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Juniper’s Birth Story

In honor of Juniper’s first birthday today, I thought it was time to plunk out the story of her birth on June 5th, 2016. Like our favorite fireside tales, it’s one with twists and turns in the plot, great trial, and a surprise ending. A story only God could write.

So, I invite you to fill up your mug with something warm and delicious, curl up with a blanket, and join me for the story of how Juniper entered this world on her own terms. And how God used her birth story to teach me how little control I have, and how that’s okay.

Here we go. Let’s do this!

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

First Things First

I know that birth stories can conjure up feelings of heartache for those mourning loss or longing for births that have not happened yet. If you can identify with that, be kind to yourself. And know you don’t need to read on. You are enough, and your story is already beautiful.

Also, I’ve learned that we carry strong emotions when it comes to the subject of birth and what we deem as right or best for us and our child. I don’t cast any judgement on you for your story. Birth is incredible however it happens, be it a vaginal delivery or Caesarean, with a lot or a little medical intervention. It doesn’t matter. You are a rockstar. And my hope is that we can all learn from each other’s stories and grow in celebrating the diverse perspectives from our fellow warrior mamas. {Mic drop}.

Pregnancy

I am one of those annoying people who actually loved being pregnant. Aside from evening nausea in the first trimester and acid reflux at bedtime, I had very little to complain about. I relished every kick, every hiccup, and the gush-gush-gush of our baby girl’s beating heart on the doppler. I also have a theory that co-directing a musical at the Orlando Fringe Festival through to 37 weeks pregnant kept me busy and distracted from my pregnancy symptoms.

Mark and I had so much fun working together to prepare Juniper’s nursery for her arrival. We delighted in the whole nesting process, from testing a dozen rockers until we found “the one” to washing and folding her tiny clothes. And we were overwhelmed with all the love we received from friends and family near and far. This child was so highly anticipated!

What I was not looking forward to, however, was the actual birth experience.

You see, during a visit to the doctor as a child, I was held down on the exam table while they flushed out my ears of excess wax. The experience was so traumatic, it grew in me a wicked fear of hospitals and needles and blood. I even went to therapy for it!

Thank goodness for a kind pediatric nurse who taught me how to breathe through injections that she administered with one arm while hugging me with the other. And over the years, I’ve slowly been growing in my courage with all things medical. I mean, I married an emergency doctor for Pete’s sake!

Still, delivering a child seemed like the Mt. Everest of fears to conquer. I always had pictured birth as the worst pain a woman could endure. Why would anyone willingly want to go through that? My initial plan was to stroll into the hospital and say, “Give me the drugs!” Pain and I have a checkered past, after all.

A Shift In Thinking

Things took an interesting turn when my friend Fran recommended I read *Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. I knew it had inspired her to have a natural, intervention-free birth with her daughter Beatrice, which proved to be an incredibly positive experience for her. But I never in a million years imagined I could do something like that!

However, when my friend Julie-Ann shipped me a copy of Ina May’s book out of the blue, I knew I had to break in that binding. So, I did. And I was immediately sucked in to all of the birth stories penned on those pages.

Talk. About. The Power. Of Story.

I was amazed to read so many stories of births without drugs or intervention that weren’t just do-able, but joy-filled! No two tales were the same, which was both frightening and thrilling. And it was truly astounding to see evidence of how much women’s bodies are truly designed for birth. And that when we minimize fear and create a relaxing environment conducive to birth, it can help make labor more efficient and significantly less painful. The body-mind connection is a powerful thing.

After reading Ina May’s book, I started to find my heart softening to the idea of embracing a natural birth.

Finding a Hospital

When it came to choosing a hospital, we decided we’d tour a few different locations before making a decision. First up was Florida Hospital Altamonte’s “Baby Place,” and our visit felt less like a tour and more like a motivational conference thanks to our tour-guide and one of the nurses, Penny. After one of her moving stories that had us both tearing up, I leaned over to Mark and said, “I think this is it.” To which he nodded in wide-eyed agreement.

It was clear that this place was special. And not just because they had a laboring tub in each delivery room. But it was clear they really respected your individual birth plan and greatly valued the dad’s role in the birthing process, too.

One of Penny’s mantras was, “You can do hard things.” And though she said that repeatedly to all of us on the tour that day, I felt like it was meant just for me. And I climbed another rung on the fear-fighting ladder that day.

After finding a hospital and an amazing nurse-midwife, Nikki, who I connected with immediately, I began a hunt for a doula. I had never heard the word “doula” before I was pregnant. And yet it seemed that as soon as we were expecting, I heard testimonials from so many friends about how helpful a doula had been for them in their pursuit of natural deliveries with minimal interventions.

So, I asked Penny and Nikki who they might recommend, and when they both mentioned the same person, Michelle Smith, I decided to reached out. Even though I had a bit of caution when I heard she was a certified Hypnobirthing Practitioner.

Hypno-what?

“Hypnobirthing as in hypnosis?” I wondered. I had never heard of hypnobirthing before. Actually, strike that: Lindsay from The White Buffalo Styling Co. had shared about hypnobirthing in her daughter Rosie’s Birth Story that I read back in 2015, but I’ll admit, I didn’t quite understand it. And it sounded a bit hokey to me at first.

However, knowing that both Penny and Nikki spoke so highly of Michelle as a doula supporting families through childbirth, I decided to reach out to her. We clicked right away on the phone, and so I set up a private birth class with her…which grew into four classes over the course of our pregnancy.

