Sitting here in tears listening to your testimony. It is so beautiful the way God cares for us in the hard times, even if we don't see it at the time. Thank you for sharing God's faithfulness through your trials. What a beautiful baby! Congratulations!
I lost my bub at 24 wks pregnant. It’s so beautiful to listen to birth stories right now, I find it reassuring that there are many births that end in healthy babies. And remind me of my previous healthy homebirths.
No cause was found , mostly they don’t find a cause everything was normal , he was growing well early on , born a month small for his gestation though. I had a gut feeling something was off since conception.
Oh my goodness Steph, this was so cool to hear your story. I had a very very similar birth story on February 7th but in the middle of the night. I was in denial that I was really in labor at first. Contractions started while getting kids ready for bed. This was my 4th baby. Didn’t have time to get the pool ready, midwife didn’t make it. I was so at peace listening to scripture affirmations and my husband caught the baby while I was on hands and knees on my bed at 3:39am. Contractions went from 5 minutes apart to… I think I have to push… me telling my husband, “leave the pool , it’s too late, come over here and get ready to catch the baby” (while midwives were on speaker phone on their way here). Then I started pushing, 2 pushes later baby’s head is crowning and then her head is out, and then next push her shoulders come out and then her body just slides right out. She was 7 lbs. 10 oz. my smallest baby so far. But so beautiful and amazing and fast! The midwives arrived about 20 minutes later in time to help me with birthing the placenta and cutting umbilical cord a few hours later… sorry long story in a comment but it was just so similar to yours that u wanted to share. God bless you and your beautiful family! He is faithful 🙌🏼
Oh, Sister…I pray you read this comment. I believe I might know what’s going on! Your previous Lyme disease may have relapsed again, which is common when those with previous Lyme undergo major stress. This happened to me during my last pregnancy which pushed my body to the limits with 40wk 8-lb twins. I had 4 kiddos under 4 and my immune system shut down again and the Lyme bacteria escalated since those with Lyme can’t completely eradicate it but rather the bacteria moreso goes into remission when you’re in a place of more rest and healing. The light sensitivity, the dizziness and imbalance, the extreme fatigue, anxiety, connective tissue disfunction with ligaments and tendons, etc all absolutely make sense under Lyme. I could be wrong, but I care about you deeply, and I absolutely love your channel and hope this can shed some light for you to consider. What if you ask the doctor who helped you with your Lyme previously to test your current bacteria levels again with igenex labs? Mine relapsed and I’m undergoing herbs and doing various healthy treatments to get my levels back down again. I went from wearing sunglasses in the house and church because I couldn’t see without tears streaming and squinting to being able to have decently white eyes again. It was so isolating. I’m still working through the joint pain and various other things but I’m already feeling so much better. I pray you’re able to get this msg and somehow it can help give some insight. Praying for you, beautiful mama and sister in Christ. He is our Good Shepherd caring for us faithfully! 🩵🙏🌻
Wow. Theres another Momma that went through this & has EDS, Pots: Cameron Fradd Podcast. Vitamin Deficiency like low D (being indoors w/ kiddos/house responsibilities contributes to this) Viral loads from Seasonal influx also contribute to diminishing vitamins, Cortisol suppression and it winds up into a Storm. Dr Elizabeth Bright shed light on this with low Iodine, Fat, Meat consumption. Nutritionist Mary Ruddick speaks to the lack of Thiamine intake 🫂🌸
@@LepantoLemonade you’re so very kind to write me! I appreciate anyone who wants to share any thoughts. I will definitely look into that and appreciate your kindness. I haven’t heard of that doctor and podcast. Bless you. 🩵
@@-living4jesus4ever- Try looking for an Electrolyte supplement & of course not without consulting your Doctor. If they give the go: Brand to Brand will have variance so find the one you respond to! one *without* cyanocobalamin... just the essentials Magnesium, Potassium, Salt there are others with Calcium it really depends on your individual needs
@@LepantoLemonadeMary is/was my nutritionist. She helped me into remission with my autoimmune disease of Hashimoto’s and early RA. God bless her. Thank you for sharing her wisdom.
