Did you hear that? It’ was a huge sigh of relief. We made it through the “fourth trimester”!
Month three of little Lincoln’s life has been the best yet. We definitely have our challenging days filled with hooting and hollering (and a cold that will not quit – BLARG!) but the easier days that are all smiles and snuggles are the ones I remember. There is nothing that a big toothless grin can’t wipe from my memory. As with everything in life, the good comes with the bad, and we are doing our very best to roll with the punches.
Here’s what’s on My Mommy Mind this month!
Growing up with two brothers, I have never been what you’d call “dainty” and having a son has let me put my rough-housing skills to good use. Lincoln and I love rolling around, playing airplane, and planting him high atop my knees so he can survey his kingdom while I sing a modified version of “On Top of Spaghetti” (“On top of Mount Mommy!”)
Speaking of, I never thought I’d get into singing to my child (to my pregnant self it just felt…weird?) Never have I eaten my words so badly. I am singing all. day. long. Lincoln’s favorite tunes include He’s Got the Whole World In His Hands, Old McLincoln Had a Farm, and Hit Me Baby One More Time. I just can’t help myself.
We have an budding book worm on our hands! One of my favorite things to do with Lincoln is sit with a stack of books and read, read, read. He gurgles along through every single story. So loud that at times I can’t even hear myself speak! It’s pretty much the cutest thing I have ever witnessed in my life.
Ben’s Aunt sent a picture of him at one week old last week – oh my gosh – TWINS! It could have been Lincoln in that picture. Too cool!
Five years ago I never thought I’d celebrate “sleeping in” until 4am. Lincoln is not consistently sleeping through the night yet – some nights he’ll wake up at 1am and 5am, for instance before getting up for the day – but the times he sleeps through the night until 4am or later I am doing a little dance in the dark.
It’s only been three months, but pregnancy is a distant memory. I hardly remember what it felt like to be pregnant but, I can’t believe I’m saying this, I kind of miss it! I walked by the pregnancy aisle at BRU the other day and let out a little aww at the sight of all the products aimed towards pregnant women. Having a baby is such a game changer – I think it just reminded me of our old lives as a family of 2!
I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my post baby body. What I’m doing to lose the baby weight, how much I have left to lose, etc. My answer is, my post baby body is the last thing on my mind. I wish exercise ranked higher on my priority list, but working a full time job while raising a baby is no joke (don’t get me wrong – raising a baby is a full time job!) By the time Ben gets home at night I am completely drained. It doesn’t help that it’s getting colder and dark by 4:30pm, which only encourages me to melt into the couch after dinner. That being said, the longer you stay out of the game, the harder it is to get back in it. I am committed to getting back into a workout routine by Christmas.
I am always in a rush. Rushing to get home if I’m out without Lincoln, rushing through errands if I’ve got him with me…rush, rush, rush. It’s exhausting.
Having a child has changed the way I view many things, including construction and fireworks (hear me out.) One of our neighbors was having their roof replaced last week and you could hear every hammer thump from Lincoln’s bedroom, all day long. NAP KILLER! A few weeks ago there was an untimely fireworks display in the area at 9pm and instead of running out the front door to catch the glittering colors in the night sky, I silently cursed them from my living room, just daring them to wake up my sleeping baby.
Traveling has always been top of mind for me. Where I want to go next, and how soon I can get there. Having a baby has changed this mentality, for now anyway. I don’t know, I just kind of want to stay home with my boys! I’m sure my wanderlust will return in the next year, but for now I am content to be at home.
I have an idea as to why (maybe) teachers love their jobs. It’s unbelievably cool watching a child learn something new. From discovering his hands and feet, to mastering important skills like grasping, I am amazed that I can actually watch Lincoln learn and develop.
Finally, there needs to be a physical expression of love that’s beyond hugging, but not quite squishing. The amount of love I have for this tiny, perfect person is overwhelming!
Kristin, he is possibly the cutest baby. Ever. True story.
Thanks for the update and Lincoln is such a cutie! My son woke up twice to eat during the night until he was about 7 months old. Don’t worry, the sleep thing gets better! I found it annoying when others asked how I got skinny again. It was definetly the last thing on my mind like you, and I was still very much hurting from a c-section. I was thankful if we got out of the house. I was exhausted to say the least and I was not working unlike you. You are doing great! Best wishes!
You have the cutest baby :) his pictures just make me smile
I have one month to go until my little guy arrives. Your posts make me so excited to finally meet him! I am so glad to hear some real talk about post baby body stuff. I have a feeling I am going to be so busy that working out will be the last thing on my mind too! Lincoln is the cutest!!
Love the bumbo picture! Lincoln is adorbs!
I’d like to say that the being crazy vigilant about noise issue has toned down some… but really it hasn’t. There was construction on our street the first two months after my son, Lucan, was born and I actually had my husband go and ask the construction workers how long they were going to be there… then there was the time I told my new neighbor that she needed to turn down her music during nap time…. then I complained about the neighbor’s barking dog for the third night in a row (2am isn’t cool!) and threatened to call the cops on some fireworks kids were shooting off at 10:30. Yep, parenthood and the fear of waking the baby has officially rendered me CRAZY.
gah, i just love these posts! people on my team at work read your blog all the time, and we all agree that lincoln is easily the most adorable baby we’ve ever seen. it’s ridiculous!
