Merry Christmas!

I can't believe that my two weeks for Christmas vacation is over! Tomorrow morning I have to return to school, and while I am not excited about it, I know that getting back into our routine will be good for both Camden and me. To begin my story of this year's (very busy!) Christmas, I must go back to just a few days before I got out from school. On the Wednesday before my break started, I noticed that I was feeling a little bit of pain on the right side of my chest and it was not going away when I fed Camden, it didn't go away with a warm shower, and it didn't go away when I pumped at school. It turns out that I had mastitis brought on by stress, fatigue, and possibly the fact that I have such a good baby who sleeps through the night causing me to remain "full" for too long. I was able to start on antibiotics that day, but I still had to finish out the week at school with the pain, chills, and other flu-like symptoms. I wanted to just stay home in bed, but I couldn't afford to miss the school days. I kept thinking that I was going to stay home (I even kept preparing sub plans and informing my neighbor at school that I might be out), but each day I made it in and toughed it out. Of course, on Thursday, I went to school without brushing my teeth (gross!) and on Friday, I went to school without make-up (scary!). I was very happy to hear that bell ring at 3:15 on Friday afternoon!

That weekend, our good friends Brantley and Adrienne stayed with us for a short time on their way down to visit his family in Houston. It was fun to see them and how much their daughter, Ainsley, has grown since we saw them in October. Unfortunately, I was still getting over mastitis, so I was not much fun to be around, and I kept falling asleep early, so I didn't get as much time to visit as I would have liked. On Monday, we drove to my parents' house in Houston - this four hour drive was Camden's longest road trip so far. He did really well! We did have to stop for a feeding halfway, and we thought we had found the most deserted spot in the Wal-mart parking lot of a very small town, but two trucks managed to park right next to my side of the car while Camden was eating! Thank goodness for nursing covers and blanket forts! He did get a little fidgety towards the end of the trip, but he made it. That night, he did ruin his streak of sleeping in restaurants, because he had a major poopy diaper blowout, and I think he was tired of being in his carseat.

The next day, I started to feel itchy, watery eyes and a stuffy nose. I believed it was just allergies, but I felt miserable! I also discovered that many medications that were safe to take during the pregnancy for sinus congestion and allergies are not great during breastfeeding, because they dry you out so much that your milk supply can run low. So, I decided to tough it out with lots of tissues, eye drops, and vaseline (for my raw nose). Meanwhile, my mom and I decided to check out the line to visit Santa at the mall. We arrived at 4:00 and the line had been closed off because Santa would only be able to see a certain number of kids before he took his break at 5:00, and he wasn't going to come back again until 6:00. So, we would have to stand in line for two hours (and possibly longer) just for a picture with Santa that Camden will not remember. I had been concerned about the germs and the crowds at the mall anyway, so we decided to eat some cookies and go home. Our other option was Santa Cow at Chik Fil A that night, but unfortunately he decided not to show up. Sadly, I do not have the obligatory photo with Santa for Camden's first Christmas, but I do not believe he will be sad about this in the future.

The first people we visited (besides my mom and stepdad) were my dad, his wife and daughter, and my grandparents. I finally made my dad hold Camden for a picture (this is the only one that I have with my dad's eyes open - he is notorious for blinking in every picture that he takes), and Camden decided to let out a big poop right after this picture was taken - priceless. I'm pretty sure that's why my dad didn't want to hold him!

Here is a picture of Camden with his aunt Madisson (my half sister) and my dad's wife Cindy. I can't believe that at this time last year, I was holding Madisson - she has grown so much. We enjoyed getting to play with her (she was fascinated with Camden - she even tried to share his pacifier) and watch all that she can do.

By the way, over Christmas break, Camden all of sudden decided to gulp down his milk really fast and empty both sides in 20 minutes or less compared to the 45 minute to an hour feedings that we had been experiencing. This was such a blessing for me as sometimes we didn't have as much time for him to eat because of our busy schedule. He also became very regular with his bowel movements. He decided to fill his diaper after every feeding, and he often would not start a feeding or would stop in the middle of a feeding if he felt full and needed to go. I learned to look for his facial expressions and cues that would signal what was about to happen. He also decided to turn and look up at me and start talking whenever he was finished eating. We had some of the best conversations after many of his meals! We all decided that this little boy is going to be very busy and talkative in a few months!

On Thursday, we drove to Nederland, TX to visit my stepdad's family where Camden met several great aunts and uncles as well as a set of great grandparents. He was very popular! Here he is with his great aunt Rhonda:

Taking a nap with his great aunt Brenda:

Camden can't wait to wear his new clothes, and he hung his giraffe ornament on the tree when we came home!

