Cameron James Spencer- The "Daily" Log

The Ring Bearer

2009-07-20T22:06:00.002-05:00

By polular demand, here are some images from our friends wedding last weekend. Cameron was the ring bearer. He did a bang up jog and was the talk of the wedding. Enjoy some pictures.

Me Going Fishing with GRAMPA

2009-06-18T17:35:00.002-05:00

Last weekend was the first trip to the cabin for the summer...more pix to come, but I thought I could tease you with this great video of what Cameron was looking forward to...

so much language!

2009-02-18T22:05:00.002-06:00

Cameron's language and general learning is astounding these days. He now understands "mine" and "yours." He knows all his shapes, several letters, and can count accurately. He has moved to full sentence conversations instead of just one word (Sometimes I can't understand him, but he's trying). One of his cutest new habits is talking on behalf of his stuffed animals with a different voice. He's figured out how to talk in low tones, and it's pretty funny.

So, there's lots of video here to show you all his new tricks. Enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-16T22:36:00.003-06:00

I thought you would want an early Christmas gift- lots of fun videos and pics of Cameron. He loves Christmas music and Christmas decorations. Hope these bring a smile to your face!

Happy Birthday Cameron

2008-10-22T21:24:00.001-05:00

Today he spent the morning at the children's museum with his friend Jack's family (Jen's our friend who watches him a few days a week). He learned how to milk a cow there, ahh Wisconsin.
Camoeron's first birthday where he could tell us what he wanted for his birthday meal. "Peet-za Time!" So we went down to our favorite pizza place, Roman Candle! Mmmm.
Then when we got home we skyped the whole spencer clan, Lindsey in Pennsylvania, Grandpa in Seattle, and Jessie at Erika, Carlos and Sienna's.
Check out the Cameron hat from when he was born...it almost fit's baby's head

Never at a loss for words

2008-10-09T23:38:00.002-05:00

We have had a lot of fun the last few months. Cameron is never at a loss for words. His favorite phrase these days is, "Cameron do it." In fact, he even declared that in a full sentence, as he got in the car saying, "No, no, let Cameron do it." He will not be at a loss for determination, I hope won't be at a loss for patience.

It's amazing to watch his language develop- both in speaking and in understanding. A few weeks ago, on a Saturday, we were saying bedtime prayers. As I was thanking God for things, he said "Daddy" because I hadn't mentioned him yet (Cameron also added "football" to the list of things to be thankful for). I've never had such a running commentary on my life.

We have also taken some first steps towards potty training. Cameron loves to have his "baby" sit on the potty, and also likes to sit there himself to read a book, wipe, and flush. Now he just has to get the actual potty part. He did go "tinkle" for the first time a few days ago, but Kirk said it didn't seem like he realized that he did it. It will come with time.

Well, we have a few pics and videos this time, including Cameron watching a bobcat, meeting a flamingo on stilts, and having a blast on the swings. Enjoy!

Steph

Cameron is back!

2008-08-10T15:08:00.002-05:00

I know I have been a slacker this summer with the blogposts. But, we've been having so much fun with Cameron, it's been hard to find the time to post.

Finally, here is our evidence of a fun summer. Lots of new words and new experiences.

One of his new favorite words is "boat." Every time he sees water, he hopes Grandpa and his boat aren't far behind. We were even reading a book yesterday, and "boat" was the only word on his lips after he saw the picture of water.

He loves to sing- you'll see one video with evidence of that. He's also learning shapes, colors, and counting. His new trick is counting to 3 in espanol.

There are lots of pictures and videos- from Madison, from Sjoquist's cabin, from Minneapolis, and from Schaufhauser's cabin. Like I said, it's been a fun summer. Enjoy!

I love to be outside!

2008-05-26T22:36:00.002-05:00

Wow, is Cameron happy it's summer! One of the first things he says in the morning is "ou-bi" (translation= "outside"). He blows bubbles, throws balls and frisbees, and generally just loves exploring the yard.

We're giving you 3 videos this time, so it may take you a bit to load it all.

Enjoy!

A Year and a Half... Time Goes Fast

2008-04-22T22:49:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Cameron!

In celebration of a year and a half, I thought you might want to see some pictures of Cameron from friends. There are bunch from his time at Jen's house (where he goes to daycare 2 days a week). There are also some from Carmen and Tucker from when the babysat last week.

He's a cutie, as always.

Pulling his own weight

2008-04-12T18:03:00.000-05:00

Well last weekend was our first great weather weekend. Cameron could not help but want to be out every moment of the weekend...so we put him to work cleaning up the yard with the wheelbarrow.

Nice work son!

Everyday Cameron

2008-04-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

cause we know you all want more pictures...

A few more steps and a lot more words

2008-03-24T22:15:00.003-05:00

Cameron is walking a little more every day, but still a little timid to take off. He does it more independantly now, but often still from one piece of furniture to another.

His words, on the other hand, are coming quickly. It feels like he's a parrot repeating after many words that we say. He is also saying lots of words independantly now too. Here are some: mama, dada, grandpa(papa), grandma(ma), banana(nana), Jessie, Lindsey, up, down, ball, book, bubbles (he just learned that one- you'll see why in a video link below), help, more, done, milk, juice, cracker, apple, puppy, hot, and bye-bye.

