Eian was born July 16, 2007 at 4:27 p.m after 32 hours of labor, without drugs. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, You, oh Lord, are there.” (Psalm 23) 
Hard labor for about 4 hours and pushed for about 30 minutes. The most intense thing I have EVER done!! Anything is possible now!
He was having trouble breathing when he was born, so I didn’t get to hold him for more than a few seconds it seemed. The cord was cut and he was taken to the back of the room where they immediately started giving him oxygen and watching how he was breathing. They laid him on my chest for a little while before they took him to the nursery. An oxygen cubicle was placed around his head in the nursery. Then later they put him in an incubator case. We could only reach him through little doors.
Then, the next day, they noticed he was becoming yellowy Jaundice and put him under an UV light with his eyes patched shut. One more barrier between us and our son. One more test between us and our son.
I was doing amazingly well. I was surprising myself. However, at one point on the 18th, I had a small melt down and cried for the first time. I had just breastfed him. One of the nurses made me bundle him up really tight and with an extra warm blanket because I’d been stripping him to get him to wake up while I was nursing him. Shortly after the tight bundling, his blood O2 levels, his respiration dropped and his heart beat dropped. She swiped him away from my mom, turned up the O2 in his incubator, dramatically stripped him, briskly returned him to his chamber and unsympathetically, lifted his arm and dropped it while urgently saying, “Why did he become so limp all of the sudden?” Here I am watching all this in disbelief. “I know why he’s like that!!” I thought to myself, “You over reacted and made us bundle him up and sedated him!” After all that, I was having trouble tearing myself away from him. For the first time, I had the urge to cry. I don’t even remember what the nurse was saying to me, but whatever it was it didn’t do the trick. I didn’t know what to say to her and the tears began to roll. “I just want my son to come home.” We were being discharged that day, but he was not. With those type of interruptions in progress toward normalcy, I couldn’t help but feel discouraged about the possibility of taking my son home the next day.
7 Comments
July 20, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Tamara, I am so excited for you, you had a baby…..and ya labour is very hard as if it will never end the pain is unbearable, but the outcome is incredible!! Good job and getting your birth story written so quickly. I am sure Eian was so relaxed for that very reason, some nurses are stuck back in the fifties!! I did a birth at Madagan Military Hospital and I thought they were old-fashion, oh my goodness!! What is so wonderful is YOU are the Momma and you get to take baby Eian home!!
He is lovely and would love to hear how San did!
Love you
Kelley
July 20, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Yeah Girly! Good posting. I’d also love to hear San’s birth story if he’s willing to share his perspective. So, is Eian home with you yet? Remember, we need that glowing mommy and baby face in a picture. I can’t wait to see your beautiful face. God bless you girl! All three of you! I love you.
July 20, 2008 at 11:21 pm
Tam
I am soooo proud of you. I have been checking Jenni’s blog as well as yours eagerly anticipating pictures of your little pumkin. He is perfect! And you are a STRONG woman. Congratulations to you and San. What a blessing Eian is to this world. He will love the Lord and do mighty exploits for our King!
July 21, 2008 at 2:24 am
Alleluia! San & Tatti,
What a sweetheart Eian is in his pictures. Congratulations to both of you on your precious gift from God. He certainly is a good sized boy & my heart goes out to you, Tam for all that long labor time. Now that you are mommy & daddy, you are a full fledged family & we wish you God’s special blessings, strength, peace and guidance as well as health and rest(whenever possible). Look forward to seeing him (& you 2) when time allows and you are feeling stronger.
Much love & prayers continuing,
Marge (Tom too)
July 21, 2008 at 4:04 am
Tam, I was so proud of you, and so glad that I was able to talk to you so much through your labor. I know that it was hard and I was nervous for you but I was so proud of you every time I got off the phone with you. You have not always been the most patient person in the world, but I was amazed at how the Lord gave you such patience and grace through your labor. I know those last hours were hard but you did amazingly well, and had such grace to go through the trauma of having your baby whisked away for a couple days at the beginning. Now you get to relive those days and soon they will just be a blurry memory, sweeter with time.
Your little man is such a sweet little bundle, I can hardly stand to look at the pictures and not just hop on a plane to come over and squeeze his little body, he is so precious! I love the pictures you posted, especially the ones of him smiling, those were amazing! The kids just LOVE seeing new pictures, and I do to, every new angle and new little look, they are all just wonderful! You look so happy to be holding him without all the wires and stuff and this my sister, is what being a mama is all about! Isn’t it just the most amazing thing in the world?! I love you sis, I’m so proud of you both! Thanks for posting
July 21, 2008 at 4:07 am
Oh, I forgot to mention. San I think he takes after you!
He sure does look a lot like his daddy, and hopefully he will get some of your amazing qualities as well. Thanks for being such a great husband to my sister through her labor, I’m sure you so appreciate all that she went through to bring your little son into the world. I’m so thankful that the Lord has brought you together, you are so blessed. Love you brother!
July 21, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Tamara and San,
Thank you so much for this window into your lives. Eian is the most beautiful baby! Is he home? We look forward to more pictures!
Candi (and Jason, Alyssa, and Cami)