Clare is 2 Months Old!

Time is just flying by and my sweet baby girl is now two months old!  Her second month was filled with visits from family, her first Thanksgiving, and getting ready for Christmas.  She is a pretty good baby but unfortunately she has been pretty fussy in the evenings during her second month.

We started her second month with a visit from Julian's parents.  They came the weekend before Thanksgiving and they were able to meet Clare and spend a lot of time playing with Grayson.  We had pretty bad weather while they were here so we mostly hung out at the house.  They helped out with a bunch of projects and cleaning that needed to be done and we are very grateful for that!  Grayson had so much fun playing with them and Clare really enjoyed naps on her Grandpa M's chest.  He is a baby whisperer and I seriously need him around for afternoon naps every day!

The day after Julian's parents left, my family flew in to spend Thanksgiving with us.  I was so excited to have them here and so grateful that they were willing to travel to us so that I didn't have to get on a plane with a brand new baby and a toddler.  It had been almost a year since we had my whole family together so it was extra fun to see everyone and it was so incredibly helpful to have them around!  I was a little nervous about hosting my first Thanksgiving but then one of Julian's coworkers sent us a precooked turkey so I didn't have to make a turkey and my mom made the rolls and quite a few other dishes.  I really just took care of the mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad and getting the table ready.  It was actually the first time that I used my china that J sent to me from Japan during his first deployment so that was fun.  Our Thanksgiving was a great success and we really enjoyed the rest of the weekend with family! It was extra nice to have them since J was finishing up turnaround and still had to go in for a few 13 hour shifts.  Turnaround finally ended at the end of Thanksgiving weekend so after almost two months of non stop work with no weekends we finally have Julian back!

My sister Chelsey was able to stay for an extra five days after my family left and I had so much fun with her!  She was great at both playing with Grayson and getting Clare to be calm or sleep.  I loved hanging out with her and I really appreciated her help with the kids!  She just found out that she will be serving a Mormon mission for 18 months in Seoul, Korea so I am really glad we got to spend so much time together before she leaves for such a long time!

The rest of Clare's second month has been spent getting ready for Christmas, getting more bonding time with Julian, and having play dates with some good friends out here.  We put up the tree and some other Christmas decorations which make me happy though I didn't go all out this year since we won't be here for the actual holiday.  I have really enjoyed dressing the kids in cute Christmas outfits and trying to teach Grayson about Christmas.  I am so excited to celebrate Christmas with both of our kids this year!  They make the season so much more fun :)

At one month old Clare:
- is about 11 lbs.  Her two month checkup was done when she was only 6 1/2 weeks and she weighed 10 lbs 10 ozs which put her in the 69th percentile for weight.
-is about 23 inches long.  At her doctor checkup she was 23 inches long which put her in the 90th percentile for height.  I can't believe that she had already grown 3 inches in just 6 weeks!
- wears size 0-3.  She is filling out quite a bit so she is fitting in to her clothes a lot better.
- sleeps for 3-5 hour chunks at a time at night.  I am hoping that we can stretch that out a little longer over the next month but I'm grateful that she is doing pretty well.
- has started focusing on faces a lot more and is now smiling a whole lot more.  I just melt when she looks right at me and starts grinning!
- stares at her brother when he is being silly :)  They are very cute together!  G really likes to give her hugs and kisses and will pat her back when she is crying.
- seems to really like her baths.  They calm her down and she makes adorable little faces.
- has a rough time in the evenings.  She seems to really struggle with her stomach.  She tends to spend a lot of time nursing since that is the best thing to calm her down.  I know this is common for babies but I hope she grows out of it soon.
- eats constantly.  She is wearing her mama out with how much she seems to need to eat but she is growing in to a very healthy girl.
- is so much fun to have around.  I can't wait to watch her continue to grow!

Clare is 1 Month Old!

Our sweet baby Clare has now been with us for one month and it has really flown by!  We have had so much fun with this sweet little lady and we can't wait to watch her grow older.  It has been a big adjustment, particularly for Grayson, but we have all enjoyed having her around.  It is truly amazing how much love is in my heart for both of my kids!

