Brunch & Hikes

This has been a fun start to the weekend. We found out on Thursday and Friday that Lincoln needs the swaddle to take quality naps. This isn't the worst thing because his swaddler can travel with him. He's proven that he's capable of sleeping without it an night. He slept a ton last night (11+ hours) and he took two good naps this morning and is in the middle of another good one now.


Jenn hosted a brunch for the Counselors of Camp Lincoln this morning. It was a lot of fun, and Lincoln was on his best behavior. On the menu: Praline Pecan French Toast, Sage Mustard Sausage, Garlic & Herb Tomatoes, Blueberry Peach Cobbler with Ginger Lime Whipped Cream and Pomegranate Breakfast Soda. We stuffed ourselves.

Then we took Lincoln on his first hike in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. He's been enjoying the Baby Bjorn and he was having a big time. He's been enjoying the outdoors lately, and this walk was especially fun for him. He was wide-eyed from the start and looking all around. It's good exercise because he has to hold his head up, and he was pretty tired when he got back in the car. He didn't put up a fuss when it was naptime after the walk.

Not a day has gone by that we haven't been able to learn something about Lincoln. I guess if we keep taking things one day at a time we'll figure him out by the time he leaves for college.

Lincoln, Olympics and Television

Lincoln has figured out the nap thing. He's now really good about going down for naps provided we haven't waited too long and allowed him to get over-tired. He's also sleeping a ton at night. One of the things that's been funny with him lately is that he is completely into watching television. Anything that draws a simple mind so powerfully either must be a very good thing or a very bad thing. And we're pretty sure that television isn't a very good thing. This morning he was sitting on Jenn's lap looking out the window, she and I were watching Olympic hi-lites, and we looked down and Lincoln had turned his head and was now watching TV and sucking his thumb... sounds like his daddy on OSU football Saturdays! Anyway... We're trying to shield his little eyes and mind for a while longer.

Speaking of the Olympics, how 'bout Michael Phelps! And the US gymnasts pulling out some good performances to medal! And the Redeem Teamers winning with class. And the US leading China in the medal count (so far). USA! USA! USA!

Sunday Fun

So Lincoln's learning about napping. He's sleeping between 10 and 11 hours at night. Nap-time is coming along slowly. He's starting to figure out that he can be soothed by sucking on his thumb. Every now and then when we check on him, he's out like a light with his thumb in his mouth.



It's been quite nice having almost all of the night to sleep.

We're enjoying the Olympics. I love the sports, but the propaganda that China is getting out of this is nauseating. This is the country that daily and routinely persecutes Christians. The opening ceremonies were beautiful, but when Christians are jailed just a few cities away, the stunning-ness of the show kind of loses its luster with me.

Last night Grandma & Grandpa watched Lincoln (bath, storytime and all) while Jenn and I went with Chris and Val to Downtown 140. We had one of the best meal experiences I've had... ever. It's right up there with Jenn's Five Fish Meal after we went deep sea fishing in the Outer Banks and with our meal at Cafe Miranda in Rockland, ME, on our honeymoon. If you ever make reservations to Downtown 140, ask to sit at the Chef's table. We got to watch the chefs make all of the food for the restaurant and we learned a bunch just by talking with the Executive Chef (Shawn) the Sous Chefs (Jonathan & Brett). Also as a point of interest, if you liked The Inn at Turner's Mill, the Executive Chef and the Pastry Chef at Downtown 140 will be very familiar to you.

Update to Yesterday's Post ~OR~Sleep: Round 1

We completely understand that this update is akin to a mid-first quarter update during the Super Bowl, but we wanted to pass this information on to those who are interested.

Yesterday's post may have been interpreted as depressing, and yesterday's nap-times were just that. Lincoln cried and screamed for most of the day, getting no more than 1:15 of sleep, total, during the daytime. Then came the night time. He fell asleep around 8:15, stirred in his sleep a couple of times, woke up once or twice but went right back to sleep, was fed at 5:15 and went right back to sleep (he was placed back in his crib when he was awake), and then slept until 7:05 when he woke up happy.

