I should probably stop calling my baby Linky-poo before it’s too late and I CAN’T stop. Seeing as how he’s a whole half-year old now and getting to be a big boy his baby nickname isn’t so cool anymore.

I don’t have any actual stats because we haven’t been to Linc’s 6 month appointment yet, but I can sum it up with: FAT. I tried to carry him in the bucket seat yesterday and my arm almost fell off. He’s HEAVY. He’s also outgrowing his 9 month clothes at an impressive pace, so I’m buying 12 month stuff. It’s hard to buy ahead for a kid who might keep breaking the scale or who might thin out as soon as he starts moving.

Right now his preferred form of movement is swimming. We went to a pool party yesterday and even though the water was a little cold he was SO HAPPY in the pool. He still loves his Otteroo neck floaty in the tub (despite the fact that it still looks insane) and I can’t wait for summer when he can float around our kiddie pool as much as he wants. I’m even considering mommy & me swim lessons, since he is such a water baby. You know his love is obvious if I would intentionally put on a swim suit to make him happy.

As of today, Lincoln has 4 teeth – top two front and bottom two front. They are very very sharp. He also has very sharp, very fast growing finger nails and a freakishly strong grip. He likes to show how much he loves you by grabbing the hairs on the back of your neck and ripping them out while biting your face and going “AHHHHGGGGRRRRHAAAHAAHAHAHAHA”. He’s a vicious baby zombie trying to eat you alive. It’s pretty cute the first couple times, but at this point I think he might actually be trying to kill me.

Likes include sitting up, hitting things, the cat, the dog, Evan, Caroline, singing, funny voices, when you tell him he’s kind of a jerk, laughing, tickles, patty cake, bath time, sleeping on people, sleeping in my bed, being worn, biting, shoving food in his face, blankets, flinging himself off high surfaces and anyone who will talk to him or hold him.

Dislikes include missing naps, tummy time, teething and being alone.

6 Month Milestones (from Caroline’s 6 month post, originally from BabyCenter)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Turns toward sounds and voices – He’s a nosey parker and wants to look at EVERY sound.
Imitates sounds – A little bit. Makes mamamama and babababa sounds but I’m not sure it’s imitating.
Rolls over in both directions – He still can’t roll stomach to back. Isn’t that supposed to be the easy way???

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Is ready for solid foods – SO READY GIVE ME ALL THE SOLID FOODS.
Sits without support – Excellent at sitting, only falls over occasionally.
Mouths objects – HAHAHAHAHAHA Yes.
Passes objects from hand to hand – He’s very good with his hands and grasp, but I’m not sure I’ve seen him pass anything.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Lunges forward or starts crawling – Flings himself around and can turn while on his belly, but hasn’t made muh forward progress yet.
Jabbers or combines syllables – Talky talky baby.
Drags objects toward himself – Surprisingly good at this one. Probably because he refuses to roll or crawl or lung, so he has to be good at reaching.

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!

I finished Linc’s nursery!

This room was Evan’s nursery, which had a Where The Wild Things Are theme for a while and then a monsters theme when he turned 2. I had plans to repaint and decorate BEFORE I had baby #3, but since our Team Green baby ended up being a boy I decided to leave it blue. Because, lazy.

I made those inspiration boards a few weeks ago and actually ended up doing almost everything from the yellow crib board, plus a bunch of DIY projects. I was prepared to not get this done until my baby was too old for a crib completely, so having it done when he’s only 2 months is way ahead of schedule. It’s currently the nicest room in our house BY FAR and I might sleep there myself.  I’m really excited about how Linc’s nautical nursery turned out and I hope you like it too.

The twin bed was already in the room from when it was Evan’s room (from Ikea). Ditto the ceiling light. The rocker was purchased for Caroline’s room (from Babies’R’Us) and my mother recovered the stool from our original glider. The dresser (also Ikea) was Caroline’s. The curtains are from our old house, 7+ years ago. The rug is from Wayfair too (I love them for real, not just because I work for them sometimes). The quilt on the bed was my brother’s when he was a child and my mom made the two striped pillows. The red basket was a gift from a client whose newborn photos I took whose baby was ALSO named Lincoln. The bouncer was a hand-me-down from a friend.

This onesie is the inspiration for the whole room.

I bought that paddle at the marine consignment shop down in Mystic, painted it with sample paint I had in the basement and added hooks for the cutest baby clothes. I got the idea from this pin and from this paddle on CB2 which costs $349. Total in on mine: less than $30.

It’s a pun! I wish I was better at chalkboard writing, but for freehand it’s pretty good.

The chalkboard wall was there from Evan’s monster room. The sailboat mobile I made and posted the tutorial on Wayfair, so you can check that out over there. The crib is the Jenny Lind crib in Sunshine which I ordered from Wayfair. The yellow blanket my mother-in-law made and the other thing is a KoKaDi woven wrap.

My lovely friend Liese made those burp cloths for Linc.