Oh my gosh, little Lincoln is just so adorable! Thanks for sharing this!
Hey Kristin! I wanted to comment on the working full-time thing…I also worked full-time for myself from home before my daughter (now 18 months) was born, and then was just expected (and totally wanted) to incorporate my new full time job of mommy into my day at home. I feel you – it’s HARD! You have to totally reset your expectations, which is so hard because you’re still in the same location and everything as you were before, so it’s incredibly easy to compare what you used to be able to get done! It’s like a mom with a corner office suddenly raising her baby alongside her laptop inside the office and still expecting to get the same amount of work done. The other option is getting help. Lots and lots of help. :) I also struggled a little bit with people seeing me as “just” a SAHM. Not that that isn’t a HUGE AMAZING AWESOME job. It just made me frustrated when people always assumed that because I was home with my child all day, mommy was my only work. We recently moved into a new house, and one of our new neighbors, upon meeting me in the driving at 10am on a Tuesday, asked what my husband did for a living. When I told her where he worked in his traditional office job, she was all, “Well, someone’s gotta pay for this house!” I seriously almost punched her in the throat. Okay, wow, this comment is totally turning into a giant negative nancy rant! Ack. Not what I intended! Simply wanted to say, I feel you, it IS hard. But you can totally do it! You’re not alone! Re-evaluate all the time, TALK to your spouse, express your emotions, adjust all the time, take advantage of the tiny moments of time to get things done, don’t be too hard on yourself to be perfect, and above all else, keep your creative outlets. Those are YOURS. In mommyhood, where everything is focused on another little person, it so helps to “own” a few things of your own. Finally, embrace one role or the other. I find that I do best with my mommying and with my work when I let everything else relax a little. Like, all morning I’m going to ignore my email and not worry about that project and we’re going to read books and then go to storytime at the library and then take a walk and swing on the swings. And then during naptime I’m not going to worry about the dishes or the laundry or the mess of toys on the living room floor, I’m going to make serious progress in those two hours and rock the work out. It really helps to focus on your two most important roles and save the lower priority work for 10:30pm when you’re half asleep. Good gracious. Longest.comment.ever. High-five, working mommy! Hugs, Annie
I completely agree with you! Something beyond hugging and not squishing the life out of your baby is needed!! I could squeeze our 8 month baby girl every second! And the fireworks! I went through the same thing on July 4th!! I cursed every last one. And especially the days following! Don’t worry, it only gets better from here!!!! :) Enjoy your sweet boy!
I love that you sing to Lincoln so often! My husband and I don’t have kids yet, but since he is a music therapist and teaches an early childhood music class called Music Together, I know our future kids will grow up in a music-filled household. Check out the Music Together CDs online if you want some new tunes for you and Lincoln to share – the “Lullabies” CD has been my go-to baby gift for friends, and I’ve gotten a lot of great comments about it!
Perfectly said. Rush. Rush. Rush. That’s what life is all about once you have kids. :) He’s such a doll, Congratulations!
Awe, he’s so sweet. I agree that there needs to be something other than hugging!
Oh and um, yeah DLS stinks! As soon as it’s dark in my house I just want to snuggle under some blankets.
I don’t know what type of fitness you’re into but I highly recommend Body By Trimester Post Natal exercise DVD. I had this series during my pregnancy and bought the post natal addition because the workouts are 10 minutes. Even though O will be one in a a few days, I still bust this dvd out. They are quick and effective, 10 minutes of solid work. Just a thought!
You are doing a great job at this whole motherhood business! Did you hear about the lady who threw dirty diapers at her neighbors who wouldn’t stop shooting fireworks the entire night and kept her twins up? The whole neighborhood rallied and brought her coffee and muffins the next morning and the guilty guy’s girlfriends made them come over to mow her lawn and wash her car the next day. It. Was. Awesome.
I love reading your blog posts! I’m a recent new mom as well (my daughter, Murphy, is 5 months) and so much of what you said here really resonates with me!!! Do I have so much love for her that hugs and kisses just aren’t enough to express it?! YES!!! Lincoln is one lucky little guy to have a mommy so full of love for him :)
I totally agree that watching your child learn skills is unbelievable. I continuously say that each stage is my favorite and now at age 2, I can’t get over how funny Hailey is. I totally get why people are obsessed with their kids. I’m one of them now. Keeping enjoying sweet, adorable Lincoln and know that sleep will continue to get better and better :)
Oh, he’s so adorable! Great photos, I’m glad to hear/see he’s doing well!
he looks so much like you
He is a dream! Absolutely lovely :)
xo,
Lela
http://www.lelalondon.com
Lincoln is too cute! LOVE the little flip flops ;) enjoy this time!
His feet! So cute <3