Then at 8:40 am I received a call at work on my cell phone. It was Jenn's ringtone. I looked at dad and said, "This call is either for something really good or really bad." I answered, and Jenn reported that Lincoln was placed in his crib and proceeded to fall asleep in 5 minutes without crying or screaming. The LORD is answering our prayers, or at the very least providing us with some encouragement at the beginning of our quest. Praise the LORD!

Now, like I said before, this is a very early update and Lincoln still has a lot of learning to do. But we like to look for good news wherever it can be found.

Sleep Training Gets Underway

It seems as though we're on the once-per-week update plan right now. We realize that this may not be the pace that our out-of-towners would like, and we'll try to keep the updates coming more frequently.

The newest phase of Lincoln's life is now learning to sleep without aids and props. While swinging was necessary to calm the little colicky baby, he's growing up and he needs to learn to sleep on his own. (We can't take a swing on the plane to Phoenix!) This has been a point in time that we've dreaded. Especially Jenn, who has the pleasure of staying with Lincoln for most of the week. It's a double-edged sword now, though, because she gets to listen to the crying and screaming now, too.

Forgive us for expecting the worst, though. After the first couple weeks of his life we know what Lincoln's capable of. We've been praying for the LORD to intervene and exceed our expectations when it comes to this next process. Signs of improvement have been seen: while he's still waking up a couple of times at night, he no longer needs to be fed, nor does he need to be rocked. A well-placed pacifier and he's asleep in less than a minute or two. (This, too, will need to be phased out, but baby-steps, right?)

One of the challenges that we've dealt with, more so during Lincoln's first few weeks, but certainly at other times as well, is unmet expectations. During the pregnancy, some books and advice were given that have proven to be very helpful. Other books were suggested and advice offered, however, that set standards and expectations that Lincoln specifically could simply not live up to. This was border-line destructive, and led at times to feelings of inadequacy and guilt. We've learned over the past 3 1/2 months that we are able to handle and manage so much more than we thought we could (especially Jenn, did you read the labor story?) and that we're not measured against what other babies have done and accomplished any more than parents want their teenagers and young-adult children measured against each other.

So first Jenn will be starting with nap training, then it will be on to overnight training. Please join us in prayer for Lincoln, that rest will become a natural thing for him and that he'll stop fighting sleep (sooner, rather than later).

Lincoln's First Laugh

I totally stumbled on this. We were playing and I wasn't trying to get him to laugh, but he did after I sneezed, so I started making other loud sounds. Cracked us up!

Discovery of the Foot

Taking Lincoln to church has been an interesting job over the past couple of weeks. He does great during the worship segment, but when things get quiet for the sermon, he fills in the blanks. Today, though, as he was sitting in his car-seat, he lifted up his foot, and got a quizzical furrow to his brow. He discovered the foot. So he kept raising his foot and wiggling his big toe. That kept him occupied for a time and it was pretty funny to watch. (Yes, I paid attention... the sermon was from Galations and was about how as Christians we have two natures within us that are constantly battling for control.)

Anyway, Lincoln probably thinks his foot is still at the bottom of his car-seat, but he'll figure it out soon enough.

Learning to sleep at night

Bridget, the best Boxer

Time has been flying by. I can't believe it's almost been a week since we've passed along an update. The past week has been an interesting one. Lincoln, beginning last weekend sometime, started getting up 2 and 3 times in the middle of the night. This was especially tough on Sunday/Monday overnight and Monday/Tuesday overnight, as Jenn had full days of work ahead of her. Some of the times I was able to get him to go back to sleep without much effort, but other times he was quite angry and very hungry. To make a long story short, we've found most recently that by increasing his feeding frequency during the day, and not waking him for a last meal at night, he's slept much better overnight, getting up just once. If he's waking up because he's hungry (which certainly seems to be the case because he's chowing down around 2:00am) than that is totally fine with us.

