Deirdra’s Birth Story: Hospital Induction with Epidural & Creation of EasyJug

Gina: Welcome to the MamasteFit Podcast, Birth Story Friday. In this birth story, we have the co founder of EasyJug, which is a really helpful postpartum tool that you can get to help you hydrate, not only during the postpartum period, but also during pregnancy, during your labor, all the time. It’s a really amazing tool that we discovered during Roxanne’s postpartum period. And we’re really excited to have the co founder, Deirdra, here to share not only her birth story, but also the birth of EasyJug. So let’s get into it.

[00:01:20] Gina: Welcome to the MamasteFit podcast, Birth Story Friday. In this episode, we have Deirdra here, who is the owner of EasyJug or the founder, CEO of the company, which is a really cool postpartum device that you can use that- or even pregnancy, I’m using it during my pregnancy- it’s like this really,

it’s a water bottle That’s like a gallon size and has like eight foot straw. So you could have your water bottle…

[00:01:40] Roxanne: Is it 8 foot?

[00:01:42] Deirdra: It’s really long. “Eight foot!” I love it!

[00:01:43] Gina: But it makes hydrating during pregnancy and postpartum like so much easier.

[00:01:48] Roxanne: Hands free!

[00:01:48] Gina: And it’s yes free which is really awesome. So, we’re really excited to hear your birth story and then also the birth of EasyJug as well. So thank you so much for being here.

[00:01:57] Deirdra: Oh my God. Thank you so much for inviting me. It is an honor.

[00:02:00] Deirdra: I’ve been following you for about a year now and I love everything that you do for our mama community. You’re both so inspirational and you know, just have a wealth of knowledge. So thank you so much for sharing that with everyone.

[00:02:12] Gina: Absolutely!

[00:02:13] Deirdra: Yeah! My name is Deirdra and I am the mama of one. And I am happily married and we live in Los Angeles, California.

[00:02:23] Deirdra: And my husband and I, uh, created EasyJunk together. So we’re both co founders. My husband and I met at Burning Man, which I think is kind of a fun story, but you know, he’s, he’s definitely my partner in crime. We do everything together. So it’s really interesting to be business partners. I mean, as you know, with like family, right? It’s a different kind of experience. Um, but yeah, it’s amazing.

[00:02:44] Deirdra: And so, you know, we’ve been partners in crime together and, and it started obviously with with our pregnancy and I was the late bloomer when it came to pregnancy. I got pregnant at 39. Um, two months away from 40. So I was quote unquote geriatric. And, um, I think everybody hates that term, right? It’s like, why do we still use it?

[00:03:07] Roxanne: It’s such a bad term.

[00:03:08] Deirdra: And because of that, like I had a lot of anxiety in my first trimester. And, um, my doctor had given me this like training on all the risk factors of being pregnant after 35. And my husband one day was just watching me look at this video and, and just like, he could see the anxiety on my face and he walked over, he’s like, he turned my computer off. He’s like, “You’re not going to watch this anymore. Stop it.” And, you know,

[00:03:33] Gina: He’s a good man. I need that from my sister very often.

[00:03:37] Roxanne: Get off Google!

[00:03:38] Gina: I’m like, I’ve been Googling this thing.

[00:03:40] Deirdra: I saw that post! Yeah, I saw that post. You have to, you have to. It’s so crazy. You can go down that rabbit hole. And it’s, and I think too, it’s really hard if you’re over the age of 35, you know, just because of all the fear mongering out there. So yes, he’s a good man. Super supportive.

[00:03:59] Deirdra: There was one thing that we disagreed about though. And that was, um, where we were going to have our baby. I really wanted to do a home birth, you know, I’m like a big yogi and I really wanted to experience the labor and do the water bath and, you know, all that stuff. I really, had this like fantasy about it. And he was very adamant about going to a hospital.

[00:04:19] Deirdra: He actually had some trauma in his family. Um, his younger brother was a preemie and, uh, the hospital that he was born in had no preemie neonatal care. And so he got cerebral palsy. And, um, you know, my husband was like, “We are going to be in a hospital with the right type of medical care. Like, I do not want you having to rush to…” like, he just wanted to make sure that we were in a hospital.

[00:04:45] Deirdra: And I was like, you know, because it was a very sensitive subject for him. I was like, okay, there’s, you know, some things that I’m just not going to argue about, and, uh, it was a very sensitive matter. So. We opted for the hospital and I was born in a hospital. So I was like, okay, you know, I’m, I’m, I’m okay.

[00:05:02] Deirdra: And I did get to get a midwife though, which was nice. Cause I really wanted to have not just a doctor, but a midwife. Um, so that was nice being able to talk to her just about like alternative ways of like working through my pregnancy. Um, and so that was really nice.

[00:05:19] Deirdra: And then when I hit my second trimester mark, like almost on the date, I woke up that morning and the left side of my face was frozen. I couldn’t blink. I had no sensation in the left side of my mouth. And I called my doctor right away and I was like, “Uh, I don’t know what’s wrong, but I can’t move my face.” And she’s like, “You need to go to the hospital, you could be having a stroke.”

[00:05:44] Gina: Oh god.

[00:05:45] Deirdra: So I’m like, okay, this is geriatric pregnancy shit, you know! I’m sorry. I don’t know if I could say that S word on here, but I was like,

[00:05:52] Roxanne: Oh yeah, it’s fine. We’ll just put an E.

[00:05:54] Gina: We’ll mark it as explicit.

[00:05:56] Deirdra: Okay, good. But, um, I was like, God, you know, I remember that car ride to the hospital with my husband, very vividly holding his hand and trying to breathe really deeply, trying not to think the worst, you know. And we get there, and it turned out I had Bell’s palsy and, uh, I had never heard of it before in my life. And then I learned that pregnancy, pregnant women are more susceptible to it.

