Podcasts about utah county

It depends on who you ask. But we can all agree that this round of tariffs is not the same as the ones President Trump enacted during his first term. In this episode, we compare the tariffs of 2018 to the chaotic rollouts and rollbacks of 2025. Plus: We visit Utah County, one of the youngest areas in the U.S., with ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

It depends on who you ask. But we can all agree that this round of tariffs is not the same as the ones President Trump enacted during his first term. In this episode, we compare the tariffs of 2018 to the chaotic rollouts and rollbacks of 2025. Plus: We visit Utah County, one of the youngest areas in the U.S., with ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

*** This episode talks about suicide. If you are suicidal, please call/text/chat *988 *** My friend Isaac Durfey (lives in Utah County, Age 34, Adopted, Active Latter-day Saint) bravely joins us to share his story which includes: Being bullied Being suicidal Working through pornography Convicted of being a sex offender and spending 4.5 years in prison Leaving prison—what he learned, why he isn't going back, finding hope Accepting he is gay—but doesn't define him Talented musician Great/supportive parents Role of friends to help him feel he is loved and needed Great YSA Wards Hopes for his future including the Melchizedek Priesthood and Temple Endowment Thank you, Isaac, for your courage to come on the podcast and share your story—stories like yours help others find hope. Thanks for helping all understand our Heavenly Parents love all of us and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives hope, heals and helps us move forward. You are a good man. Links: Isaac on Instagram: @durfsmurf25

A horrific bus crash/A supernatural stalker   Patreon (Get ad-free episodes, Patreon Discord Access, and more!) https://www.patreon.com/user?u=18482113 PayPal Donation Link https://tinyurl.com/mrxe36ph MERCH STORE!!! https://tinyurl.com/y8zam4o2 Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/28CIOGSFRUXAD?ref_=wl_share   Help Promote Dead Rabbit! Dual Flyer https://i.imgur.com/OhuoI2v.jpg "As Above" Flyer https://i.imgur.com/yobMtUp.jpg “Alien Flyer” By TVP VT U https://imgur.com/gallery/aPN1Fnw “QR Code Flyer” by Finn https://imgur.com/a/aYYUMAh   Links: EP 1202 - Can Murderers Trap The Souls Of Their Victims? (Purple Porpoise Bathroom Murder episode) https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-1202-can-murderers-trap-the-souls-of-their-victims EP 150 - Scooby Doo: SVU https://deadrabbitradio.libsyn.com/ep-150-scooby-doo-svu 1965 Hendek bus accident (Nitric Acid Turkey Bus Crash story) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1965_Hendek_bus_accident Photos https://www.trhaber.com/uploads/images/upload/kaza3333.jpg.webp uncanny_incidents https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cw7x1rSRpVr/ Traffic Martyrs Cemetery https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2814161/traffic-martyrs-cemetery TIL David Kirwan, 24, jumped into a near-boiling hot spring at 200°F (93°C) in Yellowstone, after his dog escaped the truck and ran into the Celestine Pool and began yelping. Several people tried to stop him by yelling warnings, but he replied "Like hell I won't!" and then entered. Both perished. https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/1wj9db/til_david_kirwan_24_jumped_into_a_nearboiling_hot/ The Shadowlands Utah (Old Mill Condominiums Provo, Utah Football Player Ghost Ghost Stalker Peeping Tom story) http://www.theshadowlands.net/places/utah.htm Archive https://archive.ph/zRWSh The Old Mill Apartments https://www.ghostquest.net/haunted-places-provo-utah.html Unusual and unnerving spots in Utah County https://www.uvureview.com/news/unusual-and-unnerving-spots-in-utah-county/ THE HAUNTED HOTSPOTS OF UTAH https://theghostsocietyofutah.angelfire.com/hauntedhotspots.html Fact or fiction? Exploring the rumored haunts of Old Mill https://ksltv.com/local-news/fact-or-fiction-exploring-the-rumored-haunts-of-old-mill/592854/   ----------------------------------------------- Logo Art By Ash Black Opening Song: "Atlantis Attacks" Closing Song: "Bella Royale" Music By Simple Rabbitron 3000 created by Eerbud Thanks to Chris K, Founder Of The Golden Rabbit Brigade Dead Rabbit Archivist Some Weirdo On Twitter AKA Jack YouTube Champ: Stewart Meatball Reddit Champ: TheLast747 The Haunted Mic Arm provided by Chyme Chili Forever Fluffle: Cantillions, Samson, Gregory Gilbertson, Jenny The Cat Discord Mods: Mason   http://www.DeadRabbit.com Email: DeadRabbitRadio@gmail.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/DeadRabbitRadio Facebook: www.Facebook.com/DeadRabbitRadio TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@deadrabbitradio Dead Rabbit Radio Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DeadRabbitRadio/ Paranormal News Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ParanormalNews/ Mailing Address Jason Carpenter PO Box 1363 Hood River, OR 97031 Paranormal, Conspiracy, and True Crime news as it happens! Jason Carpenter breaks the stories they'll be talking about tomorrow, assuming the world doesn't end today. All Contents Of This Podcast Copyright Jason Carpenter 2018 - 2025  

Utah County had the most growth in Utah in 2024 and houses 43.4% of the state's population. Utah County Commissioner, Amelia Powers Gardner joins Dave and Debbie to discuss some of the reasons why so many people are moving to Utah County. Dave and Debbie take calls from listeners to hear why they chose to live in Utah County.

Welcome to the #ShareYourHotness Podcast episode 156! Kasey Trimble has been married to Mark for 28 years; they have 5 children and 3 adorable grandsons. She has been in the mental health field for over 30 years and recently went back to school to get her degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. She has worked with funeral homes in facilitating workshops and seminars to support those who have lost a loved one, has run groups with the women's division of the prison, and has worked with former prisoners to help them integrate into society. Today, she works in a private practice in Utah County and finds incredible fulfillment working with individuals to overcome depression, anxiety, and trauma. As a therapist, she loves empowering people to be their best selves. Kasey believes all of life is a mind game, and once we understand this, we can succeed in ways we never thought possible. Kasey believes everyone has incredible and unbelievable potential. Support The #ShareYourHotness Podcast by contributing to their tip jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/the-syh-podcast Find out more at https://the-syh-podcast.pinecast.co

Tracy was headed down to Utah County a few months ago, listening to one of our favorite talking heads interview an author, Annie Jacobsen, on a book she wrote titled, “Nuclear War.” She ended up buying the book for me to read, and it was very eye opening. I love reading books and finding what I call “crossovers” to what I see in our profession, and such was the case here.Support the show

My friend Helen Anderson (Lives in Utah County, BYU Grad, Mother of 4, LGBTQ Ally) joins us to share her story: · Exposure to gay people in the 70's and 80's—becoming supportive · Carol Lynn Pearson's book · Documentary called “TransMormon” and how it helped prepare her · Journey to love, see, understand, and accept her transgender daughter · Pronouns · OK to cry · High school graduation (great experience) · University of Utah welcome/housing (great experience) · Have a transgender/non-binary child is not a sad tragedy—but can become a beautiful family love story Helen also talks about her new variety show called “Dear Mom: Celebrating Mothers of LGBTQIA+ Children” on May 10th (see show notes for more information). Thank you, Helen, for your courage to come on the podcast and share your beautiful family love story. I'm grateful for your voice and experiences to help us better support the transgender people in our lives—for they are wonderful. Links: Variety Show on May 10th, 2025: https://www.werehereutah.com/dearmom Helen on Instagram: @helenandersoncomedy

Welcome to the KSL Greenhouse show! Join hosts Maria Shilaos and Taun Beddes as they talk about all things plants, tackle your toughest gardening questions, and offer tips that can help you maintain a beautiful yard. Listen on Saturdays from 8am to 11am at 102.7 FM, 1160 AM, kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSL NewsRadio app. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @kslgreenhouse. Happy planting! #KSLGreenhouse    10:05  Feature: Best Practices for Planting Landscape Trees  10:20  Can I put Q4 Plus now to kill bindweed? Do I need to put water in pre-emergent? What are some recommendations for bushes to put around a house on new construction? How do I know I’m getting the right amount of water for tomatoes in my drip system? Are there any varieties of grass seed and shade trees that would be best to plant over a septic field? When can I plant my bare root fruit trees? Is it too late to prune my roses? If I already put pre-emergent down, how long do I have to wait before I can put down mulch?  10:35  Is aeration important or not really necessary? Should I cut the dead parts off of my peony? Should I cut the brown tops off my Canby Thornless raspberries? When should I spray for powdery mildew on my red maples? Is there anything I can do about my plum tree leaves curling up? Is it possible to grow a lime tree in Utah County? How do I get rid of speedwell over a large area?  10:50  What should I do if my Siberian crabapple trees have been damaged by deer? Can I put a star-of-Bethlehem in a pot? What can I do if the leaves of my laurels are turning brown even though the branches are still green? Is there anything I can do to prevent the ring spot from coming back? Would haskap berries do well in Utah? Where can I get the local cherry raisins? How far can I safely cut my grapevines back this time of year, and what’s the best way to approach this? Is it a good time to plant forsythia? Should I turn on the sprinklers and water at least once a week if my yard is very dry? 

My friend McKay Mayes (from Wyoming, London South RM, Age 29, Lives/Works in Utah County) joins us to share his story including: Always believing/hoping he would be fixed and be straight Great mission experience—but still gay Not fitting the typical gay stereotype Dating and trying to make it work with a woman—wanted to follow God's plan—super painful not finding a way to make that possible Feeling “left behind” as straight friends got married For six years, committed to being single in line with the Church's celibate guidance—leading to the darkest/most painful moments of McKay's life New prayers (instead of “fix me”) Finding hope, acceptance of being gay, and purpose in his new path Relationship with the Church and hopes for changes First coming out experience (super helpful) I continue to be amazed by the brave/mature/thoughtful people who share their stories on the podcast—with McKay joining that group—and his desire to give hope to others walking a similar road. Thank you, McKay, for all you have done to bless/help the lives of others (mission, EFY counselor, etc) and continue to do so with your courage to be out/honest and be on the podcast to give hope to others. You are a good man with a great life ahead of you! Links: McKay on Instagram: @mckay_mayes McKay on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mckay.mayes.7 Obsolete vs current teachings: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxcr5fo9rxl29by4wvc9q/Obsolete-and-Current-Teachings-LGBTQ.docx?rlkey=e1dbc3iffua4nwwscpg911uzw&dl=0

A slate of new films by local and international film directors and producers will be debuted at the 2025 Zions Indie Film Festival February 24th-March 1st at the Scera Center in Orem. In this episode, FM100 Host Rebecca Cressman is joined by festival owners and co-directors Marshall and Michelle Moore who share the details on the lineup that includes short films, documentaries, features, music videos, screenplays and expert panel discussion. For more info, visit ZionsIndieFilmFest.com

How tariffs will be passed to homebuyers Utah County named one of the fastest growing in the nation New law restricts cell phone use in Utah schools How much sleep do humans actually need? Gov Cox op-ed: 'It’s time to wind down the Department of Education' Free tuition at Harvard University?

