Home Again, Home Again Jiggedy Jog

Jack and I were doing well so we decided to leave the hospital yesterday. Thanks to all the great nurses and doctors at the NC Women's Hospital. We arrived in Raleigh around 2:30, and Clara was there to great her new little brother. She's very happy to have him home with us.

Leaving the hospital

In the car seat

Here's a precious video of her chatting with him today when he was "being silly" rather than sleeping.

Polling round-up

Looks like all my readers (fans if you will) are right on when it comes to baby predictions. Congrats to everyone that voted for a boy who'd be early. Though lucky for me he wasn't so early that my to-do list is still so very long. I was able to check off some key projects last weekend... you should see how the grout in our bathroom shines!

Welcome Jack Baylis Carson!

Here are some pictures of the birthing night and birthday morning of the newest member of the family - little Jack born at 1:23 am, 7 lbs, 15 oz, and 20 3/4 in.

Ready to head to the hospital, 39 weeks 5 days.

Back to my old friend the birthing ball, but with a new twist - its oblong!

Jack Baylis Carson arrives

Jack meets his parents

Hanging out with Mommy

Snuggling with Daddy

Breastfeeding for the first time

Happy Birthday Baby Boy Carson!

I survived labor and came through the other side with a beautiful baby boy. No name as yet but stay tuned for the big announcement. Vital stats include born at 1:23 am, 7 lbs, 15 oz, and 20 3/4 in long; slightly smaller than his big sister. Maybe because I had that many fewer ice cream refills this go round than last. :) Everyone seems to be doing well. The labor and delivery were pretty intense with the full story to be posted later, but the short version is that I was hooked up to pitocin at 10:45, and he was born by 1:30 so not a lot of time to ramp up to those transition contractions, but on the flip side not a lot of time to put up with transition contractions either. Stay tuned for pictures as we forgot our cord to connect camera to computer. :(

Baby Deux Is Ready to Meet the World

Apparently water breaking before labor ever starts is becoming a trend with me. In a few minutes following the arrival of Nay-nay, Brec and I will be headed to the hospital to birth Baby Deux. My water broke this afternoon at 3:30 ish, but we figure we might as well get over there and get this show on the road. I've started having a few contractions but nothing too bad or regular yet. We'll keep everyone updated!

Clara's Dress from Uncle Jack

Yesterday seemed to be the start of significantly warmer weather in these parts; with the change we broke out some clothes that we'd been saving just for the occasion. Once such outfit is an adorable Hawaiian dress received as a Christmas gift from her Uncle Jack.

Clara's message to Uncle Jack.

Showing off the full outfit, for some reason these days all pictures must be taken sitting down.

Here she is siting in her new car seat with "Baby Crazy Pants" in the baby seat.

And finally post-naptime clothing rearrangement.

39 weeks and counting...

On Wednesday I was 39 weeks along and realize that this baby could come any day now. I'm not quite so naive as I was with Clara to think he/she will be 9 days late. Sorry no comparison pics, the last one we took with Clara was 38 weeks.

I've been holding my breath for the last week though because Clara's 2nd year wellness visit was rescheduled from last Thursday until today at 11, and I really wanted to be able to get her there. Well we made it, though it was not pretty. She apparently takes after her mother as a child in her dislike for doctors. She cried from the moment we walked back to the examination room until well after we'd arrived at Alison's house to visit with Kierstin. And this feat was only managed with pants and shoes off and her diaper only half fastened. The good news is that everything looks good and she's growing fine. She weighed 30 lbs, 3 oz, and was 35 in tall. No wonder I've been so tired carrying her around! Here she is posing with Sydney in a new birthday outfit from Nay-nay! My big girl :)

Clara sings the ABC's

Clara has just recently mastered her ABC's.

She has made a lot of progress from her rendition less than a month ago of "A, B, C, D, H, I, sicklebee, W, X, Y, Z.

Happy Birthday Continued!

