Collins’ Birth Story
I have been meaning to sit down and write this blog post for so long and I am FINALLY getting around to doing it - evidently I’m a liiiiiitle busy these days 😜 But in all seriousness, I am really excited to share Collins’ birth story with you all. Mainly because I selfishly want to be able to give it a permanent spot to look back on one day, but also in hopes of sharing a positive labor and delivery experience with any current or future expecting mamas.
One of my last bump picture before Baby Mach arrived! Since things progressed so quickly and my contractions were so intense, there was no time for cute hospital pictures 😂
Some context before you start reading:
If you are new around here, Cooper and I chose to have a surprise gender! So we didn’t find out the gender of baby Mach until they made their appearance in this world. I seriously wouldn’t have had it any other way and we will definitely be doing a surprise gender if and when (God willing!) we have more children in the future. It was THE BEST experience. I highly recommend if you’re thinking of waiting. It was truly the best surprise of a lifetime.
I really wanted my labor to start naturally. My doctor and I talked through a “plan B” just in case Baby Mach decided to be stubborn, but I really did not want to be induced if I could possibly avoid it. Nothing against anyone who chooses to be induced, I just wanted to naturally go into labor and let my body take the lead if I was able to do that.
After attending some birthing classes at our hospital (also highly recommend as first time parents!), Cooper and I decided we wanted to also invest in a doula for our birth experience. We ended up finding our doula, Callie, through a friend of mine I have met through blogging (thanks, Keely!). If you’ve ever thought about using a doula—DO IT. I feel like there is this misconception that doulas only support home or non-medicated births, but that is the furthest from the truth! Callie specifically supports all birth experiences and I was so thankful and blessed to have her as a part of our story. I am including her information below if you are local to the Kansas City area and would like to look into using her services. She also offers other services outside of the actual birth process too, like postpartum care as an example. She will definitely be a part of all our births moving forward as long as she doesn’t move 😂 We love you, Callie!
Callie Green
Lastly, I wanted to quickly note that while I had a very positive and joyful birth experience, I know that is not always everyone else’s experience. Please know that no matter how your baby has come (or chooses to come!) into this world, it is beautiful and YOUR story. Never compare your experience to anyone else’s. However, I feel like there could be a few more positive birth stories out in the world and coming from someone who got told a lot of not so great experiences leading up to labor, I feel like someone somewhere could use the positive vibes. So here we go!
March 7, 2023 | My 39 Week Appointment
By this point in my pregnancy, I had a feeling I was NOT going to go into labor early and I was pretty convinced that Baby Mach wasn’t going to make his or her appearance until after my due date (March 12). Don’t ask me why, I just had a feeling.
I started out my morning like I pretty much do every day with a pregnancy friendly workout (huge shoutout to Pure Barre and Mom Moves by Madeline Moves for getting me through my entire pregnancy with the safest and best workouts!). Got ready after my workout and headed out to what would be our last prenatal appointment with my OBGYN.
We had chatted at the last appointment that if I made it to 39 weeks, we would do a membrane sweep in hopes to naturally induce labor. Of course I had done some research and saw a bunch of TikToks on membrane sweeps that said they were super painful and uncomfortable. I am the type of person who gets super anxious about any “new” experience and so until I have experienced it, I’m uneasy. I was nervous about it. My OB (who is literally THE GOAT) ensured me that it wouldn’t be painful and if it was something I still wanted to do, that we should go for it!
So my 39 week appointment came and my doctor did my cervical check first after checking baby Machs heartbeat (which sounded great!). I was still a loose 1 cm dilated and about 50% effaced at this point. The entire appointment I was sort of putting off the membrane sweep and I finally asked her if we still had time to do it. She then proceeded with a “heck yeah” and performed the sweep.