Thanks to Michelle, I quickly learned that hypnobirthing wasn’t at all like the “floating spirits” hypnosis in Robin Hood my sister and I giggled about. With hypnobirthing, you’re the one in control using self-hypnosis through guided imagery to bring yourself to a state of deep calm. I still remember to this day a vivid picture of the stone path and inner sanctuary I visualized during the first session Michelle walked us through—as well as the feeling of deep peace and joy I experienced.

Honestly, the hypnobirthing techniques felt a lot like the guided meditation exercises we did in my college theatre classes to study character and stretch the imagination. So, it was a familiar practice for me.

Also, hypnobirthing was a great fit for me because I have an extremely vivid imagination. It’s probably what sent my childhood fears spinning out of control every time my mom told me it was time for my annual wellness visit. But Michelle taught me that my imagination is actually a great gift! However, like a dial, when turned in the wrong direction toward fear, it can get out of control. She said we just needed to work to turn the dial in the right direction toward peace. That made a lot of sense to me.

And so I downloaded a bunch of MP3s of Michelle’s guided visualizations onto my phone, and her voice soothed me to sleep at night so I could work to build a habit of rest and relaxation. That way, when it was “game-time,” I could easily tap into that deep calm.

Plot Twist

Meanwhile, Juniper was snug and comfy in my womb. A little too comfy.

When we went in to Moms-To-Be Ultrasound at 28 weeks to get some 3D video footage of her rockin’ and rollin’, our ultrasound tech Fabio reported that he wouldn’t be able to get many great shots of her face because she hadn’t flipped into the head-down position yet. She was in the breech position, using my placenta as a pillow to rest her head on. He said it was fairly normal at that stage and to return in a few weeks for a free follow-up. No biggie.

At 32 weeks we returned, but lo and behold, same story. She was still breech, “folded like a taco,” he told us. We couldn’t believe it!  Fabio encouraged us to let our nurse-midwife know about it at our next appointment in case there were any interventions we could do to encourage her to flip. And told us to return when she flipped.

Flip Baby, Flip!

Our hospital doesn’t do vaginal breech deliveries nor did our doctor recommend a manual “version” procedure for us. So, at 34 weeks, Nikki said it was time to take whatever measures we could on our own in order to encourage baby girl to flip head down.

Thus began the litany of flipping methods:

  • exercises at home
  • headstands in the pool at the Y
  • chiropractic care 3x/week

But every ultrasound revealed our gal was still breech. And I had gotten really familiar with the feeling of her rump on the bottom right side of my belly and her head on the upper left by my ribs.

I remember being at 36.5 weeks when I started to come to terms with the fact that the natural, vaginal birth I had been preparing for and thought God wanted me to have so I could conquer my fear of pain was suddenly gone. It had vanished.

And for about two days, I was in panic mode.

I felt vastly unprepared for a C-section. The thought of undergoing such an intense surgery while being awake and hearing all of the clatter of instruments and feeling them tug her out of me felt terrifying. Michelle wouldn’t be able to be in the O.R. with us. And we might not be able to have that skin-to-skin time right after her birth, which could make breastfeeding and bonding more of a challenge. And I could have a longer recovery. And more complications could result. And…and…and….

But then one morning I woke up, and it was like a switch had flipped. Rather than fighting the notion of having a Cesarean birth or viewing it as Plan B, I thought, “What if this is God’s plan A for us?  What if this is what he intended all along?”

I also took great comfort in something that Michelle and Nikki and our doctor had said to us. Babies are smart. Sometimes there’s a good reason for why they are in the breech position. And I decided to trust God to guide our daughter into the world however He saw fit.

Trust me, we didn’t stop praying that she would flip. Nor did I stop doing crazy headstands in swimming pools (which was surprisingly fun). However, we did put a C-section on the books for June 9th, five days before my June 14th due date. There was something about having a date on the calendar that suddenly set me at ease. And sprung me into action!

We got to work finishing up her nursery and buying those newborn diapers and filling our hospital bag with everything we thought we’d need (and then some).

And at the recommendation of Michelle and my chiropractor Juliet, I wrote out a birth plan that was specific to a Cesarean birth. It was time to embrace it as Plan A.

Game Day

On Saturday, June 4th, the nesting instinct was in full effect for both me and Mark.  I was working on Juniper’s nursery gallery wall, we picked up her curtains at the tailor, ran some last minute errands, and even worked in time to do a fun photo shoot in my “I’m So Pregnant” tee.

I’m a night owl, so I was up late into the night on Sunday, June 5th, working on a blog post. Here’s where I’ll jump into a timeline-style telling of the tale thanks to a few notes we jotted down in a notebook that we brought with us to the hospital. Otherwise, this all would have been a blur!

2:00 a.m. — I had a big bowl of cookie dough ice cream because…well…I’m so pregnant. Yum.

2:30 a.m. — I headed to bed. The baby was moving a ton, punching and kicking like there was no tomorrow.

3:15 a.m. — My mind was racing, and I was having trouble falling asleep. So, I pulled out my cell phone to use as a flashlight while reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy ChildBut I could tell I was waking Mark with each page turn, so…

4 a.m. — I got up and tip-toed into the nursery and continued reading in there.