[00:06:24] Deirdra: So I was like, how come this isn’t in the handbook? You know, like nobody told me anything about this. Like it was a total, complete shock. And, um, I had it for a month, which was really challenging because at the time I worked in outside sales. So I had to go see customers with like an eye patch, which I had a, I had a belly showing and an eye patch. It was like very interesting.

[00:06:47] Deirdra: Um, so yeah, that was, you know, we got through that. And then the third trimester came, and I got carpal tunnel. And then I also got really bad sciatica really, really bad. And I think there was a couple of things that contributed to that. Um, I was, again, I was an outside sales. I was in my car a lot, driving long distances. And I was also teaching dance classes. I taught dance all the way through my pregnancy. But I stopped doing any strength training. And part of that was because I was pregnant during COVID, so all the gyms were closed and I was like a gym person, like it was, I was just not motivated to work out at home.

[00:07:25] Deirdra: Um, so I stopped doing weight training. I also used to be a person that practiced yoga every day, but I started only, I only did that like once a week. So like, I just wasn’t taking care of myself the same way. And then I

also, like, was stressing, so I gained more weight than I should’ve, like, all the things, right?

[00:07:45] Deirdra: So, like, my body was just like, no, we’re not, it’s just like pain in my hip and I just couldn’t, I couldn’t work anymore. So, the plus side about that was that I got to go on maternity leave early. Um, because I just was considered disabled, I couldn’t do my, my job. So, I got to enjoy an extra month on maternity leave and do all the nesting and all that fun stuff.

[00:08:11] Deirdra: Um, a few days before my due date, my grandmother passed away, which was really hard because she was like my rock. Uh, she raised me throughout my childhood. And so I was really hoping she was going to make it to see our baby, but she, she passed. And I just had so much emotional pain and overwhelmed and I was worried that my baby was like, the energy was gonna get to my baby, right? Like, oh my god, you have mom guilt right away. Like, what if my baby’s born all messed up because I was like, so sad and traumatized, right?

[00:08:45] Deirdra: Um, so I really wanted to, to give birth on time, quote unquote, on time, right? And so I tried all the things to induce my baby naturally. I really wanted to, you know, experience labor, have my water break, all of that. I, I ate the salad, I ate the dates, I went up the stairs, I did the sidewalk thing, you know, had sex, all the things. And nothing worked, none of it! And, um, they scheduled the induction for a week after my due date. And I remember telling my husband that morning that we were going to do the induction that, you know, I want to do all the tests and if everything looks okay, I just want to wait. You know, I really just, I feel great. And, and, you know, I hear babies can, you know, the due date doesn’t mean anything. Like, it can be weeks afterwards and babies turn out okay. So I was like, you know, if the tests show that everything is okay, I want to wait.

[00:09:41] Deirdra: So the induction was scheduled at like 10:00 at night. I don’t know why they scheduled it so late, but we show up at the hospital and the amniotic fluid was low. So we were like, okay, well, that was one of the things that, you know, we decided that if anything was, look like there was going to be on any complications, we were just going to go for it. So I was really nervous about the process cause I didn’t know what to expect. And, um, we did the balloon and we also did some sort of, I think it was like a pill, Pitocin, maybe something like that.

[00:10:13] Gina: Uh, for the pill, it was probably like Cytotec, which is a cervical ripening agent, helps your cervix get soft.

[00:10:20] Deirdra: Okay. Yeah. I mean, again, this is three years ago. So I don’t remember the details. So thank you. Cause I was like, it was something. They just, they gave me the whole like cocktail, you know, to get me to like go into labor. And um, I remember the nurse telling me, she’s like, “Okay, now get some rest.” And it was like moments after that, I was in pain like I’ve never felt before. And for some reason, it didn’t dawn on me like that I was going into labor, you know, I was just like, what is this feeling? Like what is happening to me? I felt like I was cracking open, you know, it was just like, what the hell?

[00:10:57] Deirdra: And it was all night. And I remember I downloaded Audio books. And one of them was like Barack Obama’s book. And I was thinking, oh yeah, his voice is going to soothe me and relax me. And it’s like 20 hours long, his book, and there was like, I didn’t, I didn’t pay attention to any of it. I just remember like, you know, trying to remember all like the, the breathing techniques I used in my, my yoga class and just trying to remember all that. But it seemed like none of it was like, I, it just didn’t prepare me for what I was experiencing.

[00:11:28] Deirdra: And so somewhere between 7 and 9 AM, and of course, you know, the husband is sleeping next, right next to me. Right. Like peacefully, I was just like,

[00:11:36] Roxanne: Yeah. Checks out.

[00:11:38] Deirdra: Yeah. Yeah. Totally checked out. So the next morning, somewhere between 7 and 9 AM, they come and they check me and I was a couple of centimeters dilated. They’re like, “Great job!” And I’m like, “Great job?!” Like I’ve just been in pain. Like, I don’t know what I did, but okay. Um, and they were like, “Do you want an epidural?” And I said, yes, cause I was just, I was exhausted. Like I didn’t sleep at all. And I just couldn’t imagine being in any more pain. Like, how am I going to go through labor like this? I mean, pushing and all that. I just was like, I needed some relief. And yeah, as soon as that epidural hit, like I had relief and it was just, I could rest, which was nice.

[00:12:20] Deirdra: Um, a couple of hours after that, my water breaks and then, um, I don’t know, maybe another hour after that, like my epidural wears always off and I’m in full on intense labor. Like I felt like I got myself just, I don’t know, it was the most intense feeling. I thought the evening was bad, right? And then this was just like 20 times more intense. And I felt everything. I was like, I thought that epidural was forever. You know, I didn’t know it could wear off. Like, why am I feeling all this pain?

