Holding Lincoln for the First Time

Last night, Mommy got her first cuddles with Lincoln.  Daddy gave him his first kiss.  All was right in the world.  It was quite a production to get Link out of his incubator and into Mommy's arms.  I will forever be grateful to AnneMarie, our nurse who was willing to do a lot of work to make this a possibility.  (I still remember nurse Kelly who offered to let me hold one of the twins for the first time.  Kelly was also the first who let me hold both together first!)  It took about 10 minutes for Lincoln to be settled.  Not only did HE have to be moved, but so did wires, tubing, a small box that delivers his puffs of air from the jet ventilator, his infusion machine, and so on.  I wore a hospital gown over my tank top to bundle him in, and a blanket folded four times was placed on top of him to keep him warm.  He got a handsome little hat so he wouldn't lose heat through his noggin.

I was handed a mirror to get to see his beautiful face while I held him.  I wasn't able to move much or get too comfy because I was literally taped to most of his equipment.  That didn't matter at all.  I was downright blissful.  Daddy was thrilled to give him his first kiss.  And his second and third.  Once we finally had him all settled in, I used my mirror to see him as I talked to him.  He kept his eyes open most of the time - likely curious about the new world he was "seeing."  David and I sang the ABC's to him, Daddy singing the harmony part, because when you have music teachers as parents that's how it goes down.  I read Link his first book - The Little Engine That Could - a gift from March of Dimes and also Grandma.

I talked to Lincoln a lot.  I told him about his sisters. First Elliot who doesn't break the rules (please follow in her footsteps), who plans on making Lincoln HER buddy because Mommy and Daddy are a pair and Addie and Charlie are a pair and Elliot needs her pair.  Then Adeline who has claimed Lincoln as HER baby, and she just wants to HOLD him, and how she's the IMP of the family with no one even coming close.  And finally Charlotte who will dress him in tutus, show him how to be animals (Charlie's partial to turning into a frog or dog at any given moment - I'm sorry - PRINCESS frog or PRINCESS dog or PRINCESS baby!), and probably teach him how to climb things.

After an hour, I was quite uncomfortable and it was getting quite late.  We prepared for Link to go back to his isolette.  So much easier for him to cuddle in than to come out!  It took only about two minutes to get him back and settled in.  For all the effort it took to bring him out to "play," I am so grateful that at nine days old I finally got to hold my son.  And I snuck in one sweet little (okay, big) kiss to his sweet little (no seriously, very little) head.