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Baby Hudson |
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Our Latest Arrow
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.
Job 1:21
This verse from Scripture has come full circle for us, but this time in an awesome way. We are very excited to announce that God has given us a completely healthy, 9 pounds 14 ounces, 22 inch baby boy!
Sunday, September 25, 2005 - More Pictures
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Hudson demonstrates one of his favorite but most uncomfortable looking positions. (9/15/2005)
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Dr. Brian Stanton makes a house call!. (9/15/2005)
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Hudson's first adjustment. Power's on! (9/15/2005)
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Feeling so much better after his adjustment. (9/15/2005)
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Hudson's first photographed smile. Isn't he cute? (9/25/2005)
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Looking like a little man with his corduroy pants and polo shirt. (9/25/2005)
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Monday, September 12, 2005 - Hudson's Homecoming
Today Ronette was released to go home. While this stay went as well as it possibly could, it still isn't the most pleasant place to be. As Dorothy said, "There's no place like home!"
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Ronette and Hudson pose for their last picture in the hospital. (9/12/2005)
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Hudson's first taste of the great outdoors. (9/12/2005)
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Welcome home Hudson. Too bad you are too sleepy to see your new digs. (9/12/2005)
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Saturday, September 10, 2005 & Sunday, September 11, 2005
Saturday was relatively uneventful except for the visit of Don's parents, Dave and Chris. Ronette continues to recover very well and is able to eat a semi-normal meal by dinner time. We are even able to take a few laps "around the block". Of all the c-sections she has had, this has been the easiest to recover from. Dave and Chris took the kids for the night while Don spends another evening and morning with Ronette in the room.
Don picks up the kids from their grandparents on Sunday morning and brings them home to settle in for a little while, get refreshed, and then go back to the hospital. When they arrive, a full house is already there. Ronette's dad Ron and step-mom Sharon are there with Ronette's cousin, Amy, and her fiance Jesse. Rontte's grandmother, Hazel, is also there with Johnny and Dorothy Stevens (Hazel's sister). Don and the kids leave after Ronette eats dinner and stay the night at home to get rested.
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Grandpa Dave gets real cozy with Hudson. (9/10/2005)
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Grandma Chris enjoys the new family addition. (9/10/2005)
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A picture worthy of framing. (9/10/2005)
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We must say, he has a beautiful face! (9/11/2005)
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A nice family photo with Great Grandma Hazel (Grammie), Grandpa Ron and Grandma Sharon. (9/11/2005)
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Hudson gets to try on his own clothes for the first time. (9/11/2005)
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Hudson is fixated upon Brenna as she read him his first book, Papa Small. (9/11/2005)
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A tender kiss from an older brother. (9/11/2005)
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A very alert baby.(9/11/2005)
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Friday, September 9, 2005
Everything seemed to go better than we could have possibly asked or prayed for. Although Ronette's surgery was scheduled for 4:30pm, Dr. Linzey became very busy delivering two sets of twins today! Therefore, we had to wait a little over an hour more before she was moved to the operating room to be prepped. Don was allowed to come in shortly before 6:00pm...and just a few minutes later our new baby was out and giving a healthy cry!
We are so very grateful for the physical and spiritual care Dr. Linzey gave us. As other patients of his already know, he spends time praying with you for the baby and the delivery. This gave Ronette some much needed assurance before she was rolled into the operating room.
Ronette was also blessed in two other ways. First, Caroline Price, a friend from our old church and a labor and delivery nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital, was able to be there for us. She took wonderful care of Ronette the whole time. This was a great comfort. We greatly appreciate the effort she went through to try and be Ronette's nurse. The second blessing came when Ronette was placed in the operating room and she overheard Caroline say, "Go ahead and ask Dr. Kojian to scrub in." Well, Dr. Bedros Kojian, the man who assisted Dr. Linzey, was the doctor who delivered Jordan at this same hospital 13 years ago! This was a special treat since Ronette really loved Dr. Kojian but had to stop seeing him when our health insurance had changed.
Shortly after the birth Ronette was moved to the recovery room. Her dad and step-mom came to the hospital bringing Jordan and Brenna. Don, Ronette, Jordan, and Brenna prayed over this new blessing, thanked God for His goodness, and asked for a consensus on a name. We all agreed on Hudson Maclain Bakke. Obviously "Hudson" didn't come out of thin air...it was on our short list but we committed not to choose a final name until he was born. "Maclain", on the other hand, had been chosen some time ago knowing that we wanted a middle name that began with the letter "M". Ronette has always like that name and everybody else thought it was great too.
