Clara Josephine is Three Months Old

Our precious Clara is three months old. How is it possible? We are so in love with this little lady. She is a delight to our home! Clara has the sweetest countenance--just looking at her makes her smile so big that it swallows her eyes. She loves to coo and especially coos at her big brother John Hudson. He spends a lot of time talking to her, so its just natural that she'd want to talk back :)  It seems like they have a really special relationship.  Of course, Daniel loves Clara too, but his attention span is much shorter and for him, one little kiss and hello will do. The boys call Clara "Jo Jo" and its looking like that nick name just might stick :)

Clara has been an exceptional sleeper. By three weeks she was sleeping 5-7 hour stretches. Now she usually sleeps between 7-9 hours a night and then sleeps a few more hours after nursing. Honestly, some nights I wake her up to eat because my body is saying, "My baby needs to eat!" if you know what I mean. Its so true that you can handle almost anything during the day if you are getting sleep at night. I am so thankful Clara has been a good sleeper and I know it is a gift from the Lord. I also know it might not last...but for today, I am thankful. And rested.

Clara loves her mommy milk. She is a great nurser. During the day, I'd say we nurse about every two hours (if she's awake). I offer it any time she says "Wah"...haha. She refuses a pacifier. Which is fine with me, but it would be nice if she'd take one in the car. But no, she gags and sputters like something awful has been put into her mouth.  Clara is also not very fond of a bottle. I left her with Michael for about 3 hours the other week and she drank a whopping 1/4 ounce! So we are pretty inseparable right now (which is fine by me!). 

Naps are still pretty unpredictable. She loves to nap attached to my body in the moby wrap or ergo. This works great for morning naps because we are often out and about anyways. In the afternoon I always attempt to lay her in her crib to nap. Some days she will sleep 3 hours. Some days she will sleep 15 minutes. Today, for the first time I tried laying her down awake for her morning nap (in the closet, the quietest room in the house). She whined for about 10 minutes and then much to my surprise, she went to sleep! I was rejoicing! We'll see if she will do that again or if it was just a fluke...

Clara hated her car seat for the first 6-8 weeks of life. And the word hate might be an understatement. She would scream hysterically from the moment we strapped her in until the moment we got her out (I think 45 minutes was the longest single stretch she cried, but that feels like an eternity when you're trapped in a car!). Thankfully she's doing much better in the car now and spends time sleeping, cooing, and only sometimes crying.

Clara's personality is really coming to life. Like I said earlier, she is smiling constantly. She's really enjoying her play mat, too. She will lay and kick and coo for pretty long stretch of time! She can also bring toys to her mouth to suck and gnaw. It really seems like she's already teething too because she is constantly gnawing on her hand. The doctor predicted she'd have a tooth by four months, so we'll see! A few weeks ago (at 11 weeks), she rolled over from belly to back two days in a row...and hasn't done it since. Hah! But I'm in no hurry for another reminder that our baby is growing too fast! At Clara's two month appointment, she weighed 13lbs 15 oz and was 24.5 inches long. She is in size 2 diapers and 6 month clothes. We are so thankful for a healthy baby girl.

Clara Joesphine, you are our sunshine girl. You have brought so much healing to your Mama's heart. We pray that the Lord will use your sweet countenance and joyful face to bring much glory to His name. May you know how much He loves you and may you always allow Jesus to pursue and win your heart.  We love you so much!