Weeks Become Month(s)

Within a month, Clara's parents are perfectly trained...Pavlovian style. We once harbored the illusion that our combined education, training, and general brain wattage bestowed on us a certain capacity to manage the whims of a baby new to this world.

It is not so.

Clara mocks our hubris with simple tests. With the least convincing whimper from our daughter, we leap out of bed to check her vitals, tend to her discomforts, and otherwise surrender to her every vestige of authority we once held in this small home.

Prior to her birth, we were beaming with ambitions for Clara's first month. She would be the happiest baby on the block, and we the model parents imparting advice to all seeking child -rearing wisdom.

We've since throttled back expectations. In month two, we hope to master the art of attaching a diaper in such a way that poop remains on the inside. We hope to introduce her to the bassinet, next to our bed, that remains unoccupied night after night. We hope to learn how to anticipate fluid explosions so they occur before a bath, not after.

Check in with us on April 27th to see how that's coming along...

You're So Vain

Our 3-week old Clara admires herself in the living room mirror.

Clara Roots for Davidson

In our quest to be the 66th best team in the nation, Clara shows her Wildcat spirit as we squeak out a win over South Carolina in the NIT. Thanks auntie JOB for the Davidson threads.

Gas or Smile?

We know two week-old infants can't intentionally smile, but we're going to take some parental liberties with our interpretation of little Clara's face as she was waking up from an afternoon nap yesterday.

  

Bath Time

Clara's pre-bath serenity...

The bath...

...and the attitude that follows.

Look at Our Bundles

Sweet little Clara. Our bundle of joy. And gas. And poop. And lots and lots of diapers.

She has a gift. In just two days, the accumulated weight of her diapers exceeds her own dainty 7 lbs 10 oz. Her parents couldn't be more proud.

Clara's First Night Home

 

A rare March snow welcomes Clara to her first morning at 412 Frank Street. We'll confess that last night started off a little rough, but we got the hang of it and had one stretch of uninterrupted sleep that spanned over three hours. We think we're beginning to learn which cries mean hunger and which mean gas. A third distinctive wail clearly means "ticked off" and happens anytime we change her diaper or otherwise expose her warm belly to chill air. Fortunately, she calms down quickly with a tight swaddle. 

The people at Rex Hospital were fantastic, but we're glad to have little Clara home with us. The walls of our post-partum suite were beginning to close in on us.

Kate is already in love with being a mom, and she is demonstrating what we all expected...she's a natural. It's fun watching her develop a special bond with this baby girl that grew inside her for so many months.

By the time we left Rex, Clara had dropped 7 ounces off her 7-14 birth weight. But she's nursing extrememly well, and we expect her to gain it back in no time. We looked at her and each other this morning and were awe struck to think that a child this size (bigger!) was curled up in Kate's belly just three days ago.