Our family of 4 on Halloween

My mom was a huge help for all of us during the transition from a family of three to four.  She was here for almost three weeks after Clare was born and I'm not sure how we would have done it without her!.  She cooked, cleaned, played with G a ton and did all of the shopping.  I am so grateful that she was able to be here for so long!  I feel like she really helped G in particular because she was able to give him so much attention while I was taking care of Clare.

Grandma is the best!

As with all newborns, C spent most of her first month sleeping, eating, and needing her diaper changed.  After her first week, I had to take her to the doctor for a quick checkup where they told me that she had lost too much weight so we had to go visit the lactation consultant but she has made up for it since then because she is now weighing about 9 pounds.  She is a very good little eater so I haven't been too worried about it.

Sweet Little One in a milk coma :)

Having two kids under 18 months and living in a small town, we haven't done a whole lot in C's first month.  J has worked 13 hour days without a day off since C's birth but hopefully he is about finished with this turnaround and then we can really settle in to life as a family of four.  I'm a little sad that J hasn't had time to bond as much with C as he did with G in the first few weeks but she has definitely stolen his heart anyway!

G has mostly been very cute with C.  I love watching him try to figure her out.  He occasionally gets jealous that she is taking up a lot of my time but he also likes to give her kisses and talk to her.  He doesn't totally understand being gentle yet but he is learning and does pretty well unless he gets excited.  I am just grateful that this transition hasn't been too hard on him!

At one month Clare:
-weigh about 9 pounds.
- is approximately 21 1/2 inches long.  She is very long and skinny with chubby cheeks :)
- is moving up from newborn sized clothes to 0-3 month clothes.  It's crazy how fast they grow at this age!
- usually sleeps for 3-4 hours at a time at night so I'm grateful for that!
- has started to focus on faces and lights.
- likes to make a very "deep in thought" face and has a very good furrowed brow which makes her daddy proud.  She isn't big on smiling yet.
-seems to enjoy music.
- doesn't like diaper changes or baths at all and she let's me know all about it.
- isn't a big fan of tummy time but she likes being held in ways that put pressure on her stomach.
- likes to sleep in the rock-n-play.  She is not a fan of laying flat while sleeping.  She also hates being swaddled.

We are so blessed to have two adorable sweet children!  I am so grateful to have added such a sweet little lady to our family and I look forward to watching her and G grow up together!

Sweet Baby Clare's Birth Story

We were blessed to welcome Clare Elise into our family on October 20th.  This is the story of her birth.

Sweet Baby Clare

I went to my 37 week appointment on a Wednesday and my doctor told me that I was dilated to between a 3 and 4.  He said he would be surprised if I made it to my next appointment a week later so my mom decided to go ahead and fly in that Friday so that she would be here to stay with Grayson while we were at the hospital.  I was happy to get one final trip in to the city, especially since I had been informed that there was a Wing Stop near the Target that I normally stop at.  G and I went to Wing Stop, Target, Carter's, the airport, and Qdoba.  It was a nice trip and it was so awesome to get my mom here!  After we got back to Enid, the waiting game began for Baby Girl.  My doctor had told me that he was going to be out of town for the weekend so I should wait until Monday to have my baby.  While I wanted him to be the one to deliver our girl, I also desperately wanted to be finished being pregnant so I was only giving Baby Girl until Monday to arrive before I would have gotten impatient.
Sunday morning J had to leave for work at 5 am which was about the same time that I started having contractions.  They started out about ten minutes apart and then got closer together so that by 7 they were about five minutes apart.  I got up and decided to get ready for the day and finish packing the last minute things that weren't in my suitcase already.  At about 8 I texted J to tell him he should head home so that we could head to the hospital.

