REM: the band and the deep sleep

I'm back!

Although I don’t have any new milestones to report, I have been keeping busy. Last weekend I was surrounded by women who were fussing all over me. We were at my Aunt Maribel’s baby shower and this was the first time some of mom & dad’s cousins and aunts saw me so lots of people wanted to hold me. What the life!

And now this week, Grandma Linda is in town so I’m getting lots of attention and eating it right up. Boy do I have everybody wrapped around my little finger. Now if only I could shake this cold. Once again mom left me at the gym’s day care for a couple hours and I came home with a cold. Guess I won’t be going back there soon.

I’m not sure if it’s my cold or if I’m actually getting better at sleeping, but last night, I went 9 hours – all the way until 6:15am! Now if you do the math, you will realize that I didn’t actually go to bed until 9 pm. A bit past my bedtime, especially while under the weather, but apparently I won’t go to bed unless both mommy and daddy put me to bed. Monday night, mom tried to put me to bed while dad was at volleyball and I was up 15 minutes later. Mom was a bit surprised by this since I fell asleep on the changing table and seemed pretty drowsy while feeding after that.

Last night grandma was babysitting again and sure enough, I was still wide awake when mommy and daddy came home. They took me through my bedtime routine of changing my diaper, giving me my vitamins, feeding me, swaddling me and letting me listen to classical music while I drift off. I went to sleep with no protest then. Should be interesting tonight as daddy will be home with me while mommy goes to volleyball. I’ll let you know in my next blog whether or not I cooperated.

At least when I’m not sick, I’m also taking more structured naps. Usually one in the morning about an hour or two after I wake up (as long as I don’t sleep in until 9 or 10am as I have done a few times). Then I sometimes, not always, take an afternoon nap. I think mom likes having a more predictable nap schedule. Even though the times vary, she’s getting better at telling when I’m tired and putting me down for a nap. The only problem is, I will only take naps in my car seat. I don’t like to sleep in my crib or the pack and play for naps. I know it may sound silly, but I have my opinion and am free to exert it. I think I get this trait from mommy.

Last, but not least, I am mesmorized by the sound and movement of Dancing with the Stars. I like Julianne best and mom is rooting for Warren Sapp. This is the only show mommy lets me watch. Well this and sports and REM music videos from VH1 Classic. I think she is trying to turn me into an REM fan as we also listen to them in the car. Daddy’s taste in TV is much better. He will watch the Simpsons with me and of course football. One day though, mommy and daddy were watching a behind the scenes episode of Mythbusters and laughing hysterically so I decided to laugh along with them even though I couldn’t see what they were watching. They sure enjoyed my little squeal of a laugh.

Well I am off to go enjoy some more grandma time. Grandparents sure do know how to spoil so I love spending time with all of my grandmas and grandpas and they seem to enjoy me too!

Love,

Cameron

Homage to the Rays

What a weekend I had. Like the Tampa Bay Rays, I went from worst to best overnight. Literally. According to my parents, I had my worst night yet on Saturday night. I screamed from 5:30pm-10:30pm with little reprieve. I was quiet during the car ride they took me on in hopes it would make me fall asleep. I didn’t fall asleep, much to their chagrin, but I was at least quiet during the ride and gave their ears a short break. Finally, dad made a desparation run to the pharmacy for some Gripe Water (it’s a concoction of ginger, fennel, and sodium bicarbonate or something like that to help the tummy). Well it must have worked because I finally went to bed shortly thereafter. But I was up at my usual 1:30am and 4am feedings. I did sleep in until 10am though. So that was my worst night. Then the very next night, I had my best night yet. I slept for 8 whole hours – from 8pm until 4am. Granted I didn’t want to go back to bed at 4am so mom had to stay up with me until 6:30am when I finally gave in to sleep thanks to a little of that Gripe Water stuff. If mom was smart, she would have given it to me when I ate at 4am instead of waiting until 6am. Duh!

I got to spend lots of time with family this weekend. Grandpa and Grandma Kruepke came over Saturday because one of mommy’s colleagues, Kamela, trained mom, dad, grandpa and grandma in infant and child CPR. Then Sunday, we went to Grandma and Grandpa’s house and visited while watching football. After the first football game, we went to Uncle Scott & Aunt Mollie’s house to watch the Packers beat the Colts. So once again, mom, dad, and I spent a Sunday watching football.

Not much else to say. I’m smiling a lot and am awake and alert quite a bit during the day. I still don’t take many naps. If I do nap, it’s usually a catnap. What a life! Hope you all have a good week and enjoy the fall colors.