46 minutes…you lucky beautiful momma!!! Your son is so handsome and precious!!! God has blessed you all so richly!!! I’m so hugely happy for all of you!!! ❤❤❤❤
Praise the Lord! Every birth story is precious. My youngest child is almost 31, but I still love sharing my 4 birth stories! There’s nothing like the birth experience, & no two birth stories or babies are the same! Thanks for sharing! 😊❤
CHECK YOUR HOUSE FOR MOLD. (Especially HVAC and washing machine) Omgosh you have so many of the symptoms. Light sensitivity, gall bladder issues, anxiety, balance issues, weakness fatigue. I had horrible debilitating morning sickness too and I was living in mold. There’s a toxic mold support group that’s really helpful.
Steph, I usually never comment...but I just have to today. The way you've suffered so much, and yet you continued to smile and bring us the parts of your day when you could for the last 9 months---is not surprising knowing you and yet it still kind of is. You reached some of your lowest points as a human and yet your faith remained intact and your sweet smile was always there encouraging us, responding to comments, etc. You are built of different stuff and we all can see it... you're lovely and so is your family and farm. I wanted to say congrats and thank you for being an inspiration to us even when you felt your lowest.
Wow, your whole story sounds like my last pregnancy in so many ways. Just different issues from 8 weeks on, and we had emergency c-section to save both our lives right on 31 weeks. I also prayed for this baby to have lots of hair... a very in passing kind of prayer that I knew was just a desire of mine... but at 31 weeks, her little head was covered in thick black hair 😍❤🥹 Jesus truly does care, so much!!! He is so sweet to me. ❤
My second baby I went full term, water broke at a little after 8am and I was 100% when I walked in total the hospital around 9:30am 😅 We got pulled over on our way, lol, for speeding... funny story.😊
My quickest delivery was probably about 45 ish minutes too. I don’t know, but definitely less than an hour, perhaps less than 30 minutes. My midwife couldn’t get there in time, but a friend who lived 6 minutes away made it. It was a difficult pregnancy with hyperemesis, and then the birth was hard. My daughter presented posterior and face first. And since I pretty much skipped stage one labor and dove straight into transition, her face was out, and for two killer contractions, she just did not budge. Thankfully, I had read Ina May Gaskin’s books, and knew what to do with shoulder dystocia, so I moved from kneeling to full hands and knees, and did some cat/cow, or belly dancing type of wiggling, while crying out to Jesus to save us and help us. He did. Baby was pushing (like standing strong) and I PUSHED and she came out. She was over 11 pounds. And I was bleeding too much. I remember passing out and seeing stars, and seeing myself in the tub from up in the ceiling. It was really amazing. But I slurred out “Give me the baby.” And when my friend held the baby on my chest, and near my face, and I could smell her, little by little I felt like I could breath again and get oxygen. I knew I needed to smell her to get the oxytocin I needed to absorb oxygen. And it worked. My husband is not supportive or helpful, so different pregnancies and births are very hard on the kids and I. I didn’t think I would have any more children after this one, but the Lord surprised me with my youngest. He had a much more normal delivery.
Wonderful story. Listening to your story i can relate so much. 2 weeks away from delivery of baby 5. I have ME /CFS after the birth of my third so my last 2 babies are by total faith. Your symptoms are so relatable, I was bed/house bound for years and often barely able to function with the craziest sympyoms and could not even go to church but God has been so faithful and so good helping me get through every day. I pray for a quick birth with this baby and hope I do not crash afterward. Postpartum anxiety is awful and so real as well. People don't believe how sick I am because I'm young and look "great" as do you. Blessings to you and your babe.
He is so precious! It's so wonderful to hear how God has answered your prayers. May He continue to bless and keep your family! He has a beauiful name. 😊
This was just absolutely beautiful. Thank you Jesus. Amazing testimony Steph. I am a mama of 5 as well, and when you described tithe intimate moment right after baby boy was born - gosh I teared up 😭😭 so beautiful. My husband and I experienced just that with our 5th as well. God bless you. Congratulations ❤️❤️❤️
Also, one more thing! 😊 I love his middle name❤ ...reminds me of a verse I got after my teeny preemie was born 6mo ago... "He that formed thee from the womb... that makes all things... He is my shepherd." ❤
Bless you - I had no idea how hard your pregnancy was - so glad you made it through the dark time and that you now snuggling with William Sheperd! You have such a positive attitude - I admire you!! ❤
CONGRATULATIONS ! Your videos make me smile and clams me down. I love your energy and all of your homemaking. Keep doing you because it brings so much joy to so many people!
