A day in the life of six week old Camden

Every day just seems to disappear in the blink of any eye, one minute he is waking up to feed at around 5/6am and the next Wayne is home from work and we are bathing him and trying to put him to sleep for the evening.

Even though it has only been six weeks since our little man's birth day it has become increasingly difficult to remember my life before Camden....weird.

We have a "routine" but nothing is set in stone and today may differ to tomorrow. He sleeps longer some days and others we struggle to get him to sleep, some days he acts like a starved animal and others we struggle to get him to eat. Some days we venture out and run errands and others we stay indoors, especially when it rains! Bring on summer!

I thought I would let you in on our "sort of routine" and what better day to do that than his 6 week birthday and after my meeting with my boss this coming Monday I might be returning to work half day from home ( he has admitted he needs me back) as of next week so who knows when I will find time to blog and this so called routine we have may fly straight out of the window when I try find my feet juggling a 6 week old baby, gym and working from home half day.

Here is a look at our day with 6 week old Camden:

3:00am - I hear Camden stirring in his bassinet next to my side of the bed. I leave him as he usually goes back to sleep. Not this morning, he was not having it and he starts to cry. I put his dummy in his mouth and pat his back but still nothing. I pick him up and put him on my chest for a little bit as his feed time is around 4:30/5am and that is when Wayne takes over from me and I don't like to wake Wayne until then.

4:36am - Like clockwork Camden starts moaning for his bottle. I wake Wayne up to go warm his bottle and then Wayne comes to fetch him from me and goes to feed him inside so I can get a few hours sleep before he brings Camden back to me around 7/7:30am so he can get ready for gym or work.

Some mornings I am lucky and Camden will sleep with me in the bed for a few more minutes...or not, this morning I was lucky for half an hour of cuddles and then I had to get up because he was no longer having it.

8:00am I get up make myself some coffee, sterilise his already washed bottles and prepare his bottles for the day with him on my hip. Multi-tasking is my new talent, I do everything with one hand...SKILL! I then go wash him and change him and get him dressed for the day (we have his six week injections today at 12)

8:45am He is yawning and fussing and I manage to get him to sleep after about a few minute battle. I put him in his pram (I put him in his pram so that I can wheel him to different parts of the house where ever I need to be and he is sleeping)

Camden is so unpredictable when it comes to sleeping and with the kind of start we had to this day, I don't predict he will sleep for long periods today...I predict cat naps all day long. I rush around trying to get as much done as possible before he wakes up.

9:00am I tidy his room after our washing and dressing session. I put a load of washing on, prepare my breakfast, wash the dishes and go make our bed. I pack his nappy bag and put it at the front door along with his car seat all ready to go. I check my work e-mails, even though I am on leave I still check my work e-mails every day in case there is something urgent that needs to be handled in my absence.

9:50am Camden wakes up for his feed. I warm the bottles and Wayne arrives home from doing his store visit for work and his gym session. I feed Camden his gripe water and then Wayne takes over to feed him his bottle while I make Wayne coffee and get my clothes ready to go and shower.

10:10am Camden is done drinking his bottle and Wayne hands him back to me so he can go and shower quickly as he doesn't take as long as me to get ready. I sit making faces at Camden and talk to him in baby language, he is being impossible today, he is so tired and I put him down and he goes to sleep.

10:30am Wayne is out of the shower and dressed. By this time we are now running late as I still need to get myself ready. Wayne was under the impression our appointment was for 12 and had no sense of urgency. I quickly jump in the shower, get dressed, do my hair and make-up, eat my breakfast and then we ready to go. Wayne had packed the bags in the car and got the car seat ready while I was getting dressed.

10:55am We are in the car and off we go to go to our 11:15am appointment at the Medical centre opposite Tygervalley.

Woken up from his cat-nap as you can see here in his car seat.

