Claire Matilda Poulsen was born at 11:29am on Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. She is almost 4 years younger than her nearest sibling, and several months shy of being 7 years younger than her oldest sibling. She waited in Heaven for us while we helped Stockton through his ACT clinic years, but we always knew she was there. When we did decide to get pregnant, it felt like she swooped down immediately, not wanting to wait for one more second to prepare to come to our family. I had a very joyful pregnancy anticipating her arrival, and when she was finally born, I held her in my arms and had this very special feeling of her being so happy to finally be with us. I know that we are in our particular family units for a reason and that we were together before this life, and especially that we will be together after this life, and that is a very joyful, comforting thing. Claire's birth felt even more special because with her arrival, we knew our family was complete.
Twelve months later, I still have all of these feelings. Claire has been an amazing, comforting, beautiful addition to our family. She has garnered a special love from each of us, and she gives that love right back. She doesn't warm quickly to people that she isn't around very much, but she loves her siblings and her parents fiercely. She kicks and squeals when she sees Jack's bus pull up after school, and she laughs and reaches for Natalie when she comes in to get her out of her crib. She and Stockton have a sweet, special bond, and I am excited to watch them experience life together.
I was worried about Claire being so much younger than the other kids, especially because Jack, Natalie, and Stockton were all born within 3 years of each other. Now, the gap feels very natural, the older children taking their roles seriously as protectors and teachers, and Claire looking up to her siblings. One huge advantage of Claire being so much younger is that the other kids are in school either part time or all day, and I am granted this precious one-on-one time with my baby. I am not completely drowning in babies and toddlers like I was when I had Jack, and because we waited for the timing to be right. Also, because she is our last, every milestone and moment feels even more special and sweet.
One very special thing about this year with Claire is the opportunity that Austin has had to bond with her. He has loved each of our babies and remembers them fondly, but because Claire took a bottle, Austin could stay up with her at night and feed her. This has made a huge difference because instead of trying to hold her off as long as possible before waking me up to nurse her, neither of them had to be stressed because he could just feed her from a bottle, sharing that cozy time together and enjoying their routine. He took the first shift each night for months (still does, actually), letting me go to sleep and taking care of Claire for hours, just the two of them, and the bond that they share is really very special.
I love my Claire. She continues to be a source of joy and comfort to me, and though I will miss her baby snuggles I am excited to see her grow and develop into the sweet and vivacious person she is!
Twelve months later, I still have all of these feelings. Claire has been an amazing, comforting, beautiful addition to our family. She has garnered a special love from each of us, and she gives that love right back. She doesn't warm quickly to people that she isn't around very much, but she loves her siblings and her parents fiercely. She kicks and squeals when she sees Jack's bus pull up after school, and she laughs and reaches for Natalie when she comes in to get her out of her crib. She and Stockton have a sweet, special bond, and I am excited to watch them experience life together.
I was worried about Claire being so much younger than the other kids, especially because Jack, Natalie, and Stockton were all born within 3 years of each other. Now, the gap feels very natural, the older children taking their roles seriously as protectors and teachers, and Claire looking up to her siblings. One huge advantage of Claire being so much younger is that the other kids are in school either part time or all day, and I am granted this precious one-on-one time with my baby. I am not completely drowning in babies and toddlers like I was when I had Jack, and because we waited for the timing to be right. Also, because she is our last, every milestone and moment feels even more special and sweet.
One very special thing about this year with Claire is the opportunity that Austin has had to bond with her. He has loved each of our babies and remembers them fondly, but because Claire took a bottle, Austin could stay up with her at night and feed her. This has made a huge difference because instead of trying to hold her off as long as possible before waking me up to nurse her, neither of them had to be stressed because he could just feed her from a bottle, sharing that cozy time together and enjoying their routine. He took the first shift each night for months (still does, actually), letting me go to sleep and taking care of Claire for hours, just the two of them, and the bond that they share is really very special.
I love my Claire. She continues to be a source of joy and comfort to me, and though I will miss her baby snuggles I am excited to see her grow and develop into the sweet and vivacious person she is!
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