We celebrated Clara's birthday with a party. Molly, Janie, Stella, and Carmen from Clara's playgroup joined by long-time buddy Kierstin and our next-door neighbor Lula came over to enjoy the festivities. The kids played for awhile; then we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. Finally everyone enjoyed some tasty, yet sunken cupcakes! The festivities continued with a lunch out to the local BBQ hot spot, The Pit! Clara enjoyed some mac n' cheese and showed off her tutu. After lunch we opened a few presents before her much needed nap, but she didn't miss a beat upon awaking and opened the rest after her nap. We finished off the evening with a Clara favorite, pasta carbonara. Then Clara enjoyed 2 pieces of Mrs. Wilson's famous chocolate chip cake and 2 scoops of ice cream. All in all we had a great day.

Clara's new bike from Nay-nay and Pop-pop.

Clara foiling Molly's turn


A snap shot of Clara egg hunting. She has a roundabout way of doing things.



The birthday gang... Janie, Kierstin, Clara, Lula (top) Carmen, Molly, Stella (bottom). As you can see getting 7 toddlers to sit still for a picture, let alone look at the camera, is not a trivial matter.







Mommy and Clara blowing out the candles.


Clara enjoying her cupcake.


Checking out her new "silly crab" sandbox.


Opening presents.

A family effort blowing out the cake candles.

Happy Birthday Clara Beara!

Today we celebrated Clara's 2nd birthday in style! First things first, let's check out the outfit, a birthday present from Pat! The shirt says, "birthday girl" in sparkles.

As you can see in this video, Clara was super-excited about the day's festivities and bouncing off the walls before 9 am. She sure knows how to make an entrance and an exit.

Now I'm tired and going to bed... stay tuned for the rest of the post tomorrow. :)

38 weeks

Before we get to all the birthday fun, today I am 38 weeks pregnant! I made it through the birthday party without going into labor which was a slight, albeit far-fetched concern. Though I'd like to have the next two weeks to prepare, but I'm just glad that baby deux, barring a 0 to 60 mph labor, will not have an April 15th birthday.

Here are today's belly shots... top one is today, bottom is with Clara.

Last Week as a One-Year-Old

I can't believe that Clara turns two tommorow! Two years ago we were at the hospital getting ready for "labor stimulation". Here are some pics of Clara's last week as a one-year-old.

Ready to go out shopping.

Trying out the party hats.

Relaxing with with Mommy, Daddy, and Sydney

Posing with Sydney

Showing off her "Aunt Betts pants".

Friday Flashback post

I recorded this video at the end of January but think that its too funny not to share now. I've made it a part of my "Friday Flashback" series which may or may not be a one part series ;).

Let me set the stage... Clara is playing with two of her Little People figures whom she calls Uncle Jack and Dy. As you can see she was having some difficulty getting them to sit at the table.

You'll be happy to know that she finally got them the way she wanted and even placed the bib there for spills and the water for them to drink. Clara, however, refused to pose with her masterpiece.

Full term! (aka 37 weeks and a day)

Today I am officially full term which is both a relief and extremely scary that I'm so close to actually having this baby. I have been much more worried this time that the baby will come early whereas last time I was convinced I would carry Clara all the way 'til my scheduled induction date nine days after my due date of April 17th. Obviously Clara had different plans. So who knows, maybe this time the baby will be late.

Feel free to check out the polls concerning both the baby's arrival and its sex on the sidebar!

Below are the most recent belly shots. Top is this pregnancy 37 weeks; bottom is with Clara 36 weeks, 2 days.

Reading "Eyes Shut"

One of Clara's favorite books to read is Dr. Seuss' I Can Read With My Eyes Shut. She has recently begun to recite it to herself. Here she is in action. Of course the videos never seem to catch the "best" performance, but you can catch the "bees on trees" and "knees on threes" towards the end.

Running!

Clara is burning off some early morning energy by doing some laps in the hallway...