I think there are more words than this list, but it's hard to tell if he's just saying them in repetition, or if he knows what they are. He clearly understands a lot of what we say now. It's fun to watch him develop his communication skills.

Enjoy the pics and videos!

Our Camera is up and working...and our Cameron is up and walking (almost)

2008-03-08T17:05:00.008-06:00

Well I cought it on video for y'all. Cameron has been pushing himself to standing for a couple of days, and here you go... (This is a new attempt since the last one didn't work- you will have to click below and get to the web album for the video to work).

cameron the communicator

2008-02-18T18:07:00.001-06:00

Cameron was not feeling so well this weekend. His appetite now returned. After eating several tide me over snacks including chips, crackers ' cheese. I was holding him and he made a sign for apple and looked at me and said ap, ap, ap. i'm so proud.

Aloha!

2008-02-11T23:19:00.000-06:00

At long last, Hawaii pictures! Our videos were too big to post- you'll have to ask to seem them another time. Cameron had a wonderful time, and was a great sport about all the travel.

He's sure learning a lot right now- taking some steps and absorbing lots of new words. It's fun to see him grow!

Lots of new learnings

2008-01-22T22:25:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posts- our camera died.

Cameron's language is developing quickly. He is picking up lots of baby sign, including cookie, banana, and bath- all of which he was motivated to learn after seeing it only once or twice. He also loves to make animal sounds for pig, cow, and duck, and is trying to learn more. He points to new things often to learn what they are called. He is also getting better at using mama and dada correctly.

He is getting closer to walking, but hasn't quite let go yet. He does laps around our house with his push toys.

One of his new favorite things to do is empty things out. Thankfully, he also likes to put those things back in. Check out the video to see how cute he was with sorting his duplos.

Sorry there aren't more pics- we're still getting used to the new camera.

more pictures to come

2008-01-18T16:59:00.001-06:00

sorry for the long wait...the wait is now over. Our camera finally bit the dust and we had to replace it...you can expect updates soon kirk...
To add even more excitement, my phone can post to the blog....expect some random blog posts now!

Our New Year's Resolution- Make a Blog Post

2008-01-02T22:30:00.000-06:00

Done!- That was the quickest I've ever fulfilled a New Year's Resolution!

Here are Cameron's New Year's Resolutions:
- Wean from his bottle (So far he's gone a week without one! He got a head start).
- Learn to use a spoon by himself (See the slideshow for a picture of how that's going so far!)
- Stand and walk without holding on to anything (He's getting closer every day)
- Make my family smile and laugh with all the cute things I do (He's a natural at that one!)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's a sign!

2007-11-13T22:47:00.000-06:00

A few days ago, when I was changing Cameron's diaper, and he clearly raised his hand, and squeezed his fingers together- the sign for milk. I wasn't sure if he did it on purpose until he pushed my arm out of the way, looked me in the eye, put his hand in my face, and did it again. I guess he's a clear communicator!

Yesterday, he took signs to the next step, and put his hands together to request more. This time, it was for cheese- I guess he's a daddy's boy.

Now that he's catching on, we'll start to add even more signs to his repetoire- like bath and banana- two of his favorites.

Since no post is complete without pictures, here are some from the last few days. You'll notice one pic of Cameron going down a slide by himself- I couldn't believe he was able to stay in the right position. (He had fun until he decided to flip over on the way down and hit his head- bet he won't make that mistake again!)

Steph

PS one is a video so you need to double-click to enjoy!!!

At long last- Birthday pictures

2007-11-06T20:45:00.000-06:00

Cameron's Birthday and Halloween

Sorry for the delay in pictures. It has been a busy week! Hope they were worth the wait. Cameron had a very fun birthday. Thanks to everyone who came to his party!

Steph

It's my 1st Birthday!

2007-10-22T21:12:00.000-05:00

Can you believe I used to fit in this hat? It was even a little big for me. What a difference a year makes! I visited some of my old nurses at the NICU tonight. They were all impressed with how I have grown and how happy I am. I didn't mind being the center of their attention, either :) I can't wait to see family and friends at my party on Saturday. Maybe I'll be even bigger then.

Cameron Dice Hola

2007-10-05T20:14:00.000-05:00

Hola mom and dad!
I thought I'd write you about my travels in Minneapolis! I've been having the best time here with my aunties! Yesterday I went to the park with my aunt and cousins, they are so much fun to play with! Then Auntie Jessie picked me up and we went swimming in this really warm pool. I was having such a great time splashing and kicking and watching the other kids! But I was so exhausted afterwards, I even slept through the whole night. My aunt told me there was a HUGE storm, but I didn't even hear it. Then this morning I played a lot with this crazy cat that bounces off everything in the room. Auntie Jessie gave me the best present!
I love bouncing on it and sucking on its ear! I think that you guys should find an awesome present for her for being such a great aunt to me. By the way, do you know where Risa went? I haven't seen her in a couple days.

Love you!
Cameron

Your comments have been rewarded....

2007-09-17T15:01:00.000-05:00

Thanks for all the positive comments. They seemed worthy of being rewarded. In this photo album is perhaps the cutest picture of Cameron yet. You decide which one it is...

Cameron the Badger Fan

No Post Today...

2007-09-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

Where is the Love? so the only comments that we have gotten from y'all recently was complaints about not enough pictures...so we've got you hooked, eh? Well, all this negativism has gotten cameron down, so we say...no new pictures until we get some positive feedback...
Ha, ha, we've got you right where we want you!

