2 days till 4

Ahhhh, baby Jack... Jackson's 4th birthday is in 2 days.  I thought I'd take a moment to catch up on memories of him these past 4 years.  We were very excited to have another baby and got pregnant very quickly.  My pregnancy with Jackson was excellent, and definitely my best!  I felt great, hardly ever sick and labor/delivery was a breeze.  At one point the doc told me to stop pushing because he was coming so fast.  He weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. and 21 inches long.  I just have lots of memories of feeling very confident and happy with the whole process and the time period.  Jackson was  a great nurser and slept ok, though he had a hard time going back to sleep after the midnight feedings.  I did find my patience at these moments to be thinner than ever!  I over-stressed about not getting enough sleep and having to care for 2 in the morning.  Even though our life was challenging with Adam in summer school and me taking care of 2 babies, Jackson was the oil that filled my lamp!  He was described very early by many as angelic.  Thats exactly what he was  a sweet angel baby!  At about four months old he got very sick, and was actually hospitalized for several days.  After blood cultures and a spinal tap (yikes!) it was decided  he had a nasty virus.  Nursing ended about a month later, but I was grateful for the time we did get in with nursing.  I decided with this baby that I was going to hold him as much as I could.  If it was dinner time, and Jackson was  fussy, everything would stop and I would hold Jackson.  I'd rock him to sleep, any chance I got, I wanted to spend it holding my sweet angelic baby.  That backfired a bit, when his sleeping patterns were not so good.  But we found a healthy balance.  At about 7 months we moved in Adam's parents to prepare financially for Optometry school.  Then I was competing with Grandma to hold the baby!!  Jackson was the most physical of all my babies, crawling,  well before 12 months, yet not walking till much later!  With Jackson I wasn't a new mom anymore.  I felt confident, and that helped me enjoy the experience more! 

  Soon after Jackson turned one, we moved to Oregon to begin Opt. school.  I have to say, this time period is a bit hazy for me.  So much going on with a big move, and getting settled.  It seems like with Jackson, it was more of the same angelic baby. He still loved to be held and was very content to sit back in my arms.  I remember being so grateful, for him, and the joy he brought me, even though life was really tough getting use to school.  He was just such a good, good baby!  Good eater, good sleeper, definitely a mama's boy ( I relished that!)  Didn't walk till about 15-16 months, but took off fast with confidence once he got started. I think it helped to have an older brother to follow around.  This baby seemed to have no physical fears (and still doesn't).  He loved to climb and explore.  One afternoon, when Jackson was about 18 months we put him down for a nap upstairs and we went down stairs to watch TV.  Just a few minutes later, here comes Jackson strolling into the living room!  We were shocked(Porter never did that)!  That was the beginning of daring physical activity.  He would also make the funniest faces.  Much of our pictures of Jack at that time are of him doing an  over exaggerated "cheese" smile!  He started talking a lot too.  Berries were "dubbies."  Elmo: "Melmo" Ernie: "Nina" and many more.  Oh the fun times!  I long to go back and hold that baby Jack-Jack one more day.