Heart Strings Birth Services

07/17/2026

I’m a day late! But here is the birth story of my 10th baby born July 15th 2019.

When my due date came and went it wasn’t a surprise, but after I passed by 8 days it was the furthest I had ever gone. I did a fair amount of crying, alternated with happy times of celebrating how well my body and baby were doing, needing hugs and also knowing this was completely within normal. When 14 days had gone by my midwife ordered an ultrasound (BPP) to check on how baby was doing. She scored great! So we waited.

It did feel like I was watching the clock, so I asked a lady I found online if she would work me in to do belly henna. I just wanted to press into celebrating instead of waiting. She came over and spent 3 hours on my belly and the cutest mandala. Every time I looked in the mirror I didn’t see a waiting mama anymore I saw a beautiful belly, fun artwork, and it gave me so much joy.

Jason was a complete trouper. He trusted the process and kept me feeling grounded with tons of hugs and his sense of humor.

I decided to keep an appointment for the girls and as we got there I had a cramp that felt very familiar and like the “real” thing. I sat filling out paperwork with contractions starting to come every 6 minutes and I decided I would cancel after all. I didn’t want to be driving when things got more intense.

We came home and I asked some friends if my kids could come play. I just really felt I needed space to relax and let labor happen.

I shot Jason a text to please come home when he was done with his appointment he was at, but I think excitement got the better of him because he rushed home as fast as he could.

He set up the pool, I called Dana my midwife and asked her if she would come hang out even though it was early yet. It just felt good to think she’d be close. So she came and shopped on the internet and chatted with me as I had my contractions.

The neighbor stopped by to talk to Jason in the front yard and I got so annoyed I poked my head out the door to tell him to go home because I was in labor. ( this shocked Jason, because I’m generally not that direct) He looked at me with wide eyes when I was a little spicy with my words.

Once Jason was back inside things slowly picked up and it became clear things were close to transition.

I got in the pool and Jason grabbed swim trunks and got in with me. We would hug during contractions, and he would put pressure on my back as best he could at the same time.

My back was so intense I turned my back and kind of sat in his lap and asked him to rub my back, but just then my water popped. He said it was such a big concussion he couldn’t tell if he heard or just felt it pop against him.

And with that contraction my body was pushing her out. I let out a scream as her head pushed into my supporting hand. And with one more push her shoulder slipped under my p***c bone, then her body slipped out and she was floating in the water in front of me.

I remember she was covered in the whitest vernix and her red hair was so bright it shocked me. I had assumed she would have brown hair like Jason.

I scooped her into my arms and then panicked. Jason was supposed to catch her and it totally hadn’t gone that way!

I kind of shoved this “little” baby into his arms and he looked so shocked…. and probably thought I was a little nuts 🤣

We looked together and saw we had a little girl! We snuggled her in the water taking turns as we waiting on my placenta, which was fairly quick in coming, and then moved to the couch. We had the girls come back so they could greet their new sister and piled on the couch to just enjoy being together.

The names we had talked about didn’t seem good enough and it was 2 whole weeks of calling her baby girl until Jason was sitting on the couch holding her and asked her what her name would be if she could tell us… I asked him what he heard in his head and he kind of laughed at my woo woo side and said the name “Zafariah”, and when I heard it, I felt it was her name right away.

And that is the story of Zafariah.

She was 9 lbs 15 ounces and our hearts were so full and she keeps them that way.

07/13/2026

Thank you Carolyn for taking the time to share your experience! It means so much! ❤️

07/12/2026

I can’t get enough of this family! They are just the sweetest ever and I wish everyone could know and love them….

So when Joelle reached out saying she was pregnant, I was STOKED! At her first appointment Caitlyn and I noticed she was measuring soooooo big! We asked if she would like to see if there was more than one, got out the little ultrasound I have, and I was like…. Pretty sure that is two!!!

She asked me the next visit what this news meant for her nutritionally, and was so diligent focusing on her goals of tons of protein, and nutrient dense food.

Fast forward to full term twins born at 38 weeks! She’s a rockstar. And her hubby is too. I’ll save the birth story for another post.

Now that you all have graduated from care, as I say so often, you haven’t graduated from me caring. I am always here and hope we get to see each other often as they grow! And if you ever wonder if you should send those kiddos and family pictures the answer is YES!!!!

07/09/2026

Caitlyn and I have been out on a busy Homevisit day and stopped at Art of Motion in Holdingford for lunch. (They are amazing… if you haven’t been, go!!!)

And we ran into this amazing lady and her sweet hubby and kiddos and couldn’t believe how blessed we were to get to visit a dear friend! So her hubby Justin took the kiddos to the park and let us have a quick girly chat and we HAD to take a selfie!