His wake times have been fabulous. He's been pleasant and happy and a whole lot of fun for his mom. Naps are still a challenge, but we're going to make it. All children, it seems, have an area or two (or three or four) in which they're a challenge to their parents, and his ability/inability to fall asleep on his own seems to be ours at this time.

The poopy diaper that he gave to Sali in the last post was quite the monster clean-up job. What's interesting is that he went another six days after that until his next poopy diaper. ONE POOPY DIAPER IN A 13 DAY STRETCH...HOLY COW!!! We're not sure why that's the case, but he seems to be a bit more regular now. He's always very pleasant after a poopy diaper.

Finally, if you're enjoying the photos of Lincoln, they're not entirely our doing. The Parkinson family has given us two very nice lenses that have allowed us to make documenting Lincoln's early months both beautiful and fun. Jenn and I are thankful for their wonderful presents every time we photograph our little boy!

Camp Lincoln

Lincoln had a fun Craft Time during his stay at Camp Lincoln (Sali Harlan's home).
Lincoln's first Biology lesson.
Lincoln doesn't know it yet, but he's going to love S'mores!
Lincoln had gone 1 week without having a poopy diaper...and then... it happened.
Jenn and I are VERY appreciative to Sali and the ladies of ORU for taking such good care of our little man.

Late July Update

It's been a while since I've posted, so here's the latest:

Currently, he's on his first trip to the pool.  Jenn was meeting a friend at LCP, so we'll see how Lincoln does sitting outside for a time.  Of course, since he can't be in the sun too much, he still looks liked a bleached little baby!

Updating a previous post, Lincoln was an All-Star during his stay at Camp Lincoln.  Sali was a wonderful head counselor and she reported that Lincoln was a good little boy.  After both days, I had to wake him up from his nap to take him home, and he was in a pleasant mood for a good amount of time following.  He even stayed awake long enough to make a trip to see Aunt MarySue & Great Grandma Gates!  What a happy day!

Lincoln is continuing to grow.  He's filling up his car seat and stretching to the end of his activity mat.  After making progress in the "sleeping at night" department from weeks 7 thru 10, he's been getting up twice overnight for the past week, often with lots of gas.  He has made some strides in the "napping" department during the day, though.  On a couple of occasions, Jenn has been able to get him to nap in his crib.  This is a big step because previously he would only fall asleep in the swing or at times while being held.  Baby steps.

Jenn is enjoying being a stay-at-home mom for most of the week.  She recently updated her work schedule so that she now works every Monday & Tuesday and every other Saturday.  The change is that she dropped the every other Wednesday rotation.  This fixes our need for a baby sitter on some Wednesdays, and it gives her more time with Lincoln.

He really has been a joy to be around lately.  The underlying reason for his difficulty falling asleep (always alert and easily over-stimulated) is one of the things that makes him so much fun to be around.  He's so interactive, and you can usually count on him chatting with you or at least playing a fun game of "make the baby smile."

Lincoln is now 10 weeks old... and happy!

The Parkinson's visit was a lot of fun!

He doesn't know it, but he's about to be swaddled!This smile followed 3 hours of awake time.

It's clear to us who the cutest baby is.

Back to work

Jenn went back to work today.  I can't say she was excited about it.  Lincoln went to Grandma Paulette's place where he has historically been an all-star.

"Camp Lincoln" is almost here.  Because Grandpa Doug and Grandma Paulette are vacationing this coming week, Lincoln was in need of a babysitter.  Enter the ladies of O.R.U.  Sali Harlan, good friend of Grandma Paulette, offered to care for Lincoln on Monday and Tuesday, then the others from their circle of friends offered to be a part of his days, and now, as I understand it, things have mushroomed/snowballed into an elaborate "Camp Lincoln."  When I asked them to send me some pictures of the event to post here on the blog, I was informed that there will be much more than pictures.  It has been brought to my attention that there will be nothing short of professional photographs and collages outlining his time with his "counselors."  Lincoln doesn't know it's coming, but if he did, he wouldn't be able to contain himself.  It all starts on Monday morning!

