3 Weeks Old!

How old?  3 weeks
Likes: Being held, rocking and swaying before bedtime, listening to stories, hiccups - he gets them all of the time!
Dislikes:  Taking a real bath and being chilly, being swaddled, and when Brian leaves the car (more on that to come...)
Changes observed:  Lincoln is growing stronger and when placed on his belly during tummy time will push his head up for a long period of time and then roll over to his back.  He has no idea what he is doing, but he does seem surprised when he ends up on his back!

Lincoln is growing and cruising along in his whole three weeks of life.  I have tried to stay busy with him each day and, at the same time, start to form a routine for my own sanity and his.  As usual with an infant, his sleep at night varies and follows no routine, but I can usually tell when he is awake for good and will not go back into his bassinet - sometimes 5:30am and sometimes 9am.  Once he is awake, we snuggle on the couch and then get ready for the day.  I wash his face and change him into his outfit, and then I can usually put him down so I can get ready too.  This is when having a pretty calm baby comes in handy because he will just watch me from any "holder" (his bassinet, lamb seat, swing, etc.), and I usually have a good hour to get myself ready and put the house together.  During this alert time we also do tummy time, read books, and sing songs (thank goodness for Kindergarten - I know a plethora of random songs and rhymes!).  We then try to head out of the house for an "errand" which usually results in Starbucks, frozen yogurt, etc.  In the afternoons I lay him down for a real nap in his bassinet with his swaddle and sound machine, and I try to take a snooze too.  He will usually nap for an hour to two hours which is great!

This week we took Brian to work twice.  On the way to Evanston, Lincoln is cool as a cucumber.  The minute we drop Brian off, Linc goes crazy - like screaming, hiccuping, "I'm in pain" crazy.  I then proceed to shush and sing to try to calm him down.  I have confirmed that he is not hungry, he is not hurt, and his diaper is (usually) clean.  The only thing I can think of is that he likes to hear Brian and me talk on the way there and then hates when I am not conversing with someone on the way home.  Maybe he really likes to hear the Big Brother (TV show) gossip or my latest worry about his health, but the next time I drive Brian to work I am going to keep talking after Brain leaves and see if that helps.  Worse comes to worse, Brian can call me and we can talk on the Bluetooth or we just don't take Daddy to work anymore!

Lincoln was also very lucky because he went to two bars this week!  We went to Gaslight (the home of where Brian and I met and fell in love...aaawwww) and enjoyed a Saturday lunch.  My good college/post-college friend, Ann, came with us to Gaslight and was able to snuggle with Lincoln before we left too.  He loved meeting one of his biggest fans as Ann has followed the blog since his beginning!  We also went to the Lincoln Park Zoo on the 4th of July and then headed to a neighborhood bar for lunch.  He was a great patron, minded his manners, and slept the entire time.

His onesie was a bit big - but appropriate for the 4th of July picture (then he promptly spit up in it)

Lincoln also had his first playdate this week with my friend Jamie and her little one, Penny.  Lincoln was a true gentleman and listened as Penny talked and excused himself only once to eat and use the restroom.  It was so great to talk with Jamie about her birthing experience and successes/woes of being a new mom and she validated so much of how I was feeling.  Penny is about a month older than Linc so it was also nice to see what was to come - better head control, sleeping through most of the night, etc.  I can't wait for more playdates with Linc's future girlfriend and her mommy!

Lastly, Lincoln's belly button fell off this week (July 2nd).  I found it in the bottom of his swaddle.  Brian wanted me to keep it so he could see it when he came home from work (umm...kind of weird!).  Linc was really excited for it to fall off but then realized he had to take a big boy bath.  Hopefully he learns to like his bath time as much as he likes his hair washing time or we are going to have one dirty little toddler on our hands!

Brian is hoping that his belly button goes in more - I think it is cute no matter what :)

(Brian here)

What I've learned this week is that Lincoln loves his mom and dad. We already have  heard about mommy and Lincoln bonding times, but this week there were two things that really melted my heart. The first one was when Lincoln cried both times I got out of the car at work. On both days, I said goodbye to Shelley and went into the back seat to kiss Lincoln goodbye. Both times he kind of half-smiled when I kissed him and the rest is history. Two crying rides home. The second heart-melter was on Tuesday night when I got home from work. I took him and put him on my chest to say hello. He picked up his head looked to see who it was, sniffed me a few times, and let out a very audible sigh. It could have very easily been gas, but I like to think he recognized my smell and was happy I was home!

As Shelley mentioned, Lincoln is not a big fan of bathing but loves having his hair washed! I'm not sure if it's the sound of the running water in the sink or the warm water on his head, but he really enjoys it! I'm really hoping he will love the water as much as he dad does. I already have plans on taking him to a swim club for babies as soon as he turns 6 months and hoping he takes to the water. We've included a video of him getting his hair rinsed, but unfortunately I didn't have the camera ready for his smiles so the video only shows him super calm and alert. I'll have the video camera ready just in case for the next time!