23 Things: The Newborn Edition

Here is Calvin’s first official numbered-list-of-things-about-you-based-on-the-day-of-the-month-you-were-born blog post. Whew. Here goes:

1) Your skin should be in a Dove commercial. While I could try to describe the softness, it’s just impossible to put words to the feeling I get when I kiss your cheeks. Same goes for that new baby smell. Well, most of the time.

2) You are a noisy sleeper. Dad and I call them squirrel, goat and gremlin noises, but whatever they are they make it hard for anyone but you to get rest.

3) Speaking of sleep, what is that? Since you were born at 10:45 at night, I haven’t slept more than 2.5 hours in a row. And since you prefer chest to chest naps, I think it may be awhile before that changes.

4) You are my best eater yet. Faith was lazy and sleepy. Gabby was much better but struggled to gain weight. You are always up for a meal and have gained weight steadily. At your 2 week checkup, you weighed 8 pounds almost 10 ounces. No Lindquist baby has ever been in the 40th percentile at their two-week checkup. Congrats on breaking ground.

5) They say to watch out for boys as they’ll pee on you. They don’t tell you to make sure you don’t let your baby pee on himself! This has happened to many times to count, unfortunately, so sorry if you have permanent ear damage, but at least you’re hydrated, right?

6) You have some luck on the Irish with your red hair. While I would love for it to stick around, I’m thinking you’ll be a blondie, maybe with some curl. And I sure hope those eyes stay blue!

7) Also, no pressure, but we kind of need you to be left-handed to carry on the family tradition. Maternal great-grandfather, grandmother, mother, and you’re our last hope. Sounds like a potential Star Wars movie. The Last Lefty.

8) I could hold you all day. Whenever you’ve cried, there hasn’t been one time that a snuggle and, let’s be honest, some breastmilk from the tap haven’t calmed you down.

9) I wasn’t sure what it would be like to be home alone during maternity leave as your dad has been with me in the past. That said, I am enjoying hogging you all to myself, going on walks where I constantly worry if you’re too hot or too cold, getting 6 inches from your face and doing everything I can to get you to smile, and just staring at you — wow, I sound like a stalker.

10) While I’m in love with your name and feel like it was the right fit for you, we have struggled to call you by it. Maybe it’s the sleep deprivation, but Dad has called you Charlie, grandma has called you Gavin, I seem to think your middle name should be James, Gabby wanted you to be called Leo, and we received a card recently that said, “Welcome baby Clayton.” I wouldn’t take it personally. No one remembers the second child’s name, and the third…well, get ready for a whole lot of hey you.

11) Now that you can take baths in the tub, it’s nice to know you hate them. P.S. I’m moving as fast as I can!

12) Everyone is smitten with you, but especially your oldest sister. She always wants to see “Calvin eyes” and has cried twice because she either couldn’t hold you before school or you weren’t there when she was picked up from school. Considering you have taken a great deal of attention away from her, this is impressive. I am so grateful for her willingness to help keep you company while I shower, eat, or leave the room for .2 seconds.

13) Gabby is also quite a helper. She wants to make sure you have your binky in your mouth at all times and hold your hand whenever possible. She’s in charge of telling us if you’re awake or asleep in the car and takes her job very seriously. She’s also proud to share the day of her birth — the 23rd — with you as 2nd born kids are known to do.

14) It is amazing to me how you can sleep through the girls playing a very rowdy game of hide and seek, yet when I use my ninja-like moves in the middle of the night to leave your bedroom and end up stepping on a creaky floorboard it wakes you up.

15) You are such a little MAN! I swear you burp while you’re eating and have more gas than our entire family combined. Somehow it’s still super cute, though that may change as you get older!

16) So far, I haven’t gotten a smile out of you, but don’t think I’m not working on my material. I read it typically happens around 5-7 weeks so get ready for corny mom jokes. Update! You’ve smiled. It’s as gratifying as I thought it would be!

17) You were born with a tongue tie, but thankfully it hasn’t affected your ability to nurse or gain weight. I am happy about that as I didn’t want you to undergo another procedure, especially after being poked three times to check for jaundice.

18) Current nicknames include: CalCal (Faith) CalPal (me) and Calvy (which really makes no sense, grandma). I like the idea of just calling you Cal, but we’ll see what nickname sticks.

19) You don’t spit up much, but you have thrown up a couple times, which is so sad for me, and I’m sure you. You saved one of your power pukes for your great grandma. Hopefully she’s not afraid to hold you in the future.

20) Since you have a wet diaper every other minute, we don’t even bother taking you to the changing table. Instead, Howie has claimed it as his new bed.

21) So so soooooo happy that you take a binky. We are using the Tommee Tippee kind. And the best part is Howie hasn’t even tried to chew them up!

22) I was nervous you wouldn’t take a bottle since all we’ve done is breastfeed and just as I was telling your dad that you might not take one right away, you began guzzling it down. Like I said, you’re a man who never turns down food.

23) I’ve been told going from 2 to 3 kids is harder than 0 to 1 or 1 to 2, but I have to disagree, though it’s probably too early to tell. Going from any number of kids to having a newborn is a shock to the system, but the benefits far outweigh the sleep deprivation. Just looking at you brings me immense happiness. I’m so grateful you’re finally here. Welcome to the family!