For anyone out there who is also wanting to naturally induce labor, I HIGHLY recommend considering a membrane sweep towards the end of your pregnancy. I don’t know if it was just my doctor being super gentle or what, but it did not hurt AT.ALL. Like literally it felt like nothing. So don’t freak yourself out over it or listen to what people have to say if their experience wasn’t positive, because from my experience, it was totally fine and ended up being TOTALLY worth it - hehe 😉
After the sweep was over, my doctor mentioned that I might have some light bleeding and that I might experience some light cramping but, that would be expected from the sweep. She also mentioned that if the sweep had worked, it could naturally kickstart labor over the next 48 hours.
That same night, I also lost some of my mucous plug. I forgot to send a picture to Callie (my doula) because I honestly wasn’t sure WHAT that was - hah! I of course got really excited because it was just another sign that my body was beginning to prepare for labor.
March 8, 2023 | Early Labor
The very next morning after the membrane sweep, I started to feel some light cramping, but nothing too intense and pretty much exactly what my OB had described I might feel. Coop grabbed me some coffee that morning and I just took it easy. I remember it was a rainy morning, so I didn’t end up doing any sort of workout. I figured if there was a break in the day, that Coop and I could go for a walk. I was just overall feeling more tired than normal.
Fast forward to later that afternoon…
Coop got home from work around 2 p.m. and there was a slight break in the rain, so we decided to get out for a walk. We had just walked the day before where I decided a quick little sprint would be a good idea (ICYMI, here is the video I am referencing - hah!). I felt GREAT on that walk. But today this walk was very challenging for me. We had to stop multiple times on pretty much the same path that was easy the day before. Looking back, that should have been my first sign that labor was right around the corner.
Once we got home, I sat down to just relax and chill. Again, just very exhausted and not really feeling like myself. Coop and I had decided that we would make a bunch of fun dips and watch a movie together - ya know, trying to make the most of our last week (or so I thought) together just the two of us. We ended up watching the new Top Gun Maverick. The entire movie I was experiencing some heavier cramp like feelings, but I had nothing to compare that feeling to aside from the cramps I would have during a period.
We contacted Callie to let her know that we thought maybe I was starting to experience some early labor contractions since they were starting to feel more consistent and less random. Coop was getting excited and started to time them out. He also started putting stuff in our car just in case. After voice texting with Callie, we had decided to stop timing them because she thought by the description of what I was telling her, that they were just Braxton Hicks and she didn’t want me getting my hopes up for false labor! Which I appreciated because honestly, the end of pregnancy is SUCH a mind game.
She suggested that I go get comfortable in bed with my pregnancy pillow, drink some water, put on another show/movie and change positions. She said that IF what I thought were “contractions” didn’t subside, to keep her posted. So that is exactly what we did. We got into bed, put on Grey’s Anatomy and I tried to get comfortable, but the “cramps” were not letting up and starting to get closer together. At this point in time, I would say it was around 9 p.m. or so. Little did I know, Cooper never stopped timing my contractions because he was convinced I was going into labor!
After maybe 30 minutes had passed, the contractions were starting to get more and more intense and even closer together. I looked at Cooper and I was like, “I think this is it. These things are NOT going away.” So he took over all communication from that point forward and started to let Callie know that we were going to start making moves to the hospital.
At that point in time, I was up and trying to put myself together. I had not gotten ready all day and I knew I would feel better if I at least had a little makeup on (seriously so stupid looking back on it lol) and some curls in my hair. So here I am, working through pretty intense contractions, putting make-up on, hunched over our bathroom sink. By the time I got my make-up on and got dressed to leave, there was no desire to do ANYTHING with my hair. I threw it up in a ponytail and it was time to go.
I would say by the time we left for the hospital, my contractions were about two to three minutes apart. Needless to say, things progressed pretty quickly at home 😅
March 8, 2023 | Arriving at the hospital
All I gotta say is that those five to ten minutes it took to get to the hospital felt like a LIFETIME. If you could have seen me bear hugging the front seat of our car 😂 I could not sit like a normal person because of the painful contractions so I had to kneel on my seat hugging the chair back.
