Hudson is Here!

Hudson's scheduled delivery date was tomorrow.  However, instead of getting ready to go to the hospital tomorrow morning, chances are I'll be nursing my sweet son.

Sunday (5/27) I awoke with a horrible backache - no fun.  Fortunately it went away that afternoon.

Monday (5/28) I literally did nothing all day.  I simply had no energy.

Tuesday (5/29) I awoke at 2:00 am with serious cold chills and a low-grade fever (100.5)  So I called the Labor & Delivery Triage department and asked them what to do.  Their advice - take a tylenol and call my doctor in the morning.

Tuesday I go to school to present the end-of-year awards to my little 2nd graders.  After it's all over, I call my doc who has me come in and give a urine sample to rule out an UTI.  She also tells me that if my temperature rises over 100 again, to head to the hospital.  About 1:00 that afternoon, guess whose temperature of 100.2?  That'd be me. To the hospital we head.

Once there, I'm put under observation for about 2.5 hours.  My temperature went away during this time (even with no meds) and they came thisclose to discharging me.  However, sweet Hudson wasn't moving as much as they wanted, so off to get an ultrasound we go.

The U/S tech couldn't find any reason why he wasn't moving - the cord was in the right spot, etc..  therefore, rather than discharging me - they decided to go ahead the do the C-section delivery in 20 minutes.

So on Tuesday, May 29th at 5:27pm - Hudson Andrew was born.

Weighing 6 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 20 inches long (that's one third of my height!)

He is absolutely perfect.  He was born with a fever (102 - yikes) but it immediately returned to normal and hasn't been feverish since then.  The doc thinks my fever was causing his fever which was making in lethargic in the womb.  10 fingers, 10 toes, perfect and complete spine, good lungs, everything he needs.

Me and Hudson for the first time.  Focus on the cute baby, not the mama who just woke up from her C-section.

Daddy adores Hudson.  Seriously, it's the sweetest thing to hear how James talks to his son.  Grown men typically don't say such things, unless to a baby :)  He is smitten!

Grandaddy Proctor with his 6th grandchild.

Aunt Sharon (my sister) with her first nephew on our side of the family. 

Grandma Sue with Hudson.

Granna Lackey with her first grandbaby.

Hudson Andrew Lackey

Though it wasn't as planned, which honestly very little about this pregnancy has went according to "plan,"  we are so thankful that he's here and that he's healthy.  I on the other hand am having a bit of a rough recovery.  I still have that nasty UTI (which caused the inital fever) plus apparently I had a bad reaction to the TDAP vaccine they gave me which caused cold chills and another fever on Wednesday afternoon - boo.  In addition to this, my hemoglobin is way down.  They are considering giving me a blood transfusion but are waiting to see how I'm progressing.  In addition to this, I'm trying to get up and walk around per their advice, but find it quite difficult.  Who knew you used your abdominal muscles for pretty much any and every activity.  With them painful and out of commission temporarily, I'm in quite a bit of pain. 

But God has been good to us so far and faithful to bring Hudson into the world completely whole, so I am trusting that in time my recovery will be complete and that in the meantime, God will give me the strength I need to do what I need to do - namely, love on my little son!

Write them on your Doorposts ...

When coming up with a plan for Hudson's nursery I knew that I wanted to incorporate Scripture into his room.  But which one?  That was the question.

James and I scoured hundreds of Scripture references looking for just the right one.  We didn't want the stereotypical "baby room" verses - though there's nothing wrong with them at all - we just wanted something that would grow with him.  We also didn't want the stereotypical "promise" verses because so many of those are specific promises to specific people at a specific time and though they hold truths for us today, in context they aren't always as pretty as they seem.  For example Jeremiah 29:11 is a wonderful verse, but upon closer inspection one understands that God made this promise of a "good future" as he was sending them into exile - exile people!  Basically we just wanted something that summarized our hope for Hudson. 

What is our hope for him?  That he will be a follower of Jesus. 