Love,

Cameron

Needles & Naps

I’m back (and better than ever!) My big news is I survived my first round of immunizations. Don’t get me wrong, I did cry and scream a bit, but mommy was able to soothe me with one of my faves – mom’s milk! I definitely enjoy eating and am gaining weight at a healthy rate. I am now 10 lbs 2 oz and in the 25% for weight. That sounds lower, but I was only in the 10% range at birth so it’s definitely an improvement. I am 23 inches long which is in the 50% for height and my head is 37 cm round. Gotta have room for my good ol’ brain. Hopefully I get daddy’s smarts.

Because of my immunizations, I have been sleeping a lot since yesterday. I went a whole 8 hours between feedings last night, but because I woke up around 11:00pm with gassiness, I didn’t give mom & dad as big of a chunk of sleep as they probably would have liked. But I slept in until 9am today so I’m sure they were happy with that.

Wednesday was a big day for me. I got to visit both daddy and mommy’s work. We went to daddy’s office so mom could get her flu shot. I was really good that morning and was awake the whole time, but nice and quiet. Then we went to mommy’s office so she could pick a few things up and do a little work. I slept through the whole visit to mom’s work again so her coworkers still have not seen me awake.

Not much else to report here. Oh yeah, I should probably tell you I wasn’t very cooperative on Monday at yoga class. We had to leave early because I decided I didn’t want to participate so I cried until mom got me back in the car. Maybe this week I’ll play nice. We did stay long enough so I could get my infant massage. I timed that right!

Finally, I realized I forgot a few other favorites so I am going to add to my list from last week. And because I’m still a bit cranky about getting needles stuck in both of my legs, I am also going to include a list of least favorites. So here you go.

More faves:
1. Kicking my legs
2. Eating
3. Crying (I don’t particular enjoy crying, but I should do it a lot while I’m awake – I don’t want mom & dad to forget I’m around…)
4. Car rides
5. Walks with mom & Jesse (and sometimes dad gets to join us too)

Least faves:
1. Naps
2. Hiccups – and I get this a lot
3. Gas – and I get this even more
4. Naps
5. Did I mention I don’t like to nap???

Love,
Cameron

Cameron in D

Happy Sunday!

After having a rough sports weekend last week and yesterday, I am happy to say that I got to celebrate a Packers victory over mom’s hometown team, the Seattle Seahawks. We watched the game at the Burie’s house and there were lots of kids there to watch. I was the youngest, but someday I will get to run around and play like all of them. Watch out Jared, here I come!

This was a big weekend for me. Not only did I go to my first Packer party, I also attended my first wedding yesterday. Dad’s cousin Kori got married and I was pretty good. Mom did have to take me outside during the last half of the ceremony. She was a bit disappointed to miss the last part, especially since cousin Brian was singing and she enjoys listening to him. At least we got to hear very first song of the ceremony, Blessed the Broken Road (one of mom’s faves – she sings it to me and plays it on the piano for me). Then we visited my great-grandma before going to the ceremony. As soon as dinner was served, I decided to get cranky. Apparently I have a knack for knowing when mom & dad are trying to eat and that’s when I get fussy. After dinner, I was nice again for Grandpa Jim who held me for quite a while so mom and dad could get a couple dances in before taking me home. I get to go to another wedding in November so pretty soon I’ll be an old pro.

Mom and dad started a new bedtime routine for me this week to help me know when it’s time to sleep. If it’s bath night, we start with a bath and then I get changed, take my vitamins, get my nose drops if necessary and then I get fed and put to bed. Last night, I didn’t wake up for a feeding until 3:30am. Mom and dad sure liked that! Most nights I cooperate, but if they try to put me down before 8 pm, I won’t go to sleep. Like tonight, they tried to put me to bed at 7pm and eventually mom had to come get me and once 8 pm hit, I feel asleep in her arms and she was able to put me to bed with no resistance (I snuck out of bed to post this blog, but shhh don’t tell mom).

Not much else happened this week as mom didn’t take me anywhere since I was recovering from my cold. I’m feeling better now. So to wrap up, I’ll leave you with a list of my top five favorite things this week (inspired by a friend of ours who sends out a top 5 every month). In no particular order:

1. My fist, especially sucking on it or making a “fierce” pose – ask Uncle Keith what that means

2. My mobile – sometimes it soothes me at night if I’m cranky

3. Sticking my tongue out at daddy – it’s a game we play; he sticks his tongue out at me and I stick my tongue out back at him

4. Being held by anybody, especially people other than mom & dad

5. Smiling :-)

So there you have it. Have a great week!

Love,
Cameron

Moo

Hello again! Since my weekend was so eventful, I thought I better blog about it right away.

