Just thought we should mention that we recently welcomed a new member of the family.
On Friday the 14th at 5:57pm, Clara Kenley Petersik was born with a paint brush in her hand weighing in at 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. We’re insanely in love with her. And she and Burger are already best buddies. Seriously, he thinks it’s his job to stand guard next to her at all times.
Clara was named after John’s grandmother on his dad’s side. And her middle name, Kenley, is an homage to my dad (Ken) with John’s mom’s maiden name worked in there (Kelley) along with a reference to my great aunt on my mom’s side named Lee. Gotta love rooms and names that multitask.
We’re all home from the hospital and happily settling back into life here at Casa Petersik (there’s nothing like a four day hospital stint to make you miss your house like crazy). Yes, we actually had an extended stay due to a pretty terrifying scare during Clara’s birth (an unexpected placental abruption paired with an umbilical cord prolapse had a slew of wonderful doctors and nurses performing an emergency c-section in under three minutes to ensure that Clara was a-ok). But although her delivery was anything but restful, we’re both over the moon that she’s 100% healthy and 1000% adorable (not that we’re biased or anything).
And now that we’re all back home, Clara really seems to be enjoying her new surroundings. In short: we feel like two of the luckiest people in the world. And we’re so thankful to be able to share this amazing time in our lives with such wonderful readers. Thank you all for the well wishes that you’ve passed along throughout our big journey to parenthood. We can’t wait to detail all the ways that our house grows and changes to accommodate a little person and we promise to share all the organization, storage, and simple living tips that we pick up along the way (while tackling even more DIY adventures and cheap-o room makeovers of course).
But now back to our regularly scheduled blogging. We have an awesome house tour to share, so stay tuned…
Psst- We’ll also be announcing the random winner of the big baby pool (and a $100 West Elm gift card) tomorrow, so stick around.
Stacey says
LOVE the name and her beautiful little face! So glad that everyone is okay and home safely. Try to get some rest, but soak in every moment of “newbornness” :-)
Vica says
Congratulations!!!! she is gorgeous…. God Bless Her …
Nicole says
What a beautiful baby with a name to match. Enjoy parenthood! It is truly the most rewarding “project” you’ll ever take on. :D
Audrey says
congrats congrats congrats! Clara is simply stunning. I know this isn’t a baby blog, but will you guys be doing a post on how the whole birth went down? I’m always curious!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Audrey,
We like to keep things pretty home focused over here on YHL, so while we plan to share how we tackle baby clutter and how our home evolves to work with our growing family, the whole birth story can be summarized right here for you:
I noticed on Friday morning that I was having some pretty intense contractions and by the time I started timing them they were four minutes apart. I called John who was out to lunch with all of his advertising coworkers to celebrate his last day and told him to get home fast! By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were already two minutes apart and they sent me straight into labor and delivery. As we waited for the doctor to arrive and check my progress (I was already 3.5 cms dilated and 80% effaced at my last appointment) my water broke in the hospital bed- but instead of being clear it was bright red. So much blood. Very scary.
Immediately the room filled with frenzied nurses and doctors and they explained that I was having a placental abruption, which happens when the placenta inexplicably detaches from the uterine wall before the baby is born. This is extremely dangerous for the baby (since they get their oxygen/nourishment from the placenta) and the mother can hemorrhage so it’s a pretty dire situation all around. Within about a minute they had me in the OR and within three minutes they had my sweet baby out thanks to an emergency c-section. They saved her life by acting so fast.
Once they got in there they saw that not only was she in distress from the placental abruption, but the umbilical cord had somehow gotten pinched below her head when my water broke so she was struggling to get oxygen from that as well. Basically it was the scariest day of our life, but we are SO THANKFUL that the doctors and nurses worked so quickly to come to our rescue. We feel so blessed to be home together enjoying each others company! And John even got to be in the OR (in full body scrubs of course) since they worked fast enough to be sure he was there to hold my hand. Thank goodness. I couldn’t have done it without him.
The recovery is cake compared to the scare she gave us. We’re practically floating on air because other nurses and doctors in the hospital dropped in to see us for days just to tell us how lucky we were (they heard our story and were so glad that it had a happy ending). But no one is more glad than we are! So that’s the story of the scariest/best day of our lives. Whew.
xo,
s
Denise says
Congratulations! Clara is absolutely beautiful! I wish you the best of luck in your new adventures into parenthood. My husband and I are expecting our first little one in August, so your new arrival is really hitting home for me (okay, and maybe even produced a few tears of happiness for you)! Enjoy!!
Laura says
Congratulations, you two! She is just beautiful!
Brianne says
Her name is gorgeous and she looks like a little bundle of lovely perfection!
Kaethe says
I always admire your ability to do beautiful work without prior experience, but this time you’ve outdone yourselves! Best wishes to you all.
M says
Congrats, John, Sherry (& Burger!) on precious Clara! Thank you for sharing your photos with us and I am thrilled for you!
xo,m.
Julie says
Congratulations!! :)
Susie says
Sweet little baby and awesome name! Congrats!
Destine says
Yayyyyy! Congratulations! She is adorable! I’m so glad everything turned out ok after such a dramatic labor/delivery experience! I work in L/D and that’s a pretty crazy combo! Now you’ll have a dramatic story to tell when she grows up :)
Oh, and I’m bummed I missed the birth date by one day lol. So close!
