Family Friday: Deployed

7 Weeks Old

Johnnie deployed this week.  Cameron, Dulce, and I will be missing him like crazy and praying for his safety every minute until he comes home to us.  Before he left, I took these photographs of him in his deployment uniform with our daughter.  She'll be a lot bigger the next time he holds her.

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"May the Lord keep watch between you and me

when we are away from each other."

-Genesis 31:49

Family Friday: Oct 19

6 Weeks Old

Cameron has met most of her immediate relatives via Skype in the past 6 weeks but this week she got to meet some in person.  Johnnie's parents and sister have arrived for a visit to see Cameron and to see Johnnie before he deploys.  This is the first grandchild for Johnnie's parents and they are certainly beaming with happiness :)

Cameron is still on a schedule of sleeping 2 to 3 hours at a time during the day and 4 to 4.5 hours at night.  This week she has shortened her middle-of-the-night nursing sessions to only 20 minutes.  The quicker she nurses, the quicker we can go back to bed!

We had a couple frustrating nights this week when Cam screamed from 10pm to 2am before finally falling asleep.  During that time she was spitting up a lot and the screaming always got worse right before stuff came up.  She also had a really red and raw bum for those few days as well which makes me think it was something I ate.  I have eliminated all dairy, spicy, and acidic foods from my diet lately and it seems to have worked.  No more screaming fits and her bum is better.  I hope it stays that way!

We had our first trip to the beach with Cameron this week.  We took Cam and Dulce to the dog beach on base.  I stayed with Dulce on the beach and Johnnie took Cameron for a walk.  It was so nice getting out in the sunshine and fresh air... something I haven't done much of in the past 6 weeks.

It was high tide so the water was a little too deep for Dulce's liking.  It's actually still shallow at high tide, she's just a chicken :)  She came in the water with me but wouldn't leave my side.  

We stayed and watched the sunset... something else we need to do more often :)

I really love my husband ♥

We also had our first restaurant outing with Cameron this week.  Johnnie's family spent the day downtown so we met them for dinner at Gordon Biersch which is a great waterfront restaurant and brewery with open-air seating at the Aloha Tower Marketplace.  My whole life is consumed by the baby right now so I love getting the chance to go out and have a nice meal in a public setting.

In case you didn't know, the wooden highchairs that most restaurants have can be flipped upside down and then they hold a carseat perfectly :)

It's been 6 weeks since the birth so Cameron and I worked out this morning for the first time!  Okay, technically I worked out and she slept but it was still nice having her with me :)  There is a Stroller Strides workout class on our base that meets three days a week.  This is a group of women with strollers and small children who are led by an instructor through an hour-long workout.  There were 20 women there today and it was a lot of fun!  We started in one park and did some exercises, walked or jogged to the next park and did more exercises, and continued this pattern until we had been to five different spots and worked our whole body.

I haven't done any exercise for the past 6 weeks.  My lower body felt great but my upper body felt like jello!  It was too difficult to even use the resistance bands for the arm work so I simply moved my arms without the bands and that was tough enough!  My chest was another issue.  I definitely need to wear a tighter sports bra next time because things are too enlarged and sensitive from breastfeeding to be bouncing around during jumping jacks and sprints.  My heart rate jumped high very quickly which tells me that I have lost some of my cardiovascular fitness.  I look like I'm in shape but I'm really not.  I hope it doesn't take long to get back to where I was.

One of my goals in life to set a good example for our children and encourage them to stay fit and healthy and to enjoy exercise.  I'd love for our kids to join me at workout classes and running events someday!

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"Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too"

~John Mayer

Family Friday: Oct 12

5 Weeks Old

Cameron's schedule has changed for the better this week.  During the day she will sleep 2 to 3 hours at a time.  At night she is sleeping for 4 to 4.5 hours at a time which means we only wake up once.  It's nice getting longer stretches of sleep.  I'm starting to dream again when I sleep which is something that actually stopped when I was getting less sleep.  I still take a nap when Cam does in the afternoon if I get the chance.

