A Tiny Ray of Sunshine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqJBuM3SlQI


Yesterday was most definitely the cloudiest day we've had in the Rainey house since Camden was born. The poor child has never been crankier, and I have never been more flustered. He would be completely exhausted, but when he finally fell asleep we would try to put him down and he would lose his little mind. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat . . . We like to blame it on his impending teeth, but who knows. We all made it through relatively unscathed, but it was tough. We broke out the swing (that he hasn't been in in about 2 weeks) to see if that would calm him down, and it worked - for a little while. I started tickling his feet and he started cackling so I broke out the video camera. This was definitely the hint of sunshine we needed to round out a pretty dark day. Here's to hoping that today is MUCH better than yesterday!

A New Discovery

This week Camden discovered his tongue. He learned how to stick it out and smack on his top lip, stick it out and spit all over his loyal subjects, and reach in his mouth just to hold it for a while. Today he's been sticking it out just for the heck of it, which we find pretty darned cute (for now)!

An Entire Week

Camden has been sleeping in his room for a solid week now! Ironically, I've been more exhausted over the past week than I was when we first brought him home. It's a real chore getting him to sleep in his own room, but I know it's much better to do it now rather than waiting until he's older. Live and learn, right?

My boys

Happy Birthday, Pop!

We went to dinner tonight for Pop's 55th birthday. Here's a picture of Pop with all of his grandsons (and Chad, too).

New Baby Stuff to Crowd the House

We got Camden a jumperoo last night. As much as he likes to stand up these days, we thought this would be a good way for him to get some exercise and for me to get a break from being his personal bouncer. Here's a little video clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uc96Kjflam8

The Ferber Method: Day 3

Camden was so tired last night that no methods were necessary. His bottle did him in and he conked out in the swing while we were eating dinner. Blake moved him to his crib and he never made a peep (thankfully). We have made it three whole nights without a midget in the bed - unless you count the dogs. I don't think they can be Ferberized, so I'm pretty sure we're stuck with them.

The Ferber Method: Day 2

Dear Mr. Ferber:

Don't you think it would be important to warn parents that Day 2 could be worse than Day 1?

Signed,
One Tired Mother

Here we were thinking we had really done something awesome. After all, Camden had slept in his crib all night and then napped in his crib 4 times yesterday without incident. Then bedtime rolls around. At 8:30 we put him down (almost asleep again). He screamed/yelled/kicked/punched/talked until 10:10 when Blake finally decided he'd pick him up. We rationalize the breaking of the rules by changing his diaper, so (at least in our heads) he doesn't know we just picked him up because we couldn't take it anymore. Blake rocked him for about 20 minutes, put him back down in his crib and he slept until 1:30. I fed him, put him back down and he slept until 6:30. Daddy decided he needed some cuddle time, so he lounged with us until we fed him at 8. So all-in-all last night wasn't a failure. The ultimate goal of him sleeping in his room was still met, but the two hours leading up to the sleep really did me in! He's taking a nap right now, so I guess I shouldn't gripe. I'll work on that!

The Ferber Method: Day 1

We decided over the weekend that we needed to institute a little "sleep training" in our house. After talking to a few people and doing a little research, what I found out is that it's really more parent training that baby training. We decided that the Ferber Method sounded good, since it involves progressive waiting instead of plain ol' crying it out. The premise is that you put the baby down drowsy, but not asleep and check on him (without picking him up) after 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, then every 15 minutes until he falls asleep. Each night you increase the initial wait time by 5 minutes, and (in theory) it shouldn't take more than a week for Camden to learn to soothe himself to sleep. This is a summary of our evening:

• 6:30 p.m. - Blake puts Camden in his crib barely awake


• 6:45 p.m. - Camden starts fussing so we go reassure him and give him his pacifier


• 6:55 p.m. - Camden's still crying, except it's gone from an irritated fuss to a "who the hell thinks this is a good idea?" wail


• 7:10 p.m. - We go back in to comfort him, but I'm too upset by the look of abandonment on his face to stay in the room. Dad handles this one alone.


