Happy Birthday!

Lincoln turned 1 month today!!! It's so hard to believe that it's been one month since this little one came into our lives... and yet, it feels like he's been a part of our family forever. Funny how that works.

How has our life changed? Well, for one, Brad has been home since I went on bed rest (5/22). He usually travels for work. I have been so thankful that he has been able to be here this whole time!! It's going to be so strange and sad when he has to start traveling again!! He's been absolutely amazing!! But, with him here all the time and a new baby... we buy more groceries, do more laundry, wash more dishes and take the trash out more often! We use to get less sleep. I'm not sure if that's still true or not... if it is, we don't seem to notice. And, we spend a lot more time just sitting around... staring at Lincoln of course! The other big change... this week was the first week of school... and, I was not there! I think about my class often and it's very strange not to be there. But, I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to stay at home this year with Lincoln... so thankful!

I love our family of three!

Today, we were finally able to capture Lincoln smiling on film! We've been getting a few smiles from him in the last week. And, they bring tears to our eyes every time!! Lincoln also cooed today for the first time while Daddy was talking to him. It was so sweet!!! It has been so fun watching all the changes and growing and just getting to know Lincoln.


I wonder what the next month will bring....

Who needs fancy mobiles?

Seriously, why spend all that money on fancy mobiles when all you really need is a couple of windows and a fan!!!!

First night home....

If Lincoln hadn't been wearing the hospital bracelet saying that he indeed belonged to us we would have thought we had taken the wrong baby home! Everything was fine and dandy until it was time for us to go to bed. Then... I don't know what happened. I mean, I've heard and been told countless times that there would be sleepless nights. But, nothing really prepares you for it. In the hospital Lincoln slept... well, like a baby. We could swaddle him, lay him down and he would be fine. Get home and he wasn't having it. We tried swaddling him, didn't work. There was a lot of white noise between the air conditioner and his photo machines so we turned on some white noise, didn't work. We walked around with him, rocked him, sang to him, changed him, fed him... didn't work. We couldn't figure out what was so different all of a sudden. We ended up sleeping in his room that night. Lincoln slept (finally) in his snuggle nest next to his bed, Brad in the rocker and I in Lincoln's bed. We slept several nights down there. Now, looking back... I'm not really sure why. I guess because we have the awesome rocker down there. Anyways, we did survive... on very little sleep.

Eventually, after a few nights, we moved upstairs to our bedroom. Lincoln slept in his snuggle nest between Brad and I in our bed. Yes, we're co-sleeping. We live in a three story town home... I'm not about to climb up and down two flight of stairs at all hours of the night to nurse!! Nights were still a challenge. But, we worked out a system to where I would take a nap around 9 or 10 at night while Brad had Lincoln. That way I was a little better able to handle all the night feedings. Things were actually bearable then. But, things got even better once we ditched the snuggle nest and I started to nurse Lincoln while lying in the bed. I no longer worry about getting him on a schedule or when he'll sleep through the night!! We wake, nurse and fall back to sleep. None of us lose much sleep!!

Lincoln's Birth Story

We've had several people ask about Lincoln's birth. So, I thought I'd take a minute to share that special day with you. I know it's been 4 weeks... but, better late then never!

The weekend of his due date we had friends come and stay with us. Both Brad and I just KNEW he was going to be born late... so, why not have friends up for a visit. The week before we had already started to do some things to encourage labor... we walked around the mall a couple of times and ate spicy Indian food twice! When Johnny and Sheila came to visit we went to eat Korean food... that was Friday night. The next morning (Sat. July 26) Brad owed Johnny breakfast in bed because he lost a bet. Now, when they bet there always has to be something embarrassing involved. So, breakfast in bed had to be served in a dress... yes, a DRESS. That morning I helped Brad pick out a dress of mine to wear. He went down stairs to start breakfast and I took a bath.

That is when I finally felt my first contraction!! I got out of the bath and called for Brad... and, told him that I was pretty sure I was having contractions. I never was really sure I felt braxton hicks at any time during the pregnancy. I know I had them because while I was in the hospital on bed rest they monitor you twice a day and they showed up on that a couple of times. I didn't know. So, this was all new to me. Brad finished breakfast and I tried to keep track of my contractions. They pretty much started 5 maybe 6 minutes apart and lasted 35-45 seconds. It was hard to time because I was cramping also. I wasn't sure if that counted as part of the contraction or when to start and stop counting. During our birthing class they teach you different positions to labor in... so, I decided to try a few. I quickly found that it did not feel good to stand... at all. Once Brad had finished breakfast he came up stairs to check on me. We decided to go ahead and head to the hospital. I didn't want to wait and have contractions closer and stronger and not be able to make it down 2 flights of stairs... since it hurt to stand.

Once at the hospital we found that I was already 5 cm dilated and the baby was at plus 2 (plus 4 is crowning). My wonderful midwife said I could be cramping because the baby was so low already. Labor progressed. I'm not really sure how I feel about contractions... honestly, all I remember is the cramping. Well, I did get sick twice. That was not fun!! I pretty much stayed lying on one side or the other. Brad kept me cool with a wash cloth and I did my thing. Brad says I was in the zone. Time passed. Lindsay (my midwife) and Brad would dose off to sleep. Apparently, the flute music we had playing was VERY relaxing! Then it was time to push. That was hard work. Without getting too graphic... Lincoln was born. It was an insane and completely amazing feeling.

Oh, by the way... there were no drugs... all natural!! People have asked if it was painful. I can't really describe it as being painful. It was about 8 hours of hard work. And, there were moments that were not pleasant... but, I wouldn't use the word painful. I went into it with a positive mindset and did what I had to do to achieve the kind of birth that Brad and I wished for... and, it was so worth it!!

Brad and I cried... Lincoln cried... we all cried. It was a happy time! :)

Lincoln James Wells

Born July 26, 2008 at 5:37 pm

7 pounds 9 ounces

20 1/2 inches

Let's start at the begining....

Some of you may not know, but becoming a family of three has been a very long journey for us. It all started in the summer of 2006 when Brad and I decided that we wanted to start a family. To our surprise, we got pregnant right away. Unfortunately, we found out at 8 weeks that we had lost the baby. We would go on to lose two more pregnancies. We saw a specialist, ran a lot of tests, found what we hoped was the cause and came up with a treatment plan.

We got pregnant again in November 2007. We began infusions right away to try and keep the pregnancy. And, it worked. Once we got past the first trimester Brad and I were able to relax a little. And, I finally was able to enjoy being pregnant. It was a pretty easy pregnancy... no crazy cravings, no crazy mood swings and no morning sickness. Everything was going really well until I reached 31 weeks. I was put on bed rest... in the hospital, for possible preterm labor. Apparently I had a incompetent cervix. I was in the hospital for 3 1/2 weeks. Spent my 30th birthday there!!! Then I went home and had 2 more weeks of bed rest.

And, after all that... Lincoln James was born one day before his original due date!!!

Welcome to our blog!

So, we started with our dotphoto website. Now, we're venturing out into the blogging world. Bradandshannan.dotphoto.com is still the best place to go to view photos because all of our photos will be on that site. Plus, it's a great place to buy prints of any of those precious moments captured on film. But, we wanted to get a little more personal and share more than just snapshots of our lives. So, visit this site first... then, click on the link "Our Photo Site" to view our latest photos.

Enjoy!!