Modern Wife Life

Cameron is already two months old!  I cannot believe it.  Lots of changes have happened in the past month and I don't want to forget any of them so I'll jump right into it!

Cameron LOVES....

Sitting up in his Boppy Lounger-- unless he is nursing he prefers to sit on his own in the Boppy Lounger.  We prop it up next to us so he is sitting more vertically.  He already likes being independent.

Bathtime-- We use the hospital swaddle and loosely wrap him in it for bathtime and then wash one part at a time before covering it with the swaddle again.  I saw an article about some nurses doing this so we wanted to try it.  He loves it.

Standing up-- YES, standing up on his own two feet!  He started doing this at 7 weeks when we were burping him (starting with him sitting on our lap).  He would push forward onto his feet and stand up vertically, fully supporting his own body weight.  We just have to give him support for balance.  He loves standing.  You can see in his eyes that he is proud of himself.

The Ergo Baby Carrier-- He much prefers the Ergo Baby Carrier to the stroller... maybe it has to do with him being upright.  We use the Ergo carrier while I work during the day, for our regular evening walks, and for getting Cameron to nap during the day (it's the only way for him to nap right now).  We also took Cameron on his first hike in the carrier with our friends and their baby, Henry!

Watching Youtube Dots-- We watch this video when he's on the brink of a meltdown and it really captivates him!

Conversation-- He loves talking to us and hearing us talk back to him.  I'm trying to make sure he feels listened to.  It's really cute.

Dancing-- Sometimes we waltz together around the house during the day.  He likes it especially when we dance past a mirror and he can see himself.

Smiling-- Cameron has found his smile!  He's already such a charming little boy and his smile is to die for.  Of course I'm a biased mama, but I think his face is so handsome.

Grandpa Doug-- Grandpa Doug came to visit when Cameron was about 6-7 weeks old and Cameron loved it! He thought Grandpa Doug was a lot of fun.  I know they're going to have a really special relationship.

Cameron DOESN'T LOVE (hate is too strong of a word for baby Cam)

Nap time-- Every day we spend a few hours trying to get him down for a nap and every day I end up wearing him in the Ergo to get him to sleep.   We're still working on it!

Being cradled on his back-- He would much rather be upright and on our level.

Stop lights-- Cameron keeps his cool in the car until we stop moving.  Stop lights are not our friend.

Afternoons-- Around 3pm Cameron gets a little overtired and isn't the happiest baby.  Once we improve our sleeping he might like afternoons better.

What is new?

Cameron's eyelashes are growing like crazy and this mama is loving it.  They're getting darker and longer every day.  It's adorable.

Cameron's eyelashes aren't the only thing that grew-- he is now 10 lbs 5 oz (up 2 lbs 5 oz in the past month)!   And he is also 22.5 inches (up 1/2 inch in the past month).

We tried a pediatric chiropractor to see if there's any adjustments to be made to help Cameron's sleeping. It was an interesting experience, but we walked away not feeling good about it so we won't be back.
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Cameron James is 1 month old!  This month has felt like both the longest and the shortest month ever.  They call a baby's first few months the "4th trimester" and I can attest to that.  We've spent this month doing our best to help Cameron adjust to life in this big new world.

The first night home was the hardest.  I felt a huge amount of worry/pressure to be able to keep Cameron alive, however silly that sounds.   Throughout the night I took Cameron's temperature three times with two different thermometers. I was paranoid that he would overheat.  Everyone said to dress a newborn in 1 more layer than yourself.  Well, they didn't clarify if that meant to dress him like me-- all bundled up-- or dress like my husband-- cozy in his whitey tidies.  Through trial and error we eventually settled on a onesie or muslin swaddle with a thin SwaddleMe pea pod over it.  Sometimes I use a rolled up swaddle blanket to prop up a Wubbanub pacifier in his mouth.  He currently sleeps in the rock n' play with a towel bunched under his butt to prevent him from sliding down.  It seems to work okay!

At night he sleeps 2-3 hours, is awake for 1 hour to nurse and get changed, sleeps another 2-3 hours and then is awake for the day.   So we total about 4-6 hours of sleep at night.  During the day Cameron HATES napping.  Total nap-hater.  Some days I'll spend 5 hours straight just trying different strategies to get him to take a nap. He will usually only fall asleep on me or in a moving stroller and then wake up as soon as he's put down.  So that's been a fun challenge for this mama. Wes is back at work and I'm still trying to run my Etsy business during the day.  I usually end up wearing him in the Ergobaby carrier while I work on all my orders.  It gets kind of crazy, but we make it work. I keep reminding myself that this phase will pass.

We call Cameron the "Milk Monster" because he LOVES milk.  We are exclusively breastfeeding and I plan to do so as long as I'm able/Cameron is interested.  Breastfeeding hurt like hell in the beginning, but we went to a support group class at the hospital and eventually we got into a good rhythm..... or maybe I just got less sensitive to the pain.   Either way he is a well-fed little boy and I've found it to be a really sweet bonding time with him. One of the most exciting things from Cameron's first month has been seeing his weight go up on the scale within the range it's supposed to. We weigh him in a mixing bowl on the kitchen scale.  It's pretty cute. He's grown from 6 lbs 8 oz at birth to now 8 lbs even at 1 month.  Go Cam! It makes me feel like I'm doing something right and gives me confidence in other areas of his care as well.

At first Cameron looked like a miniature version of my husband.  I swear-- the eyes, the hair, the hands-- he was a baby Wes!   A few people have started to say that he is starting to look more like me  with his eyes and face shape.  I'm going to guess that he will end up with blonde, curly hair.  I can't wait to see.  His eyes are getting big and round and he's much more alert.  I love seeing his personality come through!

• Originally we kept Cameron in just a diaper since we change his diaper so often, but now I'm starting to dress him in the newborn size clothes-- even the newborn sizes are a little baggy on him since he's a long/lean baby, but it's adorable nonetheless.  And I get to play mommy-stylist, which is one of the parts of motherhood I looked forward to the most.

• My mom came out to visit for 5 days when Cameron was 4 days old.  My mom is super easygoing and really fun to have around.  It was so nice having her here and it was really special seeing her interact with her grandson.  I know she and Cameron are going to be really close.

• I successfully took Cameron out on my own!  It was also my first time driving a car in about 1 month... yikes.  I took him on a couple of play dates with other new moms as well as to the outdoor mall to get some steps in.  I think he likes shopping.  :) Each time I take Cameron out I get a little more confident.

• My husband's parents came when Cameron had just turned 1 month old.  They came to visit all the way from Hawaii!  Cameron loved all the snuggles and attention.  While they were here we took Cameron on his first trip to the beach at La Jolla Cove.  We got some great pictures with grandpa and grandma holding him.  I think Wes and Grandpa Jahraus are already looking forward to planning Cameron's first hunting trip.

Time is flying and Cameron is changing faster than I ever imagined.  I hope to continue with these monthly updates for his first year so we can look back on these days and reminisce down the road.