Birth details

Type of delivery: Cesarean section
Duration of labor: 12 hours
Weight @ birth: 8 lbs, 7.5 oz
Length @ birth: 21 inches

NATHAN-COLE`s birthstory

This is Nathan`s birthstory in my husband`s words (My story additions are in parenthesis):
What a day can bring! Baby Nathan Cole was born May 3, 2008. (The day after our anniversary. I was 39 1/2 weeks along.) He was 8 pounds, 7.5 oz.- our biggest baby so far. He was born through cesarean section. Tamra woke me up around midnight. (It was 1 AM) She was in early labor. So I picked up her mom to watch our other children while we were gone to the hospital. At the hospital they put Tamra on a monitor to see if she was in labor or not and after about an hour and a half they decided that she was in labor. Through the wee hours of the morning they kept checking her to see how far along she was and she made good progress from about 4 cm to 7 cm at around 7 am. (They broke my water, and labor did not speed up.)Around that point it was decided to put her on pitocin. ( The epidural was only working on half my body for a couple of hours.)By about 11 am, she was told to start pushing. Just at about that time her epidural stopped providing pain relief. (Totally quit working, right when the back labor started from his head being crooked. How awful was that!!!!) She continued to try to deliver but was getting warn down by the pain. At about 12 the baby should had been down far enough to come out, but he was stuck. ( I was telling them that baby wasn`t budging, and I felt like they weren`t listening. I told them to knock me out. Then I said,`Just kill me!` The Dr. was thinking that there couldn`t be a problem, as I had delivered 4 other babies easily. He was talking in the hall. The nurse dragged him in, and I told him to turn off the pitocin, which he did.I told the Dr. that I wasn`t feeling baby move past the point he had been at for quite a while. I said `, `Get this kid out of me! I want a c-section!)1pm The doctor came in to discuss what options we had. The three that Tamra was given were 1 to keep pushing, 2 try to vacuum the baby out or 3 to do a cesarean section. The pushing just wasn`t going to work- after like 2 hours of pushing baby just wasn`t coming out. Vacuum had the problem of baby could get further jammed and hurt along the way and it would be much more painful since the epidural wasn`t working anymore, so Tamra decided to go for the cesarean section. Tamra went in for the cesarean section around 1 pm and baby was born at 1:30 pm. Baby`s head even after 2 hours of labor was 11 cm so he just wasn`t going to fit past the cervix.

(So, I had a c-section, and when I woke up and saw Nathan's black hair, I decided on the middle name- Cole! Cole means dark, or charcoal. Dad wanted something short, I wanted something strong...It fits!)

At this point baby and mom are doing well. Tamra is looking at needing six weeks to recover. I have planned to be off for three weeks. Please keep us in your prayers at this point that Tamra will completely and fully heal quickly from this unplanned surgery. Pray for our finances. We plan to use the federal stimulus refund to help with the lack of pay for three weeks. Pray also about my job situation. I am trying for a promotion at my current job but if I am going to be out for more than three weeks my employer might not consider me for that promotion. Please also pray for the rest of the family as we transition to the new member of the family. Particularly Heather is going to have to get used to not being they baby of the family. She is such a princess I am not sure how she is going to take having a new baby. (She`s doing okay. She is kind of in Mama withdrawal, since she can`t be with me as much, and usually can`t be as close to me as she`s use to, as I`m guarding baby on one hand, and my incision on the other hand.She seems to go into screaming spells more easily. But she loves baby Nathan! Her favorite thing to say: `Mama, his eyes are open!` Nathan is very sweet, and pretty quiet. For the past two nights he has slept great with us. I was a little worried that he wasn`t nursing enough, but at his check up today, he had gained past his birthweight. So he`s doing great!)That`s the update for now.

(Thank you, ladies, for your friendship and support through this mutual journey to holding our newborns! May the Lord bless you and your little one!)

(I`d like to share the bible verse that the Lord gave to me concerning Nathan, when I was feeling like I didn`t have enough energy to care for another little one...)

Isaiah 40:28-31

28 Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
29 He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
31 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

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.......My Family........

Hi! I'm Tamra, and I live in Oregon. My husband and I have been married for 15 years.It's been really tough staying together sometimes, because we never learned how a healthy relationship works.Our parents' relationships were not a good example of marriage. I would say that our mutual belief in God, and sometimes,sadly,only concern for our children held us together. Right now we are working on our relationship.

I've been through 4 miscarriages (3 of them at 3 months), interspersed between healthy children. I did find out (after two losses in a row), that my thyroid jumps too high when I become pregnant- this can definitely cause a miscarriage. So I have to take thyroid suppression medicine when I'm expecting. My last baby was fine, and this one seems to be fine,too.

