Four Months Old

Dear Lincoln,

If I could describe you this month in two words they would be developing and adaptable. You have made huge strides in your physical development and you have been a great sport to put up with me dragging you all over the place.

About a week into this month you rolled over for your first time. You had been trying to do it for a while but that pesky shoulder was always in the way! You didn’t really do it again for about a week, but then one day, while we were in Utah, you just started doing it all the time. Now every time we lay you down you roll over. You prop yourself up on your elbows and you lift your head really high and sometimes even lift your legs up as well. You haven’t figured out how to roll from your tummy onto your back, but you’re working on it. For now, we have to rescue you once you decide that you’re tired of being face down.  In the last week you have shown the first signs of really wanting to learn to army crawl. When you are face down you reach out your arms, grab onto the blanket you are lying on, and seem like you are trying to pull yourself forward. You also draw your knees up so your foot is under you. Sometimes you even dig your toes into the floor. You haven’t perfected your skills by any means, but if we give you something to push your feet against you make slow progress across the floor. Maybe we’re biased, but you seem really strong for your age.

Because of your new rolling over skills we have had to stop swaddling you this month. This has been a bit of a struggle for you (and for me!) because your hands always seem to end up in your face, bothering you. It makes it harder for you to stay asleep. I’ve been swaddling one of your hands to try and help you transition to going completely without the swaddle, but it is turning out to be a difficult change. You are also very squirmy in your crib. Sometimes I find you facing the opposite direction from where I lay you down. Speaking of staying asleep, you are really struggling with your daytime naps. You will seem absolutely exhausted, I’ll get you fall asleep, but then 10-20 minutes later you wake up. I can’t figure it out. How can I lay a completely limp baby into his crib and then 10 minutes later have an alert baby? It doesn’t make any sense. Sleep training is coming, my friend. I need to take back my life.

You have been the picture of an adaptable baby this month. You came with me to Saint George, Salt Lake City, and Palm Springs. You have flown 2700 miles and have driven well over 1800 miles with me. You have had to take your naps in hotel rooms, poolside, in stores, in cars, in the middle of strange beds, in my arms, in church, in your car seat, in your stroller, and in restaurants. You’ve nursed in all kinds of places, but you’ve also taken bottles like a champ. You’ve taken naps in all kinds of noise levels and in the dark or in bright daylight. You’ve been held by so many different people – aunts, uncles, grandparents, people at church, and total strangers on the plane. You have been sweet and charmed them all. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what a good baby you are! It makes it possible for me to enrich my life in all kinds of ways.

The only thing that you still are standing firm on is your loathing of riding in the car. You hate it with a passion. It is not even so much your car seat because you will sit in that fairly happily, but as soon as the car seat is put into the car you get really upset. This makes it really hard for me to run errands or go anywhere by myself. I went a friend’s house about 15 minutes away this month. You screamed so much on the way home that I was bawling. I feel like I am making you go through some kind of torture. As much as I hate it I have been forcing myself to keep driving you places because I refuse to become a prisoner in my own house. When I have someone to come with me and drive (Scooter, my mom, etc.) I can ride in the back next to you and hold your hands, try to get you to suck a pacifier, sing to you, and try to distract you. This helps up to a point, but you always end up having a melt down at some point. I really hope you will grow out of this soon.

You have also found your voice this month. You have your quiet times, but once you get going you are a really loud baby. You love to squeal and seem to love the sound of your own voice. If we bounce you while you are squealing you love to hear how it changes the sound of your squeal with every bounce. You also like to experiment with how loud you can be. You are making new sounds and your favorite consonant is “m” and your favorite babble sound is “ma” so it sounds like you are saying “mama” all the time, which I find very flattering. In the last couple of weeks you have also started laughing in earnest. It is sometimes a chuckle, sometimes a guffaw, and sometimes a shriek. You are ticklish under your arms, by your neck, and sometimes on your tummy. When we tickle you we can just see the laugh building inside you – you open your mouth in a huge smile, get really tense and almost frustrated, then you remember how to release the laugh and you seem so proud of yourself. You have started blowing raspberries this week and you seem very entertained by yourself. Sometimes you will delight yourself by blowing dozens in a row.

The other things you have really found and fallen in love with are your hands. You can’t keep them out of your mouth. You suck on them, chew on them, and play with them.  You have even figured out how to focus on something and reach for it. You are getting better at grabbing things and holding on tight. All of these are great tricks but your favorite activity is to suck on your hands. It doesn’t matter what part – your fingers, your fists, and your wrists are all wonderful options. You sucked so hard on your arm earlier in the month that you gave yourself a little hickey.

It seems really early, but you have been showing all the signs of teething for a couple weeks now. You are producing truly incredible amounts of drool. You basically have a nice slimy coat of drool on your lips, chin, cheeks, shirt, and hands all the time. Combine the drool with the raspberry blowing and you do a great job of soaking yourself. You suck on everything you can get your hands on (or just your hands, of course). You don’t just suck either, you bite. If you get my finger in your mouth, which you try to do all the time, you chew on it surprisingly hard. It almost even hurts me at times. Luckily, you don’t bite while nursing yet. We have tried giving you teething rings, but you don’t quite have the dexterity to get them turned correctly so they fit into your mouth, so you give up and go back to your hands.

One of the best pieces of news for me this month is that you finally starting to make strides with entertaining yourself for short periods of time. Up until this month you have been fussy if I tried to put you down for even a minute. You constantly seemed to lose interest in your surroundings/current activity. It was really hard to get anything done, but now you are able to stay calm for stretches of a few minutes (and sometimes even longer) without needing my attention. Hallelujah!

