Dear Cameron,
Happy
Valentine’s Day and One Monthiversary! It
has been a fun month with our new family of five. The transition of adding you to our family has
been surprisingly smooth. Daddy has been
back at work for two weeks and your older siblings are at school three days a
week, so it is just you and me during those hours. Ellen never got this luxury as a baby so I am
trying to make the most of my alone time with you. Their time at school gives me a much needed
break from noise (newborns are shockingly quiet) and an opportunity to get a
few things done around the house while you are taking one of your many and long
naps.
Eating
From birth, you have nursed about every 3 to 4 hours. I have never had to put you on any kind of schedule as you have worked yourself into a very regular routine. Occasionally I would let you sleep a little longer and stretch the time between feedings to about 5 hours. By one month you were eating 6-7 times per day, closer to 4 hours apart. You are exclusively breastfed, but I wanted you to be able to take a bottle in case I needed to be apart from you for some reason. You took your first bottle of breast milk with no problems at one month.
From birth, you have nursed about every 3 to 4 hours. I have never had to put you on any kind of schedule as you have worked yourself into a very regular routine. Occasionally I would let you sleep a little longer and stretch the time between feedings to about 5 hours. By one month you were eating 6-7 times per day, closer to 4 hours apart. You are exclusively breastfed, but I wanted you to be able to take a bottle in case I needed to be apart from you for some reason. You took your first bottle of breast milk with no problems at one month.
Sleeping
Your routine is very predictable – you wake up, get a diaper change, stay awake for a bit, get another diaper change if you need it, then go back to sleep for 2 to 4 hours. There are some feedings where you don’t even really wake up – you go right back to sleep when done nursing. Your naps are not always uninterrupted… you don’t like being wet or dirty, especially if a diaper leaks and your clothes or blankets get wet. However, once you get a diaper change you get back to sleep. When you were first born, it seemed like you had your days and nights mixed up, but it was hard to tell because you were sleeping close to 20 hours per day! By one month you started having longer stretches of night time sleep, going to sleep between 12 and 1 and waking around 4:30. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of time and holding to get you to sleep and you will wake up when put down (whether in the bouncer, swing, or crib), so we end up holding you during the entire nap. It has made for some awkward nights’ sleep (crick in my neck!) and not very productive days (time to watch another movie on my kindle). By one month, it is getting easier to put you to sleep and keep you asleep for a full nap.
Your routine is very predictable – you wake up, get a diaper change, stay awake for a bit, get another diaper change if you need it, then go back to sleep for 2 to 4 hours. There are some feedings where you don’t even really wake up – you go right back to sleep when done nursing. Your naps are not always uninterrupted… you don’t like being wet or dirty, especially if a diaper leaks and your clothes or blankets get wet. However, once you get a diaper change you get back to sleep. When you were first born, it seemed like you had your days and nights mixed up, but it was hard to tell because you were sleeping close to 20 hours per day! By one month you started having longer stretches of night time sleep, going to sleep between 12 and 1 and waking around 4:30. Sometimes it takes quite a bit of time and holding to get you to sleep and you will wake up when put down (whether in the bouncer, swing, or crib), so we end up holding you during the entire nap. It has made for some awkward nights’ sleep (crick in my neck!) and not very productive days (time to watch another movie on my kindle). By one month, it is getting easier to put you to sleep and keep you asleep for a full nap.
Daily Activities and
Playing
You sleep all of the time! Your wake/play time comes after every feeding, but thus far you haven’t stayed awake long enough to do much. For the most part, I am content to hold and look at you during your brief awake times. You don’t love the swing when awake, but you do like the bouncer. I have tried putting you on your tummy occasionally, but your neck and back strength isn’t developed enough for it to be enjoyable.
You sleep all of the time! Your wake/play time comes after every feeding, but thus far you haven’t stayed awake long enough to do much. For the most part, I am content to hold and look at you during your brief awake times. You don’t love the swing when awake, but you do like the bouncer. I have tried putting you on your tummy occasionally, but your neck and back strength isn’t developed enough for it to be enjoyable.
Sibling
Both Ian and Ellen have so much love for you. They are helpful (or at least they try to be) – fetching pacifiers, diapers, burp cloths, teddy bears, blankets, etc. You name it, they have brought it to you. You are kissed and hugged at every opportunity. They love watching you and get very excited when you are awake. Once you gave a little cough/sneeze when Ellen was walking by and she very politely said, “God Bless you Cameron!” They also make funny comments about your expressions and noises: “Why is he worried? Why is he nervous? Oh, he is surprised! He sounds like a little dog! He meowed like a little cat!”
Both Ian and Ellen have so much love for you. They are helpful (or at least they try to be) – fetching pacifiers, diapers, burp cloths, teddy bears, blankets, etc. You name it, they have brought it to you. You are kissed and hugged at every opportunity. They love watching you and get very excited when you are awake. Once you gave a little cough/sneeze when Ellen was walking by and she very politely said, “God Bless you Cameron!” They also make funny comments about your expressions and noises: “Why is he worried? Why is he nervous? Oh, he is surprised! He sounds like a little dog! He meowed like a little cat!”
Special Events
I’ve been taking regular weekly photos but haven’t been very good at getting out my “big camera” for more candid shots at other times. However, I do use the phone on my camera to capture many shareable moments with family and friends via Instagram, so your first month certainly hasn’t gone undocumented. Your first Valentine’s day was very uneventful… we were miraculously able to trace your hand for a card for Daddy.
I’ve been taking regular weekly photos but haven’t been very good at getting out my “big camera” for more candid shots at other times. However, I do use the phone on my camera to capture many shareable moments with family and friends via Instagram, so your first month certainly hasn’t gone undocumented. Your first Valentine’s day was very uneventful… we were miraculously able to trace your hand for a card for Daddy.
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| Cameron @ 4 weeks |
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| Cameron @ 4 weeks |
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| Cameron @ 4 weeks |
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| Cameron @ 4 weeks |
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