5 a.m. — I had just finished up the chapter on preventing sleep problems when suddenly, it felt like a balloon of water had popped inside me. I stood up as quickly as I could, expecting to see blood, but a clear fluid was dripping down my legs and had gotten onto our brand new nursery chair and rug.

And that’s when it hit me: my water just broke.

I was shocked. I didn’t expect this to happen to me, especially because I was measuring small due to baby girl being in the breech position. And I hadn’t felt any noticeable contractions before that.

I started shaking with excitement and a healthy dose of fear as I walked into the bedroom to wake Mark.

“Mark, I think my water just broke.”

“Wait, what? Are you sure?”

I was sure.

We called the hospital to let them know and chatted with Andrea, the nurse-midwife on call. After I talked her through everything that had just happened, she said, “Yep. You should expect to have a baby today!”

We were both in shock at first, and I remember things feeling so surreal. I started to feel overwhelmed at all of the items on my TO DO list that I hadn’t gotten to yet. But after a bunch of hugs between me and Mark and a phone call to my parents in New York (so they could buy emergency flights), the shock wore off. And we were both so over-the-moon excited. Junie was done cooking and was ready to meet us…today!

Andrea had said we had time to pull ourselves together and pack up, but said we should arrive at the hospital within the next two hours. She also told me not to eat any food since I’d be going into surgery that morning. I managed to get a shower while Mark loaded the car with our suitcases and gear. We fed our sweet little Mangey-cat and were on our way.

6:25 a.m. — Mark drove us to the hospital while I put one of Michelle’s hypnobirthing tracks on the car stereo to start the relaxation process. I also flipped through some scripture cards my friend Gianna had made me and a “Doula Deck” of affirmations from my friend Darling. The highway was empty. It was dawn, Mark’s favorite time of day. “I’m so happy right now,” he said to me with tears in his eyes. “I love you,” he added, “And I love you,” he said to Juniper. The sun came up as we got off our exit and turned east toward the hospital.

6:45 a.m. — Mark dropped me off by the hospital entrance and unloaded our many bags. Then, he went to park the car. As we strolled in, all of the nurses and staff smiled. First at all of our gear because we looked like we were moving in for a week. Then, at my “I’m So Pregnant” shirt. “It’s a wonderful day to have a baby!” they announced.

Nikki, was out of town that day, and we’d be getting the on-call doctor and weekend crew—not one person who we had ever met before. But everyone did such a wonderful job of welcoming us and making us feel comfortable. (Except for that cervical check. Yeah, that wasn’t fun. But that was the worst of my pain that morning!)

Once I got into my gown, Nurse Roxanne started me on an IV and got me hooked up to the monitor. Everything looked good! They told me I was having contractions, but I had barely noticed them. They just felt like faint cramps at that point.

8 a.m. — The doctor ordered one final ultrasound just to confirm baby girl was still head down, which she was. And they told us we were scheduled for surgery later that morning.

We started furiously texting everyone on our list to let them know the news, sending a photo of me in my gown giving a thumbs-up along with these words:

Well, our girl has decided to make a dramatic entrance indeed! My water broke at 5 a.m. So today shall be her birthday! We’ve been checked in to the hospital, I have my IV, and we’re filling out birth certificate info. Eek! Baby girl is still breech, so the C-section will take place around 11a or 12p. Our heads are spinning, but we’re just so excited to meet her! Love you.

The charge nurse Andrea walked in to go over some paperwork. It was then that I handed over my birth plan.

“A birth plan for a C-section?” she said, a bit perplexed.

Apparently, it’s not customary. But Andrea kindly walked through each item with me and was able to address what they might be able to do and what might not be possible. I had extra copies that she could share with the other members of the team.

There’s a lot that feels out of your control when it comes to giving birth. Though you can’t predict everything, and you of course need to be ready to follow the recommendations of your team, I saw firsthand the value in articulating what was important to us. And I’m confident it’s what helped contribute to what ended up being an extremely positive Cesarean birth experience.

Here were a few of the elements I included in my birth plan that were unique to a Cesarean-section:

  • I would like the IV catheter, oximeter, and blood pressure cuff to be placed on my non-dominant arm (left) to ensure I have a completely free arm to touch Baby Girl.
  • I would like ECG leads to be placed on my back to make my chest free for skin-to-skin contact.
  • I would prefer not to have my arms strapped down.
  • I would like to play my personal music/meditation in my headphones, especially in the O.R.
  • I would like the doctor or Nikki to ask me, “Are you ready to have your baby now?” before operating.
  • I would like my baby to be placed skin-to-skin with me as soon as possible after delivery. If I am physically unable to hold my baby, I would like Mark to hold the baby on me. If this is not possible, then Mark would like skin-to-skin contact with Baby Girl.
  • Please don’t swaddle Baby Girl while she is skin-to-skin. I’d like my baby to be able to move, and I’d like to see her unobscured. To keep us warm, once my baby is on my chest you can cover both of us with a warm blanket.
  • I would like to have the opportunity to breastfeed as soon as possible after birth. I may need help to do this. If I am physically unable to hold my baby with support, I would like Mark to hold the baby.
  • I wish to delay Baby Girl’s first bath until the evening or second day of life, so that I can get breastfeeding and bonding off to a good start. I would like me or Mark to be present for her first bath.
  • I would like to eat and have the IV and catheter removed as soon as possible after surgery.
  • I am willing to be up and walking as soon as possible.

