Up to 9 Months

So I am LONG overdue for a baby Cameron update! The last few months have been crazy with me starting work, Kadan starting kindergarten, and taking way too many credits for school! So here you go.... I'll redeem myself...


Towards the end of the summer Cameron went 3 months gaining only a little over a pound total.... not so good. The doc said he is certainly not malnurished, because he was growing in height VERY well and he was doing awesome on his development. But baby fat is good and we wanted him to gain weight. So we started "calorie packing" which is like what we did when he came home from the hospital. Back then we were adding preemie formula to the breastmilk he got from a bottle to make it more calories. So we started adding formula and rice cereal to his baby food.

The next month he had gained a pound and a half, and we were very excited! So we backed off a little on the calorie packing. We went in for a weight check yesterday and he had only gained 10 oz. sigh. Not horrible, but definitely not what we were hoping for. 15-30 oz a month is 'good' range. So we're back to the calorie packing thing.

Healthwise he's been excellent, no issues there. He's had the typical small colds for the season, but nothing major. He is getting his first tooth! : ) It's slow coming in, but it's working its way up. Thus, everything and anything goes straight to his mouth to chomp on. And he really is an awesome eater, he's eating plenty calories for his weight, but it's just not really 'sticking', so we have to add to it.

A developmental specialist comes out to our house once a month to work with him and check his development and help him get caught up. He's about the developmental level of an 8 month old in almost all areas. (He is 9 months old chronological age, but would only be 7 months if he was born on time, so being at 8 months is good.) The only score that's been consistently low is his receptive language. He has a hearing evaluation in January. We know he CAN hear, he's just not responding to sounds and voices quite as good as he should be for his age. So we'll see how that goes.

He is starting to crawl and finally starting to babble a little bit. He is still super teeny, in 3-6 month clothes, so it's so funny to see him eating graham crackers and crawling around. He even gets up on his hands and feet sometimes. It looks like we have this 4 month old baby crawling around the house. : )

He is a super happy little guy. He loves his big brothers and any and all attention they give him. If you say, "Cameron give me kisses" and make kissing noises he'll lean in and give a big open mouth slobbery kiss all over your chin/cheek. : ) It's excellent. : )

SO grateful for my little baby and that he's done so good! I know too many family's with preemies who were not quite as lucky to avoid all the problems we've been able to avoid. I'm very grateful for my little guy and for each little milestone he makes.

5 months old!!!

I'm a little late with this post. I should have put it a couple weeks ago, but... better late then never. Here is our 5 month old little boy! I can't believe how fast time goes by! I feel like I was just barely pregnant with him! He's already almost 1/2 a year old! He is SO fun! We are just loving every minute with him! Although he gave us a scary start... he has been such an easy fun baby! Sleeps good... eats good... plays good... and all while looking SO dange cute. Yes, we count ourselves very blessed! WINNER of the top dang cutest 5 month old picture of my super cute baby Cameron. : ) Check out that cute grin and dimples!!! LOVE him. : ) Oh, man. Looking at this picture seriously wants to make me run upstairs, pick him up out of his crib, and squish the little cutie and kiss those cheekies!!! but I wont... of course.... because a mom must relish the time when ALL her kids are asleep at once. ; ) LOL

He is doing SO good. Not quite up to par as far as a typical 5 month old... but he's doing good for his adjusted age. He acts and is the size of about a 3-4 month old baby. He doesn't scoot yet, but he holds his head up very well and WAY prefers to be on his belly if at all possible. He can roll back and forth like a piece of cake now.