If you ever need a photographer check them out! MN/TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHER

07/09/2026

I miss these people already! 🥹

From the beginning I loved Jessi’s way of being so straightforward and her sense of humor! Ricky was there with her almost every appointment.

They were so laid back and trusting of the process.

The day of labor came with some surprises and a quick transport, It wasn’t our ideal but it was a great birth right after getting to the hospital, and this little girl and her parents are thriving!

I’m so thankful for this time getting to know and love all of you! I hope you send us baby pics and we get to see you often! Don’t be strangers!!!

07/08/2026

Congratulations to this amazing family on their new little man! 💙

….and huge thanks to Student Midwife Caitlyn, my forever bestie. We make a great team! 🥰

07/07/2026

Location: Games Lake

Date:August 2nd 2026

Time: 4 until ?

This is a potluck event, being a dish to share and whatever meat you want to grill.

We will provide drinks and plates etc…

The lake is great for swimming! I can’t wait to see you all and see how our babies are growing! 🥹

07/07/2026

07/06/2026

In the early morning today we got to help welcome a sweet little peanut of a baby girl!!!

Baby girl, your mama is amazing, and your Daddy never stopped doing what he could to support your mama the whole time!

Thank you to Midwife Students Caitlyn and Kiana! Our mamas are so blessed to have your care! 🥹💗

07/05/2026

Piper’s birth story
4/15/26

I think to tell Piper’s story we have to go back several years. We had wanted another baby for years and like with our second child it took longer than we anticipated. It seemed like I still had to learn the lesson of waiting on God’s timing, thankfully this time I kept this thought in the back of my mind and never reached the point of complete desperation like last time. But after 4 years I started thinking that God’s answer was “no” and allowed myself to grieve and move forward. This was when we found out about Piper, it came out of nowhere and by this point we weren’t even trying.

I immediately knew that I wanted to work with a midwife and have a home birth. We met with Elizabeth very early on and I knew right away that I wanted to have her as my midwife. She was extremely helpful during early pregnancy complications and I was so thankful to have so much more support than I ever did with my conventional medicine pregnancies in the past.

Fast forward 9 months, I was so excited about my upcoming home birth. Waiting for labor to start seemed like a never ending battle, which I know sounds dramatic, but I reached a point where I thought the whole pregnancy was just a joke and that I would never see my baby. But finally at 41 and 4, I woke up with contractions at 12:00 am and laid there for the next several hours just timing them to see if this was really happening. I woke my husband up around 2 am and told him that I was in labor and that we should probably contact Elizabeth soon because my contractions were only 5-7 minutes apart.

Elizabeth and Caitlyn both arrived right around 3 and even though I was so thankful they were there but for some reason it made me also feel pressured and labor started to stall for a bit. This is only because I’m such a people pleaser and I felt bad for making both of them come in the middle of the night and at this point I still didn’t really think my baby was actually coming after waiting for so long for labor to start. So I started resting in bed with a suggested position while the ladies went to catch a nap in a different room. This went on until around 4:30-5, and at that point I was starting to get the labor shakes and I wanted to get in the tub.

Getting in the tub felt amazing, the shaking stopped and I was able to focus on relaxing through contractions. Around 6 I was feeling the urge to push and I honestly thought that the end was coming, but then my water broke and the urge to push went away. Labor continued on and was getting harder to remain relaxed, my husband got in the tub with me for support. At this point I feel like I was in labor land and most things going on around me didn’t register in my mind. I had no idea how much time was passing and it wasn’t until Piper was born that I realized that almost three hours passed between my water breaking and birth.

I reached a point where labor didn’t seem to be progressing and Elizabeth asked if she could check me to see what was going on. We ended up trying several different positions to help Piper descend further and get into a better place. During all the positions I was also pushing to help her get down. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and still to this day it blows my mind. Finally after two hours of pushing and trying different things Piper was crowning. She was face up, and had both of her hands by her head. Through the process of crowning she pulled one hand back and turned herself with her face to the back. Her movements were almost as painful to me as the contractions, and certainly one of the weirdest things I’ve experienced. To avoid tearing, I had to wait during most of the crowning period, which seemed to go on forever although it was maybe 10 minutes. With a couple more pushes Piper finally made her arrival at 9:19 AM and was immediately in my arms. I couldn’t believe how big she was and how much she looked like her big brother Lincoln. Piper did not cry right away but once she started she sounded like a bird crowing its displeasure.

Both boys and my Mom were in the room when Piper was born and I’m so thankful that we all got to experience that together. Even Franklin (my dog) rushed upstairs and jumped on the side of the tub once he heard all the commotion going on. Giving birth at home was the hardest and yet most peaceful thing I’ve ever done, I’m so incredibly thankful that my last baby/birth was redeeming and empowering