First Day of School

It was another busy week in the Manke household!

We enjoyed our last week together of my leave by getting lots of cleaning and organizing done around the house, but most importantly, spending as much time with Cameron as we could! We did lots of tummy time, bouncing in his bouncer, going for walks, reading books, and just plain old hangin out. Cameron also got to spend a day with his Grandma Chris! It had been a few weeks since Grandma had seen him, so it was fun for her to see how much he'd grown and how big he'd gotten!

We survived our first day of "school", too!! I went back to work yesterday (Friday), and we dropped Cameron off at New Horizon's Academy in Elk River. Ryan went with me... I wasn't quite sure I could do it alone!! And I couldn't... I cried like a baby and even the director gave me a comforting hug! To make it a memorable experience, less than 2 minutes after we gave Cameron to his teacher, he puked all over the front of her shirt and all over the floor! I've never seen him spit up that much, but of course his teacher didn't think it was that big of a deal! (I'm sure it happens all day long!) I called at 9:30 and 12:30 to check-in, being the worry wart that I am, but of course he had good reports that he was doing well: eating as much as I figured he would (5 oz. about every 2 hours) and had taken 2 two hour naps already (which never happens at home!!). I was able to pick him up around 3 and he had just woken up from his nap, so I gave him his bottle while being able to talk to his teachers, Ms. Ellie and Ms. Erin, and got to know them better. Overall, it was a good day and Cameron got lots of praise from his teachers on how good of a baby he is! Monday will be our real test: I drop him off at 6:10 and take the 6:30 train for my first day of work downtown! I'm sure glad I got a practice day in first, but I think there will still be lots of tears on Monday!!

And to top off our already exciting day with more excitement, Cameron rolled over from this back to his tummy!!!! Ryan was playing with him on the floor and VOILA!, he did it!! Of course we pulled out the iPad and phones and started recording, and as we did that, then Cameron looked at us and stopped rolling (stinker!!). Ryan did get a good recording that I'll post as soon as I figure out how to edit it (it's too big of a file right now!). After we cheered and coo-ed at him for quite awhile, he did it another dozen times, so we know it wasn't a mistake, he really did roll!

Cameron's Other weekly highlights: Being fascinated by watching Baby Einstein movies (and just the TV in general doesn't hold his attention as long as those movies...), having his 3 month pictures taken at JCPenny, going for walks with mommy, and playing with his teething toy: Sophie the Giraffe.

Did I mention a teething toy?! Oh yes, this boy is a drooling machine and I'm wondering if teeth are right around the corner.... scary!!

My weekly highlights: While talking on the phone, I had my back to Cameron. Ryan said he stared at me the entire time with a smile on his face :)) And this may not seem as a big highlight to some, but I worked really hard during my leave to pump and freeze breastmilk so Cameron can stay off of formula as long as possible. I had to go through the freezer supply and label every bag before it went to daycare and so I decided to count... I had 834 ounces frozen! I figured that would be about an extra month that he could be on breastmilk. Yay! I'll still pump when I go back to work, so I'm going to stick to my goal of having Cameron stay strictly on breastmilk until he's 6 months old... we'll see if I can do it!

First day of School!

Talking to Daddy as he gave Cameon a pep talk about his first day!

Cameron loves Sophie! <3

And Manson wishing he could get his paws on Sophie, too!

He LOVES Baby Einstein!

Ready for Summer!

I picked up Cameron a pair of sunglasses the other day... Along with his swim trunks and sun hat, he is ready to hit up Uncle Patrick and Auntie Jill's pool this summer!!

I have fingers?!

It was quite a busy week! Cameron met his Auntie Val, had his first non-relative babysitter and had a sleep over at Grandpa and Grandma Hubers' house, just to name a few of the week's events! But the biggest milestone this week is that Cameron discovered he has fingers and can't stop sucking on and looking at them!

This past Tuesday, my Aunt Cindy babysat Cameron while I had a dentist appointment. He had good babysitting reports from Aunt Cindy and she was gearing him up for his first "real, non-relative" babysitter for Saturday night! Jill turned 30 on Wednesday and Patrick threw her a birthday party at Cafe Lurcat in downtown Minneapolis Saturday night, so we got a babysitter. Trudy's babysitter, Claire, came down from Pease for the evening  and they had a blast! Claire said he was a very good boy and that they had a fun time! Ryan and I also enjoyed our evening out together and I have to admit, I was quite proud of myself that I only texted Claire once to see how they were doing :)

