*Contented, happy sigh* I was in the shower this afternoon and Margaret came in and she was crying so immediately I assume something bad but she says, “Can we go up to the hospital right away so I can hold the baby?” She had just got off the phone with Ben and Isabel and found out that they are moving her to a less intensive Intensive Care Unit and more family members get to hold her now. Of course we dashed up there lickety-split. We actually got there before they had even started moving her.
Margaret held her first, but I couldn’t stand it. I had to make sure I got to hold her, too. So I sat and held her for a long time then Margaret got another turn. A mere slip of a girl, she is a whopping 3 lbs 6 oz now. She was so light it was almost like you were holding an imaginary baby, except you could see her and look at her face. And is she ever strong. Wow! She threw her head back and stretched and looked just like somebody’s grumpy old grampaw (Not me, as I am a VERY YOUNG grampaw. I just wanted to throw that in, in case anyone was confused about that point.) and I could feel the strength in that tiny little package.
Ben and Isabel are going to be getting to feed her once a day now also. Yesterday she ate 18 CCs and today she ate 23! She is still fed through a tube down her nose at a rate of 10.5 CCs per hour. The developmental folks say this is a good, normal starting point as she is not supposed to be born until mid-February sometime. After a while they will feed her twice a day and just keep bumping that up, but they still don’t want her to burn up more calories eating than she takes in.
I looked at that baby I was holding and thought about the first time I held Ben and I felt awed by the magnitude and breadth of life. I kinda choke up thinking about it. When I first held Ben I remember thinking (You die-hard Trekkies will get this reference, but it’s true no matter if you are a Trekkie or not.)“The Human adventure is just beginning.” Now, when I looked into the little sleeping face laying there on my chest, the progeny of my offspring, if you will, I thought, “The Human adventure continues.” She took hold of the placket of my shirt just below the snap and held on with those ridiculously tiny fingers.
How can someone not believe in any sort of God at all? “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…” Psalms 14:1 Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Old Testament says, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God— , which we
render fool, signifies an empty fellow, a contemptible person, a villain. One who
has a muddy head and an unclean heart…” Sorry folks. The little person I held was not just the random happenstance of billions of molecules floating around that somehow congealed under a spark of lightning. The little person (all little people) I held was created by God.
Anyway, my heart is full of joy and light and good thinks and good things. A big Thank You to God for making this moment possible. And a thank you to you, my wonderful audience, for letting me share this moment of my joy with you.
As the Good Book says, “If someone’s rejoicing, make happy with them!”
But Carter’s still ugly and his feet still stink and he probably hides in his closet and drinks pepsi, too.
