Birth Stories
Established in 1983
Hannah Parypa’s Birth Story
In September of 2008, Ryan and I had been married for a little over a year and decided that we were ready to start adding on to our family. One day, shortly before Thanksgiving, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t sleep. I was close to a week late and thought I might be pregnant but hadn’t taken a test yet. Well, I couldn’t wait any longer then so I took the test and anxiously waited for the result. Pregnant!! I could hardly wait to tell Ryan! He was so happy!! We called Laura to make our first appointment. Neither of us really knew Laura at that time but we had both met her before, had many friends who had gone to her and had heard only awesome things about her.
Our first appointment went well and confirmed for both of us all that we had heard about Laura. She put us both instantly at ease with her warm, friendly manner and extensive knowledge. She told us that I was about 5 weeks pregnant and the due date was set for July 21st. We decided early on that we didn’t want to know the sex of our baby and Laura supported that.
The months of pregnancy flew by with minimal discomfort and sickness. Before we knew it, July had arrived and ‘Baby P.’ was soon to arrive. Laura saw me on July 8th and checked my cervix for the first time. Both of us were disappointed by the results. The baby hadn’t dropped as low as we’d hoped and I was barely dilated. Laura told me I would probably be a week or so late. I saw her the next week and things were much the same. Just 6 days until my due date but it didn’t look like this baby was going to come any time soon. We made another appointment for the 22nd that I hoped I wouldn’t have to keep but, sure enough, the 22nd rolled around and still no baby so I went and saw Laura that morning around 9:00. She checked my cervix again and we were both happy to find that it had thinned quite a bit, baby’s head was low and I was dilated to 2 cm! She told me we would most likely have the baby within the next couple of days; she didn’t think it would be longer than a week. I was so happy to hear that!
Laura was certainly right that I wouldn’t last the week, in fact, I didn’t even last the day. After seeing Laura, I went home and puttered around the house for awhile. Around noon, I started to feel uncomfortable and went outside to walk around for awhile. I was expecting a friend from out of town and she arrived about that time. We went inside and sat down to talk but, after a little bit, I asked her if she would go walk around with me because sitting was uncomfortable. We began walking laps around our garden and I was still feeling uncomfortable but didn’t know if I was in labor or what was going on. I felt like I was having what I imagined contractions felt like there was little to no break in them, they were almost constant for 10-15 minutes. We went inside for awhile and I started to really get uncomfortable and my friend starting timing the contractions. 1-2 minutes on, 1 minute off. She thought it was false labor and I, never having done this before, didn’t know what to think. All I knew was that they were getting stronger and stronger. It was about 2 PM now. I called Laura and told her what was going on. She told me to try to relax and to keep her posted. I tried taking a bath, lying down, changing positions but the contractions kept getting stronger and were never more than 5 minutes apart. I had called Laura again and told her that the contractions were getting stronger. She told me, yes, they do that. :o) She said to come in whenever, she would be there for us. Finally about 4:30, we decided it was time to go. The ride over to Laura’s seemed to take forever although it was only about 10 minutes. We got there and she checked my cervix. I was dilated to 6 cm now and things were moving along rapidly. She filled up the tub for me and as soon as I got in there, the contractions seemed to melt away for awhile. I was talking and laughing again. 40 minutes later, I was back to focused breathing through contractions and she checked me and told me I could probably start pushing if I wanted to. I tried pushing a few times with very little result. I had wanted to try a water delivery but Laura was concerned that they would need to help me push and said that we should probably get me up on the bed. After they helped me move to the bed, I began pushing in earnest. The baby was so low and my body seemed so ready, I thought it would be a piece of cake to push it out. After almost an hour of pushing, every time thinking ‘Ok, the next push will do it’, we still didn’t even have the head out. Laura and Ryan could see the head and were encouraging me and helping me push. Finally, after a few more times pushing as hard as I could, we got the head out. Whew, we were all relieved. We thought it would be a simple matter of one more push and the baby would be out. I pushed as hard as I could several more times and the baby wasn’t moving. Something was wrong. Laura discovered that the baby’s right hand was up under it’s chin and it was stuck in the birth canal. She tried to move the hand without success. I was still pushing as hard as I could but I couldn’t even feel my contractions anymore. Laura got quiet and serious and we all knew we needed to get this baby out as quickly as possible. The clock was ticking. Ryan was helping Laura turn me over, trying to dislodge the baby any way they could. They turned me back onto my back and Laura was coaching me to push and help her. I felt like my body was no longer helping me and I was just pushing on my own. I pushed and pushed. Laura was still trying to get that hand out of the way and working to help me get her out, Ryan was holding my legs and encouraging me. Finally, to our great relief, the baby came out. We were all praying and crying. Laura got some oxygen on the baby and after a couple of minutes we heard our baby cry for the first time. 7:43 PM. Gretchen Raelynn Parypa had arrived, we were so happy!
