"The Boys"

We may be referred to as Brian, Erica, and "the boys". Brady and Cameron are off to a great start. Erica and I didn't quite know how Brady would react to his new brother. We figured at worst, he would be uninterested with Cameron. We prayed that he didn't get jealous that the baby was taking some of the attention he would be getting away.



As it turns out, Brady likes him very much. He goes over to him and pats him on the head, he makes faces at him, and he brings him toys. When Cameron starts to cry, Brady will run over and give him a binky, saying "its ok baby."



Included in this post are some pictures and two videos: One is Brady's first meeting with Cameron at the hospital, and the other is Brady pushing Cameron in his swing. He did this for about ten minutes this morning.

Cameron First Day Home

Cameron came home yesterday afternoon, and has had a pretty uneventful first 24 hours at home. He's done quite abit of eating, sleeping, and pooping.

Last night was not the best night for Cameron. He was up at 12:30, 3:30, and 5:30 for feedings.

I'll look forward to getting him on some type of a regular schedule (whatever that means) soon.

Which Stack is Which?

One of these pictures is Brady, one is Cameron. Can YOU tell which one is which?

The Birth of Cameron

Share our experience by viewing Cameron's birth story. Don't worry, it is rated "G".

Introducing Cameron James Stack

Cameron James Stack came into the world today, September 25, 2007, at 11:15 am in Derry, New Hampshire. Here is just a brief story of how it happened:

Erica and I arrived at Parkland Medical Center at 5:00pm yesterday, and they did a procedure to "ripen" her cervix. At 6:00am this morning, dilated at only 1 cm, they started Erica on Petocin. By 8:00am she was 2-3 cm and her water broke, shortly after that she measured in at 4 and 7cm respectively. Finally, at 11:05, the doctor measured her at 10 cm and told her she was ready to push. Ten minutes and three pushes later, Cameron was born!!!

At birth Cameron weighed 8 lbs 5 ounces, and was 20 inches long. He has been eating and sleeping very well. Erica is also doing well, despite some obvious pain and stitches. She said to me when it was over, "It was all worth it".

Today, we had visits from my parents, Erica's parents, my sister Alyssa, Erica's sister Shanna and her daughter Mackenzie, and our friend Elizabeth Maciver. We are expecting more people tomorrow, and then we will be heading home Thursday.

Brady spent the day yesterday and today with my parents. He will go to the hospital tomorrow with me, proudly wearing his "I'm a big brother!" T-shirt. Erica and I felt it would be best to wait for tomorrow so he can see mom a little more "healed", and it will give him a chance to start to cope with his changing life.

Erica and I took a 15 minute (G-rated) video of our birth story, which I will post on this site sometime in the coming days.

That's all for now!!!

It's almost time

TONIGHT!!!! at 5:00 we are going into the hospital to start the induction process. Pitocin will be started tomorow morning depending on how things go tonight. Brian's parents will be watching Brady tonight. It feels very differnt this time around having one little one already at home to worry about. I'm sure he'll be fine but just a little confused. A Special thank you to all who have helped us out or will be helping us out during this very busy time. We appreciate and love you all!!!

So any guesses when will the newest Stack be born?
Day, time
Hair color
weight/ height
anything else you may like to predict.
We'll try our best to keep everyone posted!

The End Is Near

Erica has been enduring a bad migraine headache since Friday. Today, the doctor had her come in to be checked, and he has decided to try an induction this week. So, the plan right now is as follows: Tomorrow (Monday) we will go to the doctor's office so he can check her cervix, and then we will go back for the induction either Monday night or Tuesday morning.

The end is near...

38 weeks 3 days and ready to be done

I remember being uncomfortable with Brady but I don't remeber being THIS uncomfortable. Leading me to believe that this child is going to be bigger than Brady. When we went 2 weeks ago they thought the baby was about 6.5 lbs. a baby at this stage in the pregnancy can gain .5 a week. Today was a weird day for me. I woke up feeling horrible, even called brian at work in tears telling him to c ome home. about 15 minutes later I called him back and said never mind I was fine. I've been nauseous all day and eaten a little at a time. I did get a sudden burst of energy and cleaned our room did the laundry and cleaned all the windows upstairs. Now I'm tired again have been having contractions off and on but I've been having those for weeks so I don't put much faith in them. I was disapointed when we went to the Dr.'s on Tuesday and he said he was willing to induce but it didn't look like things were ready yet. So we go back next Tuesday! Send labor vibes our way Please!!!!!

No News is Good News? Not Sure

Its Sunday night, the Sox are about to take the field with the Evil Empire, and the Pats will try to move on from CameraGate by taking on the Chargers. Brady and I are sitting on the couch wondering, where's the baby???

Friday night we tried everything we could to help the baby along...including Chinese food at Lucky Corner and several walks around the mall. We went back to the mall Saturday. Still, no baby.

Erica's ready. Every few minutes, she yelps in pain as the baby makes its way closer to the exit. But still, no baby.

At work, I'm trying to keep my schedule fluid. I haven't planned any meetings that I HAVE to be at, and if there is something that I have to go to, I warn everyone that I may not be there. I walk around with two cell phones attached to my hip at work (because my work Nextell has dead spots in the building) just waiting for one of them to go off. Still, no baby.

Maybe it will happen this week. Maybe not.

Brady's 23 Month Update

Well, Brady will be 23 months old in just a couple of days. My oh my how the time flies!!! Do you like the video? Brian and Brady decided to act out what Erica will have to go through very soon.

Anyways, Brady is doing so much now. His vocabulary grows every day. He can start to hold conversations with people on the phone. He likes salt and vinegar chips, freshly grated parm & romano cheeses, and yellow mustard. He likes to sit and read books at bedtime, he can name most of his body parts and several parts of a car, and he understands how to turn on and off just about every appliance and toy in the house.

He amazes us every day with his curiousity and his perserverence.

False Alarm

At 12:45am, Erica woke me up to tell me she had been battling with contractions since we went to bed at 10:30. They had started to get a little more intense, and were getting closer together. By 2:00, they had come to three minutes apart, and the doctor recommended we go in to the hospital. My mother came over to stay with Brady.

By 5:00am, we were on our way home. They tol,d Erica she wasn't quite ready yet. She's still been dealing with the contractions, though, so hopefully it won't be much longer.

Ramblings

Back in the day (which was a Wednesday, so says the Dane-Train), this blog was all about me. No really, it was. It was my chance to share all the weird, crazy things that were running through my head. Then Brady came along...and it was all about him. It's not his fault, really. Anyways, in an effort to show you what a vintage post looked like, I offer you these thoughts to ponder today:

1. Blades of Glory is worth a rental. When I saw the previews for this movie I thought it looked kinda stupid, but we watched it last night and I must admit, it was pretty funny, for a mindless comedy. I recommend "On Demanding" it.

2. What's the deal with lifecasting? Why do people have NOTHING better to do than post their lives on the web. Even more so, why are their so many bored people watching them, and chatting live about what they are doing? If you don't have any idea what I'm talking about, visit www.justin.tv for a few minutes and let me know what you think.

3. Finally, not for nothin, but when did mosquitos become so deadly? Last year a woman in my town died of EEE, and already this year, someone has been diagnosed with this mosquito-transferred virus. Our schools have just spent thousands of dollars to buy Off! wipes that all elementary school kids have to use before going to recess. Sports practices must finish by 6:00pm, and there is no such thing as a Friday night game under the lights around here anymore. When did we enter this new age anyways? What is this world coming too?

Playin' in the Sprinkler

Yesterday, Brady had the chance to try out the sprinkler that Pam gave him. He had a blast!