Eighteen years ago today, I gave birth to a baby boy named Jack. It was a sunny Fall day and he was already a week overdue. Sick of my whining, my Doctor told me to come to his office early that morning and he’d break my water. Then I could walk next door to the hospital and say “My water broke!” and they’d have no choice but to admit me. Many hours, contractions, an IV of Pitocin, an epidural, a knotted umbilical cord and ultimately a c-section later, he arrived, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds and 1 ounce. After the fog of Demoral subsided, I held him in my arms and fell in love.
I remember our first night at home. He was asleep in the little white bassinet next to my bed and there I lay. Wide awake, my mind racing. “What if I’m doing something wrong? I don’t know what I’m doing. What if he stops breathing? He hasn’t had a lot of practice at that. What was I thinking? Why did they let me bring him home?!”
Eventually, the panic subsided and I was resigned to the fact that I would never, ever sleep again.
There have been many milestones, firsts, birthdays, laughter, tears, hugs and sleepless nights. Jack is now and has always been a joy. He has grown into a sweet, responsible, and loving young man. Sure, he’s still a teenager, but he’s mine.
We used to play Power Ranger action figures when he was little. I always had to be the Girl Power Rangers – the Yellow and Pink ones. Jack wanted the boy Power Rangers to ‘save’ them from the bad guys. I always made sure that the girls saved themselves or at least did as much fighting as the boys. When he was a little older, we’d put his baby sister down for a nap and sneak off to create elaborate Lego buildings or entire towns, complete with characters and stories. We read the Harry Potter books together. I taught him to drive at 15. Now, we watch scary movies or old classics together.
He used to stand on the staircase a few steps above me and say ‘Look, Mommy! Someday I’ll be taller than you - like this!”. Sure enough, he’s about 6’3” and has to bend down to hug me.
Happy Birthday, Jackson Everett Baldwin! Once upon a time we were young together. Thank you for making me a Mommy and for always taking the time to play with me. You are a blessing and I love you!
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Eighteen years ago today, I gave birth to a baby boy named Jack. It was a sunny Fall day and he was already a week overdue. Sick of my whining, my Doctor told me to come to his office early that morning and he’d break my water. Then I could walk next door to the hospital and say “My water broke!” and they’d have no choice but to admit me. Many hours, contractions, an IV of Pitocin, an epidural, a knotted umbilical cord and ultimately a c-section later, he arrived, weighing in at a whopping 9 pounds and 1 ounce. After the fog of Demoral subsided, I held him in my arms and fell in love.
I remember our first night at home. He was asleep in the little white bassinet next to my bed and there I lay. Wide awake, my mind racing. “What if I’m doing something wrong? I don’t know what I’m doing. What if he stops breathing? He hasn’t had a lot of practice at that. What was I thinking? Why did they let me bring him home?!”
Eventually, the panic subsided and I was resigned to the fact that I would never, ever sleep again.
There have been many milestones, firsts, birthdays, laughter, tears, hugs and sleepless nights. Jack is now and has always been a joy. He has grown into a sweet, responsible, and loving young man. Sure, he’s still a teenager, but he’s mine.
We used to play Power Ranger action figures when he was little. I always had to be the Girl Power Rangers – the Yellow and Pink ones. Jack wanted the boy Power Rangers to ‘save’ them from the bad guys. I always made sure that the girls saved themselves or at least did as much fighting as the boys. When he was a little older, we’d put his baby sister down for a nap and sneak off to create elaborate Lego buildings or entire towns, complete with characters and stories. We read the Harry Potter books together. I taught him to drive at 15. Now, we watch scary movies or old classics together.
He used to stand on the staircase a few steps above me and say ‘Look, Mommy! Someday I’ll be taller than you - like this!”. Sure enough, he’s about 6’3” and has to bend down to hug me.
Happy Birthday, Jackson Everett Baldwin! Once upon a time we were young together. Thank you for making me a Mommy and for always taking the time to play with me. You are a blessing and I love you!
5 comments:
Jana, what a wonderful post! You have lasting bond with Jack that will only grow has he gets older.
A lovely birthday gift for Jack. Thanks for sharing your memories.
what a beautiful post! I hope Jack prints it out and treasures it forever!
How beautiful! Jack's lucky to have you for a mommy.
How wonderful. That made me cry. I also love my son so much. Jack is a very handsome, lucky young man.
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