Keeping Up with the Cases: Settling In

We are so proud to call Baby Charlotte a part of our (not-so-little) family! We were able to bring her home Sunday afternoon, after a nice stay at the hospital, where she and I were cared for by loving, kind nurses and doctors. She is now three days old, and she seems to have settled into the Case household just fine. For now she is sleeping in a bassinet in our bedroom, and we have made it a habit to leave the door and curtains open during the day so she can get used to the noise of the house and the sunlight. Her brothers certainly make enough noise to keep everyone awake, so we are impressed that she is unfazed by their romps and sleeps like the baby she is.

Some of you have asked how Baylor and Jack handled meeting Charlotte for the first time. Honestly, they were indifferent. As I told a friend, they were more interested in wearing their new Batman/Spiderman backpacks and tossing around nerf balls than they were in bonding with their little sister. They both pointed and giggled at her, and Baylor did pet her head like he pets the kitty, but other than that, they ignored her. At home they have been warming up to her more and more. They like to watch me change and dress her, and anytime she makes a noise they run to see what's up. Baylor has a tendency to empathize too much, and he is liable to break into his own tears when she cries--I suppose we are extremely lucky that she doesn't cry much!

Many people have asked for photos, and while we don't have many yet, here is a sampling of what we do have:

This is when I first met her, just seconds after she arrived.

I know it's hard to tell, but she has a head of

dark, thick hair.

So many people dote on her already,

including her proud Grandpa.

We caught her awake for this shot.

We couldn't have made it through this weekend without the help of both of our families. While my parents, sister, and brother-in-law live in town (and temporarily in the same house), they were super busy working at my parents' new home this weekend and could only help sporadically. Enter Bill and Laurie, Stephen's folks, who got into town early Saturday afternoon and left this morning. We basically threw them into the fire by leaving them in complete control of the boys, and they performed admirably. It was such a relief to know that Jack and Baylor would have expert care and attention while Stephen and I stayed with Charlotte in the hospital and then transitioned to life at home.

When we first pulled up from the hospital, we were greeted by little boys wearing overalls and backpacks (honestly, they never take them off--Baylor wears his to breakfast). Soon they moved outside, where they played with new toys cars their Grandma Case had brought from their Great-Grandma Blakemore. They had such a great time, and their dad captured several good shots.