Romans 15:13 was our final choice.  It says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflower with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

The book of Romans is one of my favorites.  I love the context - that it's written to a "mixed" church of both Jew and Gentile believers.  I love the author, Paul and his rich theology and how he presents Christ in this letter to the church at Rome.  Click here for a nice little outline/mini exposition of this epistle. 

Ultimately Romans 15:13 is our prayer for Hudson.  First, that he will trust in him (Jesus).  Being a follower of Jesus is not genetic.  Just because James and I follow Christ, doesn't mean that Hudson will.  Yes, we will bring him up to know Christ as best we can but ultimately he will only come to salvation by the irresistable call of Christ and we pray daily that Christ will call him to follow him.  Second, the reward of trusting Christ is everlasting joy and peace.  Regardless of what Hudson grows up to be, whether he is healthy, sickly, smart, not-so-smart, strong, weak, whatever - we pray that he finds everlasting joy and peace through the power of the Holy Spirit in his life.

So that's the why but, how did we do it?  I'm not that good of a painter or stenciler to even attempt something like this free-hand.  The amazing local stationery store I have worked for the past three summers sells this product called "Stuck On U" that are basically adhesive vinyl letters customized to your saying, initals, whatever that you'd like to affix to whatever area.  It's super easy to do:

First, I lined up the wording to try and get the spacing figured out.

Second and by far the hardest part, was setting up the silly laser level.  That thing is not my friend.

Third, peel the letters and transfer paper off the backing.

Fourth, line the word up on the nify laser level line.

Lastly, press the letters then peel off the transfer paper and viola - you have a word stuck to your wall.

Now this is the commandment - the statutes and the rules -

that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you ....

Hear O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One. 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart

and with all your soul and with all your might. 

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children,

and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way,

and when you lie down, and when you rise. 

You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

--Deuteronomy 6:1, 4-9 ESV

38 Weeks

Here I am at 38 weeks.

Why yes, I did get a haircut, thanks for noticing :)

His Mercies are New Every Morning --  Lamentations 3:23

We have 9 mornings left until Hudson will arrive.  And while his upcoming arrival is not the route I would have taken, the Lord has been gracious to give me peace and gently remind me of just how blessed I am.

I have so much to be thankful for:

• So many with my birth defect cannot conceive so the fact that I am 9 days away from having my son is a huge blessing that I definitely do not take for granted.
• God's timing is best.  With Hudson arriving just when school is out and through the generosity of my co-teachers I was able to take a lengthy maternity leave early which has been awesome.  I've been a nesting fool!  Hudson's room is ready, the guest room is ready for my sister, the house is generally clean, I'm cooking 3 meals a day, and overall this makes me very happy.
• While this pregnancy has had its ups and downs, overall it's been pretty easy.  Morning sickness wasn't terrible, the 2nd trimester was great, and even though I'm tired and feel like I weigh 300 pounds I have enough energy to accomplish my daily to-do lists.
• We were blessed with four most awesome baby showers.  The Lord has provided in miraculous ways for our baby.

My Stupid Spine

I don't talk about my birth defect often because it really doesn't effect my daily life that much.  Well, it does, but it really doesn't bother me except for on two occassions:  1) when it bothers other people or 2) when I can't do what I want to do.

In my 33 years however, there has been little I've wanted to do that I couldn't do.  A few examples of things I can't do have included:  the hurdles (yeah who cares about that?), the splits (again, I don't care), and sitting Indian-Style (a bummer as a teacher, but I deal).  However, today I was made aware of my limitations.

I had an anesthesia consult for my upcoming C-Section with Dr. J.  Such consults aren't the norm, but after watching an A Baby Story episode a few months ago I asked my OB if I should get checked out beforehand to make sure my spine was long enough to handle the spinal block for the C-Section and she thought that would be a good idea.  Now Dr. J was great - very kind, knowledgable, and funny but he did not give me the news I wanted.  Long story short, I'm going to have to be put under general anesthesia for the C-Section. 

