I was SO PROUD of myself for having this done and scheduled to post on Linc’s actual 3rd monthday…and then I went to post it and realized I was posting it on the 24th and I missed his 3rd monthday. I missed an entire day and didn’t notice until 7 pm.

Right now as I write this Linc is fussing, so I guess I can’t technically say he NEVER fusses. If he NEVER fussed, I would think there was something wrong with him. He fusses just enough that I’m pretty sure he’s a human child. I should probably go cuddle him.

It is now an hour later than when I wrote that first paragraph and Linc is asleep. He’ll probably stay that way until around 6:30 am, which means my 3 month old sleeps through the night. I have literally no idea HOW or WHY (if I did, I would write a book and be a millionaire) but he sleeps. Which means I sleep. Which is the only reason I’m managing to be a real human being. Sleep is the best. I actually hate when people ask me “So, are you getting any sleep?” because they totally expect me to say “Oh, yes, well, you know, newborn babies…” It feels douchey to say “Yep, 9 or 10 hours straight!” No one wants to hear about my freak baby.

Linc has sort of given up on the schedule he had for the last couple of months. He’s awake a lot more these days, so I can’t count on him sleeping through my dentist appointment or haircut or errands, but SOMETIMES he does. And he still likes being held by anyone, so if the nice dental hygienist isn’t busy she can watch him for me. Which she did. I actually had no idea where my baby was when my appointment was over, since she took him up to the waiting room to show him off. They threatened to keep him, but I didn’t need THAT much dental work so I made them give him back.

He still sleeps in my room, despite the adorable nursery being all done and totally ready for him. I even have a super fancy video monitor to keep an eye on him while he sleeps through the night. But I don’t WANT him to be so far away! He’s so cute and tiny! I swear I am not just being weird, I actually feel a biological need to have him in the room with me. We’ve got that super in-sync nursing thing (my boobs wake me up like 2 minutes before he wakes up in the morning) and I think the room-sharing is a big part of that. There is plenty of time for him to use his cute nursery when he can actually appreciate it.

ALSO, I swear his bottom right front tooth is coming through. Swear. I felt it. How do I not remember if this is freakishly early for teeth?

Likes include sleeping, eating, smiling, tickles, his brother, his sister, the crazy otteroo neck floaty, being carried around, looking at stuff, ceiling fans, his feet, Daddy, Mommy, flirting, water, the swing, the baby gym, blankies, and getting his diaper changed.

Dislikes include gas bubbles, not getting fed quickly enough, loud noises, and when you accidentally whack his head on the door frame of a submarine.

That thing he’s lying on is one of my woven wraps – it’s a KoKaDi Captain. I wasn’t sure I loved it but it matches his nursery and clearly Linc loves it, so I’m keeping it in the nursery as his blankie.

3 Month Milestones (originally from BabyCenter, borrowed from Caroline’s 3 month post)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Recognizes your face and scent – Definitely. He totally likes me best.
Holds head steady – Mostly. I think he’s getting a really strong neck from me wearing him all the time – he has to hold his giant noggin up to look around.
Visually tracks moving objects – Especially my iPhone because I am a really good mother

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Squeals, gurgles, coos – He loves to have chats and flirt with people.
Blows bubbles – Sooooometimes? He laughs when I blow bubbles.
Recognizes your voice – Yep. Like I said, he likes me best.
Does mini-pushup – Nope. Hates tummy time and I don’t want him to be mobile anyways. Third baby problems.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Rolls over, from tummy to back – Nope. He can fling himself from side to side when he’s on his back but he’s not even close to rolling.
Turns toward loud sounds – Yes. He actually gets mad now if you startle him.
Can bring hands together, bats at toys – Yes! He grabs the toys on his baby gym and can get them into his mouth. I’m impressed. He also found his feet, which is my favorite baby milestone. Feeeeeeeeet!

Previously:

Evan 1 month
Caroline 1 month

Happy One Month Baby Lincoln!

Stats (from his 4 week checkup on Tuesday):
Height: 21 3/4 inches
Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz
Head: 39.6 cm

Linc wins all the baby awards for being a good baby. He has put himself on a fairly reliable schedule and it happens to be a schedule I can totally get on board with: He wakes up around 6:30 am and has some awake/cat nap/awake time in the morning, until around 11 am. Then he takes one big huge very deep nap. Yesterday we went to lunch and the seaport and he slept through the ENTIRE thing. In the late afternoon he wakes up again and wants to eat and play. Then he cat naps again until Evening Fussy Time, which is my least favorite part of the day, although he still isn’t THAT fussy. He goes to bed for the night around 9 or 9:30 and only wakes up once a night to eat. Sometimes that wake-up is only 20 minutes, sometimes it’s 2 hours. Sometimes it’s at 1 am, sometimes it’s at 4 am. Last night we both went to bed at 9:30 and he didn’t wake up until 4 am, so I got SIX HOURS of sleep. It was amazing.

He doesn’t throw up allllll the time like his brother did, thank God, so we only go through a normal number of burp cloths a day. We’re doing great with the nursing. My supply has regulated itself, we never needed a nipple shield, and he’s gaining weight like a champ. I could be a posterchild for why breastfeeding is awesome. Sometimes he needs to burp in the middle of a feeding and we both end up soaked with milk but that’s the price I pay for a strong letdown. (In other nursing news, I am STARVING ALL THE TIME and although in theory that means I’m burning a zillion calories I am unable to stop shoving food into my face so I don’t think this baby weight is coming off on its own.)

