insomnia=more camden updates

Brian's snoring away and I can't sleep. Blogging it is. But, I'm too lazy to upload new photos of Camden at 11:00 at night. Boring, random bullet points are all I can muster.

• Cam now consistently says two words: mama and nana (for banana). He loves those nanas, I tell you. And even asks for them!
  
  
• His animal sounds have expanded in the last week to now include "ga ga" for turkey (gobble gobble) and "rrrrrr" for lion. He really growls when you ask him what a lion says. It's awesome. I think I need to see if I can get him to do all of his animal noises on camera.
  
  
• Without trying I somehow taught him to understand that mommy's the boss. In the last month, if Cam would do something I didn't like I'd say, "Who's the boss? Mommy!" in a very fun, excited tone. He thought it was funny every time I said it and would laugh. It became a game. I hadn't said it for awhile and then the other day I said aloud, "Who's the boss?" and Cam said, "Mama!"
  
  Agh!! This is obviously my new FAVORITE Camden trick. Now, at random times during the day I'll ask him the question just to hear him say that I'm the boss. It's better than making your kid go to the grocery store for you.

So good, in fact that I will put aside my laziness and upload the video of him saying it. So, here you go. Enjoy and goodnight!

more documenting of camden

I really need to start filling out an actual baby book in case my blog crashes or blogger somehow ceases to exist.

But, until I get off my lazy butt and pick up a pen, these entries will have to do. Here's what Cam's doing these days!

• Walking? Check! Walking on his own at 12 1/2 months.
• Pointing out body parts? Check! He knows head, nose, mouth, ears and belly. In both Japanese and English! For some reason he doesn't know eyes. I guess we didn't go over that one as much.
• Words? Check! Well, sort of. He says "da da" a lot when he wants something. Since it's combined with pointing, I know what he's asking for. I think he's trying to say "that, that." Like, I want that! He also says "mama" with more purpose. He says "duh" for duck. And of course still does his animal sounds -- moo, baa, quack quack, woof and his newest, cluck.
• Sleeping through the night? Check! (Man, I really hope I didn't just jinx his winning streak) Since we implemented the CIO training, Cam has slept through for 3 nights in a row! Woohoo! Crying it out WORKS.
  

Some of his favorite things at the moment include Elmo and the Sesame Street gang, Mickey Mouse, fans, his Kindermusik cds, turning pages in books, putting his hands in the water under the faucet, remote controls, cell phones and typing on the computer. I guess that tells you a lot about what he sees mommy and daddy doing! Oi.

He's a total social bug, especially if he gets to play with other little ones. He's wary of strangers though and takes a few minutes to warm up to them. But if he already knows you, he's a ham!

Can't wait to see what he does next! He really is the cutest thing ever. :)

it's great having photographer friends!

My Aunty Jenny is the bestest. She takes awesome pictures of me and captures great shots in like 2 minutes. All mommy can do is point and shoot. These photos on the other hand, are all fancy and fabulous! Here's my most recent pics.

Thanks, Jen!

this is my "i'm so innocent" look


hey, is that a bird?


tee hee hee


i'm a hunka hunka burnin' love!

rear-facing side or forward-facing middle?

Cam's finally outgrown his infant car seat and yesterday we upgraded him to the Britax Boulevard 70 convertible one. It's supposedly a top-of-line car seat and should be because it was not cheap!

It's convertible so you can put your child rear-facing up to 40 lbs and then forward-facing up to 70. They say if your child is 1 year and 20 lbs, by law, you can put them forward-facing but it's safer to keep them rear-facing for as long as possible.

But here's our dilemma. In my Altima, rear-facing in the middle seat (the safest place in the car) would not work. Brian spent 2 hours trying to install it so it's tight and flush, with no luck. The way the car seat is made, the clamps make it impossible to install snugly in my car. The seat ends up tilted to one side and feels loose.

