Montana

Chapter 39

Claire's Four Days Old... This morning, Claire woke up Andy. Claire is feeding every two hours. Claire almost always wakes up Andy. So, Andy and Robert got up. Robert changed Claire and then handed her to Andy. Andy then feeds Claire. In the morning when Andy feeds Claire, Robert will go downstairs, he will go downstairs and make what he calls the Milk Maker Smoothie. 

This afternoon, Claire has her first appointment with her pediatrician. Her appointment is at noon. At eleven, they started getting ready. Getting ready to go, has changed so much. To to get ready, they have to feed and change Claire. They then have to pack the diaper bag for Claire and Andy. They grab a few things for Andy and a ton for Claire. For Andy, they pack her a couple of t-shirts, breast pads, breastfeeding pillow, and other breastfeeding stuff. At 11:30 in the morning, they put Claire in her carseat and leave. Andy sits in the back with Claire. They head to the doctor and have an appointment.

The appointment goes by quickly. Claire went from 7lb 9oz/ 20 inches long to 7lb 11oz/ 21 inches long. So, Andy got permission to start feeding Claire every three hours, instead of two.

They hang out for the rest of the day. This evening, the team comes over for a little bit. Lucas stays the longest and holds Claire the most.

Claire's 7 Days Old... Over the past week, Andy and Robert have adjusted to being parents. The team has been over only once. Andy's now feeding Claire every three hours.

This morning, Andy woke up without Claire crying. When Andy heard that she was just surprised, so she looked over, and Claire wasn't there. So, she got up and went downstairs.

Conversation... Robert: Morning. Andy: How long ago did I feed her? Robert: Almost three hours. Andy: I fell asleep didn't I? Robert: Yep. (Claire starts crying.) Andy: Can you grab my pillow? Robert: Sure. Andy: Thank you.: End of Conversation After that, Andy feeds Claire, and Robert goes and makes her the Milk Maker Smoothie. They spend the rest of the day together.

Claire's 4 Weeks Old... Today, Claire is a month old. The past month has been a roller coaster. So far, being parents has been hard and easy. They've gotten into a routine. Tomorrow, Robert goes back to work. Since he's going back to work tomorrow, Andy decided to do something special for him.

Since Claire was two weeks old, Andy has been pumping milk for when she goes back to work. So, Andy decided this feeding, Robert can feed her. Claire is doing amazing at breastfeeding, so Andy decided it was time. So, Andy went to the kitchen and made a bottle. She also grabbed her pump.

Conversation... Andy: Robert, here's a present. Robert: A bottle? Andy: You wanted to feed her before you went back to work. So, you feed and I pump. Robert: Okay.: End of Conversation After that, Robert feeds her and he has a huge smile on his face. Andy made sure to take a picture. Andy loves taking pictures of Claire and Robert. Today, Robert spends the day hanging out with his girls.

Claire's 4 Weeks and 2 Days... Today, Robert goes back to work. When Robert got up to get ready for work, Andy also got up. While Robert got ready for work, Andy fed Claire. After Andy fed Claire, she gave Robert Claire. Robert didn't want to go back to work, but he did. Robert left for work at 7:45 in the morning.

It's now eleven in the morning. Andy was lonely, so she decided to go to the station. It took a while. She started packing, at 11:15. She had to pack enough stuff for a few hours. She grabbed a place for Claire to sleep, she figured out her stroller, man was that hard. Andy then put Claire in her carseat. She grabbed her breastfeeding pillow, and left. Andy was terrified to drive with Claire in the car, but it was just a couple blocks.

When Andy arrived at the station, it was now noon. Andy was surprised on how long it took her to get out of the house. At the station, no one was home. So, Andy went into Robert's office, set up her safe spot, feed Claire, and then fell asleep.

When the firetrucks got back, the lights and sirens were on, so they woke up both Andy and Claire. After a minute, the lights and sirens turned off. That's when everyone heard the baby screaming. So, went towards the crying. They were surprised to see Andy there and frustrated with Claire screaming.

Conversation... Andy: Can someone please get Claire? Robert: Yes. Andy what are you doing here. Andy: I was lonely. Robert: Okay. (Robert picks up Claire.) Robert: How long have you been here? Andy: An hour or so. Robert: Okay.

Robert sits down beside Andy. The team hangs in there for a couple minutes, and then the team goes upstairs. After the team leaves, Andy and Robert just sit beside one another. While they were sitting beside one another, Claire started to smile. When she started to smile, Andy started to cry.

Andy: Our daughter is smiling. Robert: Andy, why are you crying? Andy: I don't know. That's her first smile. Robert: I know. At least I didn't miss it. Andy: So true.: End of Conversation After that, they all hang out for a little bit. Then Andy goes home.

Claire's 4 Weeks and 3 Days... When Robert got home that morning, Andy was on couch asleep. When he came in and saw her on the couch, he just smiled. So, he came and sat down beside Andy. When he sat down beside Andy, she woke up some.

Conversation... Andy: Hey. How was shift? Robert: Okay. How was last night? Andy: I missed you're help. Robert: I wished I was here. Andy: She's so much easier to take care of when she was in my belly. Robert: Agreed. Andy: Were we ready to be parents? Robert: I don't know, but she's here now. You two are my world. Andy: Good.: End of Conversation After that, Robert strokes Andy's hair and she goes back to sleep. Claire then wakes up, and he feeds her. They hang out all day, and Robert holds Claire and they love her.