Merry Christmas!!!

Happy 5 Months!

Our sweet baby girl is growing up too fast.  It's hard to believe Camryn is already 5 months old.  It's just crazy how time flies by so quickly.  Camryn is the best baby ever.  She is so happy all the time.  She wakes up smiling...it's wonderful!  Now, she does have her moments but they don't occur too often:)  Camryn is really starting to teethe.  The last couple of nights have been tough for her...poor baby.  I don't see or feel any teeth yet but she sure is chewing on everything and drooling like crazy.  Camryn is also pretty close to rolling over back to front.  She can twist her legs all the way but gets stuck by her arms. 

December is usually a very busy month for us so I'm not sure how often I will be posting.  May everyone have a blessed Christmas and safe New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving

This is what I'm thankful for this year!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving spending precious time with friends and family.  This year was very special for us.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Picture Post

Sitting up like a big girl

My little monkey

Game Day Outfit

Really mom...another picture

1st Pair of Wranglers

Trying out new hair assessories

Just chillin'

This is what I wake up to every morning...such a blessed mama

Happy girl

Feel asleep watching mama wash the dishes

Sleepy girl



Halloween 2011

Our Little Lady Bug

Pumpkin Patch 2011



4 Months



Stats - 4 Months

Weight:  16 lbs. 4 oz. (95^th percentile)

Height:  24 ½ in. (75^th percentile)

Fun Facts - 4 Months
- Camryn wears size 3 diapers and 6 months clothes.
- Camryn still eats 5-7 oz. every 3 hours.
- The pedi gave us the go ahead on solids.  We tried cereal and bananas.  Camryn did really well as far as opening her mouth and eating off the spoon, but her tummy didn’t handle it too well.  I really didn’t feel comfortable continuing the solids.  I read that it’s recommended that babies get breast milk exclusively for the first 6 months so we’re going to wait until then to start solids again. 
- Though Camryn’s sleeping through the night, getting her to fall asleep is a chore these days.  I guess because she’s more aware of her surroundings, she’s afraid she’s going to miss out and just doesn’t want to go to sleep.  Her naps during the day last maybe 30 minutes.  Unless Camryn is really tired, she doesn’t fall asleep by herself.  I usually have to rock her a while and sing a few songs before she falls asleep which I certainly don’t mind a bit.  I love to cuddle with my sweet baby girl!
- Camryn is holding her head up good and loves “sitting up”.  When you try to lay her down in your lap she’ll do crunches until you sit her up.  She’s not sitting unassisted yet but does really well with support.
- The pedi told us that we needed to do more tummy time with Camryn so she can develop muscles in her back and neck that will help her sit and crawl.  She warned that chunkier babies tend to be a little behind in areas like rolling over and sitting up (I guess because the extra weight).  We’ve been practicing rolling over and doing tummy time several times a day.  Camryn is now holding her head up and looking side to side during tummy time.  She’s also getting better at twisting her hips so I’m sure she’ll be rolling over soon.
- Camryn is starting to teethe.  She puts everything in her mouth…burp cloths, bibs, blankets, toys, and her favorite…her fist.  I asked the pedi about this, and she said that it may be several months before Camryn cuts any teeth.  It looks like 2 little white buds just beneath her bottom gum so we’ll see.
- Camryn has started laughing.  It’s the cutest little chuckle.  She won’t laugh every time you try to make her but tickling her tummy or neck usually does the trick.
- Camryn holds her bottle now…well, she tries to at least.  Her bottle is pretty heavy when she first starts eating but when there are only a couple ounces left, she can hold it all by herself.

3 Months (a little late)



Fun Facts - 3 Months
- current weight is 16 lbs. (14 lbs. when the above picture was taken).
- wears size 2 diapers
- wears 3-6 months clothes depending on the brand.  I've noticed Carters runs a little small.
- becoming more active every day...smiling the biggest, heart-warming smiles...discovering her hands and her voice.  boy does she "talk" up a storm now.  it's crazy how fast they learn new things.  truly amazing to witness all the changes!
- eats 5-7 oz. every 3 hours
- sleeping through the night (8-10 hours) since the second week of September!



Camryn's Birth Announcement

Newborn Pictures

How Time Flies...(updated with stats)

8-Week Stats
Weight: 11 lbs. 4 oz.

*Camryn's height measurement was 21 3/4 in. which is the same as her 3-week measurement.  The nurse didn't really stretch her out when measuring because she was in a rush for some reason so Corey and I plan to do our own measurement this week...surely Camryn has grown in the last 5 weeks.

Fun Facts - 2 Months 

- becoming more aware of her surroundings and really focusing on your face

  when you talk to her

- making the cutest sounds as she's learning her voice

- kicking her legs and moving her arms more and more which makes

  changing diapers and clothes fun for mommy:)

- eyelashes are growing long
- wearing 3M clothes and size 1 diapers though she'll be in size 2 soon
- eating 3-4 ounces every 3 hours

- staying awake more during the day though she still likes to play between

  1am - 4am rather than sleep during that time:) After her early morning

  playtime she usually sleeps 4-5 hours.