9 a.m. — We got to meet our O.B., Dr. Enyart, and he took a significant amount of time with us to introduce himself and share about his family and three children (and the amazing stories of their grand arrivals). We felt at ease with him right out of the gate!

In between all of this activity, we called and texted and Face-Timed our family and friends. We talked to Lisbeth and Ransom before they went to church, Mark’s co-worker Shakuntala, my S.I.L. Jodi who called from the road on their trip back from Georgia. Their excitement for us was such an encouragement, and I remember feeling surprisingly calm.

11 a.m. — We got to meet with our anesthesiologist and the nurse anesthetist Jessica who would be with us during the surgery. Through chatting with Jessica, we discovered that we share mutual friends. That was an added comfort to us considering we literally knew none of the staff who were there that day.

As my surgery time neared, my contractions were getting more intense—the kind where I couldn’t talk during them, but needed to breathe through the pain. “So this is what a contraction feels like,” I remember thinking. And just then…

Time to Meet Our Girl!

11:45 a.m. — Jessica came to walk me to the O.R. so we could get things rolling. “You don’t need a wheelchair, right?” I felt like I did because I was leaking fluid non-stop ever since my water had broken at 5 a.m. That surprised me the most! But I just pressed my legs together as I walked, so I wouldn’t leave a trail of drips down the hall. Nobody seemed to care if I did, though. I said goodbye to Mark momentarily while they prepped me for surgery and got him all suited up.

They warned me it would be chilly in the O.R., and they weren’t lying. It wasn’t long before they had me lean over one of the nurses in a hug, so Jessica could administer the spinal block (which was virtually painless). How cool is it that I got to hug a nurse for an injection just like I did as a little girl? Unlike an epidural, a spinal block works super fast. Within seconds, I started losing feeling in my legs, so two nurses and Jessica quickly got me lying on the table, inserted the catheter (which I didn’t feel), and raised the curtain. I remember my legs started to feel very warm as my body went numb.

Jessica had warned me that sometimes, a spinal block can make it feel hard to breathe because your chest is numb, when in reality you can breathe normally. So, I just focused on breathing in and out as I popped my earbuds in and started listening to Michelle’s hypnobirthing track, “Beach Release with Birth Guardian.”

The O.R. was a flurry of activity all around me. It was hard to focus at times because a lot of folk were checking in with me. One of the O.R. nurses was reviewing my birth plan and said, “So, you want to do skin-to-skin a.s.a.p?” “That’d be amazing!” I replied. She gave me a nod of understanding and said she’d do what she could to make it happen. It meant so much to have her advocating for us.

I was relieved to see Mark come in, and they gave him a seat right next to my head. Later, he told me that I looked a little pale at first. I do remember that moment, feeling like I was at a crossroads. Would my fear takeover? Or would peace?

The doctor must’ve been poking me with an instrument because he asked if I felt any pain, and I told him I just felt light pressure. The spinal block was doing its job!

“Are you ready to have your baby now?” Dr. Enyart asked, right on cue.

“I’m so ready!”

12:00 p.m. — Dr. Enyart knew Mark was a fellow doc and welcomed him to peek over the curtain throughout the surgery, which he did, though Mark always stayed close to me. I just kept breathing and focused on visualizing the scene on the beach Michelle’s voice was was guiding me to visualize. I’d go in and out of my relaxed state, shifting from my hypnobirthing exercise to what was happening in the room. I remember the smell of cauterization. It didn’t bother me like I thought it would. I also remember feeling every tug and movement, which is something the nurses had prepared me for.

Just as I could tell the surgery was getting more intense, and a wave of anxiety was rising up in me, my “birth guardian” showed up in my visualization. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. I had chosen Jesus for my birth guardian, and it was such a comfort to me to feel His presence in that moment. We were so very close to meeting our girl—to seeing her face—the face I had imagined and tried to piece together from blurry pixelated ultrasound photos for so long. All those kicks and punches in my tummy, those secret messages we shared, they’d be connected to a person. A Juniper! We had named her many months prior, but it had been a secret between Mark and me until now.

12:08 p.m. — Mark looked over the curtain and saw Dr. Enyart delivering our baby girl—rump first, then feet, body, then head. And when they lifted her up above the curtain for us to see, Mark said, “Welcome to the world, Juniper Rachael Joy Lanker.” She was purple and wet—crying and squirming. Mark was all choked up, and tears came to my eyes as I watched him. The medication I was on and the flood of hormones had me shaking. I remember I couldn’t cry, but I felt such a strong surge of emotion in that moment.

12:09 p.m. — Right after they cut the cord, they brought her to the warmer to towel her off and check her Apgar scores. Poor girl was screaming and crying, so Mark got down real close to her, and said softly, “Hello beautiful girl.” He continued to soothe her with his voice, and he put his hand on her head and her coiled legs like a nest. She squinted at him with those big brown eyes of hers. And he got to do a ceremonial cutting of her umbilical cord then, and they recorded all of her stats and measurements:

NAME: Juniper Rachael Joy Lanker
BIRTHDAY: June 5th, 2016 at 12:08 p.m.
WEIGHT: 7 lbs. 13 oz.
HEIGHT: 20 inches
HAIR: brown
EYES: brown

12:19 p.m. — Mark got to hold Junie and bring her over to me for some skin-to-skin time. A nurse helped him tuck her in my gown and laid a warm blanket overtop us both. She wore a little hat that just wouldn’t stay on. And sometime around then, I stopped shaking.

