The stunning Stephanie Van Orsow with her daughter Finnleigh Mae (4) and her son Holden John (7 weeks). Stephanie had healthy pregnancies with each of her children. She'd been able to see her sister's birthing choices and already knew going into things that she'd hoped to use a midwife. She found a birthing center they were comfortable with and she had a long but uncomplicated delivery. Stephanie progressed rather quickly, but once she felt the urge to push she was actively laboring and pushing for 8 full hours before Finnleigh arrived. In hindsight, she says perhaps they started pushing a bit too early. She was able to nurse Finnleigh for 27 months though she experienced a lot of pain, perhaps due to an undiagnosed lip and/or tongue tie. Holden's pregnancy was slightly more challenging and Stephanie isn't quite certain if it was the pregnancy itself or the fact that her sister was diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer while she was pregnant and the prognosis wasn't good. Amazingly, her sister responded to treatment and is now in remission. Stephanie chose to have a home birth with Holden and had a much different experience. She woke her husband up at about 4:30 in the evening and discussed whether or not he should go in at 7pm. He decided to stay home which was great because Holden arrived before 7! Things progressed very well, just quickly and Stephanie was relieved to have her family all together at home from the very start. She had a more difficult recovery due to a fever spike the day after he was born and had to stay in bed for the next few days. Holden is nursing well and Finnleigh is adjusting beautifully to being a big sister.