11:20am We are in the consulting room with Sister Darol Wilmot at the All About Babies consulting rooms. Darol weighs and measures Camden while I quickly slip out to go and complete a facial affect recognition test (Camden and I are taking part in a Mother-Infant-Bonding study for the Stellenbosch University and at his 6 month check up he sits and completes a facial affect recognition test as well). I return and Wayne leaves the room so Darol can administer Camden's 6 week injections. Wayne doesn't  want to be a part of that and be witness to his son getting hurt. Darol gives Camden some immunisation drops in his mouth. He is fast asleep but this wakes him up a little. She then gives him an injection in each leg. He got more of a fright than anything as he was sleeping when he felt the first needle jab and then the second. He cries a little and then he is quiet again..all done and it isn't that bad for him or for me! Wayne and I get our vaccinations too and then we were off.

12:30pm We get in the car and head home. Camden absolutely hates being in his car seat and screams blue murder until we put the music louder and then he settles but today that isn't even helping, I think he is feeling a bit miserable from the injections,who knows, not like he can tell me. I have a 60ml bottle in his nappy bag so I give that to him as a comfort feed and he quietens down.

12:50pm We arrive home. Wayne goes back to work and I play with Camden a bit, we read his sensory book, watch a sensory video on youtube, we make funny faces at each other and when her talks I talk back. I put him in his swing and sit on the floor next to him and rattle his toys to get his attention, all of ten minutes in the swing and he is rubbing his eyes and his nose ( these are signals that he is tired). I put Camden to sleep, I pack his car seat and nappy bag away, hang up the load of washing, pay some accounts, check FB and blog a little.

14:00pm I then make myself some lunch and coffee while he sleeps. I am expecting him to wake up for his feed around 14:00pm but I guess from the 60ml comfort feed in the car and the stressful morning he has had he is still sleeping much longer than I had anticipated and I manage to get a few more chores done around the house.

15:30pm Wayne arrives home and goes for a nap. Camden starts to stir and I feed him. He is very fussy and he isn't drinking like he normally does. One minute he is crying and then the next minute he wants his bottle. I just think he is being difficult because of the day he has had. I manage to get him to finish his bottle and then I go change him. I change his outfit because he has wet himself and then he projectile vomits all over me and his new outfit. So another change of clothing for him and a top change for me! He is being very niggly still and I can't understand why, could he be tired still? I put him back down to sleep and within a minute he is out cold again.

16:30pm I make myself another cup of coffee and start to prep and cook food for dinner.

17:30pm Wayne and Camden are both still sleeping. I decide to eat as I never know when I may get a chance to eat uninterrupted.

18:15pm Wayne wakes up and Camden starts to stir around the same time. (This time of the evening Wayne takes over from me and does the feed and bath time with Camden and then puts him to sleep.) I can't resist going in the room to take some pictures of my boys.

19:30pm Wayne hands Camden to me so he can eat.We read Camden his bed time bible story (they say to try find a bedtime routine that he can get used to and associate with bedtime) and Wayne gets into bed and cuddles Camden on his chest until he falls asleep and then we move him to his bassinet.

20:00pm I shower and get myself ready for "bed". Prepare Camden's 30ml gripe water bottle that I must give him before his next feed.

21:00pm Instead of getting into bed I sit up researching on the internet, writing this blog and replying to some work e-mails. I struggle to sleep and when I am over tired it is even worse for me to relax and fall asleep, hence I am still awake at this hour when I should be trying to get some rest.

23:40pm Camden starts to stir. I pat him and he goes back to sleep. I fetch his bottle out of the fridge and warm it up as he feeds around 00:00am.

00:00am Like clockwork Camden is awake for his feed. I feed him, change him and get him back to sleep.

00:40am I climb into bed and try get some shut eye

03:00am Camden starts to stir again but I pat him and he goes back to sleep.

04:20am Camden is awake for his next feed. We are trying to get him to sleep through with some sort of routine so I feed him 60ml to take him through to 6am at least before his next feed starts.

05:55am Camden wakes up for his morning feed. I wake Wayne up as this is when Wayne takes over. Wayne does the 4/5am morning feed and 6pm evening feed and lets me sleep in.

...and so the new day begins again.

There you have it, a day in the life of 6 week old Camden and a rather tired mommy

 

Camden's Blessing

Every baby is a blessing from God and Wayne and I decided to honour this miracle of life with a Baby Blessing for our son Camden, sometimes known as a Naming ceremony.