I had finished my antibiotic at this point (mastitis gone! Hooray!), and my sinus symptoms seemed to be clearing up. I felt much better. However, that night, we noticed that one of Camden's eyes was tearing up quite a bit, and his nose sounded more stuffy than usual. Also, my mom, who took care of almost every diaper change while we were visiting, noticed that he had a diaper rash that had raised bumps. She remembered that when babies at her school had this it was usually because of a yeast infection. It turns out that the antibiotic I was taking can cause this! So, we had to start rubbing a special cream on his rash twice a day. And, the next morning, his eye was draining a thicker snot-like substance, and his nose was runny, and he was sneezing. It was official - Camden had his first cold. I was freaking out and looking at tons of websites to see what could be done. It turns out that there is not much to do, because colds are viral, so we are still fighting it and letting it run its course. From that point on, we were very diligent about reminding everyone to wash their hands. My family believes that the cold came from me (remember those "allergy" symptoms I mentioned), but it could have come from anywhere that we visited this week - especially since Camden now likes to touch everything and then put his hands in his mouth! Also, since we had a sick baby, everyone in our house ended up with a touch of this cold - babies are really good at spreading germs!

On Christmas Eve, we visited my mom's side of the family in Seabrook, Texas where Camden met his great aunt Shelly:

His "Great" Morfar (Swedish for grandfather on the mother's side):

And his Great Uncle Erik:

My uncle usually has a six month rule meaning that he does not hold babies until they are six months old, but he decided to break that rule, because Camden is just too cute to resist. He also told me later that I handed C to him perfectly so he could hold him in a comfortable position, and he told me that he was so proud of how well Neal and I are taking care of our son. That meant a lot to me, because my uncle doesn't usually express his feelings very easily.

Camden also played with his Uncle Mike (my brother):

He is such a happy boy!

Our last Christmas celebration was at my dad's house with his side of the family. By the way, we had big, huge, delicious meals at each celebration, and because I had so many family members who wanted to see Camden, I never ate a cold meal. Someone was always holding Camden, so Neal and I could eat. This does not usually happen at home - Neal and I sometimes have to eat in shifts or eat with one hand while holding a baby.

Here is Camden meeting his great aunt Tina (she is already so proud of him!):

Camden's favorite nap time spot was my Uncle Greg's lap! He sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" over and over again to help him go to sleep. Camden loves it when we sing to him, and he will open his eyes and look at you if you stop singing before he is completely asleep.

We loved getting to visit with everyone, but we were definitely very worn out after the busy week, so we decided to stay at my mom's house for a few extra days before making Camden get back in the car for the drive back to Fort Worth. Unfortunately, Camden started to feel worse. His temperature went up to 100.4 and he became so agitated that he threw up all over me and my parent's guest bedroom. Again, I started consulting the web and I even called our lactation consultant (she was a pediatric nurse for most of her career), but it turns out we were doing everything we could to help him. Fortunately, the fever started to go down on its own - no tylenol needed, and he continued to eat normally without throwing up again.

This was the night that he only wanted to take a nap with me, and napping helped me to have more energy to take care of him.

Through it all, he was still so happy and cheerful. The only time he cried was when his fever spiked and he threw up. Other than that, you would never know that he was sick. We are still getting over the stuffy nose and occasional cough, but he sounds better each day.

Since getting back home on Tuesday, we have caught Camden putting his hands in his mouth, and sliding his pacifier to the side of his mouth to chew. Thankfully, Camden received Sophie the Giraffe for Christmas, so we have been chewing on that instead. He loves it!

Today, Neal looked at his gums, and there does appear to be evidence that teeth may be coming in soon, but it could be weeks before they break through. He has been a little more fussy in the evenings, but we're not sure if it's teething or all of the disruptions to his schedule. Even with that, he still sleeps well at night, and he's doing great with his eating! We also took pictures for his three month photo shoot, and I cannot believe how much he is growing. He is starting to look more like a little boy and less like a little baby. Here are some of my favorite shots:

He looks like he is having a conversation with his bunny which reminds me of how much he likes to chat when he is happy. He loves to hear the sounds of his voice, and he has started mimicking our sounds and shapes that we make with our mouths. What a smart boy!

This outfit might fit him, but the hat is already too small! I still had to take a few pictures of him wearing the hat, though.

My sweet, happy boy! I just love him so much!