Happy "Hudson's
Birthday
Eve"!!
I can't even believe that I just typed that! This past week my little teeny (what I thought were pretend) contractions turned out to be actual real-life contractions! We had a "suspicious device" drill at school this past week where we had to walk our students what seemed to be a mile away from the school in case of an emergency. During the drill, there were police officers, state officials, etc. there watching us and monitoring how well we evacuated over 1,000 3-7 year olds. Everything was going fine until my class and I made it halfway to our evacuation point when a mega contraction hit. I grabbed the sides of my belly and tried so very hard not to make any crazy noises or look too incredibly distressed for the sake of my 21 first graders! My line leader looked at me and said, "Mrs. Miller, do you think it was the nachos you ate at lunch?" It's cute and funny 
now, but at the time all I could do was hold my breath, shake my head "yes" and let out a squeaky reply of "yep, that must be it!" The contraction passed and I prayed to God that I would not go into full fledged labor in front of my students let alone the whole school! Thankfully, another contraction was nowhere to be found...until after school! For the next few days more striking/painful contractions would creep up out of nowhere but would not be very consistent and never got too close together. I couldn't wait to go to my doctor's appointment to see what kind of progress little Hudson had in mind! I met Garrett at the doctor's office today to see what the big news would be. As I laid there on the exam bed, I looked at Garrett and began to cry. I truthfully couldn't believe that we had made it this far. The crazy thing was, even though I was so overwhelmed by happiness and thankfulness, at the same time...for the first time, I realized that this long awaited, much loved pregnancy really was coming to an end. Although I was beyond excited to meet Mr. Hudson, I couldn't shake the feeling of not wanting this pregnancy experience to be over. Strange, I know! How many full term pregnant women do you know that actually want to stay pregnant....I'm sure I'm the minority in this survey!
now, but at the time all I could do was hold my breath, shake my head "yes" and let out a squeaky reply of "yep, that must be it!" The contraction passed and I prayed to God that I would not go into full fledged labor in front of my students let alone the whole school! Thankfully, another contraction was nowhere to be found...until after school! For the next few days more striking/painful contractions would creep up out of nowhere but would not be very consistent and never got too close together. I couldn't wait to go to my doctor's appointment to see what kind of progress little Hudson had in mind! I met Garrett at the doctor's office today to see what the big news would be. As I laid there on the exam bed, I looked at Garrett and began to cry. I truthfully couldn't believe that we had made it this far. The crazy thing was, even though I was so overwhelmed by happiness and thankfulness, at the same time...for the first time, I realized that this long awaited, much loved pregnancy really was coming to an end. Although I was beyond excited to meet Mr. Hudson, I couldn't shake the feeling of not wanting this pregnancy experience to be over. Strange, I know! How many full term pregnant women do you know that actually want to stay pregnant....I'm sure I'm the minority in this survey!When our doctor came in and saw me crying (God bless her, she's sooo used to this scene by now!) she was surprised to learn that it wasn't because I was so very pregnant and mega uncomfortable! She was sure I would be soooo ready to be done at this point. I never ceased to amaze her throughout this whole process as she reminded me several times! As she checked out what was going on, she was all smiles as she said that I was 3cm dilated and nearly 100% effaced. Though still inconsistent, the contractions I was feeling were very much real...so real in fact, that our doctor was sure that I would be going into labor that night or within the next day!! WOW! Garrett and I looked at each other and knew this was really it. Garrett nearly jumped out of his skin out of excitement, me on the other hand, I was excited but soooo very nervous. The three of us decided that if Mr. Hudson didn't come that night, we would meet our doctor at the hospital the next morning to be induced.
