We welcomed our precious daughter into the world on January 14th via a repeat c-section. I was exactly 39 weeks pregnant. It was such a beautiful day and as a way to remember all the details of Claire’s birthday, I’m going to share her birth story here. Just like I did for James when he was born in June 2017. I have shared James’ frank breech c-section birth story many times over the past two years and have been told by many nervous, anxious mamas that it was encouraging to learn more about what to expect with a c-section birth. Hopefully Claire’s birth story will also encourage and inform more parents as they prepare to welcome their babies.
Dear Baby Girl,
While I feel like we’ve been expecting your arrival for a very long time, I can’t believe we are so close to actually holding you in our arms! Tomorrow morning, your Dad and I will arrive at the hospital and will begin the process of meeting you. We’ve been through this experience once before, with your big brother, but it still feels surreal and so exciting. We have been anticipating your arrival since we found out you were growing in my belly back in May, right after your Dad and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. Once we rang in 2019, we were ready to start trying for a second baby and we are so happy that God blessed us with you just a few months later. You’ve been growing so strong over the past nine months and we are so proud of you! Your Dad and I thought you were a girl from the very beginning and your anatomy scan in September revealed our suspicions to be true. We are so excited to have a daughter and for James to have a little sister! We have been thinking about you, dreaming about your future, imagining who you are, deciding on a name, and have been praying for your development.
My sweet friend Macy and her husband are expecting a new baby and I got to photograph their exciting gender reveal! I had the honor and nerve-racking privilege of opening the envelope with the gender inside and handing over the matching color smoke stick. There was so much adrenaline and excitement! Their life was about to change in just a few seconds! With their adorable toddler in their arms, they lit the smoke stick and first, white streamed out and then it quickly turned to blue. It’s a boy!!! Luke is going to have a baby brother! So excited for this family!!
Christmas with a toddler is so much fun! James asked for three things for Christmas: a walkie talkie, play kitchen, and a baseball bat. It was so much fun to watch him open and play with them! His Melissa & Doug kitchen is his new favorite thing. So glad to have that in our play room now! We celebrated the holiday with my family in Orlando and then a late Christmas in Tampa a week later with David’s youngest sister and her new husband. I snapped a few pictures of James in front of our tree just like I’ve done the past few years. Look how much he’s grown from 6 months, 18 months to now 2.5 years old. We had a great Christmas as a family of three and looking forward to having our little lady join us soon!
I’m writing this blog post in my current favorite spot – on our king bed with six pillows around me. Nine months pregnant and I will gladly lay down any chance I get! We are SOOO excited to meet our daughter so soon!! People keep asking me “are you ready for the baby to come?” and for the past month or so, my answer was “I’m excited to celebrate the holidays as a family of 3 and then focus on baby’s arrival.” and now my answer is “yesss the countdown is on!” 🙂 I am so grateful to have had a smooth, uneventful pregnancy. Every time I leave a OB appointment, I tell David how nice it is to have a normal, boring visit. Praise the Lord for normal! We had our family portraits taken by the lovely Darlene Barlows Photography back in November and snuck in a few maternity photos. Thank you for these sweet updated pictures, Darlene!