We welcome with joy...

Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts. ~Author Unknown

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...another sweet little boy! :) Introducing Eli Tate Lashbrook..Corbin's cousin #2. He came into the world on April 29th at 5:39am, weighing in at 8lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. We drove down to Sumter, SC to greet our new nephew and just shy of four months after Corbin was born, he reminded us of our own birth story. Surprisingly, it seemed like a distant memory.

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It's so crazy how your body literally forgets everything you went through. I can't even remember what it felt like to feel him kick when I was pregnant. Every now and then, my stomach will grumble and I'll feel something roll. I'll think..oh yeah..that's it. The first six weeks of Corbin's life are a complete blur and I'm pretty sure that this happens to ensure that humanity continues to exist. ;) It blows my mind that just four short months ago...we were just a two person family. I wasn't a mother. I feel like we've come a million miles in a blink of an eye. A guy I worked with at TWC once told me that after his daughter was born (his first child) that he couldn't remember what it was like without her. I understand now what he meant. Since my last post, Corbin has taken an incredible turn for the best! I've been told to make anything a habit..just do it for three weeks...(unfortunately, my workout routine hasn't gotten that memo. :) As of tomorrow, it will be three weeks since he started feeling better and I'm hoping that it has become a habit. Motherhood has gotten so much more enjoyable, so much less stressful. There are days when I don't want to put him down for a nap, but know that I will deeply regret it in 30 minutes if I do something selfish. So when we went to celebrate Eli's birth, just one little look and I'm hooked on having another...CRAP!!

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Of course, we don't plan on having another for at least 2 years and have taken the necessary steps to make sure there are no surprises in our near future (sorry for the TMI). I feel the need to document everything I can recall as of right now, so that when I get this sudden itch to bring another Bray into this world...I'll snap back into reality and just enjoy the sweet ride that is Corbin's life right now. So in case you would like to compare notes or add a little comment with your own experience..here is my stamp on child birth "Bray" style (i.e. what they don't tell you!):

• Don't let anyone tell you that getting an epidural cures all pain...it works for contractions, but not for pressure, so pushing..WHOLE different story
• Contractions don't feel like cramps..I'll leave it at that
• People say pushing is exhausting because it is. I had this lovely picture of it taking just a few pushes to get him out...wrong-O.
• If you push for longer than 15-30 minutes...a month or so later, a nice little consolation prize may pop up...not pleasant..and they never go away. :-\
• The baby blues are inevitable. Don't feel guilty...drink lots of wine ;)...mourning the life you used to have is just a rite of passage.
• It takes 3 weeks for a baby to recover from birth..in that time s/he will sleep a lot. There is a growth spurt at 3 weeks..after that...watch out.
• Know your growth spurts...6 weeks is the worst..be prepared!
• Sleep deprivation feels A LOT like depression..it's not post-partum...get a good nights rest.
• "Sleeping when the baby sleeps" is A LOT harder than it sounds...never worked in our house..hence the sleep deprivation.
• Babies settle into the world between 3-4 months..it gets much easier after that.
• Babies run in 90 minute cycles. From birth-four months, only let them stay awake for 1-2 hours before putting them down for a nap, even if they don't look tired. This helped Corbin sleep 10 hours straight at 10 weeks and take 3-4 one hour naps during the day. LIFE SAVER!!
• Every baby has some sort of issue...Corbin had acid reflux and a milk allergy, our friend Max had lazy baby syndrome, we have two friends who have kidney reflux, etc. Be thankful for your own issue, but never wish it on someone else.
• I swear you get a good eater or a good sleeper..never both..if you do, stop having kids immediately because you have used up all your "good" points :)
• Your marriage will be strained..I dreaded this when I was pregnant...but your "new" marriage includes someone who thinks you both are everything.
• You will cry if you go back to work...some people get over it, some don't...don't feel guilty either way.
• Totally losing your mind...like not being to remember a word and using the word "thing" in its place four times in one sentence

And that is my small recollection of the things that will keep me on the one baby track for the next year...they are my story and probably very different for others, but I need to remind myself of the good too...because that I definitely don't want to forget!!

• Feeling Corbin move when I was pregnant and then getting to see what he was actually doing in real life...no one else has that connection!
• Watching every milestone from finding his voice, to finding his smile, to laughing out loud, and learning to hold and EAT his toys...all just as good as the next
• Playing the "he looks like you, no he looks like me" game..he has my eyes, but is a spitting image of Richard
• Being the one person that can really soothe him..I know, it's selfish, but very gratifying
• Seeing him light up when I come to get him from his crib
• Watching him laugh for 45 minutes at a Baby Einstein movie (what he's doing right now)
• Dressing him up in clothes that are too expensive for how long he'll wear them...the kid actually has three bathing suits
• He's so ticklish and laughs so hard that he gets the hiccups..its so sweet
• Seeing Richard light up when he laughs or smiles at him
• Still rocking my arms even when I'm not holding him..ha ha
• Doing what I've always wanted :)

I have to admit that the good definitely out weighs the bad...sorry Richard..you are sooooo screwed :)