Jude is here - just a bit early!!!
Hi ladies! Just wanted to share our very exciting news with you all! The DeBalleviere Family welcomed our newest arrival, Jude Russell, on Tuesday, September 22! He arrived at 38 weeks and 4 days, a very healthy boy! He was a big one, 8 lbs 12 oz and 22 inches long. Russ, Annie, Em, and Sophie are really enjoying getting to know Jude now that he is home with all of us!
Now, onto my birth story. You may remember that I said I was going in for a check on Tuesday. On Monday night, a felt a bit of pain in my abdomen, but I brushed it off as nothing because it wasn't too bad. Russ was away on business, expected to arrive home at approximately 8 in the morning Tuesday. I woke up at 5 to searing pains in my abdomen, and I knew the baby was coming. I called the MW, who told me to just wait it out a bit and breathe. She instructed me to sit in a warm bath and just relax for a bit after she had me determine that I wasn't ready to deliver (I held a mirror up to my lady bits so I could give her a description of the dilation and all). Anyway, at half past seven, the girls woke up, only to find me in the bath! It was a bit embarrassing, but by then I was feeling so awful I didn't care. I called my sister-in-law to come by and get them because I thought I was going into labor. She did, and then my own mother came over to my home. I wanted to wait for Russ to get home to go to the hospital and have the baby, so we just kept refilling the bathtub and breathing. At about half eight, I felt the urge to push, and I really was in pain. My mother called the midwife to come over, because I was really not in any state to move. My MW came to my home, and she decided that I would need to have a home birth because I was too far along already! I was so scared and just wanted Russ home to help me. Anyway, we thought it might help for me to do a sort of home water birth in the tub considering I had no pain relief. I agreed to anything at that point! I began pushing at about nine o'clock in the morning, and by quarter til ten, I still hadn't delivered (I had a very quick delivery with the girls). At ten, the biggest contraction yet overtook me, and I was probably screaming and hollering so much the neighbors could hear! Unfortunately, that's when Russ decided to get home - he didn't even know I was in labor! Needless to say, we thought maybe the bath wasn't working, so Russ and the MW helped me to move to the bed. An hour later, that wasn't working, either...The MW thought it might help if I got a bit of "stimulation," so Russ began rubbing my lady bits to get things moving along. Well, that did the trick! Things started moving, but the pain was really intense. The MW thought a quick walk to the tub and a dip in would push me into the final stages of labor, so back in the bathtub I went! Lots of moving for this delivery. Anyway, once I was back in the water, I began pushing, and within 15 minutes, Jude was pushed out into the water! So surreal, I'll tell you! The MW cleaned him up, clipped him up, and Russ tied the cord. Then, the MW told me to take the baby and begin to nurse to sort of calm him down. It was literally the most special experience I've ever had. So, totally against the plan, I had a water birth, at home, completely nude, but I'd definitely do it again if I ever fall pregnant again! So worth it!
Good luck to you and yours!
Love,
Claire, Russell, Anna (6), Emma (6), Sophia (5), and Jude (2 days)!!!
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