Dr. Enyart stitched me up for what felt like just five minutes, but I know from our timeline it was more like fifteen. Mark and I were just lost in the beautiful dark eyes of our girl. She was incredibly alert, making eye contact with us the whole time. And it was so remarkable to see how she stopped crying and was soothed by our voices. Perhaps they were familiar?

Those first moments together as a family of three were sheer joy. I’m so thankful we have a few photos and short videos of that time to help us remember it for always.

12:35 p.m. — After the surgery was complete, I asked Dr. Enyart if he had seen any clear reason why she was in the breech position, to which he said he didn’t. It’ll remain a mystery, but seeing how her birth played out, I truly can’t imagine it any other way now. This was her story.

The nurses rolled me into the recovery room while Mark stayed with Juniper for her eye ointment, a few routine tests, and the classic footprinting moment.

12:53 p.m. — Soon, the three of us were reunited! Despite my fears about nursing troubles beforehand, Junie was able to latch almost immediately with the help of the nurse, Roxanne. Juniper nursed for over an hour straight after which we both dozed. Roxanne pressed on my uterus to see that it had contracted as it should to help control the bleeding, and it had! This would become a regular check by the nurses every several hours for the next few days.

3:00 p.m. — Later, we were moved to our private room, and I breastfed Junie every few hours so she could get that “liquid gold” colostrum and so I could stimulate my milk to come in. Mark also enjoyed lots of Daddy-daughter skin-to-skin time!

7:30 p.m. — Mark’s parents were our first set of visitors and had driven from Georgia that day, so they could meet their seventh grandchild. It was quite the cuddle-fest.

8:30 p.m. — My friend Darling visited us with tears of joy in her eyes, and we all sang “Happy Birthday” to Juniper!

1:30 a.m. — Many of my friends who had had Cesarean births encouraged me to get up and walk as soon as they’ll let you since it can help with the recovery process. So, at 1:30 a.m., after they removed the leg-squeezers from my legs, the I.V., and catheter, I took my first walk to the bathroom. The hardest part, however, was trying to empty my bladder. I didn’t see that one coming! I remember I had to really concentrate to help my body remember how everything worked.

The Rest of Our Stay

We decided to delay Juniper’s first bath 24 hours, so she could get all the benefits of that vernix, and so we could just hunker down and bond as a family. But on Monday, we made it my first “outing” to walk to the nursery where our sweet-as-pie nurse Yolanda gave Junie her first bath. She was so gentle and sweet with our girl, but of course, Junie would have none of it. Thankfully, she was easily soothed by Mark’s finger in her mouth.

We chuckled at how Junie looked under the warmer afterward when they gave her her Hepatitis B shot. Those breech legs were sticking straight up in the air! (It took a few weeks for them to go down fully.)

We discovered the “Do Not Disturb Sign,” which meant we were able to get in snoozing time. The nurses just had to come in every few hours for medication, check my incision, and press on my uterus. We also had to track Junie’s input and output, as well as my own. They really pushed me to drink lots of water.

I stayed on top of my pain medication and tried to get the blood flowing by getting up and walking when I could, and I really do think that was in part why my C-section recovery was as smooth as it was. Getting in and out of bed or the car was a bit rough at first, but I remember that by 9 days out, I was feeling pretty good!

The nurses taught us their best swaddling techniques. And gave us the run-down on changing diapers (it had been ages for both of us). I got to meet with various lactation consultants who helped us make sure we were on the right track with nursing.

We enjoyed more visitors Monday evening: Junie’s Uncle Scott, Auntie Holly, and her cousins; Auntie Jodi; and my parents arrived late that evening. Oh, the love that filled their eyes when they got to hold their first granddaughter for the first time.

And the next morning, Katie from Grow Lovely & Co. stopped by for a “Fresh 48” photo session. I’m so grateful we have those photos capturing our fresh new bond with our Junie.

I remember Mark and I turned to each other on several occasions during our hospital stay and said, “Why didn’t anyone tell us how amazing this would be?”

So many people have horror stories about their labor and delivery. But we felt like they under-represented how utterly incredible it would feel once the baby had arrived. It was so much better than we expected. The road ahead would not be easy, and there would be a lot more trial to come, but we had our girl in our arms. And more love than we knew what to do with.

Thankfully, after just two overnights, Junie got cleared by the physician to go home, and Nikki cleared me to go home (cough…I had passed the “passed gas” test, which is apparently a big deal after a Cesarean birth, just to make sure things are functioning as they should…cough cough). As much as I was so grateful for the team of nurses and caregivers at the hospital, I was definitely ready to get settled into home life as a family of three.

A grand new adventure had begun!

To Close

Juniper’s birth story is also my own story because carrying her in my womb and now in my arms has forever changed me. And I’m not just talking about my C-section scar or how I hobble when I get out of bed from achy joints a year later.

But I am a different person than I was before she grew into our hearts like the tallest skyrocket juniper tree that ever reached into the heavens:

I am stronger than I thought. I can do hard things. Penny was right.

I am more in love with Mark because of what we’ve been through and because of how he cuts her nails so carefully while I read a book to her.

I am more in touch with my emotions and cry without fail when I hear songs like “Slow Down” and “Never Grow Up.”

I am more in awe of the miracle of birth.

I am more trusting of God when curveballs come my way.

And my heart grows bigger everyday with Juniper in our lives.