An induction was the furthest thing away from my "perfectly planned" labor and delivery I had imagined. However, we decided this was the best plan of attack considering that our doctor that we have seen each and every time since the very beginning was going to be out of town this weekend and would not be here past Friday. Considering everything that we had been through during the past year, and how she has been the one and only doctor by our side throughout all of the happy and scary times - we knew we wanted her to be with us when Hudson finally made his big debut. All of the doctors that work along with her are all phenomenal but we truly felt as if she was a part of our family at this point and felt most comfortable knowing she would be with us. Sooo....let the race begin! We had a big group hug with our doctor and the nurses at the office - all of whom helped us to get to the finish line. Garrett and I walked out of the office hand in hand, smiling, crying, and with hearts pounding. This is it....we were really becoming parents.
After the initial shock hit us, we realized that despite having been ready for weeks, there was still so many things we wanted/needed to do to get ready for Hudson's big day! I called my mom on the way home from our appointment and you would have thought that she had just won the lottery! She could barely speak and when she did it hardly made any sense. She had been waiting for this call for a very long time and she knew that "operation baby" was now in progress. She immediately called Heather and synchronized their watches as their long awaited road trip was about to begin! Having her bags and car packed for several weeks, she was on her way to pick up Heather in Pittsburgh in no time at all.
We raced home and literally mapped out a game plan for the evening to make sure that we had everything we needed. Thankfully, Garrett's' mom and dad (Bubby and Pa) had arrived a week before and were here to help us. The house was clean, the laundry was done, our bags were packed, and Garrett and I were off to one last trip to Toy's R Us for a last minute little present to take to the hospital for Hudson. Even though his nursery is FULL of stuffed animals, books, etc. I felt the intense need to buy one last thing! lol Daddy found a 5ft long puppy that he felt Hudson needed for sure, however, Mommy talked him into a little blue hippo that seemed much more practical. Garrett was so super excited all night that he could barely speak in complete sentences.
We came home and finished up in the nursery. Garrett and Pa hung the oar that my dad refinished for Hudson's room and Bubby and I stocked the changing table with diapers and wipes. 40 weeks pregnant, the night before his birthday, finishing the nursery....and still I felt as if I were preparing for someone else's child. Everything felt so very surreal. I still couldn't fathom the idea of how we actually made it to this point. Here are some pictures of the "Hudson's harbor" room! We have a really sweet quote above Hudson's crib that says "A circle of strength and love...Our Family...founded on faith, joined in love, kept by God." It's hard to see the "our family " part in the middle because of the white letters. The pictures on his night stand are of Garrett and I when we were little.
I also included a picture of the painting our niece Charlie made for Hudson and a picture of his "coming home" outfit!
After saying, "goodnight" to Bubby and Pa, we did a final walk through of the house to check if we had missed anything and and we took our last pregnant profile pictures. Please refer to all of the above statements of extreme hormone/crying overload as you look at the profile pics! I think my anxiousness is stamped all over my red and swollen face!
As we turned out the lights before falling asleep we had our most wonderful and meaningful "heart to heart" that we've ever had over the past 11 years. We knew that after tonight our lives, our hearts, and our home would never be the same. It just seemed as though one minute we were going to the prom and Garrett was teaching me how to drive and suddenly we're grown ups having our first child!
After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, it was finally here....the day we would meet our son! My heart and my mind was swept away in a hurricane of hormones as I babbled on and on to Garrett about possible labor and delivery scenarios, my nervousness about the induction, and soooo much more. Finally, at some point, Garrett turned to me and said, "Dee, everything is in God's hands now, everything will be fine. Hudson is ready." Something about the calmness in his voice and the reassurance of his hug told me that he was right. After taking a deep breath, we put our hands on my enormous belly and told Hudson "goodnight" and told him how excited we were to finally meet him.
As I closed my eyes, it dawned on me that Hudson would be born one year to the day we were told that we had close to a 2% chance of ever having a child of our own. I smiled as I fell asleep knowing that all along God had a different answer for us. How blessed we truly are to have Hudson choose us as his parents. This time tomorrow I would see for the first time in my life what a miracle looks like.