My oldest son had cancer three years ago- we were very afraid we were going to lose him. He was in stage 4 with burkitt's lymphoma. He had had this extremely aggressive cancer for only 3 weeks.He almost died by the time he got to the hospital. His kidneys were almost all the way shut down. We thought he had the flu. He finished chemo two years ago.We are still recovering emotionally from that experience.

.....ADVICE......

On breastfeeding.....To avoid pain with nursing, you have to make sure that you put more than just your nipple in his mouth. You tickle the side of his face with your nipple, and when he turns towards you and opens his mouth, pull him closer and stuff in as much as you can, as he has to be mashing on the areola behind your nipple to get milk to come...Also, you shouldn't do too much before 6 weeks postpartum or you risk getting a breast infection. If you get a hot sore spot on your breast, it could be a plugged duct or infection...you need to nurse that painful side first every time( and more often) until it clears up. Happy breastfeeding!

Some people are asking for advice on hemmroids...For hemmroids, I get on the bed on all fours, put my bottom up in the air for a while to get some of the blood pressure out of them...then I put a squirt of lotion on some toilet paper, and rub it all over them, including inside a little, so they can slip back in (easiest on the toilet). Do the lotion thing every time you have a bm. I've done it for years, and when I'm not pregnant or newly delivered,, they are basically non-existent! (Also, avoid constipation- that can make them worse.)

For a while this pregnancy, I had a hard time breathing when walking and lying down. I was really anemic. Now I make sure I take a good iron that soaks in well- ferrous citrate (18 mg) or ferrous glucanate, 2-3 times a day (I have to get them in the health food section of the store)The Dr. said I need less mg of these, because my body can use more of it than with ferrous sulphate (less constipating, too). If I don't take enough each day, the exhaustion and problems breathing come back.

For leg cramps, only calcium citrate (400mg) or magnesium (500-1000mg)per day works for me. (Take the lower amount of magnesium at first, then if you get the runs when you increase the amount, it means you need to back off.) Since I know I'm low on one or the other when I get leg cramps,I just take both at the same time, usually in the evenings, because magnesium relaxes my muscles and helps me sleep.

For you ladies who are being kicked too much in the cervix, I had this happen to me the other night. It's very painful! Thankfully,you can shift the baby's position by being on your hands and knees, and dropping your belly low, then arching your back high (I also had to kind of lunge forward at the same time to twirl baby into a new position). (This cat pose suggested by my midwife last pregnancy.)So glad this worked for now(at 26 weeks). Later on, he may be too big... One mom said that she was leaning against her husband while he was talking, and the baby turned towards him... very interesting!

.......JOURNAL.........

Feb 29th: Nathan has been breech for two weeks now, and he is refusing to turn. Well, I've only tried to turn him three times now...I will go to my Dr. appointment today and ask if he's breech for sure, then try to turn him some more...

Well,Dr.says baby is lying sideways (transverse). Nathan is now kicking me in my side alot.I will continue to try to turn him head down. I am measuring 29 weeks (I'm at 30), and have gained 16 lbs. so far. Of course, I did start out at 200 lbs in the first place... I seem to be healthy according to all of the test results. I will be testing my blood sugar at home over the next two weeks, because my body can't handle a huge amount of sugar, like the sugar drink they usually give the moms, but I've never had gestational diabetes.

March 5th: I started testing my blood today. First, fasting in the morning-62. Then two hours after breakfast-65. These are low numbers! I'm hypoglycemic(low blood sugar)! No wonder I've been feeling yucky and cranky! So the advice nurse told me to stop the testing for now, and EAT! I will call the Dr. tomorrow when she's there. I have to bring my son for some scans and cancer-follow-up checkup tomorrow.I'll call after that.

My son's checkup was fine. Yay! I still worry when we go in for the blood test, even though my son hasn't had any major symptoms of recurrance...Like I said above, he just had flu-like symptoms, so it's hard not to worry a little when he's sick...

My Dr. sent me to a nutritionist to discuss my diet. I was eating too many carbs (no surprise there), and need more whole grains and protein to keep my sugar balanced and up where it needs to be. I had been feeling nauseous alot, and having the runs every other day, so I had been eating more lightly. I just figured out that I was sick from lactose intolerance which I've developed this pregnancy (oh, please, God, make it go away after I deliver- I love my pizza!).

I think I'm going to change Nathan's middle name AGAIN. I just don't feel settled on Kyle, even though my husband thought it was nice. I actually wanted Elias, I'm not sure why. When I say it by itself, it sounds a little long (which is my husbands opinion, too), but with Nathan it sounds great! Oh well, I'll keep looking, I guess...

03-15-08 Nathan is still transverse, and has his head nestled against my hip bone. This causes some lovely sciatica, let me tell you! But he likes his little niche!

