He's Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stafford Daulton Stacy is finally here!!! YAY! Actually, I'm a little late on posting and he's been here for 15 days so oops...forgive me! He is the most absolute perfect thing in all the world and we are totally in love with him. I went in for my c-section on Wednesday, September 21st. Stafford was born at 7:25 am, weighed 6 lbs 5 oz and was 20 inches long. He has a head full of straight, dark hair and the longest toes you've ever seen! He is 100% perfection!

The delivery process was great although we did have a little bit of a situation when Stafford was born though. After he was born, he had to go to the nursery for 4 hours to be monitored (standard protocol for all babies) and the nurses noticed that he was panting/breathing a little fast. Come to find out, he had some amniotic fluid in his lungs that wasn't absorbed yet. The neonatologist told me this was a common occurrence in c-section babies and that it would take around 3 days for the fluid to absorb but Stafford had to be moved into the NICU to be monitored while we were in the hospital. OMG. This was the hardest thing I've ever dealt with because I couldn't have him in my hospital room the entire time I was there. AWFUL. All I wanted was to hold my sweet baby...they did let us visit the NICU as much as we wanted, though, and we were able to hold him, feed him, change him, etc. while he was in there. Needless to say, I was SO HAPPY when they told us that he (and I) would be able to go home that Sunday. Bringing Stafford home was amazing...I don't think Reed or I put him down for a solid 24 hours! Thank you, Lord, for answered prayers and a healthy baby...we are so thankful for our little guy!! Below are some pictures of his birthday:

daddy is in love with this little guy

look at those big feet and long toes!!

my precious angel...so perfect!!

FIVE DAYS

Whoa. Five days is all that we have left until Stafford makes his appearance...this is CRAZY! I feel like I say this over and over again but I really cannot wrap my head around how fast these past 38 weeks have gone. I've decided that time moves way too quickly the older you get and I have a feeling that it will really move once Stafford is here. One day we have a newborn and the next he's graduating from college....YIKES!

This week marks my last full week of work. I've spent the week getting my desk and files organized, attending to a few, remaining housekeeping matters, etc. Right now, the plan is to take 8 weeks off from work which I think will be more than enough time. I have a small feeling that I will be ready for some adult interaction after 8 weeks at home!!

This week also marked my LAST doctor's appointment!! She just went over the basic stuff with me regarding my c-section, what to do/not to do, etc. I also had a sonogram and Reed & I were able to see our sweet baby! The sonogram tech checked everything imaginable at this appointment: his internal organs, his spine, his extremities, my levels...EVERYTHING! She said that everything looked healthy, normal and the way that it should so we are very thankful for that! It was really hard to get a good picture of him since he's grown so much from my last sonogram (at 28 weeks). We did get to see his precious little (that looked kinda big!) feet, his long legs and his HAIR! I was really excited about that hair! I cannot wait to see if it will be light or dark, curly or straight...so fun! She also estimated that he's weighing around 6 lbs 10 oz right now and that he probably wouldn't be over 7 lbs when he's born next week.

This is more than likely going to be my last post until Stafford is here SO stay tuned for fun pictures to come...oh, and GO REBS!

Soccer Star

On Monday, Reed and I went out to watch our nephew, Ryan, play soccer. This is Ryan's first year to be on a soccer team and he loves it! It is so much fun watching these precious 3-4 year olds play because it really is hysterical. Ryan loves a cheering section and will run by and smile at you saying "look, I'm doing it." HA! He doesn't pay too much attention to the ball or scoring a goal for that matter which makes it all the more fun to go watch him. Yes, sometimes tears are shed and there is confusion on which goal actually goes to the correct team but hey, it's all in good fun! Below are a few pictures from Ryan's game...isn't he the CUTEST?!!

taking a break

checking in on his fans

action shot

SCORE!!!

Celebrating Good Times

Shockingly, I've been a little behind on getting my pictures downloaded from my camera so I'm a little late in posting pictures of the fun celebrations that I've been a part of the past few weekends. Back in the latter part of August, I drove to Oxford to celebrate the wedding of Lauren McFall and Denson Hollis. They are such sweet people and friends that I've known for years (thank you Ole Miss). Lauren is PRECIOUS and one of my absolute favorite people ever! Their wedding was gorgeous and so much fun! Congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Denson Hollis...I hope that you two have a wonderfully blessed life together...full of love, laughter and happiness!