This past Thursday, Tom & Val came from Montana for a visit and Cameron was able to meet Val for the first time! (Cameron met Tom about a month ago when he was out for a work trip). Thursday afternoon we hung out at our house, ending the night up at my parents grilling outside and just hanging out. On Friday, mom, Val, myself and Cameron went shopping to Maple Grove, then headed back up to my parents. Cameron and I decided to spend the night because all of the guys were going golfing first thing Saturday morning, and we just saved a trip of driving and uninterrupted sleep for Cameron (Ryan headed home to let Manson out and came back Saturday morning). Cameron did good on his first shoppoing trip and also did well on his overnight stay at Grandpa and Grandma's. To top off the family-filled weekend, we went to Patrick & Jill's house today for brunch and to say our good-bye's to Tom and Val.... We probably won't see them again for at least a few months! :(

The weather outside this week was gorgeous and we busted out Cameron's stroller to take him on his first walk! He absolutely loved it and we couldn't stop laughing at the funny squint he had on his face from all of the natural light he was adjusting to.

This week will also be a busy and fun, yet sad week: I head back to work on Friday and Cameron has his first day of daycare! :( On a happier note, Cameron gets to see his Grandma Chris tomorrow as she will be back in MN for a few days!

I love to chew on my fingers!!

Tom & Val came to play!

Snuggling with Auntie Val

Out for Jill's Birthday!

Family Love <3

My first stroller ride

Manson leading the way on our family walk!

My Cousin Laney

My parents watched my niece Laney while Marc and Jillian went on a get away to California this weekend and we went to visit them both Friday and today. Laney had so much fun talking to Cameron and being a big helper with getting his pacifier, playing toys with him, pushing him in his swing, and talking to him! Laney told me she can't wait for Cameron to get bigger so they can play ball together :)

Laney pretending to be Baby Cameron

"He's so cute!"

Making silly faces at Baby Cameron!

Work Those Neck Muscles!

Cameron has developed a little bit of a flat spot on the right side of his head... he prefers his right side to his left and we're working hard to fix that! We've been having him sit up more, work on tummy time, sit in the bumbo, and his new favorite: jump in his bouncer! We can tell a definate improvement with how strong his neck muscles/head movements are getting, so now we're hoping his flat spot will get better.

Its so fun to see him move around in his bouncer! He isn't great at it yet because he's still a little young for it, but his tippy toes just reach the floor enough for him to push off a little bit. The music and sounds are motion activated, so the thing is never quiet as he moves around! The other night he played in it for 50 minutes straight and he put himself to sleep... this thing might come in more handy than we think!!

Getting encouragement from his cheerleader, Manson

I'm a terrible mom for letting him lean this far, but thought it was cute as he yawned!

Bounce, bounce, bounce!

This is so much work!

Play Date with my Cousin!

Cameron and I went down to Shakopee this past Monday to visit Ryan's sister DeAnn and to meet his cousin Amelia for the first time! Amelia was born just 3 days before Cameron on December 27. It was so fun to see them together and interact. It was also amusing to watch them as they laid under Amelia's play mat... they took a couple "swings" at each other! I'm sure they were just friendly cousin love taps :)

After we got home early afternoon, Cameron took a 3 hour nap... I didn't even take him out of the car seat because he was sleeping so well... Amelia wore him out!

Cousins

So nice of Amelia to share her toys!

Hanging out at DeAnn's

Soooo sleepy!

The First 2 Months

I have to play catch up here and wrap up Cameron's first 2 months up into one post... hopefully I don't forget anything!!! A lot happens with a baby in the first 2 months of their lives. Here are Cameron's highlights:

* Started sleeping 6 to 8 hour stretches at night at 7 weeks!!! I always hate to complain about getting too much sleep, but my body was adjusting to waking up every few hours. Now it's adjusting back to getting sleep and I find myself more tired!
* Rolled from his tummy to his back. We don't think it was a fluke because he did it 5 times (and one of the times I got on video), but of course now he hasn't done it again in awhile. Hmmmmm....
* Started smiling around 5 weeks and having little giggles around 6 to 7 weeks.
* Spent one night at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids with RSV. Cameron was pretty darn sick with what we thought was a cold over a weekend. By Monday morning, he was working alot harder to breathe, so I made an appointment with his pediatrician. She took one look at him, told us it was RSV (without testing him) and suggested we spend the night at Mercy just in case he struggled a lot more to breathe. That way, we'd have oxygen readily available to help him. Thankfully we spent only one night and he didn't need the oxygen!
* At his 2 week check up, he weighed 9 lbs, 13 ozs and was 21 inches long (the nurse had to of measured him wrong... he was born at 22 inches!!!) He gained almost a pound and a half his first 2 weeks!!! This was the first time it dawned on me that we'd have a fast growing boy in our house.. he eats constantly!!
* Had his first sleep over at Grandpa and Grandma Hubers' house. Ryan went ice fishing with one of his buddies, so I loaded up Cameron and all of his gear along with our dog, Manson, and we camped out there! He did well and only got up twice that night!
* Had his first babysitting experiece with Grandpa and Granma Hubers. Ryan and I went to a friends birthday party and left him for 4 hours. Yes, it was a long 4 hours, but I was so proud of myself that I didn't call or text to check up on him. And of course he did just fine!
* He started to hold things we put in his hands around 8 weeks. He has a soft fishy rattle with black and white strips with a handle for a tail. When we put that in his hand, he grasps it and has sometimes shaken it! What a smart guy!
* Experience his first snow storm and made his first snow man! Last week we got 10 inches of snow and I made him a snowman. When we brought him to the front window to look at the snow, it was so bright outside that he was squinting!
* 2 month check up: 13 lbs, 6 ozs and 24 3/4 inches long. He's growing like a weed!!

