What I Learned From Jackson

I have decided that I think every parent needs to have at least two children. Why? The first go around is such a learning experience. As a first time mom I read all the books, did a ton of research about sleeping, breastfeeding, vaccinations, etc. before Jackson arrived and then once he was here I spent the next 3 years trying to figure out how best to use my knowledge as well as my maternal instincts to raise this little guy in this crazy world. In looking back over that time I have realized that while the books and advice (sometimes unsolicited) at times were helpful, bottom line: each child is unique and is going to develop, eat, sleep, poop, smile, laugh, crawl, walk, run, talk, etc on his/her own pace. And the first go around as a parent can be somewhat stressful in trying to do everything the way in which we "think" it should be done. Like when the books say, "Don't allow your child to fall asleep at the breast". I remember constantly tickling Jackson's feet and talking to him to prevent this "catastrophe" from taking place. If he's tired, who am I to stand in the way of allowing him to sleep? I should have laid him down and taken a nap myself!!

In realizing all of this, I think it has allowed me to be more relaxed and laid back as a parent the second time around. Don't get me wrong I still pull a Shirley MacLaine from Terms of Endearment and check that Brady (and even Jackson still) is breathing. But, in terms of breastfeeding, sleeping patterns, etc. I am not worrying about the little details and tips that all the books suggest or encourage. I am trusting in my maternal instincts (and taking a few lessons learned from Jackson) to help me this time around.

Biggest Lesson Learned from Jackson: I WILL SLEEP AGAIN!!! I remember waking up with Jackson every 2-3 hours and come morning time be so grumpy and thinking that I will never get a good night's sleep again. I had so many friends whose babies were sleeping through the night by 3 months old. I would wonder if I was doing something wrong, was I letting him nurse too often? But, eventually (probably closer to a year old) he did start sleeping through the night and then by 18 months-2 years he would even sleep in (hallelujah!!).

So, on these early mornings after a night of feedings and not being able to fall back asleep, I am not grumpy (usually :)), instead I take advantage of my one on one time with Brady and am thankful that I have the opportunity to do this the second time around.

I hate that Jackson has to be the guinea pig for the majority of Kelly and my's parental errors and blunders (but we were both first borns who probably experienced the brunt of the same mistakes). But, I am so thankful for the lessons he has taught me as a mother and a person!! I am looking forward to learning even more from him and from Brady.

Brady Kenneth

On January 25, 2011 @ 3:27pm we welcomed Brady Kenneth Voris to the world. He was bigger than big brother, Jackson weighing in at 8 lbs 9 oz and measuring 22 inches. He has been such a blessing and we couldn't be happier around here. His demeanor appears to be very laid back. He is very content and happy to sit back and observe the happenings around the house. If he is hungry or tired he will let you know, but other than that he is a very happy, content baby :)

Due to my previous c-sections with Jackson and Kenley, Brady's birth was planned and scheduled. I have to admit - it was kind of nice! I was able to get my house clean and I made arrangements for my parents to come down and stay with Jackson while we were in the hospital. Although I had my plans in place in case I went into labor on my own and we made a 2 am trip to the hospital (thank you Kyle and Ashley for being ready just in case:)), it was nice to not have to make the unexpected trip to the hospital and juggle Jackson around. So, on the morning of the 25th I made Jackson pancakes, picked up the house, and made sure we had all of our stuff ready to go. I dropped Jackson off at preschool and then Kelly and I headed to the hospital. I will admit, the nerves kind of got to me as we were on our way there. I had a peace that everything would be okay, but I was still nervous about the surgery and was just anxious to hear Brady's cry.

We checked in at 1:30 and by 3:27 he was here!!

We lucked out and were out of the hospital in 48 hours - with my previous c-sections I was in there for at least 72 hours, so it was definitely nice to go home and get better sleep than what we were getting in the hospital. Kelly and I were both ready to lose it on the night nurse who only spoke in one volume: LOUD. I swear she was yelling every time she came in, at one point all of us were sleeping and her loud voice even startled Brady and he woke up crying. There is always one, right? :)

Jackson was spoiled by all of our family and received so many fun toys, books, coloring books, etc to keep him entertained when he came up to the hospital to see his new baby brother. He was so proud. The first night we were at the hospital I sent my mom a text message with a picture of Brady. She was putting Jackson to bed when she got it and she showed the picture to him. She texted me back and said that Jackson got a really big smile on his face when he saw it and then wanted to know what Brady was doing that night. It made me happy to know that he was already so interested in what Brady was up to. He is also a very protective big brother! Brady was jaundice and after we left the hospital we had to follow up with the pediatrician to keep an eye on his levels. So, our first day home we had to make a trip to the pediatricians office as well as the lab for blood work. When we got to the lab, the tech had to prick Brady's heel to take blood. When this happened, Jackson got a horrified look on his face and demanded to know what the tech was doing to his little brother. It was very sweet :)

Kelly, Jackson, and Brady @ the hospital

Jackson and Brady @ home

Kisses

Brothers, hanging out

We are so happy that Brady is here and that he is healthy. We are enjoying every day and cherishing this little blessing in our lives!

Big Brother Jackson

This was Jackson's first time holding Brady after we were home. Brady was 1 week old and I took the opportunity to ask Jackson some questions about his little brother. He has been such a great big brother to Brady and a HUGE help to me. He is always wanting to help with diaper changes, baths, etc. I do think he will be excited when Brady is actually old enough to interact with him though. Just this morning he was asking Brady if he wanted to play tic-tac-toe with him...I told him he's gonna have to wait a little while :)

It's Been Awhile...

my oh my...where to begin...