I doubt our story would be the one chosen as a flagship story to persuade women to give birth naturally, but it’s a testimony to God’s grace and goodness. There were so many times during that last hour that I wanted to give up and thought that I couldn’t do it and, during the last few minutes, I was terrified that we wouldn’t be able to get her out in time. God gave me the strength to push in spite of my exhaustion, he kept Ryan calm so he could support me, he kept Laura’s head clear and enabled her to keep working to help get Gretchen out and he kept Gretchen strong and healthy through it all. God’s presence was so apparent during that time. I don’t know why Gretchen’s birth had to be so difficult but every time I look at my beautiful, healthy baby girl and think of how differently that night might have ended, I thank God for his grace and goodness.
I have been asked by a few people if I will be having the rest of our children naturally. When I say yes they seem surprised. I’ll be honest, the first few days after having Gretchen I didn’t even want to think about ever going through that again. After a few more days passed and I really started thinking about it though, I realized that if I had given birth in a hospital and had an epidural, most likely, I wouldn’t have been able to push her out. It took all that I had to push her out and that was with Laura helping pull her out at the same time. If I’d have had an epidural, I wouldn’t have had the strength to push that hard. The pain served an important purpose. God designed my body to handle this important job and gives the strength to complete it, this time and every time.
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My Birth Story by Darcy Stringer
Having had my first two children born in a hospital made the thought of having my third, seven years after my second, at home a no brainier. I did not appreciate anything about birthing in a hospital. I did have an epidural with the first two and was somewhat nervous about how I would handle the pain -- I figured, though, plenty of women do it, so could I. It was my husband who needed convincing about birthing at home.
Delivery day finally arrived. The morning after my due date, I awoke at 3:45am to what I figured were contractions, but wasn't sure if they were the real thing. With this third pregnancy I was having tons of braxton hicks. I called Laura, she told me since they were irregular to rest up as much as I can and see what happens. It was hard to go back to sleep with contractions and knowing Baby might be arriving soon.
We awoke as a family at 7am. My contractions were very present and becoming more regular. I showered, ate breakfast as my contractions got stronger.
We called Laura about 8:30am to let her know this was the real thing. She would soon be on her way.
I continued to labor by walking through the house. I tried as much as I could to either walk through the contraction or squat during them which I noticed really opened up my pelvis. By 9:15am my contractions were getting pretty rough. We again called Laura to make sure she was on her way. She would be here soon. I was told to try getting in the tub.
The warm tub really did ease the pain for a little while. Laura came at 9:45, I was 8cm and Laura broke my water. It might just be an hour longer. At 11am I moved to my bed, it was time to push. Sadie Alison entered my arms at 11:18am on April 29, 2005. Something I hadn't experienced with the other two ( they had been swept away without me being able to hold them). I can still remember the warmth of her body on mine. Sadie's sister and brother chose not to be in the room for the birth, but came in the room immediately after and fell in love with their sister at first sight. I nursed Sadie, received one stitch and then Sadie and I took a bath together.