• 7:15ish - the room goes silent. There's a wave of relief over me that I can't even explain.


• 7:20ish - the silence ends. My wave was very short-lived.


• 7:30 - we check on him again, and after this visit he decides he's too exhausted to fight anymore and falls asleep.


• 8:00 p.m. - Camden wakes up hungry (which I knew was bound to happen not too long after he finally fell asleep).


• 9:30 p.m. - He crashes out in my lap and I carry him to bed. He stirs briefly and then sleeps.


• Midnight - I hear him over the monitor so I go in and change his diaper and rock him for a few minutes (which I'm pretty sure is against the rules), then put him back down. I check on him after 5 minutes and then he's out.


• 2:30 a.m. - Camden wakes up ready to eat. I feed him, change him and put him back in his bed.


• 5 a.m. - Camden wakes up fussing. I changed his diaper, put him back down, and after the 5 minute check he went back to sleep.


• 6:40 a.m. - I wake up and hear Blake say "How long has he been in there talking?" Camden was laying in his crib playing and talking to his mobile.

We are cautiously optimistic at this point. I'm definitely more tired today than normal, but that's because I finally shook the laziness and spent the time necessary to start to get Camden out of our bed. How do I have the time to memorialize the happenings of the past 14 hours, you might ask? Because my sweet baby boy is asleep IN HIS CRIB at this very moment!

A GREAT 1st Father's Day!

Blake had a wonderful 1st Father's Day. We went to lunch and then the boys lounged around while I made a cake. We went to Haley and Chris' for dinner and took a little swim before we ate. Camden wasn't so sure that he liked it at first, but he quickly decided that it really wasn't so bad. After a few minutes of getting acclimated to it he decided that he liked to try to dip his mouth into the water. We tried to keep that to a minimum because we didn't think ingesting pool water was such a great idea, but every once in a while he'd just stick the bottom half of his face in and lick the water. I overheard Blake telling him last night, "thank you for the best first Father's Day ever!" It was pretty cute.

Happy Father's Day!

I hope all you dads have a wonderful Father's Day!

One Crappy Story

Today we had lunch with Dee, Haley, Ryder and Aidan. It was a lovely lunch at Good Eats. The food and company were great. Camden slept the majority of the time. When he woke up toward the end of the meal he made a few unpleasant sounds, and then all of a sudden he started stinking, but not bad enough to be concerned about. The restroom at Good Eats isn't baby friendly, so there was nowhere to change the little guy. We were going to the Boardwalk to do a little shopping, so I told Haley I'd put him in his stroller and change him when we got there. I began the changing ritual only to find that we'd had a blowout. And this was no small blowout. It took 2 adults, about 35 wipes and 15 minutes to get the poor kid clean enough to put back in the stroller. If Camden hadn't been wearing something nice it would've totally gone in the trash. (I've thrown away clothes for less than I was dealing with this time.) Haley commented that she must really love me and my child, because otherwise she'd be pretty mad that she had his poop all over her hands! All the while Ryder is COMPLETELY grossed out and holding his nose, because this "incident" lingered - HEAVILY. He had every right to be disgusted. Camden was a real trooper through all of the dangling-in-the-air-by-his-armpits and butt-wiping. I guess the point is to send props out to my wonderful sister, because most other people would have (literally) left him hanging. Thanks, Haley!

A Weekend Full of Family

Camden had a busy weekend hanging out with the family. Friday night his Nana and Cousin Peyton babysat him. Saturday we went to Huffines for Camden to meet Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jim for the first time. He also hung out with Pop Steve, Aunt Tara and Uncle Bill. Saturday night his Pop and Dee stayed with him. Sunday we went to visit Camden's great-grandparents, Granny and Papa. Here are some photos from the weekend.

Who does this tike look like?