We asked my Uncle Allan , soon to be ordained Reverend, if he would do the honours of hosting this Blessing for Camden at our house and he was delighted.

We invited close friends and family to this special occasion, if we had invited everyone that we wanted to we would have had to hire out an entire hall but instead we opted for something intimate and had the Blessing at home.

It really was a special day, one we will definitely never forget.

†

CAMDEN KINGSLEY

May the Lord Bless you.

May you grow and become strong;

may you be filled with wisdom and

may the favour of God be upon you

God our father, we thank you for this child you have given us:

help us to be good parents and grant that by our love for him he may learn and love you his heavenly father through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Amen

  

 

A BIG Thank you to all the suppliers

Lauren ~ POP! Events for the setup and styling of the sweet table, the Blessing candle and stationery.

Ashton ~ The Sweetest Things for the delicious sugar cookies and cake pops

Michelle ~ Michelle's Cake Creations for the beautiful Blessing cake, cupcakes, catering and styling of the food table.

Carla ~ Carla Likes Photos for the gorgeous photos she took of Camden's Blessing

And just like that, He is 1 Month Old ~ Camden Kingsley Loxton

Well, I blinked and a whole month went by!

I cannot believe that a month ago I was being wheeled into theatre to finally meet our precious baby boy...in a lot of ways, this month went by slowly but it also feels like it is way too soon for me to have a one month old baby boy...best I start planning for his first birthday!

Today our precious boy is exactly one month old and even though some of the first four weeks have been tough, I will never be able to explain how much joy this boy has brought to our hearts and lives.

As a paranoid first time mom, I sit back and think, have I managed to do everything I wanted to do in his first month? Have I taken enough pictures. Is he still a newborn? He fits into some of his newborn clothing still, so that counts doesn't it?

I just want to share a few things with you that I have learnt in this first month of Camden's life and why I now finally understand what some ladies meant when they said...when you are a mom...you will..

1. Learn very quickly how to do everything with one hand and it is Murphy's law that whenever I am just about to go to the loo, sit down to eat my food or go shower, Camden needs to be held.

2. Do laundry constantly, well if it is winter. I used to do Laundry constantly with Wayne but now I do even more and our tumble dryer has been going non stop since Camden has been born and our electricity bill has increased by R 1000.00 just because of this.

3. Put your pride in your pocket and ask for help or accept help when people offer it, if you need it otherwise you might go off your head.

4. Realise that being a first time parent IS hard work but it is a lot more fun than some people made it out to be with all their horror stories...half the time I wanted poor Camden to stay in my tummy forever at the thought of having to deal with some of the things people were telling me they were dealing with.

5. Learn that nothing is scarier than a sick, crying baby that you have no control over. He cannot tell you what is wrong and you will want to take him to the ER at the first sign of something wrong and earn the nickname...Paranoid mom.

The first two weeks Camden was a breeze, he slept a lot and only moaned when he was hungry or needed to be changed. If it wasn't for my paranoid first time mom syndrome I am sure I would have got a lot of sleep in those two weeks if I wasn't up checking on him at ever murmur.

In week three and four he had a few fussy days ( two where he cried non stop, after we changed his formula!) but generally he is a good baby.

I am still trying to figure out exactly what it is he likes besides cuddles and daddy's chest but one things for sure...I know he really dislikes bathing or having his nappy changed.

Some days it still doesn't feel real that I have a baby. I always doubted that I would become a mom but God sure works in mysterious ways and well...here I am, a mom and one month has already flown by.

Here is to the next MANY years with my boy...I can't wait to experience life with him all over again!
 

Week 4 ~ Camden Kingsley Loxton

Someone I know told me this week that having a newborn baby is like learning to ride a bicycle for the first time...it's a bit of a wobbly start, but once you get the knack of it and get it right...it feels like you have never known anything else!