Once we got to the hospital and got checked in, we waited what again felt like a lifetime because the hospital had quite literally just changed their online system. Thankfully it was kind of late and there weren’t a ton of people in the waiting area watching me work through these contractions. I was on my knees, bent over on a bench if you were curious haha.
By the time we got checked into triage (probably closer to 11 p.m. at this point), shoutout to Natalie the best triage nurse ever, she got me into a gown and did a cervical check to see where we were at. All I could think was “if this is not actual labor, I AM SCREWED.” 😂 Once she checked me though, she let me know I was on my way to 6 cm. SIX CENTIMETERS. I was 1. relieved and 2. shocked. By that point, Callie had arrived and they were starting to place my IV.
Before this point in my life, I had never been hospitalized, so I was really nervous about the IV. At that time though, that was THE LAST THING on my mind. I couldn’t even feel it when it was placed. I think I was just numb to everything else going on aside from the contractions. At that point, Natalie asked if I wanted to go ahead and order the epidural since I was progressing quickly and I told her absolutely lol.
By the time they got my IV placed, my actual labor and delivery room was ready. They asked if I wanted to be wheel chaired to my room and again, the thought of sitting down in a chair while working through these contractions sounded TERRIBLE. So I chose to walk. Natalie being the saint she was warned me that I would probably have around three contractions from the time I left our room in triage to the time we got to our room down the hall. And she was 1000% correct - I now understand why they have railings on the side of the hallways in birth centers 😂 I am pretty sure I woke everyone up during that walk to my room, but at that point in time, I could care less on what others thought of me.
By the time we got to my room, I was you guessed it, bent over on the bed, trying to work through the contractions with Cooper and Callie by my side. They were starting to get so intense my toes were curling under and I was starting to feel the urge to push. All I could think about was how that anesthesiologist better get here quick or else I am having this baby with no pain meds.
When I tell you that anesthesiologist came in flying, she came in flying haha. I have never had such immediate relief in my life. I am pretty sure she placed the epidural within five minutes and within just minutes after placing it, I had IMMEDIATE relief and could no longer feel any contractions. After the epidural was placed, my L&D nurse checked me again and I was a loose 7 cm dilated…😅
By this point I want to say it was close to almost midnight. From then on, things were pretty uneventful. The epidural stalled my labor for most of the night but I was OKAY with it. I welcomed the down time and some time to catch my breath after laboring so much at home. Pretty much that entire night, Callie was moving me side to side with the peanut ball and bicycling my legs to hopefully help keep things moving along.
Something else I really appreciated about having Callie apart of our experience was the fact that she was with us 24/7. Our first L&D nurse was great, but she had another Mom who was going through a pretty intense labor (from what we gathered!) it seemed and so she spent most of her time with her instead, since our room was pretty uneventful for the majority of her shift. Again, no shade to that nurse, but if it wasn’t for Callie, I wouldn’t have had someone there helping me switch up positions to try and keep my own labor progressing. So just another added bonus to having a doula, they are there to support you AND your partner the entire birth.
I didn’t progress much by the time they checked me again and since my water hadn’t broken yet, that was the next potential step to get things moving! I also learned that my OB was on call that night and making rounds, so if I wanted her to come in and chat through options she could be. So I of course opted for that. Y’all, when I tell you how excited I was to have MY doctor be a part of our first birth story, I could cry just thinking about it. It was truly such a blessing and one of the things I had hoped and prayed for.
March 9, 2023 | The last stretch of labor
So flash forward to about 6:00 a.m. Thursday morning, my OB came in to chat with me and said that since my contractions were still going strong, she felt that breaking my water would be the final piece to the puzzle to get me complete. So she left, Coop, Callie and I chatted about it for a bit and then decided that it was go time.
Real quick, if I can give you any advice, it would be to chat things through with your support person/s before making ANY medical decisions. You have a TON of options when it comes to your birth, so if you are able, chat through with them first before giving your provider the go ahead.
