Baby Pictures

Today we just played with the camera. Happy six months Camden!!

(and no, I don't normally feed him in a room, but Grandpa was on a conference call, and Camden was pretty loud so we had to lay down some towels and make do!)

Half a Year

My little boy is currently sleeping, and the next time I see him (probably around 8am tomorrow) he will be 6 months old. I'm a mixture of sad, proud, excited, and bummed all at once. Bummed and sad because half a year is over with him and it's just going so so fast. Excited and proud because he's learning so much, and I'm so glad he's mine. I look forward to many more months with him, and I hope to enjoy each one.

In 6 months Camden has taught me a lot.

I am so grateful for all that he has taught me, and will continue to teach me. I'm a slow learner but he's patient! But instead of talking about me, lets talk about Camden for this post! [:

At six months Camden...

Loves his little apple that chimes when he rocks it. (This used to be my toy too).

Holds his own bottle, and actually prefers it that way.

Occasionally finds it hilarious to pull the bottle out of his mouth and watch it drip. (Mom does not find this very funny).

Knows how to roll but really doesn't care to do it often. He has his random moments where he rolls (mostly to get his binky) but this is a new development. If I pull his leg a little then he just flips himself really quick because he knows how and knows I want him to, but sometimes he gets grumpy and pushes back at me and whines because he doesn't want to roll. Stubborn boy.

Laughs when you say "mom mom mom" or "Dad dad dad" probably because he thinks we are crazy for telling him to say such things at 6 months haha.

Loves his daddy like crazy. Finds absolutely everything he does to be ridiculously hilarious, occasionally snorting while he laughs.

Snores. Ha. It is adorable.

LOVES his blanket. When I lay him in his crib for nap time he holds out his arms waiting for me to hand him his blanket, then promptly pulls it up over his face. We only let him sleep with crocheted blankets with big holes because he wont sleep without it up over his face. Even if you move it, he pulls it right back up. He also has always moved in his sleep a ton but now he does it WITH the blanket. He gets laid horizontal on the right side of his crib and wakes up vertical on the complete left side of his crib, blanket still held in his hands over his face. He's wonderful.

Talks and babbles like crazy. More than most babies I've been around his age. And at a much higher pitch!

Loves music.

Loves when mom sings.

Strokes all sorts of fabrics and textures. So interested in the way everything feels.

Puts himself to sleep for naps and at bed time. His naps are usually around 2 hours for the first two naps and an hour for the third.  He's not consistent, sometimes its more than two hours sometimes its about 1 and a 1/2 hours. And his wake times are currently getting longer so the third nap may drop soon. We shall see. But we are flexible!

He consistently sleeps 12 hours a night straight through sometimes a little more depending on naps that day. The average is 7:30pm-8am. We love this!

 Smiles allllll the time! At everyone! We also love this.

Loves his feet probably more than any toy.

Trying so hard to learn to scoot but mostly accidentally goes backwards and doesn't like it!

LOVES his glow worm. I think its creepy. But it glows for ten minutes and plays a song when I lay him down for his nap. He strokes it or pulls it close and goes to sleep.

Sucks in his bottom lip often. 

Has changed so much since we figured out the MSPI. He is so calm. So happy. Not in pain and grunty. Still has reflux, and we had to change his meds for that. But no more random bouts of screaming. No more pain. Just calm happy Camden who loves his binky again! He sleeps so well. He is gaining weight...still skinny but that's just Camden! He's totally chill now and mom is not a stressed mess trying to figure out where and what the pain is!
He's been on the hypoallergenic formula for a little over a month and is so good with it. We are happy. Hoping to begin some solids next week! [:

I love my little boy. I held him extra long tonight before I put him down in the crib for bed. He rested his head on my shoulder and stroked my arm (he liked the fabric of my hoodie) while I just held him and sang to him. I wasn't ready to say goodnight to my little 5 month old. But tomorrow I know that a happy smiling 6 month old Camden will be excited to greet me in the morning and will promptly grab his feet and lift his bum for me to change his diaper. Haha, such a gentleman.

And that's Camden!

Tiny Update

As far as Camden and his new formula goes, he is doing great.
He still throws up all day long--but that's reflux and nothing will help it until he grows out of it.
(before I receive messages of advice, we've tried thickening feeds, medicine, hypoallergenic formula..we just give him zantac to minimize pain now nothing has made any difference)
The doctor said by this point we should see about a 30% improvement. It will take 4 weeks for the tissues of his stomach to totally heal so I should still see some big strides. Camden still has some days of unexplained crying and hard to soothe moments but his sleep is back on track! He's slept through the entire night (12 hours to be exact..) without eating the last 3 nights. He no longer has harsh wake ups where he wakes immediately crying, he now has more easy transitions. He's also napping longer shortest nap of the day is usually at least an hour and the others are 2-3 hours! Beauty. Besides all that I just enjoy knowing he's not uncomfortable all the time. Also, some have messaged me suggesting I don't stop breast feeding and that I continue just cut out the dairy, soy, whey, etc from my diet.
Stopping breastfeeding has been a hard choice, but the hardest part was Camden refusing to nurse. He won't do it. I have to supplement, and I have to pump in order for him to eat at all.
I made the decision that was best for both of us, even if it may not seem like it to some. I have been losing weight since I had him, and am close to lower than I've ever been since I was 18. Garth and I didn't feel that the stress of pumping all day, along with the stress of a very restricted diet and my already non-healthy self would be what was best.
We appreciate the opinions, but also appreciate the respect for our choices.

Today Camden has had it a little rough. He's been congested since thanksgiving break (most likely due to the allergy). Today his nose is really runny and full, but the mucus is soft and thin instead of gooey and thick like it has been. So its hard to tell if Camden has gotten a cold and that explains the nose or not, but the doctor believes his congestion is probably actually just finally breaking up now due to the new formula. So for the moment hes a little frustrated that he can't breathe and he blows snot bubbles when he cries .. also that evil mom sucks out his nose.. but he's on the mend! He's still going down easy at nap time.
Funny story, I've always known Camden loves his music. Its very soothing to him but he pays attention to it, we can't play music through nap time or he just lays there and listens without sleeping. So our routine is that we sit in the rocking chair and I sing this song I've sang to him since birth. (its a pioneer song). Its short, and he's always still wide awake when I'm done but its just to help him wind down. So then we put him in the crib and squeeze his little glow worm which glows and plays a song for 10 minutes. Camden sometimes falls asleep before it finishes but if not it turns off and he rolls over the other direction and just goes to sleep. So great right?
Well I've had a cold and so I've been humming that song at nap time. And Camden has been so unsettled while I rock and hum that I've eventually just taken to laying him in the crib and turning on his glow worm. Its been confusing! Well finally the other day I was humming away and he was squirming and fussing and I remembered I finally felt better and had my voice back so I started to really sing--instant peace. Camden settled right away, pushed his arms out to prop himself up off my shoulder, looked up at my face and smiled. The last couple of days now that I'm actually singing again our routine is perfect again! In fact generally when I start in on the song he pushes his body up looks at me and smiles before he rests his bed back down on my shoulder. Silly boy just doesn't like my humming I guess, he wants the real thing.