365 Days: Week 1

This year I've started a new project inspired by a friend, 365 Days. I can only hope to do it as well as she has. My goal is to take a photo everyday this year.  I hope it will help capture the beauty in my everyday life and help me learn some new skills along the way. I took so many photos when we lived in England and have been really missing it, so this will help me get back into it. Thanks to Kris for the inspiration!

Some of Scooter's family has been in town over the Christmas break. We played Michigan Rummy with pennies. They had to teach me, but we had a lot of fun. 

Lincoln loves sitting near the Christmas tree and looking at the lights and ornaments. 

Today I figured out that Lincoln loves to look at himself in the mirror. It was hilarious to watch him beam at himself. We were both entertained for a long time. 

As I loaded my work scrubs into the washing machine I realized it might be the last time I ever wash them since I've quit my job to stay home with Lincoln. 

We have been enjoying weather in the 60s this past week, which is almost unheard of for Kansas City in January. Lincoln and I have been trying to take advantage so we went for a walk to a pond in our neighborhood. We had the whole place to ourselves so we spent an hour or so watching geese. Did I take advantage of the solitude and nurse him right there in front of the geese? You bet!

My sweet husband got me the sewing machine that I've been wanting for ages for Christmas. I finally got around to figuring out how to set it up. This is my first attempt at experimenting with it. 

Scooter is currently doing rotations in General Surgery right now. They have him working 6 days a week, averaging 14 hour days, so we haven't really seen him this week. This was the first time Lincoln had even seen Scooter in 2 days. Med school is no walk in the park for Scooter or for me!

 

3 Months Old

Dear Lincoln,

We have had so much fun together this month! I think that this month might be my favorite so far because you are interacting so much with us now. You are also sleeping longer than last month, so that makes for an even more happy and well-rested mama. Every night you are sleeping for ten hours, waking up for a feeding, going right back to sleep, and sleeping for two more hours. It’s such a blessing. Your naps are not so fantastic though. I’m still following the 90-minute plan, but when you take naps you usually only sleep for 20-30 minutes, which really doesn’t give me a lot of time to do anything productive.  We’re working on it.

You had your first round of shots this past month. I was so worried because I had heard so many horror stories about how awful it was to watch your baby get the shots then about how sick and uncomfortable they were after. You screamed your best screams after they gave you the shots, but then I nursed you and you quieted right down and we didn’t have any more problems which was a huge relief.

Christmas with you was a blast. You obviously didn’t get it, but it was so fun for us to have you around for all the festivities. We had the Christmas cookie thing down - I ate lots of cookies and you drank lots of milk! You and I danced to Christmas music every day, you watched us set up the tree, and we had daddy’s family here with us. You were spoiled with love and attention. You loved sitting under or next to the Christmas tree and staring at the lights and sparkly ornaments. We also went on a light drive which you loved. I held you up to the window (it was in a parking lot and we were going like 2 mph – don’t report us!) and you just stared with your tiny mouth open in wonder. I’ll never forget the look on your face.  The nativity story took on a whole new level of meaning for us this year now that we have our own little precious baby boy.

You’ve been such a portable baby this month going to dinner, shopping, racquetball matches, the airport, regular errands, etc without too much of a fuss. You’ve also been a champ to be really adaptable for us. I had to go back to work for a few days this month (I’ve quit now) and you were great about taking bottles and having someone other than me home with you. It was hard not to be home with you and leave you, but easier because I knew you were handling it pretty well.

Your vocalization has really taken off this month. You are a loud baby! You squeal, coo, and hoot constantly, but your favorite time to “talk” to us is while you are getting your diaper changed. We just love chatting with you - we try to respond as if you are telling us something and you just answer right back. You also do your biggest smiles when we are talking to you. You smile with your whole body! Your legs draw up or kick, your arms wave, your eyes squint, your neck lifts, and your whole little body tenses up.

You have developed a few little quirks this month. At the beginning of the month you loved doing your “superman” pose all the time. When you were lying on your back you would make a fist with your left hand, draw it to your chest and extend your right arm straight out or above your head. You don’t do it as much lately, but it was funny. For most of the month you hadn’t quite mastered the pacifier, so you would suck on your top lip – loudly. It looked so funny. You occasionally will still do it, especially in your sleep. You have discovered your tongue this month and seem very interested in it. For a couple weeks you loved to stick it out all the time. You aren’t doing it quite as much, but now you are trying to put everything into your mouth to explore it with your tongue.

