Bernheim Forest

While Keith's mom was here, us girls took a little trip to Bernheim Forest. I mostly nursed while Joan and Mackenzie took pictures and walked the beautiful grounds but it was a fun outing.

Clara: week 4

We were really starting to get the hang of things at this point. Keith was back in full swing at school and I was really enjoying my days at home with the girls. Kenzie was still a sweet big sister, willing to help me all of the time. On Friday the 23rd we had our first date night (Clara tagged along of course) but it was nice to get out. The next day I went to my good friend Sarah's baby shower and then to the Louisville Bats museum because we couldn't miss free museum day and we had a lot of fun! Keith had a volleyball tournament right after that (they won!) and then we went to dinner at our friends the Schmidt's. It was a really busy but fun day and life felt really normal. On the 27th Keith's mom came. It was so fun to have her to ourselves and Mackenzie especially enjoyed her undevided attention.

Clara: week 3

Not a whole lot of picture taking going on because the sleep deprivation and taking care of 2 was starting to catch up to me. Clara was still proving to be a good baby though with awesome sleep and eating habits. We both went in on the 19th for appointments. My body was healing well with 30 lbs. now off and Clara weighed in at 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 1/2 inches. Compared to Mackenzie, she seemed chubby to me. She had a little click in her hip joint that the doctor told us not to worry about until her 1 month appointment. Other than that, she proved to be perfectly healthy!

Clara: week 2

My mom left a few days into week 2 and I of course cried when she left. Keith called to check and make sure I was ok on his way back from the airport "So were you crying because of hormones...or you were sad she's gone, or hormones..." yep. Week 2 was good though, we started to develop a little bit of a routine and Clara started sleeping a 4 hour stretch during the night. It helped that we had meals brought in for a few days after my mom left. I continued to feel better and had shed about 25 lbs. (of 45 I gained) by the end of week 2.

Clara: Week 1

Week one was much easier than I anticipated. We left the hospital Sunday afternoon and Keith had Monday off so he was able to stay home with me. Mackenzie was actually really sweet with Clara and didn't seem too jealous of a new intruder who occupied most of my time and attention. I spent Tuesday at home by myself and actually liked the challenge of caring for two, probably because I knew reinforcements were coming that night:) My mom came in Tuesday night and stayed for a week. It was so wonderful to have her help and company!! Keith was able to take quite a bit of time off also so we saw more of him than usual. Clara was a little fussier than her sister but she ate and slept better. Despite getting up several times at night, I surprisingly had a decent amount of energy and my body was quickly recovering from labor. We took my mom on a walk at Anchorage Park, went to Keith's school to show her around, went to Schimpff's Confectionary and then on a walk around Waterfront Park.

Sisters at 8 weeks

Kenz on the left, Clara on the right.

Clara Elizabeth: The Birth Story

I can't believe we actually have 2 kids! I'm a little overwhelmed by the idea (and hormones) but we're so grateful that our baby girl made it here safely.
We called the hospital at 5 AM Friday morning September 2nd and they told us we were good to come in at 7 AM. We were the last of 4 couples who were getting induced so we had a bit of a wait when we got to the hospital. We finally got into our room around 8 and got hooked up to the pitocin around 9. I was hoping to get my water broken first but the doctor didn't come until 11 to do it. I'm not sure if they were stress/anxiety induced, but I was having contractions all morning and they just seemed to get a little more frequent on the pitocin. Once she broke my water, the contractions really started working and I was soon grateful for the birthing videos I watched so I knew how to breathe through them.

