Caedmon Michael Irwin
(pronounced Kade-mun)
Born: May 11, 2010
at 4:00pm
Weighing in at 8lbs 9oz
with a length of 20 1/4 inches
Dark brown hair
Hazy blue eyes
...and the cutest little nose you've ever seen!
Everyone in the Irwin Clan is doing fantastic,
and his family is pretty smitten with him!
The birth went fantastically (and fiercely fast!), starting at 2:45pm
and ending with Caedmon's arrival into the world at 4:00pm.
Caedmon was born 'in the caul', or a 'caulbearer', meaning with his birth bag intact,
which is a very rare occurrence, thought by many to have very special meaning...
some believe it to mean a 'caulbearer' will be especially wise,
and may have the gift of prophetic visions/dreams and/or the gift of healing.
We chose his name for a few reasons...
-Caedmon is an Irish name, meaning 'wise warrior'.
We especially liked this meaning, hoping he will be someone who will always fight for our Heavenly King and always desire to protect his family. We pray he will also have the gift of Wisdom. (Perhaps there may be Truth in the beliefs about the kind of birth he had, being born 'in the caul'!)
-Here's a little info about Saint Caedmon:
"St. Caedmon (d. c. 680) is the first known poet of the vernacular in English. He is thought to have been a Celt, who was already old at the time he came to Whitby to tend the animals. Too shy to join in the communal singing after meals, he slipped out to work with the animals. One night, according to Bede, Cædmon fell asleep and had a vision in which he learned a hymn; when he awoke, he knew the song and could recite it perfectly. After his performance, Hilda urged him to become a monk. Cædmon remained illiterate but retained his ability to versify. He listened to the lessons the monks read and reworked them into English verse, which made the Scripture accessible to the laity. His verse form is said to have been the traditional, oral form of the Anglo-Saxons. His only surviving poem is the "Hymn of Creation," the poem he learned in his dream."
-taken from: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=909
If you would like to read a delightful story with more info about St. Caedmon, check out this link:
http://oce.catholic.com/index.php?title=Caedmon%2C_Saint
Here is the only surviving poem intact, St. Caedmon's "Hymn of Creation":
Now we should praise the heaven-kingdom's guardian,
the measurer's might and his mind-conception,
work of the glorious father, as he each wonder,
eternal Lord, instilled at the origin.
He first created for men's sons
heaven as a roof, holy creator;
then, middle-earth, mankind's guardian,
eternal Lord, afterward made
the earth for men, father almighty.
(No explanation necessary, why we thought this Saint would be a rather cool 'patron saint' for our little guy!)