You also have discovered your hands this month. You started by curling your hands into little fists and holding them together in front of you. Now you have a bit more dexterity and lock your little fingers together and hold them in front of you. In the last couple weeks you have figured out how to put your hands into your mouth. You love to suck on them. Sometimes you even start making really loud smacking and sucking sounds! You haven’t chosen a specific finger to suck yet, right now any part of your hand will do. Consequently, we’ve been dealing with a lot of drool this month. You’ve also recently figured out how to grab things. You are still working on the precision, but when you get a hold of something you hold on tight! I have a feeling that lots of hair pulling is in the near future…

You also learned how to sit in your Bumbo chair this month. You will sit in it for long periods of time, especially if we put you in the Bumbo in front of a mirror so that you can see yourself. It is hilarious to see you smiling and flirting with yourself. You also started enjoying your first toy this month. It took us a while to choose which one to give you first, but we decided on a ball that is made entirely of pliable rubbery rings so that when you hit yourself in the face with it (you still aren’t very coordinated, you see) it won’t hurt you. The added bonus is how easy it is to hold onto. You really like to play with it, especially when you’re in your car seat.

We can’t believe how fast you are growing. We were shocked the last time we weighed you. Your feet are finally looking a little more normally proportioned, although still too big to fit comfortably in some of your sleepers. You have basically grown out of all of your three month size clothes. Mostly it seems that you are too long. Once we button you in them you can’t fully straighten your legs. You just look so grown up. When I look at you I am often struck with how handsome you are – not cute like a baby (you are, of course, that as well), but really kinda grown-up handsome. You have this adult-ish look about you. Maybe it is because your head is small so you don’t really fit the average baby proportions, maybe it is the intelligent look you have in your eyes, but either way, you are growing up too quickly! We wish you could stay small a little bit longer.

We love you more than you’ll ever know,

Mama

For the record:

Weight: 14  pounds, 8 ounces (59th percentile)

Length: 25 1/2  inches (84th percentile)

Head Circumference: 16 inches (22nd percentile)

Someone's Feeling Sleepy

Things have been going pretty well around here lately, in part, because of this book, The 90-Minute Baby Sleep Program. This book was recommended to me by my friend, Lindsey, while I was pregnant. I felt really strongly that it was really important to help the baby get as much sleep as possible, so I started reading books about babies and sleep before he was born. I read a few, and this is the one that made the most sense to me.

The basic theory is that we all have natural cycles of sleepiness and wakefulness. When babies as born their cycles are 90 minutes long, so every 90 minutes they will have a window when they are sleepy. During this sleepy window is the easiest time to soothe them to sleep. The plan is to note the time that your baby wakes up from a nap (no matter how long it is) then add 90 minutes. This will you give you the time that your baby will want to go to sleep. This works for the first few months and then the babies supposedly start lengthening their wakeful periods, but they still are in increments of 90 minutes (3 hours, 4 and 1/2 hours, etc.).

When Lincoln was born I was anxious to see if he would adhere to these guidelines. It sounded almost too good to be true, but sure enough, just about every 90 minutes he starts exhibiting signs of being tired (for him that is getting fussy or kinda zoning out). So after about 80 minutes I start soothing him to sleep and he usually falls asleep pretty easily. This plan has been keeping me sane for the past few months. Even when Lincoln has really fussy periods I know that they shouldn't need to last longer than 90 minutes. If I've noted the time Lincoln woke up and then am not near a clock when he starts fussing, I'll go and check the time and it is amazing how spot on the 90 minutes it is. On days when I forget to note the time he awoke I feel directionless and frustrated until we can get back on schedule.

Now, I have a feeling that this plan/schedule will get harder to follow the older Lincoln gets, but for now, while he's really little, it has been awesome. Especially as I new parent I feel like this book is almost a cheat-sheet. Now if we could just get Lincoln to stay asleep for longer stretches once he has fallen asleep...

Anyone else have any baby sleep book recommendations?

And now, some pictures of my darling sleeping baby. He was so spoiled over Thanksgiving and almost always napped in someone's arms.

2 Months Old

Dear Lincoln,

Your second month of life has been full of family. We spent two weeks of this month in Utah. You have spent time with every single immediate family member that isn't on a mission - all of mom and dad's brothers, sisters, and brothers-in-law; your grandparents; lots of cousins; and even your great-grandpa! You have been completely spoiled with love and cuddles. I'm not even sure that you remember how to sleep without being held by someone for the entire nap!

You took your first flight this month. I was so nervous and anxious about it, but those are the breaks when none of your family lives even remotely within driving distance. We even practiced sitting in one place for a long time, nursing in public, and our quieting techniques for a week before the flight. I barely slept the night before because I kept picturing horrible scenes starring a hysterical Lincoln. Turns out that I worried needlessly, however, because things went as well as I could have expected. You slept the entire time through security which was a blessing. You peed on me while I was nursing you, which you have never done before, but the wet spot on my shirt was a manageable problem. The lady sitting next to us was very nice and even offered to let me change your diaper on her seat (peed on yourself, of course) when there was no changing station in the bathroom.

