From 38 Weeks to a Family of Four!

Wow, how do I catch this blog up?

Four days after my last post, at 38 1/2 weeks, little James Elliot was born! I knew (and hoped) that James was coming soon, but didn't realize it would be that soon!

We've had all kinds of family and friends here to help, and now life has finally settled back to normal...though it's definitely a new normal! We'll be figuring out exactly what "normal" looks like for a family of four in the days to come!

My time on the computer has been reduced to snippets between feeding a newborn and dealing with a toddler, so here are the basics, and hopefully I can flesh it out more a little bit later!

James Elliot Norvell
Born August 31, 2010 at 11:15am
5lbs, 12oz
19 inches long

I went into labor on Monday and still managed to go to Bunko that night! My mom made it to the house by 10pm, our friend Debbie showed up at 4am to watch Caleb, and we headed to the hospital at 5am on Tuesday morning. Labor was WAY different than the first time. I knew it would be different, but I didn't realize HOW different. Contractions were completely manageable all the way to the point of pushing. And then pushing? Wow, that was a trip. Doing it naturally is insane. Not because of the pain, but because of the power. I had no idea I could push so hard, and it's now no wonder to me that Caleb needed vacuum extraction, because there's no way I was pushing that hard when he was born.

Anyway, after a whole 15 minutes of pushing, our little five-pounder was born!

It wasn't too many minutes later that we knew something was different about James. His features were different, and we now have a confirmed diagnosis of Down Syndrome. Thankfully (and perhaps miraculously), he was born perfectly healthy, with none of the heart or lung problems common to Down babies. We were able to go home within only 24 hours of James' birth!

A common question these days: How is Caleb doing?

Well...I think he's doing okay. I attributed any unusual activity to the terrible twos, but this past weekend Jon and I have realized that Caleb is definitely dealing with the arrival of his new brother. So far, he has not directed any animosity towards James, and only shows constant love and affection for him, showering him with kisses and hugs and offerings of milk from Caleb's sippy cup or perhaps a Cheerio. However, in other parts of Caleb's life (mainly naptimes), there has been a change. In the attempt to be in control of something, Caleb has mutinied naps and in the last couple of days become quite irrational and frustrated during the times he should be taking a nap. It turns out he's also been coming down with a cold or sinus infection of some sort, which hasn't helped matters. But all in all, Caleb is doing well and I think he will adjust in time.

So that's the quick update...haha! I just can't do anything quickly, can I? Here are the pics of the first couple of days...more to come later!