Happy First Birthday Lincoln Matthew

Happy First Birthday Lincoln!

Congratulations for Lincoln for taking the gold metal for biggest Grant baby at one (and he started the smallest, HA)

Height: 31.25 inches (93%)
Weight:  27 lbs (99%)
Diaper: 5
Clothes: 24 months / 2t

Mobility:  He is happy as a clam army crawling; just like Addison I do not anticipate he will ever do the traditional crawl.  He pulls up on everything but has not started to cruise much.  My best conjecture is that he will walk around 15 months like his three older siblings all did.

Eating:  While breakfast is not his favorite meal, he seems to like most foods ok.  Unfortunately I see a few very early signs of some texture aversions like Caleb.  I will enjoy the days he is easy to feed though!

Nursing/Sippy:  Since this is my last baby, I am in no hurry to stop nursing.  He can rock cows milk in a sippy but I still nurse as part of all three meals and bedtime.  I will probably drop lunch and dinner this month and just let him drop the other two when he wants.

Talking:  Poor dude has everyone saying things for him; as soon as he tries to say a word the other kids are asking him to do something else or say something else.  Again much like Addison, he is observant and calculated with many things.  With great intensity and concentration, he watches me say words and then, without making noise, he mouths the word with astounding accuracy.  He has said many "versions" of words a few times and then is uninterested in showing off his skill.  He can say bye, dada, turtle, all done, more, bub-bub, again...and a few more.  He can tell you what a sheep, dog, lizard and elephant says.

Personality:  Gentle.  The one word to describe him is gentle.  Most babies (or at least mine) go through a phase where they wack you or squeeze your face/mouth pretty hard....he wacks and squeezes things but it is always slow and gentle.  When he nurses, he rubs my arm or face so gentle.  Even when he is knocking things over he does it with a certain gentleness.  He loves laughing and analyzing too!  He reminds me a lot of Addison.

Likes:  His siblings, bananas, eating, chasing the kids in his walker, his cranial band, bath time, being tickled, green beans, to throw stuff off his tray ;( wake up early in the morning and babble, naps

Dislikes:  Being alone for playpen time, sleeping late in the morning, snuggling, not sleeping a lot


My Darling Lincoln,

You have no idea how crazy, fierce, silly, BIG you are loved.  If I could spend every moment watching your siblings LOVE on you, it would be pure delight.  While I am admittedly partial, you have some of the best sisters and brother around.  One day you may question it otherwise, but I am telling you now....there is no one more fortunate with their siblings than you.  You have a particularly sweet relationship with Caleb.  You light up at the sound of his voice and always have.  His smile is contagious and it takes a mere smirk for you to grin ear to ear at him.  From the moment you could giggle, anything he did would make you laugh until you cried.  Caleb will ALWAYS protect you.  He will ALWAYS stand up for you.  Know this.  You look at Addison with admiring eyes.  You trust her.  You know when you need something, when you are hurt, or when you need comfort.....she is going to nurture you.  She is as close to another mother as you will ever have.  Know this.  Blythe.  While she struggles with her jealousy...I catch glimmers in her eyes of sheer delight when she forgets to be jealous.  She loves to make you smile in the car.  Blythe will always be there to make you smile.  Always. Know this.

Your Daddy and I love you too of course.  We love watching how hard you think about things, how you analyze.  From very early on we commented on how you posses a certain gentleness about you.  I hope this gentleness hangs on for it is a very unique quality.  We love your huge open mouth kisses.  We love your deep old man belly cackle.  We love your voice.  We love that we are able to parent you.  I longed for you to join our family so many months before God blessed you with us.  I prayed for you; I always will.

