Thomas Ray Holman

Welcome Thomas Ray Holman!!

This handsome man was born 1 week late, on August 3rd at 9:25 am.
He was 7lb and 12 oz, and 20.5 inches long.

Thomas getting his footprints done. Cute little feet!

Here is our first family photo! I can't believe we are a family of 4 now. :)

Porter was nervous but excited to hold his baby brother.
He looks like he is going to kiss him in this picture but he didn't kiss Thomas for 2 weeks.
He would pretend to kiss him but would not actually do it. It we pretty funny.

Here is Grandma Petersen holding Thomas.

Grandpa Petersen flew in the next day and visited us in the hospital that night.

Aren't the a handsome pair.

Here's Porter holding Thomas a few days later.

He was adjusting a little bit to the idea of a brother. He did have a great time pushing my bed up and down and the nurses call button was pushed a few times also. We were ready to go home and spend more time with Porter and he had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa but I think he was ready to have us home also.

Daddy snuggling with Thomas in our hospital room.

I just had to laugh at this picture.

He looked so cute with his foot sticking out of the bed.

Here is daddy getting him already to go home!

We were all ready to go home.

I was so excited!

The new mommy of 2, I was feeling really pretty good after the whole crazy ordeal.

We were ready to go home but I'm not sure Thomas was ready

(I think he knew life would change with a big brother)

Birth Story

Like I said earlier Thomas was a week late. On August 2nd I started having contractions, they started getting more intense and closer together. Porter was good to be patient with me, and we played a lot on the ground, because I just wanted to lay down. My mom and I went for a walk to keep my labor going. At 4:30 I had had enough and called James to come home from work. He hurried home and I got packed up. We called the doctor and told her we were coming in. My uncle Dave was in town on business and him and James gave me a blessing before we went into the hospital. We then left at about 6pm and I had to laugh because the entrance into the hospital was packed with cars (rush hour), it only slowed us a few minutes. We checked in and I had the sweetest nurse. They said I was dehydrated and the doctor wondered if that was causing my labor. I had to drink lots lots of water and they poured the IV into me. My labor continued to progress so they decided to go ahead and keep me. My mom was a huge support to me and really worked hard trying to help me labor. It was a bit different because we were trying to do a V-back. We had to be on the monitors at all times but luckily they were wireless so I was able to walk around and try and get my labor to progress. There was a family in the next room that was waiting outside the door and I swear I passed by them 20 times in my robe, I felt kind of dumb. Labor was starting to get intense and I wasn't progressing very fast. So at about 10:30pm I got into the jacuzzi tub. I couldn't use the jets because they had to have numbers from the baby at all times. But the hot water took pressure off of me and it was wonderful. James kept me laughing and just held me when I needed him to. I was so grateful for him! I stayed in that wonderful tub for about 1 hour maybe longer. When I got out the pain was so intense I couldn't stop shaking. And then I got really sick and the nurse handed me that stupid moon shaped container. Ha, I had no control and shot throw up water all over me, the nurse, my mom, and James. They checked me after that and I was at about 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. I was is so much pain but they couldn't give me the epidural yet because I wasn't far enough along. So they gave me a narcotic to try and curb the pain. It worked and I was able to calm down. They checked me around 4:30 in the morning and decided I could have the epidural. It took them two times to get the epidural in. I could have cared less I just wanted the epidural. James was holding me while they put it in and he got light headed and almost passed out. He hadn't had anything to eat or drink and no sleep, I felt bad but he was ok. They also put me on the pit to try and get this labor going. After that we all got a few hours of sleep. Then they checked me and I was 6 centimeters and 99% effaced. They had just moved me to try and move my labor along some more, which worked! But Thomas heart rate dropped fast! James had just left to get him some breakfast. And when he got back my room was swarmed with doctors and nurses. They all kept telling us that its ok they just need me to move positions, and gave me another med to stop my contractions all together. His heart rate stabilized and my contractions began to slow. They all left and James and I commented that this was eerily similar to what happened with Porter at about the same time during labor. That is when the nurse came in and said I was doing good, and that the patient next door was going in for an emergency c-section, so my doctor and midwife would be busy for a little while. The baby heart rate began to drop again my nurse came in. She tried to reposition me and it just got worse. She asked me if I thought I could get on my hands and knees. I said I wasn't sure since I had the epidural my legs felt like they were the size of elephants. But by some miracle I was able to move to my hands and knees. His heart rate didn't get better and then his heart rate dropped to zero. Everyone else was assisting the other women in the emergency c-section so it was just us and my nurse. So my mom and her haul me down as fast as they can to the OR. Me in all my glory on my hands and knees trying not to fall over being hauled down the hall with a sheet hardly covering me. My nurse was yelled at entering the OR because she wasn't sanitized and because I was on my hands and knees. She told them that was the only way to bring the heart beat back. They had to call another doctor because the on call was already in surgery. He showed up and they weren't sure they could wait long enough for another dose of the epidural to kick in before they would have to start the surgery. They told me they might have to knock me out instead. Another miracle and the medicine was in just in time which also meant that James could come into the OR with me! I was so happy to see him. The surgery was quick and before long there was a little boy. He had the cord wrapped around his neck twice and then down through his legs and around his waist. They said the cord was basically a jump rope and no wonder his heart rate dropped. He was moving down and he couldn't with how wrapped up he was, and it put him into distress. After he was out he did amazingly well. He was starving by the time I was released from the recovery room, and he has been doing great ever since.