Today, I am happy to share my first official blog post for Triangle Mom2Mom! I am very excited to be a blog contributor for a such a great publication! My first post is a letter to my husband and son in honor of OUR 5th birthday.


​To my husband and son,

I can't believe this day is already here. What seems like just yesterday was five years ago. You both have given me all I have ever truly wanted in this life, being a wife and mother. I am so blessed to have such a great family to care for and love who reciprocates the same. By no means has it been easy, but every single second has been worth it all. Nothing in my life is more fulfilling than being a part of our family. The joy the two of you bring me is unmatched. My journey of motherhood is a beautiful story that I get to live every single day with the both of you.

​To read the full blog post, click here.

My beautiful birth story began with an equally beautiful pregnancy. As a first time mother, I had a lot of anxiety about giving birth. I mean, what woman wouldn’t?! I had heard all the stories about being a young mother and bouncing back quickly, how breastfeeding drops the baby weight even faster and how I’d never sleep again. Yeah, everything but the sleep loss was a lie. At least for me.

I stopped working just 8 days before Preston was born. I was the Lead Toddler Teacher and I cared for six toddlers all by myself at a day care. I was proud that I made it to 38 weeks+ being on my feet all day. Each day my supervisor would ask me when my last day would be and I always said the same thing, “Sue, I will be calling my husband to tell him I am in labor right here from my classroom.” But she advised me to spend my last week at home because it would be the last bit of time to myself for a long time. Thank you for sending me home, Sue. You couldn’t have been more right!

The day before Preston was born, I was actually already in labor. My contractions were strong, but they were not painful. I walked constantly. Sitting down only made my back hurt. And frankly, trying to get off the couch to use the bathroom every 20 minutes was a struggle. Around 3:30 p.m. I called my husband at work to tell him that my contractions were getting closer and closer together. At this point, they were about 5 or 6 minutes apart. And I still wasn’t in any pain. I told him to stay at work and he repeatedly asked if I was sure. I told him to finish his work day. What was a couple of more hours, right?

Later that evening, my husband started keeping track of every contraction. We still have the sticky notes we wrote on :) Two hours after he got home, he was calling the doctor. My contractions were 3-4 minutes apart. Soon after, we were on our way to the hospital!

I was admitted to the hospital shortly after 9 p.m. The nurse told me that they would monitor the baby and that I should walk to help move him along. At my 38 week doctor’s appointment I was already 3 cm dialated and 60% effaced. I was pretty sure PAC Man was on his way. There was only one problem. Whenever I walked, contractions would come. Whenever I tried to lie down so the nurse could monitor PAC Man, I wouldn’t contract at all. After three hours of this, the nurse said I was not progressing any and that I wouldn’t be having a baby. I was sad. And tired. And hungry. Mr. Collins was pretty upset too. He couldn’t wait to meet his son. So, the nurse gave me an Ambien and told me to go home and get some rest. I had my 39 week doctor’s appointment in a few short hours and we were still playing the waiting game. I don’t remember the ride home. That Ambien had me OUT! But the last thing I do remember was having a bowl of cereal and having the BEST sleep ever! But the two of us would soon become three!

It’s about 7:30 a.m. and I am feeling great! They say sleep makes you feel that way, but I don’t remember. My husband called his mom to tell her what happened at the hospital the night before and how he was about to get up and get ready for work. My husband always said that he wanted PAC Man to be born on a Friday so he could spend the weekend enjoying his son. As he spoke with his mother, I went to the bathroom. There was so much… urine? Water? Wait, did my water just break?! I think it did! I calmly stand up, flush the toliet, wash my hands and I go back to the bedroom. I tell my husband that I think my water just broke. “Mom, I gotta go! Kelly’s water just broke!” I chuckled a little and I actually think I may have gotten back in bed. He asked me if I was alright and then called the doctor. My appointment was supposed to be at 9 a.m. so they told me to come on in so they could make sure my water did in fact break. As I’m getting ready, the pain starts. It. was. awful. Menstral cramps my ass! THIS was something totally different. Our friend, Kelly, arrived to take us to the hospital. All I remember thinking when we left the apartment was that I needed to vacuum and do the dishes. If you know me, then you know how upset I was about that stuff not being done. But it didn’t matter because my sweet boy was on his way!

