Yesterday, Claire became a child of the covenant. She was baptized by Rev. Dr. Philip G. Ryken at the 9 a.m. service and was an absolute gem throughout. She was snoozing in Daddy's arms, but opened her eyes and was aware of what was going on when Phil held her and sprinkled the water on her head. She didn't cry or fuss, but promptly went back to sleep when given back to Daddy.

She wore a beautiful gown made by her Aunt Candace, ribbon-embroidered booties made by my mother, and a smocked bonnet that Joel's mother bought her. Phil mentioned that Claire means clear, bright or shining, and gave her a special blessing--"May you shine forth with the light of Jesus Christ."

After the service we had a little brunch party for her grandparents, godparents (an aunt and uncle), cousins and a few church friends. It was a long, exciting day for Claire. She was passed around, bottle fed and much fussed over. By evening, she just wanted some quiet time with Mommy.

It's a powerful thing to be someone's one, best comfort. Wow. Momhood is cool.

I've become more than a little stir crazy the past few days. Being cooped up in the house with the baby all day is definitely taking its toll.

More than one friend has told me the problem is my expectations rather than the fact the Claire likes to "cluster feed" (e.g. snack on and off) for 3-4 hours at a stretch during the day. I guess I am more of a "type A" personality than I realized. It makes me kind of crazy to not achieve things every day. I like to be active and to have a clean, tidy house. Even when I put Claire in the Baby Bjorn carrier, there are things I can't do, like scrub the bathtub.

Drat. She just woke up again....

God grant me the serenity to accept my dirty house and watch bad sitcoms while Claire plumps up.

I've just begun to be able to do something other than watch TV while nursing. This is a very welcome development, because my brain was beginning to turn to mush. All the morning talk shows cover the exact same things, with the same guests shamelessly promoting their new book/movie/album/TV show. Ugh. In the afternoon I got caught up on old episodes of Cosby show, which I always enjoyed when it was on in the 80s. It was nice to see an African American family protrayed so positively--two parents, both professionals, and well-adjusted, good kids.

But now I can read! Yay! I finished up a silly murder mystery my sister-in-law loaned me, Too Many Crooks Spoil the Broth. It's set in PA Dutch country, and the protagonist, who owns an inn, is quite humorous. The plot was kind of silly, but it was a fun read nonetheless, about my speed when I first got home from the hospital, sleep deprived and sore.

I've started a novel by Ann Patchett, Bel Canto about a group of people taken hostage in South America during a birthday party for a Japanese businessman the government is trying to woo to build a factory in the country. In the evenings, when I get a few minutes to soak in the tub to try to help my stitches heal, I've been reading Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott. It's her journal of her first year as a single mom. I'd never read any of Lamott's other books, but now I'm intrigued about her as I've learned that she's a beliver and came to faith after a long struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol. Her writing is beautiful and her insights about some of the ups, downs and spiritual aspects of being a new mom really blow me away.