Ebenezer 2006 — A Gavin is Born!

Hallelujah! Blessed man, blessed woman, who fear God,
Who cherish and relish his commandments,
Their children robust on the earth,
And the homes of the upright—how blessed!
Their houses brim with wealth
And a generosity that never runs dry.
Sunrise breaks through the darkness for good people—
God’s grace and mercy and justice!
The good person is generous and lends lavishly;
No shuffling or stumbling around for this one,
But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.
Unfazed by rumor and gossip,
Heart ready, trusting in God,
Spirit firm, unperturbed,
Ever blessed, relaxed among enemies,
They lavish gifts on the poor—
A generosity that goes on, and on, and on.
An honored life! A beautiful life!
Someone wicked takes one look and rages,
Blusters away but ends up speechless.
There’s nothing to the dreams of the wicked. Nothing.

Psalm 112

Gavin, our little White Hawk, made his world debut in an entirely different way than his brother. Instead of inducing at 37 weeks, the docs thought we could wait until 39 weeks and 3 days. And while that was a little stressful for this mommy in those final weeks, all was well. I had quite a bit of “practice labor” — a totally new experience for me! You might have seen us marching around the park or Walmart that Spring trying to coax him out. But he wasn’t going to budge, that’s for sure.

You all who have more than one child know that the second (or third or nth) time you introduce a new family member, the process is familiar but much more complex. We read about being a brother with Isaac. We talked about how we’d have to take care of this new little life in the same way that Mommy and Daddy took care of him. Lots of cuddling and nursing. All of us needed the reminder that the ‘sooner you help a crying baby, the sooner he stops crying.’

I reviewed the upcoming blessed event over and over with Isaac to the point that he’s still talking about it — even with strangers (a.k.a. mall Santas or any friendly person at the Playplace). He repeats: “This is my bruhver, baby Gavin. He was in my Mommy’s tummy. But then she went to the ‘hosapital’ and had a lot of contraptions. And he came out! And then he had papoo.”

The birth wasn’t quite as simple as Isaac says. Gavin was sunny side up. And he, like both his parents and his grand-dads, has a . . . uh, very large square head. You can see our OB explaining as much as he gloves up for the blessed (and forceped) event. 3 hours of hard pushing and a big pair of salad tongs and a nearly 4th-degree epi later, our Gavin was born. And that little trooper was holding his head up before we left the delivery room!

Our babymoon was also a new experience for me. He got to stay in the room with me. He nursed like a champ right away. He slept in my arms. And we all went home as soon as they’d allow (which, I’m convinced, is only after you’ve signed every paper they can dream up).

As my brother has commented before, God used Gavin to heal us even further. I could relax. He was okay. I was okay. I made slings galore! Who cares what people think, right? And that easy-going joy oozes out of every pore. He dances. He sings. He runs. He jumps. He prays!! He devours vegetables. He really lives like the Psalm that Pastor used in his dedication: heart ready, trusting in God, spirit firm, unperturbed. I needed that reminder of child-like confidence in Christ for the year to come.

So there in our arms was this beautiful, snuggly monument to robust, unfazed, happy confidence in God.