June’s Birth Story

July 12, 2026

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Kate

For the first time since the day of her birth, I am able to think about the day our daughter was
born without tears. The day she was delivered was easily the best day of my life and also,
without question, the worst. Despite the heartbreak that my husband and I felt and still feel, I
have learned so much about God. My personal relationship with Him has been strengthened
and what I understand about His character has been deepened. I hope sharing our story will not
create a spirit of fear, but a spirit of hope, trust, and redemption. I pray that as you read these
words you will see God’s goodness and faithfulness, and maybe see how He loves us in a new
light.

I went into “pre-labor” on Thursday morning, December 6th, 2018. My husband, Zack, and I were over-the-moon excited, because at this point we were two weeks past our due date. We spent the day packing our bags and doing last minute preparations, excitedly realizing that the next time we walked through the door of our home, we would have our baby girl in our arms.

The early part of labor lasted all day Thursday and Friday. On Friday evening my contractions were closer together, but not awful. Since there was a snowstorm expected to come over the weekend, we decided to pack up and head to our birthing center late Friday evening. I labored there all night on Friday and all day on Saturday, taking short naps between contractions. Zack was my Superman. He was my cheerleader, my doula, and my shoulder to cry on when I wanted to give up. I wouldn’t have made it through labor without any intervention if it hadn’t been for him. He is Super Husband and Super Dad, without a doubt.

Although we planned to have our baby girl at a birthing center, we decided to go to the hospital
as I entered the last stage of labor. As they monitored her throughout labor she kept a strong
heartbeat, but late in the pushing stage it became faint and then undetectable. There was
nothing I could do but push with everything I had. When she finally entered the world I knew
something wasn’t right. It was too quiet. They cut the cord and before I even laid eyes on her
they took her away. As I glanced over at Zack I saw “Happy Birthday, Baby!” on the monitor
screen, and I felt an immediate sense of dread. The doctors taking care of me were calm and
reassuring, but they knew just as much as I did about the situation at that time- nothing.

It felt like an eternity before the NICU doctors came back in our room. I knew immediately that she was gone because they were empty handed and solemn. They told us that they did everything they could for our baby girl, but they could not get her heart to beat again. They explained that the umbilical cord had wrapped around her neck, there was a bruise on her head, and she had meconium aspiration. Her cause of death was oxygen deprivation.

In that moment, I knew that none of that even mattered. Where some may look desperately for answers, I knew in my heart that this was her story. My perfectly healthy baby girl had run her race, and now she was Home. They brought her little body into the room, all swaddled up in a hospital blanket and appearing as if she were only sleeping. We spent some precious time admiring how beautifully God had created her, knowing that her spirit wasn’t there with us, but with Him.

I hated it then, and sometimes I still do, but I know that God orchestrated each day of her life.
There is nothing the doctors, midwives, or I could have changed to increase the number of her
days. When I find myself wishing that she could have been here longer than her 42 weeks in the
womb, I’m reminded that heaven is better. I’m reminded to be thankful for what Jesus did on the
cross for me because now I have the promise of eternity with my baby girl. I’m reminded daily of
the hope of heaven, and I long to go there even more now than I ever have before. I’m
reminded that even though I’m broken and hurting, she will never be broken or hurt. As a
parent, what more could I ask for?

Let me introduce to you our warrior, and our inspiration – our daughter, June Emersyn Vaughan.
We miss her, but we don’t wish her back here because heaven is so much better.