This is a picture of me sleeping while my Papa carried me when I was about 4 months old.

A story in pictures

There was originally no text to this entry, keeping true to the "a story in pictures" title, but after a few folks (including the dad) said "aww, poor little guy", I figured I should offer up something. So just in case any of you were wondering, no children were harmed in the making of the photos for this post. The "rollover incident" happened so slowly that all it did was make him mad. He's not capable of rolling over fast enough to hurt himself yet.

Mmmmm!

I had to post this picture for Aunt Kay, Uncle Gordon, Katie and Annie. I thought fondly of all of you as I devoured it in about 6.5 seconds flat. Maybe we can bribe you to visit soon with the promise of as many Humphreys as you'd like! It really stinks going from seeing y'all everyday to being on almost opposite ends of the country again! We miss you all!

Happy Birthday to Uncle Chad!

We had a nice dinner tonight for Chad's birthday. It was rather loud, but with six kids in attendance I don't think peace is possible. Aidan won the award for getting the most rice on the floor. He was really digging the chicken wing, too!

Who's Mommy talking to?

While we were in Grand Cayman we used the regular dresser at the condo as Camden's changing table. He really seemed to enjoy staring at himself (and whoever was changing him) in the mirror, so I thought maybe I'd give him a little something to occupy his time on the table at home, too. He stuck his tongue out at his reflection and pointed a few times, but I still don't think it registers in his tiny brain that it's him. I can't wait until he puts it together.

3 Month Checkup

Camden had his 3 month checkup today. He weighed in at 13 pounds, 4 ounces and is 24 inches long. He's still in the 50th percentile for weight and height. Dr. Scott said he was developmentally advanced because when he came in the room Camden had his hands clasped, which is something he's been doing for a few weeks now. Apparently, this is something he shouldn't do until 4 months. He was also very impressed with the amount of control Camden has with his head. He had to have his finger pricked, and when that didn't render enough blood for the anemia test they came back a second time and went for his heel. He was so upset that it sounded like they were trying to saw off his leg with a dull knife - pretty sad stuff. When the nurse came in for the third time I thought I was going to have to put up my dukes! Fortunately (for her), she was just checking to see if he had forgiven her yet. Luckily for all of us he doesn't hold a grudge. He's happy and healthy and we couldn't ask for more!

The way we roll

After I took the initial cop photo this morning I put Camden in his swing while I uploaded it on the blog. When I went back in the living room this is how I found him. We also learned last night that he really loves his little monkey soothie and enjoys spreading his wings with mom.

License and registration, please.

I just found Camden on a break from meeting his daily ticket-writing quota and eating donuts. Lazy cops!

Happy 3 Months!

As of 3:41 p.m. today Camden will have officially been with us for 3 whole months! To celebrate we decided to replace the lost camera. We went for a cheaper camera just in case the old camera should surface.

If any of you think Blake looks a little different in this picture it's because he had an incident with the beard trimmer this morning and had to shave his goatee off. Apparently there was some mix up with one of the guards. The lesson here: You must be smarter than the equipment with which you are working!

More Island Photos

Here are some more stolen pictures.

We have returned!

We got back home last night around 10:45 from our trip to Grand Cayman for Annie and Justin's wedding. Grand Cayman is BEAUTIFULand so was Annie's wedding! We went fishing, snorkeling, swimming with the stingrays and diving. We got to spend some time with family from Arizona, California and Shreveport and met a TON of Justin's family from all over the U.S. Camden finally got to meet Cousin Hayden. They ignored each other. It was almost like they were thinking "I'm supposed to be the only little guy here". It was a nice vacation. Camden was an excellent traveller on the way out, but had a meltdown once we got to Houston last night. Apparently he dislikes the whole customs process as much as anyone! We lost our camera, so I've been stealing photos from everyone else's blogs. Sorry for the thievery, but it's all I've got for now! Here are a few of the pirated photos.