Cameron is awake

2007-09-06T00:06:00.000-05:00

Grandma pointed out that every time she came to the blog, Cameron was asleep. We are overdue for a post. But, your reward for the wait is several pictures, and 2 videos. Cameron is finally starting to crawl for longer distances. (It's a bit more of an army crawl than a traditional crawl, but it gets him from place to place). He's pretty excited to be exploring the world. Enjoy the pics!

Cameron pictures and videos

Cameron is 10 months old!

2007-08-22T22:08:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how old Cameron is getting! He was getting such a kick out of himself walking around while holding my hands today.

He also had a great time in his jumper, and decided to celebrate his 10 month birthday with a few firsts. The picture shows the first time he's ever fallen asleep in the jumper. Doesn't look too comfortable to me, but he had just finished a very excited jumping session. So, he looked so cute that I decided to try to take him out and snuggle with him for a little while. But after getting him out, I noticed something didn't feel quite right... he had his first diaper blow out. It came from his leg, and as you can imagine, made it in many different places through the jumping. It was quite the clean up. Oh well, it was pretty good to make it to 10 months before that happened.

We'll keep you updated with any more "firsts"!

All of Cameron's Monkey Business

2007-08-09T22:06:00.000-05:00

At long last, it is another blog post. Cameron has been quite the little monkey lately. He's trying to scoot around everywhere (He still isn't crawling, just rolling and stretching). He is trying hard to pull himself up on things, but he still needs some help with that. He loves to stand by our coffee table. That usually involves pounding his hands, too.

Maybe his monkey business at home is what made him feel so at home with the monkey at the zoo. He had a very funny interaction with a little Tamarin monkey. They were trying to swat each other's hands through the glass, smell each other, and just generally have some good play time. It was very cute.

Cameron is 9 months old

2007-07-23T22:34:00.000-05:00

A visit from a friend and a visit to the lake

Crazy as it may seem, Cameron is already 9 months old! And he had a busy week to celebrate. The week started with a visit from my friend Katie and her daughter Evelyn. We had a pretty normal week after that. But then we had a great weekend- celebrating Kirk's birthday at our friends the Schaufhauser's cabin. It was very fun, as you can see on all the pics.

Now for the details... Cameron has dropped a little on his length percentile, stayed at the same percentile for weight, and once again gained percentile in head size. Overall, his growth is definitely on the right track. He is doing great.
Length- 26 inches (1%)
Weight- 16 pounds 8 oz (3%)
Head- 45 cm (45%)
At least his head doesn't look that disproportional!

Cameron Goes on a Trip

2007-07-12T22:57:00.000-05:00

I have to apologize- again. Sorry that we have become so sporadic on posting. Life, whatcha gonna do?

Cameron is quite active these days. He really wants to crawl, but we are okay that it's taking a little while. He is a pretty strong sitter now. He can also have some great giggle fits.

Here are some great pictures over the last few weeks, including Cameron's first trip to Shoal Lake (the cabin of the Sjoquists, some Spencer family friends) and first visit with cousin Eli. Enjoy!

Cameron- At Home, At Shoal Lake, and At His Cousins' House

Cameron Takes a Swim

2007-06-19T22:13:00.000-05:00

Cameron Takes a Swim

With the heat last week, we decided it would be a good idea to buy a little pool for Cameron. At first, he wasn't sure what he thought about it. But, then we tried putting his Bumpo seat in the pool, which helps him sit securely. Once he felt safe, he had a ball.

I know we're biased, but there were so many cute pictures, that we just couldn't pick (You'll have to look for the one where he shows that he hasn't broken his bad habit of inappropriately using a certain finger). So, we decided to post an entire album. I guess we've become "those parents" who can't wait to show you pictures of our kid :)

Cameron's First Tooth

2007-06-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

Another big milestone has come... Cameron cut his first tooth! Kirk noticed on Thursday night that Cameron's usual behavior of biting on Kirk's finger suddenly hurt more. We knew he had been teething because of his obsession with gumming anything in sight and his constant stream of drool. But, we were actually a little suprised to see the tooth outside the gum. Why? Because he didn't have diarrhea, fever, or unusual grumpiness. He was a little more needy on Friday than usual, but still not bad. We're proud of Cameron for handling this so well!
(The new tooth is a little hard to see in this picture. But, if you look closely you can see some white on his lower gum, to the right of center).

Stop the hatemail... here comes another post!

2007-06-04T21:38:00.000-05:00

Cameron with family, and Cameron as himself

Sorry that it has been so long between posts. I know you are all mad at us for that. But, it has been a crazy month, to say the least.

To make up for it, we're posting a whole album full of pictures again. Hope you like them! Cameron is getting so big.

Cameron's First Flight

2007-05-16T22:37:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are some details from Cameron's first flight. Overall, he did really well. He cried some on the plane, and of course broke down in the middle of the wedding. But, he is a baby, so we can give him some grace on that :) We had fun hanging out with friends and even doing a little traveling. Enjoy the pictures!

Cameron's First Flight

And the eye color is...

2007-05-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

Cameron appears to be getting his eye color. And the verdict is...

Hazel!

It looks like Cameron is going to continue looking more and more like dad. I hope you can see the pretty gold flecks around his pupils in this picture.