He’s absolutely beautiful! I always think of my little babies as my sweet gift at the end of the pregnancy and I’m sure you feel the same way especially after this one. Congratulations❤❤❤
Totally almost shared the exact same birth story as you haha my fifth baby, fetal ejection, midwife never made it, husband caught the baby, chilled for half hour til midwife substitute got there, and all was perfect. God is shown strongest in our "desperate" moments, huh? Sending you love. God bless!
What a story! Thank you for hanging in there for your precious baby...what a testimony to the value of life, and such a testimony of beautiful, sacrificial motherhood dependent on Jesus. ❤ Your baby is gorgeous by the way. I teared up when you shared the answered prayer about his hair. That was Soo sweet.
Your entire pregnancy and birth story is so encouraging to me. The suffering experienced in pregnancy and will experience in labor and delivery and even postpartum is wild and scary. But you have really encouraged me to lean into God’s faithfulness. I think my favorite part is you waking up to that specific devotional that God planned for you and listening to “He Will Keep You”. Sovereign Grace is one of my favorite bands and “He Will Keep You” is a song that I cherish with my firstborn. We actually had it sung for his infant baptism and it is currently on my playlist for when I go into labor. Thank you so much for sharing your story.
I too have PTSD and light sensitivity, certain sounds can trigger me. I am giving thanks to God for bringing you and baby through this time. What a blessed baby!
This was a blessing to listen to! I can sure feel you…my second pregnancy was HORRIFIC in soooo many ways, and I just found out that I’m expecting my third after 8 months of trying. I’m excited but also terrified. 😂😅
Oh my goodness - what a beautiful story. I'm so sorry for the struggles you experienced during your pregnancy, but what a glorious, redemptive labor and delivery. William is beautiful!
Oh wowwwwww, thank you for sharing, I am so excited that you did a birth story video! Your story of labor is SO much like mine!! But my sister in law is a doula & was there, so she helped deliver our last baby boy!! He came quicker than the midwives too! The kids slept through the whole thing in the room next door, lol. Our Joshy had lots of dark hair also... Oh your sweet son is adorable!!!! Praise Yahweh for all of the beautiful ways He spoke to you that day... & even thought you didn't necessarily feel His closeness for a season, you continued to press in because "where else would we go? He has the words of Life!"
And YES! I had the worst pelvic floor pain, but after our baby Josh was born, I felt like I hadn't even had a baby. And though he came fast & furious, I did not tear. Aww, sis, this is precious! Thanks for sharing. Yah is so good to us.
Such a blessing. That’s the way a husband and wife need to be and your children learn what a loving and supportive family - mom and dad should be. They will carry that on with their relationships and build strong and loving families. Congratulations 🎉🙏🏻
Steph!!!!!!!! I can’t believe you endured all of those complications for 9 months❤ William is so sweet and his birth story is amazing- what a testimony💙
Wow what a beautiful story of God's mercy! I have had a similar pregnancy with thing after thing, it's exhausting! 38 weeks now today, and this is so encouraging.
What a beautiful birth story! Love your baby’s name and his hair. 🥰 He’s precious. I just had my fourth baby 2 months ago and named him Theodore William.
What a precious story and experience. I'm so sorry you had to go through all this in your pregnancy. I really feel for you. But whar a precious and wonderful son you have, what a pretty name! We would have named him William too if we had a boy. William Shepard is so beautiful. Wishing you all the best and all good for the future. I was cleaning out the fridge listening to this video and watching with a "half eye" too, but I had to sit down and watch and wipe the tears. I'm so touched and moved by listening to your story. Wishing you all good for the future. ❤
God is so good! Amazing how you handled your pregnancy on RU-vid, we never noticed how difficult it was for you ! You have been blessed with a precious bundle!
Amazing!! I’m about 30 weeks with my 5th and a boy too! I have horrible HG pregnancies, as well. This was such an inspiration to me and exactly what I needed to hear!! Truly, such a blessing!!