Our tiny girl is growing and changing every day.  Until recently, Cameron had two sound modes: silent and crying.  This past week she has added a new sound... squawking.  She does this when she's awake and alert.  It seems that it's either when she wants a change of scenery or she's starting to get tired.

She is starting to mimic facial expressions!  I've been waiting for this, having heard about it long ago in a college Child Development class.  If she's calm and focused on your face, she will do what she sees you doing such as sticking out your tongue, making an "O" with your lips, and even smiling :)

Cameron's eyes are still gray but they are starting to get lighter around the pupils.  Every day I stare into her eyes and wonder what color they will be.  Although I'd love for her to have my blue eyes, that would destine her for glasses someday.  Her daddy's eye color and perfect vision might be preferable :)

The iPhone really puts her size into perspective!

    

Dulce likes to supervise bath time...

...and join Cameron on daddy's lap :)

Dulce has been great with Cameron.  She's very curious about the baby, watching and sniffing her constantly but she never touches or licks her.  She's only a tad bit jealous about some things such as being held and going places.  She's actually extremely helpful to have around, like an extra set of hands at times :)  I'll be doing a post soon going into more detail about Dulce's adjustment to Cameron.

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"I can't believe what God has done

Through us he's given life to one

But isn't she lovely made from love"

~Stevie Wonder

Family Friday: Oct 5

4 Weeks Old

Cameron is just about 1 month old.  Time really is flying by... although I may not always think that during the sleepless nights.

Cam is starting to spend longer stretches of time awake and is noticeably more alert.  She looks around as if she is seriously contemplating everything she sees.  I like to sit outside on our lanai with her and watch her take in the world around us.  She has a fascinated reaction to everything... the sounds of lawnmowers and fighter jets, the bright sky, the warm breeze... it's all new to a baby :)

Cameron is still in newborn diapers and is finally starting to fit into her newborn-sized clothes.  It will be a while yet until she can fit into the 0-3 month things we have for her.  Sometimes I'm amazed at just how tiny she is!

She has started to enjoy getting baths (loves having warm water poured over her body) but she hates the drying-off-and-getting-dressed part that follows. She still hates getting her diaper changed unless she has just been fed.  She likes music and seems to have a fondness for Johnny Cash.  Familiar everyday loud noises such as the doorbell, Dulce barking, the blender, and the vacuum don't bother her at all.  Unfamiliar loud noises do startle her but usually don't make her cry.

Cameron is finally starting to recognize us and hold our gaze when we look at her which is a lot of fun!  I am starting to recognize her different cries which is helpful.  Most days we are on a 4 hour schedule between feedings but she still likes to shake things up once in a while with an all-nighter.  It is exhausting but it's comforting to know that she'll eventually sleep through the night.

We can walk to the commissary (military grocery store) from our house and just took our first trip with Cameron there this week.  We put her in the Bob jogging stroller with a carseat adapter.  It's quite the large contraption but is super smooth riding and we can load it full of groceries to take home.  When she's a little older, Cam will be sitting in the Bob as my running partner :)

It's been 4 weeks and I'm just beginning to feel like my old self again... other than the fact that I now constantly giggle and sway my body even when I'm not holding Cameron :)  I only have 2 pounds left to lose but I'm quite sure that most of that weight is solid fat sitting on top of my stomach muscles.  My hips are just about back to normal (only +.5 inch) but my stomach and belly are still at +2 inches.  My incision from the c-section looks better than I expected it to.  It's a 6 inch scar but it is thin and directly along my hairline so it will never show in a bikini.  The skin looks healed but I can tell that the incisions through the layers underneath are not healed yet.  My lower stomach feels sore like a huge bruise although it looks normal (except for the scar).  I've started walking and feel good doing that but I'm going to hold off on other exercise for a few more weeks.

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"And though she be but little, she is fierce!"

~William Shakespeare