Owlet Cares is our advocacy initiative that is dedicated to making a positive impact in the lives of babies and parents. One way we do this is by partnering with nonprofits all over the world who share our mission. These groups participate in our 3:1 match program. When they purchase one Owlet product, we match it with two, meaning three families are reached.
Each month, we shine a spotlight on one of our foundation partners and the important work they are doing. This month, we’d like to introduce you to Kelsey Walsh of The Jackson Walsh Foundation. Kelsey is the founder of The Jackson Walsh Foundation and Jackson’s mom. She birthed four babies via cesarean section and she is sharing her story in honor of C-Section Awareness Month.
By: Kelsey Walsh
I am a mother to four amazing children and to my surprise all of them arrived via c-section. This was not planned at all, in fact, I had actually taken natural birthing classes to try to do a natural birth.
My first child, Harper, was born on her due date. I went into labor around 4 am and labored at home until it was time to come in to have the baby. I got to the hospital and continued with my birth plan and no epidural. I made it to 7cm. Her heart rate kept dropping and the doctors and nurses kept coming in to check on her but her heart rate just wouldn't stay up. They ended up running with me on the hospital bed to the OR to do an emergency c-section. Since I didn’t have an epidural in, they had to completely put me under and I wasn’t awake for any of it. Also, since I was put under, my husband wasn’t able to be in the room as she was born either. We both missed her birth which was so crushing because I had this beautiful plan and none of it went as planned, but that's life! She was born healthy and I was okay so that's all that mattered in the end.
My second child, Jackson, was born a day after his due date and for his birth, I was planning a VBAC. I went to the hospital after laboring at home again and once I got there, I got an epidural because if I needed another c-section, my husband and I wanted to be there for his birth. His heart rate was doing the same as my daughters so we ended up having to do another c section. I was so grateful to be able to witness his birth this time around and the recovery was much better than my first.
My third child, Blake, and fourth child, Owen, were planned c-sections. Out of all of my c-sections, only one of them came on their scheduled date which was my daughter Blake. Everyone else came on their own but still ended up being born via c-section.
Birth is hard no matter how you have your child. I wasn’t prepared for the slow moving pace I was about to experience. I am not one to just sit back and relax so when I couldn’t move around at my normal pace, I struggled. As I had more children, I had less down time to just sit and focus on healing because my other kids wanted to be with me. I wasn’t prepared for not being able to lift my older kids out of their cribs, bathtub, car seats or just being able to hold them after my c-section. It was an adjustment but we made it work. I remember just having to sit on the floor to hold them.
My advice is as wonderful as it is to have a birth plan and know what you want, be open to change because life throws you curveballs and things don't always go as planned. I couldn’t talk about my first child’s birth without getting teary eyed because it turned out so far from how I originally planned but now I know - you are an amazing and strong mother no matter how your baby is born.
Author Bio:
Kelsey Walsh lives in Virginia. She is a mother to four children, one of which passed away to SUDC, Sudden Unexplained Death of a child, when he was 17 months old on February 28, 2020. In her free time she loves spending time with her husband & children, traveling and running a nonprofit in memory of her son - The Jackson Walsh Foundation @thejacksonwalshfoundation.
Disclaimer: The quotes, stories, and experiences included here are those of the individuals and are not representative of Owlet's views or claims about our product. Individuals were not paid and did not submit their information as part of any paid promotion by Owlet.