Utah County has been named one of the fastest growing in the nation... Dave and Debbie discuss and ask the question.. Do we welcome the growth? Or is it worrisome?

Rabbi Chaim Zippel was born and raised in nearby Salt Lake City, and is the first-Utah born Chabad Rabbi. He attended Yeshivas in California and New York, and has extensive experience in outreach work and youth programming all over the country. Rabbi Chaim & Esty Zippel moved to Lehi, Utah in 2022 to launch Chabad of Utah County. Chabad of Utah County is dedicated to promoting and strengthening Jewish awareness, pride, and observance, by providing educational, cultural, and social services to all Jewish individuals regardless of background, philosophy or level of commitment. The fundamental principle of Chabad is unconditional love and acceptance of every Jew. Links JewishUtahCounty.com Instagram: @jewishutahcounty Facebook: @jewishutahcounty Share your thoughts in the Leading Saints community. Transcript coming soon Get 14-day access to the Core Leader Library Highlights Rabbi Chaim Zippel, co-director of the Chabad of Utah County, shares about the unique experience of being Jewish in a predominantly Latter-day Saint community. He shares insights into the mission of Chabad, which aims to create a welcoming environment for Jewish individuals moving to Utah County, providing them with a space to gather, learn, and grow in their faith. The conversation delves into the differences between Jewish and Latter-day Saint practices, particularly regarding community engagement and religious observance. Rabbi Chaim explains that while prayer services may not attract large crowds, community events and educational opportunities are highly valued. He recounts his family's journey to Utah, highlighting the challenges and rewards of establishing a Jewish presence in the area. The discussion also touches on the complexities of Jewish dietary laws and the importance of understanding the rationale behind religious practices, emphasizing that some commandments are followed simply because they are divinely ordained. Rabbi Chaim reflects on the supportive nature of the Latter-day Saint community, noting that Utah County is one of the least anti-Semitic places he has experienced. He shares anecdotes about community support during challenging times, illustrating the strong interfaith relationships that have developed. 03:35 - Rabbi Chaim's Background and Role 04:07 - Overview of Chabad in Utah County 05:03 - Community Focus vs. Traditional Services 06:23 - Jewish Community Dynamics in Utah 07:27 - Rabbi Chaim's Journey to Utah 09:03 - Family Background and Chabad Movement 10:40 - The Need for Jewish Presence in Utah County 12:02 - Rabbi's Outreach to Jewish Youth 12:35 - Community Support and Anti-Semitism in Utah 21:05 - The Role of a Rabbi and Path to Leadership 23:02 - Conversion and Personal Journeys in Faith 30:03 - Understanding Jewish Laws and Practices 32:31 - Experiences and Testimonies in Faith 36:25 - Conversion Perspectives in Judaism 40:06 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts on Faith The award-winning Leading Saints Podcast is one of the top independent Latter-day Saints podcasts as part of nonprofit Leading Saints' mission to help Latter-day Saints be better prepared to lead. Learn more and listen to any of the past episodes for free at LeadingSaints.org. Past guests include Emily Belle Freeman, David Butler, Hank Smith, John Bytheway, Reyna and Elena Aburto, Liz Wiseman, Stephen M. R. Covey, Elder Alvin F. Meredith III, Julie Beck, Brad Wilcox, Jody Moore, Tony Overbay, John H. Groberg, Elaine Dalton, Tad R. Callister, Lynn G. Robbins, J. Devn Cornish, Bonnie Oscarson, Dennis B. Neuenschwander, Kirby Heyborne, Taysom Hill Anthony Sweat, John Hilton III, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Blair Hodges, Whitney Johnson, Ryan Gottfredson, Greg McKeown, Ganel-Lyn Condie, Michael Goodman, Wendy Ulrich, Richard Ostler, and many more in over 800 episodes. Discover podcasts, articles, virtual conferences, and live events related to callings such as the bishopric, Relief Society, elders quorum, Primary,

Nafe Latu is a Tongan-born entrepreneur, speaker, and master celebrity barber. After moving to the U.S. in 2011, he built a thriving career in the barbering industry, founding Fresh Fade Away Barbershop in Utah County. In October 2024, he sold the barbershop to focus on new ventures. As the co-founder of Beauty University and the Unbroken Community, Nafe is dedicated to helping others grow personally and professionally. He also co-hosts the Rules Don't Apply Show and is known for his community impact, including organizing major relief efforts for Tonga. In this episode, Nafe shares his story of survival, loss, stress tolerance, and finally manifesting his dream life. Join Nafe's community here: https://www.skool.com/the-unbroken-community-1511/about Instagram: @nafelatu CHAPTERS: 0:00 Intro 2:09 Background 16:21 Survival lessons 33:27 Anything is possible 46:30 Retreat experience 52:16 The gift of stress tolerance

Welcome to the KSL Greenhouse show! Join hosts Maria Shilaos and Taun Beddes as they talk about all things plants, tackle your toughest gardening questions, and offer tips that can help you maintain a beautiful yard. Listen on Saturdays from 8am to 11am at 102.7 FM, 1160 AM, kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSL NewsRadio app. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @kslgreenhouse. Happy planting! #KSLGreenhouse    10:05  Feature: Tips for Pruning Fruit Trees  10:20  What are some apple tree varieties I can plant next to a healthy but old Golden Delicious tree? What preventative measures can I take this year to avoid wasp problems on my blackberries and raspberries? Should used coffee grounds be added to soil? Should I start pruning my peach tree? What’s the best way to apply chelated iron to a maple tree, ash trees, and sycamores? What is coryneum blight and how do you treat it?  10:35  Questions: When’s the best time to prune Black Lace elderberry? What do I do after planting annuals in pots where my tulips used to be in? Is a hydrangea supposed to be planted outside? If I remove a peach tree that was attacked by borers, can I plant a new peach tree in the same spot? Do I renewal prune cherry bushes and honeyberries? Is it safe to plant a vegetable garden by a fence that’s been oil stained? Where should I buy a peach tree, and do they need lots of sun or shade?  10:50  What’s a dwarf cherry that stays around 6 to 8 feet? How will caladium do in the Utah County area? What are some recommendations for a nectarine tree? Is there a way to prevent bugs from getting on my roses this coming season? Can I prune my apple, pear, peach, plum, roses, and grapes all today? What are the tiny white bugs on my primocane raspberries? What are some good-tasting dwarf peaches for Utah, and where’s the best place to buy them? Do I need to prune columnar apple trees? 

My friend Kelsey Wells (RM, from Idaho, lives in Utah County, former EFY counselor and seminary teacher, active in her ward) joins us to bravely share her story. Kelsey starts with coming out to her mother (senior year of high school) and the good/difficult experiences—including how not talking about it brings shame. Kelsey talks about wanting to service a mission but putting that on pause because she realized she was not doing that for the right reasons. Kelsey shares what changed and how she ended up serving. Kelsey bravely talks about getting engaged to a man and how that engagement ended a few weeks before the wedding. Kelsey talks about ignoring red flags because of her desire to get married and have a family. Kelsey talks about being in the Temple and a sealer sharing some thoughts that gave her clarity and courage to end the engagement. Kelsey talks about not wanting to be alive—but finding hope in Christ, therapy and the Questions From the Closet podcast. Kelsey also talks about “fear is where Satan thrives”. Kelsey talks about why she stays a member of the Church, joy in being a EFY councilor and teaching seminary, and helping others find hope. Thank you Kelsey for being on the podcast. You are so emotionally and spiritually mature. You are also so brave. You being open helps others walking this road and helps us better create Zion. Links: Instagram: Instagram: @kelswayan Email: behappi208@gmail.com Current Teaching versus Obsolete Teachings: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mxcr5fo9rxl29by4wvc9q/Obsolete-and-Current-Teachings-LGBTQ.docx?rlkey=e1dbc3iffua4nwwscpg911uzw&dl=0

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 13 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Callen Tollestrup from Timpview High School and Tati Harness from Lone Peak High School.

 This week, Naomi covers the murder of a young woman that went unsolved for 40 years, until DNA finally caught her killer. Then Amber covers the orphan imposter, Nicholas Rossi. Naomi's Sources: Justice Delayed: A Cold Case Nightmare | Finally Caught | Full EpisodeJerry Walter McFadden - WikipediaAmber's Sources: The Curious Case Of…S1 E3 The Orphan ImposterNo plea deal for US fugitive Nicholas RossiPlea deal permanently off the table for Nicholas Rossi's Utah County rape case   Support the showGo check out our patreon page athttps://www.patreon.com/crimewineandchaosFor more information about Crime, Wine & Chaos, or to simply reach out and say "hi,"https://www.crimewineandchaos.comCrime, Wine & Chaos is produced by 8th Direction Records. Music by Jeremy Williams. Artwork by Joshua M. DavisAmber is the vocalist in the band, Tin Foil Top Hat. You can find more of her work on all of the music streaming platforms or athttps://www.tinfoiltophat.comNaomi has a twenty year career in tech, and a lifetime interest in all things macabre. She walked away from #startuplife to strike a new path rooted in service. You can find out more about the work she's focused on, support those initiatives, and keep up on her socials here: https://linktr.ee/missgnomers