Everything on the dresser was gifts, except the canvas I ordered with the photos I took of Linc. The needlepoint poem was done by my grandmother when I was little.

The shelf is my favorite project. It’s a stair riser from Home Depot cut in half, with holes drilled in it and rope run through the holes. It’s anchored to the wall with boat cleats. No painting, no staining, no nailing or gluing. E helped me with the actual work but I made up the plans (and relayed them E) from my head.

Of course, Linc is still sleeping in our room in the rock’n’play for the foreseeable future so no one is enjoying all my hard work besides me. But I am definitely patting myself on the back for getting it done. I even assembled that crib myself, so it’s my favorite piece of furniture in the whole house.

Let me know if you need a source for anything I didn’t list! Always happy to help.

2 Month Stats from today’s appointment:
Height: 22.5 inches
Weight: 13 lbs 7 oz
Head: 41 cm

I went to find the milestones from Caroline’s 2 month post so I could use it for Linc, and then I ended up in a blog hole of NO STOP TIME SOMEONE SLOW IT DOWN HOW CAN MY BABIES GROW UP SO FAST??

Which means it’s time for a side-by-side-by-side.

The Evan picture isn’t great (I lost all the photos on my external hard drive and apparently didn’t post many pictures on the blog back then) but I think he wins in the “Who does Linc look like?” game. Although all three of my babies seem to have a serious case of the chunks around 2 months.

CLEARLY all you people saying he looks like Caroline have forgotten what Evan looked like, because DUDE.

Linc is still good at being a baby. He likes to eat and sleep and be held and tickled and smiled at. He had to come with me to a newborn photo session last week and he showed that newborn how it is DONE: sleeping like a rock the whole time. He was also literally twice the size of the newborn, mostly thanks to his mad nursing skills. I don’t exactly know how much he eats, but I can pump more than ten ounces in 5 minutes and he’s eating way more than 5 minutes at a time. I’m guessing he’s going through a growth spurt, based on my slightly sore nipples and waking up in a puddle. Motherhood is super glamorous.

Speaking of glamorous, I’ve probably said “It’s totally normal for breastfed babies not to poop every day” to other people a million times but until Linc I didn’t really believe it. It’s just one of those things you say to people. But my baby likes to save it all up for the worst possible moment (like as soon as I take off his diaper). Honestly, if that’s my biggest baby complaint, we’re doing well.

He had three shots today, which he did NOT enjoy, but I bought extra swing batteries and baby tylenol so I think we’re going to survive.

Likes: smiling, laughing, animals, white noise, nursing, sleeping, cuddles, being wrapped, the swing, the rock-n-play, the car seat, water.

Dislikes: gas, being constipated, when the batteries on the swing die, tummy time, shots.

2 Month Milestones (Originally from BabyCenter, now copied from previous updates)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Vocalizes: gurgles and coos – Says “goooo” and giggles
Follows objects across field of vision – Moooostly? His eyes are still a little prone to crossing and unfocusing
Notices her hands – Not in the stoner way (Whooooa duuuude my hands are so handy) but he likes to wave them around
Holds head up for short periods – Killer head control, although I still have a bruise on my left jaw from when he suddenly loses the ability to control his huge noggin

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Smiles, laughs – So smiley, so laughy.
Holds head at 45-degree angle – From…the ground? Probably not, I never put him on the ground. LOLZ poor third baby ain’t never going to roll over
Makes smoother movements – Still has a crazy startle reflex but isn’t as flail-y as before

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Holds head steady – Mostly
Can bear weight on legs – Ehhhhhh. It’s not his favorite. I remember Evan trying to stand almost from day 1 but Linc likes to be carried
Lifts head and shoulders when lying on tummy (mini-pushup) – He mostly supermans it (head up, legs up) but his arms aren’t involved

Poor third baby got almost no new stuff. I literally got his crib yesterday, one day after his 8 week birthday. It’s not even out of the box yet.

So far Linc doesn’t seem to mind. He just hangs out and smiles and eats and sleeps. Ok, and sometimes he screams his head off, but that can usually be quickly fixed with a clean diaper and a snack. Then he’s back to smiling.

And what goes better with an adorable chubby baby than an adorable baby outfit?

My favorite people over at Baby Boden sent Linc and me one of their new Baby Boden gift sets to celebrate becoming the newest ginger bebeh. They come in sizes from newborn up to 6-9 months, include a gift box, jammies, hat, bib and blanket, and would be perfect for a baby shower…or as a special surprise for a new mom who wasn’t really expecting much for her third child :)

This is why Boden is one of my favorites: how cute is all this stuff they sent?

The fabric is SUPER soft and the blanket is very generously sized. But the best part might be the hat.

From now until October 12th you can take 15% off your Boden order using the code BABY.

Would you like a chance to win a Baby Boden gift set for you or to give to your favorite new or expecting mama? Just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite Baby Boden item. 

Giveaway is open to those with a US shipping address and winner may select the Baby Boden gift set of their choice. Winner will be chosen from eligible comments using Random.org in 2 weeks.