Johnnie and Angela: Family Friday

12 Weeks Old

This was a HUGE week for Cameron - she is hitting some new milestones and is sleeping through the night! She is a week shy of being three months old and I'm amazed at how much she has changed in the past month. It is so exciting to see this once helpless baby start mastering new things!

She learned to roll over! At 11w5d, Cameron rolled over from her tummy to her back for the first time. I was shocked by the first roll so of course we tried it again... with my iPhone focused on her. I caught the second roll on video. She rolled a couple more times after that before she got tired. She knows just how to kick that little foot to get herself turned over! The amazing thing is that as soon as I took the video, I sent it to Johnnie who saw it minutes later - isn't technology amazing? It made me realize that I'm documenting Cam's life (and posting it all here) more than I think I normally would because I don't want Johnnie to miss a thing. The technology available is helping him watch his little girl grow and change despite being on the other side of the world. I'm so thankful for that!

She has slept at least 8 hours straight every night for the past week! On Thanksgiving night I swaddled Cameron in a blanket that a sweet friend made for her. That was her first night of an 8 hour sleep and I thought it may have been a fluke. Much to my delight, she has continued sleeping through the night since then. Evenings leading up to sleep, however, have gotten fussier. From 5pm until she goes to bed, it takes a lot of effort to keep her from screaming. As an acting single parent, it's a very tiring thing. I go to bed myself shortly after she falls asleep.

Cameron's new "magic blanket" is simply a 42-inch square of thin cotton flannel with some decorative binding (that matches her nursery!) sewn around the edge. It's the perfect size (larger than our other blankets) to swaddle this growing baby in and the thin flannel is the perfect warmth for cool nights or air-conditioned houses like ours. It's a great gift for a new mom that is simple to make yourself. It's definitely a future gift idea to keep in mind :)

She is starting to show coordination! Normally Cameron simply hangs out and waves her arms around randomly like babies do. However twice in the past couple days, I've seen her intentionally (slowly and smoothly) reach for something to touch or grab it. She still has a looong way to go on this milestone but it's exciting to see the change starting.

She is smiling and laughing! Cameron's smiles used to be somewhat random but now she smiles at me and at Dulce all the time. She has a little conversations with me (especially after she's been fed) with the biggest smiles and the sweetest coos. She actually laughs at Dulce when they're together on the floor! Baby giggles have got to be one of the best things in the world :)

We started jogging again! Cameron, Dulce, and I have been running 3 miles every other day. I have a carseat adapter for my Bob Revolution SE stroller since Cameron is still too small to sit in the stroller. Our Chicco carseat latches onto the adapter and there is also a red restraint belt attached to the stroller that provides extra security holding the carseat in place. Please note that the Bob company states that the carseat adapter is only designed for walking and they recommend that your baby be 8 months old before running with them in the stroller. I understand that but I've made the personal decision to go ahead and jog now anyway. The Bob is very smooth riding, we jog on smooth blacktopped roads, I have a head support that keeps Cam's head from moving, and we run slowly. We start running when she's ready for a nap in the morning and the gentle motion puts her right to sleep. Running with a stroller is a different experience because you can't swing your arms and you have the constant resistance of pushing something but I do like having a place to put my phone and bottle of water! It's a good workout for sure and I think it will help me become a stronger and faster runner for when I'm not pushing the stroller.

It's been a great week. New milestones for Cameron and more sleep for all of us makes for more enjoyable days. When I was pregnant and people would say "You're going to love being a mom," they must have been talking about from this point on. Honestly, the first month of new parenthood is pretty much awful and only fun when your cute baby is sleeping. But then (thankfully) things start to get exponentially better each week. I have loved Cameron since before she was born, but in the past couple weeks I've really fallen "in love" with her. It's amazing. She's amazing :)