My friend Marley Orton (married mother of three, mid-50s, Utah County, real estate broker/hair stylist, RM) joins us to share her story of love and acceptance of her non-binary child CC. Marley starts with the pregnancy of this child knowing it was twins and having that confirmed via ultrasound. However, that changed with “Vanishing Twin Syndrome” where she ended up with one child. Marley talks about CC being sensitive, focused on those left out, sweet and a great sibling to their younger brother Zac. Marley talks about CC coming out as pansexual at age 16 and the body dysphoria they felt and feeling ostracized—especially at church. Marley talks about—with the help of a great therapist—CC understanding the identity that resonated with them: non-binary—and how CC's mental health and hope for the future improved with the process of transitioning. Marley talks about discovering “Chimera Twin Syndrome” and how this could bring a more scientific understanding to CC being non-binary. Marley talks about being the mother of three wonderful children—all whom have stepped away from the church—and what they are doing in their family to stay close together and love each other. Marley talks about how we can improve church culture—including being open to new perspectives so that more feel loved, welcomed, and needed. I learned so much from Marley. If you are open to learning more to support queer Latter-day Saints and improve church culture, I encourage you to listen to Marley's podcast and share it with others. Thank you, Marley, for being on the podcast! And thank you CC for the great person you are and allowing your story to be shared. Links: E-mail: marleysellshomes@gmail.com. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marley.orton Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marley.orton/

The deeper we dig in Utah County, the more allegedly sinister things appear..especially to an outsider. From the mishandling of David Lee Hamblin's criminal cases to David Leavitt's tribal adoption scandal that allegedly led to a shut-down Homeland Security investigation...we dive back in. PLUS—some statement analysis on a high-profile denial and news article from criminal statement expert/analyst Paul Maillardet.Episode Notes & Disclaimer:Opinion and speculation are used throughout the podcast. Audience is encouraged to do their own research. Additionally, Statement Analysis is a tool used (sometimes by LE) as a way to indicate truths and lies based on expert opinion. It should not be taken conclusively.https://x.com/AdamHerbets/status/1760549642843160766https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/fox-13-investigates-video-raises-questions-about-utah-co-attorneys-adoption-of-native-american-childhttps://sanpetemessenger.com/no-checks-against-false-claims-by-internet-warriors/https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-m-69362241/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Logan Moffett is the owner of Re/Max Associates and The Moffett Group, two real estate businesses based in Provo, Utah. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in Spanish and a minor in Business Management, which gave him the language and leadership skills to serve a diverse clientele and manage a successful team. With over six years of experience as a realtor, Logan has assisted hundreds of clients in buying and selling their properties, including real estate investments. He specializes in new construction projects, as he understands the growing demand and opportunities in Utah County, where the population is expected to double in the next 15 years. Logan is passionate about real estate, personal finance, and art, and he enjoys music and family in his spare time. In our podcast, Logan shares his 1 secret to 3xing his investment in mobile home parks and how any real estate investor and agent can use this 1 secret tactic to create massive improvements in their business and in their lives! Logan also shares LIVE case studies of some of his current deals that he is working on! You Can Find Logan @: Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/multifammoffett/ Learn More About Logan: https://youtu.be/WY9cgrUce9U?si=GGb8zQ1s4t1pqLB1

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 12 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Eden Erickson from Spanish Fork High School and Legend Reynoso from Payson High School.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 11 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Avery Thompson from Westlake High School and Jax Allen from Orem High School.

David Lee Hamblin, accused of multiple counts of child s*x abuse, appeared in court on 2/19/2025, but justice for his survivors remain out of reach. One case was dismissed, while the other was delayed again, thanks to alleged evidence tampering by Utah County investigators. Meanwhile, Utah lawmakers killed a bill criminalizing ritualistic abuse, yet somehow still approved training law enforcement on its impact.Join us as we break down what happened in court, the latest on Utah's legislative failures, and what's next for the survivors still fighting for justice.Episode Notes:https://popcrime.tv/news-%26-media/f/david-lee-hamblin-case-updatehttps://trackbill.com/bill/utah-house-bill-66-ritual-abuse-amendments/2587872/https://www.heraldextra.com/news/2001/jun/08/peyote-possession-has-man-facing-trial/https://wearethepeople.org/https://www.sltrib.com/news/2022/10/18/ex-therapist-faces-new-charges/https://1830goel.substack.com/For court docs, please email Lauren@PopCrime.TV, and I will share.*Opinion and Speculation is used throughout this podcast, we encourage listeners to do their own research* Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My friend Matt Higinbotham (RM from Tempe Arizona, returned Feb 2024, from Utah County, BYU student) joins us to share his story as a gay Latter-day Saint. Matt talks about his early years figuring out his sexuality and his journey to realize (and then accept) he is gay. Matt talks about the role of prayer, scripture study, and temple attendance to help feel God's love, acceptance, hope for his future and the desire to serve/help others (a big reason he did the podcast). Matt talks about his desire to serve a mission and how that hope eventually became a reality—all while being open with his church leaders about his sexual orientation. Matt talks about the positive and painful experience of being gay and on a mission. Some the negative ones were around gay jokes (missionaries and members) and some of the positive ones were where being open about being gay allowing him to help others know they too could feel God's love, and acceptance. Matt talks about how navigating a variety of experience (including Church leader talks that were painful), being an EFY counselor (and teaching the Family Proclamation), seeing the Y lit up in pride colors, unfairness (compared to straight members) of being gay (and not having a path to have a marriage and still fully participate in the Church). I learned so much from Matt—a thoughtful, spiritually mature, deeply insightful, and remarkable man. You are a good man Matt with a wonderful future. Thank you for blessing so many people on your mission and doing this podcast which will give others hope—and help us better love and support each other as we build Zion. Links: Matt on Facebook: www.facebook.com/matthew.higinbotham.5 Matt on IG: @matthiggy134 Matt's e-mail: matt.higgy234@gmail.com

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 9 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Averie Soundy from Payson High School and Andrew Miller from Springville High School.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 9 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Ellah Oeser from Skyridge High School and Symon Sua from Westlake High School.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 8 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Merceius Mili from Skyridge High School and Ty Palmer from Pleasant Grove High School.

Jocelyn is back as your host of Teen Talk! Join Jocelyn Osmond and her guests, Nic Blosil and Heather Osmond, as they discuss all the entrepreneurial opportunities that come with being a member of iHub Utah! The Innovation Hub of Utah is a non-profit organization created to assist young entrepreneurs in Utah County. Nic Blosil is the Founder and CEO of Dental Property Group.  Heather Osmond is the owner of Osmond Designs.  Listen for a new episode of Teen Talk each month!

Ben Criddle talks BYU sports every weekday from 2 to 6 pm.Today's Co-Hosts: Ben Criddle (@criddlebenjamin)Subscribe to the Cougar Sports with Ben Criddle podcast:Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/cougar-sports-with-ben-criddle/id99676 Stitcherhttps://www.stitcher.com/podcast/espn960sports/cougar-bytes

The podcast makes another visit to Utah County. UIAAA Connection #212– Brandon Waite, RAA, Director of Athletics at Freedom Prep Academy, is now available. Brandon, who grew up in Colorado Springs, shares his experience of serving as the AD and Assistant Principal at the same time. His advice about being organized and knowing your students and facilities is worth the listen. Please Listen, Learn and Share! You can subscribe to UIAAA TV on YouTube!  This podcast is also available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcast,  Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcast, iHeartradio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Sticher and YouTube.

Hour three of DJ & PK for January 21, 2025: Steve Cleveland, Former BYU Basketball Coach BYU Football ranked #13 in final poll Utah County Players of the Week

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Weeks 6 and 7 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Makai Allen and Sutton Villa from Provo High School for Week 6 while Brook Warren from Salem Hills High School and Kannon Huntsman from American Leadership Academy were our winner for Week 7.

Getting the new year of right by heading slightly down south to the Utah County chapter of the FoP. Kyle Curtis is the chapter head for Utah County and shares how the FoP is working with and helping to improve policing in that part of the state.  

This is Derek Miller of the Salt Lake Chamber with your Utah Business Report. Utah City, a new mixed-use development in Utah County, is taking a monumental first step in its commitment to inspiring outdoor spaces with the launch of the "Greening of Utah City" initiative. A key feature is The Greenline Promenade, a multi-use pathway that connects neighborhoods, encourages recreation and supports local businesses and tourism. Utah City will plant over 1,000 trees this spring and break ground on the new 12-acre Greenline promenade, all within the first 50-acres of its 700-acre master-planned development. This initiative reflects Utah City's dedication to revitalizing the area, prioritizing environmental sustainability and blending nature with timeless architecture. The “Greening of Utah City” initiative marks the beginning of the long-term effort to establish Utah City as the cultural, environmental and social heart of Utah County. To learn more, visit the Utah City website. The Salt Lake Chamber. We Stand as the Voice of Business. Originally aired: 1/13/25

The podcast makes another visit to Utah County. UIAAA Connection #210 – Mark Binks, Director of Athletics at Springville High School, is now available. Mark spend 22 years in law enforcement before taking the job at Springville in 2013. He shares stories from the incredible fan base at Springville High. His advice to enjoy the ride should be heeded by all. Please Listen, Learn and Share! You can subscribe to UIAAA TV on YouTube! This podcast is also available on Amazon Music, Apple Podcast,  Breaker, Castbox, Google Podcast, iHeartradio, Overcast, Pocket Casts, RadioPublic, Spotify, Sticher and YouTube.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 4 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Quincy Mathews from Payson High School and Jackson Hockersmith from Mountain View High School.

Welcome to the KSL Greenhouse show! Join hosts Maria Shilaos and Taun Beddes as they talk about all things plants, tackle your toughest gardening questions, and offer tips that can help you maintain a beautiful yard. Listen on Saturdays from 8am to 11am at 102.7 FM, 1160 AM, kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSL NewsRadio app. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram at @kslgreenhouse. Happy planting! #KSLGreenhouse    8:05  Plant of the week: Witch Hazel  8:20  When do I plant Jerusalem artichokes? How do I properly water my bristlecone pine in the winter?  8:35  What are some pear and apricot tree varieties that do well in Utah County?  8:50  How do I best grow hydrangeas? Can I replant raspberries in my old raspberry patch, and when’s a good time to do so? What types of grass are best for Centerville? 

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 4 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Dean Rueckert from Timpview High School and Janiece Sikander from Westlake High School.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Week 3 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Brennan Blackett from Pleasant Grove High School and McKenzie Jepson from Lehi High School.

