Jude's Birth Story

Our sweet Jude William Royall came into this world on December 18, 2015 at 5:49 pm…and this is the story of the events that led to his arrival…

I had a midwife appointment on Tuesday the 15th.  The same day that Nana was getting into town.  Monica was going to strip my membranes to try to get things moving. While she was feeling my tummy, she was not certain where his head was.  This made her concerned that he could be breech. This was not the news I wanted to hear.  Around 36 weeks, he was transverse and I had been spending weeks doing things to try to turn him head down.  Seeing the chiropractor, Moxa Rolls, inversions, yoga, walking.  I had got him to turn by my 37 week appointment, so I thought we were in the clear.   It was an emotional day.  I had to mentally go from trying to do everything to get labor going to trying to not go into labor.  You can birth a breech baby at home…but I did not want to.  I wanted everything to be textbook this time.  Jess came home from work early for emotional support. We got into Dr. Bickman to do an ultrasound that evening and found that he was in perfect position.  1 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and a floating head.  This was great news!  Bickman stripped my membranes and said she deserved some credit if labor started in the next 24 hours. Jess and I went to dinner in Santa Monica to celebrate the news and to take advantage of Breckin being home with Nana. We didn't know that it would be the last date before baby.  

Wednesday, December 16th, was a day like any other…except for the fact that it wasn't.  I was 3 days past my due date (12/13) and even though I had told myself that this was a likely scenario during my entire pregnancy, I had hung onto the hope that he wasn't going to be "late" like his sister.  It really is a feeling that only pregnant women who have gone "post date" know what I am talking about.  You know it is just an estimation but you think you will be one of the lucky ones who goes on their due date, or even better, before!  As a nurturing and knowledgeable human being, you know the baby will come when he is ready, nobody has been pregnant forever, I should enjoy the last days of my pregnancy, enjoy my time with Breckin, and all the other sane thoughts of non-pregnant people.  But as a hugely, uncomfortable pregnant person who hasn't slept soundly since April, you wake up each day after your due date too uncomfortable to play with your other kid, crying b/c there are no signs of labor, googling "longest pregnancy ever", cursing all the birth announcements on Facebook (why do all these other people get to have their babies but not ME!), eating all of the donuts, with no signs of labor wondering if this baby will actually come before 2016.

This is Breckin the morning of the 16th.  Sweater, boots and bows. So lovely.  I took her to school, walked around Target forever looking for some last minute Christmas stuff, grabbed some Chick-Fil-A for lunch (craving), and picked Nana up at her hotel.  She had arrived the day before and was set to be in charge of Breckin once labor started. We went off to get a mani/pedi before picking B up at school at 3. (I used a gift card from Natalie that was 2 years old!) We came home and Jess surprised us by coming home early from work around 5.  After the baby was born, Jess told me that he had come home early b/c he felt like something was going to happen.  We all chatted in the living room.  

Nana went to start dinner + Jess went into the bedroom around 5:45.  I was sitting with B on the couch and got up to go to the bathroom and my water broke!  I ran into the bathroom as it was gushing out screaming "MY WAAAAATER JUST BROOOOOKE!!!" It was like a scene out of a movie after that with all of us rushing around like the baby was going to come out at any second all while amniotic fluid kept pouring out of me.  Since this had happened with Breckin, I knew to have some Depends diapers on hand and over the next 2 days I would go through 2 packs of Depends diapers…I apparently create amniotic fluid by the boatloads.   I had already packed a bag for Breckin to stay with Nana at the hotel.  Just as I was coming to my senses and calming Jess down (he didn't want to leave me to drop B and Nana off) reminding him that it could be awhile, I start freaking out b/c I can't find my dang cell phone.  I am freaking out, tearing up the living room looking for my phone that I had just been on 2 minutes before my water broke.  I had it in my mind that we would not be able to call my midwives/doula without my cell phone.  After 5 minutes that felt like eternity…jess found my phone in Breckin's backpack!! In all the crazy, I guess she slyly slipped it in there. Goober.  So, Jess takes Breckin and Nana to the hotel.  I take a shower, call the midwives, text my doula, clean/prepare the house for labor, put a frozen pizza in the oven, and put on my robe which I lived in for the next 2 days.

 The last pregnant pics of me.  This is the night my water broke and after we had gotten everything prepared. 