[00:12:56] Deirdra: So, um, I was like, I got to a point where I was like, I’m going to push, like I need to push. And there was no doctors around, no nurses

around. I told my husband, I’m like, “Go find somebody. I’m about to push.” Because this is, I’m ready to go. So he had to run out, go find somebody. Sure enough, they come in there like, “Yeah, you’re 10 centimeters. You got it. We’re ready.” And I’m like, “Yeah, let’s go. Where’s the doctor?”

[00:13:18] Roxanne: Like, I know,

[00:13:20] Deirdra: I know. I know I’m ready! And, um, yeah, they actually ended up giving me more pain meds because they wanted me to just like relax a little bit again, because I was just so like, I don’t, I mean, I don’t, I don’t know if it was stress, but it was definitely intense.

[00:13:35] Deirdra: So I start pushing and you know, you guys, you guys know you, you lift heavy weights. I used to lift some heavy weights back when I did my fitness competitions. I used to push cars, okay? Like I know how to push heavy things. But this is like the, the heaviest, like a, like a monster truck I had to push, you know? Like it was just intense, the kind of pushing that you do to get a baby out. I’d never pushed so hard before. And it felt like forever, you know, I’m just like, when is this going to end? And they had to keep on moving me to like different positions because the baby’s heart rate kept on dropping. And then they even had to give me an oxygen mask.

[00:14:21] Deirdra: And I was like nervous, cause maybe I was going to have to get a C section because it seemed like there was, it was becoming more complicated. Finally, we were able to stabilize everything with me and the baby on a side position. And, um, and then I was like, you know, tired, but I was like, I gotta, I can’t give up, like I’m, I gotta keep going. I’ve got, I’ve come this far, right? I can’t just give up. But I was feeling so close to like, I can’t do this anymore. This is so hard. And so I was like, just, you know, one more push, let’s go. And then I felt the tear, you know, and the baby came out and it was, it felt like it was dead silent in the room. And I panicked.

[00:15:03] Deirdra: I was like, the first words out of my mouth, “Is she okay?” Because I was like, don’t babies cry when they come out? You know, like there was no sound whatsoever. And my husband, I could hear him tearing up, like, “She’s fine. She’s beautiful.” You know, “she’s beautiful.” And I just felt so much relief. Like, you know, one of the things that I remember feeling between the push and that state of like relaxation, when you go between the contraction and the push and the relaxation, it’s like you go back and forth between these spectrum of like intensity and ecstasy, intensity and ecstasy. And as soon as like, her name is Lila, as soon as she came out, it was just this, like this bliss, like this, this just like, oh, it’s all those, um, hormones, you know, oxytocin at its finest. Um, so, so they put our, Lila on my chest and after they cleaned her up

and I looked down at her and she had an angel kiss on her forehead in the shape of a heart.

[00:16:06] Deirdra: And then I know, and then in the back of her neck, she had the same birthmark as my grandmother. So I kind of, I think like, what if, you know, she was in this celestial spiritual plane with my grandma, you know, just playing. And that’s why she was late. I don’t know. And then that angel kiss was like Grandma’s kiss to her, “Goodbye.” You know, I don’t know, but that was, that was the whole event.

[00:16:36] Deirdra: It was, I kind of feel like giving birth is a rite of passage. You know, you kind of enter this tribe of mama, this mama tribe. And it’s, it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. And I’ve done some pretty hard things. And that was that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And it’s, to this day, it’s still, you know, the most rewarding. You know just, being my, my daughter’s mom, I love her so much. So, yeah, you know, you think that’s hard and then you hit postpartum.

[00:17:07] Roxanne: Postpartum is rough.

[00:17:11] Gina: I would rather do birth over and over than early postpartum.

[00:17:15] Roxanne: The first month!

[00:17:17] Deirdra: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I felt like I got hit by a truck, you know, like it’s just…

[00:17:22] Gina: That’s usually how I describe it.

[00:17:24] Deirdra: Yeah, I’ve heard you describe it that way. And I was like, that that’s exactly how it feels. And I think it’s just crazy how, you know, thankfully there’s, I, I found, you know, people like you, but there’s not a lot of talk about it, especially when, you know, you go to the hospital and you’re, you know, taking childbirth classes, um, they don’t talk about postpartum. Your family might not talk about postpartum either, right? It’s like this, we just don’t talk about it so much unless you’re following people like you, you know, or like you have a doula. Um, but I had no idea how hard it was. And I just remember being in the hospital and it hurt to, even though I gave birth vaginally, like it still hurt to sit up to drink water or eat, like I couldn’t, I dreaded sitting up and walking to the toilet was just like, I felt like I had no legs, you know, like I just was like spaghetti legs. Oh my God. So much pain. And then sitting to pee, and then I was stressed out about pooping. I mean all those things.

[00:18:30] Gina: Oh god, I know.

[00:18:31] Roxanne: Oh that first postpartum poop… terrifying.

[00:18:34] Gina: I just felt like my quads and like thighs were just like, it was like the hardest workout of my life.

[00:18:41] Roxanne: Jell O.

[00:18:42] Gina: And they were just so, I was like, I just need a massage or just Icy Hot or something.

[00:18:48] Roxanne: Yeah.

[00:18:48] Gina: Like my legs just hurt.

[00:18:51] Deirdra: Yeah. I was so bad. It’s so much pain, so much discomfort, and then I couldn’t sleep all night, too. The nurses kept on coming in all night, like, to give my baby a bath. I’m like, you need to give my baby a bath at midnight? Like, really? Come on. You know?

[00:19:06] Gina: Like, she’s sleeping, too.

[00:19:07] Deirdra: Yeah!

[00:19:08] Roxanne: It’s funny, though, because, like, as a late, like, a postpartum labor nurse, like, previously, like, midnight to 3 a. m. is the hardest for a nurse. I mean, like maybe nurses, other nurses can prove me wrong, but for me personally, midnight to three is the hardest. So you have to find things to do so you’re not falling asleep at the nurse’s station. So it’s like, “What can I do right now so that I don’t fall asleep?”

