Qq and Rr

I am late on 'Q' simply because I couldn't think of anything. This photo was taken a couple months ago and Cam looks like she is getting annoyed with the photo shoot. In her head she is questioning me, saying "Mommy, why do we have to do these stupid photo shoots all the time?"

For 'R' I chose Ralph Lauren because she was wearing this little Ralph Lauren onesie which I love. You can see the logo. Cameron is quite the fashionista!

4 months (adjusted)

Here is Cameron's 4 month adjusted update!

Adjusted age: 4 months

Actual age: 7 months, 5 days

Weight: 12 lb, 6 oz

Height: Around 23 inches

Diaper size: 1

Clothing size: 3-6 months

Medications/medical concerns: Vitamin D daily. She did have a UTI and just finished antibiotics for that. Hopefully she doesn't have any recurrent UTIs but it is something we definitely have to watch out for, and if she does she will have further testing to see if there is a bladder/kidney issue.

Sleep: Bedtime is 8:30, usually she goes down without a fight but lately she has started having crying fits just before bed. Nothing I do consoles her so I just rock her and cuddle with her while she cries it out. It lasts maybe 10-20 minutes but I feel horrible not knowing what's wrong. She wakes up between 8 and 8:30 now, which is earlier than she used to. Still getting up twice every night to eat. She takes 3-4 naps during the day, with her long nap from 11-1. Sleeping on the angelcare monitor in her pack n play either on her back or her side.

Eating: Still exclusively nursing. Her weight gain has been steady and we go for a weight check the first week of May but I imagine they will be happy with it and will not want us to supplement with fortified milk at all. She eats every 2-3 hours all day. At night after she goes down for the first time she goes a 4-5 hour stretch. Then she goes another 4-5 hour stretch usually. She goes back down once more before getting up in the morning. It takes her about 10 minutes to nurse, sometimes only 5 if she's not that hungry.

Developmental milestones: Wow has there been a lot going on in this department. Her development has been explosive. She rolls over from belly to back and from back to belly. It took her longer to master back to belly as her arm would get in the way but she can do a complete roll now without her arm getting in the way. She is just a rolling machine, I can't put her down on the floor anymore without her traveling several feet, rolling over and over only for me to find her 4 or 5 feet away from where she started. She is starting to babble and squeal, every month her noises become much more diverse. She is very, very vocal these days and is starting to smile at people other than myself and Josh. She is just starting to develop a very early laugh, she chuckled a tiny bit a couple of times and squeals a little bit when she thinks something is exciting or funny but nothing consistent yet. I don't think it will be long before she is consistently laughing. Also blowing raspberries is just hilarious to her. She loves it so much when Josh and I do it and does it right back. She definitely has started imitating to an extent. Now she doesn't even blow raspberries just after Josh and I but she is doing it all the time. She sure does love blowing bubbles and spitting and sticking her tongue out. The phase of life where she wants everything in her mouth has begun. She is starting to grab onto toys which is very exciting!! She wants to grab them and immediately put them in her mouth. She loves to lay on her playmat and look at all the toys above her which she grabs onto and then quickly gets frustrated that she can't bring them down to her mouth. She is starting to get into teethers and loves to hold them and chew on them. She has also really figured out how much she enjoys her fingers. It's getting to the point where she is gagging herself all day every day because she wants to stick them so far back in her mouth. She is going longer stretches during the day without naps and has shortened the amount of time she sleeps at night. Some days she drops a nap but others she still needs it. Soon she will permanently be dropping one I think. It's safe to say I am really, really enjoying this age. She is so much more interactive and every day it is something new with her. I am loving all the new things she is learning and she just gets cuter and more fun to be around all the time. The newborn stage really did last a long time for us so it's very exciting to finally get lots of new development.

Best moment this month: I think when she rolled from belly to back. She hated tummy time and I thought she would never roll over. But then one day she popped her head up and just pushed herself over. Tummy time no longer exists because the second you put her down on her belly she just rolls over :)

New sleeping arrangement

Since the beginning of January Cameron has been sleeping in her rock n' play every night, which is basically a bassinet that is on an incline. She had a little bit of a reflux/spit up issue and having her sleep on an incline seemed to help. Plus it was nice because we could rock her to sleep in it. My plan was to let her sleep in it until I had a reason not to anymore, and one night a week or two ago I woke up to that reason. She had rolled completely onto her belly in the rock n' play. Her arm was stuck underneath her and her head was cocked all the way back with her face kind of smothered into the side of the rock n' play. I fell just short of having a heart attack as it looked like she could barely breathe. It was clear at that moment that if she is going to be rolling on her belly during her sleep she needs to be on a flat surface. Enter pack n' play. There is no way Cameron is going into her own nursery quite yet, I'm simply too neurotic and I still need her right next to me so instead of sleeping next to me in her rock n' play, she will be sleeping next to me in her pack n' play for the foreseeable future. Now, as far as the rolling goes, with belly sleepers being at a higher risk for SIDS I was not looking forward to this day but it's just something I'm going to have to deal with. I would much prefer Cam not sleep on her belly but if she's going to roll on her belly then I really can't stop her unless I quit sleeping myself. Luckily she's not a total pro at rolling onto her belly yet but no matter what I do this is what I wake up to:

So for now Cameron is a certified side sleeper. I am dreading the day when she becomes completely skilled at rolling over and I wake up every day to her on her belly. And if she's anything like her mother, she will be a belly sleeper for sure.

