Dashiell James was born on June 22, 2005, on a full moon and the first day of Cancer. The moon was a bright orange color and was strange-looking on our 15-minute drive to the hospital. After six hours of unmedicated labor (two of them in the hospital) and 35 minutes of pushing, he quickly came into the world at 5:23 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 10 ounces and had an Apgar score of 9! He was very vigorous, punching at the neonatal nurses, and when he was brought back to me, he latched on firmly and had his first meal. His big sister, Rosie, wanted to hold him when she came to visit and did a superb job of it. She just got very upset when the nurse came in to take "her" baby away for tests! She continues to adore him and is a wonderful big sister.
We were in the hospital for two days and then I came home with him for eight weeks before I went back to work. His Auntie M. was a great help! She came over almost every day and held Dashiell and helped me do chores around the house. We took Dashiell on walks and to my chiropractor visits (my back went out of alignment during his birth) and even took him to the pool! He went to Ethan V's third birthday party at four weeks old, and to Keri B's PhD party at six weeks. His own debut party was August 13th, 2005 and we celebrated with lots of AJS's barbecue and many guests.
Since he started at his childcare center, he has learned to flip over onto his belly (at eight weeks!) and has been laughing. He is a happy boy who smiles and coos often. We love him very much!