I was so glad to be in the comfort of my own home. I spent the rest of the day in my glider, holding and nursing my 8lb, 5oz "Little Blessing" surrounded by those I love most. Was it painful? The worst I've ever known. Would I do it again and at home? In a heartbeat. My husband agrees.
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Here he is!!!
Elijah Asher Gray
Elijah means "The Lord is my God," and Asher means "Blessed, Fortunate, Happy."
Our baby was born Thursday, October 5th, just before 5:00 a.m. Just hours before, we had went to our last pregnancy appointment with Laura, our awesome midwife, and she told us tonight would be the big night! Sure enough, I woke up about 3:30 a.m. with a few contractions, and woke up Don. We filled up our big bath tub for the birth and called Laura. It was definitely my best, easiest birth so far (thank you, Jesus!). I prayed and prayed and it really made a difference. Don was the perfect husband, doing everything from wiping my face with a cold cloth to putting up with me being not-so-sweet during labor. Before I knew it, Elijah was born. Laura put him right into my arms, and he was perfect- pink and quiet and alert, and tiny and so precious. Don lit some candles, and then he showed Elijah to Brodie, Hannah, and Aden (who had slept through it all again!), and we all got back into bed.
Elijah weighed eight pounds, six ounces at birth, and has really gotten chubbier since then!
Elijah is just four weeks old now, and really is the perfect baby. Don can allready get him to smile. So he smiles a lot and even laughs sometimes, and has never cried! I can hardly believe it, because our other babies would cry sometimes no matter what we did to help them. But if Elijah gets upset, he just makes this short yell, we fix the problem, and that's the end of it. I hope it lasts! He is very alert and loves to walk around and look at things, be worn in his sling while I do a few chores, take baths in the big tub with me, cuddle all night in our big bed, nurse every two minutes, and of course be held. Honestly, he has spent almost every second of his short happy life in someone's arms, and there is still always someone on the 'waiting list' who wants to hold him next- even Aden wants his share of holding his new brother. Aden calls him either "The Lit-tle" or "Mine!" Like all Gray babies, Elijah is not very fond of his carseat, so he and I have been staying home more and taking it easy, which is fine for now- it gives us more time to take naps and relax.
The last picture of Aden is one reason why it took me a bit to get these pictures out... More things have been coming up lately now that we have four little ones! Thankfully, Don took his usual week off work for our BabyMoon, and Brodie and Hannah have truly been great helpers, so things have been mostly calm!
I still don't have everyone's email address back since our computer crashed, so if you know anyone else who'd like to see our new baby, feel free to forward away.
Thanks again for everything everyone has done for us since Elijah came, and hope to talk to you all soon!
With Love,
Don, Amie, Brodie, Hannah, Aden, & Elijah
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Christa Benson’s Birth Story
Laura delivered both of our girls. We were in Texas when we found out I was pregnant with our second and that was one of the main deciding factors when it came to us moving back. I was determined that no one besides Laura would deliver our babies.
With our first, I worked up until the night I had her. That evening shortly after getting home from work contractions started. As they worsened, I got in the tub and soaked in the hot water which helped for a while. Poor Laura, we called her twice before coming over. We left out house around and after arriving at Laura's she checked everything out and then I got in the wonderful and amazing jacuzzi. After a few pushes our first was born only an hour after arriving at Laura's. It was so peaceful and perfect. Every baby should be delivered in sure a serene atmosphere.
Our second was different, but I still got in the bathtub before coming over to Laura's. This time I actually did wait to call Laura, amazingly enough. It's a wonder that Laura ever gets to sleep with all of us calling her. When I arrived this time I got in the jacuzzi again and after a little while went to work pushing. The second labor was harder, but one look at our sweet baby and it was totally worth it. Laura was so wonderful during this labor. She kept encouraging me when I needed it, letting me know it was almost over.
