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.
Krissy ? says
Many congratulations! She’s beautiful!
Carole F. says
Oh, I am crying! She is just so beautiful! Congrats to you..I guess the mulching did its job, eh? I can’t wait to have my little girl in a few months! Enjoy your time with her, from what I hear, they grow sooooo fast!!!!
Ashley says
Congratulations!! She is SOOO cute!! Seeing such cute babies gives me a little inkling of baby fever! (Don’t tell the hubs, he’s scared of baby feaver still!)
I can’t wait to see Clara when she starts helping with the decor… I see framed baby-made art in your future!
Megan says
SO CUTE! Oh my word. Congratulations, guys!
:)
Amanda says
How wonderful for you guys! So happy to hear she’s healthy and home. Super excited for ya’s, I have a feeling you’ll be terrific parents.
Meredith says
Congrats to you both! I’m glad to hear you’re all home safe and sound!
Mandy says
YAY!! Congratulations, she is so beautiful (of course!) : )
I have an 18mo old cousin named Kenlee and I thought that was so unusual at the time, love to see it again and that you used family names for inspiration, I love that.
Enjoy this precious time and get as much rest as possible! : )
Jen L. says
Aww, the bean is home! Congratulations! :)
Laura says
Congratulations! How exciting to have a new member in your household. She is gorgeous!
Lindsay A says
Wonderful name, wonderful family – best wishes!
Katrina says
I’m so hapyp for you two, she’s darling! Congrats, new parents :)
Deborah says
Congratulations! Enjoy the wonderfulness of it all!
Angelica says
Congratulations! Clara is so beautiful. I am so happy that all is well and the happy family are back home. Take care!
Yuki says
Congrats! You two are going to be the best parents! I am so happy for you guys! She is very beautiful!
Jessica Singletary says
She is absolutely gorgeous!!! Congratulations.
Kathy says
Congratulations, guys! She’s beautiful!
Jamie says
Yay! Congratulations Petersik family! A beautiful girl with beautiful name.
Melly says
Oh my goodness, she’s lovely! What wonderful adventures you have ahead. Congratulations, John and Sherry.
Johanna says
Congratulations!!!!! You must be the happiest people in the world right now! Enjoy it :)
Christine aka The Stampin' Ninja says
Oh my goodness! Yaaaay! Clara is just beautiful (I adore her name! My husband and I are big on naming our children with meaningful names…) and Burger is the ideal BIG brother! Wishing you a speedy recovery Sherry and I hope all four of you enjoy the beginnings of your new life together!
Hugs,
Christine aka The Stampin’ Ninja
Danielle says
Congratulations!!!!!!
Jo says
CONGRATS……
Kelli says
A star is born! Congrats!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxox
Wendy says
Congrats John and Sherry!!!! :) She is absolutely adorable!
Will you be doing a birth story and/or updates on baby Clara? I know it isn’t “home” related but I’m sure some of us readers would LOVE to hear!! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Wendy,
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
Kelli says
A star is born! Congrats!!!!!
patti says
aww…she’s just perfect. and i love the name. my late mother-in-law’s name is Clara. it warms my heart every time i hear the name. hope you are enjoying every moment! what everyone says is true – it goes by so fast. my first daughter is graduating preschool at the end of the month and i can’t believe she’s 5!
Melissa says
May the days ahead slow down enough that you are able to enjoy and cherish every moment as much as possible.
Congratulations and happy wishes to you all.
krstn says
Haha. How many “I knew it!” comments have you gotten?! I thought you all were suspiciously quiet! Congrats on the baby girl. She is so beautiful. And I can’t wait to hear more about life with baby – I have 3 more weeks to go before my little girl makes her appearance!
Congrats! Congrats! Congrats!
Jill says
Congratulations! She is absolutely beautiful. Glad to hear that baby and mommy are doing well. enjoy every second…it goes by so fast!
p.s. your camera takes such great pictures. I really need to buy it!
Begoña says
I cant think about all you’ve been through, those complications are serious stuff. I’m really really really happy everybody is fine. She’s perfect, so beautiful and delicate and Burger, I’m being really emotinal here, but thinking about Burger taking care of the baby makes my eyes wet. Clara is a beautiful name, it’s the same in Spanish. So happy for you guys. After watching these pictures I dont wanna know about DIY projects anymore, I just wanne hear stuff from Clara!!!!!!How are you feeling, newmum???
Alison says
Clara Kenly is a beautiful name, so glad she and mom are happy and healthy! Big congratulations!!
Misa says
Congratulations! She’s so cute! Thank you for sharing so much of your lives with us.
Michelle says
OMG! She is so absolutely adorable. Congrats!!!
k1mber1y says
Congratulations! She’s amazingly beautiful. Soak up every little coo or giggle…even the tears. It’s amazing that, as tiny as they are, your life is forever changed for the good! We’re all thrilled for the two of you and Burger.
Nami says
WOW! Congrats. She is beautiful :-)
Lisa says
What a beautiful little girl – congratulations!
Holly says
Oh my gosh you guys, she is a keeper!! And Burger looks like a proud brother sitting next to her! Such a beautiful name too! Cant wait to see more pictures and hear how you are all getting on. Lots of love from england, Holly xoxo
LauraC says
CONGRATULATIONS John and Sherry!!!! So thankful for a healthy, beautiful baby girl. Kinda neat she was born Friday evening so you didn’t even have to think about the blog the whole weekend and no-one would be the wiser! Thrilled for you! Enjoy your beautiful daughter!
Eva says
Congratulations! She is adorable :)
lindsey says
*congrats!! beautiful baby :)
Rose says
Congrats! I hope you guys are enjoying the little edition to your home!
Janelle says
Congratulations! I’m so happy you are all well and home:) Those complications are so scary and hard. She is beautiful and her name is fantastic!!! Geez, I don’t even know you guys, but and truly, truly happy for you both, and glad you are well.
Megan S. says
Wowsa! This is very good news and we’re all glad to hear that everything turned out well. Enjoy this time with each other!
kathy t says
What a beautiful name. Happy to hear all is well -Enjoy nesting
Christine says
Congratulations, she is adorable!! So glad to hear everyone is healthy!
Amy says
Congratulations on your best and most beautiful addition yet! Best wishes for a speedy recovery for Sherry. And bon voyage on the most incredible adventure you will ever embark on.
Ames says
Congratulations! Your daughter is beautiful!
Jennifer says
Welcome to the world Clara!!! Sherry, I wish you a speedy recovery. My first (of three births) was a c-section and I know it can be a bit challenging the first week or so to get around and do all you want to do…..rest as much as you can.
Erika says
Sweet name and such a sweet little girl. Congratulations!!! Now, get off the computer and SLEEP!!!! Trust me on this….take it when you can get it. ;o)
Seriously, she is beautiful!
Emma L - Wohooo! says
Congratulations! What a sweet addition to a sweet family. <3