Family Friday: Dec 14

14 Weeks Old

The big news this week is that Cameron's birth story got published on Pregnancy & Newborn Magazine's website!  Anyone can submit a birth story and the editors choose one story a week (52 a year) to publish.  I submitted the story in October for consideration and it was accepted the next day for publication!  I've been eagerly waiting this week for it to be featured before saying anything.  It is so exciting to see our story and photos published!

My mom's visit flew by and we had to say good-bye yesterday.  I'm glad she could come and spend time with Cameron while she's still little.  She was also a huge help doing some cleaning and holiday baking.  Having her here allowed me to get a few extra things done and kept me sane during a few extra rough days.

This month is my birthday, Johnnie's birthday, our anniversary, and Christmas.  Going through all of that without Johnnie here is a lot harder than I expected it to be.  I'm honestly feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed right now.  It's not so much the responsibilities of the baby, it's more just things weighing on my mind.  Don't worry, I can still take care of myself and Cameron (and Dulce) with no problems, I just have a lot more tearful breakdowns than usual.  I'll be glad when this month is over.

No matter what the situation, every mom gets overwhelmed at times.  There is so much to do you think you should do and not enough time to get it all done.  My to-do list is a long one and I'm adding stuff to it faster than I'm taking things off.  Everyone offers to help but there is very little that other people can do for me, it's mostly things and projects that I need to do myself.  I squeeze as much in as I can each day when Cameron is napping and celebrate the little things that I do get accomplished.

The article, Why You're Never Failing as a Mother by Amy Morrison, was recently published in the Huffington Post.  It was a comforting read for me :)

Cameron is generally a very pleasant and easy baby during the day as long as she gets her meals and naps on time.  She smiles a lot and is very active.

The evenings, however, are a different story.  From about 5pm to 8:30ish (when she goes to bed), it takes a lot to keep her from wailing which means I don't do anything or go anywhere in the evenings.  By the time she goes to sleep, I'm about ready to myself!  Despite best efforts, sometimes she just has to cry for a while.  I know she'll grow out of it eventually, I just hope it's sooner than later.

There are always a few new developments each week.  This week Cameron is "talking" louder and having longer "conversations" with me and with herself.  She may be a little chatterbox when she gets older!  Her eyesight is getting better.  Babies start off seeing only short distances but her new fascination with the ceiling fans tells me that she's seeing things much farther away than ever before. The best new thing is that she smiled at Johnnie during a video chat session for the first time!  We are very lucky that she gets to see his face and hear his voice often :)

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“Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.” 

~Garrison Keillor