Looking to buy a Christmas tree lot business? This episode breaks down a deal for a Utah-based seasonal tree venture.Link to business listing: https://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/Seasonal-Christmas-Tree-Business/2232219/

The Mr. Mac Utah County Players of the Week for Weeks 1 and 2 of the 2024-25 Utah High School basketball season featured Jaxen McCuistion from Timpanogos High School and Lina Ballin from Timpview High School for Week 1. Week 2 winners were Easton Hawkins from Lehi High School and Kennedy Woolston from Lone Peak High School.

Kate Restelli is accused of conspiring with her mother, Tracy Grist, and her brother, Kevin Ellis, to murder her husband. The District Attorney in Utah County said the three hatched a plan to lure Matthew Restelli to Utah from his home in California to kill him. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through some of the most shocking information in the indictment in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you're ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/CrimeFixHost:Angenette Levy https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Mauricio PadillaCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Majority Report, House Majority Leader Rep. Jeff Moss sits down with Rep. Stephen Whyte, a leading voice on housing policy in Utah and co-chair of the Commission on Housing Affordability.  Representing House District 63 in Utah County, Rep. Whyte shares his journey into public service, the key factors driving Utah's housing shortage, and how Utahns are working together to bring down the cost of homeownership.

The Mr. Mac Utah County Player of the Week for Week 14 of the 2024 Utah High School football season featured Aaron Dunn from Spanish Fork High School and Bott Mulitalo from Lone Peak High School.

8 X Clips. Tucker Carlson- Biden Sends $ to Taliban, Crusades, Peter St Onge- $1T Interest per Year,  Infertility, White Women Speak,  Funny Trump Song. Peter St Onge, Ph.D. Americans spend $546 billion trying to figure out their taxes. He pointed out interest alone now soaks up a third of all taxes collected. While Washington spends over twice what it collects Keep speaking out White women Bob spitting facts. The crusades were necessary & JUSTIFIED! Infertility clinics are reporting that the sperm of vaccinated men do not swim. The eggs of vaccinated women do not grow into embryos. Biden sends $40 Million per week to Afghanistan/Taliban Donald Trump-Eminem Song Guess Who's BACK   Americans spend $546 billion trying to figure out their taxes. Because the tax code is 10 million words of incomprehensible legalese. 21 times longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And if you disobey one word they'll put you in a cage. Peter St Onge, Ph.D. @profstonge Americans spend $546 billion trying to figure out their taxes. Because the tax code is 10 million words of incomprehensible legalese. 21 times longer than the Lord of the Rings trilogy. And if you disobey one word they'll put you in a cage.   He pointed out interest alone now soaks up a third of all taxes collected. While Washington spends over twice what it collects:   Post Keep speaking out White women Orwell's Ghost @Orwellsghost28 2:29 12:11 PM · Nov 18, 2024 390K Views   Post Bob spitting facts. The crusades were necessary & JUSTIFIED! Trad West @trad_west_   Post Dr. Christiane Northrup: Infertility clinics are reporting that the sperm of vaccinated men do not swim. The eggs of vaccinated women do not grow into embryos. Not A Number @myhiddenvalue 3:07 5:13 PM · Nov 18, 2024 225.3K Views   Post Biden sends $40 Million per week to Afghanistan/Taliban If I ever needed your help, it's now. Please make this impossible to ignore. This affects you, me, and our countries. Get the word out. We've come this far because of your support. Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) I couldn't have done it without you. Thank you, brother. Legend @realLegendAfg 8:46 AM · Nov 18, 2024 838.7K Views   Donald Trump-Eminem Song Guess Who's BACK (clean) #trump Utahs #1 Realtor on YouTube Ty the Real Estate Guy 29.6K subscribers 379,810 views Nov 9, 2024 UNITED STATES Trump-Eminem Rap “Guess Who's Back" Song cut, but it is a Masterpiece. I can't imagine the amount of time it took to create this Donald Trump song compilation, but it's pure genius! This is the CLEAN or EDITED cut for my Mom and the Mormons. The original creator is Maestro Ziikos. Is it Time to BUY a House or Should You WAIT to BUY a House? Donald Trump is stepping back into the Oval Office, and he's ready to shake things up. Will President Trump make homes more affordable? Or will his policies hurt the housing market? His approach varies significantly from the Biden-Harris administration, so we can expect some major shifts. I'm revealing exactly how Trump's policies will impact your ability to buy a home. Recommended video: Will Donald Trump make Homes MORE Affordable:     • Will Donald Trump make Homes MORE Aff...   In 20 years as a Realtor in Utah, I've helped 100's of people from all over the World. I proudly serve the Salt Lake City area and Utah County for YOUR real estate needs. If you're looking to Buy, Sell, Build a Home or Invest in UTAH, I would be HONORED to HELP YOU.

My friend Oliver Black (RM, UVU student, grew up in Utah County) joins us to share his story with gender dysphoria and how we can help trans/non-binary Latter-day Saints feel more welcome. Oliver delayed his transition so he could serve a mission (Montana—great experience—wanted to serve to help others), but has now been fully transitioned for over three years. He talks about the positive experiences in his mission and the role of spiritual promptings when coming out while in the field. Oliver then talks about the love/support he's received from his parents and local wards—and the spiritual peace he feels. He also discusses the difficult road transgender Latter-day Saints walk and what we can do to better support them. In this regard, Oliver has written “7 Ways Local Church Leaders Can Make Church Safe for Transgender Members” (link in show notes). This labor of love suggests ways (given the new handbook changes in Aug 2024) to help transgender members feel more safe, accepted, loved, and needed. He answers tender questions I felt impressed to ask him, giving answers that were deeply insightful and moving. Thank you, Oliver, for being on the podcast and helping us better understand that our Heavenly Parents' love all Their children. You are a good man with immense emotional/spiritual/intellectual maturity—gifts that you are using to help us create Zion and bless others. Honored to have you on the podcast. Links: Oliver's “7 Ways Local Church Leaders Can Make Church Safe for Transgender Members” document: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j2r794h1v7zoodghc9h8x/Supporting-Trans-Members-Oliver-Black-Nov-2024.pdf?rlkey=exlksuqeqbux4hxwk9xi1bgwx&dl=0 Oliver's editing website/writing portfolio: https://oliveraeblack.wixsite.com/about

