One of the best things about having a new baby are the family members who come to see her! My mother and father-in-law camped in front of our house for a week and a half to be here for Claire's birth. There was never a dirty dish in the sink, they entertained the kids, and even scrubbed the floor by hand. That is love.

Grandma & Grandpa Peterson fishing with the kids

Grandpa Haines

A week ago my dad and stepmom came to meet Ms. Claire on their way back from a bridal shower in Seattle. They had a good time lovin' on their new granddaughter and Kathy cooked a really wonderful meal for us all...

Grandma Kathy because Justin, DeAnne, and the kids came over for the day, too. DeAnne already got a quick look at Claire on the way over for her Ragnar Relay (it is so convenient living here!) but finally got to hold her. Yay for more girls in the family!

One week old.

Claire at 5 days old.

I was working on this post yesterday when Claire turned exactly one week old.

Since time is moving so quickly, I'm going to share Claire's birth story.

I wasn't surprised when I was still pregnant on my due date since Ezra and Audrey were both born four days after their due dates. My midwife checked me Monday when I was 8 days overdue and said I was dilated to 4 cm and 70-80% effaced. I was really excited and had about 8 hours of backache and very light contractions. We tried doing some things to start labor naturally, and I was disappointed when the acupressure that started Audrey's labor didn't give me contractions. On Wednesday July 13, I had another appointment and by that time I was tired of waiting. By this time, emotionally I was at the end of my rope, just waiting for something to happen that I had no control over. This time I was at a 5 with my bag of waters bulging, completely ready and ripe for labor. She felt confident that if she broke my water, I would go into active labor and have a baby by the end of the day. Otherwise, I would go to the hospital the next morning and we would try since I was 10 days over and had difficulty in pushing my other babies out. I called Corey and although I had wanted things to start on their own, we decided to get the party started. I checked in at the hospital a little after 1:00 pm. Corey hadn't arrived yet when the midwife came over and broke my water at 2:30. I had been having very mild contractions for the past day and a half, but within 5 minutes, they became stronger. I called home to check to see when Corey had left, but he answered the phone! By the time he arrived, the contractions were very strong and I couldn't talk or move during them. They took me off the monitoring and Corey started a bath for me. It helped a great deal and soon the contractions were a minute and a half long and starting to double up. The doctor that Tonia, my midwife, works with, came in and wanted to check me. While I was in the tub, I felt a light urge to push and knew I needed to get out since that hospital doesn't do waterbirths. It was around this time I told Corey that I wasn't sure I wanted to do this without any drugs. I knew I was in transition and things were going very quickly, but this labor was more intense than any I had experienced with the other two.

I was at an 8 when he checked me, and a little after that, Tonia came in. The room was set up for the birth and I had terrible back pain. I found out that Claire had turned and was posterior, and the pain was a lot stronger than before. We tried some different positions which helped, and I was so surprised when I felt like I wanted to push. I never experienced that with Ezra and only slightly after they gave me Pitocin for Audrey's birth. I started pushing a little and then we changed positions again. I began pushing and was so amazed at the progress we were making. About 20 minutes later, Claire was born. From start to finish, my active labor was 2 1/2 hours. It went fast but it was an intense ride! I am so grateful that Claire is safely here and well. This has been the fastest recovery and I'm feeling pretty good now.

After she was born, Claire made a lot of noise and I began worrying. We already have one little girl who likes the spotlight! We have really enjoyed Claire, she is a very sweet baby and easily soothed. It amazes me how she has captured our hearts so completely in such a short time.

the end.

With joy we welcome

Claire Elizabeth Peterson

8 lbs 6 oz 20 inches born at 5:04 p.m. July 13, 2011

Still Cookin'

Yesterday was supposed to be the big day. But as you can see, we're still cookin' here. Both Ezra and Audrey were born 4 days after their due dates, so I placed a lot of expectation on the 7th.

Don't you think 7-7-11 would have been a great birthdate?

Clearly this little girl has a time schedule of her own. Although I'm starting to get a little antsy...Corey and I went for a nice uphill walk last night and he did some acupressure yesterday morning. We tried that with Audrey and 20 minutes later contractions began and we went to the hospital a few hours after that. I haven't had any prelabor to speak of, just a few piddly backaches. So I'll probably hang out today and make some more bread!