[00:19:38] Gina: I can go give that baby a bath!

[00:19:41] Roxanne: I can give that baby a bath.

[00:19:42] Deirdra: Oh my God.

[00:19:44] Roxanne: Or like, “Ah, that mom was like really tired. Maybe she needs someone to hold her baby so she can have a nap.”

[00:19:51] Deirdra: Oh, that would have been nice.

[00:19:52] Roxanne: That’s when you’re like going around and being like, “Hey, do you need anything? Do you need me to please, let me do something so I could fall, so I don’t fall asleep at work?”

[00:20:00] Deirdra: I would have loved that. I would have loved that. I actually had asked my, my nurse, if she could hold my baby so I could sleep. And they were like, “No, we don’t do that.” And I’m like, I heard they do that. Why don’t you do that? Like, I was so disappointed.

[00:20:13] Roxanne: I, I think I did that for people. Like I would put the babies just on my chest and chart.

[00:20:19] Deirdra: Yeah.

[00:20:20] Roxanne: But the baby being on my chest kept me awake. And it was giving my patient a break.

[00:20:26] Gina: That’s really funny.

[00:20:27] Deirdra: Well, I wish I would have had you as my nurse. I wish I would have had you.

[00:20:30] Roxanne: It was, it was bliss.

[00:20:31] Deirdra: Yeah.

[00:20:32] Roxanne: That was the bliss of night shift. Yeah.

[00:20:33] Gina: Well, if you gave birth during COVID though, so maybe they were like, we don’t want to like contaminate.

[00:20:38] Roxanne: Yeah, they can’t. That was probably true. COVID was a different time.

[00:20:41] Deirdra: Yeah, maybe. It was, it was very different. Yeah, that’s true. That’s a good point, COVID. I guess they used to even have like photographers come in and do the picture like I didn’t even get to have that which was fine because I look like a wreck anyway like I don’t know how people take those glamour shots after their pregnancy because I’m like I was just a mess.

[00:20:59] Roxanne: Fresh 48? I don’t know. There was no fresh 48.

[00:21:02] Deirdra: Yeah, I was like this is not.

[00:21:04] Gina: No, you were fresh. You were fresh looking.

[00:21:07] Roxanne: I was looking fresh. Pale skin. Let’s put some blush on.

[00:21:13] Deirdra: God, oh my god. I mean I have popped popped blood vessels everywhere, right? On, all over my face. So, yeah, it was, um, very hard.

[00:21:22] Deirdra: And then I also have, um, an inverted nipple. And so breastfeeding from day one was a challenge because, like, I didn’t know how to latch a baby when I don’t have, like, my nipple sticking out. Like, right? Like, what do you do? And, um, I had some breastfeeding assistance while I was in the, in the hospital, but not really, like, not a lot, it was just like, okay, well try this, try that, and then they left and that was it.

[00:21:48] Deirdra: And so it wasn’t as hands-on and as, um, like I, it didn’t, we didn’t really dive deeply into it as much as I wish we could have.

[00:21:59] Deirdra: So when I got home, um, you know, part another challenge is too, it’s like, you know, because I had a baby older, my parents are also older. Um, my dad lives out in the desert. He’s very far from me, like a two and a half hour drive. You know, they were both, like, in their mid 60s, and so it was just kind of hard for them to, you know, they would say that they wanted to come and help, but, like, it was very, um, they could only do small things, like, to help, you know, which was fine. We could take anything.

[00:22:33] Deirdra: But yeah, those, that first like few weeks, like all I wanted to do is lay down in bed and, and I had to because it’s like my legs were swollen, right? Like you get that really bad edema, is it edema or edema? I’m not sure.

[00:22:47] Roxanne: Edema, yeah.

[00:22:47] Deirdra: Edema. So my legs had to stay up. I wanted to stay laying down. Plus I was so exhausted. So like my, my favorite breastfeeding position was, was lying down.

[00:22:57] Deirdra: Um, but then I was always thirsty, you know, because it’s like, I didn’t realize at the time that breastfeeding triggers thirst. So I’m like, every time that I had, I was thirsty, I would have to like, unlatch my baby to sit up to drink water, which I didn’t want to do, cause it was so hard to just get her on the breast to begin with. So I didn’t drink water. I wasn’t drinking enough

water. And then, you know, yeah, it was just like, that was a big challenge at the very beginning.

[00:23:26] Deirdra: And then the other thing that would happen too, is that like, I would need two hands, especially for the, the one boob that had the, has the inverted nipple to like really hold her head to my boob and help her latch and stay latched. So I didn’t, I literally had no hand to like drink water. Like I had to tell my husband, “Can you come over here and like, with a straw, you know, just give me some water?” Because I couldn’t let go of my baby, otherwise I might lose the latch.

[00:23:54] Deirdra: So again, it was like, I found myself, you know, we can do this as moms. Like we compensate our own health for our children, for our babies. And I was doing that right away, you know, at the beginning, which it’s like, it’s the most crucial time when moms need to take care of ourselves, right? It’s like, we’re not just taking care of our baby, but like, we need to be able to show up in perfect health for ourselves too, because we need to recover.

[00:24:19] Deirdra: And you know, I just felt like that, that beginning stage of recovery was so hard cause I wasn’t drinking enough water. I probably was also not, I mean, we did a meal train, so I had some meals, which was nice. But um, it was hard to eat because it’s like, you know, I found myself needing to wanting to eat once, which is one hand. So it was like, you know, it’s a lot of french fries or chicken nuggets, like just stuff that was not great, but I could eat it with one hand.