- pedi prescribed a multi-vitamin to ensure she gets flouride and vitamin D

  but mommy has to get creative when giving it to her because she doesn't

  like the taste that well:)

Our sweet baby girl is 2 months old today.  We are really enjoying every minute with her.  We can't believe how incredibly blessed we are.  Camryn's 2-month check-up appointment is tomorrow so I will post her stats when we get back from the doctor's office.  She will be getting her first round of vaccinations so please pray that they are as painless as possible and her body handles it OK.

Hope everyone is doing well.  I still need to post some of her newborn pictures along with her birth announcement.  I'll try to get those posted sometime this week.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy 1-Month Camryn!

1-Month Facts About Camryn:

- loves to be held
- loves her paci
- doesn't like to wait on her food
- throws temper tantrums like no other
- wears newborn clothes and size 1 diapers
- eats anywhere from 2-4 ounces every 2-4 hours
- not really into her swing yet but loves her bouncer
- loves car rides...she's asleep before we leave the driveway
- takes long naps in the afternoon...if only she'd do that at night:)
- enjoys tummy time

It's hard to believe that our baby girl is already a month old.  Camryn has brought so much joy into our lives.  She's perfect and the answer to our many many prayers.  We are so blessed to have her home with us.  Even though she has her days and nights mixed up at the moment, we wouldn't trade this experience for anything.  I can be so exhausted fixing her bottle for a 3am feeding, but the moment she looks up at me and makes those cute faces, my heart just melts and the exhaustion just doesn't matter anymore.

Let me explain Camryn's 1-month picture...I tried and tried to get a "good" picture to use in this post but she wasn't into taking pictures that day.  This one actually turned out to be our favorite because it shows her personality.  Camryn always puckers her lips like that after eating...it just cracks us up.  We've also noticed that she likes to hike one leg up.  She did this in several of her newborn pictures which I will include in another post soon.

3 Week Pedi Appointment

Camryn loves her paci



3-Week Stats

Weight: 7 lbs. 15 oz.

Height: 21 3/4 in.

The doctor wanted us to come back at 3-4 weeks to check on how we were handling things and to make sure Camryn was gaining weight.  It also gave Corey and I a chance to meet one of the three PAs in the practice.  The appointment didn't start off so great.  We waited almost an hour before we were called back to an exam room.  It was way past Camryn's feeding time.  She was sleeping right through it all until the other kids in the waiting room starting running around screaming.  Once Camryn wakes up and realizes she's hungry, you have about 3 seconds to get her milk ready or she throws a little temper tantrum.  Apparently, she gets this from me as my parents have mentioned on several occassions that I was the same way as a baby.  And I'm not talking about a little wimper here or there.  No, she screams, turns red, and sometimes gets so carried away that she forgets to breathe.  Luckily, we knew she was about to stir so we had the milk ready and prevented a total meltdown in the waiting room.

Of course, once we start feeding her, the nurse calls her name.  Isn't that how it always happens?  The PA we met with was wonderful...well worth the wait.  She examined Camryn and checked her reflexes...said she was doing great.  As always, I had my list of questions to which the PA took her time in listening and responding.  The lady knew her stuff.  Camryn's next appointment will be at 8 weeks when she'll get all her shots.  Yikes...really not looking forward to that one.  Thankfully, my wonderful husband is going with us so he can hold Camryn since I'll probably be crying just as much as she will be:) 

 

Camryn's 1 Week Pedi Appointment

Ready for her first outing

1-Week Stats

Weight: 6 lbs. 9 oz.

Height: 21 1/2 in. 

Camryn's first pedi appointment was quite the adventure for our family.  It was the first time we had gone anywhere since we came home from the hospital.  Camryn did great.  It was me who was a nervous wreck.  I tell you, hormones are a force to be reckoned with.  I'm sure it was combination of hormones, pain meds, and lack of sleep, but it took everything I had not to breakdown in the doctor's office waiting room.  I don't know exactly what was bothering me, but being out of the house around a bunch of strangers just wasn't settling with me.  Once we were called back to an exam room and talked to the doctor, I felt much better.  Hopefully, some of y'all know what I'm talking about.  At least I hope I'm not the only mom out there that's felt this way the first couple of weeks of parenthood.

We love Camryn's doctor.  He was so patient with me and my long list of questions.  He explained how he ran his practice and what we could expect with a newborn...what was normal, what to be on the look out for.  Very down-to-earth and genuine.

Some of you may have noticed that Camryn's weight was quite a bit lower than her birth weight.  The doctor assured us that this is normal for newborns.  Camryn actually lost a lot before leaving the hospital.  I had a really tough time recovering from the C-section.  Because I wasn't feeling all that great, I didn't breastfeed or pump as often as I should've.  My milk didn't come in until day 3 or 4 so we ended up supplementing with formula.  Poor baby girl was starving, and the breastfeeding thing just wasn't a successful as we'd hope.  We had several visits from the lactation consultant and had one of my favorite night nurses help with latching.  It appeared that Camryn was latching good but would get frustrated and tired when she wasn't getting any milk.  Both her and I were much happier once she started getting some nourishment from the formula.  The day before we left the hospital, my milk finally came in so she's been on breastmilk ever since.   

