Stephanie is a mother. A beautiful, patient, quietly powerful mother who was no doubt designed in every way to do this. She had both of her daughters naturally and was not going to do it any other way with her baby boy. She went a third time to the fabulous team at Dayspring Midwifery.
She had a history of quick births so when she felt those first little messages she called her doula {the fabulous Brittany} who stayed near… for the next 18 hours.
Stephanie was what Brittany called a “labor pro.” She smiled through contractions as her body prepared for her little boy to make his debut. She ran to Wal Mart for a cake and decorations. She made her daughters their lunch and tended to the house. She was the very image of a Mother.
When she went to take a nap Brittany said she thought she might wake up ready to go to the Birth Center. Sure enough, after cuddling with her eldest, Stephanie awoke a little more determined and calmly affirmed Brittany’s prediction.
On the way to Dayspring I snapped a picture of the car… Super illegal, I’m sure, but kind of worth it considering that this is the last drive that Baby got to have without a car seat for a while. 🙂
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| Notice the attentive Inga in the window. I love how excited she is about every birth! |
Stephanie brought decorations for her little boy. She wanted him to come into the world with celebration. And streamers.
Daddy was driving on his way home from North Dakota so Steph’s phone was never far from her sight.
After getting checked on by Inga, Stephanie and Brittany decided to take a walk and encourage little one to come earthside.
Stephanie continued to totally rock it. She began to pause and close her eyes during contractions {letting us know they were growing more intense} but still kept her cool to concentrate on the work at hand.
At some point we started looking up those Allstate Insurance commercials with the Mayhem Guy. We were all cracking up and Stephanie kept searching for more so she could laugh baby out!
The laughing seemed to have helped because Steph decided it was time to get in the tub to labor in there. The contractions were getting more intense now and seemed to be lasting a bit longer. Still, at the end of each one she would look up and smile. She was so excited to meet her baby!
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| The beautiful Inga of Dayspring Midwifery. |
Things were picking up. Stephanie had to really concentrate on each contraction. You could see her go into that sacred space that Mothers go to when they are about to give birth. She would be talking and laughing and then suddenly, shhh…. It was the very heart of womanhood to see her work through it intuitively at her own pace.
Stephanie got out of the tub for a bit to labor out of the water. She was amazing. The contractions were very intense at this point and she could no longer laugh between them. Still, her peace and confidence were inspiring. The honor of being allowed in this solemn ground weighed heavily on me as I captured such incredible courage.
Brittany and Inga were the epitome of support. They encouraged her and rubbed the sore spots, but mostly they just let her do what she needed to do.
| Stephanie decided to get back into the tub. She knew this meant that her child would be coming. She had tried to wait for Shane, but Baby wanted out and this Momma knew what to do.
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This is one of my favorite shots of the whole birth. Inga’s dedication to helping is
wrapped up nicely in her feet hanging over the edge of the tub she was straddling to
give Stephanie a little relief on her back. |
Finally it was time to push! Stephanie was a complete hero. And soon her hard work paid off in the form of a beautiful baby boy.
Seeing her love wash over him was incredible. She instantly began talking to him. And he clung to his Mommy right away.
Once she was able to get to bed she texted Shane to let him know that his son was here. Then she spent a little while with her sweet boy.
A very proud Daddy walked into the Birthing Center not long after things calmed down. He was immediately focused on his son and his amazing wife.
Congratulations, Stephanie and Shane! Thank you for letting me be a small part of such a beautiful birth!
Dayspring Midwifery is housed in an old farmhouse in Hayden, Idaho. The women who work there are lovely in the truest sense of the word. They are graceful, strong, kind, sincere… When I went there for my pregnancy I instantly – literally instantly – felt at ease and at home. They make it a priority to provide personal care with expertise. 
Krysann Joye Photography 