  Monica (midwife) comes over that evening to check my BP and the baby's heart rate.  All looks good.  She says to do some squats and use the breast pump to try to get contractions going.  Jess and I start to watch Season 2 of the tv show Fargo (and continued to do so for the next 2 days…we finished the season) and use the breast pump.  Around 11:30, moderate contractions started.  They lasted about 1 minute, every 5-10 minutes.  I would sleep in between each contraction.  This lasted until around 4:30 am when I fell asleep and woke up around 6:30 am with no contractions.  They just stopped. 

We had a good cry.  I was starting to have flashbacks of Breckin's labor story, and I was so worried that labor was never going to start and we would have to transfer to the hospital.  Opinions vary on how long can go between your water breaking and labor starting.  I have heard anywhere from 24 hours to 72 hours.  Our midwive's number was 48 hours.  She wanted me to be in good, hard labor by 48 hours.  Monica came over that morning to check on things.  We would always have a good cry together, and then we would talk through a game plan together.  We were always recharged after Monica's visits.  We curb walked to Maxwell's for breakfast, watched some Fargo, used the breast pump, ran up and down the Playa del Rey stairs by Señor G's, got a pineapple juice from Señor G's, and went to see Breckin and Nana at the hotel.  Not one contraction all day.  Monica came over after work that evening to check the heartbeat, my blood pressure and my temperature.  (I had been taking my temperature every 4 hours to make sure there was not a spike in temperature that could indicate an infection…what happen last time with Breckin).  We had a good cry and then made a game plan. It had officially been over 24 hours since my water break.  The next/last thing we were going to try was castor oil.  We could either drink it tonight and risk being up all night going to bathroom and not get any rest…OR we wait until the morning, and see if anything happens on its own overnight, and if nothing has happened, at least I'll have gotten to rest.  I truly felt that I was going to start having contractions that night on my own since I had contractions the first night.  We decided to give it the night and start castor oil at 8 am if nothing happened.  

Taking my first dose of castor oil

We watched Fargo and used the breast pump.  And slept through the night with no contractions.  We woke up, we cried.  Jess made me breakfast and I had my first dose of castor oil at 8 am.  Monica came over and we had a good pep talk.  Nothing happened after the first dose.  We watched Fargo and breast pumped.  I took the second dose at 10 am.  Nothing.  More Fargo, more breast pump, a little nap.  I took the final dose around 12.  I had been getting real mild contractions since waking from my nap, but nothing consistent.  Monica told us to go for a walk (but not too far from a toilet!).  We curb walked for about 30 minutes.  During our walk, a lady stopped her car in the middle of an intersection as we were crossing shouting at us "It's a boy!! Isn't it?!? That is a boy!!".  We just ignored her.  Why do people feel like they can yell at pregnant women?  Anyway, we went home.  The castor oil set in and I went to the bathroom.  Castor oil causes your intestines to contract giving you diarrhea and which stimulates contractions in your uterus.  It was working!  The contractions started to be stronger where I wasn't talking during them but I could manage them ok.  I was leaning on the ottoman, the dining table, the wall.  We turned the TV off and focused in on each other to try to get things really going.  I had a few about 5-10 minutes apart and jess called Monica.  I still thought it was way too early to call the midwives since I was coherent and the contractions didn't seem that intense.  She said to walk up and down the sidewalk in front of our house and to walk through each contraction.  This was around 1:00.  I probably walked through about 10 contractions where I just squeezed jess's hand and breathed through each one.  

We went back inside the house around 2.  As soon as we stepped inside, a huge contraction hit and I hit the floor, leaning forward with my elbows on the ottoman on the living room…and that is where I stayed for the next 2 or so hours.  The contractions were suddenly intense and coming every 3-5 minutes.  Jess sat behind me and counter pressure pushed into my hips as I pushed back into his hands for every contraction.  This was the only thing that helped.  The midwives got there around 2:30 and immediately started setting up for the birth to happen right there on the floor.  I felt very clear headed the whole time.  I wasn't talking to anybody else, but my inner dialogue never went into "labor land".  I think this is because the labor was so fast.  Until the babies head came out, I never 100% believed that he was going to come so fast.  I was mentally preparing for 36 more hours of contractions.  Even though I was pushing from the moment the midwives got there, I was thinking "Surely these aren't "real" pushes…I can't already be at the pushing stage?!" Even though Monica was telling me I was going to meet my baby so soon, I was thinking "There is no way! But Monica wouldn't lie to me…would she?!"  

