Bloggerlife.blog

08/23/2025

Today’s blog

Lynn Murphy Mark

Moving toward number 8

A week from today marks a wonderful anniversary. My firstborn grandson, Cameron, will be eight years old. I will never forget August 30, 2017, as one of the happiest days of my life. It was an extra special occasion because I had been invited to be in the “room where it happened”. So I made my way to New Jersey around the 20^th of the month. I went that early because his due date was to be around the 20^th  well before the 30^th. By that time Jackie was carrying what appeared to be a fairly big load onboard. I don’t remember exactly what his original due date was, but it certainly didn’t stretch out to the end of the month!

So we spent a number of days after his due date trying to figure out what might start labor. I remember we were told that figs would do it, and assured that rhubarb was definitely a winning substance. Nope. We went for walks, trying to shake him loose. We even took a chance and visited a pretty lake in upstate New York. We thought maybe a long car ride would jostle the little guy. Thankfully that plan did not work either – somehow I can’t imagine delivering a baby on the side of a pretty lake, so I don’t know what we were thinking.

While we were waiting at home in New Jersey there was an eclipse on August 21, 2017. I have a picture of pregnant Jackie and expectant dad, Momoh, on their deck with cardboard boxes with pinholes in them on their heads. That works because it projects an image of the sun on to a nearby surface when one stands with the sun at one’s back. In my imagination, baby boy, whose name was not yet for publication, would be born during this auspicious occurrence. Nope.

We spent time admiring the baby’s room. Naturally, Jackie used her imagination to decorate the walls a light shade of green with a forest theme. The crib was assembled and included a huge stuffed bear from Jackie’s childhood. Mama Bear joined our household after I won some kind of contest years before. I want to say it was something Schnucks promoted, but I’m not sure of that. Anyway, she is a formidable stuffy who provides a sense of safety by her bulk. I don’t remember how Jackie wound up with Mama Bear in her possession, but she is still in the boys’ room.

We lived through a few episodes of Braxton-Hicks contractions at home. By that time we were wise to baby boy’s trickery. There is a big difference between those contractions and the real deal that signifies actual labor. On August 29 we made our way to the community hospital when it seemed like the right time. Because Jackie was beyond the due date, they started a Pitocin drip to help baby boy make that journey through a tight space into a bright room. Pitocin contractions are more painful, if that is possible. Jackie spent a long night mostly awake. My job was to provide occasional back rubs. Momoh and I took turns trying to make her comfortable.

Finally the culmination of labor arrived and Jackie was advised to push to move baby boy along. A head of curly black hair appeared. One last yeoman’s push and out came Himself. We were all crying tears of joy as the nurses presented him then whisked him to the warmer to weigh and measure this new treasure. Ten pounds, four ounces, and 22 inches (I think). The nurse with a great sense of humor handed him to Jackie, saying, “Congratulations! You’ve just given birth to a toddler!”

Momoh, who is usually quite the talker, was very quiet. He could not stop looking at his boy. “What’s his name?” was the next question. With all the suspense they could muster, the proud parents declared, “His name is Cameron!”. 

Cameron’s full name is Cameron Babaginda Momoh. Babaginda is a name that means “master of the house”. In Nigeria, which is half of Cameron’s heritage, names are deeply spiritual and are given to bring blessings or connect the child with a spiritual realm. They may reflect the circumstances around the baby’s birth. Having spent 10 days with his parents as we tried any means to induce labor, it is clear that baby boy was definitely in charge!