My spine ends at the end of the Lumbar Section/beginning of the Sacral section and the last two vertebraes are fused together.  He simply doesn't think he can get an epidural needle in there and this was after looking at old X-Rays and pushing on my spine for several minutes.  So, I'm left with three options:

1) Have an MRI to see for sure if there's enough space between my little vertebraes for the needle.  However, MRIs aren't recommended for preggo mamas as they can effect baby's hearing so that's out.  I'm simply not going to risk Hudson's ears.

2) Let him try to do the epidural anyway.  Of course, if he accidentally punctures my spinal cord .. well, that could lead to permanent neurological damage so that's out.   Yeah, paralysis doesn't sound fun to me.

3) Proceed with general anesthesia.  Looks like that's my option.

Mentally, I understand all this and know that it's just what it is and there's nothing to be done about it.  I know this is how C-Sections were done for years and though rare today, general anesthesia is still used when there is no time for an epidural.  But I am scared and bummed.

Scared because I've never had general anesthesia.  Well, I did have it when I was 6 months old, but that experience doesn't do me a lot of good now - haha.  I have no idea how I'll react, if I have any allergies, or the like. 

Bummed because I'll miss sweet Hudson's first moments.  I'll simply be unconscious and won't hear his first cry (yes, I know there will be plenty more to hear).  I'm bummed that because I'll be under, James won't be in the room therefore he'll miss Hudson's first moments.  This breaks my heart.

I know the Lord is using this to break my controlling nature.  Even if I can't be in control, I like to know what's going on at all times.  This however is forcing me to trust in the Lord and depend on his goodness and faithfulness and trust that I'll wake up to see my son and all will be well.

Please pray that I learn to trust Him. 

Though the mountains are shaken and the hills removed,

my unfailing love will not fail you, nor will my covenant of peace be removed,

says the LORD who has compassion on you.

Isaiah 54:10

Four Years

Happy Fourth Anniversary to us!

So, what's marriage been like so far? You ask.  Well, Noel Piper's foreward in her husband's book
This Momentary Marriage pretty much sums up what it's been like:

      In our real life, I swing somewhere between two extremes.  At one end of the pendulum's
      arc, I'm in wonder: "How in the world did I ever get such an amazing husband? What did
      I ever do  that he should have paid me a bit of notice, never mind ask me to marry him?"
      ...
      By contrast, when inertia and resistance are dragging us downward, I'm asking myself,
      "How in the world did we ever get into such a mess? What happened to make us feel this
      kind of disagreement and unhappiness?"
      ...
      The pendulum of our marriage oscillates and sometimes wobbles, but it is suspended
      from above and is firmly attached.  By God's grace, it will not crash to the ground.

So today, I am thankful.

• Thankful for four years of marraige that have taught me so much - mostly just how desperately sinful and in complete need of Jesus every minute of every day that I am.
• Thankful for a husband who loves me just as I am.  But who loves me enough to tell me when I'm wrong and knows that God wants so much more from us and gently leads us on that long road of sanctification.
• Thankful that in 15 short days we'll no longer be a family of simply husband and wife, but will take on the roles of Mom and Dad.
• Most of all, I'm thankful to our God who created marriage to reflect his love and covenant with us and by whose grace our marriage has not and will not crash to the ground.

37 Weeks

 Is there a draft in here, or is it just my shirt?

Hudson is considered full-term today, as he's reached 37 weeks meaning that (God-forbid) but if I do go into labor, they won't stop it (or in my case, they'll go ahead and get him out of there.)

Maternity Leave is going well.  I'm knocking stuff off my "to-do" list slowly.  I simply don't move as quickly as I used to and tire out fairly easily, which I find frustrating.  Only 16 days left until he'll be here - very surreal.

Belly Pics

Remember our sweet friend, Rachel? Well, she has a super cool camera and graciously agreed to take some maternity pictures for us. Plus she even edited them for us - love her!

