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Happy Birthday to Lincoln!



Lincoln is turning 25! We're so glad to have him in our family. Here is his birth story:

Lincoln was my only child born significantly after his due date at 10 days late. Everyone else was early or just one day late.  He was also my largest baby at 9 lbs. 2 oz. With Lincoln being my 4th child, I think all my abdominal muscles had given out so I carried him very low and everyone was convinced he was a boy. I saw a repairman the day before Lincoln was born and he said, "So are you about 2 months overdue or what?"


Age 3 weeks

Age 3 months

Finally I went into labor in the middle of the night (like always) at 2:30am and I knew it wasn't going to take long. We called a friend to come be with the other kids and then we headed down to Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Springs, Maryland about 3am. It was 30 minutes away and on the way, the tire on our Toyota van was falling apart--delaminating. It was making some pretty loud thumps. Scott wondered if he should change the tire but I said, "Just drive!"

We got to the hospital at 4:15am. When I finally got checked, I was dilated 9cm. I was in very active transition labor and really felt like I should start pushing. Unfortunately the practice I went to had about 30 doctors and too many patients. The doctor on call (whom I had never met) was at the hospital but he was busy delivering another baby. So we waited for a miserable hour for him to come while the nurse kept apologizing to me. Finally he walked in and asked me how long my deliveries were while he started washing his hands. They tried to keep me from pushing while the doctor put on his gloves, but I started pushing anyway and the baby came right out at 5:53am.  We're not sure the doctor had his gloves on or not. The experience was so unpleasant, for my next child, I decided I was going to a much smaller practice at a closer hospital--and I did.

We named him Lincoln because we liked that name and Abraham Lincoln was a pretty great president. His middle name William was for both my grandfather and Scott's grandfather.


Lincoln was probably my happiest baby. He sucked his middle two fingers until they got too long and was content to watch his active older brothers. Garrett was just 17 months older and was a little challenging to take care of when I was busy with Lincoln.  Once, we made the mistake of leaving Lincoln lying on the couch in a different room while we were busy in the kitchen. Jan, age 3 1/2, came to us and said, Garrett put something in Lincoln's mouth! We quickly rushed out and fished some staples from Lincoln's mouth. After that, we didn't leave Lincoln and Garrett alone unsupervised together. Garrett would go out to the sandbox while I was feeding Lincoln. He would come in, covered with sand, and want to touch the baby but I managed to keep him away. Initially it was a little difficult to have two children so close together but Garrett and Lincoln eventually became really good friends.






Recovering from flu, Dec 1, 1996

Scott stayed home from work for the first week of Lincoln's life and was very helpful. Lincoln has learned from his father and is also a really helpful husband and father.

We love you, Lincoln! Happy Birthday!


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