Thanks for reading our story! And now, the photo story:

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....
This is dear, dear Penny!

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....
The amazing Yolanda.
Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....
Nikkie meets Junie!

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Juniper's Birth Story | "What if Plan B was Actually Our Plan A?" A story about a first-time mama with control issues, a breech baby that just wouldn't flip, and a doula with hypnobirthing techniques that helped turn a C-section / Cesarean birth into a truly beautiful experience! Prepare to be inspired....

Happy birthday, Juniper!

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Where to go next?

If you just can’t get enough of birth stories, you’re my kind of people. {Grin.} Juniper has a younger sister named Pepper now! And you can read Pepper’s Birth Story HERE.

Pepper's Birth Story: How our "spicy" girl entered the world! By Lauren from The Thinking Closet.
Click HERE to read Pepper’s Birth Story.

*Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase after clicking through, The Thinking Closet may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Thanks for helping to support this site!

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42 Comments

  1. OMG! I cried! I didn’t think I could read through the whole thing … and I left in the middle … but I HAD to come back to find out how it all went. What a lovely story of courage, faith and utter joy beautifully written.

    I, too, had a cesarean birth with my daughter, 23 years ago. It was a complete surprise and definitely not as beautiful as yours, but no complications and all went well.

    Thank you for finally sharing the entire story, Lauren. Your courage is inspiring. Kisses (lots of them) to the adorable Juniper!

    1. Wow. You do deserve a gold star for getting through it all! I’m so grateful that you would read it…and be such an open-hearted receiver of it! Thank you, Kim. And I appreciate those words of affirmation. And I have no doubt your Cesarean birth was beautiful…after all, it brought your daughter into your arms! And what a relief to know all went smoothly.

      It will be a delight to pass your kisses on to Junie. Hugs!

  2. What a beautiful family… Love the photos and special words, Wish Junie Happy Belated birthday. Please give her many hugs, blessings and angel kisses. Grandma joan

    1. Aw, thanks so much Grandma Joan! I will definitely pass your birthday wishes and sweet affection onto her. What a blessing to have so many friends near and far joining in the celebrating.

  3. I was mesmerized reading little Junie’s story! Thank you Lauren. It was great and the pictures were priceless. This precious girl is so blessed already because of the loving family she has been born into. God bless you all as you live, love, learn and laugh with Jesus as He leads you through each stage of this beautiful journey! I hope I get to meet her in person someday.

    1. Aw, thank you so much, Martha! And what an honor to receive your words of great blessing about our precious girl. Yes, we are so very thankful for the legacy of her praying grandparents…and oh what a joy that we get to spend quality time with each of them throughout the year. And thanks for your encouragement to me, as well! You are a gem…and I, too, hope that you and Junie can meet face to face in the not too distant future! Hugs to you.

  4. Read this on Friday at work, and I just wanted to say it was EXACTLY what I needed. I’m 36 weeks and still breech. My first baby was born 4.5 years ago, and I had my no drugs natural delivery that I wanted. I wanted to repeat the experience with this one, and have been struggling daily with the idea that I need a c-section when I have doing so much to prepare for another natural vaginal delivery (almost to the point my husband is about done hearing me talk about it). I know that he still might flip, and I’m still doing my exercises and going to the chiro and looking into moxibustion, etc, but this made me feel much less alone in this process. Thank you!

    1. Oh wow, Amber! I’m so very thankful that my story touched your heart. Girl, you are NOT alone! And the disappointment you’re grappling with right now about possibly not having the birth you’ve been planning and hoping and praying for…well, it’s very real. And I think it’s so important and healthy to acknowledge it. And I think you’re wise to keep doing what you can, but just take comfort in knowing that if that sweet boy stays where he’s at, you will still have a beautiful birth story…because it’s HIS unique story. And because he’ll be in your arms in a matter of weeks and all the worry and frustration you feel will fade away. Blessings on the rest of your pregnancy! You’ve got this, girl. You can do hard things.

  5. Thanks a lot for your lovely story on MY Birthday … 5th of June many years ago in the last millenium ? I try to understand every word … because of this wonderful fairytale of birth….
    Funny to read some words in English: Delivery room … sounds like a parcel delivery room at post station ? but in Germany the birth room is called “Kreißsaal” sounds like “Circle room” … but the real translation for this old old word is “screamimg room” ? … so I like your word “delivery room” MUCH MORE. Thats also very lovely to see all this fantastic pictures of your little girls … wish you a great time with your soon running little girlie ?

    1. Happy belated birthday to you, Saphira! What an awesome day June 5th is! {Wink.} Just as you were delighted by some of our English words and how they translate…I loved how you put it when you said, “because of this wonderful fairytale of birth.” So beautifully put. You’re right: it is wonderful like a fairytale. Ha ha, and like you screaming room certainly would instill more fear in me…so delivery room (though a bit misleading like you said…where are we, the post office?) I suppose is a better term for now! Ha ha. Thank you so much for your kind words and well wishes. Yes, I have a hunch she’ll be walking before we know it. Hugs across the pond!

  6. These pictures are a reminder of how much Juniper has changed in the past year and YET, who she is, and what she looks like now, are to be seen even in earliest days of life outside the womb.

    1. Yes, what a year it has been with our precious ever-changing, ever-growing girl. And what a joy to have you be a part of so much of it!