So, we had three options:

1) Put the car seat rear-facing on either the passenger or driver side back seat. The issue here is yes, rear-facing is better but the side position in the car is worse. I want Cam rear-facing but don't feel comfortable having him close to the door where he can easily be hurt if we get side-swiped -- a common thing to happen if there's a car accident.

2) Put the car seat forward-facing but in the middle. Forward, the car seat installs great. And it's where is should be, in the middle back seat. And yes, Cam CAN be forward facing. But if we're rear ended or something, it would be better for him to face the other way so more than just his little neck absorbs the impact.

3) Buy a new car seat. Well, this would be ideal but I bought his seat on Amazon. I don't know how I'd return it without a huge headache. So, thanks for the great advice, car seat gurus. Send me a money tree with those words of wisdom and I'll happily comply.

So, what did we decide? Well, yesterday anyway....

...we put him forward-facing in the middle seat. I'm still a little concerned but on the plus side, Cam LOVES IT! Rear-facing, he's been crying and fussing while we're out cause I think he's bored and is done with staring at the back seat of the car. But forward? He was all smiles and even laughing up a storm!

Brian says we should factor "quality of life" into our car seat placement equation too. Cam happier during car rides makes for a less-stressed driver, and that's also a good thing. But, I'm still not 100% convinced. I'm debating putting him rear-facing on the side. He sure was being cute yesterday facing forward, though. Hmmm....what to do, what to do?

CIO.

Cry it out (CIO). Many parents swear by the method, others deplore it. I've been somewhere in the middle...until last night.

Cam's never been a BAD sleeper. At 7 months, he "slept through" the night for the first time and since then he's done it numerous times. Some nights he sleeps 10-11 hours straight. But most nights, he gets up once or twice. We've been feeding him when he gets up 1) cause it's the easiest thing to do and he goes back to sleep immediately and 2) it didn't seem to have a real adverse affect (like "they" say it will) because he'd then go back to sleeping through the next night.

But the last few weeks, his schedule has been exceptionally wonky. He's been getting up multiple times and now even feeding him doesn't do the trick. He's UP and points at the door cause he wants out. He's NEVER consistently slept through the night. It's always been a night here and there and at this point, I know it can be better.

We've walked the middle ground long enough with letting him cry for no more than 10 minutes or so then going in to settle him down. I'm convinced now that going in just makes it worse. He cries harder when I leave and it can't go on like this anymore. He's a year old now and doesn't need to be fed in the middle of the night. I thought maybe he'd sleep through after he figured out walking. Nope. Teething? Nope. Hungry? Definitely not.

He just wants mommy.

So, last night after hearing him fuss for 10 minutes, I went in and told him that this is the last time mommy will come to see him in the middle of the night. That he's a big boy and can sleep through all on his own. I changed him (like I always do), gave him some water (he fussed a little cause he's used to milk) and then put him back in his crib.

Left the room and he SCREAMED HIS HEAD OFF. This kid cried from 1:10am to 1:55 am. 45 minutes!! I lay awake in bed listening to him, as did Brian. At one point, Brian was worried that he'd pass out or overheat or something from all that crying. I told him he'd be fine -- I know lots of parents who let their kids cry way longer than this. That didn't make listening to him cry any easier. It was painful, but my gut told me I had to endure it.

Finally, by 2am he was quiet. He woke this morning at 7am and was very quiet. I was already up and could hear him moan a little and talk quietly to himself. I went in and found him lying on his back playing with his turtle that we let him sleep with last night.

I said "hi" to him and he smiled really big. :) Phew! You're okay and don't hate mommy. That's a good sign! Brian called at around 8:00am to see if Cam was okay after the drama last night. I told him he's just fine. Same Camden, smiling and playing.

Other mommies I know say that they're surprised at how quickly CIO works. That after a few nights, the "training" is done and their kids sleep great. I'm crossing my fingers that that's the case with Camden!

We'll see how he is tonight. Wish us luck!

back to 2 naps.

For the last few weeks, Cam's been on a one-nap schedule. I thought he was dropping a nap but now I'm starting to think that was premature thinking on my part. Yesterday, he got up at 5:30am (this has been pretty frequent recently) so at 9:30 I decided this kid needed a nap. He cried for less than 10 minutes and then slept for 2 hours!

