Johnnie and Angela: Family Friday: Sept 28

3 Weeks old

Funny how for months I was hoping to go into labor this weekend, being that Cameron's due date was this coming Monday. But here she is, already 3 weeks old! It's a good example of my dad's favorite saying "Man plans and God smiles." The timing of her early birth really was perfect, despite not being what we had planned for. I am so thankful that we have extra time to adjust to being a family and to enjoy our new daughter before family visitors arrive in mid-October. I'm also thankful that Johnnie and Cameron have extra bonding time before he deploys.

Life with a newborn isn't easy. It certainly has countless moments of awe, amazement, and warm fuzzy feelings but it also has moments of frustration, isolation, and exhaustion. It's a roller coaster of emotion but Cameron is so sweet that she is absolutely worth every sleepless night. Besides, she'll grow up fast enough and I know that someday we'll look back on this time and smile :)

Cameron is still on a schedule of an average of 3 hours so we wake up at least once or twice in the wee hours of the morning. We'll have a string of good nights and then she'll shake things up with a completely off night where she and I will get very little sleep... not so fun. I try to take a nap every afternoon and I also try to accomplish something small every day. I had a To-Do List of things to finish before Cameron was born but that was brought to a grinding halt when she arrived early. I know everything will get done eventually, it's just going to take extra time... a lot of extra time.

Earlier this week we took Cameron for her 2+ week checkup. She is a very healthy little girl and growing fast! At birth, she weighed 5 lbs 13 oz. A few days after birth (babies usually lose weight), she had dropped to 5 lbs 5 oz. At this recent appointment, she weighed in at 6 lbs 7 oz. She has also grown an entire inch since birth, going from 18 inches to 19 inches. She is still a bit smaller than the average newborn but she'll catch up eventually!

Johnnie has been amazing since Cameron's birth. He is so supportive and doing his best to care for all of us. He keeps me sane through sleepless nights, makes sure I get some extra rest during the day, and is quickly becoming a pro at all things baby related. He is the perfect husband and an incredible father. I am so glad that we are partners in this parenthood adventure :)