James Stauffer Broke Down During Vlog After 'Rough' First Time Meeting Adopted Son Huxley: 'Poor Kid'

The Stauffers traveled to China to pick up the 2½-year-old in October 2017. In 2020, they placed him in a new home

• James Stauffer choked up on camera shortly after he and his wife Myka picked up their adopted son, Huxley, whom they later placed in another home through adoption dissolution

• Vox Media Studios' shocking new docuseries An Update on Our Family features since-deleted footage of the family's adoption journey, including James' emotional reaction to meeting Huxley, who has autism

• In a vlog from October 2017, James shared how Huxley formed a bond with his foster mom before the Stauffers picked him up

James Stauffer shared his emotions on camera after he and his wife Myka met their adopted son, Huxley, for the first time.

In 2017, the couple and their three biological kids traveled to China on a long-awaited journey to pick up then-2½-year-old Huxley, a child with autism whom they controversially re-homed through adoption dissolution in 2020. The Stauffers documented the entire adoption process on their popular YouTube vlogs, sharing even the more challenging moments with their thousands of subscribers.

Vox Media Studios' resurfaced significant scenes from their since-deleted videos in the three-part docuseries An Update on Our Family, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday. Featured footage from an October 2017 vlog shows James breaking down after his first encounter with Huxley, who was later renamed by his new family.

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Related: YouTuber Myka Stauffer Said Her Child Was 'Not Returnable' Before Viral Adoption Dissolution Scandal

"I’m not gonna lie. I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. It’s been rough for us," the Stauffer Garage YouTuber told the camera in a video titled "Huxley’s First Smile After China Adoption!"

The Ohio dad went on to describe the tight bond the toddler shared with his foster mother before his adoption.

"They gave us all these pictures, all these clothes. They took him to the beach. They took him to see dolphins. They took him to the park every day," James said, adding, "I mean, the kid had a full-blown mom, it seems like."

In the background of the recording, Myka seemed to say Huxley wanted to get into his crib. She cut herself off to check in on her husband, and James became choked up. Tearfully, he responded, "The poor kid."

Related: Who Is Myka Stauffer? All About YouTuber Who Placed Son with New Family 2 Years After Adoption

The docuseries — which was inspired by New York Magazine's 2020 feature on the family — also analyzes other videos from Myka's personal and family YouTube channels, which she wiped after receiving intense backlash over their adoption dissolution. Before the Stauffers picked up Huxley, the former nurse maintained that she and James were properly equipped to raise a child with special needs.

"We started talking to physicians, we started having meetings, we started doing tons of different things so that we could be really well educated on different conditions," Myka told the camera in one of several videos discussing the adoption process.

She continued, "Let’s just say there’s 100 conditions. Me and my husband were comfortable with 99 of the conditions. So we were very, very open."

Related: Myka Stauffer Breaks Silence After Controversy Over Placing Son, Whom She Adopted, with New Family

Myka also divulged details about her son before the adoption was finalized, showing viewers his photos and discussing what information she had about his disability. In one vlog post, she stated that the "only need that our little boy has is a nice family that really, truly cares about him."

“I don’t know what his medical diagnosis is gonna look like. How much schooling will he need? Will he need a little bit more hands on? Will he be delayed?" she said in 2017, adding, "But if anything, my child is not returnable.”

The Stauffers, as well as Huxley's new family, have not responded to PEOPLE's requests for comment.

After the Stauffers revealed their decision to seek out adoption dissolution, their lawyers spoke to PEOPLE at the time about their ultimate hope to "provide Huxley with the best possible treatment and care."

"We are privy to this case and given the facts at hand, we feel this was the best decision for Huxley," Myka and James' lawyers, Thomas Taneff and Taylor Sayers, told PEOPLE in an exclusive statement issued in May 2020. "In coming to know our clients we know they are a loving family and are very caring parents that would do anything for their children."

"Since his adoption, they consulted with multiple professionals in the healthcare and educational arenas in order to provide Huxley with the best possible treatment and care," Taneff and Sayers continued. "Over time, the team of medical professionals advised our clients it might be best for Huxley to be placed with another family."

The vloggers' legal team noted that the Stauffers followed the advice of medical professionals, which, the lawyers clarified, "did NOT include any considerations for placement in the foster system, but rather to hand-select a family who is equipped to handle Huxley’s needs."

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