Moments I want to remember

If your not into scrolling through pictures this isn't for you haha. It's for me!

Just a few moments that I want to remember.

Getting home from the hospital is a little stressful for me but so full of sweet moments. The girls just couldn't get enough of their tiny baby sister! And seeing Ryan holding his baby girl is one of my favorite things ever.

The first few baths were fun. Seeing her first bath picture compared to now amazes me. Babies grow so fast!

4 days old

3 weeks old

Our first family walk together

Addilyn dominated potty training this month. I'm so proud of this sweet little girl!!

Conference weekend Ryan and Claire snoozing on the couch :)

Carrying Claire in the moby wrap everywhere I go because that's the only way she could breathe (due to her cold.) I've become an expert moby wrapper/carrier :)

Claire finally waking up for more than a couple minutes and showing me those big beautiful eyes of hers 

Emma took this. I was so tired I decided to turn a movie and take a 2 hour nap... Not the best mothering but man it was wonderful! And Emma thought she would document it for me. She showed me all the pictures she took of me sleeping.... there were quite a few haha,

And last but not least.. Spending time with my girls! Lazy mornings and snuggly afternoons are the best!

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One month of Claire

Claire is 1 month old!

I can't believe it's been a month. It seems like it's flown by. But also, I feel like I've had her forever. If that makes any sense.

Claire has just barely reached 9 lbs which blows my mind. Both Emma and Addi were 9 lbs (at least) by 2 weeks. She still fits into newborn diapers and clothes. 

She hates being swaddled. 

Tolerates a binky most of the time.

Eats every 2 hours. 

Has the biggest eyes I've ever seen on such a tiny human. 

Loves to snuggle and be held, like any newborn baby should!

Has arm and leg rolls like Emma did :)

She's had kind of a rough couple weeks, she caught a nasty cold which doesn't help her ability to sleep. It's been hard. Every time I lay her down she immediately gets congested and starts gagging and struggles breathing. So some nights I've slept with her in my recliner so she can be propped up. I tried propping up her little bassinet mattress but I woke up every 10 minutes terrified that she slid down against the side of her bed and would suffocate.... So in the recliner we go.  

The things you do to keep your tiny humans alive and comfortable. 

I honestly don't mind the sleepless nights much. I know these days don't last forever. It's just the matter of getting through the day time without losing my patience that is the real struggle. 

It hasn't been bad though. As long as the girls get their sleep and aren't grumpy it's easy for me to get through the day level headed.

The adjustment to 3 has been so much better for me than it was with two. Emma and Addilyn keep each other busy (playing mingled with fighting) and I feel like I've found my groove already for the most part. Life is good. Exhausting. But good.

Pumpkin painting

Well today I braved an outing to the museum with all three of my chicklets since Emma doesn't have school today. 

It's been awhile since we've been there! They've been working on a dinosaur exhibit for awhile but every time we've gone it's been under construction or closed down for some reason. So you can imagine the excitement exuding from the girls as they FINALLY got to walk into this room dedicated to volcanoes and dinosaurs..Not your typical girls :)

We spent a little over 3 hours there and Claire slept like a champ the whole time. The girls were so worn out by the time we got home I put them straight to bed for naps and they were out within minutes. Mom win. 

And then after naps I stripped them down and gave them paint, glitter and some little pumpkins to pain. They loved it! They painted their pumpkins a whole 10 minutes before turning the brush and glitter on each other and me. 

I love that it's the middle of October and my girls can still be outside. Naked, wild and free. As they should be.

Today was a good day!