Church Shower

Two weeks ago, our sweet church family hosted a Baby Shower for us.  Yes, that means our sweet baby had no less than FOUR showers - we are  most definitely aware of how blessed we are! 

Enjoy these pictures of the fun:

The Gift Table

 

Sweet Elizabeth made three cakes.  Silly gestational diabetes got in my way of enjoying them fully, but I did steal a fork-full from James and boy was it good!

The spread of food. Note who is at the head of the line - haha!

 

Gift Time - the Wonderful World of Boys!

 

 

Sweet embroidered bib from a friend's Mom.



A crowd shot

 

Me with sweet Rachel - good friend, former roomie, and the day's photographer. 

 

The hostesses with the mostesses (yeah, I know that's not a word)

Operation: Hudson's Room

The apparent question of importance, aside from "Do you know what you're having?" has been, "How are you decorating the nursery? What's your theme?" James and I immediately (and wittily) respond, "It's a Hand-me-down Theme." 

In all seriousness, I'm not into themes in general.  Besides that, literally 99% of everything in Hudson's room is either a hand-me-down gift, a new gift, or was purchased by us with a gift card - so his room is a testimony to the Lord's provision and the kindness of his people. 

Though it's nothing you'd ever see in a magazine, here's his room:

The room is laid out rather strangely because there are two doors.  This is the view from door #1

This is the view from door #2

A close-up of his crib and bedding.

The nursing/diaper changing area.

Above the changing table, there are four frames.  The blue framed art was a gift from Hudson's Granna Lackey that's an acrostic of his name.  The other three are basically ideas I've stolen off Pinterest.  The white framed art is subway art of Psalm 139.  The brown framed art is a quote from Hudson Taylor (our Hudson's namesake) set as an eye-chart.  For a close-up, click here.  The quote says:

     

       "Let us see that we always keep God before our eyes that we walk in his ways and seek

        to always please and glorify him in everything great and small."

This quote pretty much sums up our prayer for our lives and our little Hudson's life.  The last frame (green) is a copy of a print of a little boy dressed as a prince whose name is Hudson. 

The nursing/rocking area complete with a Boppy (yay!),  my vintage rocker (haha), the lamp which was made by my Dad for my Mom many years ago, all sorts of nursing accessories, and books to entertain me while Hudson feeds.

The area next to door #2 has been designated the toy area.  Believe it or not but every single one of these toys on the shelves was either a hand-me-down or a gift.  The area above the shelves is a vinyl art of Romans 15:13.  I'll write more about that and how we chose that verse in a later post.

The house we rent is over 100 years old and therefore, there are few closets.  The closets that are present are not very large.  The closet is Hudson's room is my closet, so we were extremely grateful when the McCormicks offered us the armoire they used with their three children.  It's pretty awesome.  Ignore the reflection of my preggo-self in the drafty shirt.

Hudson has lots of books - we hope he loves to read because we love to read.

James added a handy-dandy rod to the inside of the armoire so I could hang up some of his outfits instead of having to fold everything.

Two of my favorite things in Hudson's room are James and my Baby Blankets that are hanging on either side of his crib.  My wanna-be anthropologist nature thinks these two blankets are examples of the differences between boys and girls. 

Note my blanket, on the left - it is in pristene condition.  My Mawmaw Proctor made it for me when my Mom was pregnant with me.  James' blanket on the right, however, is rather fragile.  In his defense, my blanket was always a blanket - either for me or my baby dolls.  His blanket apparently doubled as a cape, a tent, a picnic table, a lasso; basically whatever his little imagination could conjur up. 

So that's his room.  We hope he enjoys it; as much as a baby can enjoy a room.  I'm extremely happy with how the Lord has provided the items inside it and look forward to sharing with Hudson how the Lord proved himself faithful to us during this season of life and pray that Hudson is drawn to the Lord in gratitude for taking care of him before he was even born.