  7. Thanks for sharing Juniper’s story! As I was reading the part about the C-section and how you felt every tug….oh, I was all tense…and remembering that feeling with baby #2.(I think my blood pressure probably went up while reading it. LOL) How I hated that feeling!!! I felt so out of control!

    I did laugh at the “trail” you left while walking. My water broke at 6am with baby #1 …while the guy was mopping the hallway. I felt so bad! He laughed and told me it was nothing. I’m sure I wasn’t the first! LOL

    My 1st childbirth was one of those PLAN B stories. In fact, so was the 2nd one! 1st one…baby boy…10 days late. ALL back labor. Pain on top of pain. Then, after pushing for hours they took away my epidural and said I was “not pushing right”. WHAT?! They were not as caring as your staff. Then, they realized that he was stuck. I could have told them that had I been able to TALK….the pain was so bad all that child birth breathing was not working. I was yelling. Mama’s pelvis was not spreading enough. I am not like my mom….she just slid all 4 of us out. She had no problems during any pregnancy. I was sick as a dog. LOL I was knocked out for that C-section. The boy weighed 9lbs 6 oz with a 14″ head. We nick named him BIG HEAD. hahaha He was the only baby born that day so he was spoiled rotten! I was also treated so good by that older nurse with the big saggy arms like my grandma had. I loved my grandma’s big saggy arms…they were so soft…and I used them as a pillow when I was a kid. LOL

    Big head is now 23 and this year is his 1st Father’s Day!!!His boy will be a year old on 7/7.

    Baby #2. She was so big they already knew she was going to have to be a C-section. I don’t know how she got so big….I threw up every meal I ate for 8 1/2 months. LOL She was due Nov 8, so we scheduled the C-section for Friday, Nov 3rd, to make things easier. The boy was in 1st grade, my mom worked, etc. I took the boy trick or treating on Oct 31, and I tripped. I didn’t fall. I did jar myself REAL good, though. I was HUGE. That did it…she was fed up! LOL At 4 am NOv 1, baby girl decided she wanted to be born.

    I was separated from my husband, it was picture day for the boy, my husband was living 10 minutes away but my parents lived 20-25. The hospital was 30 minutes away by highway. It was a Wednesday and rush hour traffic by the time my parents came to get me around 8am. BIG TIME TRAFFIC. The back road we WOULD have taken was being paved so it was closed.

    My fond funny memories are of my mom…she had put an old shower curtain on the back seat in case my water broke, she waved my dad’s hanky out the window as we drove on the emergency lane on the highway. That meant my dad was driving over that bumpy line …the one to wake you up when you veer off the road…yeah…THAT was NOT helping me. LOL! I was hee hee who-ing in the back seat. Good thing I took a refresher birthing class and had a focus point with every breath!!! I was told I had to WAIT at the hospital because the ORs were busy with SCHEDULED C-sections. Well, SOR-RY! I had planned on 2 days of last minute things BEFORE having my C-section. I was inconvenienced, too. LOL

    Baby girl was born…TALKING. NO crying. Just babbling.The doc said he had heard of babies coming out talking before, but she was his 1st. They gave her to my mom and she brought her to my face. I heard bbaaa bbaaa blee blee bah. I said, “I know….you had no more room, and when I tripped you bumped around and you just had enough.” LOL

    One great memory was when I called the school, and they patched me in to my 1st grader’s class….and I said, “Wes, your sister is here. You are now a big brother”. I know he felt so great…and special since he got a call DURING class.

    By age 13 months she was talking in full sentences. She put her hand on her hip and told her brother “Wes. You agg-a-vate me”. I think I busted a gut that day. LOL (I must have said that WAY too much! But the boy has ADHD, so aggravation is the norm. LOL) She is now 16 years old and my best-est buddy. I call her “my mother” because she is the voice of reason at times when I am shopping and she keeps me from impulse buying. LOL (I have a bit of a YARN addiction.LOL)

    So all we go through in child birth…..the planned, the unplanned, and the somewhat scary…..ALL WORTH IT!!!!!

    1. Oh…and baby girl was 10 lbs 3 oz at A WEEK EARLY. Yeah…a real biggun’!!! No wonder she got fed up…there was no room left! She was laying on her ear, and it was bent…so she has one ear that sticks out a bit..it’s missing that one “crease”. But other than that she was ok. My water never broke…here it had broken high up….and most of it had oozed out day by day…a little at a time. I realized later that when I would lay on a certain side, it must have oozed a bit. That side was uncomfortable, so I would flip to the other side. I thank God for that.

  8. This is a treasure for you, Mark, and Juniper to refer to at special times or maybe even for no particular reason.

    There were some aspects of Juniper’s and your story that I didn’t know, or perhaps didn’t remember, and some photos I don’t think I’d seen. We were thrilled to make it to the hospital on Monday night (in the midst of tropical storm Colin) and then to share the next morning being together with Juniper, you and Mark with Mark’s parents–lunch as we bonded as grandparents while you three bonded and had the Fresh 48 photos.

    It’s so wonder-FULL how Jesus was your birth guardian for Juniper! He has been with you during your own gestational growth and birth, through the trauma of childhood medical visits (and while your suffering as a child is painful to remember, I rejoice in how God transformed those traumas for His glory), and as you grew up, met, and married Mark.

    Happy Birthday, Juniper, and congratulations on your and Mark’s first year of parenting! You are a great parenting-team! (e.g. you read a book to Juniper, while Marks trims her finger- and toe-nails!

    The adventures have only just begun!