Last pregnancy picture

Around 1, I was really starting to sweat and getting nervous because the contractions were pretty painful and less then 2 minutes apart with a lot of cramping between so pitocin won and I gave into the epidural. I have to say, it was a wonderful decision because I was able to relax and rest a bit until it was pushing time. So the epidural was started a little before 2 and by 5 I was at a ten and ready to push. This part was so different for me. With Mackenzie, I was in so much pain, I was begging to push and the process was incredibly long, exhausting and miserable to the point that I didn't even really want to hold her after she was born. This time, everyone was excited, including me. I wasn't sure if I would be able to feel enough to push, but there was enough pressure from the contractions that I knew when one was starting so I could push at the right time. The nurse had me push a few times through 2 contractions  and much to my surprise, the baby was crowning. She went to grab the doctor who came in with her "team", set everything up and had me push for one more contraction.

Taking a practice picture before pushing so we could make sure camera was set up right

Words really can't describe the experience of having a baby enter this world and meeting them so fresh from heaven but I was the most grateful for my epidural at this point because I wasn't focused at all on the pain, just the beauty of my new baby girl. She had the tiniest little cry when she came out and she calmed down quickly. They let her stay with me for several minutes to warm up, then weighed and measured her (7lbs. 2oz. 19 inches), swaddled her and put her back in my arms to eat and continue to warm up.

We named her quickly. We had a list of several names and Clara was one I had loved for a few years. A couple of days before she was born, Keith decided it was his favorite and so when she came to us it seemed a perfect fit. Elizabeth is a name I've loved as long as I can remember and always said I would name my first girl. Well Mackenzie didn't look like an Elizabeth to me, and Keith and I both felt it fit perfectly with Clara this time. Both are family names also which we liked.

We stayed in our room until 7:30 when we were transferred to the mother/baby unit. The night was kind of long as Clara was a bit fussy from swallowing fluid. Up until her noon feeding on Saturday, she threw up every bit of her food. I also hate how often you're checked on and poked and prodded throughout the night. At about 4:30 AM, I finished feeding Clara and she cried until 5 AM when Keith took her. Just as he took her, she calmed and fell asleep and the nurse came in to do my tetanus shot, Clara's Hep B shot and check our vitals. I was so mad at her because it seemed like it could all wait until later and she woke my poor baby up to strip her down and give her a shot. She also came in the middle of the night to take Clara away from me and put her back in her bassinet because they don't allow parents to sleep with their babies in case of accidents. She took him from Keith at 5 and scolded him also. Needless to say, I was ready to leave by Saturday afternoon!

Our friend Erica had Mackenzie Friday night and so she brought her to meet Clara in the morning and Kenz just hung out with us in the hospital until 12 when Keith took her home. You know the cliche a picture is worth a thousand words? I happen to think Kenzie's initial reaction to Clara was captured perfectly here:

In the end, she wouldn't hold her

Our original plan was to have Keith stay the night with Kenz and come get me in the morning but baby blues hit early and the thought of being in the hospital alone really everwhelmed me. So he called up a wonderful family in our ward, the Gold's, who have 2 little girls and a boy and they were happy to take her for the night and to church on Sunday. I was so grateful for that, and Keith and I had a much better night Saturday. We were discharged Sunday at noon and have loved having Clara home. She is a wonderful baby! She has her fussy times here and there but for the most part, she eats, sleeps and poops like a regular newborn.

I can't believe how much better this experience has been! While my body was more damaged this time around, I felt I was more prepared for the pain and interruped nights. Breastfeeding is still hard, but it's not as painful and I know there is a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm actually in love with getting up with Clara in the middle of the night to snuggle her and have such a wonderful bond.
Kenzie is adjusting SO much better than I thought she was going to after seeing that first reaction. She mostly ignores Clara because she sleeps so much but when she notices her, she wants to hug her and kiss and her and touch her "tiny toes and fingers." I think she can't wait for the day to be able to play with her and she's a little disappointed I'm not bottle feeding so she can't give Clara a bottle like her babies.

We feel so incredibly lucky to have great friends who watched Kenzie for us and who are bringing us meals until my mom gets here tonight. I thought it would be hard having a baby so far away from home and while it is and we wish we could be near them, Kentucky makes it much easier to feel like you're surrounded by people who love you and will do anything for you.