Towards the end of my pregnancy I was SUPER overwhelmed with the thought of having a newborn again and started to panic about the whole third baby thing. But so far, so good. SO good. If you only have 1 or 2 kids and are on the fence about another one, come over and hold my baby for a while. He’s very convincing when it comes to adding more children (works on husbands too).

Likes: Nursing, sleeping, music, being swaddled with one arm out, bath time, being worn, making hilarious faces

Dislikes: dirty diapers, gas, waking him up when he wants to be sleeping, tummy time

Living up to his Old Man Name with his Old Man Face

Do you SEE how gingery he looks? Definitely ginger!

OMG WHAT ARE THOSE THINGS AT THE END OF MY LEGS?!

He throws his hands up in the air sometimes (singing eh-oh, come on let’s go)

1 Month Milestones (copied from previous children, originally from BabyCenter)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Lifts head when lying on tummy – Enough that I don’t think he’ll suffocate during his daily torture sessions tummy time
Responds to sound – Yes, which makes naps while the gingers are around more difficult
Stares at faces – He likes MY face, I’m not sure he cares about anyone else’s yet

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Follows objects briefly with eyes – Keyword being briefly, although I think I caught him watching HGTV with me the other day
Vocalizes: oohs and aahs – He makes the most adorable baby sounds of any of my babies
Can see black-and-white patterns – Go home milestones, you are drunk. How am I supposed to know if that’s true?

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Smiles, laughs – I get the occasional social smile, especially during bath time
Holds head at 45-degree angle – He likes to do that thing where you put him on your shoulder to burp him and then he lifts is head up and whacks you right in the face with it. My jaw has a permanent bruise.

Having my own newborn to photograph was a) awesome and b) horrible. Newborn photo shoots are hard work – lots of crouching and squatting and lying down and then getting up and holding your heavy camera at weird angles and being super patient while the baby settles and re-settles and needs to be fed and fed and fed again. So when you’re trying to do all the things yourself it’s exhausting. Add in the fact that you’re recovering from birth (my birth recovery was fairly easy but I still GAVE BIRTH) and I was SO sore after each photo shoot.

Because obviously I did more than one. Four, in fact. Three of which I am going to post photos from right now because I FINALLY got the photos edited. It was awesome to be able to pick whatever time of day the baby was SUPER passed out instead of just hoping a baby was sleeping during the time I scheduled a session. I also waited until he was (slightly) less yellow and his skin was (mostly) clear, so the editing wasn’t that hard.

So now I present: a zillion pictures of my baby.

p.s. I know this is a ridiculous thing to ask, but I need to order at least a couple to put on our family picture wall, so if you have a favorite or favorites let me know!

p.p.s. I also know in theory I should put this all on my photography blog, but no one reads that and I want to show off my baby so you get them instead. I’ll add some to my portfolio…if I ever remember to update my portfolio.

This week features my baby sleeping in various places. Of course, I’d like him to also be sleeping RIGHT NOW but he’s decided that’s no fun anymore. Hashtag here comes the exhaustion.

Sleeping in the hospital, looking slightly less yellow than when we went in.

There are THREE CHILDREN in this photo. I grew them all.

I need someone to come over and constantly reassure Caroline she is still adorable.

Monday:

Sleeping smiles in my lap

Caroline and Harry Potter share their ennui

I haven’t decided what to eat this on, so for now I’m using a spoon.

Tuesday:

Oh man, that face.

Mystic Drawbridge Ice Cream to watch the Mystic Drawbridge

Photographer problems: Where do I put all this crap? (Answer: on the walls)

Wednesday:

You’re going to see this onesie A LOT.

This is why I buy blueberries – I only manage to grow about 3 a year in our garden.

Flower child

Thursday:

Sleeping in the shopping cart while I but essentials.

ARM PARTY! (She made all of those)

Ice cream and farm animals because we HAD to get OUT OF THE HOUSE

Friday:

Is she three or thirteen?

E was actually home long enough to see his children. It was exciting for all of us.

Sleeping baby in a hat

Saturday:

Baby sleeping in a fabric store

My no-theme, no-effort nursery now has a theme and some effort (my mom recovered the ottoman)

Tippy toes

Linc just stopped moving (he’s still BREATHING, I checked, but he’s not wiggling) so I’m going to hope the 5th feeding in a row worked and he’s finally asleep. Fingers crossed he continues to be an A+ Would Birth Again Excellent Baby.

As a sidenote, I have another sponsored post tomorrow. I know that’s 2 in 2 weeks but I don’t have any more scheduled. It just feels like they’re close together because the only blogging I’m really doing right now is blogging I HAVE to do (I consider my iPhone Photo posts HAVE TOs, because I cannot possibly quit after 195 of them). There will be actual Deep Thoughts and a LOT more pictures soon. Just not now, because sleep.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Wayfair as part of their Homemakers program. All opinions are my own. 

We watch a LOT of HGTV. My children have favorite HGTV shows (Evan likes Love It or List It, while Caroline prefers House Hunters). And if you’ve watched even 10 minutes of HGTV you’re heard that song Wayfair uses in their commercials and right now you are cursing me for getting it stuck in your head AGAIN. Rest assured I share your pain.

Now that Baby Linc is no longer a surprise baby, I can finally finish the nursery. I moved the older kids in together to give him a room – I might as well make it a NICE room. I am attempting to prevent Third Child Why Aren’t There Any Pictures Of Me And Why Did I Sleep In A Drawer Syndrome. (Current status: medium. He has a birth story but owns no socks)  So far I’ve gone from this…

To this:

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