We arrived at the doctor’s office and I was rushed right to a room. The doctor did a quick check and confirmed that my water did break. A nurse came in with a wheelchair and rolled me to an exit door that somehow connected my OB/GYN’s office to the hospital. No, really. Within minutes I was being admitted into the hospital for the second time in 12 hours. the pain was serious. I remember my husband smoothing out my hair and rubbing my shoulders while we were on our way to the hospital. He said he knew I was in pain because I wasn’t saying anything. I just kept breathing deeply. Let me tell you, it does work, but only for a while. Just before they gave me the Pitocin (something I wished I skipped), I was about to cry. That definitely got things moving and in less than an hour, I was getting ready for my epidural (something I thank God for every day). By 10:45 a.m., I had a BlowPop in one hand, an IV in the other and The Simpons Movie was playing on t.v. I was on Cloud 9! I was so relaxed and so happy! I could finally just enjoy the moment. D made some phone calls to friends and family and I took a nice nap :)

About an hour later, I woke up and I told D that I felt something wet in my bed. He lifted the blankets and told me that he could see PAC Man’s hair. It was time! He went to go get a nurse and before I knew it she was saying push. My doctor almost didn’t make it in time. After just six pushes, my baby boy was here :) At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 25th, 2011, Preston Alexander Kitchens Collins was born. I was so elated! And so was his dad! I remember the moment the nurse handed Preston to D. He smiled so big! He was a dad now. I was a mom. We were now three :)

All I wanted to do was sleep. My epidural didn’t really start to kick in until right after I had PAC Man. So I had to be wheeled down to my recovery room. I couldn’t feel anything from the waist down. But I wasn’t complaining. I just wanted to hold my son. He was and still is so beautiful. We followed our birth plan like we wanted and that was truly a blessing because most moms don’t get to do that. We spent the weekend in the hospital like we wanted. The only time Preston left us was for tests and his circumcision. Many friends and family came by to see us and our sweet baby boy. In the weeks following, we had many visitors who brought meals and gifts. It was a beautiful time for us. Parenthood is a beautiful time. I can’t wait for more experiences and memories with PAC Man!

Last September, my cell phone broke. It just stopped working. One minute I was using it, and the next minute, nothing. I was heartbroken. I had to drop everything I was doing and locate a store that had my phone so I could replace it immediately.
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​Now, here I am six months later and I can't put my phone down. I actually told my girlfriends last week that Facebook was running AND ruining my life. It's not really. But since going full throttle with my business this year, I am constantly on Facebook and other social media sites, not to mention my own website each and every day. Between networking, managing four different parent groups and all the pages I administer, sometimes it can be very daunting. I still remember when Facebook was a collegiate thing you and your friends had to request to join. But now, it's like checking my email. Every time I hear a notification, I have to check it.

​That is until this past Friday. On Friday, everything changed.

​Just 72 hours ago, my phone was stolen.

The last time I had it was when I went to pick up my husband from work on Friday evening. The last thing I remember doing was taking photos. Precious memories of my boys playing around as we started our weekend.

​When we arrived home, there was a total of 30+ minutes that passed before I realized I hadn't heard my phone go off in a while. I searched and searched with no luck. It wasn't in the house. It wasn't in the car. It must have been at my husband's job. But it wasn't. After hours of searching for it and retracing my steps several times, I had to come to the realization that I dropped it and someone picked it up while my husband was calling it to locate it. Talk about disappointed.

So what did I learn in all of this?

​​​1. Don't underestimate people. I am an optimist and I like to give people the benefit of the doubt. However, the fact that I could loose my phone never even crossed my mind. How can I when it's always in my hand?! Furthermore, someone taking my phone wasn't a thought either. I know that there are some unsavory people in this world, but I just don't fully understand how you can just take something from someone that is so personal and valuable. Maybe they really needed it. Maybe they didn't. I will never know, but I can say that my state of mind has changed due to this incident.

2. Protect my phone. And then protect it some more. Let's put aside the fact that a dishonest person choose to keep and use my phone. I am to blame for not taking the necessary precautions to protect my phone and all of the information that was on it. My phone literally holds my life. From schedules to documents to contacts to business ideas & notes (this is what I'm most upset about loosing), I have almost everything I need at the touch of a button. But now that I have my new phone, I have to press many buttons to even get into my phone because it is locked by pin. I also reset my GPS settings so if anything happens to this one I will be able to locate it immediately. And on top of all of that, I have downloaded not one, but two apps to locate and shut down my device if someone does manage to figure out my pin. Think that's enough?

​3. Life happens.​ I will be honest, I sulked for about a day because I felt a little embarrassed and foolish because I let this happen. Had I not been so lax and protected my phone, this situation may have turned out differently for me. This incident has also made me more aware of how I should protect both my personal and business information. Having everything all in one place means I must be extra careful about how I store and keep business documents and client information. Luckily, those things are always protected. Although I have moved passed this, I still find myself looking for my phone whenever I am at my husband's job, just in case.

​Sometimes, I wish we could go back to the days when technology wasn't such a hot commodity and life was simpler. But maybe there is something to what Margaret Heffernan has to say about the cell phone too. I guess life is all one big balancing act. But hey, what can you do? You live and you learn!​

Originally published in March 2016, Blog updated March 2023

​Hi. My name is Kelly Collins, and I am a wellness-centered birth and postpartum doula.

Whenever I share with someone that I am a doula, the majority of people assume that I am a birth doula. And that's typical. Most people aren't aware that there are doulas who serve different purposes. Eventually, I would like to expand my business to offer multiple services that support maternal and family health.