We blessed you this month. It was wonderful to be able to have so much family there. Your great grandpa, your grandpa, and your uncles were all there to help your daddy. You were quiet through most of your blessing and only cried at the very end. You are going to be such an amazing kid!

Your first Thanksgiving was overall a success. You cried through half of dinner so I had to leave to nurse you, but we felt so thankful to have you there with us. Later that night we went to our first movie in a theater with you. You were an angel and were just happy on my lap the entire time.

You became such an amazing nighttime sleeper this month and we are so grateful. You sleep consistently for at least six hours before you wake up to eat. You usually go back to sleep for a couple hours after that as well. You even did a ten hour stretch one night! Life for mommy is so much better when she isn't exhausted.

We started trying to train you to take a pacifier this month. We have been hesitant to give you pacifiers before this because we dreaded having you get really attached and then having to wean you off in a few months. We finally decided that the benefit of being able to help you soothe yourself is worth it. You still don't really have the hang of it yet, but you are getting closer.

We took you on your first long car trip this month. We drove from St. George to Centerville, Utah and back a couple days later. It should take five hours, but it took almost double that. You slept for the first while, but after a few hours decided that you hated being in your carseat. We had to pull over and soothe you and let you stretch a couple times. One time you were happy so I switched with my mom and started driving. Right away you became really upset and soon hysterical. My mom could do nothing to calm you, so we pulled over and switched places. As soon as I sat by you, talked to you, and held your little hands (all things my mom had tried) you quieted down. It was an extremely rewarding moment for me. I felt like you really loved me, needed me, and wanted me to be near you more than any other person.

We started taking you to church this month, but I'm not sure you like it. You have had a major blowout every single time and have had to have your clothes changed. I hope you are not trying to send some kind of message..

You took interest in your very first book this month - The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I think you really loved the high contrast illustrations. The trick to keeping your attention is not to sit with the book, but to lie next to you and hold the book above us. After I figured this out we've been doing a lot of reading. You are so darling and really focus on the pictures, kick your legs a lot, and try to vocalize. I really hope you will always love to read.

We love you so much. I love seeing you in the rear view mirror while we are driving around doing errands. When you do take long naps during the day I miss you and have trouble not creeping to your crib to stare at you. You have enriched our lives so much and we are happier than ever.

Love you more than you'll ever know,

Your Mama

For the record:

Weight: 11 pounds, 15 ounces (36th percentile)

Length: 23 inches (31st percentile)

Head Circumference: 15 1/4 inches (11th percentile)

Lincoln's Blessing

We blessed Lincoln this past weekend at my parents' house in St. George. It was nice to do it at home - a bit more intimate. It was really special to have so much family together for it. All of my immediate family was there as well as Scooter's mom, grandpa, and brother.  We took some pictures of our little man in his blessing outfit - isn't he a doll? We love this little guy more than words can describe.

Isn't Being A Mom Glamorous?

Luckily, we are not using our good bedding right now because of all the excess body fluids around here (milk, spit-up, etc.). Also, I'm feeling really glad that I had the foresight to set him on towels before I put him on the bed - disaster diverted.

1 Month Old

Dear Lincoln,

I can’t believe that you are one month old today! It makes me so sad to think that you are growing up so fast. Everyone told me that I would be amazed at how the time flies and it really is true. Your dad and I have just been trying to enjoy you as much as possible this month. You won’t be this small forever (sob!).

This month has been all about learning by trial and error for your dad and I. You see, you didn’t come with an instruction manual, so we’ve been trying to figure you out all month long. Because your birth was a little traumatic for you it seems like it took a good part of the month for you to figure yourself out as well. You are a completely different baby today than you were in the hospital. That made things a little more complicated for us – as soon as we felt like we were getting the hang of the whole parent thing you would up and switch something on us. For the last week though it seems like we have all settled into our roles, and life is just getting better every day.

Eating was a little bit of a challenge for you at first. You were just so sleepy! You would suck twice, maybe three times, and then fall fast asleep. The lactation consultants in the hospital didn’t know what to do with you! After a couple days of very sleepy days you lost too much weight and the doctor came and woke your dad and I up in the night to tell us they were concerned. We spent the next couple days feeding you with every supplemental method we could think of besides a bottle because you hadn’t gotten the hang of breastfeeding at all. We fed you pumped colostrum from a spoon, a cup, a syringe, and a tube. It was so sad for me to see you trying to lap up the colostrum from a cup like a kitty when all I wanted was to feed you myself. After you gained some weight we went home and started getting visits from our favorite nun/home health nurse, Sister Mary Teresa. She was awesome and helped us figure out why you were struggling to eat. We started using a nipple shield and things started going a lot better. After a couple weeks we’ve been able to stop using the shield and things have been going great! You LOVE to eat and make the most adorable noises while you are sucking. I love getting to cuddle with your little warm body every time I feed you. I love seeing you just lean back with milk all over your face and a really satisfied expression after eating a lot. You are so adorable!