Rebekah's first Cesarean was a birth center transfer after her baby boy unexpectedly flipped breech during labor. Though she was confident in her decision to consent to a Cesarean, she was devastated and left with a lot to process. Right away, Rebekah's midwives instilled confidence that she was a great VBAC candidate and introduced her to The VBAC Link. Rebekah thoroughly researched and prepped for her VBAC knowing it was the path she wanted to take. She decided to stay with the same birth center as she felt so loved and supported by them. Her second pregnancy was filled with physical, mental, and spiritual preparation for her VBAC. Rebekah developed a deep connection with her baby girl and shares precious stories during both her pregnancy and labor when she knew just what her baby was trying to communicate. Rebekah's VBAC was healing in so many ways. It was particularly special to birth in the same suite that she labored in with her first and have such a different outcome. All of Rebekah's intentional work paid off to help her have a very sacred birth and postpartum experience!How to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details Meagan: Hello, everybody. Welcome to The VBAC Link. We have our friend, Rebekah, here today and she is local to me here in Utah so it's always so fun to hear a Utah story especially because I usually know the provider and the location and things like that or I've served with them so it's fun to hear the stories that I have served with the people who are serving these amazing VBAC mamas. We have our friend, Rebekah, like I said and she is a mama of two. She is a stay-at-home mom and is in Spanish Fork. She is passionate about birth and hopes to one day pursue birth work. She hired one of our VBAC Link certified doulas so just as a reminder, if you guys are looking for a doula, let me just tell you that our doulas are amazing. These doulas truly love birth and love VBAC and are all certified in VBAC so you can check that out at thevbaclink.com/findadoula if you are looking for a doula. Rebekah left us a note. It says, “The after-birth high doesn't always happen. I have heard so many stories of women who experienced it and I was expecting to feel that. I however did not.” She says, “Don't feel robbed of it.” She was confused why she didn't feel it but she is going to talk a little bit more in her story. I love that message because I didn't feel the birth high with some of my kids either and it is weird. I remember sitting there thinking, Wait, aren't I supposed to be crying right now or aren't I supposed to be screaming how happy I am right now? It just didn't come. Please know that if you didn't have that immediate birth high, it's okay. It's totally okay. We do have a Review of the Week. It is from Yulia and this is actually on our VBAC Course. It says, “This is an amazing VBAC Course that helped me understand how I can educate and support families in the best way.” She is actually one of our VBAC doulas so again, if you guys are looking for more information on VBAC and you really want to learn just all of the history of VBAC and Cesarean and how you can increase your chances of VBAC, check out our course at thevbaclink.com and let us know if you take it. Let us know what you think about it. All right, Ms. Rebekah. Your hometown is Utah, same as me. We are here together. You're in Utah County. You're probably 45-50 minutes away from me so just shy of an hour. Where did you give birth for your VBAC? Rebekah: It was the Utah Birth Suites in Provo. Meagan: Okay. Awesome, awesome. Well, I'm so excited to get into your stories today. I know that with your first one, you went through it. It was spontaneous labor turned unplanned Cesarean. Now if you are listening, I'm sure you can raise your hand. How many of us are having the same situations? We are going into labor and we have that unplanned Cesarean. It's so, so hard. Before we get into your story, are there any suggestions that you would give to the listeners or any tips for moms just like us for moms who went into labor and had an unplanned Cesarean?Rebekah: The heartbreak and the trauma that comes with that is really hard to navigate so in planning a VBAC, my number one piece of advice is hire a doula. Hire a VBAC-certified doula and do all of the hard work you can to mentally prepare. Try not to blame yourself for the C-section because I know we all do that at some point if it wasn't planned. Meagan: Yeah. I love that you said that. Don't blame yourself but at the same time, let's arm ourselves up with information and even first-time moms, there are so many times that we go in and we think we sort of educated ourselves but we didn't. If we can try and educate ourselves a little bit better, we can hopefully be a little bit more armed for the unexpected and even then when the unexpected happens, it's not easy to be armed. It's not easy to be prepared. Okay, so let's talk about that first birth that was an unplanned Cesarean. Rebekah: Yeah. I got pregnant in 2020 so COVID insanity and I had known even before I got married that I didn't want to be in a hospital. I'm number 6 of 7 kids and my mom had all of us unmedicated. I was a home baby. Some of us were born at home. Some were in a hospital. Some were in a birth center. I just really felt that in my bones and in my genes that I can give birth. It's not scary. My mom did this this many times without medication. My sister did it 5 times so I really felt confident. With everything happening in hospitals during COVID, I just was like, I don't even want to try to mess with that so let's go the midwife route. I got in contact with a friend of mine who was a doula and she recommended the Utah Birth Suites in Provo. I reached out to them. We toured a couple of different birth centers and that birth center just felt right. We met almost the entire team that first day in the interview. They spent almost an hour just chatting with us. I was about maybe 18 weeks, 20ish weeks. I was about halfway through my pregnancy. I had two or three meetings with an OB because I didn't have a midwife and it just wasn't my favorite. It was so long between visits and they lasted about 15 minutes. I saw a different person each time. It felt very impersonal and I don't like repeating myself over and over again to all of these different people. It didn't feel right. It wasn't really what I was looking for. I found the Birth Suites and they took care of me for the rest of my pregnancy. I had a little bit of hypertension issues toward the end so the last three or four weeks were really juggling this game of, are we looking at induction this weekend? My blood pressure would read really, really high then I would do all of the things to bring it back down. I was watching my nutrition and taking the vitamins and everything to bring it down. It would come down just within a safe enough range to keep giving me care. Legally, if it crossed that line into worries of preeclampsia, then legally they had to transfer me into the care of an OB. My midwife was really working hard with me to keep it down. It was doing this up/down thing and by the end of each week, it was like, “Okay, we might have to induce you in a couple of days if you want to stick with us.” I was okay with that. My midwife had talked with me about that so it wasn't pushed on me. I was doing everything to stay within their care. That was my whole goal so if I had to be induced, that's what I would do. But every weekend came and passed and my blood pressure would come back down. Finally, it was the day before my due date. I went into labor in the middle of the night. It was maybe 2:30 in the morning. I felt my first contraction. I could tell it was labor because it was different than all of my Braxton Hicks. The only sign I had that labor was going to start was that I had cramping the day before. I was like, “Oh, this is kind of uncomfy.” I didn't think anything of it. As a first-time mom, I didn't know a ton. I did as much research as I possibly could but labor is so random with every mom and baby. There really is no way to tell. I go into labor early in the morning and I woke up my husband. I said, “I think I'm in labor. I think these are contractions. They're not stopping. They're getting really intense.” Intense compared to the Braxton Hicks I had been feeling. I let him sleep and I went into a different room and classic first-time mom mistake. Instead of resting, I got up and started moving and trying to get things going because I was all excited. I didn't want things to slow down. I was timing them and texting my midwife. She said, “See if you can lay down. Take a Tylenol if they are super uncomfortable and try to get as much sleep as possible because you've got some time.” I tried doing that. It wasn't working for me. I was super uncomfy laying down. I did not like it at all. I felt good when I was up and moving because I think that slowed things down but I didn't know the difference. I just knew it was less uncomfortable. I was like, “I'm not going to be sleeping. Let's just go do something.” We went on a drive. We did a little shopping. We walked around. We went back home. We hung out for a little bit. Then my husband was like, “Do you think I'm okay to go to work?” I was like, “I think you are. You can go to work. I think we have plenty of time. Things are still pretty spread out right now. We can call our doula and she'll come hang out with me at home.” So that's what we did. Our doula came over and my husband went to work and everybody was like, “What are you doing here? Your wife is having a baby. What's going on?” He was like, “She's fine. She has our doula.” Our doula was with me for a couple of hours and things had picked up enough to where I felt like he needed to be home so we called him back home. Things were moving on not slowly but slower than I wanted. I was just trying to be patient and let things go–Meagan: Trusting the process. Rebekah: Yes, exactly. I'm not a very patient person so this really was a big learning experience for me. So my doula is keeping contact with our midwife and eventually, it was like, “Okay, I think you're good to head to the birth center. It looks like things are pretty steady now.” We got to the birth center. I really wanted a water birth so they drew a tub and I relaxed in the water and tried some different positions. Hands and knees in the water were hard and uncomfortable. They gave me a towel to keep from slipping around but it was really uncomfortable. My knees didn't like staying in that position and I didn't want to be laying back. So I just wiggled around in the water a little bit. They were like, “Let's see if we can get you in a different position and try to get things moving a little bit.” So they got me out of the water. We tried the birth stool. I did not like the birth stool but it helped me progress a ton so that was good. I think I lost my mucus plug on the birth stool. I was feeling tons of pain in my lower back, like lots and lots of pain in my lower back. My thighs were shaky and I felt a lot of intense sensations in my thighs whenever I would have a contraction. There was a lot going on with my body that I wasn't really prepared for or expecting. I got back in the water to help relieve my back a little bit and I ended up getting stuck on my back lying back in the tub. It was getting to the point where I was almost passing out between my contractions because I was so, so tired. My body had been working for so long and it just felt like things weren't quite where they needed to be with how long I had been working. Again, my midwife said, “If you pass out, we will have to transfer you.” They gave me the oxygen and some essential oils to smell to keep me awake. They were trying to help me as best as they could. I guess my husband was out in the hall with the midwives and it was student midwives who were taking care of me and there was the head midwife who was overseeing them. They had a little pow-wow about what they thought we should do. The midwife was very big on mother-led labor. She was like, “Well, she's a first-time mom.” I had been in labor for so long that things were concerning at this point so it was just, “Let's give her a little bit more time and try to keep her awake and see how things are going. She's doing great. She's tired and this is normal.” A bit more time passed and one of the student midwives was like, “We need to check her. She should be farther along by now. She says she's pushing. She feels like she's pushing but we are not seeing the water separation and as much opening as we would like to see.” They got me out of the water and onto the bed and the head midwife performed a cervical check to see what was going on. I had a contraction while she checked me and my water broke. It was just full of meconium. She said, “I can feel his bum. He's breech.” It was crazy because we thought he had been head down the entire time but when I was in the water, there was a big movement in my belly and I was like, “Oh, that was kind of crazy.” We thought, did he flip? When we realized he was breech, was that movement him flipping while I was in labor?Then my midwife also made a comment later, “Well, maybe he was bum down longer than we thought he was. Maybe that wasn't the flip.” It had everybody baffled. My midwife has been practicing for a couple of decades. She's very experienced and this had everybody stumped. She had never really seen anything like this happen before so at this point, she said, “Well, you have two options. We will send you home and send you a midwife who can deliver breech babies,” because she was licensed and in Utah, licensed midwives aren't allowed to deliver breech babies which I think is silly. She had the training and experience. She just legally wasn't allowed to do it. She said, “We can send you home and send you a midwife or you can go to the hospital where they will definitely do a C-section.” She gave us a couple of minutes. We weren't in any emergent situation. The baby wasn't in distress. His heartbeat had been great the whole time so there was no reason to believe that he was struggling at all. She gave us a couple of minutes to decide. Earlier in my pregnancy, I received a blessing from my husband and was told something like, “However our child is supposed to come into this world–”, and I was like, “Well, that's silly. He's going to come how we are planning on him to come.” I remembered that in this moment and said, “I think this is what that meant. I think he was always supposed to be a C-section.” It