Babies are unpredictable as is most of life. I thank God that there is Someone I can trust in this crazy world. I am thankful that my trust lies in Him even when there are scary things happening around me. I know God is in control and that my safety is secure in Him.
Thursday morning, January 13th started out like any other day. Thursday is usually my cleaning day and I wanted to catch up on some things before the Big Day on the 19th (the planned birthday of Bean Sprout). Maybe I pushed myself too hard or maybe I was nesting, whatever the case, I had a bunch of excited energy that morning and I used it to scrub, sweep and mop. That resulted in some bleeding, a trip to the local hospital and orders to drive down (with Joel) to Duluth to deliver this baby. We dropped the kids off and proceeded to take the long drive to the bigger hospital. It was snowing, we had to go about 45 mph and then had to sit idle for 30-40 minutes due to a bad accident in one of the tunnels. God took care of us, gave us peace and we did not deliver a baby on the highway. In fact, when we got to the hospital, they eventually kicked us out because nothing was happening. So we stayed the night in Duluth and the next day did some shopping, bought homeowner's insurance, walked the skywalks and sat in Caribou Coffee waiting for something to happen.
Sitting did it. The contractions started and progressed nicely. We ate supper at Pizza Hut and, just in case, paid in advance before we got our food. (I think we made our waitress a little nervous when we did that...) To the hospital we went again and this time, we stayed the night even though contractions slowed.
Saturday January 15 6:30 am they broke my water. Nothing happened. I slept and Joel read.
Later on, the docs decided to start me on pitocin and that worked positively. So well in fact, that I needed an epidural and Hudson James was born just a few hours later, at 1:40 pm! The doctors let Joel catch our little son as soon as head and shoulders were out and boy was he purple (Hudson, not Joel)!
The cord had been wrapped around his neck but, no biggie, he cried nicely and I held him just seconds after he was born.
Hudson is a healthy baby boy, our biggest baby! I'm not sure how he got to almost eight pounds- I was guessing six and a half.
The docs seemed pleased with his and mine health so they let us go after 24 hours in the hospital, much to my delight!
On our way home, we picked up the rest of the family. Oh the excitement and the joy! I wish I had had a video camera. The shrieking, the laughter and the hugs were overflowing from the kids. It still warms my heart from the memories of it.
The older kids are adjusting well to their new little brother. As of yet, there are no signs of jealousy. They love him so much and take turns holding him and kissing him.
Hudson is about 20 inches long and quite skinny. He has a nice round face, with dark eyes. Dark like a midnight sky with just hints of blue. He looks just like Joshua did, except for a crease over the bridge of his nose and a eyebrows which default into a scowl (I call it inquisitive). He is six days old today (Friday) and is nursing well and sleeps well (so far). He is a laid back baby and is good natured, of which I am deeply grateful to God for.
'Hudson' means 'Son of Hud'. Quite deep, I know. Let me continue... The name 'Hud' means 'Brave Ruler'. So in short, Hudson means 'Son of a Brave Ruler'.
'James' is Renee's dad's name and means 'Supplanter'. I wasn't sure what that word meant so I looked it up: 1. to take the place of another, through force, scheming, strategy, or the like. 2. to replace one thing by something else.
I interpret the word 'supplanter' to mean (for our son) that Jesus will replace Hudson's sinful nature with Himself-a new nature, a redemption, a new life. That is what we pray for our son as we are bringing him up and caring for him. As with all our children we want them to know Jesus and the new life that is found in Him.
Joel and I are grateful for your prayers that you have sacrificially given to God. He has given us strength and patience this first week. Adjusting to each new child has it's challenges but also it's delights. We are so excited to be the parents of this new baby boy. Thank you to those who have visited, given meals and other gifts, and for all of your congratulations.