You are resilient my dear.  This year, we moved from Papillion, Nebraska, where you were born, to Atlanta, Georgia, where you will grow up.  We spent the first 6 months of your life in such upheaval.  It was so hard on you, baby.  You are a natural sleeper but when you are selling a house and moving across the country and separated from the leader of the family (daddy) AND have three other kids......well....the sleeping gets wacky.  So many nights, for so long you cried and cried.  You did not need anything.  You were not hurt.  You were not sick.  You were just totally. completely. exhausted.  I cried with you my love.  I cried all night with you.  I wanted a magic wand to make life simple and perfect for you, but alas, no wand.  Despite my inability to summon a fairy godmother, once life stabilized you missed no time jumping on board with the schedule and became a champion sleeper.  Your resiliency also shone as we journeyed through your cranial band and torticollis treatment.  There are so many worse things that could happen to a baby, but this was still trying.  We had to adjust our life in many:  daily baths REQUIRED, cleaning the band, making sure you did not over heat when you were very young in it, remembering to remove it for an hour everyday, weekly appointments that took 3 hours of driving and so much more.  On the upside, its nearly over.....and soon a memory.  I am so thankful for technology making this possible.

Forgive me when I am not able to attend to you immediately when you need something....you are so patient.  As I told Addison, forgive me when there is simply not enough of me to go around.  I try so hard to be everything for everyone and sometimes I just fail.  Mommy is not perfect.  I will make mistakes.  Please know that I will always love you, even if my own mistakes make you wonder otherwise.  Nothing will ever change how much I love you.  Crazy.  Silly.  Fiercely.  Big.  Love.  You.

Mommy

More party pics to come but here are a few previews......

Lincoln Matthew: 2 Months

WOW.....two months already?!  How can this caboose baby be TWO months already?!? You know, it's funny....when I am living some of these days they feel so long.  Then, I look back, blink, and it was gone!

The Stats

Weight:14 lbs, 4.6 oz (88%)

Blythe was 14 lbs 6 oz, Caleb was 14 lbs 4.4 oz, Addison was 13 lbs 1.2 oz

Height: 24 inches (88%)

Blythe, 24.5 Caleb 24.5, Addison 24

Head: 40.7 cm (90%)

Diaper Size: 2

Clothing: 6 months, 3-6 months

Likes
Noise of the other kids, looking at people up close, baths, bouncey seat, his paci (when he is allowed to have it--which isnt much yet)

Dislikes
putting his arms through a shirt, being kept awake when he wants to sleep, eating at the dreamfeed

Developments
Almost ready for bumbo, rolling tummy to back consistently, cooing, socially smiling, saying "ah-goo", "goo", "ooo", intentionally reaching toward objects but not really hitting or grabbing them yet, makes eye contact
Overall:  First of all---Our pediatrician is amazing, we love her.  She said he growing well and developing normally.  The only concern was the flat spot on his head.  I knew it was pretty bad long before the visit.  He sleeps very soundly and despite all my tummy time and turning his head when he sleeps, he still developed a pretty bad flat spot.  She stated that some babies just get lazy and do not want to even try turning their head the other way.  I think Lincoln might be this way.  He is fairly easily contented so he does not NEED to be spinning his head all around, especially when it requires effort to overcome the flat spot.  There is not much more we can do than what we are already doing until he can "full time" sit in the bumbo.  If it does not improve in the next 1-2 months we will be referred to the helmet clinic.  Other than that (which is honestly pretty minor) he is doing great.

Sleep
Lincoln is sleeping pretty well overall.  Aside from the witching hour nap he generally sleeps for the appropriate length nap.  Every three hours he naps for about 1 hr 50 minutes to 2 hours.  The rest of that cycle he is eating or having wake time.  Occasionally he will cry off and on for about 10-15 minutes at his sleep cycle change, more off than on, but generally resettles himself.  I hate to jinx it but he has been sleeping through the night with a dreamfeed for about a week straight (prior to this it was off and on for two weeks).

Wake Times
He has been at about a 60 minute wake time for a while now.  Just today I was noticing I may need to increase this to 65-70 minutes every cycle with the witching hour as the exception.

Personality
He is just the sweetest thing through and through.  He is easily calmed when he does get upset, except at this bedtime feeding when he just wants me to put him to bed instead of eat.  Of course he NEEDS to eat.  Lincoln reminds me of Addison as a baby in many ways.  He really does complete this family; I do not know how to describe it  exactly.  I did not know someone missing from this family until he settled into the family, and I am so glad he is here!!