was a very interesting combination of feelings happening at the same time, remembering that and knowing this was how it was supposed to go but also being beyond devastated that this was the path things took. So we chose the C-section not because first of all, the thought of having more contractions in the car was like, I'm not going to do that. I just knew it wasn't safe. I was almost passing out and I knew that a breech baby can sometimes be a bit more work. I was in no position to do that. So my husband drove us to the hospital and I had maybe three contractions in the car. Our midwives called the hospital to tell them what was going on and that we were coming so they were ready for us. It was very quick. We got there. They took great care of us and had me in the operating room and the rest was history. We had the C-section. The anesthesiologist was so sweet. He was this old man who spoke really softly and assured me that everything was going great. He stayed with us the whole time through the surgery. I heard him cry and it was great. They wrapped him up. They held his cheek against mine for a minute and then they took him out. My husband followed him and then they stitched me up. That was my C-section. We spent 3 days in the hospital. My birthing team came to visit me one by one in the hospital and every single one of them told me that I was a great candidate for a VBAC. They told me about The VBAC Link so that's when I started on my whole journey listening to you guys and started to really plant those seeds that, “You are capable. You didn't fail. You are able to do this still.” I know that some moms after having a birth experience don't really want to hear these things and they weren't in a place to hear those things, but for me, it was really great to immediately have that confidence spoken into me. That was my C-section. Meagan: Yes. I love that your team knew you so well to know that that was what you needed to hear in that time. Those were the things that you needed to hear. So knowing right away that you were a good VBAC candidate, was it something that stayed with you and you were like, this is what I want to do?Rebekah: Yes, absolutely. It wasn't ever a question if I was going to have a repeat Cesarean. That was never part of my plan. You can't really plan birth but I had never really had that fear of, Am I going to need another C-section? There's always a little bit of it there, but it was always, I'm going to have a VBAC. That's what we're going to do from that point forward.Meagan: You knew. You felt that it was right. You found out about us at The VBAC Link. You had your providers already. Did you stay with the same providers or did you switch? Rebekah: Yeah. Meagan: Okay, stayed. Rebekah: Well, technically yes. I stayed with the same Birth Suites and the head midwife who was overseeing the student midwives who cared for me in my first pregnancy was the one who cared for me during my second. I got to know her a little bit better during my second pregnancy and she was ahead of everything at that time. Meagan: Okay, awesome. So you are pregnant now for the second time. Tell us about this amazing VBAC journey. Rebekah: Yeah. So I got pregnant– when was it? It was probably late summer, early fall when I got pregnant with my second. I immediately reached out to– she's a licensed midwife now but the student midwife who was in charge of my care the last time. I reached out to her because I loved her so much. I said, “I'm pregnant again and I would really love for you to take care of me.”She said, “Well, when you are due is right when I go on leave.” I said, “That's great timing.” I reached out to another girl who was on our team who I loved and the same thing. They were taking their leave at the same time. She was like, “But it's within a week. You're due within a week of when I go on leave. If you end up having your baby before I go on leave, are you okay with me being there?” I was like, “Yes. I would love for you to be there if you can to support.” That's not what ended up happening, but it was fine.I reached out to Melissa. She's one of the owners at Utah Birth Suites. She started that whole business. I got to know her with my first so I reached out to her and said, “I'm pregnant again and would love to be in your care.”It was really great that she already knew my history with my first pregnancy and first birth. I had stayed in contact with them. They do a lot of things in the community and they try to stay in touch with their moms who they take care of. It's not like it had been 3 years since I had seen her. I had seen them here and there so I felt really comfortable with her. I had a couple concerns with this pregnancy with the hypertension issues and stuff that we had with him being breech. There were just things that I really wanted to stay on top of and keep an eye on. My blood pressure was fantastic throughout this entire pregnancy. It was at such a healthy level the entire time. We never had that concern of preeclampsia or hypertension because it just wasn't a factor. It was really nice. I was doing all of the things this time around with the vitamins and supplements and nutrition and water intake and all of the things that I neglected with my first pregnancy. I was super, super determined to have this VBAC. My midwife really pushed protein– lots and lots and lots of protein. We really wanted to strengthen that uterus and try to be as strong as we possibly could so I really took that to heart and tried my best. I got really excited when I came up with a new recipe that had a ton of protein. I would take a picture and send it to her and write up the recipe. I was like, “I'm so excited about this one.” It's like when a kid draws a picture and is so excited and their parent sticks it on the fridge. That was how I felt. I was like, “Look at me. I'm working so hard this time.” I was worried about her flipping breech but that was never an issue either. She stayed head down the whole time. This was a little side note that was interesting. During my anatomy scan to find out the gender, the ultrasound tech was looking over everything and he said, “There's no way to really tell for sure because your uterus has expanded now,” but he said, “I wonder if you have a bicornuate uterus.” He said, “Because your birth was breech, right? He flipped?” We had seen this ultrasound tech for the first so he knew everything that happened there. So I said, “Yeah. He flipped breech.” I had never heard that word before. I didn't know what that was. He explained it to me and said, “It's really common for women with a bicornuate uterus to have babies who flip breech.” So I was like, “Okay, that's interesting.” He said, “After you have this baby and your uterus shrinks back to normal, we should take a look at it.” I have yet to do that but I'm curious too. She never flipped breech so I don't know. Maybe I just have a goofy-shaped uterus. I don't know.Meagan: Maybe or it was just a freak thing. Baby needed to be head up. Rebekah: I don't know. That was interesting and I'm curious to see what the results of that are. But anyway, we got in contact with a doula, a VBAC-certified doula in the area. Her name is Isabelle and she is fantastic. She is absolutely phenomenal. She is also a birth assistant so she is fully immersed in this birth world. She is so knowledgeable and has tons of experience. We clicked really fast and I knew that I wanted her to be our doula. She really just was invaluable the whole time. She recommended that I do some fear-release exercises and meditations to work through some of the trauma that I didn't really realize that I had from my first birth. I thought I had processed and accepted as much as I could but I think healing isn't a linear process and being pregnant again and having another baby brought up a lot of stuff and a lot of fears. On a personal note that I won't really get into, I had a different set of fears surrounding this pregnancy for different reasons so there was just a lot to work on emotionally and mentally. I took that very seriously. This was a very sacred and spiritual pregnancy for me. Maybe it's just like that mother-daughter bond. I don't know. I felt way more connected to my baby this time and I really wanted to do my due diligence in making sure that my mind and my spirit were in a good spot for this pregnancy and this birth. One of the fear release exercises she sent me was one provided by The VBAC Link. It was a little worksheet to get your mind going and there are specific questions on there about what are some fears you have and where do you think those fears come from? It was that kind of stuff and toward the bottom, it helps you reframe those a little bit. Meagan: Yeah. Rebekah: It had me write out what my fears were and then to write an affirmation to counter each fear. I had 20 affirmations all written down just to go along with this list of fears. Then I actually used a couple of those and printed them out as my visual affirmations for when I was in labor. So fast forward, we're about 38 weeks and I was thinking for whatever reason that this baby girl was going to be early. So 38 weeks came around and I was starting to get excited. I'm like, “I think she's going to be here pretty soon.” I was starting to have some prodromal labor which I didn't experience with my son so that really reinforced the idea that she would be here soon and that was not the case. I had 2.5 weeks, well yeah. I guess it was about 2.5. Normal labor started around 39 weeks. So every night on the clock from 8:00, I would start getting really intense contractions that felt like early labor with my son but I also had much stronger Braxton Hicks this entire pregnancy so I was like, “I can't really tell the difference.” I told my doula that. I was like, “I'm afraid I'm going to miss you and I'm not going to reach out to you in time or you're not going to make it to us in time because I won't know when labor is actually happening.” That was a big worry of mine this time around. It was so different than with my son. She said, “It's okay. You can just text me as much as you need to and as much as you want.” So I did. I texted her a lot the last few weeks and she was like, “Your body is doing great.” She told me that in her experience, she said, “Just from what I've seen with my VBAC moms, I actually see prodromal labor happen a lot. I personally think that it's the body's way of being more gentle rather than doing all of the labor hard and fast at once. It's lots of little bits of labor to get your body ready and ease into it so it's not as intense on your body.” I was like, “You know, that makes sense.” I don't know. I don't think there are any studies around that that I know of, but that made sense to me. I really tried to just internalize that and not get too discouraged when things would stop as soon as I went to bed which they did every time. At 8:00, they would pick up and be there for a couple hours then it would stop when I fell asleep then I'd be fine until the next night when it would pick up again. My husband and I would go on a walk every single night and on these walks, I could have sworn that she was going to fall out. I could feel that she was right there. I could feel that my body was literally opening. I could tell that I was dilated. I never got cervical checks this time around which was oddly empowering. I really trusted my body and knew that things would happen regardless of the number that my body was dilated. I had no idea but my midwife was like, “You know, it wouldn't surprise me if you are sitting at a 4 right now.” So if anyone has experienced prodromal labor, you know how exhausting it is and how discouraging it is mentally, physically, emotionally– all of it. It had been a couple of weeks of this and I had officially gone past 40 weeks. I'm officially overdue and my son being born right on time, it was really frustrating that I was going past my date with this one. I didn't want to be induced. There was really no reason for it other than I was getting tired of being pregnant. My midwife was supportive if I wanted an induction. After I hit 40 weeks, I think she would have done it. She said, “Oh, we can do this,” but she also was really encouraging and assured me that my body was doing what it needed to. It was normal to feel discouraged, but let's just give your body time, especially with a VBAC. Induction can come with its own set of risks. I knew that. It was just such a mental battle trying to remember that. I know the risks sometimes can be small, not that it would worry me personally. For some moms, I know it would but for me, the risks that came with induction weren't enough for me to say no to it completely. But also, you never know so let's not play that game. Let's just be as patient as we can. A couple of days before I went into labor, I had it. I was over it. I was in the middle of a breakdown in tears just exhausted. I was with my husband and I said, “Why isn't she here yet? Why doesn't she want to come?” I was just processing things out loud and I said, “I know my body is ready. I can feel it. My body is open. She is so far down there. I feel like her head is going to pop out any second. What is going on? Why have I not gone into labor?”Then he just was really comforting to me and letting me process how I needed to and then I said, “I feel like she's scared.” That was a really interesting feeling. Like I said, I felt more connected to this baby and it was like a lightbulb that was the answer. Your body is ready but your baby is not. We were overdue at this point so I said, “I feel like she's scared. I'm not quite sure why, but I'm almost positive that's it.” So I took a moment to kind of then go into myself. I went into a different room by myself and again in tears was just sobbing and praying and spent some time talking with the Lord and then I spent some time talking to my baby. I told her, “We're ready for you. We are so, so ready for you. I know you are scared. I don't know why but you're not going to be alone. We're going to go through this together. You're going to be safe. Mommy and Daddy are going to take care of you. You're going to be okay.” It just was a really, really sweet moment. Two days later, I went into labor. Meagan: Ohh. Rebekah: I guess she just needed that reassurance that things were going to be okay. Meagan: She needed the okay. Yeah. Rebekah: Yeah. I think she felt that something was coming with all of this prodromal labor. She knew that things were picking up and she just needed a little pep talk. So