Our son Isaac

Last Tuesday afternoon Janet had a doctor's appointment. She was just past her due date, but because of the potential size of the baby, the doctor wanted to induce and felt Janet coming into the hospital on Tuesday evening was a good idea, so that they could prepare her body to be induced the following morning. That was quite a shock to us, but we returned homed, finished packing bags and doing other things around the house, then headed to St. Mary's Hospital around 4:00pm.

When we checked in, Janet was hardly dilated. In fact, she'd been at the same place in dilation for weeks. The doctor administered drugs to soften her cervix for induction and we anticipated a rather uneventful evening; I even tried to find a Blockbuster Video so that Janet and I could watch movies while we waited. As the night wore on Janet became more and more uncomfortable. Her body was consistently and painfully contracting, but the contractions were sort of dismissed by the hospital staff as cramps-- a side effect of the medication. At 3:30 in the morning Janet just could not take the pain anymore and asked for an epidural in order that she might get some kind of sleep. That turned out to be a very smart request. Around 6:30, the nurses were going to give the medication for induction, but when they examined her, she was 7-8 centimeters dilated. That was a huge surprise!! The doctor came in and was very excited; she had told Janet many times that a "natural" delivery would be almost impossible and had really geared us to expect a c-section, but she also admitted her job was humbling and that she liked being wrong. Still, she had concern that the baby's head was too high. However, when she came back a few hours later, she examined Janet and said, "Uh, his head is right here... let's get ready to push." And push Janet did!!

In about 45 minutes Isaac left the warmth and protection and safety of the womb and slipped into this world in one of the most miraculous moments of my life. Nothing could have prepared me for the tremendous experience of watching my little boy's life begin. And nothing could have prepared me for the deep and abiding sense of love and respect and pride and joy for my wife. She is truly an incredible woman. And she will be an incredible mom. She is my heart and the purest reflection of Christ to me.

We had been praying fervantly that Janet would not have to have a c-section and that she would not have to be induced. That the Lord answered that prayer so specifically and thoroughly blessed us beyond words, and it was great to get to share with those we encountered in the hospital that He is faithful to answer the prayers of His children.

We named our son Timothy Isaac and call him Isaac. Timothy means: "one who honors God" and Isaac means: "son of promise, son of laughter". Our prayer for this precious lamb is that he will honor God with his life, bringing joy and laughter to the nations as he proclaims the marvelous grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

What you've been waiting for!

Well, the story of our little boy's birth is incredible, and I will try to write it out soon. But for now let me just take time to announce (to those of you who haven't read my parents e-mail:)) that our son, Timothy Isaac Hood, was born July 25th, at 11:46 in the morning. He weighed in at a chunky 9.9lbs and is 21 inches long. He is healthy and fat and the cutest kid in the world!!! See for yourself....

Mom and baby are doing great- Praise Jesus! And I'm doing just fine too:). Thanks again to so many of you who prayed with us through this sweet journey....

Overdue

Yesterday was the due date for the Hoodlet's arrival. But he made no appearance. Nor is he giving even the least bit of a sign that he plans on making an appearance anytime soon. Bless him. He's just too content to stay in his mama's tummy.

We have a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Hopefully that will shed some light on what's going on in there. Then tomorrow they will induce if nothing has changed. So we're thinking that no matter how he actually comes into this world, we're going to be holding our little boy in our arms by tomorrow evening. Many of you reading this blog have prayed so faithfully for him and for us, and we are very grateful. Please continue to do so in the days ahead.

Birthday Boy!

While we've been waiting for our little Hoodlet to arrive we celebrated the 3rd birthday of another little boy who is very special to us... our godson, Samuel.

Can you tell that he's a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan!?

This was his cake. If you were 3, and you had a cake this cool, wouldn't you think Jesus Himself had baked it for you!? I mean, cakes just don't get any cooler than this. Of course Samuel's parents had to talk to him for several days prior to the party about the reality of eating Thomas the Tank Engine. Yeah... he was okay with it:).

Baby's first bath

Check out our baby's first bath. Isn't he adorable!?! We told y'all he was big... like the size of a 3 month old. Okay, okay. I'm kidding. This isn't our baby at all. In fact, we have no idea who he is. Our friend Jonny B (who is just a tab bit on the crazy side) took a picture of the box our baby bath came in. It's amazing how life like he looks.

Our baby is still in the oven. Janet went back to the doctor yesterday, and there still isn't any new news. But we really are just fine with that and know he'll come in God's perfect timing. While we wait, there's still some "nesting" to be done, so Janet's got quite a long list going. I'm staying busy and out of the way....

This kid is big... but slow

Janet's due date isn't technically until July 23rd, but because the baby is bigger (he is now measuring 8.12 lbs.) and Janet is not, we thought surely he would come early. And he still might. He's so active sometimes it's as if he's already here.

Last Saturday night it really seemed like the Hoodlet was on his way. Janet started having contractions the evening before and all through the night and all day Saturday. After dinner the contractions were getting more painful and much closer together. We made sure the bags were packed, the van full of gas, and enough card games to last through 2-3 days in the hospital. Around 10:00 Janet's contractions were about 5-6 mins. apart. She called the doctor and we were told to come on into the hospital. So we did. Once we got there the stubborn little kid decided he wasn't going anywhere and the contractions spaced back out to 10-15 mins apart... then even longer. So we walked the halls of the hospital for a couple of hours, staring longingly at the sweet little bundles in the nursery and wondering when our little lamb would be in there. However, it seems not any time soon. We came home early Sunday morning and crashed into bed. I told Janet not to wake me up unless she was screaming in pain!

The contractions are still continuing. We had yet another doctor's appointment today and the doctor told us this period is called "latent labor". I think they sometimes make these names up on the spot to pacify anxious and annoying parents. Anyway, "latent labor" can last from hours to weeks depending on mom and baby. So... no baby... not yet. We did decide today, though, that if the baby doesn't come by the 23rd, we will induce on the 25th. That's seems like good news; at least we have some goal, other than eternity, in sight. I did ask the nurse if scheduling an induction was kind of like going to bathroom when you're waiting for a table at a restaurant. You know how that goes: you put your name on the list and the hostess tells you it'll be 30 mins. At about 10 mins you excuse yourself to the bathroom and return to find the rest of your party has been seated. It's magic. Maybe the same thing will happen with this delivery. Now that we're scheduled for an induction Janet has to go into labor any minute....

Prego... It's In There!

Janet has received multiple nicknames throughout pregnancy. She has sweetly smiled in response to some... physically winced in response to others. Prego was one of the "others". As you might imagine, that only tempted to me to use it more; I have way too much of my father in me. Anyway, here are some of my favorite Prego pictures of Janet....