Lincoln & Daddy, 9 weeks

Independence Day Weekend

Lincoln has been an All-Star this weekend.  He was an unbelievable champ at Blossom for the 4th of July concert (on the 3rd), and he even slept through the 1812 canon fire & fireworks.  We spent the evening with Grandpa Doug & Grandma Paulette and the Hopwoods.

Emily, Jeremy, Grace & Cole Hopwood
Then he took the longest car trip of his life (2 hours) to the Parkinson 4th of July get-together, and was a very good boy.  He broke in a new swing and napped very well in it at the Great-Grandparents Parkinson's place.

The hi-light of the Parkinson 4th was meeting Aunt Haley and Grandfather Dave for the first time. They'll be immersed in all things Lincoln over the next couple of days as they stay with us. Fun times ahead!

Aunt Haley holds Lincoln for the first time.
The Great Grandparents Mullen came for a visit.  Once again, four generations were present and we had a great time together.  Jenn made an awesome dinner and we got to play a lot of cornhole with the great weather.
Grandma Laura helps Lincoln sit up.
Great Grandma Mullen couldn't get over how much Lincoln has grown and changed since Memorial Day.  (That was the day we drove to their place and it was one of Lincoln's two worst days.  Great strides have been made since then!)  For those who have not yet met Lincoln, give Great Grandma Mullen or Great Grandma Gates a call and they'll be able to tell you all about him.
The first time meetings won't stop soon as tomorrow he'll meet Aunt Kristine & Uncle Geoff, Michael & Benjamin as they stop by on their way to Stony Lake.

Lots of bottles

Lincoln's learning what those hands and fingers are for!

Jenn had her CT yesterday to look for remaining kidney stones [as an aside, she was told the results of the CT would be available in 1 week... if we told our patients we'd have easily-obtainable test results in 1 week, we'd be out of a job in a hurry, but I digress...], and because they had to give her an IV contrast, she couldn't feed Lincoln for 24 hours.  She'd been saving for a while for him, so it wasn't a problem as far as milk went, just as far as the method of feeding.  Keep in mind that he's taken bottles very well in the past, but never more than 1 at a time.  This time he had to take about 8 in a row.  He took his consecutive bottles with ease, though we found that it was best for me (Ryan) to give him the bottles rather than Jenn because he seemed a bit confused sitting in her lap with a bottle.  This also meant that I had the pleasure of the overnight feedings.

We've reported previously that there have been nights that Lincoln has slept 6 hours in a row.  Last night showed us something helpful, though.  Because we were able to actually measure how much he ate at feedings, we were able to learn that he was very hungry at his overnight feeding, and this is why he was waking up.  He chugged his overnight feeding like it was the last drop of milk in Summit County.  So we'll see how things shake out with night-times as Jenn approaches going back to work.

Lincoln is going to his first concert tomorrow evening: The Cleveland Orchestra's "American Salute" at Blossom Music Center.  Uncle Jeremy, Auntie Em, Grace & Cole are coming along, too, with us and Grandma Paulette & Grandpa Doug.  We've been talking about Sousa and Tchaikovsky, America and patriotism, marches and loud canon fire.  Lincoln's face is usually expressionless as we discuss these important subjects, or sometimes he smiles or cries, so it's hard to say how he feels about it at this point.  Rest assured, though, that Lincoln will be raised in the patriotic spirit of his Great-Grandpap Donati and whether he likes it or not, he'll be intimately familiar with John Philip Sousa marches!

Boston Pops: Stars & Stripes Forever

Berliner Philharmoniker: 1812 Overture