He's smiling all the time and trying to laugh now too. We've gotten quite a few little half-giggles, and you can tell there's more there just trying to get out! : )

He loves to play with his little toys now. He can reach out and grab little baby toys. He will also try to grab anything else within reach... mommy's hair... mommy's necklace... daddy's glasses... big brothers' nose... you name it! I'm remembering why I chopped off my hair when the other 2 kids were babies! LOL (though I just worked so hard to grow it out again... so I wont be chopping it)

We have the developmental specialist coming out sometime this month to do an evaluation on him and see where he's at compared to his adjusted age and actual age. They're going to help monitor him for the next year and help make sure he gets caught up to where he should be. By a year to a year and a half supposedly you wont be able to tell he was a preemie, so we shall see. I'm excited to hear what suggestions they have and see where his skill level/development is at.

I don't have a weight for him at 5 months, because he no longer has to go in for monthly weight checks (woohoo! that means he's growing nice and steady!). But I'd estimate he's maybe about 13 lbs-ish. A few more weeks, when he's about 6 months old, we'll start rice cereal. With Kadan and Zack we started rice cereal at 4 months, and fruits/veggies at 6 months, but where he's not really developed like a typical 5 month old, doc suggested (and we agreed) to wait a little bit longer.

So, that's the update on this little tyke! Here are some more pictures of my SUPER cute baby! : )


A friend made him this and other cute little tie-onesies. He was all ready for church! Lil cutie!
I know his hand is blurry... but look close... he's making a little "I Love You" sign! He's totally a genius. ; )





Just chillin'.... He's such a good baby!
love his little face! : )
"hey, mama! whatcha up to? looks neat!"
"oh yea? just taking pictures of my cute face? okay. here. take one of my cute lil dimple."

"hmmm... alright. think I'm done being interested in the camera. I might be ready for some lunch... again..." : )
this is his "WHAT are you DOING?" face. Note the superbly wrinkled eyebrows and forehead. He makes it anytime me, Blaine or the boys act crazy trying to get him to smile. : )

CUTE item big brother Zack needs

I found this cute stroller strap for a toddler to hold onto while baby sibling is being pushed in the stroller! AND... they're giving it away. : ) The website has some cute stuff. Another one of my faves to browse through.

http://liltulips.blogspot.com/search/label/weekly%20freebies

Nicki's Diapers Blog

I found this new blog with lots of cool mommy and baby stuff! I hate window shopping in actual stores... but I could window shop online all day! I love comparing prices on line and being able to switch from store to store with a click of the button! : )

This site also has weekly giveaways! Woohoo! score!

www.nickisdiapers.blogspot.com

TWO free cloth diapers from clothdiaperwhisperer.com

I just entered a giveaway for 2 free cloth diapers (BumGenius 4.0 one size)!!! Wish me luck!!!

The Giveaway is here.

Cameron: 4 months old

Baby Dragon is 4 months old!!! It's CRAZY how fast it's gone by!!! Last year at this time we were only considering having a third child. That tells you just how fast this little guy decided to get into this world! He's quite the impatient little stinker, doesn't waste any time! : ) In one year he went from just a "thought" to a 4 month old baby!!! Our little man must have a pretty important role to play in his life, some reason he needed to get down to Earth so quick! : )
At his four month check up he weighed 10 lbs 9 oz. He was 22 3/4 inches long. He's doing well. Growing at a good steady rate. Ears, eyes, etc, all look good. He's developmentally what he should be for his adjusted age (2 months old). No worries! : ) We got a healthy baby boy... just a little on the small side for a 4 month old. He is in the 1%ile for his height, weight, and head.He has started to roll. He can't always do it exactly when he wants to. He can go from his belly to his back pretty easily. His back to his belly is a little trickier, he has to work at it, but he's done it quite a few times.His hair is starting to grow back on the top of his head! : ) woohoo! This is about how much he had on top when he was born, then it all fell out, but the back and sides were still long! (yup... bald with a mullet!!!). Now the back and sides have mostly thinned out and it's growing back on top, so it's a little more even all around.
When he's awake his eyes are always opened wide like he just doesn't want to miss anything exciting that might happen around him. With two crazy big brothers, he stays pretty entertained just watching them play. They can almost always make him smile! : )
I love that he's putting on a little fat. He's got nice round cheeks and a little double chin. His belly, arms, and legs, have all got a little pudge to them now.
I couldn't get a picture of his big smile. It was hard to 'entertain' and click the picture on time. Here is a little bit of a half grin. LOL
Here is a video of his smiles. (Check out his superbly cute dimples!!!) It's a little long (like 3 minutes). I don't know how to edit my videos yet. So, to save you time, he smiles in the first minute and then again during the last 30 seconds, so you can skip ahead. ; )