Afterwards, Ron and Sharon visited for a little while and were able to hold the baby. Eventually Ronette was moved to a private room in the mother/baby unit of the hospital. We were surprised that a private room was available since there had been so many births that day. But once again the Lord provided for us. After Ronette got settled into her new room, Ron and Sharon took the kids back to their house to stay overnight.
So far Ronette and Hudson are bonding very well. She has been able to nurse him without too much difficulty...a real blessing since he is the first baby that Ronette has been able to nurse. He doesn't fuss or cry much at all until you change his diaper or move him around a lot. Our nurses in the mother/baby unit have been very nice and helpful as well.
We know that many people, local and abroad, have been praying for us. It is so exciting to share in the joy with all of our family and friends who co-labored with us to pray for God's best in this. We are indebted to all of you. More news will be posted as we are enabled to do so. Until then, we will leave you with the following...
"Day 1 -- Still tired from the move.
Day 2 -- Everybody talks to me like I'm an idiot."
(Comedian Steven Wright - pretending to read from his diary when he was a baby)
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One of Hudson's first pictures...not quite clean yet. (9/9/2005)
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Ronette and Hudson being transported to the recovery room. (9/9/2005)
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Our first family photo. (9/9/2005)
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A very proud papa! (9/9/2005)
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Brenna is already learning to watch over her little brother. (9/9/2005)
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Jordan loves Hudson...he can't wait to teach him everything he knows! (9/9/2005)
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Grandpa Ron gets to connect with his newest grandson. (9/9/2005)
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Grandma Sharon is all smiles with this one. (9/9/2005)
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Ronette and Hudson make their first eye contact. (9/9/2005)
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Leading Up to the Due Date...
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Ronette at 36 weeks. As we like to say, "Whoa baby!" (8/27/2005)
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Ronette at 38 weeks. Today is the big day! (9/9/2005)
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Ronette at 16 weeks. The journey is still early yet.... (4/12/2005)
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Ronette at 28 weeks. So close and yet so far.... (7/4/2005)
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Ronette at 32 weeks. This is when she always says, "The first 32 weeks feels like 32 weeks and the last 8 weeks feels like 32 weeks." (7/31/2005)
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Nemo's First Pictures
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Baby's first ultrasound at 9 weeks. Yes, there's a real baby in there! (2/18/2005)
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Baby's second ultrasound. This was taken only one week after the first ultrasound because the nurse was unable to find the heartbeat. (2/24/2005)
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Baby at 19-1/2 weeks...it's a boy! Now we have 20 more weeks to pick out a name. (5/2/2005)
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Our Latest Arrow
God's providence and purposes are indeed a wonderful thing. Within three months of saying goodbye to our sweet little Katherine, Ronette discovered that she is once again pregnant. Without a doubt, we are absolutely excited and grateful for another blessing. However, we must admit that we were somewhat surprised and a bit unprepared for the news...as awesome as it was. First, we had only begun discussing our plans for continuing to grow our family. Second, we were still convinced that Ronette's pregnancy with Katherine was an exception to her infertility rather than the rule. Third, we had not yet found a new health insurance that would provide better coverage for pregnancies. Finally, we were still waiting to hear if our previous hospital and physician bills (totaling nearly 1 million dollars) were going to be covered by the state agencies. We were truly being tested to put our trust in Him!
As always, He has proven Himself to be faithful beyond our expectations. At the beginning of March, we received notification that Medi-Cal and CCS had approved all of our medical bills with no out-of-pocket. Praise the Lord! In April, our company was approved for group health insurance with Blue Cross. In addition to various corporate and employee benefits this provided, it also gave us the ability to have reliable and comprehensive coverage for pregnancies, deliveries, and any contingencies.
While we would have loved to attempt another home birth, it was our conviction that this would not have been the healthiest decision for us at this time. There are several factors that went into this decision. The most prominent is the fact that Ronette's previous cesarean will not have had an optimum time to heal and the prospect of this baby being born "on time" and with no intervention seems very unlikely. Therefore, Ronette is under the care of a very well loved OB/GYN, Dr. Michael Linzey. We know that Ronette is carrying a boy, but we have decided to wait until he is born before we choose a name. Until then, we are affectionately calling him "Nemo". This doesn't seem to agree with all of our family members however...
Our hope is that once again everyone will join is in praise and prayer for the new gift God has given us. Little "Nemo" is due September 23rd.
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