Last weekend we took a day trip to Bainbridge Island to visit Alison, Chris and Amara. Amara is just a couple weeks older than Claire, and this was our first time to finally meet her! It was great to compare parenting notes. Amara was also a breech baby, born via C-section. We had a lovely lunch at their home and then headed to the Bloedel Reserve for a walk. The day was absolutely beautiful and we had such a fun time catching up with Alison and Chris. Can’t wait for our next visit!
Claire looked like this.
She has made a bit of progress over the last 12 months. A baby is such a common thing, and yet miraculous!
Claire is such a sweet baby these days. First of all, she is sleeping like a champ. I put her to bed sometime between 9:30 and 10:30 and she will usually sleep until 7:00 AM! I am starting to feel more like a normal person again. She usually takes a few short naps during the day, in the car, in her bouncy seat or on the bed. Some days she crashes and will take a 2 or 3 hour nap without reason. That always freaks me out a little bit!
At the supposed risk of causing life-long obesity, I have tried giving rice cereal to Claire a few times. Just yesterday she seemed interested for the first time. She actually opened her mouth for the spoon! I doubt she ingested anything, but it was fun to practice. Our wedding photography season starts up in a month and I will have to leave her for longer periods of time. I would love her to eating some solid foods by then.
I still love nursing Claire, especially at night. I like to sit and rock her for a long time. I look at her in disbelief at how pretty she is! Her innocence is striking. She has no regrets, no sad memories, no anger, no fears. A tiny little tabula rasa. What a precious time this is. I’m trying to take in every moment. I love her so much!
We have a tradition of taking an annual vacation with the Godsey’s. This year we had two additional travelers, babies Kate and Claire! We decided to go to Kauai for a nice laid-back trip. It went great and we all got some much needed rest and relaxation.
Playing with Kate and Daddy at the house on Hanalei Bay.
Lunch at Kalypso.Dinner on the porch. Pizza and salad.Nursing in our bedroom.Claire’s bed. Andy called it the “bento box.” Road trip to Wiamea Canyon. Nursing in the minivan.Going for a stroll in Kapaa just before a downpour!A nice place to wake up!Claire took a lot of stroller naps. First time Claire’s feet ever touched the ground! At Hanalei Bay. Beautiful bath tub at the house.Playtime with Kate.Reading a new book on the porch.Sunset walk on Hanalei Bay.Touching the ocean for the first time!At the beach with Daddy while Mom got a massage!Another day at the beach. This time we found a really cool spot just East of Hanalei. Pit stop before heading back to the house. This is the kids’ room.Another sunset at Hanalei Bay.Going crazy baby!Bath time in the kids’ bathroom. Kate made sure everything was OK.So tired!
Our little beach baby!
We just got back from our first family vacation. Sorry we missed the nineteen week update. We went to Kauai with the Godseys for 8 days! It is a whole new world of travel with a 5-month old baby, but we enjoyed it. Claire did great; but more about that later.
At twenty weeks Claire is making all kinds of new cute sounds. Just today she started making a kissing sound with her lips. So cute! She also loves baths in the grownup bathtub! She loves to splash and kick as she gets more control over her arms and legs. Tummy time is still a struggle. Claire hates it. I think it might still be awhile before she rolls over. She does this funny half roll thing right now. Sitting up is getting easier; she can sit comfortably in the bumbo seat for quite a while. I think she will sit before she rolls over. She likes lots of different toys now too, especially things that rattle. She is really good at grabbing things with one or two hands and bringing them toward her mouth.
Claire loves to smile and laugh at almost anything we do. Eric likes to hold her up high and spin her around– Claire makes this funny “O” face as they spin.
Just a few days ago, in fact while we were on the 6 hour flight home, I noticed that Claire has a birthmark on the back of her neck! I can’t believe it took me almost five months of staring at this baby before I noticed it. Grated, it is right at the base of her skull and mostly covered with her hair, but I still felt bad that I never noticed it before. Its nothing serious or crazy, just some red splotches (“salmon patches”) along the very bottom of her skull. She still has some salmon patches on her forehead, but from everything I have read those should fade over the coming months. Don’t think I’m worried about any of this, just wanted to note it. I think she looks perfect!
It seems that I am Claire’s favorite person right now. I have to hold her almost all the time. It is amazing to be so needed, and I love it, yet it can be overwhelming. We are still exclusively breastfeeding, but I am thinking about trying some cereal with her soon. It seems like a big step to start her on real food! There are so many conflicting opinions out there about when to start, what to start with, how to present the food, etc. I am not sure what we’re going to do yet, but I will try my best not to ruin her pallet for life.
Alison - LOVE LOVE LOVE the photos — thanks again for coming over!! Can’t wait for our next visit with the Corliss family! 🙂