We're off to another wedding this weekend. Keep looking for some new pics :)

Cameron hits some milestones

2007-04-26T21:41:00.000-05:00

Cameron had his six month check up on Monday. He weighed 14 lbs 2 oz and was almost 25" long. Those sizes were enough to land him on the chart with his birth age peers! He was only in the 3rd percentile for both, but it was the first time he made the chart. His head size made it for the second time- he is in the 20th percentile for that :)

He has also been doing great with rice cereal. So, tonight we tried another food for the first time- sweet potatoes. We missed a great shot of his first taste. He couldn't figure out what we were putting in his mouth. But, then he realized he liked it and ate a bunch. I don't think he'll have any problems with new foods. We'll try not to miss the initial reaction next time.

Cameron is 6 Months Old!

2007-04-22T22:05:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that our little guy has been around for a half a year already. He is getting so big! This weekend we went to the wedding of our friends Jeremy and Emily Hutchison. While we were there, Cameron went swimming for the first time. He seemed to be pretty content in the water. He also looked quite handsome in his sweater vest at the wedding. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure :)

Cameron at Hutchison's Wedding

Happy Birthday Cameron!

A regular week of Cameron

2007-04-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

Cameron makes little strides every week. This week, he has moved from sucking on his entire hand, to exploring putting his fingers in his mouth. He has also started to sleep better (yeah!), making it for 6-8 hour stretches almost every night.

It was a good week! Here are some pictures, and even a little video for your viewing enjoyment :)

Cameron for a Week

Cameorn Rolls Over!

2007-04-05T21:43:00.000-05:00

Last night was a big night for Cameron- he rolled over for the first time!

I think it was an accident, but it probably won't take him long to figure out what he did. He was having some "tummy time," and actually enjoying it for once. He was experimenting with how much stronger he is now than he used to be, and pushing his head up pretty far with his arms. Well, he lost his balance and fell to one side with his arm underneath him. Kirk and I could see his little wheels turning in his head trying to figure out what to do. He was moving his hips and almost rolling over, but not quite. So, I got up so that he would have to turn his head up to look at me. That's all it took- over he went on to his back.

I don't think he understood why we were being so encouraging afterwards, but I think it made him want to do it again :)

Cameron is a "Big Baby"

2007-03-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

The weather has been so much nicer lately that we were able to take the cover off the car seat. As I was walking through Target on Friday, a mom pointed out to her toddler that there was a baby in the cart up ahead. As they passed me, the mom said, "Look, it's a big baby!" It was the first time I've ever heard anyone who didn't see him when he was born call him big now. I think that was a more of a milestone for me than for Cameron :)

We confirmed that Cameron is getting big when we tried adding rice cereal to his diet for the first time this weekend. He didn't seem to thrown by it- maybe because the medicine he takes twice a day has prepared him for multiple tastes and multiple ways to eat. But, I still couldn't tell you how much he actually ate. It's still in the experiential phase, not nutritional phase, of trying some solid foods.

He really is becoming a big baby!

5 Months of Cameron

2007-03-22T22:33:00.000-05:00

Cameron is 5 Days Old.
Cameron is 1 month old.
Cameron is 2 months old.

Cameron is 3 months old.
Cameron is 4 months old.
Cameron is 5 months old.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Cameron is One Cool Dude

2007-03-20T22:42:00.000-05:00

It has been bright lately, and I was wondering whether I should buy Cameron some baby sunglasses. The decision was made when I put them on him at the store and he immediately started smiling.

Then, later that day, Kirk wanted to see them. Cameron was grumpy, so I was hesitant to put them on. But, I did. Almost immediately, Cameron relaxed and fell asleep.

Who knew that sunglasses could hold such power?

Cameron the Teddy Bear

2007-03-11T22:14:00.000-05:00

The warmer weather allowed us to take Cameron on his first walk in our jogging stroller. That meant he got a fun new view of the world- instead of just looking up in his carseat, he got to look everywhere. But, it meant we also had to bundle him up. That was actually part of the joy. Have you ever seen a cuter teddy bear?

Cameron and His Pig

2007-03-05T22:24:00.000-06:00

So, I guess Fisher Price knows what they're doing. When I saw the pig and sheep rattles on Cameron's bouncy seat, I thought they were some of the ugliest toys I had ever seen. But, he loves them- especially the pig. When we put him in his bouncy seat, he talks and coos and giggles with that pig like it's his best friend in the world. I think it might be the bold eyes- there's a good amount of high contrast on this toy.

So, I guess this pig might be his first good friend!

Happy Birthday To Me!

2007-02-23T00:25:00.000-06:00

Today (well, I guess it was yesterday now) was Cameron's 4 month birthday. I find that so hard to believe!

So he had his check up today- He's up to 10 pounds 13 oz and 21 and 3/4 inches long. That's 25th percentile for weight and 10th percentile for length on the 2 month old chart (his developmental age). What's great about that is that at his 2 month check up, he was at the 10th percentile for weight when compared to his developmental peers- so, he's got a nice upward curve going. His head size is big once again- 55th percentile on the 2 month chart and 10th percentile on the 4 month chart.

His head size isn't the only place he's keeping up with 4 month olds, though. Preemies generally develop according to their developmental age, not their birth age, because it just takes that long for their brains and bodies to be able to handle aquiring new skills. But, for all the things they check about development at 4 months- like pulling them up by their arms from laying down to sitting to standing and seeing if they can control their heads, and smiling in response to being smiled at- he was right on track for a 4 month old!

