The history behind the name...Brayden

Karis was almost a year old and we were loving being parents and were already ready for another child.  We had always wanted our children to be pretty close in age.  Being a teacher, we were trying for a summer baby.  And since Karis was a "surprise," we didn't know how long we would have to "try" before we got pregnant.  So, month 4 of trying, we found out we were pregnant (Karis was 13 months old).  On November 1, 2005, we took a test and because we thought we were seeing things...took another one the next morning.  We were delighted we were pregnant with baby #2!  God is so good!

Fast forward to week 20 the ultrasound.  For tradition sake (we did the same thing with Karis), we had the nurse write down the sex of the baby in a sealed envelope.  We took it to Shelby Farms after the appointment and opened it together, alone.  It was so much fun getting to anticipate and then to share that moment together.  So the nurse did as we asked and began checking all the vital organs as they routinely do.  It was so neat to look at that miracle on the screen!  After a very long ultrasound, she put the monitor down and looked at us and said, "The reason I have been looking so long in this area is that your baby has clubbed feet."  At that moment...although I was so glad there wasn't a much bigger problem....I was absolutely devastated.  You never can anticipate what a blow like that feels like...to think your baby is perfect and then to find out there is something "wrong."  I was sobbing uncontrollably (just so shocked I guess) and we both just sat there for the longest time, not knowing what to do or say.  A few minutes later (and after I had TRIED to stop crying), my mom and Jay's mom came in to see part of the ultrasound.  They immediately looked at my puffy and red face and said, "WHAT IS WRONG????"  I told them and they were so supportive, encouraging and uplifting.  It made me feel lots better.  However, I don't know why I was so shocked...Jay and I BOTH had clubbed feet!  And they say it is NOT hereditary...yea right!  But before walking in that day, that thought had NEVER crossed my mind.  Not to mention, it was definitely correctable.  I began to thank God for the precious life that was inside me and thankful that I was even pregnant at all!  We had to see lots of specialists to make sure it wasn't caused by some other complication and we soon found out that it was only clubbed feet; he was healthy.  

When we found out it was a boy, we started researching names and definitely wanted it to have some biblical meaning that related to his feet.  After much research, we were hooked when we saw the name BRAYDEN.  It meant "brave" and the verse that followed was Romans 10:15 which says, "How beautiful are the feet that bring good news!"  We knew instantly that it was of the Lord and then named him after his dad...Brayden James Lemonds.

Just to fill you in...once Brayden was born, only one of his feet ended up being clubbed, and he got a cast up to his thigh when he was only 14 days old.  He got a new cast every 5 days until he was 4 months old.  At 5 weeks he did have surgery to clip the tendon in the back of his foot so that they could start correcting the angle.  Although it was very time consuming to go to the doctor every 5 days and stressful at times (he couldn't have a real bath with these casts on and often pooped down into his cast and I was still working full time), we are thankful that it was so minor.  Today, he walks normally and we hope someday he will run really fast...he is WELL on his way!