I took comfort in knowing that better days are ahead of us...I think it is totally normal for you and your partner to feel stressed and tired while you are adjusting your lives and your relationship to parenting. Without communication and talking through your expectations you could end up resenting each other but the most important thing that you can give you child is two parents who love each other...yet another great piece of advice I was given recently.

I can only imagine that is must be hard for a man to adjust and they say that it comes naturally to a woman so it is easier for us to adjust, it is still tough but we manage because we have to.

I feel as though our relationship definitely took some strain during these first four weeks but after some open communication and expectations things are looking up and I am amazed at what a good job Wayne is doing and the confidence he has gained just from me giving him that little bit of space to figure our tiny boy out all on his own...I guess breathing down someones neck can just add to their lack of confidence.

I cannot begin to tell you how grateful I am to have my mom and to have Wayne and his recent helping out, it has given me some extra time to sleep in the mornings and have some "me" time when he comes home in the evenings.

A tired irritable mommy isn't giving 100% of herself and is not giving her child the best during the day so trust me, "us moms" appreciate ALL the help and time out that we can get.

Things have been a lot better this week and I am Grateful with a capital G.

4 weeks old

How Big?: 4.800 kg and 56 cm. According to the sister he has gained 300 g too much but she isn't too concerned about this.

Clothing Size: Still newborn clothing. We have a cupboard full of clothing and I am dieing to dress him in some of his 0-3 outfits but at the moment they are still a little bit too big. He has worn most of his newborn outfits, even if it is only once. Sometimes we get to change him twice if he wets himself, but that is not often and he has only recently started refluxing occasionally and if I don't manage to catch it in time it ends up on me and him.

Eating: This week after seeing the nursing sister his "eating plan" has changed slightly as she has told us to change his formula because after feeding him a 120 ml bottle he would squeal when it was finished and we would take the bottle out of his mouth. We are slowly weening him off the Similac and onto the Novalac. She said we might experience some tummy issues with the change but we are holding thumbs that this isn't going to be the case. She has changed his eating as by week 6 she wants us to get him into a full routine so he ends up sleeping right through....I will not argue with this.

Sleep: He is sleeping roughly 3 hours between most of his feeds now and the aim is to eventually get him to 6 hours between feeds which means he will then be sleeping for roughly 5 hours at a time. He sleeps in his bassinet but funny enough he sleeps the best in his pram. When he falls asleep with his dummy in his mouth we often find the dummy handle over his nose and I have caught his pushing it like this himself on more than one occasion.

Movement: Wiggle wiggle worm...his arms, legs, head...they never stop moving and beware because he will headbutt you. His eyes are now darting all over the show this week. He is staring and exploring his surrounds constantly. He loves to lay in his superman pose.

Our little Superman

Milestones: He went to his first restaurant with mommy and daddy this week and he was so well behaved. First time he had a diaper blowout and it was MESSY.He sucked his thumb for the first time and that was such a proud moment for mommy as silly as that may sound to some of you...once you have your own baby you will experience moments like these. He has definitely found his tongue this week as well - so cute!

Excitement this week: Wayne had some spare time in the day and the three of us got to spend some QT together, we went to grab some sushi at a local restaurant and it was nice to get out with my boys. His first thumb suck brought about a lot of excitement in our house - proud moment.

Nappy changes and bath times are getting a little better, there are times where he hardly cries at all. Occasionally he still screams blue murder but I feel things are improving here.

Our little monkey at bath time 

Isn't this just the cutest? He sleeps like this often on my chest.

Four weeks post-partum: This week I lost the 2 kg that I gained last week but I feel huge and the fact that I am not eating regular small meals isn't helping. I kind of eat when I can at the moment and this needs to change, fast. I really want to go to the gym, yes I get that I am going to appreciate these first few weeks with Camden and I shouldn't be making gym or dieting my first priority but 2 hours out of my day to de-stress at gym( be this at gym or at home) and shower can be done while he sleeps. I don't sleep or rest in the day so I don't feel me training is going to be a crime and I could really do with this me time. There is nothing like gym to put things back into perspective.

Physically, I am suffering with back ache and my ovaries are aching, it is rather unpleasant.

Other than that, this has been a better week all in all.

Much love