I would and have encouraged everyone to have a midwife deliver their babies and if at possible have Laura be with you through it. She's so special and truly the best person in my oppinion to help bring your children into the world.
Christa Benson
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Our Natural Birth Experience
By: Amber Palmer
My husband, Justin, and I found out we were pregnant on Halloween of 2001! We had only been married a mere three months and at that time, I was six weeks along with our first child. We were pretty clueless about it until I started waking up at around two and three every morning to throw up! The sickness would last all day and so finally after the third day (and no period), we decided to go to the clinic and get a pregnancy test. It didn’t take long and those two lines on the testing stick were bright pink! For a moment, all my feelings of sickness were replaced with elation and joy. I even saw twinkles of tears in Justin’s eyes. We were so thrilled! Even though we were young (I was 21 and he was 23) and our marriage had just begun, this was such a blessing for us and for our whole family! This new baby would be a first for so many – first baby, first grandbaby, first niece, first great-grandbaby, first great-great grandbaby, and first great-great-great grandbaby. Yes, that’s right! I said great-great-great grandbaby. Our new addition would mean a 6th generation on my side of the family!
I always knew that I would deliver my children naturally, with little intervention and no pain relief. Justin agreed, and so I went on the search for a midwife. It wasn’t hard – Laura was the only midwife in the phone book! She has been around the area since the early 1980’s and has delivered nearly 3,000 babies here! I called her immediately and she was able to see me the same day! She gave me some tips on dealing with the nausea and sickness and we scheduled our first appointment for right after Thanksgiving. I was very impressed with her knowledge and she just gave us a warm feeling when we were around her. Her goal is to educate and help women into knowing and believing that they, too, can have a natural birth experience. After all, the Lord made women’s bodies to be able to bear children. Of course, there were some family members who were worried about our decision to have our baby miles away from a hospital with no “doctor” to be there, but we always had faith in the Lord, in ourselves, and in Laura.
We worked our way through long nine months of nausea, then hunger, then weight gain, and then high blood pressure, just waiting for our June 25th due date. In the beginning, we didn’t want to know what the sex of our baby was and we made that very clear to Laura. Around our 23rd week appointment, Laura told us that the sex would be very obvious and we still said that we didn’t want to know, so she kept it to herself. Well, as soon as our 27th week appointment came along, we just had to know! Justin and I had talked in the car on the way to her clinic and decided that if it was really obvious again, then we want to know! I was so excited as we drove to her clinic and I kept thinking, “If the Lord wants us to know, it will happen.” I think He wanted us to know, because as soon as we told Laura, she laughed at us and said, “You guys are so funny.” She made us both guess as to what we thought the sex was. I thought it was a boy and Justin said a girl. Laura turned to Justin and said, “You’re right…it’s a girl!” And she was very obvious too! We were so excited…our little addition would be named Eliana Renee, aka Ellie!
As June 25th came and went, Laura was not surprised. As our weekly appointments came closer to the due date, she knew that I would probably go over it. I must say that those four days following our due date went by way too slow!
Finally, on Saturday morning, June 29th, 2002, we woke up at about a quarter to ten. I went to the bathroom and as soon as I got back into our room my water broke! It was all over me and down my legs. I was soaked! The funny thing is...it didn't keep leaking like it was supposed to. I called our midwife, Laura, and told her my water broke and asked her what to do. She asked me how many pads I was soaking per hour and I told her that I was barely leaking anymore. I also told her that I hadn't had any contractions. So she told me to just wait for the contractions and that I would know when the time is coming closer.
At about 12:30 PM, right after my mom got to our house, I started having contractions, but they weren't extreme. They were less than five minutes apart, so I called Laura again. She told me to come in and she would check up on things. So at about 1:30 we went to her clinic. I was dilated about three cm so she sent me back home with two herbal pills (they are meant to help the contractions along, but only if your body is ready – they won’t work otherwise). I took the first one at 2:00. After that, the contractions started coming really strong. All I could do was lay on my side in our bed and breathe through each one, while focusing on the yellow lily that my mom had picked for me. I took a bath and that seemed to help a little. I took the second pill at 6:00. Around 7:00 the contractions got really bad and I could barely walk, so we went back to Laura's.