With all the things that could have gone wrong in having a baby 2 months early, we are so thankful to have such a happy and healthy little boy. Happy Birthday Cameron!

Cameron and His Toys

2007-02-19T22:28:00.000-06:00

Cameron is reaching a fun new stage now where he is showing interest in some of his toys. This is a picture of him smiling at his new giraffe. It's from Peru- a gift from Grandma and Grandpa's latest trip. If it becomes a favorite, I'm not sure we'll be able to try the trick of having more than one to rotate in the wash. Oh well...

Here come the pictures for Great-Grandparents

2007-02-06T20:42:00.001-06:00

cameron pics for great-grandparents

Cameron's First Email

2007-01-31T21:00:00.000-06:00

Cameron had a couple more firsts yesterday.

He had his first day of childcare with my friend Jen. She will be watching him Tuesdays and Thursdays and give me a focused day of work. Finding her was an answer to prayer. He can't be around the germs of a daycare center. Jen just has one little boy named Jack, so it's a perfect situation.

He also sent his first email. The subject line was "hi mom." It said, "I wanted you to know that Jen and I are having a good day. I am in a really good mood and have no intention of sleeping. Too much new stuff to look at you know.

Love, Cameron"

This picture is was attached to the email. It was good to know he had such a great day :)

Happy Birthday Cameron!

2007-01-22T22:17:00.000-06:00

It's hard to believe that it has been 3 months since Cameron was born. We thought it would be fun to post some pictures showing how much he has grown. The pic of his hand on the left is when he was 1 week old, gripping the top of Kirk's finger. The pic on the right was him gripping Kirk's finger today.

We didn't have another pic with an object to show how much his head has grown, so you'll just have to trust us when we say- a lot. You can probably also tell by his variety of facial expressions besides just sleeping :)

This is a pic taken today of Cameron's foot next to the footprints that were taken when he was born.

It's getting hard to believe he was that little!

We're thankful to have such a happy and healthy 3 month (or 1 month and 8 days, adjusted) old.

hooray for our budget!

2007-01-17T22:49:00.000-06:00

Cameron was put on preemie formula after he was born, which is at least twice as expensive as regular formula (which is expensive enough). So, at his 2 month check up, we asked the doctor about switching to regular. She said it would be fine- she just wanted to do a weight check before and after the first week to make sure his weight gain was on track.

Well, the good news came today- he is up to 8 pounds 8 ounces! That's up from 8 pounds 1 ounce last Monday, and right on track with the weight gain he was having before. So, hooray for our budget!

P.S. I was 8 pounds 8 ounces when I was born. Though, I think I was shorter, because I was much pudgier. Crazy to think about...

Experiments in sleeping and eating

2007-01-12T22:24:00.000-06:00

Cameron has been eating every three hours since he came home from the hospital. We tried to increase the gap to 4 hours at night once, but that is when his acid reflux symptoms really came on strong. We had to go back to three hours.
To fight his discomfort from the reflux, he slept in his car seat for awhile. We also started to hold him upright more often when he wasn't sleeping. He has also been on Zantac, which has helped a lot. He is now out of the car seat sleeping and being tolerant of an angled crib mattress instead. He has been doing great.

So, after feeling mean for waking him up from a sound sleep to eat in the middle of the night (mean to him and us), we decided to try pushing the gap to four hours again. This resulted in 2 days of absolute moodiness on Cameron's part. He still had times of happy and alert interaction, (See picture on the right). But that was mixed with more than a normal amount of crying and fussing (See picture on the left). Alas, his stomach is just not big enough yet to handle the bigger quantities of one less meal a day.

Back to a little less sleep in exchange for a little more sanity...

Cameron's Emotions Caught on Film..err pixels

2007-01-04T21:35:00.000-06:00

Cameron's Emotions

Here is a set of cameron's wonderful faces that he has shown us! Enjoy...got a favorite?

Merry Christmas!

2006-12-25T16:21:00.000-06:00

We figured the best Christmas gift we could give you was pictures! Click here to see some of our favorite Christmas pictures so far.

Christmas Pictures

almost 2 months already!

2006-12-20T23:01:00.000-06:00

It has been close to 2 months since Cameron was born (officially that date is Friday). It's hard to believe. Time goes so fast. He had his 2 month check up on Monday and is doing great. He's up to 6 pounds 9 ounces and is 18 3/4 inches long. His head is 36 cm around. None of those sizes register on the chart for a two month old, which is expected since he technically just entered the newborn stage. For a newborn, he would be in the 10th percentile for weight and length and 50th percentile for head size (He's going to be a genius, we knew it!)

Though in size he is like a newborn, he has actually started to reach some of his two month milestones, like smiling more and holding his head up for a few minutes when he's on his tummy (an amazing feat considering how big his head is in proportion to his body!).

He also received his 2 month shots on Monday, which he was not thrilled with. We did, however, find out that he really likes infant tylenol. He had some soreness from the shots, and was a bit fussy. When we gave him a dose of tylenol, he instantly calmed down, started smacking his lips, and sticking his tongue in and out of his mouth. We'll have to catch it on film sometime. Aparently our boy is going to have a sweet tooth!

