Love Notes & Stories
"Pain Free"
I met Candi when pregnant with my son. She was my doula for the births of both of my children. She taught me hypnobirthing for my daughter's birth and I can say my labor with her was PAIN FREE and a wonderful experience. She is the most amazing massage therapist and she also is a yoga instructor. She has a studio in Benson. The Benson/Willmar area is so lucky to have Candi and her gifts. One of the things I miss most about MN is Candi's massages. If you don't know Candi, then you need to know her. She is a great friend and a talented woman! Thank you Candi for allowing me POSITIVE birth stories to share with pregnant mommies. J.H.
"Birth Scared Me"
Birth scared me - I'm so glad God sent you to us. You helped me experiened the miracle of birth and helped me through one of the most special times in my life. I will never forget your help with the HypnoBirthing classes and the extra effort you made to get to know me and my family. I'm so thankful I have a wonderful birth story to tell and you made that possible. K. W.
"Redemptive"
Redemptive is the word that often comes to mind when I think about Rory's birth.
I'm not sure I realized how traumatic Lennon's birth story was until I sat over a long chat about the love of kids, pregnancy, and labor. And how empowering and soul nourishing meeting with Elizabeth and Candi always was.
I'd say I'm an extremely private person and pretty introverted, so I navigate a lot off of "feelings" the Lord gives me for guidance in life that has always served our family well.
I had a resolute picture in my mind on how this pregnancy was going to go, who we were going to go with. When we decided to move out in the middle of nowhere, that was all thrown out. Eventually, I found my way to them but extremely late in my pregnancy, and when asked what my goal was for this labor and pregnancy, I said, "to be left alone." And I meant it...the traumatic year prior and breaking my ankle I wasn't at a place where I wanted any extras in my life. But God put them on my heart and kept nudging my heart to trust them.
See the problem was I trusted my body and the process (thanks to some other amazing midwives with Mazys' birth). I didn't want to go through the process of finding a new provider that aligned with my beliefs and even after ghosting them for a little bit (sorry again about that!), they still took us on.
What I didn't realize I wanted or maybe needed was someone to come alongside our journey and support, trust, and guide us in a different way than westernized physicians. What I also realized was I just needed someone to trust that I knew my body and what it's capable of.
I can't put into words everything that fell into place within this pregnancy and birth, but God knew what He was doing.
Elizabeth and Candi were loving, knowledgeable, and beyond exceptional about many things but mostly about loving on my girls whenever given the chance. And aways always always making it known that I was in charge of my journey.
A good birth is so redemptive and life-giving. Praying for all you mommas out there that you may have redemptive and beautiful births surrounded by people who bring a little ray of light into your world♡ H.K.
"Lighter, Brighter, Happier"
When Candi put it out there she was starting hypnotherapy there was something that pulled at me and knew I needed to give it a try and know Candi was going to be so amazing at! She truly has such an incredible gift and talent!!!
I did numerous sessions with Candi, it has had a huge impact on my life and mental health!
I feel so much lighter, brighter, happier, and have noticed a huge change in my life since doing hypnotherapy.
Each session was what I needed and I truly walked away in awe and absolute wow of what hypnotherapy does.
Candi makes you feel 100000% to the moon and beyond comfortable, she is a lightsource in this world and has such a talent & gift of healing that's a part of her, she's absolutely amazing and I SO recommend hypnotherapy!!!!
I'm so glad I did it and have been using the tools she has given me and it's made a huge difference in my life!!!
Book the session!!! You will not regret it and it will only help you grow and does so much good for the mind, body, and soul!!!
Thank you Candi for sharing your wonderful healing gifts!!! ~ T.S.
Birth Stories
Isaac's Birth Story
I found out about HypnoBirthing from a doula who spoke at my Lamaze class. I wasn't feeling totally confident about labor yet and was interested to hear about this technique. Candi had just gotten certified in HypnoBirthing and asked if I'd be interested when I told her I wanted a natural birth. I read the HypnoBirthing Book and online experiences and decided this was the birth experience I wanted for myself and baby. So here's my story: Candi came to our home a month before my EDD. I was nervous this wouldn't be enough time to master breathing, relaxation techniques, etc. We went through the classes and then I called Candi the Saturday before my EDD. My sister had just had her first baby and had a bad experience - lots of drugs and interventions used and baby ended up in the NICU. Candi suggested a fear release and met with me on my EDD. We went over my fear of needing drugs and not being strong enough to give my baby a good delivery. We also did a birth rehearsal script. She left my house around 6pm and I went to take a bath. In the tub I talked to baby and told him I'm ready and have so much love for him and I'll do my best to bring him into the world calmly. I imagined my birth and went over visualizations of the flower opening up. At 7:30pm I started having back pressure. The pressure was lasting around a minute and surging every 10minutes. I called Candi, not convinced I was in labor yet and told her how I was feeling. At 8:15 I turn on my HypnoBirthing CD and lay on the couch with a heating pad on my back. Ten minutes into the CD I'm feeling very calm, happy and ready for baby to come. I feel a quick stab by my bladder and hear a pop. My water just broke! I get to the bathroom and surges are coming fast now - every 3-4 minutes and I'm feeling panicky. I call Candi again and she tells me to go to the hospital when I feel ready. She would meet me. At 8:30 my husband gets home and I instruct him to gather things - we're going in. We get to the hospital at 8:45pm. My surges are coming fast and I find it hard to relax. We get checked in and are put in a monitoring room. I get changed and find it hard to relax with questions being asked of me and I'm not able to lay down and get comfortable. I'm checked and am at 3 centimeters. I feel disappointed that I hadn't progressed since my Dr.'s appointment earlier in the day. We get into our delivery room around 9:15 and Candi arrives then. I put on my HypnoBirthing CD and lay on my left side. I imagine filling up my balloon, giving it a color, and letting it go just as we practiced. I listen to the rainbow relaxation as I'm doing this. I feel complete calm come over me. I don't yell or scream. I lay there quietly and breath. I imagine baby moving down and feel relaxed. I hear others in the room but don't care what they are saying as I'm focused on my baby. At 10:15 I start to breath the baby down. Candi asks the nurses to check me. The nurses are surprised that I'm at an 8cm. They call the doctor and the nurses instruct me to "pah pah" and not breath down. I try this and find it impossible. At 10:30 I'm at 10 cm and ready to go - so is baby. Baby is practically crowning and the nurses again instruct me to "pah pah" as the doctor has not arrived yet. I try to fight the urge to push but can't. I'm getting frustrated. Candi tells me nurses have caught babies before and to follow my body and be gentle. The doctor arrives just then. The nurses say to Candi "I don't know what you teach but it seems to be working so go ahead and coach her to push." I breath one last birth breath and Isaac is born - 8lbs 10ozs - my first baby! He was put into my arms immediately after being suctioned and I felt awesome. I fell in love instantly. He was perfect. I had no pain and felt great afterwards - smiling and joking. My husband was perfect throughout labor, very supportive and encouraging. I am totally convinced that my wonderful fast delivery was all due to the HypnoBirthing techniques. I followed my body's signals and relaxed and worked with my baby. I imagined my baby's journey and helped him come peacefully and gently into the world. Thanks HypnoBirthing! I can't wait to have another baby and experience this miracle of delivery again.