this time around, again, around 3:00 AM– I guess that's when babies like to come. I hear that so, so many times between 2:00 and 3:00 AM is when things start to happen. I don't know why that is the magical hour, but it is. This time, because we know I was afraid I wouldn't know when labor had started, this time is started with my water breaking. My water didn't break until after 17 hours of labor with my son. I was asleep and woke up to re-situate myself and I felt this pop inside my body. It kind of hurt a little bit. I was like, what was that? It was a really weird sensation. I thought, Was that my water? I reached down and I feel around. I'm like, Well, I'm not wet. I stood up just to see what was going on and there was this huge, giant gush. I was like, Well, yep. There it is. This was probably my favorite part of my entire labor. My husband was asleep and I said, “Honey, honey, my water broke.” He was still half asleep and he said, “Do you want me to fill it up for you?” He thought that I had dropped my water bottle or something. I was like, “No, honey. My water broke.” He jumps up and he's like, “Oh, oh.” He started freaking out and he was like, “What are you supposed to do?” He was frantically looking around. He was still half asleep. I was like, “Okay, take a breath. Go get me a towel first of all,” because I was gushing all over the floor. “Get me a towel and then text Melissa (my midwife)” or my doula. I didn't know who it was. I said, “Let them know.” He said, “Are you okay? Do we need to go somewhere? What's going on?” I said, “No, we have time. Water breaking is not a big deal.” I had done lots and lots of research and listened to a million birth stories so at this point, I feel like a pro because I am fully immersed in this birth world. I said, “No, I'm okay. I'm just going to change and lay back down because I'm not having contractions yet. I feel fine, but I do need to rest so I'm going to change myself and lay down.” That's what I did. I wasn't going to repeat the mistakes of my first birth of moving too fast. Meagan: Getting too excited and yes. Rebekah: Yeah, especially with the exhaustion that I was feeling toward the end of my labor with my son, I was like, I don't want to feel that again. I lay back down. I know myself well enough that I wasn't going to fall back asleep. There was no way that was going to happen, but I was like, But I need to stay as relaxed as possible. We kept the lights really low. I put my birth playlist on and just really did some breathing to keep myself relaxed and as open as I possibly could. That's how I labored for the next several hours but things got intense really fast. As soon as my water broke, I knew that my contractions were going to be more intense. Even though labor had technically just started, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to be in labor for very long because it had been 2.5 weeks of prodromal stuff. I was like, I think this is going to be quick. I was really unsure of what to do though because I was timing my contractions. I have screenshots and was sending them to my doula. She said, “Oh, those look great but let's wait an hour and see how that goes.” But I was feeling like things were picking up. I felt like things were getting more intense but people kept telling me to wait. My midwife was like, “Oh, you have time.” My doula was like, “Oh, you have time.” I told my husband, “I don't know what to do because everyone is telling me that I have time but I don't think we do.” Every time I stood up to go to the bathroom or get in the shower– I tried the water in the shower because my doula said, “Sometimes that can make things a little bit more comfortable. Some women like to labor in the shower for a little bit.” I thought I'd try that. I loved the water but I did not like being upright. I did not like standing because it made contractions so, so intense but they were short. They were half the length than when I was lying down. I think they thought I had time because there were still several minutes between contractions and they were still pretty long. They were like, “We want them just a little bit shorter and a little bit closer together,” or longer contractions. I don't remember. I was like, There is something in me that is telling me that this is moving pretty quickly. I don't like being upright and I feel like I need to rest. It was a lot of weird stuff going on in my head trying to figure out how to handle things. I stayed in bed. It was this instinct in me, “You need to stay lying down.” Any time I stood up, it picked things up and for any birth with other moms, that's what you want, right? You want things to pick up and you want things to progress and technically standing upright was progressing things, but it didn't feel right to me for whatever reason. I knew I needed to be resting and lying down. I was starting to get tired. I texted my midwife and said, “I'm starting to get worried because I don't feel like I should be this tired this early, especially with how much I've been lying down and resting.” She said, “I think you need a little boost of energy.” She said, “Eat a snack and go outside and take a walk. Get some fresh air. Get some sunlight.” In my head, I was like, I don't want to do that. I don't want to be up. Every time I stand up, I can't explain it. Everything in my body and spirit was like, “You need to stay lying down.” I was like, “You know what? She's been doing this longer than I have. I'm going to trust her. I'm going to do it.” I make my way upstairs and as I'm getting a snack, I have a contraction that just had me seeing stars. I almost passed out. It was so, so intense and I told my husband, “I'm going to throw up. I'm going to pass out.” I leaned against the counter. He rubbed my back and when it was over, I ate my snack really, really quick. It was a sugary snack to give me a blood sugar boost. I ate my snack really fast and then immediately went to the living room and got on my knees and leaned against the couch. Again, I can't be standing. Meagan: Yeah, and gravity is causing it to happen too much. Rebekah: Yeah, and I was like, I don't have the capacity right now to handle these standing. I need to be more grounded. I got on my knees on the couch and my husband was like, “Are you okay?” I was like, “Yes, I just can't stand up.” I had a few contractions on the couch because everyone was telling us to wait so I was like, “Okay, let's just do a few more contractions and see how these were going.” That's when I hit transition. It was a little before 9:00 AM or it would be 8:30-8:40. I had a few contractions and they got really, really intense really quickly. It was starting to get a little bit more painful. I was feeling a lot more pressure in my bum and I had to physically relax my pelvic floor and open it because things were starting to feel a little bit pushy. I say that's when transition was. I actually don't know. I feel like I breezed through the transition phase because things just happened so fast. I would guess that's when it was. We called our midwife. Our doula hadn't come to us yet. I called maybe an hour before and said, “Why don't you make your way to us because things are starting to pick up?” She said, “Okay.” She lives maybe an hour away. So she's on her way to us and hasn't made it to us yet. We call our midwife and say, “Things are pretty intense over here.” She listened to a couple of contractions over the phone and she said, “Those sound great. You're doing awesome.” These contractions, I was getting really, really vocal through them, and having gone through labor unmedicated with my son, I knew that I was pretty close just based on the noises that I was making and the way my body was feeling. I was like, We're pretty close here. She said, “Okay, do you want to meet me? Let's meet at the birth center at 10:00,” which means we would have had to leave 20 or 30 minutes from that time or from the time we were at. I said, “We can't do this at home for another 20 minutes.” I had another contraction and my husband and I both go, “No, we're coming now. We can't stay here and do this for another 30 minutes. Things are moving too fast.” She said, “Okay, great. I'll meet you there.” We called our doula and we said, “Go straight to the birth center.” The birth center is kind of in the middle of us so she didn't have to backtrack. We get to the birth center. Our doula met us there. She said, “You had one contraction after you got there and the next one, you were pushing.” My midwife was there maybe less than 10 minutes after we showed up, between 5-10 minutes but I had a couple of pushing contractions with just my husband and my doula at the birth center. When I got to the birth center, I assumed the position. I got on my knees and leaned against a chair because that's how I had been doing it at home. I loved it. Every time I would have a contraction, I would put my hands on the ground so I was on hands and knees and I would lean back a little bit. Everything in my body just told me to get as low to the ground as you possibly can. Any amount of pressure or sensation on my body was amazing. It just kept me feeling grounded because of my son, when I was in the tub leaning back, I kept reaching up like this saying, “Help me. I need help. Help me.” I felt so untethered and nobody knew what to do for me because I was in the tub. They couldn't do counterpressure on my hips or my back because of the position I was in. It was just like, there's nothing we can do for you. I refused to move so it was like I got stuck in this position where I felt so ungrounded and untethered. But this time around, I was solid. I loved it and I actually had a bruise on my forehead the next day because I was pushing my forehead against the chair every time I had a contraction. But it was awesome. I loved that feeling of feeling so solid and grounded. I had pushed for maybe an hour before she was born and I felt that ring of fire. It made me say a bad word. I was like, “Oh my gosh,” because I didn't feel it with my son. When I leaned back during a contraction, I could see some blood on the chucks pad on the ground that I was moving on and I asked them, “Am I tearing?” There was a pause and my midwife said, “Your body is stretching exactly how it's supposed to.” So that was tearing. She was not going to tell me, “Yeah, you are.” She was really encouraging and she was like, “Your body is stretching the way it is supposed to,” but in my head, I was like, I know I'm tearing. I could feel it. It wasn't horrible, but I could tell. I had this memoir going on in my head the whole time where I literally had to tell myself, You're not going to break. You're not going to break, because those sensations on my pelvis while pushing her head out were so intense. Meagan: Intense, yeah. Rebekah: It just felt like my pelvis was going to crack but I knew that wasn't the case. My body was made to do this. It was doing what it was supposed to do. It was really a big mental battle. I've heard a lot of women talk about how they go into labor land and it was this out-of-body experience, but when I tried to do that and let go I guess is the term, that's when I started to feel fear set in and I felt really uncomfortable when things got more painful so I really had to keep myself in my body. I am not the type that can just close my eyes and say, “Okay, my body is just going to do the work.” I couldn't do that. I had to really stay fully present. I guess I needed to feel that sense of control so I was talking myself through it the whole time. “You're doing okay. Keep your voice low.” I was very, very loud. “Keep your screams and your moans in a low tone and keep yourself open. You're not going to break.” I had to keep telling myself these things. My husband was talking to me, “You're doing so great. You're amazing. Our daughter's going to be beautiful. You're doing such a great job.” My doula was scratching my back and doing counterpressure. Everybody was just amazing. The vibe in the room was just absolutely incredible. She started to crown and my midwife said, “Rebekah, why don't you feel down and you can feel her head? That might be encouraging to you.” I think she could tell I was getting frustrated. Every push I was sure she would come and she didn't. I would get so mad and I would push harder than I probably should have and maybe that's why I tore because I was being impatient. I feel down. I could feel her head crowning. I started talking to her. I started crying. I'm like, “Sweetie, I'm so excited to meet you. Hi, sweetie. You're doing great.” A couple of contractions later, her head came out. Then we chilled with her head out. We chilled between contractions. One of the girls on our team got an awesome shot just from right behind. She took a picture of her head sticking out so it was just a straight shot of my bum with her head and it was just a beautiful, beautiful picture. So I feel down and I feel her head. I'm rubbing her head. I'm talking to her and I'm breathing. I got water between every single contraction. I took a drink of water. I took some electrolytes. Oh, between contractions, I would sit up and lean on my husband. I would lean on his lap and then during a contraction is when I would go down on all fours. It was just this up, down rhythm that I got into. That's what I did. Meagan: That is awesome. Rebekah: It was awesome. I really got into a groove. I felt safe and comfortable. After her head came out, the next contraction, her entire body just slipped right out and I got to reach down and grab her and pull her up onto my chest. It was just amazing. But I didn't feel that birth high. I was expecting to feel it. Everyone talks about this incredible rush of endorphins and “I wanted to do it again. I had just done this amazing thing and I got a rush of these feel-good hormones”. I was expecting to feel that and I didn't. It was a beautiful moment and I was so happy to be there but I kept waiting for that high to hit me and it wasn't hitting me. I was like, “Oh, that's weird, but okay.” I had hemorrhaged after my placenta came out. It wasn't enough to really be emergent, but it was kind of concerning. They were doing the fundal massage. They were putting pressure on it. I was holding my baby the whole time leaning on my husband and my husband was like, “Is she okay? What's going on?” I asked him to say a prayer and to pray for us. So the midwives were working on me quietly. My husband says this quick, beautiful prayer just that everything would be okay and that things would go the way they