3 Months

Maxton reached the ripe old age of 3 months on Christmas Eve! He has had an exciting end to his month as he reached a few very exciting milestones! He weighed in this week at 15 pounds 3 oz - so he's a healthy boy! He'll be needing to be moved out of his bassinet soon and into his crib! We have yet to determine whether the crib will come in our room or stay in his. I'm having a bit of difficulty letting go.

This month Max has begun laughing. His short little chuckles are so contagious and leave us desperately trying every trick in our books to hear more!

In addition to laughter, Max has also begun chattering away. Everyone says that's not surprising given who his mother is. The biggest news of the month is his ROLLING OVER! Ritchie witnessed this when he was entertaining Max while I made fudge. Max was in his tummy time (which he hates) and he straightened one arm and just rolled right over it! That happened on Tuesday December 22. It hasn't happened since, but we're definitely putting him on his tummy more to encourage this neat new trick!

Christmas Eve

I know this post is coming AFTER the Christmas post, but bare with us, okay?? We began a tradition last year that we loved for Christmas Eve. A crab feast! We decided to keep the tradition going this year and invited all of my family along! I was so excited that they decided to join us for crab and fun!

Christmas Time 2009!

It was a great Christmas for the Lincoln family as we learned the magic of having a child to center the holiday around. Everyone spoiled Maxton and we really enjoyed spending the holiday with our family and our little man.

Daddy and Max on our day after Christmas Christmas

Everyone hanging at my mom's

Max with his Auntie Ashley

Max having fun with Papa on Christmas Day

Max with mommy in their Christmas PJs

I'm Working On It

Since having Maxton I have changed. Duh, right? But seriously, I have become a completely different person that resides in my old (slightly flabbier and stretch mark covered) body. I am on two ends of the spectrum. I am this fierce, protective mommy. My husband calls me, "Mama Bear" as I hover around anyone who messes with ( AKA holds) MY baby and dares to do it "wrong". I give a look of the highest warning to those who want to touch MY baby and infest them with their germs. I think the world should revolve around his eating and sleeping schedule and then completely stop when he smiles. I cry at the thought of leaving him in daycare even though I will be in the same building and will see him every 2 hours.

On the other end of the spectrum, I am filled with a calm and inner peace I never knew possible. Nothing else matters. I don't need to have anxiety about anything because HE needs me to be calm for him. All he needs is love and my milk - both of which I gladly provide. So I lay around most days smiling and cooing at him and then nursing him. We have a love affair, Max and I. I feel more at peace than I ever have in my life.

Now to find the balance. To be at peace when others hold him, while he's being cared for by others because I must work. To let my own family hold him and share in his magic without "Mama Bear" hovering...

I'm working on it.

A Visit With Santa

Today Maxton had his first ever picture taken with...

The BIG one... the head honcho.... the connection....

SANTA!

Christmas Tree Day!

This is by far my favorite Christmas tradition! I love going to cut down the tree. Ritchie and I have extended the tradition to include looking for the perfect Charlie Brown tree. We love the whimsical way that those trees showcase our ornaments and decorations. This year we think we did an excellent job!

Ritchie and Maxton

Maxton with Papa Rock!

Don't you just love this hat?!

Of course the Beco helped us out!

The whole gang!

Thankful

This year Ritchie and I have so much to be thankful for! Here are just a few of the many things for which we give thanks this year.