[00:24:50] Deirdra: Um, so just, you know, going through that was crazy. And then my husband, what ended up happening with like EasyJug was he kept, he was in charge of getting me refills all the time with water, taking care of my hydration, making sure I was fed. And so I was thirsty all the time and he’s like back and forth, back and forth, getting me refills. And he was like, “This is crazy. Like, you need a bigger water bottle.” And the problem with getting a bigger water bottle is like now I’m holding my baby and I’m trying to hold a big water bottle over my baby’s delicate head. Or again, like I’m lying down and how do I drink from a big gallon water bottle if I’m laying down? So he’s like, “You need a long straw. That’s what you need. You need a long straw.” And so he goes online and he’s trying to like look online and, you know, big water bottle with a long straw, nothing, nothing.

[00:25:45] Deirdra: And I was like, how come there’s like so many gadgets and gizmos for pregnancy and postpartum, and there’s not a water bottle designed for postpartum, you know? Why is that? That’s crazy.

[00:25:58] Deirdra: So my husband is kind of like a a nerd. He’s like, he likes to MacGyver things and put things together and study things and take things apart and put things together again you know. He’s like into gadgets like that and go, go gadget. He’s like super into that. Um, so he like made this makeshift prototype of what is now EasyJug and it was like a game changer. I could lay down and breastfeed my baby and rest and drink water while I was laying down. Like that totally made a difference, especially for like the nighttime marathon feeds, right?

[00:26:34] Deirdra: Like those were horrible in the middle of the night. You get so thirsty and you don’t want to like, get up to like, go get water. You just want to be able to like lay down and rest and go back to sleep as soon as you can. Um, so, and then like, he didn’t have to go get refills as much, like literally you have one, you fill your bottle maybe once or twice and that’s it.

[00:26:55] Deirdra: So like he didn’t have to go back and forth and get me refills all the time, you know, which he was, he was always happy to get me refills, but he was like, “Oh, now I can relax too now!” Because he needed rest also, you know? So it like benefited both of us. Um, and then I could drink hands free, which was so important because latching my baby, I could hold my baby to my breast with both hands and then have the straw right here and just drink without having to worry about like, okay, disturbing her, or if she fell asleep on me and my, my water was out of reach, like the straw would just be right here and the baby can sleep and I can just drink water with no problem.

[00:27:34] Roxanne: Oh man.

[00:27:35] Deirdra: So.

[00:27:35] Roxanne: It was a game changer.

[00:27:36] Deirdra: It’s a game changer, right? So, so one day,

[00:27:39] Roxanne: It is a game changer.

[00:27:40] Deirdra: So one day we look at each other and like, it was like, literally it was like a serendipitous thing, we looked at each other, like crossing each other in the hallway, and we were like, why don’t we make this? You know, like, why don’t we make this and put it out into the world cause we can’t be the only ones like struggling with this issue and what a difference it would make for moms and for families, like this would be incredible.

[00:28:05] Deirdra: But we had no background in product development. You know, I, I’ve had my own business before I was a, I had a fitness business before, a long time ago for like 10 years. So like, I’ve always been entrepreneurial. So like the idea in my head and the fact that he was like, had the same idea, I was like, we got to go with it. You know, like, let’s do it. I got really excited about it.

[00:28:26] Deirdra: And, um, you know, again, it’s like a serendipitous thing. I don’t know. It’s like, we knew nothing about product development, but I, I, I went online. I was like on scrolling social media and when a friend of mine posted something about inventing a baby product and I’m like, oh my God, I need to reach out to him and maybe he can help us.

[00:28:46] Gina: This is the universe talking.

[00:28:48] Deirdra: Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[00:28:49] Roxanne: It just all fell into place. Like it was meant to be.

[00:28:52] Deirdra: Totally. Exactly. And I was like, wow. So I reached out to him and he mentored us through the whole process, you know, of creating a product. And it was, uh, it took us two years to, to, to develop EasyJug. We actually, um, also created a focus group, you know, once we had like the prototype ready, we created a, like an actual, we, you know, created everything to make it look like EasyJug, right? Um, we created a focus group of, of pregnant and, uh, breastfeeding moms to see like, you know, get their input, how would it help them and. It was like across the board. Everybody was like, “Yes, like this would be amazing.”

[00:29:32] Deirdra: Um, And so we actually you know before… When Lila was born, within the first three months, um, we were actually gonna buy a house. And that didn’t fall through. Like we were an escrow and everything and that didn’t fall through. And good thing it didn’t because had we made that investment we wouldn’t have been able to invest in this business. So we basically took the money that we were going to use to buy the house and used it to, to start our business.

[00:30:04] Deirdra: So again, it’s like funny how everything works out. You know, at the time I was really disappointed that we didn’t get the house, but it was like, okay, we needed to like, make sure we have the money so that we could invest into our business.

[00:30:18] Deirdra: And so we launched in May of 2023. And it has been, you know, it’s been amazing. Like, honestly, I love, love, love connecting with our mama community and hearing the success stories. Because it’s one thing, right, like you guys know, as someone that puts a, you have a service that you put out, but you have a product too, cause you have a online training, but when you get… it’s one thing to put it together and it works for you. But like when you get the feedback from people that are actual, you know, the testimonials, right, that it actually helped them out and it changed their lives. Like it just, it’s everything to me. It’s everything to me, you know?

[00:30:59] Deirdra: And the other thing that’s crazy that happened was six, after six months after my baby was born, my mom had a stroke and, uh, you know, it was very unexpected. And so there came a point in time where, like, my mom was living with me and I had a six month old baby, so I was taking care of my mom and my baby. And little did I know that, like, EasyJug was actually something that she was gonna, she really benefited from, too. Um, because she couldn’t, she couldn’t, like, open up a water bottle anymore, you know? Her mobility completely changed. She could, it was hard for her to, like, lift a heavy, jug or just even hold a glass, right? Like every, all her mobility completely changed. So she was able to use our prototype early on too.