Cameron meets a friend

2006-12-17T23:46:00.000-06:00

When I told my best friend Katie that I was pregnant, she said, "You're kidding... I am, too!" As it turned out, she was due December 7 and I was due December 14. Well, you all know the story of when Cameron came into the world. Evelyn Wolfe also decided to skip her due date, and came on Cameron's instead. It was fun to get the chance to visit a little bit this weekend. Grandma Beth was glad that Evelyn was born, too. Since Katie lives in West Bend, it meant we spent some time at Grandma and Grandpa's house, too.

Hiccups and Sneezes

2006-12-13T23:00:00.000-06:00

Well tomorrow is the big day...Cameron is going to be born...oh, wait. Well at least we can start the clock at zero. He is now acting more and more like a new born, he is much more alert and active, especially in the evenings. We have had a few restless nights this week, or at least Steph has.

everyday routines

2006-12-10T00:59:00.000-06:00

We've been getting some flack about our infrequency of blog posts as of late. I guess part of the reason is that we've settled into such normal, everyday routines- it doesn't seem like there's much to report. The only "new endeavor" we are working on is trying to transition from the hospital "soothie" pacifier to a normal one like in this picture. The soothie is a heavier rubber-type material that tends to fall out of his mouth unless we are holding it. Thus far, though, he's not a big fan of the nipple shape of regular ones.

It seems to me that not having much to report is a blessing in itself- he is acting like a regular newborn, which means he's right on track.

Still growing...

2006-12-04T23:26:00.000-06:00

Cameron is still a growing boy. You are looking at the first outfits that he actually doesn't fit into anymore. They still would have had some room for him to get fatter, but he has gotten too long. His cheeks are also geting chubbier every day. Its fun to watch him fill out. He is looking more like a newborn and less like a preemie.

Good thing we got so much clothes given to us by friends and family- it means we can celebrate him getting bigger instead of worrying about how much his clothes is going to cost. Now we just have to make sure he wears all his cute outfits at least once before he outgrows them :)

Our growing boy

2006-11-27T22:01:00.000-06:00

Another milestone today! Cameron crossed over the 5 pound barrier. What does that mean? Well, it means little things like fitting pretty well into his preemie clothes, and even outgrowing a few of his hats. But, most important to us, it means he has outgrown his car bed. He can now travel in our regular car seat, which will be much easier to get in and out of the car. We can now return the car bed to the hospital for a baby who is smaller than our "big" boy :)

Filled with thankfulness

2006-11-26T23:08:00.000-06:00

We had a special Thanksgiving service at church today. It reminded both Kirk and I of how much we have to be thankful for this year. That was especially true when during a video of different people in the congregation saying what they were thankful for, a woman who lost a baby talked. She carried the baby girl to 28 weeks before losing it, and had to deliver her. In the video, she said she was thankful that God gave her the opportunity to carry this little girl and love her when she was in the womb.

I not only got to carry Cameron in the womb, I get to enjoy him every day. Kirk and I get to hold him, feed him, laugh when he makes funny faces, take care of his diapers and other needs- things that would be easy to take for granted. But, it wouldn't have taken much for things to be different today. For him to have been born so early, and to be so little, but to be home and doing well now is amazing. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers through this time. We thank God for giving us the gift of this precious little boy.

Cameron meets his cousin

2006-11-24T23:25:00.000-06:00

One of the fun things about having Cameron home now is getting to meet more people. The hospital NICU can only allow children under 12 if they are a sibling (they want to avoid spreading germs). So, when Cameron met his Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Carly, he wasn't able to meet his cousin Amelia.

His 2-year-old cousin did great with him. She was curious about his tiny hands and feet. She also wanted to make sure he finished his milk when it was time to eat. She did great holding him for a little while, too.

All in all, though, I think cousin Amelia was much more interested in Risa (our dog) at this point. Cameron is a little too young to be running around and playing with her. That will change quickly I'm sure...

Hooray, it's my birthday!

2006-11-23T23:39:00.000-06:00

For those of you paying attention to dates, yesterday was Cameron's one month birthday!

But, today is a special day, too. (Besides Turkey Day). Today Cameron is 37 weeks.

How can he be one month old and 37 weeks at the same time? Welcome to the language of preemies.

In a technical sense, these first few weeks of Cameron's life don't really "count." Sure, they count to us- we have had some great time to bond with him. But, they don't count from a developmental standpoint. So, at the hospital, they counted his age not by date of birth, but by week's gestation, according to when he was supposed to be born. So, today, he is 37 weeks. So, he has now hit his "ground zero" for his developmental milestones, somewhere between 37 and 42 weeks- when he would have been full term.

That means he won't be hitting his 3 month developmental milestones until about 3 months from now, not 2. But that's okay; we still think he is an overachiever. After all, his peers are still floating around in the womb getting everything provided for them. He's already been eating on his own for weeks :)

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I, Cameron Spencer, solemnly swear...

2006-11-21T23:34:00.000-06:00

I promise to uphold the office of baby by sleeping and growing diligently. I have already shown my commitment to this task by getting up to 4 and 1/2 pounds. I finally fit in my preemie clothes.

I also promise to give joy to my parents by doing things like making funny faces and doing funny things with my hands. I have been known to suck my thumb, smile, make a "Popeye face", make a pouty face, and on occassion, give someone the finger (I swear, though, that I do not realize what I am doing when that occurs. I would never abuse my position in that way).

I swear to continue to do things and fulfill my role as a new member of the Spencer household to the best of my ability.

