Sweet Baby James

James Rhys Haskin

Wednesday, July 14th

1:20pm

Named with love after his proud dad and maternal grandpa

7 pounds 8.2 ounces and 19 1/2" long
first photo with mom and dad
a very happy mommy cuddling her little guy, just hours old
so happy together

sleepy boys

I went into labor on my own around 3am and had the most textbook labor and birth imaginable. After having a lot of complications and being in labor for 2 1/2 days with Drew, I had a lot of anxiety about going through it again. With Drew, we had taken multiple birth classes and I had read a lot of books. Of course, being me, I had a neurotic birth plan that completely fell apart within hours. This time-no classes, no books, no plan-and it was great! I can't describe how different I felt after having such a great delivery and I really relied on that adrenaline rush in the days ahead.

From the start, Rhys has been a very laid-back little guy. He is a determined eater and a deep sleeper. When he is asleep, he is very asleep. When he is awake, he is very alert and observant. He is such a sweet cuddler and Russ and I just love holding onto him tight. Maybe we appreciate it so much since Drew is always on the move. Weighing just 10 grams less than his big brother did at birth, he is just his own perfect little self. We aren't quite sure who he looks like, although we think he might resemble his Uncle Bill. There might just be a little bit of me in this one:)

One of the happiest parts of our hospital stay was when Mimi brought Drew to visit for the first time. Wearing the quintessential Big Brother tee shirt, you could hear him shouting "No" at the nurses from down the hall. He barged into the room and climbed on the bed, yelling "It's a Rhys! He came out of the belly button!". Although he was a little clingy to Mommy and not as interested in Daddy, he was beaming from ear to ear. He brought flowers for Mommy and enjoyed pulling off the rose pedals and placing them on my belly. He brought an elephant for Rhys and we sang Happy Birthday to him. He also saw that Rhys feeds from the belly buttons ....apparently the belly button is a very important part of our bodies. Bribed with some ice cream, he left happily with Mimi and it was a great visit. My OB was able to get some great pics of the visit, so I will have to get those from him soon. My mom said that the only time she has ever seen me happier was on our wedding day:) I certainly did feel so blessed to be surrounded by all my boys......