Welcome to the World!

Here I am at 39 weeks, 2 days, thinking that my body just doesn't know how to go into labor on its own.

And here I am at 39 weeks, 5 days in the middle of a contraction. Somehow, my body did it! I meant to get a  picture of the natural birth suite at the hospital to show how nice and wonderful it was, but it just didn't happen.

Jackson (Jack) David Stine was born Friday November 18 at 9:45 in the morning. At 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 1/2 inches long, I wish my body could have done it a little earlier, but everything turned out fine and we are just so happy to have Jack with us now! Everything about this pregnancy was different than my pregnancy with Skye so it makes sense that this labor and delivery was different, too. With Skye, Lance or my mom were by my side pretty much every second, holding my hand, coaching and reminding me of my breathing and relaxing. This time, it was a pretty casual event. Lance and I walked around, he napped in the chair of the hospital room while I soaked in the tub and half the time barely noticed my contractions that were pretty easy and painless--that is until my midwife finally broke my water. For about ten hours, my contractions were totally inconsistent and not really going anywhere so she broke my water and then things got pretty rough. There's a big difference between pushing out a 7 1/2 pound baby and this big guy when you're doing it all natural! One thing is for sure, I wouldn't have been able to do it without my wonderful husband there. It's an amazing experience to go through with him! I was also happy my mom was able to make it just in time as well. After about 45 minutes of hard pushing, Jack came into the world!

Isn't he beautiful? I know you're probably not supposed to say boys are beautiful, but I think he is a beautiful baby! 

Skye loves her new little brother. She was really sad she couldn't stay with him at the hospital Friday night.

Cookie (grandma) with Jack.

Uncle Trav holding Jack.

Here he is just before we came home from the hospital. He is a really good baby. He's really mellow and good-natured. At the hospital, we weren't even sure he knew how to cry. He slept through his heel getting poked and squeezed for blood and the pediatrician who performed his circumcision said he barely noticed; that he was a tough little guy. Since getting home, we've discovered he does have a set of lungs, but he's still mellow and likes to sleep a lot!

So far, Skye loves to kiss Jack, rub his head, sing and read to him. She is a really great helper.

A cute little guy!