She's Arrived!

Ok so the more appropriate title of this post would be 2 months, but it's never too late to announce the arrival or our sweet baby girl!!

Claire Michele Richard

Born May 17, 2013 @ 2:06am

7 lbs 3 oz

Andy and Julie-overjoyed parents

Cooper Raymond- big brother who hadn't realized this sweet baby was coming home with us :)

Miss Claire Bear arrived in true Richard Fashion, meaning she waited until the grandparents descended upon Omaha to make her appearance.  I don't know how they do it, but just like with Cooper's birth they arrived in plenty of time.  They rolled in this time one hour before we had to leave for the hospital, and both grandmas were busting through those hospital doors at 4am to meet their little granddaughter when she arrived!!
Here are a few of the FAQ's I have gotten since she has been born:

1. How did the labor and delivery go?
(feel free to skip ahead if labor stories are not your cup of tea, however I will keep it PG)
~It was a great experience, with the help of a little friend of mine called an epidural.  My contractions actually started the night before she was born, but suddenly stopped that morning which made me a bit anxious because I wasn't sure what was quite happening.  Besides my contractions keeping me up all night, poor Coop had a horrible ear infection and was up the night before all night too!  One sleepless night led into another as she arrived the next night.  I was the only patient on the floor when we checked in that night at 9pm, and after an hour of "triage" which was quite painful, they announced I could be admitted and started the IV and Epidural.  Thank goodness.  We "slept" for an hour (actually I think Andy is the only one that slept), started pushing at 1:30, and by 2:06 she came out!!

2. How did Coop react to seeing her for the first time?
~Well I would say there wasn't much of a reaction, unless you call glancing at her, then running to push every button on the hospital bed one.

3. How is the adjustment to 2 kids?
~It's an adjustment that's for sure.  It's quite busy, especially with crazy busy Coop man.  I think I am finally getting the hang of it, but breastfeeding every couple hours and expecting Coop not to do anything mischievous during that time is next to impossible.

4. Speaking of Cooper, how is he adjusting?
~For the most part well.  A little more whiny, needy, and ornery, but that's why they call it the terrible twos right?!  His two favorite phrases are "Claire crying", and "Claire sleeping", which I guess is all he pretty much sees her do anyway!  In the past few weeks he has started "sharing" toys with her, which means running over and laying piles of toys next to her head.  He also likes to pat her on the back a lot.  So sweet.  Here's a few pics of our big 2 year old (and his many expressions)

5. How is Claire doing?
Great!  She is sleeping through the night (about 6-7 hours now), breastfeeding great, and has a very sweet little personality.  She just started smiling and cooing about a week ago.  Melts your heart.  She does have some fussy periods and likes to be held a lot, so I call her a little high maintenance, but she's a girl so that's normal, right?!

6. How is Andy doing with a daughter?
Amazing, he is so sweet with her.  He already says she has him wrapped around her little finger.  Still working on changing those diapers though.....something about the concept of wiping front to back, and those little woman parts, scares him a bit!

Overall, our family of 4 is doing great and are loving every new moment we get to share with our sweet bear (as Andy has affectionately nicknamed).