You are looking more like you daddy than ever. Your eyes are definitely brown and even your dad grudgingly admits that it looks like his genes won that battle. Everyone comments on how you look like your dad and don’t really have any of my physical features. That’s fine with me because your daddy is one handsome devil! It seemed like you lost some hair early in the month, but this week it seems to be growing in. You are still so bald that it is hard to tell what color your hair is, but I’m hoping you’ll get your dad’s genes in this department as well and that you’ll be a tow head. For now though, you still look like Mr. Clean.

Lincoln, you are even more of a joy this month than last month and we love you more than you’ll ever know. Sometimes for no apparent reason I will be overwhelmed, almost cripplingly so, with how much I love you. You bring me so much joy.

We are so lucky you're ours,

Your mama

For the record:

Weight: 14  pounds, 12 ounces (34th percentile)

Length: 26 1/4  inches (82nd percentile)

Head Circumference: 16 1/4 inches (16th percentile)

365 Days: Week 5

We drove from Palm Springs to Saint George. This is my favorite quirky exit "Zzyzx Road" and I look forward to passing it every time we do this drive. Lincoln was a really good sport until the last thirty minutes. He decided that he had been in his car seat long enough and let us know, very loudly, for the rest of our drive.

Hanging out at my parents house - it is so nice to be home.

It was nice to have Lincoln be the only grandchild at home for a few days. He got all of my parents attention. He couldn't have loved it more!

These are the raspberry rolls from Kneaders. I like their orange variety even better. I'm ashamed to admit that I daydream about these rolls sometimes. I'm not too ashamed to admit that within a couple hours of taking this photo I had single-handedly eaten more than half of these. 

We drove to Salt Lake City to visit my sisters. I had to drive separate from my mom (long story) so I had to drive alone with Lincoln. He hates his car seat so for long trips like this I usually have to sit right next to him so I can hold his hands and comfort him. Even with my constant attention he usually cries quite a bit, so needless to say I was really nervous about driving alone with him. He miraculously fell asleep after about 15 minutes and I didn't want to wake him up by stopping so I just didn't drink anything and kept driving, and driving, and driving. He didn't wake up for 3 and 1/2 hours! - just 15 minutes short of my sister house! It was a real miracle.

We went to The Living Planet Aquarium with my sisters, nephew, and aunt. I knew that Eli would love it, but I was really surprised when Lincoln really seemed to enjoy it as well. He just looked alertly at the fish while his aunt Rachelle held him. 

It is really hard to capture how beautiful Salt Lake City is, especially while driving on the freeway, but trust me, it is lovely.

365 Days: Week 4

Andrea and Eli arrived at my parents house today. Andi spent lots of time holding Lincoln. He looked so changed since she had last seen him. 

My mom, Andi, Eli, Lincoln, and I drove to Palm Springs, California. It was an adventure with a busy 18 month old and a 3 month old that hates his carseat with a passion. After an hour and a half we had only made it to Mesquite, Nevada which should only be a thirty minute drive. Luckily, the day got better after that and we only had to stop a few times to let the boys stretch and get a break from their carseats.

There was a duck pond near our condo so we went and fed the ducks every morning as soon as we woke up. Eli loved trying to throw the bread. Lincoln just loved being outside.

Lincoln spent his first day at the pool. He didn't get in the water, but he really enjoyed kicking around in the shade. He might even love the sun as much as his mama.

We tried to do a little shopping - I don't know what we were thinking. Shopping with toddlers is nearly impossible. We finally gave up and found a fountain for Eli to play in. He got soaked but at least he was happy.

More time at the pool. Eli is completely fearless so you can't take your eyes off him for even an instant. He doesn't even hesitate to jump into the pool. Lincoln, on the other hand spent most of the time napping in his stroller.

Today at the pool Lincoln really mastered the art of rolling over. We laid him on a thick pad of towels and he entertained himself with his new skills. 

365 Days: Week 3

 Lincoln rolled all the way over for his first time. We took this right after he did it.

We finally got around to putting the Christmas decorations away. 

There are rarely days so bad that a homemade pumpkin pie waiting for you at home won't cheer you up (at least that's what I was hoping when I made this for Scooter).

Lincoln loves to sit with his daddy while he checks his email when he gets home.

The only thing better than going to get your hair highlighted (finally!) is coming home to an empty "dirty dish" counter.

Our (Scooter's, mine, and Lincoln's) very favorite time of day is when Scooter finally gets home and we can all be together. As a side note, I think me husband looks dead sexy in scrubs...

I made it to Utah for a visit today. I love going home for lots of reasons but one of them is that I like to see what random habits my parents have picked up since I left home. My dad has apparently taken to lying on the floor in front of the fireplace for quick naps when he is on call and waiting for the emergency room to call him back. 

365 Days: Week 2

Both of my boys fell asleep while watching a movie. After all, isn't that what Sundays are for?

Lincoln and I walked to one of the parks near our house and sat on the swings for a while. It was fun to picture him running around on the playground someday.

Lincoln loves when we pass under trees so he can look up at the branches. I think he looks so funny and cute when he does it. 

Scooter and I were trying to watch a movie but you-know-who woke up and wanted to play so we had to have him with us. We are really trying to not let Lincoln watch TV until he is older, so Scooter was holding him so he couldn't see. Lincoln was clearly determined to watch, however, and kept twisting around, throwing himself backward, and just contorting around in general until he could watch. Only nursing was able to finally distract him. We have a burgeoning TV addict on our hands!

Our first real snow of the year. 

Lincoln has been tasting all of his fingers lately to see which ones he prefers. He seems to usually settle on these two. 

In Plowman family tradition, we celebrated Lincoln's 100th day of life today. Scooter's mom was even here for the occasion. I think it is fun to inherit some Plowman traditions that are new to me. 

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)