Claire has met lots of new faces in her short life, including both of her great-grandmothers. We also got to introduce her to her Great Aunt Diane and all her Mackus side relatives at our annual March Birthdays celebration. It is fun to show her off!
We have settled quite nicely into a routine here at home. Claire is a really good baby, we are so lucky! She doesn't sleep as much as we'd like, but what 2 week old does? We may get one 3 hour stretch at night, other than that she wakes up almost every hour to eat. When she's not eating, even if she's supposedly sleeping, she's constantly making funny noises and loud breathing sounds that Matt calls "chirping" that makes it hard for us to fall asleep. She also definitely prefers to be held over being in her bassinet. When held she falls asleep easily for a long duration and is almost noiseless. Then you carefully set her down, thinking she is in this really deep sleep, and she wakes up of course! She sleeps a lot during the day, but is staying awake longer each day and is so alert and interested in everything. I posted a video of Claire following a rattle with her eyes - nothing too exciting, just a slice of life with little Claire!
We had her 2 week checkup on Wednesday and she is perfectly healthy. She has gained a full pound already from her birth weight, which is a lot since they say they just want them back at their birth weight by 10 days. So she's 8 lbs, 13 ounces. That every hour on the hour nursing schedule must be working! She does seem to have a bit of a digestive issue going on, frequently experiencing lots of gas and discomfort after eating, but the doctor thinks she will grow out of it and we shouldn't worry. Her umbilical cord stub fell off on the morning of her appointment, what a milestone!
Luke is still enjoying having Matt and I home more. I have taken him to art class and gymnastics class, which he loves, and I make sure to spend 1 on 1 time each day playing with him. It is really nice having Isolene here to help during the day. We take turns with the kids and then I also can get out to run errands without the kids if I need to. Maternity leave is pretty fun, I have to say! Can't believe it has already been 3 weeks!
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| Great-Grammy Imogene came for a visit, she LOVED holding Claire |
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| We introduced Claire to her Great Grandma Della at March Birthdays. |
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| Tummy time! Spumoni checking out her neck strength improvement. |
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| 5 minutes later, Spumoni takes over the playmat altogether |
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| Great Aunt Diane came over for a visit last week, too! |
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| First time Luke held Claire, but I was a bit too slow getting the camera! He was already "done, done, done" by the time I got over there. |
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| At March Birthdays in Wisconsin last weekend. Birthday girls/sisters Melissa & Katie meet Claire. |
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| Other birthday girl, Jessica "the Childen's Hospital baby whisperer", gets a turn holding baby |
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| Luke played with the toys from the basement throughout the whole party. He loved this toy the best, shopping cart was a close second though. |
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| Gorgeous hand made quilt for Claire from Grandma & Melissa |
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| Melissa sewed this herself, she is so talented, it is beautiful! We still use the one she made for Luke every day. |
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| Bryson spent quality time with both Luke & Claire. The kids all love him! |
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| Birthday girls 2013. Year 2 of missing Mom and Dad for March birthdays, but they were there in spirit! |
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| Isolene loves to put these giant bows on her just to hang around the house! |
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| Painting! Watching two kids on your own is hard, but the hardest part is coming up with ways to entertain a 2 year old all day and not being able to leave the house. |
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| My friend Hannah came over, first non-family visitor for Claire! |
