiness (and the quick, seemingly scripted labor).

We got our little girl bundled and snuggled up again . . . time drifted by and we were checked a few more times before given the okay to pack up and head out into our world for the first time as a little family of 3 (Lucian just kicked me in his sleep to remind me we were already a family of 3 and I should correct myself). J Not a whimper as she was strapped into her car seat and carried out into what became a bright, crisp New Year’s Day. By 1:00pm we were on the road and on our way home to begin this new adventure!

I have this strange notion of entering the birth center as just two people and leaving as three . . . Enter with baby in belly, leave with baby in arms. It’s like the birth center was this strange portal through which our daughter came into this world. It will always be a special place for us (and I can’t say more good things about our experience with a natural birth)!

More on our first day home, when I get the chance to write. I’m passing little Malin (she remained nameless until late-afternoon on her first day) off to Andrew so I can get dinner and then get Malin her dinner. We’re in a blissful world of newborn love, adventure and learning. So thankful for all the friends and family and new friends and new family that have guided us through this journey and will be there for us through this next chapter. 2012 was a year of blessings and 2013 started out to be the year of miracles (in the most natural sense of the word).

Love,

A very happy Mama

Register Now: Childbirth Class October-November 2013

Now taking registration for my fall series of childbirth education classes! This will be a special 8 week series that's ideal for moms due this winter or spring. Classes will be held from Oct 8 through Nov 26 on Tuesday nights from 6:30 til 9. Tuition is $275, which includes all books, materials, snacks, etc. Please register online (see the "register" tab above) or email me with any questions! Hailey@birthutah.com

Note: Since this class is 8 sessions instead of my usual 10, I will have to condense some of my information and let students do a bit more reading on their own. My goal is to still cover the same information, just to be more brief on topics that are less pertinent to the current group. :)