Recommendations

I would love to write and share about my birth experience with Jeni Rector.

The birth I shared with them was my seventh and very best!  I felt like God truly led us to the best place to receive care where HE was the “boss”.  There were times of doubting and fears when I was listened to and prayed with by Jeni.  The ladies all took excellent care of me and the growing baby and didn’t push or attempt to control me or the pregnancy.  Very wisely, they assist and help you along in a holy area that God’s domain.  I had a false labor and Jeni and her sweet husband came immediately and set up the labor tub (in a storm when there was no hot water and we had to tote it from the church coffee pots next door!)  She stayed until totally convinced that it wasn’t labor and didn’t ever make me feel like the idiot I felt like having fired off a false alarm in the middle of a tornado.

One of my favorite memories of Jeni was my first home visit when she stayed for over two hours!  At the end I was shocked realizing how long it had been and how long we’d just talked and gotten to know each other.  On her way out I apologized and she said “For what?  I can’t trespass on one of the most intimate moments of your family’s life without being a trusted friend.  Part of these visits is about me becoming a friend that you can trust so when I come to help you it will feel right.”

And it did.

It was almost like Jeni had an alterego experience during my labor.  She became super calm and professional haha. Not that she isn’t ALWAYS that way, but during birth she kind of went into a zone and just knew how to serve and help what to say to encourage without being over bearing or pushy… she suggested changing positions and made other suggestions (remember this is my seventh baby born “naturally” and my second home birth you’d think I knew stuff about labor and delivery) but the pain management ideas she had and the way she coached me to focus was different than anything I’d ever experienced and helped in a totally new and amazing way.  She prayed with me a couple of times and was quiet and encouraging.  Then when it was time for the baby to be born it wasn’t perfect, his cord was around his neck and when he did come he was blue and unresponsive at first.  She handled this with calm and grace and an efficiency and faith that made it seem almost normal.   And the baby cried and turned pink and all was well.  Afterwards she very sweetly assisted me to bed and served our family in a myriad of other ways.  I can’t really write about it without crying.  She wasn’t some medical person, she was a friend.  A friend who got filthy and soaking wet and hunched over in funny positions just to serve and help me bring God’s little miracle boy into the world.  

So would I trust her crazy personality during labor?  Absolutely.  Her faith and wisdom, her calm and knowledge,  her love and prayers were all part of what made this birth the most amazing yet and made me even want to have more babies and maybe even soon ha.

Love you friend
Kay Gebhardt

Robin and Jeni attended both the birth of my son Julian and my daughter Anya. I have never met a more caring team of professionals. They were so attentive to my needs, fears, and elations throughout pregnancy and childbirth. They taught me how to take care of myself and take control of my care, always being a great source of information. I highly recommend this team of caring women as aides in childbirth.

~Leia