[00:31:51] Deirdra: And so, you know, we realized that like, it’s, we designed it with breastfeeding moms in mind, because that’s how we came up with it. But it’s really like, it expands beyond that. Like I’ve had people reach out to me recently. Actually, someone reached out to me. Her boyfriend was in a bad accident and, um, completely paralyzed. And she’s like, we love EasyJug. Thank you so much. It’s heaven sent. Like it’s the only way that he’s able to hydrate.

[00:32:20] Deirdra: So, you know, it’s, it’s, it’s amazing. It’s, um, you know, we’re still early. We’re like the little fish in a big pond right now, you know, as a new, as a new business, but I just am so motivated to keep going because of stories like that. And, um, yeah, I’m excited about, about the future.

[00:32:39] Gina: That’s all, like, I didn’t even think how it can be such a helpful tool for even outside of breastfeeding as well.

[00:32:46] Roxanne: Oh, yeah, like, hospitals, like, need the EasyJug. Like, you know how you get the, one of the Medline, I think some of them are even Stanley, the hospital, whatever, water bottle with every delivery or even every admission, you get the little jug, they just need to give out EasyJugs.

[00:33:04] Deirdra: I mean, I didn’t even have that. I had, like, a pink cup. That was like, it was a big pink cup.

[00:33:09] Roxanne: Oh, you had the pink cup?

[00:33:10] Gina: That’s even worse.

[00:33:11] Deirdra: It was horrible with a straw.

[00:33:13] Gina: It’s like trying to give that to somebody and labor to drink.

[00:33:16] Roxanne: Or like they don’t even give you the straw because not all the lids had that straw point. Like, they gave you a cup in the pink and you gotta pour your cup and drink the cup.

[00:33:26] Gina: Like, that’s like the hardest thing. I’m really excited to use the EasyJunk during my labor, because for whatever reason holding a water bottle to my mouth, even with a straw, is like just too much. So it’ll be nice to just like bring it to my mouth.

[00:33:39] Roxanne: Yeah, no, it’s like

[00:33:40] Gina: And like, put it down.

[00:33:41] Roxanne: It honestly was like, it’s funny because like when I saw it online, when you like first reached out to us and I was like, this idea seems so simple.

[00:33:51] Deirdra: I know, right?

[00:33:52] Roxanne: When you still first see it you’re like, this is so silly. But also at the same time, this is so needed. Why has this not been created before? Like I think about how is this the first one?

[00:34:05] Gina: Like one, it’s big, so you don’t have to refill it like 14 times, which is what always happens to my husband also. Because I’ll sit down and I’ll be like, I’m thirsty. I drank my two ounces of water, refill it. And then he sits down and he’s like, God damn it. Like, he’s like, I’m gonna do it.

[00:34:22] Roxanne: As soon as they sit down, I’m like, I need more water. I’m so parched.

[00:34:25] Deirdra: I know. I know.

[00:34:25] Gina: But now, so now it’s big enough so you don’t have to refill it like 14 times. And then it has a really long straw so you can be in any position to drink water or to have a drink.

[00:34:38] Roxanne: I think that’s the one thing is like you always tell your kids or like when you’re laying in bed, you can’t drink something laying down because like that mechanism also. Even if you have a straw, it’s just hard to drink laying down.

[00:34:49] Roxanne: But with the EasyJug straw, I was laying down pretty much 90 percent of my postpartum recovery, and it was just attached to my shirt, and I would just drink it laying down with no issues.

[00:35:01] Deirdra: Yeah, yeah.

[00:35:02] Roxanne: And, it’s so nice. I’m so excited for your experience.

[00:35:05] Deirdra: I’m excited for you too, yes! And actually…

[00:35:09] Gina: I want to use it now for like,

[00:35:11] Roxanne: My kids would drink out of it.

[00:35:13] Gina: my night time water bottle.

[00:35:14] Roxanne: Yeah, honestly, it’s just on your bedside.

[00:35:15] Gina: Because I hate having to like, because I’m so thirsty all the time during pregnancy. And so I have to sit up in the middle of night and like drink my water and when I sit up Because all my kids sleep in bed with me. They all wake up and they’re like, Sophie calls everything juice, so she’s like, “Juice?” And I’m like, “Go to sleep!”

[00:35:31] Gina: And so then I got to give her some of my water.

[00:35:33] Roxanne: Yeah.

[00:35:34] Gina: And then she has to sit up to like drink from it and then my son is a really deep sleeper, so he’s out cold. But then like, and then we fall back asleep and then I wake up again cause I’m thirsty and she’s like, “Juice!” So this will be nice.

[00:35:46] Roxanne: You should put it on your bedside.

[00:35:47] Deirdra: Yeah. Yeah.

[00:35:49] Roxanne: And drink it.

[00:35:49] Gina: But then she’s gonna be none the wiser.

[00:35:51] Roxanne: My, Colin and Lily would drink my water bottle. They would come, they would come from the living room into the bedroom and be like, “I’m thirsty. Give me some of your water.”

[00:36:01] Deirdra: Yeah.

[00:36:01] Roxanne: And I’m like, “Guys! this is mine!”

[00:36:03] Deirdra: Yeah. I’ve actually heard that from so many moms, that their toddlers love it. Like it’s the only way they can get their toddler to drink water. It’s like from the EasyJug. So we’ve actually thought about maybe we should create one for kids, you know? Um, we have so many, yeah, we have so many ideas of like things to do next, you know? We’re, we’re just trying to do one thing at a time and really like focus on it, right?

[00:36:27] Deirdra: One thing at a time. But yeah, we have that idea. And yeah, ever since we, we launched too, like we’ve added more accessories. Um, so now we have that cleaning. Yeah, the cleaning brush, because that was a concern. Like, how do you keep the straw clean? Right. Um, so there’s a, there’s a brush that’s specifically designed to keep the length of the straw, the whole length of the straw clean.