• We have some amazing friends! We spent Max's first Thanksgiving with our wonderful friends, Kirstie and Nick as they prepare for the arrival of their first son, Roman. We plan to make Thanksgiving with them a tradition for the coming years. I can't wait to see the boys play together in that cabin in the snow! Kirstie and Nick are just two of our wonderful friends though! Even though they have moved to Redmond, WA, Kimberly and Pat are still very close to our hearts and we recently got to spend a week with Kim and Quinn who is 5 months old. We look forward to seeing them often in this next year and watching the boys grow together even from a distance. Without these two girls in my life I don't think I would be who I am. I lean on them very much for support, advice, love, and laughter. They both give these to me with seemingly endless abundance. Ritchie has a group of co-workers that he has grown very close with and he really enjoys a job that he probably wouldn't otherwise because of them. Chris has been our "roommate" (though for those of you that know this, you know that he really just uses his room here for storage) for several months now. Although he isn't here often we really enjoy having him around when he is and I know that Ritchie enjoys his time with him at work. Ritchie's two childhood friends, Martin and Anthony are a constant in Ritchie's life and no matter how much time passes he can always rely on them and pick up right where they left off. Our friends are truly amazing and we feel blessed to have them!
• Our family. We really saw the true meaning of family come to life when our son was born. We had dinners provided, our house cleaned, people to give us a break for sleep, and constant love and encouragement during those first few challenging weeks of parenting. We are constantly looking to our family for guidance and support and they never let us down. We couldn't be more grateful that we are close to our families both in proximity and at heart.
• Our jobs. In this economy, need I say more? Ritchie loves working for Apple and is excited to explore some new opportunities in the coming year. Even though I am staying at home with Maxton and loving every second of it, I miss Monticello and the people who I work with. I am very thankful that when I do return I know I will be supported in my desire to be a mother and a teacher. It will be easier to do so since Max will be right there and I can see him frequently through the day. So, not only do we have jobs but we have jobs that we love and that offer us benefits that are very meaningful to us.
• Last but certainly not least, we are most thankful for our precious son. Maxton fills our life with joy everyday. His smile melts our hearts and everyday we marvel at what an amazing child we have been blessed with. I was decorating the tree the other day and found one of my favorite ornaments. It's a book that we write in every year to tell about the events of that Christmas so we can reminisce in the years to come over past Christmases. Anyway, last year we wrote that we hoped it would be our last Christmas without little ones. We feel thankful that our Christmas wish last year came true and we are thrilled to get to center this year's Christmas around Max. We love him so much.

Here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving this year:

2 Months

Max turned 2 months old on November 24. He had so many wonderful moments this month as he showed off his beautiful smile more and more! He has also become much more alert and aware of his surroundings. We notice that he looks at pictures in books and particularly likes pictures of other babies. He is tracking objects, cooing, looking towards the sound of our voices, and holding his head up with ease! He loves to stand up on his feet and is beginning to cover the front of his shirts with drool... haha! We love him so much and can't wait to keep sharing in the joy that his accomplishments bring!

2 month stats:

Height: 24 1/4 inches

Weight: 13 pounds 4 ounces

Max has proven to be a hearty eater this month by gaining almost a pound a week consistently the entire month!

Big Smiles!

Maxton smiled his first smile on Wednesday October 28. Since then he's been a little stingy with them. All of the sudden last Friday, November 6 he started smiling really big and more and more!! Here's what we've been able to capture on film:

He really loves songs and high pitched voices. Lately when he just hears mommy's voice he breaks out in a big smile!! His mommy LOVES that.... :)

Our little stinker!

Maxton was a skunk (or a little stinker) for his first Halloween. It was very difficult to find costumes to fit an infant and we had a "Baby's First Halloween" party to go to, so we bought materials and made his first costume! I think it's pretty darn cute, if I do say so myself.

1 month old

Today Maxton officially entered his second month of life. Yes, that's right. My baby boy is already 1 month old *tear*. I just can't believe that a whole month has gone by. We are enjoying all of the precious moments with him that we can now because we know all too soon he'll be big and running around refusing to cuddle with us.

Max hit his first big milestone this month - tracking us with his eyes. This first happened on October 16. He locked eyes with me and when I moved he followed me! I was so excited to be getting this eye contact and interaction that I spent the next 30 minutes trying to get him to look at me more! haha!

Maxton's 1 Month Stats:

Weight: 9 pounds 0 ounces

Height: 22 inches

Maxton has proved to be an excellent eater, sleeper (well, except for the grunting), and cuddler. We can't wait to learn more about him as the months go on!

We are so in love with you, Max!!

A trip to the Pumpkin Patch!

This year we started our new tradition of going to Uesugi's Pumpkin Patch to gather our pumpkins for carving. Max turned 1 month old today so obviously he had no idea we were even there - but we got some great pictures and can't wait to carve our pumpkins for our first Halloween as a family!

Two whole weeks?!

My baby boy is two weeks tomorrow already?! In some ways it's gone by blissfully slow, but in another way it's flying by all too quickly. These two weeks have been filled with many things. We are slowly learning what makes Maxton tick and how to accommodate his growing needs. He had his first sponge bath, gave us 5 hours of sleep, peed on us more times than we can count already, and had many visitors in his first two weeks. Even when he's screaming or refusing to latch on I just look at him and he'll make a silly little face or give me those big blue eyes and I'll just laugh or melt and all of the frustration goes away. Here are a few pictures of his first two weeks:

Can you tell he loves to cuddle with his momma?

Rub a dub dub, it's Max in the tub!

Well, not really IN the tub, but close enough. We gave Maxton his first sponge bath on his 6th day of life, September 30, 2009. He HATED it! haha! Poor little guy. Hopefully he likes his real baths after his umbilical cord falls off better....

Nice and calm before his bath...

