2 week check-up!

Little Claire-Bear is two weeks old! There really isn't anything new to report. We went to the doctor on Tuesday and everything looks good. Her weight was up 4 oz from birth. They like them to be back at birth weight by two weeks, so I guess her mommy milk is doing good things for her scrawny legs! She is still having a 4 hour stretch of sleep at night, but we are hitting a growth spurt, so I am expecting some changes in sleep. She has been more awake and alert the past couple of days and it's so sweet to her little eyes! Her two week pictures didn't go so well, but I figure most people don't care that she was crying, just as long as they get to see her! 

M-I-C...C You Real Soon!!!

The McPhillips' and The Hinson's are doing the unthinkable in November... taking the kids to Disney World!!! So, in honor of that, we are starting Disney Movie Fridays. We had our first one last night and it was The Lion King. Andy had never seen it, and I think he enjoyed it. I know I did. You know you have seen a movie too many times if 10 years later you can STILL quote it and sing all the songs! I am really looking forward to our Disney trip!! Little Addison jumps up and down screaming, "See Mickey ears!!!". I guess all those Disney commercials with the balloon Mickey ears are paying off. 

James on the cuddle bag. 

John and Joseph on the couch. I believe John said, "Watch the movie, stop taking pictures!" after I took this picture.

Andy, Claire, and I. 

Andy, Sarah, and Claire Bear. 

John helping with the hot chocolate.

One Week Old!

Baby Claire is one week old!! I cannot believe it! Most people are probably going to hate me for this blog, but I wanted to tell how EASY this week has been. I am not sure if it was just the fact I did have help from my mom and sister or if motherhood just comes that easy for me. Addison isn't showing any jealousy towards Claire. She seems very interested in what she is doing and hasn't been acting up while I nurse her... Thank the Lord!! Claire has been pretty easy as well. She doesn't like to be messed with, so diaper changes, cord care, and baths are the only time she cries. She grunts and moves around if she needs her diaper changed and give GREAT feeding cues. This week she has been sleeping in our bed at night, and has a FOUR HOUR stretch before waking to nurse which is around 2:00-3:00 a.m. and then wakes up around 4:30 and then again at 6:30, which is when Addison wakes up. Addison wants to see "Baby Claire" every morning and give her kisses. I am staying on top of making sure she is nursing every 2 hours during the day. Claire cluster feeds in the evenings, which works out well since it starts about the time John gets home from work. 

I have generally been feeling very well, which probably attributes to how easy everything is going. I guess the real test will be next week, since I will be by myself with both girls all day, unless I call in some reinforcements. :) My own personal goal is to make sure I get a shower everyday. 

We went on our first outting this week. It was over to my mother's house for my Granny's birthday. It didn't go so well for me, I was EXTREMELY stressed out by the time that I got to my mom's. It didn't help that my hormones were ready to make their escape from my body! Anyway, onto Baby Claire's first photo shoot!! 

Claire Bear is here!