And here a little song he wanted to share with everyone. LOL As I was taking pictures he just starting cooing away like he was singing a little song, so I switched and took a little video. SO dang cute! I love hearing this little baby's voice!!!


I can't believe how fast it's all gone by. I have to remind myself to slow down and just enjoy his babyhood. When you realize how fast it's all gone by you wish you could have gone back to enjoy it a little more. He really is such a good baby and it's possibly the best feeling in the world to just hold and cuddle with him. I am so grateful that we were so blessed with him. So many things could have gone wrong, and they didn't. The Lord was with us, and baby dragon was surely meant to be here. : )

Quarter of a Year!!!! Little munchin is growing fast! : )

Mr. Cameron is 3 months old! He is doing SO good! He eats awesome now. Tuesday he had a checkup and he was 8 lbs. 11 oz., he's been gaining about 1 oz per day pretty regularly so at exactly 3 months he weighed about 8 lbs 15 oz., which is the weight big brother Kadan was when he was born! (Zack was 9 lb 1 oz.) Cameron seems like he's grown SO much it's crazy to think that Kadan came out that size from the beginning! I still think he has longer arms and legs than either of our other boys though.

Grandma (my mom) bought him this cute Fisher Price Little Lamb swing. I love LOVE it. And so does baby. It has a little mirror in the center of the mobile and he loves to just stare at the mirror and the little sheep as they go around. It's also super nice to have a place I put him where crazy big brothers wont trip over the little guy! : )



I had to take some more pictures in this little basket. When he was one month old, this is the basket I put him in to take pictures for easter. He fit lengthwise laying down in it, his little feet were the only thing propped up over the edge. He's grow SO much since then. I had to sit him in it differently this time, he was too big to lay in it. : )






(I LOVE this one (above) by the way. : ) He is such a cutie.) He is almost sleeping through the night. I feed him about midnight right before I go to bed, then he sleeps until about 5:30 or 6. Then I can go back to bed until 8, when the big boys wake up. It's nice to be able to get more rest at night! For the most part he really is a happy little baby. He eats good, loves to watch things like his mobile, people talking to him, and his brothers making funny faces and sounds for him!



I have SOOOO many baby hats that I've acquired between the three boys! I'm such a sucker for the tiny little hats. We have plenty of little beanies, little winter hats, little baseball caps, and little sun hats. He's still a little two small for most, but here's a couple I like. Poor kid is still bald on the top with lots of hair on the sides and back, but we think he's still super cute anyways. I'll admit.. sometimes when he's wide a wake with big open eyes and he makes the funniest little facial expressions and I think think he looks like a little turtle. LOL Don't get me wrong, a super cute turtle... lol. Being the mom, I'm quite biased toward thinking my kids are the cutest thing ever, but with each of them we've joked that they looked like one thing or another. Kadan was completely balled with big ears so we always called him Dopey. Zackery had the funniest little squishy face and funny ears and he had visible eyebrows from the time he was born so we always said he looked like a little baby troll, oh, he also kind of looked like the baby Tarzan from the disney version of the cartoon. And now we have our little turtle. : )

The big boys are just LOVING their little brother. So far no jealousy issues, which I am grateful I've been able to avoid when Zack was born and now when Cameron was born. They both love to hold him and talk to him. And Cameron is perfectly content to watch them play or talk. He's going to be following them around in no time I'm sure! Trying to keep up with all the action! : )