Kathy says
The day we’ve all been waiting for!! CONGRATULATIONS on your beautiful little girl!! We have two daughters–and girls are GREAT fun! Accept all offers of help around the house so that you can enjoy these first precious days and weeks of new baby!!
Ellen C says
Congrats, she is beautiful! So glad you are all doing well
emily says
WOW! she’s beautiful! so happy for you!
renee says
So…shoveling mulch all week was code for eating hospital food and gazing at your precious newborn? LOL
CONGRATS! God bless Clara and the whole Petersik family!
xox
Steph Stimson says
Just gorgeous. Congratulations, mom & dad (& big brother Burger)! :)
Susan says
Congrats– glad to hear that everyone is doing fine and dandy!
Lessons in Life and Light says
Oh my goodness, congratulations! She is PERFECT! So glad to hear everyone is happy and healthy. I’m so sorry about the complications but I’m glad it all worked out and that you were open to any possibilities that may arrise. Good plan, girl!
Again, congrats to you both. Can’t wait to take this wild ride with all of you!
P.S. Could Burger BE any cuter? What a great big brother, lol!
Connie sithi says
congratulations! This is such great news, and she’s such a beautiful baby!
suzanne says
Congratulations!! She’s beautiful!!! Enjoy every moment!!
Wendy says
She is purely precious and I love the name. Hope everyone is adjusting well and you are enjoying life as parents! Congratulations!
mariel says
yay!!! congratulations…she’s adorable! geeze the way you guys have kept up with your posts we’d have never known you went through labor at all! glad both clara and sherry are in good health. and it looks like your new camera is doing an amazing job because the photos are awesome, but maybe it’s just cuz she’s so cute.
p.s. love the way you came up with the middle name, my name is a combination of family names too! maria + elena :)
Julie says
So exciting to see Clara at last! She is beautiful! Best of luck as you adjust to parenthood!
Sean H says
Congratulations! She’s adorable! I’m glad to hear that you’re all doing well and that Burger is being a good Big Brother.
Noelle says
Wahoo!!!! Congrats on such a cute baby, and I LOVE the name!
Lynnie says
Ahhhhh huge congratulations folks! Clara is just adorable.
Lynnie x
Robynne says
Congratulations! What an adorable baby girl, with a beautiful name.
Lynn Van Slyke says
Congratulations!!! She is sooo beautiful. So happy that everyone is happy and healthy!!! Enjoy these special moments with your daughter.
Amy B says
She is beautiful! I can’t imagine you will have time to read all these comments but the sheer number of well wishers is sure to be heart warming! Congrats!!!
Robin says
Congrats!!! She’s so cute and the name is adorable!! Glad everyone is home safe and sound.
Love your site! xo, Robin
Rachel says
Congratulations you two. Been thinking about you wondering how all was going.
One of my closest friends is called Clara. It’s a great name and your Clara is beautiful. x
Jillian says
Amazing! Congrats!
Wishing you all the happiness in the world, and I’m so glad that everyone is healthy and safe.
hjc says
Congratulations! You’ve embarked on the best adventure of your lives – all the best!
Heather says
Congratulations!!
StefanieK says
Many many congratulations!! I’m not biased in the least, and completely agree – she’s beautiful!!
Cindy says
Oh! What a shocker! Congratulations!!!!! She’s adorable, and I just love her name. xo
Anne L. says
wah-hoo! Welcome, Clara! You’ve got some great parents!
Liz says
Congratulations! Burger loves the part of big brother :)
Jonel says
She is so adorable!!! Congratulations!!!
Tracy Rizzo says
Beautiful! Congratulations!
Sue says
She is BEAUTIFUL!!! Congratulations!!!
Carmen says
Congratulations! She is a cutie. Enjoy every moment. They grow too fast.
Brenda Cofer says
Oh my! How absolutely precious!! I know you both are absolutely thrilled and feel totally blessed! Congratulations on your “new bundle of joy”. Sending love and prayers for an easy transition with settling in to your new life and new routines and healing and renewed strength to Sherry. God bless your family. Really enjoy reading your blog every day (from Chattanooga, TN) — have a fantastic day! :)
Amanda says
Congrats Sherry, John and baby Clara! She is just as beautiful as her name! Just out of curiosity, what were the other names you were considering?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amanda,
We’ve always loved the name Jane, but realized having a John and a Jane in one household might be a bit confusing. There were a bunch of other ones along the way that we liked, but we wanted something that had meaning and Clara just fit the bill so perfectly.
-John
Erin says
Yay for you all! Congratulations and enjoy every day- even the crappy ones. It all goes so wonderfully, terribly fast. All the best to you and yours!
Teresa says
Congratulations!!
Sabrina says
Congratulations!!! She’s absolutely beautiful, and I’m so glad baby, momma, (and daddy) are all safe and healthy. SO glad Burger likes the baby, too, since a new baby’s sometimes hard for pets to adjust to. Remember to get plenty of sleep!!!
KimB says
Congratulations on your bundle of joy! She’s beautiful!
Bridget says
Congratulations! So happy for you guys!