LIncoln's 3rd b-day

The day before Lincoln's grand entrance into the world. This was one of two outfits that still felt comfortable enough to wear. Not so attractive, but at this stage of the game comfort overrules.

A healthy and alert little boy.

Loved my midwife, Patrice.

Angelic little face. Lincoln was such a pretty baby.

An eye and a tooth for sweets, but not much else.

Lincoln's three great loves: Max, Eden and books

A darn cute three year old!

On June 18th, Lincoln celebrated his 3rd birthday with a bang. Well, maybe not so much bang, but an enjoyable birthday nonetheless. In honor of his birthday, I dedicate this post to him. Lincoln was born on Father's Day 2006. To date, he has been my easiest and most painless delivery. We scheduled his inducement day for the 18th, a week after his due date. The previous day my mother-in-law, Christine Riggs had arrived and we spent the day as a family, celebrating fatherhood. I remember going to bed that night and feeling completely content and happy as I reflected on the time we had spent together that day and anticipating the arrival of our little Lincoln. I don't think I could have been in a better place emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Herb and I arrived at the hospital at 8am in a good mood, feeling relaxed and excited. At 9am the midwife applied the gel to get things hoping and within a short time my contractions began. I was surprised when the midwife announced I was dilated to a seven. The contractions were very manageable as compared to my contractions with Max. I even entertained the idea of foregoing the epidural. There is something very heroic about all-natural deliveries. However, it didn't take much to persuade me to take an epidural, especially when Lincoln started showing signs of stress with each contraction. They gave me enough epidural to numb my entire lower body in case they would have to do an emergency c-section. I couldn't feel a darn thing. About 11:30 the nurse came and checked me and said I was ready to deliver. Herb and I were playing a game and I was surprised that the moment had arrived. I really could feel nothing. It was kind of weird, and looking back, I missed feeling connected to what was going on with my body.

My midwife, Patrice, was delivering a baby in the other room so the nurse gave me the option of waiting for her, or having the doctor from my practice deliver. We opted to wait for the midwife, since we really liked her and she had delivered Max. At 12:10pm I began pushing and three pushes later at 12:19, Lincoln emerged in all his birthing glory. It had all been too easy and I didn't feel that I had earned this perfect reward. He took to nursing right away and the birthing staff let Herb and I enjoy several moments of bonding with him before whisking him away to the nursery.

My first impressions of Lincoln from those early moments was his absolute sweetness. He was so endearingly sweet and I wanted to hold him all the time. As a baby, he loved being held close and cuddled. This was new for me, as Max loved being held, but only as a means to an end. He either wanted nursing, or to be in a better position to view the world around him and interact. Lincoln was an easy baby, sleeping 16-20 hours the first 3 months of his life. This was a welcome difference from his colicky brother.

I was looking back in my journal and found this entry that captures much of the feelings I had for Lincoln in those first few months:

"I feel that I am much more relaxed and settled this second time around. I really love having another baby, our little Lincoln. At three months old he is as sweet as can be. Right from the first day of his life I was struck by his sweetness. It just pulls at my heart and causes me to feel such thankfulness for his presence in my life. I love the way he knows me and finds comfort and security in my arms. He trusts me as only pure innocence can trust and I find my heart strings constantly pulled in his direction. Lincoln loves to be cuddled up close to my chest where he can hear my heart beat and know that he is safe. His spirit is very strong, and just like Max, I felt his identity right away. Who knew I could be filled with a love like this. Truly it is the purest kind of love and I thank God every day that He granted me this gift of motherhood."

I feel a real connection to Lincoln when I sing to him. He has always responded to music and in the midst of our busy days, the time I get to rock and sing to Lincoln is one of the few times he has me all to himself. This is important to me, because I am cognisant of the fact that Lincoln doesn't get enough of my individual attention. There is real truth to the middle-child syndrome.

Lincoln began asserting his stubborn, independen streak as a toddler. Thanks to his cousin, Mckennon, he learned the power of vocal chords at 18mos. His high-pitched squeals and screams were enough to put us over the edge, but thankfully he out-grew those as he learned other ways to communicate his needs. This was a rather lengthy process and one I'm afraid he received more negative attention than positive. Lincoln has an iron-will that serves him well when he is determined about something. He will not eat vegetables and most fruits are out of the question. Try as I might to hide them in delectable dishes. He is averse to trying new foods, unless it's a sweet of some sort. He would rather go hungry, than eat something that might be good for him.

Lincoln's top three loves in life are Max, Eden and books. His siblings are his world, the first people he looks for when he wakes up and the ones he goes to when he's hurt or in trouble. The other night Lincoln came down with a cold and it went to his lungs, requiring treatments from the nebulizer. In the wee hours of the morning I heard the boys get up and head downstairs. I got up to check on them and found Max holding Lincoln by the hand as he tried to help him operate the nebulizer. Lincoln's breathing was very tight and he had gone to Max for help. "I scared, mommy" he told me when I found them. Though concerned for Lincoln, I couldn't help but feel touched by the tenderness and trust my boys demonstrated for each other.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of moments when they get tired of each other and things are MUCH calmer around the house when one or the other is absent, but by and large, Lincoln and Max are each other's side kicks and best buddies.

Lincoln also loves to shower his affection on Eden, poor thing. She often finds herself smothering under one of his whole body hugs, or struggling to free herself from a choke-hold. Just about the only time Eden gets awnry is when she's unsuccessful at releasing herself from Lincoln's affections. She has learned to squawk loudly and crawl quickly in the opposite direction when Lincoln is approaching. This however, doesn't deter Lincoln in the slightest.

There is always a pile of books near Lincoln's bed and often times when Max is at school and Eden is napping, Lincoln will carouse the pages of a book. He also use this tactic while in time-out. He loves to be read to and will often fall asleep with several books scattered around his bed. His favorite is Go Dog Go! and he never tires of reading it.

Herb and I love this little three year old, and though we are often impatient with his stubborn, silly and independent self, we are grateful for his easiness to forgive and love that he is an intregal part of our family.