But with the switch to the pack n' play I was able to start using her angelcare monitor! The angelcare is a movement sensor pad that you place underneath the mattress pad and it can sense every breath she takes. If it were to stop sensing any movements/breaths for a full 20 seconds an alarm would sound alerting me that she is not breathing. I'm so used to her being on an apnea monitor so this is not a new thing whatsoever but something that I need for peace of mind, I can't imagine her not sleeping on a monitor since she has yet to sleep a night in her life without one. For the record, she was also on a breathing monitor in her rock n' play, it was just a different kind since the angelcare has to go under a flat mattress pad. The one I put her on after her hospital monitor was discontinued was called a snuza, which is a little egg shaped thing that clipps onto the front of her diaper and could sense any breaths on her belly. Now that she's on a flat mattress though I have the ability to use the angelcare which I'm excited about. I couldn't wait to not have to clip this little monitor onto her diaper. It didn't really bother her but she must be more comfortable without it. The one she came home from the hospital on was even worse, it was a big strap that went all the way around her abdomen so that one I was really excited to get rid of and the snuza was definitely an upgrade! But this angelcare monitor will last for a long time. When I do finally switch her to her crib in her own room she will definitely still be on her angelcare. I'm really not sure when I'll be able to let her go monitor free and while some people may find my paranoia to be excessive, I bet if they had to watch their baby stop breathing long enough to turn blue in the face countless times in the NICU I think they would be willing to reconsider.

She's doing great with the switch. In fact, I don't even think she realizes that there was even a change. And other than all the technical stuff sleep is still going really well! Cam is a great sleeper and goes down at about 8:30, gets up to eat twice and then is up for the day at about 9:30. Lately she has been giving us a little bit of trouble when she goes to bed but not for too long and it's just her being cranky from a long day. Overall, everyone is getting more than enough sleep!! That makes me and Josh VERY happy parents!

*** I wrote this post a couple of days ago but hadn't gotten around to posting it yet. This morning however, I woke up to Cameron completely on her belly at around 5 in the morning, not stuck on her arm or anything, she had completely rolled. I got up to feed her and put her back to sleep, when I woke back up again at around 8:30, she was still on her back so I thought maybe it was just a fluke. Later in the day I put her on her playmat and took a quick shower, when I got out she had rolled again completely onto her belly. So we may have a belly sleeper already after all. ***

7 months old!

Somebody is 7 months old today! In a way it makes me sad because 7 months seems so old and I don't understand how time is passing so fast. I'm going to miss her being a baby so much, I know we have lots of time left but if the next 7 months goes as fast as the first 7 months she will be walking before I know it. But she has come so far and it is so incredible to watch her learn and grow, there is explosive learning going on right now and it really is amazing how every day she seems to be doing something new. And she weighed in at 12 pounds today! WOW! She has gained 10 pounds since birth. She is amazing. Of course now I have to post a picture of my 12 pound 7 month old. It feels so weird to say that. I only wish that 7 months ago I could have had a glimpse of this picture, it would have made the NICU so much easier.

More cuteness

I had some posts planned but with Cameron getting sick they fell the wayside. She is still doing great though!! The antibiotics are definitely working and she is completely herself again. So I thought I would just show off my cute as ever baby. Oh those eyes!! All she will ever have to do is bat those precious eyes at us and the answer will always be "yes".

Good news :)

I'm happy to report that Cameron had a great night! I did end up having to give her tylenol right after I posted yesterday since she spiked another fever. That was at about 5:30 in the evening. I woke up every single hour all night long worrying and checking on her. I was constantly taking her temperature and it stayed nice and low!! So it's 10:30 in the morning and I haven't given her tylenol in 17 hours, I think it's safe to say her fever has broken :) The antibiotics seem to be working and Cam seems to be feeling much better! She literally slept the day away yesterday and today she is back to her normal lively self. Clearly she is having a better day! I've made it through my first illness and all I have to say is Cameron sure knows how to make her mama worry!