Once she broke my water (which I couldn’t feel because of the epidural), she said she would come back in in about thirty minutes to check me again. Sure enough at around 6:30 a.m.she came back and I was complete and it was time to start pushing!!!
My doctor also mentioned that if I was ready to push, she would selfishly love to deliver my baby, but the shift change was getting close. I told her that I would obviously love that, but I just didn’t have that “urge” to push just yet. Since I had the epidural, I really couldn’t feel much, but after a while, I did start to feel more “pressure” I would say when a contraction was coming. But it definitely was not painful at all.
By the time I was ready to start practice pushing the shift change had happened (7 a.m.) and we got two new labor and delivery nurses. Their names were Anne and Rachel. I know I mentioned this on Instagram Stories, but all of our nurses at Shawnee Mission AdventHealth were true angels. We had the best experience and it was partially due to the wonderful care we received while we were there.
So after a shift change and at about 7:15 a.m., I was ready to start some practice pushes. I actually started pushing on my left side. Callie had me on my side to start and again, without her there, I would have never known that was an option with an epidural. After awhile though, I decided I wanted to be on my back for a little more leverage with my pushing. I just felt like I had more control that way! But again, it was so nice to have Callie there to know ALL my options and be another advocate for the birth I had envisioned.
After a handful of practice pushes, my OB came back into my room to be there with me through some of my first “real” pushes before she had to leave to take her kids to school. I feel like this is a pivotal point in my birth story that I will always vividly be able to remember. It was at that very moment that one of my favorite songs came on my birthing playlist, Coop was holding my left leg, my nurse Anne was helping coach me with my pushing, Callie had my right leg and my OB was just standing there cheering me on. I could cry just thinking about that picture in my mind. It was truly just the most joyful and beautiful moment aside from Collins actually being born. I just couldn’t have asked for a better team or a better first experience.
I think something that I also wasn’t anticipating was the time between pushes. Whenever someone would tell me “I pushed for two hours” I used to be like OMG, how am I going to push for THAT long? And what I didn’t know is that you are not just straight pushing for two hours straight. You have some down time in between contractions to gear up for the next round of pushes. Just something that I didn’t know and wish I had ahead of time! Not to take away from the exhaustion that can come with pushing, but I felt pretty good and ready to go between each contraction to really give it my all!
March 9, 2023 | It’s a birthday party!
A little after 8 a.m. (almost an hour of pushing!) and the new on call OB was rolling in and getting ready to catch Baby Mach! It honestly all happened so fast - haha. Or at least it felt that way. I would say by the time the doctor got into position, two more pushes/contractions and Collins was here. I remember the OB who delivered her saying, “Mom, open your eyes!” I was just SO focused on pushing, I had forgotten to actually open my eyes as Collins was being born. I immediately looked at Cooper for him to announce the gender and when he said “it’s a girl!!!” I literally gasped!!!! I think I had been so convinced Baby Mach was a boy the entire time and was just so focused on pushing, that I wasn’t even considering that this baby could be a freaking GIRL.
Collins Cooper Mach was born at 8:14 a.m. on March 9 weighing 7 lbs 14 oz and was 20.5 inches long.
It was truly the most amazing moment of my life and I would hands down do it all again tomorrow. I did have a second degree tear (partially internal). The OB on call did a great job of getting my placenta out (which felt like I was losing a lot of blood at the time when she was pushing down on my stomach! Something I wasn’t quite prepared for, but thankfully could not feel at all thanks to the epidural). Collins was immediately placed on my chest and we did skin to skin for that entire first hour and I am so thankful we were blessed with that special “golden hour” time.
Callie also helped Collins latch pretty much right away as well, which I honestly think has helped so much in what is now our breast feeding journey and one that I am so thankful to get to experience with her.
Whew! That was a lot. Again, I know everyone’s experience is different but I truly hope by reading this that you find some peace in your upcoming delivery and YOUR story. Giving birth was truly such a joyous experience and I hope I am blessed to do it again one day! I know Collins was born that day, but I was reborn too.
with love,
~Katie Mach