I was really wanting to move from the living room to the birthing tub in the bedroom.  It was taking forever to fill up with water, so they thought it wouldn't be ready in time.  Jess had called Princess, our doula, when he called the midwives.  She lives in the valley and was stuck in terrible traffic…it was 18th, the Friday afternoon before Christmas…one of the most terrible traffic days in LA.  She sent her back up doula, who arrived around 3:00.  She pretty much stayed out of the way, which I was happy about.  The one time she was involved was when Jess had to leave me to help do something with the birthing pool, and she stepped in for Jess giving me counter pressure…except she was not near as good as jess…she did one contraction and I started yelling for Jess to get back behind me.  The pool was ready around 4:00/4:30 pm, and to my surprise, I was able to walk back to the bedroom and get in the pool fairly easily.  Jess got in the pool and sat behind me.  Since I had been in the same position for so long in the living room, the midwives suggested that I sit leaning back against Jess.  We sat like that, with me squeezing his knees and him squeezing mine through each contraction.  After awhile, I had the urge to get back in my kneeling position. I put my elbows/head on the bed and got on my knees.  I had a few more contractions.  Monica asked me to tell her when I felt the "ring of fire".  Pretty much one contraction later I felt it.  I was holding Molly and Princess's hands and jess was behind me in the tub and Monica was beside the tub monitoring the situation.  After about 10 minutes of ring of fire pushing his head came out and Monica pushed my body back to help me sit on my butt, and the rest of him came shooting out! 

Princess my doula arrived about 10 minutes before the birth! 

He was in my arms immediately.  At 5:49 pm on December 18th, Jude William Royall entered this world.  In his home.  Right where we wanted to be.  Almost exactly 48 hours after my water broke.  There is really no describing this moment.  Almost immediately, all the labor pain and aches of pregnancy are gone and they are replaced by a SON! The love hormones are going crazy, and the relief that the journey is finally over and we did it!  In our home!  Just like we dreamed! I have already pined for this moment in time.  I want to relive it over and over again.  It is simply the most amazing feeling. 

They put a blanket on Jude and let him find my breast.  He went right for it.  He had some congestion in his throat, so Monica and Molly were holding him upside down and patting his back to clear him out.   After about 20 minutes, jess got out of the tub and the placenta came out.  A huge, healthy placenta that Molly put into capsules for me.  All hail placenta pills!  They have been amazing.  (Molly said my placenta made more pills than any other she has done before…oh yeah).  Jess got to cut the cord.  After that, they prepared my bed for me and helped me out of the tub to the bed.  It was the best feeling to be laying in our own bed after birth.  Jude and Jess laid down with me.  Everybody left the room and started cleaning up the house and left Jude, Jess and Me to cuddle in bed together.  This was amazing.  The "golden hour" they call it.  After a while, the midwives came back in to check us out.  They weighed and measured Jude: 

Head: 14 inches (they had to remeasure a few times b/c they couldn't believe it was so big!)

Weight:  8 pounds 12 ounces

length:  20 inches

They checked me out and everything was good! Molly made us the best sandwiches we had ever had (nothing special, but they tasted so good!).  Princess made me a green drink, a placenta smoothie, and a delicious sausage/veggie stew that I ate for every meal for 3 days.  Everybody was out of our house by 10:30 pm.  And we were left to soak up our new addition in the peace and quiet of our own home.  Blissful. 

After a couple of hours, we snapped some photos and alerted our close friends and family.  We decided to let Breckin stay the night with Nana and Happy, so we could get some sleep and soak it all in.  

The next morning, Nana and Happy brought B over to meet her baby brother for the first time.  This moment is one of my favorite moments of my life.  It could not have been any cuter or sweeter.  She loved him from the start.  They exchanged presents.  Breckin got Jude a stuffed elephant toy.  Jude got Breckin a "jude" doll and a Solly Dolly Wrap so she could wear her babies like mommy.  When we have her the present for Jude she beamed "A present?! Oh Jude!! Thank you sooooo much!" It melted me!! 

After awhile, papa shark and gaga JUDY (the namesake) came over to meet the Jude man.  

The next few days was a whirlwind of midwives, family and visitors.  Lauren, Eric and Norah came for Christmas.  What a Christmas it was!  I joked that we should have a baby every Christmas!  We are so thankful that Jude chose us.  Things are off to a great start for this family of FOUR. 

at his name blessing ceremony