Sincerely,
Cameron James Spencer

A fun family visit

2006-11-21T23:22:00.000-06:00

We had a fun weekend visit with the Spencer family (minus Lindsey who had a school trip to Ohio). Cameron enjoyed spending time with his grandparents and aunt. The dogs also certainly kept each other busy. I think Bailey was more jealous of Cameron than Risa has been, though!

It's great to have Cameron home so that we can have visits like this.

Risa has a new friend

2006-11-15T21:18:00.000-06:00

It has been interesting watching Risa's response to having Cameron in the house. We missed a good video taping opportunity the first time they met!

Generally, Risa has just been curious. Every once in awhile, she goes over to the bassinet to check out what is making the squeaking noises. When Cameron is crying, grunting, or squirming, Risa tends to get the same head tilt and look on her face as when she hears an animal make a noise in the yard and she's not sure what it is. It can be pretty funny sometimes.

Risa has no idea what she's in for when Cameron is old enough to chase her around the house and pull her hair. Risa does so well with other kids, like Cameron's cousin Amelia, that we are hopeful she will do well. So far, she hasn't had jealousy issues, either. Since Kirk is home from work this week, she probably is getting even more attention than usual.

We'll see what happens as time goes on...

Visitors Welcome

2006-11-14T12:28:00.000-06:00

Folks have started dropping by to meet Cameron. "Grandma" Carmen stopped by Sunday following church. Upon leaving the NICU we were told that we should be a bit hermit-like thru cold season. So we are installing a bubble over our house, and ordering pizza every day until April.
OK, that's a bit extreme. All we are asking is that visitors wash their hands as soon as they come in and when they are about to hold Cameron.

Cameron's Bassinet

2006-11-14T12:23:00.000-06:00

"We were able to make it gender neutral, but we could not make it unbiased." - Brad Kidd, describing Diana's amazing work on the Bassinet cover. This bassinet was Steph's grandpas when he was a baby some 80 years ago.

It sure looks like December 14th...

2006-11-11T11:29:00.000-06:00

So Cameron came home on the day of Madison's first blizzard. Both Cameron and our winter came 8 weeks early.
Our first night with him was fairly uneventful. The NICU did a great job of getting him on a 3 hr feeding schedule so we can almost set the clock for when we wake up to feed him.

Your Bed Awaits

2006-11-09T23:20:00.000-06:00

Cameron is just about ready to come home. Today they took off all his leads and started the discharge paperwork. Tomorrow evening he is coming home.
Goodbye to a full night of sleep. As a good friend called it, here comes the "Experiment in Sleep Deprivation."

Next on MTV's Cribs

2006-11-08T20:57:00.000-06:00

Snap, most of you don't know what "MTV's Cribs" is. Cameron has moved homes from the incubator to a regular crib. He needs to spend at least 24 hours there with consistant temperature before he goes home...there are 2 more exams he needs to take...hearing and car seat test, once he has those under his belt he will be ready to come home...by this time on Friday he should be home!

Independant like mom and dad

2006-11-07T22:23:00.000-06:00

This is what Cameron looks like with no feeding tube. Now, we have been looking forward to it coming out, but apparently, so has Cameron. This morning he tried to take it out and failed. Tonight, he tried again and was successful. I guess he didn't think the nurses were moving fast enough :)

So, hopefully the tube will stay out. He has been doing well with his feedings, so I think the nurses are going to follow Cameron's lead and give it a shot. Let's hope it goes well!

Cameron's First Bath

2006-11-07T08:02:00.000-06:00

We got to watch Cameron's first bath last night. Observing a bath is one of the things we have to do before being discharged.

Cameron was not a big fan of it, but the nurse said he was actually much less grumpy than a lot of babies get. He only cried a little bit. Mostly, he was making funny faces. Although, he did pee in the water once- perhaps that was an act of resistance.

But, by the time we were getting him dressed, he was recovered. And, he was still able to take an entire bottle feeding afterwards. Not to mention the fact that we now have one clean little boy :)

A big weekend for little Cameron

2006-11-05T21:24:00.000-06:00

All kinds of good things happening for Cameron. Today we had the privelage of doing 3 complete feedings from breast or bottle. Over half of his food today was by mouth, which means he is getting pretty darn close to losing the feeding tube. He is also 1°C away from room temperature, and once he gets down to that 27°C (for those of you non-metric people Google can help you convert) they will move him to a crib instead of the isolette. He also passed the 3.5lbs point today.

Check out my home

2006-11-04T23:45:00.000-06:00

So this is where I live...pretty nice digs, hey? That computer screen tells my nurses how fast I breath and my heart rate.
Today I got thru one entire feeding on my own, with out the help of the feeding tube! One step closer to my next home.

UW - Cameron

2006-11-03T21:54:00.000-06:00

Hey UW...can you give this kid a scholorship?
Now he's ready for some football. Go Badgers.

Some Quality Family Time

2006-11-02T21:35:00.000-06:00

Cameron has been doing well enough that when it came time for breastfeeding and K-Care tonight, the nurse said we could disconnect Cameron from his monitors and go into one of the family rooms. Going into another room and shutting the door to the noise of the NICU made it feel almost like Cameron was home. Daddy was even relaxed enough to take a little nap during K-Care (He didn't even realize that mommy took this picture!) It was nice to have some time, even if it was only a little over an hour, to get away.

