For the past two nights, Claire has blessed us with 10 hours between feedings. Last night we fed her at 9:30pm, had her down by 10:30pm, and she didn't wake up until 7:30am! The night before last was similar. She does stay very awake and sometimes fussy during the day, but she let's us sleep at night. It's wonderful! Here are some photos we took last night. I can't believe she's 5 weeks old!
This photo is a little blurry, but I love the look on Claire's face.
Wow! One month ago today, our lives changed dramatically. Andrew and I feel so blessed with the newest addition to our family. It's wonderful having Claire. Granted, there are times when the crying doesn't appear to have an end, but we still look at her with a smile on our face and kiss her adorable cheeks in between the shrieking. We find ourselves thinking in 3 hour increments now (because that is typically when the feeding begins). We are starting to understand what some of her cries mean. Usually, she has an air-bubble and can't seem to burp. Claire loves to move. She can be settled by a walk in the Bjorn, or the stroller, or a ride in the car seat. I love how she plays with her hands. When she's hungry, she'll suck on her entire fist until the food comes. As she's nursing, she'll sometimes clasp her hands together, or hold one hand up around her mouth like she's telling me a secret.
This week has been my first at home alone with Claire. Before she was born I kept thinking about how bored I would be with this "maternity leave." Boy was I wrong. While she does sleep well at nights, she keeps me busy during the day. Yesterday, she finally took a nap in my arms around 1 pm. I didn't want to disturb her by putting her down, so while she slept for 2 hours, I hesitated putting her down until 2:45 pm, so I only got to reap the benefits of 15 minutes. In that time, I unloaded and re-loaded the dishwasher, I folded and put two loads of laundry away and started a third in the washer, and managed to straighten the kitchen. Then, the alarm went off.
It was about a year ago today that Andrew and I discussed when a good time would be to start a family. Of course you can't really plan these things and she came much sooner than we had anticipated, but we're so glad she did.
I can't believe four weeks have passed. Claire has started to lose her newborn hair and grow in some more (we hope). Her head and hands seem noticably larger every day. Her eyes have changed to a steel grey color now. We don't think they'll end up bright blue like her grandpa's, now we just wonder, "Will it be blue-green like her dad's, hazel green like her momma's, or maybe brown like her Momma Mia's?" 
We're sort of settling down into a night-time routine. Her last feeding is usually around 10 or 11 pm, and she'll go down without stirring until anywhere from 4 to 6 am. After a feeding then, she will usually stay happily in bed until 9:15 am or so. Yesterday was my first day at home solo with Claire. She kept me pretty busy, but if that translates into sleeping at night, I'll take it.
Our house-hunting wasn't as successful, but we know a little better about what we want and are keeping our eyes pealed. We're also toying with the idea of building a house. We'll see.
Claire is three weeks old today. She is doing very well and hasn't been too fussy since my last post. She is sleeping 5 to 7 hour stretches at night. It so wonderful that I don't have to be the one to get up every night to feed her. Andrew is doing so well with the bottle and now we're sharing the duties. We've found that Claire really enjoys moving. As soon as we get her in the stroller or Baby Bjorn, she is out cold.
Andrew and I spent most of Easter and yesterday in a candy coma. It's so nice to eat those sweets we've been craving particularly this past week. Tomorrow, Claire will take her first road trip to Kentucky. Andrew and I are doing some house-hunting on Thursday and Friday. We're looking forward to it.
Claire before going on our Easter walk.
Molly in her sympathy candy coma.
Andrew has been eager to help with feeding Claire, so yesterday, I pumped for the first time so that Andrew could feed Claire breast milk from a bottle. It seemed to go very well.
Laura and Alex left yesterday. Here are some more photos that were taken while they were here.
Claire loves to put her hands up near her face as she sleeps.
We've been getting longer stretches of sleep at night, but Claire seems to have developed a bad case of acid reflux. After every feeding she has been crying for an hour or two. The night before last, she went 7 hours between feedings and last night we had a 6 hour stretch. However, after feeding comes the hour or so of crying, so we can't fully appreciate the in between time.
Here are some highlights from this past week.
Aunt Laura and cousin Alexandra came to visit.
Andrew occupies Alex while Laura gets a change of clothes.
We test drove the Baby Bjorn which was a huge hit with both Claire and me.
While taking these photos, we discovered that Molly is capable of escaping the fenced in backyard. (That has since been resolved.)
Claire rooted for UNC during the NCAA tournament. After all, UNC is where her parents met and three years ago tomorrow, got married.
Claire and Momma relaxing.
I can't get enough of Claire's adorable feet.
Claire is doing some intense thinking in her lamb chair.
Momma, Claire and Daddy.
Momma, Claire, and Momma Mia.
Claire and one of her Aunt Jennifers (she has two).
Grandpa Brian, Claire, and Grannie Beth.
A close-up of Claire.
Intentional or not, it's so cute when Claire pulls her pacifier out of her mouth.