Delivery Story

Better late than never, right?  As promised, here's Camryn's birth story.


Tuesday, June 28th, my doctor took me off the Mag.  It was so strange not being hooked up to anything.  I felt so free:)  I kept waiting for the contractions to start the minute the medicine stopped.  Family and friends kept calling throughout the day asking if anything was happening, but everything was normal...no contractions. 

My mom came up to the hospital that evening and stayed the night.  Boy was I glad because around 5am Wednesday morning I started feeling some contractions.  They were mostly in my lower back and weren't really registering on the contraction monitor.  This continued for about an hour or so when the pain increased in intensity and frequency.  The nurse called my doctor who said that he'd check me when he rounded that morning.  I called Corey and told him that he might want to come up to the hospital so he'd be there when the doctor stopped by.

The back labor kept getting worse.  I was pretty sure this was it.  When the doctor checked me, I was dilated to 1cm.  His exact words were, "We're having a baby today!"  They had several C-sections scheduled that morning so I had to wait a few hours.  In the meantime, I was given some medicine for the pain which ended up knocking me out and unfortunately, didn't really help with the pain.

Around 12:30pm the anesthesiologist and the surgery team came and got us and we were off to the OR.  I didn't have a C-section with Connor so I was a little nervous about the procedure.  I was shaking so bad as they were prepping me.  They kept asking me if I was cold or nervous but I wasn't sure which one it was.  The anesthesiologist put what looked like bubble wrap over my arms and chest and then turned on this fan that blew hot air to try to warm me up.  At first, it felt pretty nice but then I started to feel claustrophobic with all that on my arms and chest and the oxygen mask over my face.  By this time, Corey was sitting right next to me and the doctors had started the procedure.  I was really surprised at how quick it was.  The next thing we knew, the anesthesiologist was telling Corey to stand up because the doctors were about to deliver our baby girl.

Everyone in the OR was shocked at how big Camryn was...7 lbs. 2 oz.  Who knows how big she would've been had I gone full-term.  The doctor brought her over to us so we could see her before taking her to the nurses to be examined.  The cord was wrapped around Camryn's neck twice but after some stimulation she was breathing and doing great.  I remember just waiting to hear her cry and to hear if she had to go to the NICU or not.  What wonderful news it was to know that our baby girl was going to get to stay with us.

Once the doctors closed me up, we went to recovery for about an hour or so.  A lactaction consultant met us there, and I was able to start breastfeeding right away or attempting it anyway.  The recovery nurse took Camryn to the nursery while Corey and I went back to my antepartum room where all our family was waiting. 

It was so great seeing the smiles on our family's faces when they finally got to hold our baby girl.  It has been one heck of a journey getting to this point but we wouldn't trade it for the world.  All the pain and everything else we went through was so worth it.  It's still hard to believe that she's here and just as perfect as can be!

1st Week Home in Pictures

Sorry it has taken so long to post.  I've been meaning to but just haven't found the time.  Here are some pictures from our 1st week home.  I promise to post about Camryn's delivery and pedi appointment later on this week.



Camryn Grace is here!!!

Camryn Grace Thoe

Born Wednesday, June 29th, 2011 at 1:08 pm

7 lbs 2 oz

20.25 inches long

Healthy with no NICU stay.  Praise God.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support.

Baby Update - 35 Weeks

How many weeks?  35 weeks!!!

Hospital stay update?  OK, here’s the plan.  My doctor is going to take me off the Mag next week at 36 weeks.  If I start contracting a lot, he’ll put me back on it because he wants me to make it to at least 37 weeks.  If, however, they can’t stop the contractions and I go into labor, then we’ll have a baby! 

Specific prayer requests?  Please continue to pray the same weekly requests along with the following:
     (1) Insurance allows me to stay in the hospital until I deliver;
     (2) I do not go into labor next week when we stop the Mag;
     (3) Any contractions will be stopped by getting back on the Mag;
     (4) If I do go into labor, Camryn’s delivery will be quick, safe, and without complications;
     (5) When Camryn arrives, her lungs are fully developed and she’s completely healthy
           – no NICU stay; and

     (6) When I deliver, my recovery will be as quick and pain-free as possible.

Happy 2nd Birthday Connor!

It's hard to believe we'd be celebrating Connor's 2nd birthday today.  Being in the hospital is especially hard on days like this when I wish I could visit the cemetery and have family over to celebrate our precious son's life. 

Since we're not able to do anything this year, I thought I'd share a few pictures from last year’s celebration.  We had a small family get-together at our house and released a balloon to heaven.  It was a very special day.  The weather was perfect, and the sky was beautiful.



Getting ready to release Connor's balloon as Corey read a card my mom got us
that couldn't have been more perfect in expressing our hearts that day.



Up...

up...

and away.

Happy birthday, sweet boy!  We love you and miss you so very much!