DeAnne shared a wonderful recipe that I mentioned earlier, and here are the results! I enjoy baking more than cooking, but am glad to have something healthier to make. Learning how to make bread from scratch has been on my list for a long time, and it really doesn't take much time or dirty too many dishes.

Better keep busy, right? I wish I had more patience....

Going Diaperless

I was pretty sure Audrey would potty train before baby #3 came along, because she showed a lot of interest in the potty from a young age. A couple months ago I made peace that we would have two in diapers, at least for a little while. Then about 2 weeks ago, Audrey had a breakthrough! At home, she does the whole thing by herself- and skipped over the potty seat quickly. We're still working on potty training on outings, but I have been amazed by her initiative. This is the first time in 4 1/2 years we have been diaper free...I've enjoyed these past few weeks! Way to go, Audrey girl!!

Lovely Ladies

Last week the lovely ladies at church threw me a fabulous baby shower. When Sue approached me about it, I felt a little silly. You know, third baby, we already have stuff for a girl, yadda yadda. But I've learned never to turn down a party and after awhile I started looking forward to it. I really appreciate the support, and it almost means more this time than before. It was a fun evening with amazing food, delightful company, and thoughtful gifts. In addition to a wardrobe of super cute outfits, I was given some beautiful handmade gifts. Thank you ladies, you made me feel so special!

39 weeks.

The talented Emily (who took these pictures and helped me with the zig zag pillow) with daughter Pearce. Gotcha, Sue!

I will miss working with the Young Women. Tammy with her mother, April. And Sarah, as cute as can be.

I wish I had talent like this! An signed copy of original artwork and and a poem from Marie.

Babies Don't Keep

I tried to put this in the last post, but couldn't figure out how to copy and paste it. I admire mothers who really enjoy their children, who spend time with them and have learned to let the things that don't really matter go. To be perfectly honest, I've been struggling with my little ones lately. Finding a balance of giving my children the time and attention they deserve while not getting "lost" in the demands of house and life is a challenge. I've always been the kind of person who needs a lot of alone time and everyone knows that work so well with young children. Parenthood seems like a lifelong course on learning to become more unselfish, and I have a long way to go! I am excited to hold a sweet new baby, in some ways I appreciate it more than with Ezra or Audrey because I'm beginning to realize how quickly they are growing up. I am grateful that we are even able to have this baby, there are family members and friends who are wonderful parents and struggling to be able to have another baby. I hope this post doesn't come off in a negative way- but it is true to what I'm feeling. Here's a poem I read that I liked: Babies Don’t Keep by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth, Empty the dustpan, poison the moth, Hang out the washing, make up the bed, Sew on a button and butter the bread. Where is the mother whose house is so shocking? She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking. Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue, Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo. Dishes are waiting and bills are past due Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue? Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo. The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep! I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

Laundry Room Redo

One of the things I like about this house is having the laundry room upstairs since our bedrooms are on the second floor. We were assured when we looked at the house that our standard side by side washer and dryer would fit fine in the itty bitty laundry closet, and technically they did fit... as in, we could shut the door. But it didn't really work, and as my belly grew, it became more difficult to move clothes from the washer into the dryer. It became clear that a change was needed...and although it was alotta money, we bought a stack washer and dryer. After 7 weeks of waiting and a really annoying delivery guy (who wouldn't unload because there was snow of the ground-hello, we shoveled and snow-blowed!) we picked them up and installed them ourselves. And it was worth it, especially with our laundry load increase around the corner. Last week during that burst of energy, I had an idea to bring up a white storage shelf from the pantry to put our laundry stuff on. A simple thing, but much better than the cardboard box on the floor! (Why did it take so long to think of that?)

And I hung this little sign I found a few weeks ago.

Right now the laundry room and nursery are my favorite places in the house because they are decluttered and decorated. I wish my whole house was like that- we still have a few moving boxes out and totes of "stuff" in random places. I guess the motto at thehouseofsmiths.com "taking it one space at a time" should be my motto, too. All in good time.