Settling in ... or not ...

We're home! We left Willamette Falls Hospital on Thursday night forever grateful for its staff's attention, instruction and care. If we have another, we'll have it there. But we're glad to establish a routine at home. Or, at least, try to.

That's a burping session at the hospital.

I could write a long, protracted entry about Sarah's improbable labor, which was both empowering and traumatic for both of us. But I don't have the energy right now. And you don't have the patience, probably, to read it. I'll maybe save it for later.



Home is a somewhat unseemly situation. As I write, on this rainy Saturday afternoon, two carpenters are putting the finishing touches on our kitchen cabinets, which were delivered three weeks earlier than first thought. Those carpenters have been sawing and hammering behind a closed door for the past three days. We've been here for two of them. Claire sleeps right through the noise. Sarah can tune it out long enough to nap. I have to flee to the house across the street, which our neighbor Bev has kindly left us while she's out of town for the weekend. Thank heavens.




They do look nice, though.

Yes, just as the baby arrives, we find the subcontractors cramming in all the last-minute jobs. The last light fixtures go in Monday. The kitchen floor Tuesday. The cabinets and trim get painted Thursday and Friday. Our bedroom floors get finished all Thanksgiving weekend, also earlier than expected. We'll be staying in an extended-stay hotel for at least a week beginning Thursday. CeeCee, too. Thankfully, my parents have graciously altered their schedule to come help. And friends and colleagues have kindly rallied to deliver dinners each night through Thanksgiving. This experience has shows us how blessed we really are.



Claire is a nurser extraordinare. She's learned just what to do when placed before the boob. She and mom are becoming quite the dynamic duo.

An equal-opportunity infant, Claire likes her father's chest, too.





With nursing in full swing, the poop is flowing as well. Here's a conversation you might hear in our house during nursing:

"Have you heard anything yet?"

"No, have you?"

"Nope. ... Oh, there it was! That sounded like projectile poop."

"Yeah, it did. Let's see what color it is."

"Oh, yeah. Nice consistency, too."