were supposed to. My midwife asked if I would be okay with Pitocin to help stop it and that was fine with me so we did a quick shot of Pitocin and a couple of minutes later, it completely stopped and I was good to go. It was just a few minutes of this and even hearing the word “hemorrhage” or “You are losing more blood than we would like,” I still never really panicked or felt afraid because I trusted my team so much and I knew that if things were emergent, things would be going differently. There would be a different energy but no one was concerned. No one was rushing around. No one seemed panicked. It was just like, “You're losing a little bit of blood, but–”Meagan: We're taking care of this. Rebekah: “We're taking care of this.” It was so quick. It was so quick. It was taken care of and I'm so blessed that that was how things go because I know sometimes that's not the case for other moms, so in my case, it really wasn't that big of a deal. Meagan: Yeah. Rebekah: I got to take a postpartum bath. Well, I guess they did the stitches first because I had a second-degree tear that required stitches, and when they were checking my tear and they told me, “You're going to need some stitches,” I immediately burst into tears because for whatever reason, that sent me back to my C-section because to me, stitches meant, “We're stitching you up. We're closing you up.” Meagan: Yeah, yeah. Rebekah: It was this weird flashback moment that caused me to panic and I started crying. I told them it reminded me of my C-section and I know that sounds silly. It's just a few stitches from tearing in comparison to stitches from a C-section.Meagan: It doesn't sound silly. Rebekah: But to me, it wasn't. Oh, also, I was in the same birth suite that I was laboring in with my son the first time around. I was on that same bed when the midwives told me, “He's breech. We have to do something else.” So it just was like I was back in that same space where I was being told that I have to do something that I don't want to do that was scary to me. My doula was really sweet and talked me through it. My whole team talked me through it. They were like, “You're fine. It's okay. It's not a big deal.” They were very validating like, “I understand. That's why you are scared and why this is bringing things up again but you are safe. We're going to take care of you. You're not even going to feel it. We're going to numb you.”Meagan: Numb it up, yeah. Rebekah: Yeah. My doula stayed with me through my stitches and she was like, “Let's put on some music,” because I was talking about this music that I loved. She was like, “Let's find this album and let's listen to it.” So she found this album and she talked with me the whole time through the stitches. Then I got to take my beautiful postpartum bath in the salts and the flowers and stuff. It was just beautiful. My doula got a picture and she was like, “You look so angelic like a mermaid.” I was lying sideways and my hair was all draped. She was like, “There are flowers in the water. It is beautiful.”Again, it was a healing full-circle moment when they handed me my baby to take this bath together because the tub was another source of stress and anxiety from my first birth. I felt stuck. I felt abandoned. I felt like I didn't have a ton of help. I had help but it didn't feel like it. So just a lot of little moments throughout this suite that I was in that helped heal me a lot from my first birth that were all of these trauma points from my labor with him. They did the newborn exam. I got to hold her and be in the same room as her the entire time. I held her the whole time they did my stitches. We waited to cut the cord until it was white. My husband got to cut the cord. It all was incredibly, incredibly beautiful and healing. I did have to have two bags of IV fluids because of the blood that I lost which kind of helped rebuild that. My doula fed me soup while I was in the tub snuggling my baby. It just was a night and day difference. Meagan: Yeah, such a different experience. Rebekah: She's 7.5 weeks old and we're doing great. I healed very well, so much faster than with a C-section. Again, night and day. I don't even feel like I had a baby. Healing this time has been incredible this time especially having a toddler and worrying, Am I going to be able to do these things?Meagan: Yeah, that was actually one of the reasons among many that I did want a VBAC too. A lot of people were like, “What are your reasons?” One of them was that I want to have a better postpartum experience physically as I'm recovering because I just remember being so– and it can happen with vaginal birth too. Vaginal birth doesn't just eliminate your chances of not a great experience. You can still have a not-great experience with that with a vaginal birth, but yeah. I was like, “I want to be able to pick up my kids. I want to be able to drive if I needed to. I want to be able to–”. Rebekah: Go to the bathroom and shower by yourself. Normal human things. Meagan: Right, not have my husband holding me up showering. Yeah. That, for me, was such a big difference too in my recovery. That alone. Yeah. I'm so happy for you. I'm so glad that you were able to not only just have a different experience that was healing just in general but then all of these little things that you were able to heal from in addition like you said with the tub and these peaceful experiences and your connection with you and your daughter like, “Hey, I think she's scared and I need to go talk with her. I need to be with her.” And even during the pushing, you had that connection again. “Hey, honey, we are excited.” You were touching her and talking to her. It just goes to show so much how much more connected these babies are than we think they are. They really, really are and your body was ready. Your baby wasn't ready and sometimes that is the case and we have to understand that usually when spontaneous labor is going on or whatever, it's a team effort– body and baby together. Sometimes it's not and we have to help them. Rebekah: Yeah, exactly. It was crazy actually pushing a baby out. I don't want to say that I'm scared of doing it again but I wasn't expecting it to be as intense as it was. With my son, I was complete. I had dilated to a 10. I was fully effaced. His bum was right there. I think if we hadn't known sooner that he was breech, I wonder if we would have had an accidental breech delivery at the birth center because I was complete. I was ready to push a baby out. My body was already pushing. I had done all of the labor up to the pushing a baby out part. I think I had just built it up in my head, “Oh, you've done this before. You've done this before. You'll be okay.” I had done everything but the pushing phase. Feeling her actually coming out of my body was such a bizarre sensation. After her head was out, I actually felt a little wiggle. She wiggled her body in there and I said, “I can feel her moving.” My midwife was like, “Yep. She's getting ready to come out.” It was incredible that I was able to actually feel all of these things even though it was painful and it was hard. That's the only thing I wanted. I wanted to feel what it was like to actually birth my baby out of my body and do what it was designed to do. It just was incredible and it doesn't take away from the experience with my son at all. Both labor experiences and both birth experiences taught me so many things in completely different ways. When I tell my birth story with my daughter, I really hope that it doesn't come off that I was trying to rewrite history or trying to erase the way things happened with my son because it's not the case. The stories don't exist without the other. It's just been incredible to see how their personalities are different just based on how labor went with them. I really believe that the way your labor goes and the way your pregnancy is, you can almost tell what your baby's personality is going to be like based on those things and how they go. Definitely with my kids, that has been true. Meagan: Yeah. A lot of people especially with breech are like, “Oh, this stubborn baby. This baby wouldn't flip. This baby threw us a curveball,” then they come out and they're like, “They're still throwing curveballs. They're still stubborn.” I mean, I've heard that is definitely something that can happen. The babies set the stage. Rebekah: Yeah, absolutely. I kept saying when I was pregnant with her that I felt like she was going to be a feisty baby and be fiery. That is how she is. It was beautiful. Meagan: Well, I'm so happy for you. I absolutely love, love, love your birthing team over there. They are just so amazing and I'm so glad that you had a doula and you had the support and that you were able to find healing through this birth experience. You know, every single birth is unique. You're going to heal and grow through every single experience. It's the most beautiful thing. Rebekah: This podcast helped a ton. That was another thing that I did during my prep. I was listening to The VBAC Link Podcast and a couple of other podcasts. I watched lots of birth stories so for VBAC moms, it is another piece of advice I have. Really just soak in all of those VBAC stories and instill that confidence in yourself because I have heard some moms who stay away from podcasts and they like to just have their thoughts and their experiences be their own. That's great and that's fine, but for me, I really needed that support and I really needed that constantly spoken into me. So hearing birth stories, especially VBAC birth stories for VBAC moms is invaluable. It was incredibly empowering. I'm so thankful for your podcast and the fact that you do this and put this community together for moms who listen to it.Meagan: Thank you. It's definitely something that I missed out on in my pregnancies and wanted. I was searching and searching and searching. There would be VBAC stories here and there but I really needed something more. That's why we started this so we could hopefully help people along the way and have more and have that community and that support and just that drive. I feel like you hear these stories and it really helps you be like, “Oh, okay wait. These hundreds of women before me have done this. These are not even half of the women out there.” The amount of submissions that we get and the amount of stories on social media, there are so many stories out there. You are all Women of Strength and you can do this. I think you are right. Listening to these stories, you're going to find something. You're going to find connection and nuggets. You might even find healing through other people's stories. It's weird to think about that but truly, yeah. Rebekah: Even the repeat C-section stories, I loved hearing those and that was what my mental and emotional prep this pregnancy revolved around. I was like, If we're going to have a VBAC, we're going to have a VBAC. That's not what I was worried about. It was that I wanted to make sure that my mind and my spirit and my body were in a place to receive another C-section if it needed that. If I have to have another one, I'm going to make sure that it's a positive experience this time around. So hearing those stories from women who had repeats and even that was healing for them was awesome to hear. Meagan: Yeah, and you were talking about that in the beginning with that unexpected. Your unexpected was that you had an unexpected breech, surprise baby and you were exhausted. That was the route that felt right and some people go into spontaneous labor and it turns into a Cesarean for whatever reason or they go into an induction and the body wasn't responding and baby wasn't responding. We have these unexpected experiences and it's hard because when we are preparing for unmedicated vaginal birth or a medicated vaginal birth or vaginal birth in general, we don't want to think about that Cesarean. We don't. It's easy to push it aside. That's one of the reasons why I think sharing CBAC stories and scheduled C-section stories on the podcast is so important because it does happen and it's important to learn your options there. We just share stories here and we want everyone to find what's best for them and if we limit what we can learn, I think we are doing ourselves a disservice. Rebekah: Absolutely, yeah. Yeah. I hope to get into birth work someday. Ever since I got pregnant with my son, I have been completely immersed in all of it. My Instagram feed is 90% birth workers. So I have learned so much and I used to do that. I used to only really pay attention to the holistic, natural, unmedicated side of things but now, I follow several labor and delivery nurses and OBs and take little pieces from here and little pieces from there. As you are preparing for a new baby, you can't possibly know everything or prepare for everything but knowledge is power and knowledge helps to dissipate fear. As much as you possibly can, learn and arm yourself with it. Like you said, I think that's why doulas are so important too. They can help you in that process of figuring out what education you can focus on or should be focusing on based on what you want. Yeah, it's just incredible. Birth is incredible no matter how it happens. It's hard and it's gritty and beautiful. Meagan: Absolutely. I couldn't agree more. Well, thank you again so much for being here with us and sharing your stories. Rebekah: Thank you so much. ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

My friends Jessica Salter and Jett Atwood (gay Latter-day Saint women in a same-sex marriage, attend and believe in Church) join us to share their stories. Jett & Jessie (who were married on June 15, 2024) talk about their supportive ward in Utah County (including their bishopric attending their reception) and being so fortunate to have many in their ward “catch” them. Jett (who is older than Jessie; Washington DC South RM, gifted cartoonist) talks about her journey to accept that her sexual orientation is part of her divine nature. Jessie (mother of 3 kids, former adjunct professor at BYU) also talks about accepting her sexual orientation and how they found each other. Both women talk about their supportive ward, principles to better support queer Latter-day Saints, the resurrection, focusing on what is in their control, their love of the church, and the beauty of their marriage and family. Thank you, Jessie and Jett, for sharing your story. You are two wonderful women—doing much to bless and help others. I'm glad the two of you found each other. Links: Instagram account: @headedtonineveh