Sleeping has been full of changes too. At first that was all you would do. We would rarely see your alert little eyes for more than a few minutes at a time. You were so sleepy that you never woke yourself up to eat -ever. The first time you woke up because you were hungry was when you were almost three weeks old! In the hospital because of your weight loss they had us waking you up to eat every two hours. It took over an hour to feed you, so sometimes mom and dad would only get 45 minutes of sleep before we woke up again to feed you - we were exhausted. I don’t really know that many parents who have to set alarms in the night to wake their newborn to eat! Once we got you home we continued with waking you up until you had gained enough weight to experiment with letting you wake yourself up. The first time we let you sleep without waking you up you slept for six hours! It made mom really nervous. After that you averaged somewhere around six hours during the night. Then two nights in a row you did an eight hour stretch. That made us nervous again that you were not getting enough to eat, but the next night you switched to four hour stretches, which you have been on ever since. So, we have gone from having to use alarms in the middle of the night to make sure you woke up, to sleeping too long, to now sleeping normal nighttime stretches for a newborn. Now if we could just get you be a better napper during the day…

Diapering you has, surprisingly, been a challenge. You just have such skinny legs that no diapers we tried would keep everything inside. For the first two weeks we would literally have to change your onesie every time we changed your diaper, which was sad because you HATED getting your clothes changed. We started with the newborn size diapers and then we went down a size to the preemie diapers. They fit much better but still didn’t contain everything, so we stared double diapering you – a preemie diaper with a newborn diaper over that. How ridiculous! Now we are just using newborn size and because your legs are filling out a little bit we are having fewer blowouts. Whew!

Another experiment this month has been swaddling. When you were inside me you loved to have your hands up by your face and in your mouth. During my last ultrasound we could see you sucking your fingers and sampling each one in turn. We could hardly see your face because your hands were in the way for the entire time. When you were born nothing had changed. Most newborns like to be swaddled, but you didn’t. You let us do it for the first few days, but then you decided that you never wanted to be swaddled again. As soon as we would swaddle you you would frantically start straining against the swaddle and within a few minutes you would work your hands up to your face. We decided that it was counterproductive to try and keep your hands down, so we decided to let you have your hands. You were much happier, but we started getting frustrated because you wouldn’t stay asleep for very long because your pesky hands would wake you up. You’d poke yourself in the face, or startle and your hands would fly up and wake you. Mom and dad decided that we knew what was best for you even if you didn’t like it, so we started swaddling you despite your protests. Once we rocked you to sleep you started sleeping longer stretches without your hands hitting you in the face. Now, you submit meekly to being swaddled even if you are wide awake. We are all much happier with this arrangement – it just took some training.

You still get hiccups a lot, just like you did when you were inside of me. You LOVE to look at bright lights. If there is a bright light nearby you will stare into it for long periods of time with your little mouth open in fascination. You hate to take baths and it is always a traumatic experience for you, so hopefully you will grow out of that soon because we like to keep you clean! Your feet are still really big, but not quite so out of proportion as they were when you were first born. Your eyes look brown to me, but your daddy has been insisting for weeks that they could change to blue. He is recently starting to admit that his genes may have won this battle, though. You also love music. Sometimes you sleep with music playing in your room. Mostly, though, you just like me to sing to you while I’m rocking you to sleep.

Some of our favorite times with you are when you are in your quiet, alert phase. You just look all around with this look of intelligence that amazes and scares us. Sometimes you look so much like a tiny adult. We can’t wait for you to start talking – you look like you have so much to say!

You have smiled at us a few times this week and it has just melted our hearts. A few days ago we had a bit of a frustrating morning – you didn’t think you needed a nap, I thought you did. I was trying to nurse you to sleep and was explaining to you why you were being a naughty boy when you just looked up at me and grinned. I instantly forgot all our morning frustrations and started crying. It’s amazing what a little smile from you means to us.

Lincoln, it has been such a joy to have you be part of our family. Our home is even happier since your arrival. I always knew that your dad would be a great father, but he really has blown me away this month. You have him completely wrapped around your little finger. We can barely get anything done in the evenings besides playing with you. We are so glad that you finally here after praying for you for such a long time. We can’t believe you are ours.

We love you more than you’ll ever know,

Mama

For the record:

Weight: 10 pounds, 7 ounces (43^rd percentile)

Length: 22 inches (38^th percentile)

Head Circumference: 15 inches (25^th percentile)