Stacy is such a sweet woman. She has been so enthusiastic about her birth throughout her pregnancy. With her first, Liam, there were complications and she had him premature. She was very determined that this time would be different. We all felt a little nervous when she started having contractions far too early, so she went on bed rest to help ensure Everly would have plenty of time to grow before she was born. We all celebrated when she finally reached 37 weeks and was considered “in window” for birth.

We were at the tail end of a birth, when we got a call from Stacy that she was in labor. We set up the spare birth room and prepared for a double decker! Stacy arrived at the birth center with her family.  Liam was in “go mode” and tearing through the birth center. Steven wanted to support Stacy, so Kristen and I took turns distracting Liam with toys and games. Finally, I could tell Liam was exhausted and fighting sleep, so I took him out front. I rocked him on the swinging bench, we watched the moon, and I sang, “You Are My Sunshine”.  He fell asleep on my lap and I placed him down to sleep on the bed in the prenatal room.  After a nice run of contractions, things slowed down and Stacy tried to rest.

By morning, things had slowed down and Stacy decided to go home and see if things would pick back up or not. We all took that time to rest, because we had a feeling we would be back that next night. Sure enough, in the wee hours of the morning, we got the call and all met back at the birth center. This time it was for real, and it wasn’t going to stop! We quickly prepared the space. It was a lovely birth, and Stacy was amazing and strong! There were many gorgeous shots of Stacy during labor and birth, but they were too intimate to share. Thank you Stacy and Steven for allowing me to share your story and a few special images from this special day!

Congratulations Stacy, Steven, and big brother  Liam on the birth of Everly Leora May!

She was waterborn at The Ocala Birth Center weighing in at 6lbs 12oz on 9/1/13 at 7:18am!

“The whole point of woman-centered birth is the knowledge that a woman is the birth power source. She may need, and deserve, help, but in essence, she always had, currently has, and will have the power.” ~Heather McCue