A high of 104

And I don't mean the weather. Cameron spiked a fever of 104 degrees late last night. I was feeding her at about midnight and noticed her head felt awfully hot so I took her temp and we packed up and went to the emergency room at about 12:30. There was no wait and we were taken right back which was awesome! Unfortunately Cameron did not enjoy the visit at all. She was miserable because all she wanted to do was sleep and she was being poked and prodded. She had no other symptoms to speak of but a fever of 104 is scary high. They did a chest x-ray to see if there was any infection present in her lungs even though she had no respiratory symptoms and then took a urine sample to check for the presence of a UTI. Apparently she had a large amount of white blood cells in her urine which indicates an infection. She was started on antibiotics and we were sent home. This morning she spiked another fever and was acting extremely lethargic and her skin was ice cold and a gray/blue color, specifically her lips, hands, and feet so I called her pediatrician and she wanted to see her right away. She wasn't acting right at all and her pediatrician was considering having her admitted to Fairview Hospital for fear of it being something worse like sepsis. But at the pediatrician's office she really perked up and her skin regained all of it's warmth and color. She continued to eat well and looked completely back to her normal self so her doctor felt comfortable enough to send her home for now with continued antibiotics and close monitoring. I've been taking her temp all day and it's been stable without another dose of tylenol since this morning. If Cam starts up with anymore funny business though it will buy her a hospital admission. Her doctor is on call tonight so she wants me to call if anything doesn't seem right. She is definitely taking the attitude of better safe than sorry because of Cam's prematurity and I can't say I blame her. I really don't want her to have to go back to the hospital but we have to do what's best for her. She's been good for the rest of the afternoon though so hopefully she's past the worst of it and is on the mend!!

Pp

For 'P' this week I chose the word peaceful to describe Cameron at nap time. She loves to sleep in her boppy and it seems like not a thing in the world could disturb her! It was about 80 degrees yesterday so she was all dressed for summer and just lounging away on what felt like a lazy summer afternoon. We had just gotten back from a walk outside and she was exhausted!

Oh and see that anklet she's wearing? It looks cute but it's not just for style. It is an amber teething anklet. Supposedly the heat of her skin causes the amber to release oils that absorb into her bloodstream and somehow help with teething pain. I have NO idea if it actually works or not, it's one of those old natural practices they have been using on babies forever so I figure it's worth a try! She has been showing a lot of teething symptoms lately and even if she doesn't cut a tooth in the near future her doctor said it is very likely that she's already experiencing some teething pain. Some babies just have the pain and symptoms for a long time before that first tooth pops up. We will see what Cameron does!

No words

I took this picture yesterday and sometimes I think there are just no words for how beautiful Cameron is. She is so perfect :) Of course I'm biased but that's okay. No real reason for this post other than a little bit (or a lot) of cuteness for your day!

Bumbo comparison

Remember those bumbo seat photos I posted a while back? I thought it would be fun to do a comparison since she has gotten so much bigger! I don't remember what her weight was exactly or anything but the first was taken around the end of January I believe. She would have been roughly 7.5 pounds or somewhere around there. The other was taken April 4th, at which point she was 11 pounds 4 ounces. So between 3.5 to 4 pounds bigger. Another glaring difference is the hair. She is clearly balding and I was kind of sad about it because I thought her hair was so gorgeous. But there is already new hair coming in underneath and it's starting to get thicker again, just lighter! Oh and the hand chewing activity is different, she just never stops. Whatever is available for her to put in her mouth goes there instantly which is obviously normal but cute nonetheless.

Oo

So I've obviously already shared this photo, but it was just too cute not to use for 'O'.

Sweet Potatoes

I have been planning for a while to make my own baby food for Cameron. With the plan in place to start her on solids in about 3 weeks, I figure it's time to start making it. I am freezing it for now and then can have stores of food to thaw instead of having to make it as I go. It's not hard. I have a baby bullet that I use and I am storing it in ice cube trays which portions out the food really well into small serving sizes. I started today with organic sweet potatoes!

Step 1: Bake sweet potato

Step 2: Spoon out from skin

Step 3: Put in baby bullet 

Step 4: Blend

Step 4: Portion 

Step 5: Label and store

When I take it out and thaw it to actually feed Cameron I will need to thin it out a little bit. You can use water, formula, or breast milk but formula and breast milk add extra nutrition. And since I have about 400 oz of frozen breast milk that's what I will be using! You can thin it before freezing it but I can't thaw the breast milk and re-freeze it so I'll have to add it afterwards. Which is just as well because sometimes if you freeze the food pre-thinned it can thaw more watery, this way I'll be able to get it exactly the consistency I want it. I have glass baby food jars which I will put the thawed food into. I also plan on doing avocado and a few others over the next couple of weeks. And there you have it, that's the whole baby food making process! It's easy and fun (not to mention cheaper and all organic)!

Look what I can do!

Cameron is becoming such a big girl! She learned something new and very exciting today. We've been consistently doing tummy time every day and she has no interest in laying on her belly, she would just lay her head down and whine. Well today she found a way out, now every single time we put her on her belly she immediately rolls over. She is so strong! I'm impressed. I thought it might be more of a gradual thing but it was instantaneous, she knows what she wants!

Springy photo dump

Here are some brand new photos taken in my favorite spring outfits! She is just the happiest baby. Her new thing is blowing raspberries so there's a lot of spit and bubbles. She's very smiley in these pictures and my favorite smiles are where she sticks her tongue out! Plus she shows off what she can do during tummy time. Oh and a few more pouting photos are in here. She just gets more and more beautiful every day, I can't get over it. Josh and I must tell her how cute and pretty she is about 500 times a day. Enjoy! I'll also be taking some photos tomorrow in her Easter outfit so be on the lookout for those next week.