Its been well over six months since I last got on to post anything on this blog. Don't even know if anyone bothers to read it anymore. But, I have decided that I need to get back on and start writing.

I have a lot of pictures and stories that I want to share on here so starting today I will begin working on getting that accomplished!!

Summer Vacation

I've been bad about posting and keep all of you who read this blog up to date about our happenings...I will admit...I've been tired and sick and haven't had much energy outside of the day-to-day duties to get much done. Kelly's probably really excited that he comes home to me in my pj's, hair up, and no make-up everyday :) But, thankfully, I am finishing up my first trimester and the nausea has begun to subside and my energy levels are beginning to pick back up!!

A couple of weeks ago we took a trip out to California for our summer vacation - the highlight was being a part of Kelly's brother, Kyle's wedding to his new wife Ashley. The wedding was in Santa Barbara and we were able to spend an entire week there enjoying the cool weather, the gorgeous town, and our family and friends. Before heading to Santa Barbara we went to San Diego first to enjoy the beach and Sea World. Last summer we took a trip out to San Diego with my parents and brothers and took Jackson to Sea World for the first time. He LOVES Sea World and "Shampu". When we went back to Sea World, he totally remembered his first trip there and just wanted to see "Shampu" jump. He was quite impatient and unhappy to watch "Shampu" just swim around - he wanted to see jumping!!

Our vacation was nice and relaxing. The weather was pretty overcast the whole trip but I didn't mind a bit. I was happy to get out of the heat and it did wonders for my nausea! Here are some pics from our vacation:

Kidney Bean

Oh my, it has been a quick and long two weeks...is that even possible!?! If I was ever nauseous with my previous pregnancies, I don't remember it being like this. Not fun. I was talking with Kelly the other day and I was saying something about if a lot of women have morning sickness that lasts all day for days on end how do they end up having 4, 5, 6 kids...his response..."it's probably kind of like a bad hangover...you wake up and feel like crap after a night of drinking and vow never to drink again...but then a few weeks go by, you forget about that crappy hangover and you do it all over again". I thought it was a wonderful analogy. I LOVE that I am pregnant and I am sure that when all this morning sickness passes and I feel energized again, and after this baby is born and I am past the sleepless nights, there will come a day where I will be saying...how about another one?? :)

Anyway, enough complaining about the morning sickness, its just a part of pregnancy that I am more than HAPPY to deal with as it is a friendly reminder that the little kidney bean (the food analogy this week) is growing well!! I had another ultrasound last Friday, my appointment the week before had to be cancelled and rescheduled. Of course my uterus is tilted forward and it took my doctor a few minutes to find the little kidney bean (I secretly started to panic internally), but once it was located, he/she measured right on target - 7 weeks 5 days - and had a healthy heartbeat of 143 bpm. All in all, a wonderful visit and I go back on July 9 for another.

In other news, we have been busy these past few weeks. Jackson started swim lessons and he is a little fish!! Today he was floating all by himself in the pool, I was so proud of him. His swim lessons teacher has coined him the next Michael Phelps...he said it, not me :) He really is doing awesome, jumping off the side and swimming to me, swimming back to the wall. We are now working on teaching him how to come up for a breath to be able to keep going longer. But, as of now he has got quite the lung capacity and will just swim, swim, swim without taking a breath. It gives me a little sense of relief since we spend so much time at the pool during the summer I would like him to learn how to swim sooner rather than later!!

We also took a trip to the zoo two weekends ago. We scored with the weather...only 93 degrees that day and we went in the morning so it was so nice out. We took the train and rode around catching some glimpses of all the animals and then browsed around a bit. We invested in a zoo membership this year, and we are so happy we did. We have already been to the zoo 4-5 times since we bought it in the beginning of May. Jackson loves the zoo and it is such a fun place to go for the day or even a couple of hours if we want.

Here are some pics of our fun day:

Lima Bean

So, today was a nice, relaxing lazy Sunday. Sometimes life gets so busy that I feel like we are always go, go, go and when a day like today rolls around I LOVE them and CHERISH them!

Yesterday I threw a bridal shower for my soon-to-be sister-in-law, Ashley. It was by far the most relaxing and enjoyable bridal shower I have been to. It was just a small group of her girlfriends and we just hung out, enjoyed some food - they enjoyed some wine :) - and we just talked about life, husbands, babies, etc. and Ashley got some beautiful gifts and a pretty awesome wine collection to go home with. Kelly was awesome and took Jackson and our niece Dez for the day so that I could get the house ready in the morning and then have the afternoon for the shower. He took them to the Zoo, Peter Piper Pizza, and the movies - needless to say Jackson was passed out by 8. He was pooped!! Although the shower was relaxing, its always a lot of work putting those types of events together so Kelly, Jackson, and I were all ready for a lazy Sunday :) And best part about today's lazy Sunday...college softball was on all day and we love watching it, especially when Arizona is playing.

As for this little "lima bean" (I am six weeks today and my weekly email told me that the baby is the size of a lima bean this week) growing in my belly...it is doing a great job of letting me know that he/she is doing great and the pregnancy is moving right along...I have ALL the symptoms going on and as much as the constant nausea is NOT fun I am so thankful to have it...if that makes any sense.

I had my first Dr. Appt last Friday. It went well. He did an ultrasound to make sure that the pregnancy was in the uterus, where it should be. But, I am still so early all I got to see is the sac...nothing too exciting. I go back this Friday for another ultrasound in hopes of seeing my little "lima bean" and a heartbeat!!! I have been getting my lab work done once a week and all the numbers on that are looking good too :)

And thank you, thank you, thank you for all the prayers, keep them coming...I am true believer in the power of prayer and now know that if you need them...ask for them...it works!!!