Week 1

Our first week with baby Claire was quiet and calm. She's a mellow little baby who takes seriously the job of sleeping 18+ hours a day. She's very snuggly and loves to nurse. When she's awake, she is pretty calm and alert. Plus this has been my easiest recovery and the boys have done a good job with transition. We are so thankful for all of these blessings!

 

Below are way too many pictures, but she's too adorable to not include them all.

 

We had to stay at the hospital till Monday afternoon waiting for one test result to come in; my mom brought the boys back to visit and then the five of us drove home together.

Josiah likes to "pet" Claire and tells me multiple times a day that "She is so cute!"

Aunt Margie came to visit!

Dustin took the week off of work and cared for the boys; he took them somewhere each day, giving me 2-6 hours a day to just hold and nurse Claire in quiet. So peaceful and sweet! The boys liked going somewhere exciting each day.

They went to the OC Fair; and then came home and set up pig races.



Also on the agenda was the aquarium (Long Beach has nice prices if you go after 3pm). Elijah took about 40 pictures of the fish; Josiah, my animal lover, was especially excited about this activity. And they went to the science center and Heritage Park--lots of adventures with Daddy!

 

Elijah likes to hold Claire and give her hugs.

 

She got to meet her great grandparents when she was five days old, our first outing as a family of five.

With Grandpa

Josiah surprises me with his observations. "She doesn't have any tears when she cries." "She only has lips."

Sweet friends have been bringing us meals, which has been so helpful. And they'll continue to do that for two more weeks--so kind!

We ended the week celebrating Dustin's birthday!

She's here!

Baby Claire Abigail joined us last night at 10:13pm, weighing in 7 lbs 8 oz and measuring 19.5 inches. We are thanking God for a smooth, safe delivery and our beautiful, healthy baby daughter.

Photo credit: Elijah

Elijah held her and held her and stared at her 

Josiah declared, "She is so cute" at least half a dozen times

Hawaii

Thanks to my parents' generosity in watching the boys and Dustin's airline/hotel point skills, we took a quick trip to Kauai as a last getaway before baby. So beautiful!

Day 2, I was unfortunately miserably sick, so I stayed in our gorgeous hotel room while Dustin explored the island. He hiked Waimea Canyon and went snorkling for the first time.

Day 3, I was feeling a lot better, so I was able to explore the island, too. After a stop at the farmer's market to enjoy Kauai's unique tropical fruits, we visited the Kilauea Lighthouse, seeing lots of birds and some spinner dolphins.

Then we took a hike along part of the Na Poli coastline.

We ended the day with a bit of snorkling on the beach (for Dustin) and a delicious sea food dinner.

Day 4 came all too soon.

the view from our hotel

Gardens at our hotel & baby at 28 weeks

 We took a beautiful walk along the coastline, starting next to our hotel..

Then a quick dip in the pool before it was sadly time to head the airport and resume normal life--a gorgeous, but fast trip.