  9. Thanks Lauren! That was such a sweet story. I love hearing birth stories -they are each so precious! I’m so thankful you and Mark have been blessed with little Juniper! It was so fun to see all the pictures too!

  10. What a sweet story, Lauren. I enjoy so much the way God shows up so naturally in your narratives. I remember like yesterday (though it was nearly 36 years ago) when my baby girl first looked up at me with those alert, wide open eyes. I could see her thinking, “So that’s what my mom looks like!”

    I am a fellow-wimp medically speaking, and I know every bit of that fear and the pointless wrestling with God for control. He’s given me way too much practice in the last several years, so it is clearly a lesson he wants me to learn.

    Enjoy every single minute with that sweet baby girl. The only bigger joy in life is grandchildren.

  11. I loved reading through this sweet story of Junie’s birth! I almost cried of happiness. 🙂 Reading through it, and especially listening to that “Slow Down” song makes me so excited for when I have my own precious family.

  12. Awe, what a sweet story!! I was blessed to have the same dream team at FL hospital as well. God taught me a lot about patience and control through my experience too. Congrats to your entire family on a wonderful First year!! Happy First Birthday Juniper!!

  13. Wow Lauren! That is incredible that you were able to record all them moments! an amazing story that is so special!
    Happy birthday Juniper! ?

    I love reading your posts and i do feel that even though we have never met you feel like i have always known you.

    Thank you for sharing your life with me. It’s so precious and you always help and inspire me in my faith and life. I am so grateful that God put you in my life 🙂

    I really want to be more purposeful in recording moments and would love some tips.

  14. How exciting to get to read all about Junie’s birth on her first birthday and what a treasure for her and you to have this record if how you felt and what happened. Thank you for sharing Junie with us all, she truly is loved by everyone-even your blog and IG followers like me. It warms my heart to see how much love you, Mark and Junie have. May it always be so????????

  15. I love this. All if this. So much!! I also had a c section because of a stubbornly breech lady and some other things too, specifically how my diabetes affected the process (I wrote about it here in case you are interested http://www.mommakesjoy.com/2016/03/evas-birth-story-part-1.html)

    Thank you for sharing! I just really enjoyed reading this. I robbed myself of my birth experience I think, but I know better now and I’m excited about the possibility of #2 being different. We’re trying for full-on unmedicated VBAC eeek!!

  16. Happy birthday Little June-bug!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    thank you for sharing your lovely birth story. what a lovely life lesson it included for being totally prepared but when that plan was interrupted there was a way to incorporate the way you wanted it to be with the reality. beautiful !! another one door closed but He provided another one for you to open and you were able to bring along things you felt needed to come through the door with you.

  17. Thanks for sharing your beautiful story and beautiful family with us! Happy birthday to Juniper. She is lucky to have such wonderful parents. My oldest turns 30 this week, and our “Plan B” seems as fresh as yesterday. We also had a change of plan with #2 and #3, but I guess that was our norm –
    LOL. As long as all turns out well in the end the details along the way become the story, not the disappointment or frustration that things didn’t go as planned. Best wishes to you and yours!

  18. awww, what a beautiful story! I love reading birth stories 🙂 It’s been fun to see from a distance all the joy little Junie has brought to your lives. You are blessed!
    My own birth stories often brought a change in plans – yes, our plans do not always match God’s plan, but isn’t it wonderful He does have a plan!?
    I have to laugh at Juniper’s legs-straight-up pic — my breech baby did the same!
    Happy Birthday, Juniper!

  19. This story made me so happy and ☺ and tearful. It’s almost exactly as my birth story for my daughter Courtney . Her birthday is June 23, 1989 ☺. I too had planned for natural childbirth. It didn’t happen, as I have a very narrow bone structure in the pelvic area. My team of Drs.and nurses were most kind, and my Dr was on vacation when my C-section came about!!( It was not scheduled )! I am so happy for you and Mark and Juniper . My daughter was married in August 2015. ⛪ ? ?… Time flies.. Enjoy your darling ?. ? ? ? HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUNIPER!

  20. What a beautiful account of her birth! God is so good and so faithful!! Enjoy every minute!! God Bless you all!!

  21. What a beautiful story! I also delivered my sweet daughter using hypnotherapy …in 1979. It was considered experimental, especially for a military hospital. While neither my OB or designated midwife were on duty, but I was lucky to have one of three trained nurses by my side that night and early into the next morning. My only oops was my nurse was not in the room when the orderlies arrived to transfer me from my labor bed to a delivery table, so they didn’t know to talk me through the transition. My midwife just happened to have delivered my son at a different AF base 3 years before, and labor/delivery were so easy compared to the first time.

  22. Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful story, Lauren. I loved every word. Junie is loved by so many. She is a true blessing!

  23. I am at work so I am willing myself not to cry; not for any other reason but because it is so “real life” and affirming. Juniper’s story is beautiful and I want to thank you for sharing it.

  24. Oh my goodness! This is pure beauty! You are one tough loving mama! Junie is sooo blessed to have you! You will love re reading this post through the years, what a treasure! You are amazing! Have the best day celebrating!

  25. What a precious and God honoring story of Juniper’s birth. This is something she will cherish!

    Pop Pop

  26. Beautiful story! My first baby was breech also but it wasn’t discovered until 38 weeks so I had only a week to shift gears from all natural to C-section. I remember those little legs sticking straight up too!

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