Cameron's First Bottle

2006-11-01T21:23:00.000-06:00

Cameron's big accomplishment today was that he took his first bottle. Daddy had the honors of giving it to him since mommy gets to do the breastfeeding- that seems fair :)

Cameron did very well. He had to be burped twice. They have a neat swaying move that they suggest doing for premies that worked well. By the time he was done, he took about 12 ml. That's great for a first time. They are going to start giving him bottles twice a day now, in between the 2 times that he breastfeeds.

Since he has to be completely fed by breast and bottle in order to go home, this was an important step. Way to go Cameron!

Boo!!! Did I scare you?

2006-10-31T11:34:00.000-06:00

Check out my new hat...specially made for me by Heidi.
Last night the nurses at Meriter dressed up all the babies for a photo shoot. They were having so much fun...

Hooray for One Less Wire

2006-10-30T21:37:00.000-06:00

Cameron is still doing great. There's not a whole lot to report today... He does have one less wire attached, which is great. His Pulse-Ox has been removed. This was a small cuf around his foot that measured the color of his blood to determine O2 concentration. It has been from 95% - 100% since birth, so they figured he did not need it anymore.

He is getting 28 ml through his feeding tube every 3 hours, which means he gets about 8 oz of food a day. He is also showing great cues when he is hungry, has a good latch, and is able to coordinate a suck, swallow, and breath pattern. So, that means they may introduce bottle feeding soon. We'll keep you posted.

Tiny Cameron

2006-10-29T21:38:00.000-06:00

We've gotten some comments that it was hard to tell how tiny a 3 pound Cameron is. So we took a couple comparison shots today. Everyone take a quarter out of your pocket and make your comparison...my parents also took one today with a flip phone next to his head, his face is about the size of a "Razor".

One other update for the day, they have begun to ween him off the heat that has been keeping him warm. He is gaining strength and a bit of fat to keep himself warm...today he weighs 3lbs, 3.7oz.
How many of you can say you've gained 10% of your body weight in one week...wait dont answer that...

No More Club Arm...

2006-10-28T21:45:00.000-05:00

Cameron had an IV that was delivering him lipids and electrolytes. In order to keep it in place, his little arm was wrapped up like a club. He'd try to touch his face and smack himself in the head.

This afternoon they took him off his IV, so he got his hand back. He loves having his hands near his face, so we are very excited about this next milestone.

The other big milestone of today is that Cameron was moved to room 2, which is the room for babies requiring less intense care. It's the "feeding and growing" room. Hopefully Cameron will do that quickly. So far, so good. We're proud of all our little guy's accomplishments.

See more photos

2006-10-27T18:30:00.000-05:00

If you would like to see more photos of Cameron, you can click on this link and see an album :) We're adding pictures regularly, so even if you have looked before, keep checking.

Favorite Cameron Pics

Family Portrait

2006-10-27T17:15:00.000-05:00

This is our first family picture, taken about an hour after Cameron was born. Mom was on the way up to her room for recovery. It's hard to tell here just how little Cameron is. He was born at 8:04 pm on Sunday, October 22. He was exactly 3 pounds when he was born, and was 15 and 1/2 inches long. Even though he was little, he was overall very healthy. His APGAR score, used to tell the health of newborns, was a 9. Considering that anything between 7 and 10 is considered healthy, a baby born almost 8 weeks early getting a score of 9 is pretty amazing.

Put me back in!!!

2006-10-27T14:10:00.000-05:00

Cameron's first moments were instant tears... I cant blame him, it's cold in Wisconsin in October.
Have you heard the story of his name?
Sunday afternoon, we had long decided that his name would be Cameron...but we could not remember what it meant. So Steph asked me to look it up. Cameron means "bent nose"...not too much of a meaning there, to the point where we considered changing it. But we loved the name so much so we opted to keep it. Then he came into the world...as you can see, with a bent nose. Over the last 2 months he has been hanging out inutero with his hand to his face, squishing his nose...
It has all popped back into place now.

Kangaroo Care

2006-10-27T13:56:00.000-05:00

Cameron is still learning to regulate his own body temperature- a skill we take for granted. It's one of the important things that his isolete helps him with. But, another thing that works is something called Kangaroo Care. They strip Cameron down to his diaper, and he goes on mommy or daddy's chest- skin to skin. We cover up with a blanket, and our body temperature helps regulate his temperature. He can stay like that for up to an hour or more. "K-Care," as they call it, is our favorite time of the day. Cameron loves it, too. It's a great chance to bond and cuddle. This is Cameron enjoying some K-Care with daddy.

A Big Day for Cameron

2006-10-27T13:09:00.000-05:00

Today our little Cameron made us proud. He breastfed for the first time! We're going to start trying it twice a day, with his tube feedings in between. He's not getting too much from the breastfeedings yet, it's just to get him used to it.

He also got all the way up to 3 pounds 2.2 ounces- that's 2.2 ounces above his birthweight. A lot of times, it takes a week just to get back up to birthweight, so we are pretty excited that he's exceeding it in just 5 days.

He is being slowly fazed off his IV. It will be nice to see him without his little club-hand one of these days.

Overall, he is little, but doing great. Before coming home, he has to be feeding from breast and bottle only (and growing from it), as well as be able to regulate his own temperature (a difficult feat before coming home to our cold house).

We'll keep you updated. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.