​While learning about various doula certifying programs and institutions, I began to gain a deeper understanding of the different types of doulas and the roles they play in a family's life. A doula provides non-judgmental, unbiased support and care for new parents and their families. As doulas become more essential to parents all over the world, I wanted to share the many options the doula community provides. Here are several roles where doulas can give support:


Antepartum (Prenatal or Pregnancy) doula: This type of doula assists parents and families during pregnancy. Most times, antepartum doulas serve pregnant people who have a high-risk pregnancy. Antepartum doulas can be very reassuring to new parents who may need extra support during pregnancy and they can provide both physical and emotional support to them. More often, they will also help with light housework or cooking for a birthing person who needs to rest and heal after birth. Bed rest doula services may also be an option for the clients of antepartum doulas if they need even more assistance.

​Adoption doula: Adoption and/or foster doulas will often support both the birthing person and the adopting/foster family. They sometimes serve as a liaison between the two families. These doulas provide the birth mother with educational resources before her birth, support her through labor as her birth doula, guide her after birth and be a part of the birth mother's ongoing support system. The doula can then assist the adopting/fostering family in preparing for their baby and help them through the journey of receiving and bonding with their new baby.

​Abortion doula: These types of doulas specialize in helping expectant parents during the emotional process of abortion or termination for medical reasons (TFMR). The birthing person will experience many emotions as well as physical side effects and will need an open-minded and sensitive individual to support them. These qualities are very important in the scope of an abortion doula.

​Birth (Labor) doula: The birth doula is the most common and popular of this list. A birth doula’s job is to support clients and their families through the process of labor and the birth of a baby. This support includes providing educational information regarding birth, mental and emotional encouragement, physical support during labor, breathing techniques and labor positions and any other non-medical assistance to the laboring person and their partner. Birth doulas will typically include 1 or 2 prenatal visits before the birth and 1 or 2 postpartum visits following birth to help with breast/chest feeding and to ensure things are going well.

​Bereavement doula: Usually, a doula helps families adjust to life with their new baby. Doulas who are trained to support families during and after a miscarriage or loss are often women who have experienced this themselves, and make themselves available to provide emotional, physical, and informational support to women and families processing these losses. Like other doulas, they have specialized knowledge and resources for support, and can also provide the services of a postpartum doula to help grieving families through the healing process.

​End-of-life (Death) doula: Some women have taken steps to become a doula for the mature adult community who are experiencing health crises, or have little time left on earth. This doula may spend many hours providing companionship, conversation, comfort and encouragement to someone in their last days or hours as well as supporting their loved ones and making arrangements for after their loved one has passed. End-of-life doulas are beginning to become more mainstream in America.

​Postpartum doula: A postpartum doula is a temporary family caregiver and an expert in normal adjustment. We are trained specifically to help with the many changes that families experience following the birth of a baby. Postpartum doulas assist families for up to 12 weeks and sometimes longer. Some postpartum doulas, like me, offer bed rest doula services to pregnant bodies who may have pregnancy complications or a high-risk pregnancy. The pregnant woman would have a companion and helper until they are ready to give birth.

Sibling doulas assist families that have older children who may need care while the parents are in the hospital or while a birthing person is recovering from birth.

Hypno-Doulas are trained in Hypnobabies and understand the philosophy, techniques, cue words and other materials in the Hypnobabies program.

Full-Spectrum doula: doulas who provide support and care for individuals & families no matter the pregnancy outcome, including miscarriage, abortion or termination, stillbirth, birth defect, surrogacy and adoption. They provide support for any situation, unexpected or otherwise and believe that every pregnant woman deserves non-judgmental care and respect. A full-spectrum doula believes that their work is not just in childbirth, but that it covers the entire spectrum of pregnancy outcomes.

Adult doula: Due to the response from one of my February blog posts, I have realized that while the world is just starting to recognize the modern-day doula, our roles are beginning to expand beyond the birth community. More and more adults are making the connection of how a doula can support them at any time, no matter the circumstances. For adult doula services or consulting services, please learn more here. I am sure that the list above will only grow as doulas are accepted as mainstream, non-medical birth professionals.

In recent years, the role of doulas has expanded and some even have specialty areas that extend from the Adult Doula category. Some of those include: Fertility, Lactation, NICU Support, Holistic, Life Transition, Family Preservation, Prison, Indigenous, Cancer, Menopause and Addiction/Recovery. Many doulas are trained and certified in several areas and specialties so they can serve and accommodate the growing needs in their communities. This proves to be helpful not just when a baby is born, but also when life happens and families need guidance, resources and emotional support from a trusted expert.

​The value of hiring a doula and the care they provide has grown tremendously over the past several years. But truthfully, the need, acceptance and mainstream usage of doulas is just a return to traditional birth and family support, before birth became medicalized. As my business continues to grow, I hope to offer more of these services to families so they can have options and have their desired birth experience.

​Thinking of hiring a doula? These questions may help you decide.

Today, I am very excited to share my The Radiant Mompreneur guest blog feature! Special thank you to Bridgett Tulloh for giving me the opportunity to share my story and my business! To read the full feature, click below.‪