[00:36:47] Deirdra: Um, and then the external clips. So that way you can keep the, the, the straw clip clipped to your clothing. I’ve even seen women clip it to their pillow. So that way, like at nighttime,

[00:36:58] Roxanne: That’s what I did, I used my pillow or my bra.

[00:37:01] Deirdra: Yeah.

[00:37:01] Gina: Roxanne’s gonna walk on me sleeping I’m gonna have like a straw, like right next to my face.

[00:37:05] Roxanne: Gina’s just gonna duct tape it to her face. .

[00:37:08] Deirdra: Yeah. I mean, it’s like literally

[00:37:10] Gina: Hydrating all the time.

[00:37:11] Deirdra: It’s almost like, like you wanted like an IV, right? Like we, I was like, I, I, one time we were trying to come up with a name for it, I was like, oh, I wanna use that like “IV” ’cause it just reminds me of an IV. But of course there’s Liquid IV, so I, I didn’t wanna use that name. But yeah, you just need that like instant, easy source to hydration. And, you know, we, we appreciate it, you know, the doulas like yourself appreciate the importance of just like, when it comes to pregnancy and postpartum, we’re constantly reminding our moms to do the simple things, right?

[00:37:45] Deirdra: Breathe, hydrate and eat and sleep. Well, for whatever reason, it’s like, those things are so hard to do. Um, so we can just make one of those things easier, you know, like drinking water, which is so important, like for not just recovery, but, you know, the, the evidence is mixed in regards to like how it supports milk production, but you know, if, if you’re, if you’re not properly hydrated, if it could impair or it might not impair your milk production, but even if you’re still producing milk, you know, that milk is 80 to 90 percent water. Then it’s going to pull hydration from your body more. And that means you’re going to be more prone to headaches. You’re going to be more prone to constipation, more prone to fatigue. You know, all those symptoms that are associated with dehydration. So hydration is so important and it’s so easy to do, but it’s so hard when you’re like, you know, in pain, exhausted and can’t move because you’re holding a baby.

[00:38:51] Gina: I love that though, like, it’s like, here’s one tool to help you make one of the things that is necessary for your health postpartum just a little bit easier with EasyJug. And I think that’s like huge, like, like we want to share about these little like hacks that we find that just make things just slightly easier after you give birth because it’s hard.

[00:39:14] Deirdra: It’s hard.

[00:39:15] Gina: It’s really hard.

[00:39:15] Roxanne: Postpartum is hard.

[00:39:16] Deirdra: It’s hard.

[00:39:17] Roxanne: It’s not talked about it as much, and there needs to be more ways to be able to be supported in the postpartum period, and, like,

obviously, like, not everyone can have, like, young parents to, like, be there to help them, like, provide for the baby and cook them meals and help keep their house together.

[00:39:37] Roxanne: But things that you could do yourself is get an EasyJug so you’re hydrated and, like, a Meal Train like you had can, like, friends bringing you meals so you don’t have to cook. And, like, there are, like, little ways that hopefully, like, we can create, again, that tribe and, like, village to be able to support each other in this postpartum really hard period both mentally and physically.

[00:40:02] Gina: Absolutely.

[00:40:03] Deirdra: That’s like, that’s one of my takeaways actually is like, you don’t have to struggle, you know, it’s hard, it is hard, but you don’t have to struggle. You know, you can use things like an EasyJug to help you hydrate easily. You know, you can have an, uh, Meal Train organized to make sure that you get some support with your food, you know, lean into the support.

[00:40:24] Deirdra: You can, you know, take a course, like one of yours, to help you prepare for childbirth, um, and help you recover postpartum. You know, all the things there’s, there’s support available. You don’t have to do it alone. You don’t have to struggle. Um, You know, lean, lean into that, lean into the opportunities there.

[00:40:43] Roxanne: Yeah.

[00:40:44] Gina: Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and not only sharing your birth story, but also the birth story of EasyJug. How can our listeners learn more from you? How can they grab an EasyJug from themselves? Cause I think everybody should register for one.

[00:40:58] Roxanne: Everyone get one.

[00:40:59] Deirdra: Oh, yay! Thank you! Yes. So we’re on Instagram. We are, um, uh, EasyJug on instagram where we have a little bit of a presence on TikTok. I haven’t really dove into that so much yet, but we’re on TikTok as DrinkEasyJug. Um, we also are on Pinterest. Um, you can go to our website, www.EasyJug.Com. Um, get on our newsletter as well.

[00:41:23] Deirdra: Um, but we are offering a discount for EasyJug of, um, 10 percent off if you use the code MAMASTEFIT10 and you can get a, uh, EasyJug that way.

[00:41:34] Gina: Yeah. I think you guys are on Amazon too now.

[00:41:37] Deirdra: We are on Amazon. Yes. And the benefit about that, thank you for the reminder, um, is that you can add it to your baby registry. So that’s the benefit of that.

[00:41:47] Roxanne: Yeah.

[00:41:47] Gina: Which I was just thinking about because I was like, oh, Amazon does baby registries.

[00:41:51] Deirdra: Yeah.

[00:41:51] Gina: And they’re on Amazon.

[00:41:53] Roxanne: Everyone add it to the baby registry.

[00:41:55] Gina: So if you are a day postpartum and you’re listening to this and you’re like, I need one now, is it a part of Amazon Prime?

[00:42:02] Roxanne: We’ll link Amazon.

[00:42:04] Deirdra: We’re in, you know, we’re very new on Amazon, so we haven’t set up Prime yet, but we’re in the process. Everything has been, you know, we’re, we’re a small family. Every, we’re all doing, me and my husband are doing everything. So we haven’t gotten to that step.

[00:42:17] Gina: Kind of like Roxanne and I, we ship our own stuff too, but we only have like one t shirt order a year.

