One baby girl made a grand entrance in Halifax last Thursday giving her dad Ryan Walsh and mom Christina an exhilarating story as she entered the world at 1 a.m. in the family’s home.
Michaela Rose is a healthy 6 pounds 13 ounces and 18 inches long with a full head of dark hair. She has a big sister Melanie, 3, who slept through the whole event.
The family was waiting to find out their induction plan for the following day when Christina woke up feeling “off” Wednesday just before midnight. Thinking she was nervous about the next day’s induction she timed a few contractions that did not seem regular for the first few minutes.
“I woke up Ryan and said get the papers upstairs,” she said
Thinking they were going to call the doctor on her status and head to the hospital. Within five minutes things changed fast. Really fast! Instead she was yelling “call 911” from the bathroom in the time it took Ryan to get up the stairs to grab keys and sneakers she reached down and the baby’s head was emerging.
He jumped over and down the landing of their split level ranch stair and she heard his feet hit the floor, she said.
By that time he was already on the phone with 911 and the dispatcher was giving instructions to assist with the imminent arrival of baby Walsh. The second time parents said the entire delivery from the midnight wake up to the baby’s arrival at 1:15 was unbelievably rapid.
Halifax Police Officer Michelle McIntyre was first on scene- a mom herself -and credited long time Regional Old Colony Communications Center 911 dispatcher Christina Manning of Hanson who had given calm instructions to dad who was keeping mom as composed as he could.
“She told me to cradle the head and check the umbilical cord, it was slightly around her neck but I kept my finger there to keep it loose,” said Walsh.
The couple credited and thanked everyone for the help they received from start to finish.
Christina said she had been to the hospital so many times for routine care in the previous month that nearly all the nurses knew her and came in to congratulate them and see the baby.
We were the talk of the delivery floor, she said.
The couple recalled the delivery together with first responders in a more lighthearted and stress less circumstance at their Halifax fire station reunion on Monday.
The story included a few laughs that dad Ryan (whose birthday was the day Christina went in to labor) had no medical background other than being a boy scout.
Knowing that nobody except Michaela had planned this arrival, Christina said she closed her eyes and hoped for the best.
Appearing to tell the story rather calmly she said she still feels all the adrenaline and excitement of the arrival- she may be slightly in shock.
But there was no doubt that Michaela was on her way.
The update from radio dispatch was that the baby’s head and shoulders were out and by the time she ran up the driveway the baby was delivered and with mom and dad, said Officer McIntyre.
Arriving in moments Halifax firefighters and Paramedic Bridget Riley who has been a firefighter for five years and a medic for two said it was her first delivery. She thanked Ryan for letting her cut the umbilical cord. He replied the event was a blur at that point with everyone laughing and relieved that everyone was healthy.
The team of first responders with shift Lt. Joe Gibbons also on the medical response with EMT Mike Delcourt swaddled the baby and cleared the airway as they packed the family up to head to Brockton Hospital.
Three year old big sister Melanie missed all the commotion and was more excited to wake up and find that her Auntie Lynn (Mom’s best friend) slept over at her house, said dad.