03-18-08 Well, my Dr. just dropped a bomb on me...She says she's leaving the group immediately, and I should pick another Dr. there or somewhere else, because until she finds her own office space, she can't see patients. She says she's still on call at the hospital sometimes, so I COULD wind up having her deliver baby after all. That's not very likely! I feel like I had finally finished 'nesting' with her- finding out what she thinks about everything pertaining to delivery, and telling her what I would like...How frustrating! Well, I guess I'll have to start over...

03-21-08 I have been very tired this week ... I think I might be fighting off the strep germ that the boys brought home from school...

03-24-08 Well, after looking at names AGAIN for about a week, we're back to Kyle for the middle name...It's the only one my husband likes. Every other name I've brought up, he says,"I don't know..." He thinks most of my choices are strange. I guess I am looking for a strong or interesting middle name, since "Nathan" is so calm sounding...Well, I'm tired of searching...and at least we both like it. So Nathan Kyle it is!

Our anniversary is May 2nd, at which point I'll either be to uncomfortable to go out... or in the hospital...so we'll have our celebration early this year. Probably this Saturday...

As far as I can tell, Nathan is still transverse...Am I going to have to have a c-section this time?? I meet my NEW Dr. on Friday at my next appointment...I picked him because I saw him walk through the waiting room one time, and he seemed really happy and relaxed.

Only 6 more weeks! Wow, I've still got to get the changing table moved downstairs (hubby and son), and baby's stuff washed, and a million things around the house are bothering me...I'm finally nesting!

3-28-08 I met my new Dr. today. He should have been a chaplain- we talked about our families and faith, not much about babies...Nathan is now head down. Yay! I suspected this two days ago... when I sit in the van now, I can really feel him down in my pelvis...I don't think he's very happy being squeezed in that small space, but hopefully he's kind of stuck , and won't move up again.

4-10-08 I went in for my 36 week checkup yesterday. The nurse took my blood pressure and my pee, and then told me to get half naked, and climb onto the examination table with the crinkly paper on it, and drape myself with the "cover up" paper. I brought 3 magazines with me so I wouldn't be bored...Well, 40 minutes later I felt like I was going to kill someone! There I was, sitting on my bare butt, my back was KILLING me, as I couldn't rest my feet on the step under them-they were just dangling...I was done with all three magazines, and this guy still had not shown up...Then I hear the nurse through the door tell a new patient, "I'll take your vitals, and then you'll have to wait in the waiting room, as all the rooms are full". Well, I lost my cool then, I got up, put my pants on, and left, telling the nurse quickly that I would reschedule- I just couldn't wait that long! .....Now, my question is, if the nurse knows that I am going to be sitting there like that for almost an hour, why doesn't she warn me, or at least leave me in the comfortable waiting room with the comfy chairs and more magazines- preferably both!!! If I had known about a long wait, I would have rescheduled right when I got there, and not wasted my time and my back sitting somewhere seriously uncomfortable for nothing!!!

4--16-08 I've gained 20 lbs this pregnancy, stopped gaining last week. But I started out at 200 lbs...Had an ultrasound on Tuesday- the tech said baby is 7 lbs, my cervix is barely starting to funnel (on baby's side), and my plug is still in place. I've been having BH and period cramping for a week and a half- doesn't seem to be doing much! Saw a new Dr. this week ( he was exactly on time...The receptionists were looking at me funny- I think they were talking about how I left suddenly last week). Because my last delivery was very fast (1 1/2 hours), he suggests being induced, to make sure that I make it to the hospital. We only live 5 minutes away...I'm thinking about the induction a teeny bit- if he just breaks my water, and the epidural is started right away.(No pitocin for me!!! Hate that stuff!) It would be nice to be able to plan it, bring my mom to my house to watch my 2 yr old, hubby has the day off work, etc...It would take him an hour to get to the hospital from his work...He could miss the delivery! :)

04-28-08 Dang! I tested positive for strep B. I'm sensitive to antibiotics, so this will be fun...And my last labor was 1 1/2 hours (my water broke, sending me straight into serious contractions), so they probably won't be able to get the 4 hours worth of antibiotics into me by the time baby shows up...Dr. says if that happens, they will just watch baby closely. He said we might talk induction next week ( to give them time to give me the antibiotics), since I'm only 1 1/2 cm and 70% effaced as of today, and I don't want pitocin, just my water broken if I'm induced...so my cervix has to be more open for that to work. So we'll see what happens...Also, Dr. says that Nathan is probably going to be 8 1/2 lbs on his due date...One of my other sons was that big, and I did okay...but if he's much bigger than that,I just don't know how I'll do!!! ....... I came down with a sinus infection and cough on Saturday. Aaah! So now I'm telling the little guy to stay in a little longer...I don't want him to catch this germ, and I certainly don't feel like I can handle labor at this point! Totally exhausted!!!

So, I had a c-section, and when I woke up and saw Nathan's black hair, I decided on the middle name- Cole! Cole means dark, or charcoal. Dad wanted something short, I wanted something strong...It fits!

IT'S A BOY! Nathan Cole!