Screaming while receiving his bath...
And a little happier once it's over!

Maxton's Birth Story

Here it is!

On September 23rd at 7:30 p.m. Ritchie and I checked into the hospital to start cervadil to soften my cervix to prepare for an induction. While I was hoping that the cervadil alone would kick start labor, I wasn't expecting it to. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I started cramping right away. I was 3cm and 80% effaced at 8:00 p.m. My mother and doula decided to wait around until about 10 p.m. and see if the cramping got worse, or if it was manageable enough for them to go home. By 10 p.m. I was having constant contractions and was questioning whether we should take the cervadil out or not. A nurse checked me and I was 4cm, still 80% effaced. They pulled out the cervadil at 10:55 and I was considered in active labor. At this point contractions slowed a bit to anywhere from 2-5 minutes apart for about 90 seconds each. My doula had us using a tens machine, which sends your brain the signals to release more endorphins by pulsing your muscles. That was helping tremendously. I also got in the big tub that the hospital room had and that was a GOD send. I felt human again in that tub. I also leaned on Ritchie during contractions and swayed back and forth, which was very soothing. I used these three techniques until about 5:00 a.m. when I decided to be checked.

The nurse told me I was 4-5 cm at this point - 6 hours later! Ugh! I was so discouraged that I immediately began panicking and thinking about an epidural. Luckily, Diana was there and really spoke to me about what that might mean. I was high risk for the baby being in the wrong position and if I got an epidural I wouldn't be able to actively move to help get the baby into the correct birthing position. They wanted to give me pitocin to get things moving at this point and I decided to tough it out, skip the epidural for now and take one contraction at a time with no pitocin. I asked to be given a few hours to progress before any more measures were taken. at 7:40 a.m. (now about 11 hours into my labor) my doctor came in and checked me again. STILL 4-5 cm and 80% effaced. Dr. Kendrick decided that breaking my water would be the best plan of action. So, even though I was very scared about being put on a clock by having my water broken, I agreed. What else was I going to do?? I was stuck!

Now begins the real progress! I sat and watched FRIENDS (trying desperately to distract myself) and breathed through each contraction while using the tens machine. That worked wonderfully for about an hour. Then the pain became way more intense and I began to talk about the epidural again. I was exhausted and would go in and out of crying and saying that I just wanted to SLEEP. About 9:00 a.m. I caved and asked to just talk to the anesthesiologist to just ask him some questions. By the time he arrived about 20 minutes later I didn't even care what the answers to the questions were - I just wanted the epidural. The nurse wanted to check me one more time, but I begged her to wait until the epidural was in. The epidural wasn't NEARLY as bad as I thought - I was in so much pain I think I didn't care about any risks. I just needed to feel so relief and I kept thinking about how much I would enjoy a rest...

By 9:30 a.m. the epidural was in and working on my left side wonderfully, but I was still feeling contractions on my right side. So I had to stay laying on my right to try to get the medication to travel there. Finally it started working and I was checked. At 10 a.m. I was 9cm! I couldn't believe it! I had JUST gotten the epidural and I was a 9! So, basically those contractions were killer because I was in transition and just about ready. Then it hit me that this meant that I wouldn't get a rest after all. Right about then I started to feel pressure with each contraction. Since I had just received the epidural the nurse wanted me to wait awhile before pushing. So I laid there and breathed through contractions again waiting to push. At about 11:00 I began pushing and it took a few contractions to get the hang of what the heck I was supposed to be doing.

By 11:30 I was pushing with more success. I was moving the baby down, slowly but surely with each contraction. The problem was that my contractions had slowed and were about 5 minutes apart. So I was only getting to do anything productive every 5 minutes. At 1:30 p.m. Dr. Kendrick came in, checked to see how I was pushing, thought it would be a good idea to get me on some pitocin, so ordered that and then left me to push a bit more. I was bummed about needing pitocin after all of that without it, but at that point, whatever needed to happen to get that kid out I was doing it! So, my contractions became stronger and more regular and I became more and more tired and weak. I stopped moving the baby down with each push, and started to pewter out. The Dr. had come back and was watching me push and told me - probably at around 2:30 -2:45 p.m. that I had a few options. I had been pushing for almost 4 hours at this point and she was wondering whether I would need help with a vacuum. I was willing to receive help, but she told me once we put the vacuum on, she will allow 6 contractions and if the baby isn't out by then we would be doing a c-section. Apparently I dropped the "F" bomb a few times at this point. I told her that c-section is not an option! She said, "Well, fine - push him out then." So I did! I'd say it was within the next 10 minutes that he was out. I just pushed and pushed and it felt like I never really stopped pushing and out he came. They told me to look down and I was able to reach down and grab him out and put him on me. He had the biggest cone-head! haha! It was truly the most amazing moment. He cried right away but they still wanted to check to see that his lungs were clear and check some other vitals. He went over to the lamps for awhile with his Daddy and they eventually brought him back to me for some snuggle time while I was being sewn up.