When I got there, she checked me for dilation and broke my water. When I thought my water had broke earlier in the morning, it was just my first bag of waters. The whole thing didn't break. So at that time I knew what it was like for my water to really break. I had never known there was going to be that much water continuously leaking! So she got the jacuzzi ready for me and told me that I was dilated 8.5 cm! I labored in the jacuzzi until about quarter to ten that night.
At that time, they helped me to the bed and I started pushing during each contraction. About ten minutes into it, Ellie's heart tones started dropping. We could hear her heartbeat and it was so low it was scary. Apparently, the cord was wrapped around her head and getting pinched. They put an oxygen mask on me so that it would hopefully get more oxygen to Ellie. Laura told me that I really needed to get her out as quickly as I could. She hadn't even crowned yet! So a couple more pushes into it, her hand started coming out with her head! Laura had to stick her hand up there and push it out of the way. That tore me a little, but I only ended up needing three stitches. I started getting really scared and so on the last push, I pushed sooooooo hard for sooooooo long that I didn't even feel her come out! I just remember that she was there and she started crying after Laura sucked the fluids out of her airway.
Eliana Renee Palmer was born at 10:04 PM. And the best part was that she was a beautiful pink color and her head wasn't misshaped because she wasn't in the birth canal for long. I had ended up pushing for no more than fifteen minutes. Ellie hadn't turned blue or anything during that ordeal.
When Laura went to weigh her, she thought her scale was wrong! She couldn't believe that she was nine pounds! So she tarred the scale and re-weighed her...and sure enough...exactly nine pounds! As soon as she told us that I said "Nine pounds!" I was in disbelief. And then she measured her...14-inch head, 14-inch chest, and 22 inches long!
I got back in the bath to clean up and they brought Ellie in there with me. I tried to nurse her, but she wouldn't take that well to my breast. She wasn't that hungry. So we bathed for a while together, then Justin got to dress her while I got myself dressed. After that, I laid on the bed for a while because I couldn't breathe that well. I guess it's because my lungs were trying to be normal again after being all pushed up for so long. We stayed until about 12:30 AM, and then we all went home.
Of course, I barely slept because of all of the adrenaline and I couldn't keep my eyes off of Ellie. She is the most beautiful baby I have ever seen – perfect in every way! She started nursing better and it became easier to get the routine down. It was just hard in the beginning, like it is for many new nursing mothers. I am proud to say that Ellie will be a year old in June of 2003 and we are still nursing! In fact, she has never had a bottle in her life!
Both of our dads and my brother were in the little waiting room the whole time and Laura, her assistant Sandy, Justin, my mom, and Justin's mom were in the room during the birth. I needed all of that help and encouragement. I couldn't have done it without all of them. They were helping to hold my legs and give me the oxygen and they were all rooting me on. I couldn't have asked for a better team. They all prayed for us in the middle of one of my contractions too. It was the most surreal and awesome experience I have ever been through. I still get emotional and teary-eyed when I talk about it.
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Amber Palmers 2nd Birth Story
In December of 2003, when Ellie was around 18 months old, we decided that we wanted to try for another baby. We were blessed right away when we found out we were pregnant on January 14th, 2004. I was about 4 weeks along and due on September 20th. We were all so excited, including Ellie, who clapped her hands and said “Baby! Yay!” One night before bedtime, she kissed my belly and said “Bye-bye baby.”
I called our midwife, Laura, to let her know the good news. We were so excited for our first appointment with her. It had been awhile since we had seen her, so we were looking forward to our monthly visits with her again.