One Month Picture

Grandpa visiting Cameron in the hospital

Cameron's First Snowman!

(Notice my Snowman helper in the background)

Smiles!

Pregnancy and Labor & Delivery

We found out we were pregnant on April 19... the day after our second anniversary! I was in total disbelief when I found out... so much so that I took 5 tests within 24 hours! We had our first ultrasound on May 6 at 6 weeks when our little guy was less than an inch long and found out our due date was December 25! We told our parents on Sunday, May 8 which was Mother's Day.

Fast forward 9 months... Overall had a very healthy pregnancy with very few complaints except exhaustion, back aches and nausea. The last 2 weeks were the hardest as I very stupidly had in my mind that I wanted him to come early (before Christmas!) so we could show him off over the holidays. Word of advice to pregnant ladies: NEVER think that... it slowly kills you!! I was also placed on modified bedrest due to an elevated blood pressure, but of course being an antsy person, it was hard making me stay confined to a bed. I did enjoy sleeping as much as possible and watching movies, but I did go stir crazy! Just ask my mom, sister and Trudy... all 3 who fell prank to my fake Santa Clause calls I generated over an internet website!

December 29 around 10:45, Ryan and I had just finished a movie and thought I felt my water start to leak. After calling the nurses at the hospital and them pretty much confirming that's what it was, we headed to the hospital around 2am. Within those few hours, I was able to eat and take a shower, while Ryan took a short nap. When I got there, they truly confirmed my water was leaking and we were there to stay... the disappointing part is that I was dilated to a 1, so the started pitocin and also inserted a small 4cm catheter of fluid to help weigh down my cervix and help me dilate. It was very uncomfortable, but the doctor assured me it would only be about 4 hours or so before I was dilated to a 4. 8 hours later and on my 3rd bag of pitocin, I was at a 5!! The contractions were 90 seconds long and 2 minutes apart, so I opted for an epidural and am so thankful I did!! I didn't feel a thing from my chest down (and looking back I now realize that could've been a scary feeling in the moment...), and was able to take a 2 hour nap before beginning to push at 10:00pm. My mom, dad and sister also made a quick visit up to my room to say hello, which was re-energizing after laying in bed all day!

44 minutes later, Cameron Ryan entered the world and from that moment on, our lives have never been the same!!! He had a full head of hair and very large hands and feet! The first thing Ryan and I noticed were his hands... they looked huge! Ryan was a very proud daddy and couldn't put him down... in fact the hospital team had to ask for him back when they did his vitals, Vitamin K shot, etc.

We stayed at the hosptial until Sunday, January 1, rining in the new year with our beautiful baby boy! We talked about how it may have been the most eventful NYE ever, but just in a different way this year!

Welcome to the World, Cameron Ryan!

8 lbs, 4 oz, 22 in

First Family Photo

 His hearing test... he passed!

 Teaching him cribbage at a young age...

On our way home!

And so it begins!

I decided I needed to start a blog so in a few years (rather a few months...) I won't forget all of the important milestones and happenings with our new favorite love, Cameron!

Today Cameron is 9 weeks old.... whoa, where did the time go!? It feels like yesterday I was just finding out we were pregnant and then flashforward 9 months and it felt like minutes just slowly ticking by as I was on bedrest and anxiously waiting for him to come!

In Cameron's 2 short months, I am fully in awe at how amazing he is and how much he has grown! We went in for his 2 month check up yesterday and he weighed 13 lbs, 5 oz and 24 3/4 in. long! Not only that, but to top off the scary factor as a mommy, he wore 6 month PJs to bed last night and wore his first pair of jeans today (also 6 months.... Thanks Auntie Amber!!)

We are so in love with our little guy and are so grateful we have been able to spend this much time at home with him together so far! I have lots I want to write about and catch everyone up on, but in the mean time, this mommy needs to hit the hay while the little one is asleep!