So, today I decided to see if he'd nap in the morning again. Put him down around 9:30 as I saw him yawn twice. He cried when I put him in the crib and clung to me for dear life. Still crying when I left the room. But 2 minutes later, he was quiet and now looks like this:



Clearly, he still needs his morning nap. He's just fighting it cause he'd rather play and until now knew that if he cried enough, I'd take him out and let him. But NO MORE! As I keep trying to tell Camden, "Who's the boss? Mommy!"

And the boss says you're back to two naps, son.

happy 1st birthday, camden!

Unfortunately, I don't have many bday pictures from my camera. I think others took a bunch of pics though so I'm hoping to get those for my collection. (Jo? Jenny? Anyone else? I'd love pics if you could!)

Here's some shots from his Nemo-themed party. SO glad it's over. Planning his party was too much work! It seemed to turn out okay though and I hope people had fun.


the room



the favors



the candy bar



the fam



uncle ponce with a balloon from the awesome balloon man



my lovely helpers!



mommy, daddy and baby



happy birthday!

is anyone still out there?

I'd be shocked if anyone still follows this blog considering I haven't posted anything in 2 months. But if you're still here, waiting for a post...sorry for the delay and there is much to share about my Camden!

• He turned one and something clicked in his brain that says, "If I cry or whine, I can sometimes get what I want." This kid, I tell you. Ever since his birthday he has turned into such the whiner!! He cries if I take something he wants away. He cries if I tell him no. Sometimes it seems like he cries cause his drool is too wet. Now I know where they get the term "cry baby." Sheesh!
  
  Clearly, I am not a fan of the whining. So, I've been trying more and more to tell him to stop when it's excessive. Like, if you fall down and hit your head, sure, cry all you want. You REALLY want milk and I'm not listening to you, please go ahead and cry. But if I turn off Elmo on tv cause you've already watched enough for one day, sorry kid, get over it.

• Cam's walking! At his bday party he walked if someone was holding his hand. Now, he pretty much walks on his own! A little unsteady at times, but he's getting stronger every day. But now I have to chase him around the house. When he starts running, I'm in BIG trouble.
  
  
• He switched to whole milk from formula. At first he didn't like the taste so I had to mix half formula, half milk for a day. Then I did 25/75 and now he's on 100% whole milk and seems to love it. I even give it to him cold and he doesn't mind. Now, I need to figure out the whole sippy cup thing. Sigh. If it isn't one thing, it's another.
  
  
• He LOVES Elmo and Mickey Mouse. And can even point them out! The other day he was at Grammy's house and she has a MM magnet on the fridge amongst probably 30 other magnets. Brian asked him, where's Mickey? He pointed at him immediately! He's a Disney lover just like his mommy.
  
  
• He's now on just one nap a day. This started a week before his birthday party. He started fighting his morning nap. Crying or just talking to himself in his crib for an hour if I left him there. And if he did sleep, it would only be fore 40 minutes. So, I consolidated his naps into one afternoon nap. Now, he sleeps 2-3 hours in the afternoon. I still wonder if I did the right thing doing this though. It is a bit early for him to only have one nap and he does seem fussier these days. But I don't know if that's because he's just older and his opinions are more apparent, or because he's crankier cause he's tired. Whatever it is, I figure there's no going back now. One nap it is.
  
  
• He eats pretty much all table food now. I try to make him as much organic meals as possible but it's tough. Most days he just eats what's around -- chicken parm (with organic chix tho!), kalua pork and cabbage, pork tofu, Shiro's saimin noodles (he LOVED that). I try to make sure he gets fruits/veggies to supplement the "real food" but he's pickier about what he wants these days so it's challenging. But at least I don't have to puree his food and freeze them in cubes anymore!

He's growing up so fast! Pretty soon he'll be talking up a storm. Hopefully his first words aren't, "Mommy, you bug me."