I had my first encounter with a cow other than moo-cow (aka mom) this past weekend. As is mom & dad’s annual tradition, we went to a friend’s family farm out in Jefferson county for a fall day of fun. I was a bit too young to participate in the pumpkin search, but it was fun watching all of the older kids running around looking for the hidden pumpkins. Maybe next year I’ll be able to participate. We ate lots of yummy fall foods – well at least mom & dad did. I just had milk. How boring when there were over 8 different desserts from which to choose. The pictures with today’s posting were from our day at the farm. As you might be able to tell, the weather was beautiful – sunny, clear, and pleasantly crisp. Plus it was fun getting to meet more of mom & dad’s friends like Krisy & Eric and Maria & Chris and their two kids, Grace & Ryan.

That was definitely the highlight of my weekend – that and watching the Brewers win their first postseason game in 26 years. Too bad football Sunday (and the rest of the weekend in Wisconsin sports) was such a bummer. Daddy & I spend the entire day on Sundays watching football, but this weekend the Packers didn’t do so well.

Monday was a busy day for mom & me. First, Maria and her son Ryan came over to visit. Then, mom & I went to Mommy & Me Yoga where mom massaged me and then used me as a weight while doing yoga. I was really good – I was awake for the first half of class and didn’t make a peep. Then, I fell asleep during the part of class where it’s just mommy doing yoga without me. I slept a lot on Sunday and Monday because I am fighting my first cold L So Monday afternoon meant a visit to the doctor. Now I have to sleep upright whenever possible and I have this funky machine (a vaporizer) in my room that keeps it moist while I sleep so I can breathe through my nose better. Hopefully I feel better soon so I can go to a wedding and a Packer party this weekend.

And the last part of Monday, other than Monday night football of course, was mom went and chopped her hair off. Now I can’t grab it as easily. Maybe I’ll have to start pulling her glasses off her face instead.

Oh and my other big news – I wore my first 3-month old outfit yesterday. It looked smaller than the rest of the 3-month old clothes I have so that’s probably why mom picked it out for me. I am getting close to 10 lbs. I was 9 lbs 13 oz with my clean diaper on yesterday so by next week I will probably hit the 10 lbs mark. I’ll keep you posted!

Love,

Cameron

My Roller Coaster Ride

I am now over 6 weeks old. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long since I graced my parent’s world with my presence. I sure have changed a lot over this short period of time.

This last week was full of ups and downs for me. I watched the Brewers clinch their first postseason appearance in 26 years and then watched them bomb their first two games. Mom said she is kind of happy now that she didn’t make an effort to get tickets for the postseason the way they have been playing.

Another up is that I am growing at a healthy pace. I am now 9 lbs 7 oz, up from 9 lbs 2 ½ oz last week. On the downside, I peed all over myself and the scale while getting weighed. That’s what happens when you take all my clothes off and make me cold. You would think mom would have figured that out by now, but she keeps exposing me to cold air – to weigh me, to change my diaper, to dress me, etc.

Another up for me was meeting my new friend Eli. He is 3 ½ years old and loves the Brewers as much as I do. He told me today when he has a baby (hopefully not for about 25 years per his mother), he wants to name it Cameron. That’s cool. After lunch with Eli and his mom, I got to spend quality time with daddy and Jesse so mom could go get a massage and run some errands. I had a good time sleeping in daddy’s arms.

Mom took me to the gym on Thursday. While she was at her water aerobics class, I stayed at the gym’s child care center. This was the first time since I was born that somebody other than mom, dad or grandma H watched me. I had a good time and was well-behaved, but I think mom was a little nervous about this first. It’s good practice for her though since she will eventually have to have people watch me when she goes back to work in January. She did enjoy the uninterrupted, hot shower she got to take at the gym after her class since I was still at the child care center.

Apparently I have been a bit uncooperative this week with my sleeping and awake times. For example, yesterday I took multiple 30 minute cat naps here and there, but didn’t take a “real” nap until 7 pm. I don’t like to go to bed for the night unless it’s after 8 pm so when I feel asleep at 7, mom and dad didn’t even try to put me down for the night. They know I would have fought it and been cranky at them for trying. I have been sleeping pretty well for about 4 or 5 nights a week, but then every few nights or so, I don’t want to go back to sleep after my early morning (e.g. 4 am) feeding. At least sometimes after keeping mom and/or dad up at that early hour, I will sleep in until 9 or 10am. I’ll eventually start sleeping through the night, but right now I rather enjoy getting up every few hours for a midnight snack.

So now you are up-to-date with my weekly happenings and I am off to start my weekend!

Love,
Cameron