Thundering Herd!

I have anxiously been awaiting for James to be old enough to join a AHFSH soccer team and the time has finally come. One of the other mothers graciously organized the whole team so that the kids could be on a team with all of their friends from school, and her awesome husband agreed to be coach for the team as well. We have soccer practice every Wednesday evening and we had our first soccer game last Saturday. We didn't do the greatest (lost 12-1, but who's keeping score ;-)), but the kids had an absolute blast. I am really looking forward to the future games and for James to be in soccer with his buddies for years to come.

James going in for a goal at practice

my little soccer player

James with some of his buddies before the game 

in the action

Swimming Lessons Success!

So I've been trying to get James to swim on his own for a couple of years now. I put him in swimming classes through various programs and we still couldn't get him to swim unassisted (without a pool noodle or floaties). We tried everything and he just didn't have the confidence to swim without something to help him. I had heard about a woman in our area that had the children swimming by the third day of lessons. She has a slightly unconventional way of teaching which is not for the faint of heart. She literally throws the children in and forces them to swim on their own. There is a lot of crying and screaming, but in the end they are swimming completely on their own and with full confidence. I was willing to try anything to get James swimming so I signed him up for her classes and even though he did quite a bit of crying, he was fully swimming on his own at the end of the first class. Now he is completely fearless when it comes to swimming and absolutely loves it. If you need a great swim teacher check out Diana Perry from Good Swim. She teaches all ages and they are 2 week classes for 30 minutes a day. She is amazing! Here's some pictures and videos of my little fish!

Coming home

So after a couple of days at the hospital, they determined both myself and Jackson were safe to go home. We were very excited to get home and sleep in our own comfy bed and have our whole family together again. James had been staying staying with my parents and was anxious to get home as well. Of course there was part of me that was nervous, because at the hospital I know if Jackson has a problem they are there to take care of it, but it was time for us to head home and take on the responsibilities on our own.

All ready to go home

He barely fits in the car seat!

At home at last!

Jackson Mitchell has arrived!

I am thrilled to announce that our little bundle of joy has made his grand entrance. We were originally scheduled to be induced on Tuesday, August 27th, but when we went in for our last OB appointment on Thursday, August 22nd my doctor decided we should go ahead with the induction. Jackson had previously been breached (head-up) at our last appointment so when my doctor saw that he was no longer breach, she decided it would be best to induce earlier to avoid him flipping over again. We were admitted into the hospital at 10:30 am on August 22nd and we started the induction around noon on that day. Jackson was still very high up in my uterus and I had barely dilated 1 cm, so we got my IV in and started the pitocin drip (the drug used to induced labor). Since we were starting from what they call "scratch", it was going to be a very long labor. I was still positive and hopeful that we would have him before midnight...yeah, not so much. The contractions didn't really start to get strong until after my water was broken at around 6 pm. Within an hour or so I received my epidural and settled in for a LONG night. After a very long labor (17-18 hours to be precise) we were finally ready to have the baby. At 5:10 am or so the labor and delivery nurse came in to check my progress and we were at 10 cm. She had me begin to push and sure enough it was time. She called the other nurses and my doctor and it was go time. I was mentally and physically exhausted after such a long labor, but also extremely excited to meet my new little boy. After about 6 or 7 pushes and less than 10 minutes Jackson made his debut. Jackson was born at 5:23 am on August 23rd, weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches long. I anxiously waited to hear him cry and when I did it was music to my ears. He was beyond perfect and I was overjoyed that I was able to experience the "Golden Hour" with him. That is the first hour after birth that mama and baby get to spend together before they take him to the nursery to check him out and clean him up. I was unable to experience that with James because he had come out with the cord around his neck and he wasn't breathing, so he had been whisked away to the NICU immediately. It was such a wonderful bonding time and I am absolutely in love all over again. Here are some of Jackson's first pictures as he came into the world:

My first time holding my little guy

My precious baby boy

After our "golden hour" Jackson was taken away to the nursery to be cleaned up and checked out. We got some rest and waited to be taken to our postpartum room. Once in our new room we anxiously awaited for Jackson to be brought to our room. That was when we found out he was placed in the transitional nursery, which is where they are taken before they are admitted to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). His oxygen levels were a little lower than they liked so they wanted to keep an eye on him. I was devastated and beyond scared for my little boy. It was like when we had James all over again. We went to visit him in the transitional nursery and they said he was looking better but they wanted to keep him there for a few hours to make sure everything was good. We were thrilled when he was brought in to our room a few hours later. The next couple days were nothing but a whirlwind. Since it has been nearly 5 years since we had a newborn, it was as if it was our first time with a newborn baby. We are so overjoyed with the new addition to our family and although it has definitely been a difficult transition, it is most definitely worth all of the short tempers and sleepless nights. I can't wait to watch him grow into a little boy and enhance our wonderful family that much more.

Look at those chubby little cheeks!

James holding his baby brother

I don't look the best, but here's my beautiful family

First Day of School

I have been so preoccupied with my new little man that I haven't had any time to blog. I wanted to make sure I posted a picture of James on his first day of school. This is his last year of preschool...next year he will be heading to Kindergarten. That is still hard for me to believe! I am working on my blog post for Jackson's birth story and hope to post it soon. I completely forgot how much time a newborn preoccupies and how exhausting it truly is. I guess I'm not surprised since it has been almost 5 years since I've had one. It's completely worth it, but it definitely leaves me with little "me" time. I'm getting the hang of the schedule and hopefully things will be getting easier soon. Any way, this was supposed to be about James' first day of school! Here's a pic of my big boy!