Clarke Family Adventures: 1 Week Old!

Cali is already one week old!

And what a week it's been!

Our first night in the hospital went pretty well. Cali was a hungry girl and was up to eat every 45min to an hour, so it was a bit of long night, but she settled well in her little cot between feeds. And I was so excited she was finally here that I really didn't mind. I loved having this one-on-one time with her and soaking in all the snuggles.

Snuggled in her cot next to my bed for her first night

Wide awake at 1:30am staring at the light from the hallway

Good morning sunshine!

The view from our bed

Morning sun

Somebody's smitten

Hanging in her cot in between visitors

On Saturday morning, Cali met her big sister Ceci for the first time. We had Nan take Cali into the day room so Ceci and I could have some one-on-one time together first since this was the longest we'd ever been apart (by a lot!). Then we had Nan bring baby sister in and Ceci was SO excited! We weren't sure how much she really understood about baby sister from the talks we'd had and books we'd read, but even from that first meeting it was clear that Ceci totally understood what was going on. She had kisses and hugs for Cali and wanted to hold her. And she showed no jealousy whatsoever when someone else was holding Cali. It was so sweet and so lovely.

It's baby sister!

"I hold it?"

Kisses for baby sister

Such a great big sister

Matching shirts from Nan!

When visiting hours arrived at 3:30, Ceci came back with Dadda, Nan, Uncle Tommy and Auntie Janie. Everyone loved meeting Cali and Ceci really enjoyed showing off her baby sister.

I spent one more night in the hospital because they don't discharge after 4pm and the pediatrician wouldn't do Cali's discharge exam until she was at least 24 hours old. Jay went home to put Ceci to bed and then came back for a few hours while Nan held down the fort. Nan did SUCH a great job keeping Ceci entertained and happy while we were away!

On Sunday, it was time to come home - and not a moment too soon because Nan, Uncle Tommy and Auntie Janie were leaving that afternoon! Getting discharged from the hospital took ages and we finally got home at 2pm. Cali was so well behaved - unlike her big sister she didn't mind the car seat or car ride at all, sleeping the whole way home!

Snug in her car seat

We're home!

Love from Auntie Janie

All too quickly, it was time to say good-bye to Nan, Auntie Janie and Uncle Tommy. We had so much fun having them here and they were SUCH a huge help. We simply can not thank them enough to coming over to be with us during this special, crazy time!! We're really going to miss them!

Ceci is definitely misses her Tommy

Uncle Tommy and Auntie Janie with their toes in the Mediterranean on New Year's Eve!

Playing with Nan

Ceci has been amazing with Cali. Each time she sees her, whether first thing in the morning, or after naptime, or just entering the room, Ceci excitedly exclaims "oh, it's Cali!". She loves to help take care of her, hold her, and give her gentle pats and kisses. She's assisted with diaper changes and bath time. She does occasionally get nervous when Cali cries (yelling "It's crying!" which is actually pretty hilarious), but has started to try to comfort her by saying "It's OK Cali" or bringing her a little toy. As of yet we'd have no issues with jealousy or regression (knock on wood!). Apparently all the books we read about becoming a big sister did some good!

Giving baby sister Elmo and making sure she's nice and cozy

Reading baby sister a story

Breakfast time

Putting a blankie on Cali

Holding baby sister

In addition to being a great helper, Ceci has also started showing more independence. The hiccups we had with bedtime and nap time are quickly settling back to normal and her tantrums/crankiness/whining are growing fewer and further between. I think the anxiety of a coming change and mommy not feeling well weighed on Ceci a bit and now that we've made it through and baby sister is finally here, she's feeling much more at ease. Hooray!

Reading herself a bed time story

Cali enjoying the story from across the room

Though she hasn't shown any jealousy or regression yet, Ceci has definitely wanted to be a part of everything that's going on. Aside from helping, this also means getting to try out baby sister's things (when it's safe) or finding her own version (when it's not).