So happy everything ended well after all of that! 🙏 You are the second person I've heard about having extreme weakness symptoms from gallbladder issues. Tiffany from Allthings home had a lot of strange symptoms including extreme weakness for a few months, and underwent numerous tests (I think they thought she had MS), but it turned out to be her gallbladder. Once she had it removed, all of her symptoms went away. Congratulations on your sweet baby boy! 💕
loved hearing yours story. our bodies and spirits as mamas are amazing and strong. I had a homebirth to a beautiful baby boy , 9lbs at just shy of age 46 - the female spirit is strong and capable. We are coming up on his 1st birthday. - baby number 4
Wow!!! As an audience we just don’t see all this. I tend to think about your life when I think “man I want to have her life”. And it’s not that I don’t still want that - because come on that farm is the DREAM - this video reminds me we all have our cross and the grass is not always greener on the other side. I have 3 beautiful kids and very easy pregnancies but live in a small urban home and dream of the farm life. Thank you for being so open and you carry your cross with Grace!❤
So happy for you all and God has indeed answered your prayers and so thankful. I hope you all have such a beautiful moments and I have prayed so much for you. I hope my card arrived. Blessings to you!❤🫠🤗
God is good! It sounds like you had a really difficult and testing pregnancy but the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us. He was with you and may he continue to be with you, your baby and family. Congratulations on your beautiful newborn!
🙏🏻What a blessed mama you are🙏🏻. My one and only delivery dragged on for 48 hours, after being induced. I never even dilated to 1 and ended up having a csection because our son's shoulders were wider than his head circumference. He came out absolutely perfect and the nurses commented how beautiful he was.
Oh Steph! First off CONGRATULATIONS!! Also I just want to give you a giant hug! You are so sweet and lovely and it makes me so sad to think of you having so much stress and anxiety and health issues. Praise God for this new healthy miracle. Glad to see your happy smiling sweet face !
Here I am listening your story and in transformed in to a testimony! When you said he had hair! Oh Praise the Lord! He listens to our prayers! Be blessed momma!
He is absolutely gorgeous! I'm so pleased for you that the actual birth and the time after have been easier than the last 9 months. That sounds like an incredibly difficult ordeal and you've done amazingly well to still make videos and function. A strong mama! Congratulation to you, Josh and the rest of the family on the birth of your beautiful William Shepherd - such a lovely name!
Wow, thank the Lord for his answers. You've given me much hope for my own birth for baby number 3. I haven't had many complications with my pregnancy just dealing with deep disappointment in many areas of my life. God will bring joy out of darkness. Amen
My last baby was born at home. Also was9.4lbs. Still getting through the sickness of my current pregnancy. Enjoyed your story. Feel like we have a lot in common.
Wow! God is so good to us if it’s though a song, our children or a still small voice! Your baby boy William is so beautiful! That hair is so beautiful! God’s blessings to you and your beautiful family!
Congratulations on the beautiful baby! I do so understand the loneliness.. I have cancer and a auto immune deficiency.. simple little things can make me sick and we'll can take me out. My amazing husband has been my rock...
@@thisgoldenhour god has this.. the worst is not being able to go to church.... And when I do anything I have to wear a mask I miss smiles... How funny is that..
Hello Steph! What a beautiful birth story!!! And what a beautiful testimony of God's goodness and faithfulness!!! He's so mindful of his children!! Prayers were definitely answered for you!!! And sweet William is precious!! What a sweet blessing he is to you and your sweet family!!! I'm so glad he's here and your feeling well. Congratulations and God bless you and your family!!!
What a beautiful story. ❤ In tears. My third pregnancy with my daughter was also very difficult for me, also the hardest postpartum season I've experienced. But praise God, 6 months later I'm doing so much better.❤️ Sooo happy for you and your family!