We started our Friday off bright and early, having to be at the hospital at 5:00. Yes, that is a.m. When we got there, we got settled in our room and the nurse started my IV of pitocin to induce my labor. The contractions got pretty intense pretty quickly. My Mom and Bill arrived around 6:30 and they were great company. The nurses changed shifts at 7:00 and I found out that the nurse that was with me through most of Addison's delivery( she wasn't the one that actually delivered Addison b/c of a doctors appt) has signed up for Claire's delivery. She was totally awesome during my labor with Addison and I really appreciate everything that she did for me. I could dedicate a whole blog to the "fabulous-ness" of Miss Connie, but I won't. :) Anyway, Dr. Cris, my anesthesiologist came around 7:00 and did my epidural, and I felt MUCH better after that! I swear, that is REALLY the to go! Dr. Franklin came in around 7:30 and checked me and broke my water. We had been hoping Claire would make her grand entrance before lunch, but around mid-morning, it wasn't looking that way. I was dilated 5 around 10:00 and Connie was thinking it would be more like mid-afternoon. She wasn't planning on checking me until Dr. Franklin made her rounds at lunch, but around 11:30, Connie checked me and I was dilated 9! They started getting the room ready so, we could push when Dr. Franklin came over at lunchtime. I was starting to feel some intense pressure from Claire, so I knew she was getting ready too. Connie didn't think I was going to have to push long at all, which I was thankful for, since I pushed for an hour with Addison. My family all left to go eat lunch over at Andy's office while I was going to push. I pushed for 2 minutes! Literally!!! It was 3 contractions and Claire was welcomed into our world!! It was so amazing. After they got her cleaned up, John was going to go to the door and show her off but no one was there! He had to call our family to come over to see her! They came running through the hospital like a bunch of mad men!! Everything about Claire's birthing experience was so much easier! Everything was so calm and quick! We got to go home on Sunday, and we are trying to get settled into our routine. Addison is in love with Claire and is so good with her. She is learning to be gentle when touching her. She loves to hold her. Claire is sleeping a lot, but waking every 1 to 2 hours to breastfeed. Addison loves to watch her nurse. She tried to latch one of her baby dolls onto me when I was feeding Claire! Mom has been such a HUGE help these past couple of days. It is so great to have family so close. 

Welcome to the World Claire Elizabeth McPhillips!

Claire Elizabeth McPhillips

Born: January 9th, 2009

Weight: 7 lbs

Length: 19 1/2 inches

Time: 12:08 p.m.

Big Sister: Addison Marie McPhillips

Pregnant still... but not much longer!

Here is what is going on, pregnancy-wise. All day Monday I contracted, BAD!!! They were lasting about every 5-10 minutes and I was feeling the urge to make sure all my ducks were in a row. I ended up taking a nap and when I woke up, I was still contracting, except they hurt BAD! So, I decided it was time to go to the hospital, just to make sure everything was okay. I have been SO paranoid this time, that I am not going to make it to the hospital in time. Anyway, NeNac came and stayed with Addison while John came and got me. We stayed about an hour for observation, my contractions weren't being that impressive and I had only dilated to 2 cm and didn't change during the hour. When we got home, my contractions were AWFUL!! They hurt SO bad. They reminded me of the contractions I was having BEFORE my epidural with Addison, but they were irregular. I was able to fall asleep and actually had a pretty good nights sleep. I contracted off and on all day today, and they would bring tears to my eyes. I am just SO miserable and there was no end in sight. I had no idea if my doctor would schedule an induction or not, and how was I going to make it without knowing? I don't do well with that. Anyway, I broke down on the nurse at my doctor's appointment and she was so sweet and understanding. When the doctor came in, she checked me, and I was dilated to 3 cm! Whoo Hoo!!!! Dilated another centimeter! So, she scheduled my induction for Friday, January 9th, 2009. We are not sure if I will go into labor before then, but at least the end is in sight!! We will keep everyone posted! 

The Bags are Packed...

We are ready!! All of our bags are packed, the cameras are charged, and our plans are in place. If only our little addition would get the message!! I spend all of Sunday contracting about every 20-30 minutes. When we woke up this morning, John said I wouldn't make it to my doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon. He thinks, and wants it documented, that she is coming tonight and her birthday will be tomorrow, January 6th. I guess we will see!! He told Addison and now she is all fired up about holding baby Claire and giving her hugs and kisses. It is so sweet!! I really hope she feels that way after Claire gets here! I still need to get the car seat installed in the car and set up the bassinet in our bedroom, but that will be done today! Our plan is if we go into labor in the middle of the night that NeNac and Poppy(John's parents) will come to our house and stay with Addison until she wakes up. If we induce labor( which hopefully, we will set a date tomorrow) then Addison will spend the night with NeNac and Poppy and they will keep her while we are in the hospital. It really is convenient that our family is so close! John works about 5 minutes from our house and his parents live about 5 minutes from us too. My Mom and Bill are about 15 minutes away and my sister lives right next to the hospital! My Dad and Karen live the farthest away, in Birmingham, which is about 45 minutes from here. I REALLY hope John is right about baby Claire!