Family Photos (late July 2011)

The morning I went to the hospital to be induced. Cameron came very early the next morning. I wanted one last picture of that baby belly.

The first pictures of my precious boy just after he was cleaned up. I have of some of him and me before this, I just have to figure out which device they are on.

Cameron and me 

Cameron and John

Skin time. I could fit him inside this dress for about 3 weeks after he was born. Doctors have learned that for a while after birth, when babies are against their mother's skin, the babies release hormones that tell the mother's body what temperature is needed to keep the baby warm. The mother's body then instantly goes to this temperature.  This proved to be an excellent way to keep him warm and comfortable. 

Burping

Some may say that smile is caused by gas bubbles, but he has not stopped smiling yet.

Sleeping wrapped up in a blankie made by mommy

Welcome home sign Nia made for us when we brought Cameron home from the hospital. You could see the art easel through the front window of our townhouse as you walked up to the door. I thought this was so sweet.

When Cameron was a new born I would leave him just in his diaper and put him inside my shirt so he could spend the whole day having skin time. This was actually planned, but would have had to happen this way even if we hadn't planned it. When the house flooded, we couldn't find many articles of Cameron's clothing for a few weeks. 

I absolutely love this picture of all three of my babies!

Motherhood is best when you see your little ones loving 

Anara is so proud to be a big sister

Cameron laying on me. I continue to try to get a decent picture of the two of us together, but it's kind of hard when I am generally the only one taking the pictures.

He looks so peaceful amongst the chaotic mess of our flooded house

He looks in deep thought

Laying on me 

At first I did not produce milk, so Cameron was bottle feed formula until the day it came in. Since, he has generally had 3 to 5 bottles a week. Well until this trip down to KY, with me running back and forth to Nashville Cameron has taken up to 3 bottles in one day. 

This is what I took with my phone at the end of July, maybe tomorrow I will have time to add August. If I get really ambitious I will hunt down the rest of the photos on our other devices and add those when I get back to Ohio.

Cameron Nicolas Richards

I have really been a slacker about posting since Cam was born. I really want this to change though. This post will be all about Cam then hopefully tomorrow I will add more pics, starting from the day he was born. We have taken a ton and we have several really great ones I want to share!

These are all of my happy little guy at around 3 1/2 months. If he is awake, I generally get to see that amazing smile.

My intentions were to post for each one of his milestones, but obviously that hasn't happened. I have been putting them into his calendar. Since I haven't been home in a while I figured I will keep up with them by posting his new ones on here.

Tuesday, Nov. 22 - 1st tooth

Friday, Nov. 25 - 2nd tooth, ate bananas (which he did not like. I have given this to him for 3 days in a row now, and each day he likes them less.)

Sunday, Nov. 27 - Cam started making monkey noises today. When we tell him he is making monkey noises he makes them louder and for a longer time. If in the future we call him monkey, that nick name started today.

Unexpected challenges

The themes of Cameron's babyhood seem to be "water, water everywhere" and "exactly how much of that 'essental' baby gear do you really need?" To say our family has had a few unexpected challenges would be putting mildly. Last week my father had a stroke. He lost the ability to speak and can not move one side of his body. As soon as we herd what had happened, we loaded up the kids and headed south.
Update: It's been almost 2 weeks since my dad's stroke and he is doing much beter than the doctor's thought he would be doing. It is going to be a long, challenging process, but I just know he is going to make even more progress.

Luckily, John's mom has a big enough house to comfortable accommodate an extra 5 people living there and is graciously happy to take us in on the spur of the moment. We arrived on Thursday for what we thought would be a 3 to 4 day stay. After seeing my dad we realized I needed to stay much longer. My dad has now been in the hospital for 10 days with no signs of being released anytime soon. John, however had to go back home Sunday to go work on Monday morning. This brings us to our next challenge...

Last Sunday we woke up to Nia telling us the house was flooded. A water filter cracked inside the fridge and left half the downstairs covered in water. Workers were here daily last week and will be for at least one more week if not longer.

6 Weeks Postpartum

I had my 6 week postpartum check up today and all is not well. I came home with a hand full of medications and was told to get more rest.