“Having her given to me right away and keeping her with me. Having my family included in the visits and birth if I wanted.”

“The support I felt from my husband, Patrice, Barb and Laurie. I couldn’t have done it without them. Also, seeing Avery half born really made all of the blood pressure stress and pain worth it. She is my little miracle from God. I felt God’s presence helping me when I didn’t think I could go on.”

“The fact that she was on time and the labor was short!”

“It was so nice to share Sammy’s birth with people who care, who want to celebrate his arrival. I am truly grateful for all of the love and support given by everyone.”

“That I could get into any position I wanted – I could deal with my contractions in any manner that I wanted. My very favorite part of Denver’s birth was that Jon was right by me and was the first to see that he was a boy. I also loved that fact that Patrice and Laurie did not let me tear…..the warm oil really helped!”

“A couple of things – I liked having my sister there with us – she was great support. Also, having just the oil lamps on made a peaceful atmosphere.”

“That we were able to set up the birth area ourselves. We had candles all around the room and we had the things we wanted close to us. Also, after the baby was born, she never was out of our sight. We watched everything!” [Baby needed some resuscitation & did just fine]

“The fact that I actually delivered my baby naturally, even after 3 doctors said that I would never do it. My midwives had such a confidence in me and gave me great support.”

“That I could lean on Randy, my husband, right there on our bed and how close I felt to him instead of being in a hospital and having him feel so distant as the doctors and nurses kind of pushed our thoughts and feelings aside. Also, the fact that Randy was able to cut the cord and could have caught the baby if I would have let him leave my side!”

“Hot showers – the freedom to do what I needed to do – calm, quiet attentiveness of Patrice and Laurie – my husband’s massages and encouragement – meeting Seth – knowing he was healthy and 9#! Oh, and watching the Olympics during labor!”