The pregnancy went very well. Of course there was all-day sickness for the first few months and I was so glad when I could eat normal again and feel good. Ellie was such a good, sweet girl and she would let me rest during the day. She would bring me my pillows and blankets so that I could lie on the couch while she watched movies and did puzzles.
On April 13th we found out that we were going to have a boy! We were so excited and decided to name him Ethan Ray. We felt so blessed to have a girl and a boy!
On September 14th, we had an appointment with Laura at 1 p.m. She checked me to see how I was progressing and I was 4 cm. She said that my cervix was “like butter.” That evening, after we went out for Mexican food, I started having pretty strong contractions, but they weren’t very timely. I had them all evening and all night, but nothing came of them.
The next morning, I took one of the herbal pills that Laura had sent home with me to see if they would get things moving again, but nothing happened. I took the second one two hours later and still nothing happened. I felt like I was at a halt and I was very frustrated and getting impatient, even though it was still five days before Ethan’s due date! Laura called and wanted to see me again, so we went to her place around 1:00. When she checked me this time, she could stretch my cervix to 8 cm! We headed home to see what would happen.
After that stretching, the contractions really started coming strong and timely. They were about five minutes apart and lasting for quite awhile. I paced the floor at home walking back and forth, squatting with contractions, trying to break my water. We laid Ellie down for a nap so that she would be all ready for the evening to come. We knew we’d be having Ethan that evening. Justin, my mom, and Irene were with me, watching me pace the floor. I was carrying on conversations and even laughing once in awhile during all this. I kept thinking that the contractions could have gotten worse, so I was unsure when we should head to Laura’s again, but at around 4:00 p.m. we decided it was time to go. I called Laura and told her we were on our way. We packed Ellie some snacks and drinks and we all headed there. When we got there, she checked me again and as soon as she touched my water bags, they broke right there.
Laura filled up the jacuzzi tub for me and I got right in. The contractions came extremely hard and long after my waters broke. Ellie went back and forth from the little waiting room to the bathtub where I was laboring. She kept checking on me and I’d hear her say to our moms from the other room “Be right back. Gonna check Mama.” It was so cute. Justin kept washcloths cool for me so I could keep them on my face while I was in the tub. He was totally there for me and Ellie the entire time. When Ellie wasn’t checking on me, she had fun with her Nanas, coloring and watching a movie in the waiting room.
My plan was to have Ethan right there in the tub, but my pubic bone was in the way of his head, so at 6:00 p.m. we decided that it would be best if I got out and laid flat on my back on the bed. I worked through four long, hard contractions and pushes (with much support from Laura, her assistant Sandy, and of course, Justin) and Ethan Ray was born at 6:11! On the last contraction, Laura called Ellie, my mom and Irene into the room so they could see Ethan being born. I was so glad they were there, especially Ellie. As soon as Ethan was born, Ellie got on the bed and patted me and said “Baby brother. Baby Ethan!”
Ethan weighed in at 8 pounds, 10 ounces and he was 22 inches long. He had a 14-inch head. His measurements were almost exactly the same as Ellie’s. The only difference is that he was 6 ounces lighter. He was born with a perfectly shaped head and really nice, pink skin tone, just like Ellie. He looked a lot like Ellie, but more like Justin than anyone.
After he was born and I was sewn up, he and I got back in the tub together to get cleaned up and to nurse him. He latched right away and has done well nursing ever since. My bleeding slowed down right away and I felt really good, so we left Laura’s around 8:00 p.m. – about two hours after he was born.
When we got home, we all ate pizza and I reclined on the couch. Ellie went to bed fine, then Irene left for home and my mom stayed the night with us. I didn’t sleep much that night because Ethan kept spitting up and choking on the mucous, trying to work it out, but he did fine with it. He is a tough little guy!
Ethan is such a good-natured, laid-back little baby. He sleeps and eats well, doesn’t fuss much and just goes with the flow. Ellie is a great big sister to him, too. She is very helpful to me and caring towards him. I am very proud of the family we have made together and I’m so thankful for all the love and support we have around us.
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