I’m so happy for you, Steph!! What a beautiful birth story! I’m so sorry you had such a rough pregnancy, you definitely seemed to bear it with joy though I’m sure it was difficult. What a blessing to receive all those little affirmations from the Lord while you were in labor! 💗 I just had our 9th baby (our second girl!) on February 24th, and I swear our birth stories are nearly identical 😂 From the overdue false lead-up to so much pressure to denial until finally acknowledging something was happening and being ok heading to the hospital (I birth our babies through a team of hospital midwives and it’s been such a wonderful experience). We drove 15 minutes to the hospital and walked through the doors at 8:06pm and she was born at 8:31pm after two pushes 😅😁 It was phenomenal and my husband and I had the same reaction, what just happened?! 😆 If I’d done a home birth I’m convinced the midwife would have missed it lol. We named our daughter Victoria Marie and she has a head of hair to match your William 🤩💗
Oh my goodness, wow, you've really been through it, Steph. But the strength you had and now have through the Lord is such an encouragement. I was praying for you after your last video - preparing for baby. Look at that hair! LOVE the name William❤ I was just amazed by the very many blessings God bestowed upon you and your family. Praise God! Thank you for sharing your story with us. Especially thank you for sharing your struggles. So excited and happy for your family 🙌
My last two (#6 & 7) were 40 minute labours. 32 weeks pregnant with #8 and kind of expect the same. Both my last ones went from what I call boring contractions, where I can easily talk through them, to intense active contractions. Blessings to you!
So cool to hear your story! What a blessing the way it ended - so quick and special with just you and Josh bringing that new precious life into the world!
Congratulations on the safe and healthy arrival of William. Birth is truly a beautiful experience and very intimate. The moment after birth when we realise our baby is here and labour is over …. And we look at our husband with happy tears is one of my favourite moments in life. The moment we meet our baby and filled will love and gratitude
Wow! Writing with tears in my eyes... You are so strong and God is so faithful. I feel you. I had the darkest time of my life half a year ago postpartum my first birth. It was hard and I can't imagine to go through it for 9 months. Praise the Lord he help you and held you even though you sometimes ask yourself if he does but he is there! So glad you have such an easy postpartum now an an amazing birthstory with many gifts of god!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 Little William is precious ❤❤❤❤ lots of love from Germany 💐
Wow what a beautiful testimony to hear about! And to see Gods hand in every detail was such a blessing thank you for sharing! Also praying for a beautiful fast home birth for my 3rd baby!
Oh wow. What a beautiful story after such a hardship. So thankful that you and William are doing so well and your husband was so supportive. May God continue to bless William. Praise the Lord that His word and the song plus a head full of hair gave you hope and much needed encouragement. Enjoy the baby snuggles. 💙
Praise God baby William is here and you are doing so well postpartum, Steph!! How wonderful to hear your testimony of God's care for you! Bless Josh for his loving care for you and all the children!! What a moment for he and you to share at Baby's arrival!!❤ Chad and Erin (you tube friends) also have a young baby named William, cute as a button just like your little bundle!💖 Loved our visit and looking forward to your next video! 🤗🤗🤗🌹❤🌹
So beautiful, I watched your video where you were waiting for labor to start (while also waiting for our #4 baby to decide to be born lol) and it was a blessing to see I wasn’t the only one going through the mental/physical struggle of “the waiting.” And now your actual labor/birth story, is so touching, I see a lot of similarities of how my labor/birth went, and it all just points to our Awesome God and how much He cares for us all. ❤🙏 enjoy your sweet bundle 💙
Steph, what a beautiful story. You had me crying and laughing…. Your testimony blessed my day. God is Faithful, he keeps us, lest we dash our foot upon a stone… Reminds me of a very dark time I went through when God gave me Psalm 139, and how it made me feel so special. He truly does care about us, Praise his Name!!! May God Bless You and your sweet little family!
Little baby boy is so precious, congratulations🎉 What a beautiful birth story, it made me tear up. All the complications you went through, and then the confirmation from God and yoru husband delivering the baby.
Thank you for sharing your birth story. I’m so sorry your pregnancy was so difficult and such a dark time for you. So glad you are on the other side with a sweet precious baby to hold. We have six children all home births but not easy pregnancies and I can relate to so many of the difficulties you described. You do such a beautiful job with your home, food and channel. I’m in awe! ❤️Ruth
Congratulations! Beautiful birth story! William is perfect. My son's name is William as well. You're so right. Names are not copy written, haha. I love the classic names. Thank you for sharing your story. I'm so glad it went so well
He is beautiful! I have never had any children, but it sounds intense! I have always admired you as I watch you keep your home and love your family, but wow! My admiration just went up a lot of notches! You are incredible! Praise God for the strength He gave you to face these past 9 months. What a reward at the end. ☺️