Ready to head to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital they monitored my contractions for twenty minutes (they were 3-4 minutes apart with good intensity) and then the nurse checked to see how far dilated I was.  I was only dilated to a 4 which the nurse explained meant that they couldn't check me in yet because the new standard policy for hospitals is that they won't admit anyone who isn't 39 weeks unless they show a change in dilation.  That meant that I would have to dilate to a 5 before I could be admitted.  They had me walk around the halls for an hour and then we repeated the monitoring and checking process at which point my contractions were only 2-3 minutes apart but I was still a 4 so they sent me home.  I was pretty upset to be sent home since the same thing had happened with G but I picked up an exercise ball to bounce on and I was able to spend the day watching football with the little man and my mom.  J went back to work since he is in the middle of turnaround and thus doesn't get days off even on the weekend.

G helping me bounce on the exercise ball :)

Around 7:30 that night my contractions started getting a lot more painful so I sent J another message saying that we needed to head to the hospital.  He came home, we loaded the car again and we went back to the hospital.  This time my contractions were painful enough that I had to stop and couldn't talk through them so I told J that if I got turned away again he should be prepared for tears.  Fortunately, when the nurse checked me that time she said I was a 6 so I was able to be admitted at 9 pm.  I had been having contractions since 5 am so I was relieved to finally have made a little progress.  They got me settled in to my room and started an IV (it took four tries and I am still bruised two weeks later).  J was exhausted so he went to sleep and at about midnight I got my epidural and joined him for several hours of sleep.  At 6:30 the night nurse came in to check me before change of shift and she thought I was an 8 but she wasn't sure so she got a second nurse who said I was still a 4.  I was a little upset to hear that as I had been having contractions for over 24 hours at that point but I had my epidural so I just figured we would be hanging out at the hospital all day.
My doctor came in to check on me at 7:30 and he said I was dilated to a 6 not a 4.  He went ahead and broke my water and then about half an hour later they started me on a small dose of Pitocin to intensify my contractions which had slowed down when I got my epidural.  At about 8:45 the nurse came in and checked me to see if the Pitocin was working and she was very surprised to find that not only was I fully dilated and effaced but Baby Girl had dropped low enough that it was time to push.  She called the doctor and about twenty minutes later the whole team was in my room ready for me to push.  I pushed for about ten minutes and my sweet baby girl came in to the world!  She was covered in goop and they plopped her on a blanket on my chest.  I cannot describe how happy, blessed, and overcome with love I felt in that moment.  When I had G, he came out with the cord wrapped around his neck twice so they took him away quickly and I only got to hold him for one minute in his first two hours of life.  It was so amazing this time to just be able to hold my sweet girl and be able to see that she was doing well!

About two minutes after she was born!

 They took her to clean her and weigh her (still in the room so she never had to leave me) and they cleaned her up a bit and brought her back to me.  We were able to spend two hours together with our baby girl before they took her to the nursery and I loved every minute of it!  There was such a huge difference in the birth experience between my two kids and I am so glad that this one was much more relaxing!  This time I had my own doctor instead of a guy that I met about ten minutes before pushing and then we didn't have to deal with any of the stress that came after G was born with his breathing issues.

Clare Elise was born at 9;15 am on October 20th weighing 7 pounds 9.5 ounces and she was 20 inches long.  She is very long and skinny with chubby little cheeks and the longest fingers and feet.  She is perfect in every way and we love her so very much!

Later that afternoon my mom brought G to the hospital so that he could meet his new sister.  I wasn't too sure of how he would react to her.  I thought he might just ignore her completely but he was actually adorable with her!  He was smiling at her and pointing to her and then when we let him get closer he gave her a hug and a kiss and it was pretty much the cutest thing I have ever seen :)

G's first time seeing Clare

So sweet!

Such a good brother!

Our new family of four!

This melts me :)

Clare with her grandma and big brother :)

Since both Clare and I were doing really well, they let us leave the hospital the next day so we were able to go home and get settled.

Ready to go home

So sweet in her daddy's arms!

Leaving the hospital!

 We are feeling so incredibly blessed to be a family of four and have two very healthy, happy kids!  Welcome to the world sweet Clare Elise, we love you so very much!