I have a third degree tear that is healing so quickly and not causing any pain. My biggest complaint about the delivery is how sore I got from working my muscles. Our doula had us using rings that she would pull on and I would pull on to get a really good push going. My neck and arms are still sore from those rings. However, without them I'm not sure I could have pushed him out. I can't believe he is here! He is just so cute and we are loving getting to know him and all of his little mannerisms.

Welcome to the world, Maxton James Lincoln! You are our whole world already!

September 24, 2009

2:54 p.m.

7 pounds 7 ounces

20 1/2 inches

Pain pain and nothing to show for it!!

Well - it's officially been 6 days of on and off pain. Super fun pain that comes and goes and makes me have bathroom issues and makes it hard to walk and breathe. Then - NOTHING. They always go away. It's such a tease. If I'm going to be in pain, can't I just get my kid out of it?? I'm starting to lose my mind slightly. I know that at my appointment tomorrow we'll determine which day this week is best for induction due to my gestational diabetes, so I'm trying to be patient and just get through one day at a time. The pain is not fun though. I would love to go get a manicure, but I'm worried I'll get this pain while I'm out and it's hard to deal with.

Just a rant. I'll update after the appointment tomorrow.

Tick Tock...

Had another appointment yesterday and I actually have made some progress! Yay! 1 cm dialated and 50% effaced. So, at least we know my body could possibly work correctly ; )

As of yesterday at 3:30 or so I've been having lots of pain and contractions that come and go and are not consistent at all. However, many believe this to be the start of labor and I sincerely hope they are correct... stay tuned.

2 more weeks...

We had our final ultrasound today and they estimated our "little" guy to be 8 pounds and 6 ounces already! haha! Dr. Kendrick wasn't concerned and wants us to let the munchkin cook for 2 more weeks. So, we have an appointment scheduled on the 22nd and we'll set an induction date at that appointment id Maxton hasn't made his big debut by then. In the meantime I'm doing everything I can to get things going naturally so I don't have to wait that long!

A little update with no news.

So, I now only have 2 1/2 weeks left before we can meet Maxton - FINALLY! On Thursday we go in for an ultrasound to check his size and that is what will determine if we will induce at 39 or 40 weeks. I am getting very anxious and just want him here already! There's about a week left before I'm going to start trying some at home methods to get him to come out! Our doula has given us some wonderful tips on natural induction methods. While we would love it for him to come on his own, we're not holding our breath and just counting on having to be induced. That way, we'll be pleasantly surprised if he decides to come sooner, but not disappointed if he holds out till our induction day. I'll write on Thursday and let you all know when the induction in scheduled for. Until then we're just waiting around!

5 weeks left - MAX!

Nice play on words, huh? So we went to the doctor's office today and checked on little Max. Even though Dr. Kendrick DID NOT want me to have made any progress (and I really wanted to have made some progress) I was 20% effaced. What does that mean? Basically, nothing. But it's better than absolutely nothing so I'm taking it and running with it! I'm progressing! Hurray!

In other news she decided to switch my due date and use my last period date instead of actual ovulation date (I think she's been going by that the whole time and I've been using the ovulation date... so I don't know). Anyway, Max will be here NO LATER than 5 weeks from tomorrow!! September 24 is the new due date and he officially has 5 weeks to get out or we will use force. I go back in 2 weeks and get an ultrasound to check his size in 3 weeks. So stay tuned...

More Maternity Pics!

We got the rest of our maternity pictures today and are just SO in love with them! The canvas looks amazing and we have so many to choose from to hang that our house just may begin to look like a shrine to this pregnancy...

Baby Shower #2

Ritchie's sisters were so kind as to throw me a second baby shower with all of his family! It was a beautiful day out in Aunt Lorraine's backyard. We ate yummy kibobs, jello, fruit salad, regular salad, and of course some delicious cake that Ritchie's sister made! We played some fun games and just enjoyed each other's company. It was such a great day and I was SO honored that they wanted to do this for me.

My mother-in-law and me!
Ritchie's sisters (the hostesses) and Nana.
The best sisters :)
My mom and me.
Just a couple of Ritchie's aunts.




We got so many wonderful presents from Ritchie's generous family. It was a wonderful day and now it's just on to the waiting of Max's arrival...