Claire Elizabeth Johnson

So you know how my last post is all about the tragic loss of all my pictures? Well one of the reasons I was so devestated was because that included all of Claire's birth pictures, you know,  the special moments in the hospital where sisters meet and things. Well Ryan ran my phone through a recovery program a few time and guess what? I got about a months worth of pictures back, the ones of baby Claire's birth included! Blessings.
But I digress.
We got a new member in our family a couple of weeks ago!!!
Miss Claire Elizabeth Johnson!
Born September 17th, 2016 at 2:53 PM weighing in at 6 lbs 9 oz, 19 inches long.
Here's my quick birth story.
We got to the hospital Saturday morning around 8:30. My sweet sister in law came and stayed the night at our home just in case we needed to leave in the middle of the night. She took the girls to her home to play for the day while we were at the hospital. The girls were so excited to go hang out with Aunt Rachel and Uncle Eric that I honestly didn't worry one bit about them the whole day. Which made everything easier.
So we arrived at the hospital and I was feeling a little nervous. The memory of child birth was all coming back to me as we walked through the labor and delivery halls. So exciting but so nerve wracking all at once!

                                    

We got to our room and were introduced to our nurses. One was in training and the other was an old timer who knew anything and everything about delivering a baby. They sent me to get my gown on and I realized we hadn't taken a last pregnancy picture, so I snapped one really fast before I changed.

:)

The nurse who was training was the one who started my IV, and got everything going. She was so nervous at first that it made me nervous too. But as soon as her nerves settled so did mine and we quickly became good friends. 

I asked for the epidural right away because the anesthesiologist  was headed to surgery soon and didn't know when he'd get back. I didn't want to risk going through labor without it... I'M A WIMP. I know, ok? I know.

But hey, I didn't feel any contractions at all with this birth. I almost feel like I cheated a little bit. Being induced and then getting an epidural before the contractions even start. Is that even allowed? Maybe not for some people but let me tell ya, for me it was GREAT!!! I could still move and feel my legs but couldn't feel any pain. After everything was all hooked up and the contractions were coming in steady I took a nap. Ryan ended up sleeping longer than I did so I called my mom and chatted for a couple hours. 

Around 1:30 PM I could start feeling the pressure from the contractions so I knew they were really doing something. They checked me and I was at a 5. I told them once I hit a 5 I usually give birth within the hour. I got the whole "Yeah, okay sweetie, we'll see how it goes." With a little pat on the head. The nurses never believe me when I say that. But sure enough, around 2:15 I start feeling the need to push. So I send Ryan out to get the nurses and the one thats training comes to check me and says I'm at an 8. So I told her to stick around because it was going to happen fast. So she mosies on out to get the lady who's training her and they come back in 5 minutes. The older nurse checked me and started yelling "She's a 10! Get the table! CALL THE DOCTOR!! Don't push!" 

So I'm laying there, shaking, trying not to push, but really feeling the need to. The nurse in training got a good lecture from the older nurse about believing the mother when she says its almost time and taking their gut feeling seriously as they set everything up.

So the doctor runs in and within about 3 pushes, they showed me the most wrinkly, adorable grumpy looking baby ever. She came out with so much to say, she was not happy about being forced out of there and she sure gave everyone an earful. But as soon as they set her on my chest she calmed right down and just stared up at me and Ryan. We both sat there and bawled and laughed and cried some more. I couldn't hold back the tears. The joy and pride that filled my heart staring at this tiny little girl that Heavenly Father had sent me, I felt so blessed and loved. Another beautiful healthy little girl!

We took about an hour to decide on her name. I had a list of names and we decided to wait until we saw what she looked like to make the final decision. Between Claire, Alice, Hazel, Penelope and Eleanor we decided she looked most like a little Claire.

It was love at first sight. The moments of first holding and staring at your new baby are so heavenly. I feel like that is the closest you will ever get to Heaven while living on this earth. Holding a sweet new spirit fresh from Heaven; you can just feel the presence and existence of something greater than just this mortal existence. 

And then there's the reunion from Heaven. The girls walked in the next morning and rushed to the side of the bed, beaming while they ooohed and ahhhed. They crawled up and got in bed with me and both took turns holding/kissing/squeezing her. My tear ducts were exhausted after all that.

It's amazing how much love there is in the hearts of these people of mine! I love each of them dearly. I couldn't ask for a sweeter little family of 5!