Introducing: Our Hope Baby

Hope is one of those tricky concepts.  It isn’t something tangible that you can grasp, or learn its texture with your fingertips, or tuck away in your pocket to use on a later date.  And despite its lack of physicality, it requires you to drop a lot of things before you can mentally scoop it up and absorb how necessary it is.  We are so profoundly excited that we get to share this post of introducing our H-G Hope Baby.  This little dude brought us to our knees as we begged for the pregnancy to keep, as we prayed that he be healthy, as I struggled with my body to just hold together as he grew and grew… There is nothing quite like a loss to make you realize how a full-term pregnancy is a miraculous occurence.

 

At the height of labor, I remember staring up at the hospital ceiling wondering if I was ever going to get our little baby out.  The pressure was intense, and my mind was tabulating how far we had come only for that moment to slow down to a stand-still.  I stared hard at those grayish white ceiling tiles and said out loud, “God help me” – not in a flippant way, but in a true, desperate call to God because I wasn’t sure I could finish the task in those final moments.

 

But then he arrived, and he was laid on my chest – crying and goopy and gloriously alive and wonderful.  And I sobbed, holding him while rocking back and forth with Brad’s arms around us and I whispered, “thank God, thank God, thank you God he’s here.”  All of that anticipation, prayer, and growing amount of hope had led to this moment, and it was such a relief.  We could let go of the uncertainties and anxiety, and embrace this tiny being who had finally joined our family.

 

It is with our greatest pleasure that we now introduce our youngest child, who has filled us with hope and joy:

 

Cormac Elijah, born just a few hours past midnight on February 7, 2016

 

And now, a ridiculous amount of photos of our first two weeks together:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those who like to pull out familial resemblances, this might help:

 

 

Thank you to so many people who prayed for this child, who supported us through the really really tough stuff, and who celebrated each step that got us closer to meeting Cormac.  We could not have stayed standing without you lifting us up in so many ways.

 

And just to add a smile to your face, here are some smiles from Cormac at one week old:

 

With oodles of love,

~Maggie, Brad, Quincy, Eloise, & Cormac