[00:42:24] Deirdra: So, yeah, we do, we do everything in house. Um, but yeah.

[00:42:28] Roxanne: It’s pretty quick shipping.

[00:42:29] Deirdra: Yeah, yeah, definitely. As soon as we get the order in, we ship it out. Um, but we definitely recommend it to like, it can, you can get it, we say, get it in your third trimester, you know, because you’re already getting like, keep it at your bedside, right? Like you were kind of sharing Gina, like you’re already getting really thirsty in your third trimester. It’s hard with your belly’s already much bigger, right? So it’s harder to like sit up. You have to kind of roll over.

[00:42:53] Gina: You should see me try to get up right now at 20 weeks. I have to like, almost like kick my legs all the way back and then like throw my body forward to like get, cause I have a floor bed too, so I have to like propel my body and sometimes it takes like three or four tries and then Sophie’s like, I want to come too. So now I have this toddler that I’m holding, like, I should take a video of how I get out of bed.

[00:43:17] Roxanne: Please do.

[00:43:17] Gina: Cause it’s ridiculous.

[00:43:18] Roxanne: Please do.

[00:43:19] Deirdra: That sounds fun.

[00:43:19] Gina: But now I don’t have to do that cause I can just grab my straw.

[00:43:22] Deirdra: Exactly.

[00:43:23] Gina: And just drink it.

[00:43:24] Deirdra: Exactly. And then also, you know, just to also pack it in the hospital bag because as you know, when you’re in…

[00:43:30] Roxanne: I should have brought it.

[00:43:32] Deirdra: Yeah, it’s, it’s like, you know, especially I was a new mom, right? Like I don’t, you don’t realize that giving birth can be like a marathon and how much you need to stay hydrated during that whole process. So, and like I said, all I had was the pink cup with the straw, that little straw, that flimsy straw. And so it was hard to drink water and I wish I would’ve have my EasyJug because you know, but it wasn’t the idea wasn’t there yet.

[00:43:57] Deirdra: Um, but yeah, we, we tell people, pack it in your hospital bag. You’re going to love it. And that’s, you know, one of the things doulas when they say, you know, they, they, they, they encourage their, their, um, their mamas to take it with them because it, it helps the doulas as well too. It gives the doulas an extra hand. They’re not having to hold the water anymore.

[00:44:18] Gina: Or refill it 45 times.

[00:44:20] Roxanne: Yeah.

[00:44:21] Gina: Do you know how many times I have to leave a birth to go fill up a water bottle? Because I’m like, well, I don’t want your birth partner to leave you, so I’ll go refill this. People drink a lot of water during labor.

[00:44:31] Roxanne: You did have to leave to fill my water.

[00:44:32] Gina: I have to leave very frequently to go refill water.

[00:44:34] Roxanne: Yeah. I think you left once. Mom left once. It’s a lot of water.

[00:44:39] Gina: Yeah.

[00:44:39] Roxanne: I should have had my EasyJug. Postpartum, especially, I should have had it, mostly. Because the, my table was so far away. I was so thirsty.

[00:44:46] Gina: I know!

[00:44:47] Deirdra: Yeah. And if there’s any doulas listening or like, you know, lactation workers, labor workers, anybody in the, in that sphere, you know, we love to partner with you.

[00:44:55] Deirdra: So just reach out to us. We have a section in our website, “partner with us.” Um, so just reach out to us. We’d love to work with you.

[00:45:03] Gina: Yeah, absolutely. Well, so much again for coming on the podcast to share your birth story. Also to share the birth of your company. We highly recommend EasyJug, so if you were trying to figure out what, like, one item that you should get besides, like, a car seat and a stroller, EasyJug.

[00:45:16] Roxanne: EasyJug.

[00:45:17] Gina: Get an EasyJug.

[00:45:17] Roxanne: MAMASTEFIT10. Get 10 percent off. Be prepared.

[00:45:22] Deirdra: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Appreciate you.

[00:45:27] Gina: Thank you so much for listening to Deirdra’s Birth Story. Not only the birth of her baby, but also the birth of her company, EasyJug. If you’re

looking for additional ways to stay hydrated during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, really any time, one of our favorite electrolyte salts that you can grab is LMNT, which is spelled L-M-N-T, but it’s pronounced “element”. And you can use our link, Drink LMNT, so drinkLMNT.com/mamaste to get a free sample pack with any order that you get. I personally love the watermelon and the raspberry.

[00:45:57] Roxanne: My personal favorites are the grapefruit and the orange and the citrus. I just love all the citrus fruits drinks. But I also really like the chocolates, which Gina is skeptical about. I really like the chocolate ones with warm milk or in my coffees. Warm is key though with the chocolate, not, not cold. And one of the best ways to get LMNT, try it out for, and get the most bang for your buck is they have an insider bundle that comes with four different types.

[00:46:24] Roxanne: So if you can’t choose which flavor and you want to try multiple flavors, you can get four flavors within a box. And if you don’t like it, you can always get a refund and then you can just keep the LMNT.

[00:46:36] Gina: So that’s like a really great way to try out LMNT risk free. And so use our link drinkLMNT.com/mamaste. With your order you also get a free sample pack so you can kind of figure out what other flavors you like as well.

[00:46:47] Gina: And ways that we can support you during your pregnancy your postpartum and beyond is we offer our prenatal and postpartum fitness training programs. So we can help you have a strong pregnancy and then also return to fitness after birth. We have our childbirth education course our postpartum preparation course in addition to infant massage, infant CPR and choking.

[00:47:06] Gina: So there’s a lot of classes support you in the postpartum as well. And if you’re a professional, we have a birth workers course and a pre and postnatal fitness trainer course. If you’re wanting to earn some CEUs while learning how to support the perinatal population, you can check out all of our courses on our website at mamastefit.Com and use code STORY10 to get 10 percent off any of our online offerings.