The first weekend of September always brings two things: Ole Miss football and my dad's birthday! Reed and I went to Oxford for Labor Day weekend to celebrate my dad's birth AND a Rebel win (that resulted in a loss). Even though the Rebs lost, we had a great time celebrating with my family! We had a fun dinner on Friday night, lots of Grove time on Saturday and good family fun on Sunday before we headed back to Jackson. Happy Birthday DAD! We love you very much!!

me with the beautiful bride

mr. and mrs. denson hollis


happy birthday dad!!!

the best birthday cake i've ever seen...

And On The 12th Day Came....

STAFFORD DAULTON STACY!!! I cannot believe that Reed and I have only 12 days to go until we meet our son. This is so crazy to me for more reasons that one...mainly, though, because this pregancy has flown right on by! For the past few weeks, I've been going to the doctor every week. This week, I went on Wednesday. My doc said everything looked and sounded great...baby's heartbeat was in the 130s and my tummy was measuring as it was supposed to. She did say that next week (my last appointment before little man comes!) that she would do one last sonogram. Needless to say, I'm THRILLED because it has been ten weeks since we've seen this little guy! I'm guessing she'll get an approximate weight on him (I'm thinking he's small) and his position.

This weekend, we plan on staying home and cheering the Rebs on from our couch. I still have several things to wrap up with the nursery so I'm sure I'll be running around all day Saturday getting those tasks completed. Stay tuned!!

My Work Family

Last week, my work family threw me the sweetest baby shower! Stafford was showered with more goodies and necessities...he is really going to be all fixed up!! I absolutely love where I work and I have the nicest co-workers that anyone could ask for. They were all so sweet to organize this fantastic shower!! There were gifts galore, cake and even a crown!! Thank you everyone...I had such a great time and now Stafford is set!!

my diaper cake that nancy made...isn't it so cute?!!

with heather and anne harlan...

love his ole miss outfits...he's a rebel for sure!!

I'll Take One Ironman Please

Well, it's over...my husband is officially an IRONMAN!! Last weekend, Reed and I made the trek to Louisville, Kentucky for the Ford Ironman Louisville. This was Reed's first ever full Ironman. As you may recall, he has done three half-Ironmans and multiple local triathlons but never a FULL Ironman. An Ironman consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run...are you tired yet?!! Reed has been dreaming of completing an Ironman and has been training so hard for the past year...maybe longer! He has been so dedicated to training properly and doing his best. He would train twice a day during week days and do his long bike rides or runs on the weekends. I must say, I cannot be any prouder of him than I am right now. He constantly amazes me with his athletic abilities, dedication and drive to succeed in this sport.

The actual race was on Sunday, August 28th. This one was a little different in the swim aspect of the race in that the competitors didn't start according to their age group. It was a first come, first serve type of swim start where the earlier you got there to get in line, the earlier you got into the water. Reed was about the middle of the pack so I'm guessing he probably jumped into the Ohio River around 7:45 or 8 am. His swim time was 1 hour and 15 minutes...SO FAST! There was only one transition area (which was nice for me!) and it was near our hotel (even better!). There were shuttles that were available for the spectators and I jumped on one ASAP to head to La Grange to see him come through on the bike...the course had two loops (at mile 38 and mile 68) so I could see him twice!! After that, I jumped back on the shuttle and headed back to downtown Louisville and the transition area to see Reed come off the bike and head out for the marathon. The marathon was through the downtown area so it was nice to be able to see him several times and cheer him on! I then headed to the finish line and pushed my pregnant self up front so I could see him come across that line and hear the announcer say, "Reed Stacy, YOU are an Ironman!" It literally gave me chills to see it and I cryed my eyes out when he finished...definitely one of the most amazing experiences that I have ever experienced! I (selfishly) will gladly encourage Reed to train for these events and enter these races for the rest of his life if that's what he wants to do because seeing him finish was a feeling that I want to experience again!! It's AWESOME!! All-in-all, Reed was very happy with his overall time: 12 hours and 24 minutes!! He will definitely do one again in the future but will concentrate on smaller distance races next year. My husband is an IRONMAN!!!

downtown louisville, ky

in line for the swim start


2.4 mile swim in the ohio river

just off the bike, headed out for the marathon

crossing the finish line!!!!

12 hours and 24 minutes was all it took to become and Ironman!!