Nigel & Rupert

Morning time has become the greatest joy in my day. It is the one time when Ali is is most calm and alert, when there are no needs to be tended to other than practicing the art of entertaining him. This morning I introduced him to Nigel and Rupert the sock monkies, who have been sitting on the bookshelf in the nursery waiting for him to be born. I am not sure who is being most entertained by this newly forged friendship, me, Ali or Nigel and Rupert.

Who's Your Daddy?

When Ali was born one of the first things I said to him was, "Well, you don't look like me or your daddy." His hair was dark and so were his eyes, which were also a little slanted, as if Asian in decent. I would say to him, " Baby, I know your mine cause I gave birth to you." I guess my expectation was that he would come out looking just like Greg, with flaming red hair and a devilish grin. But over the past 2 weeks he has grown more and more to look like a Perkins. Here are some pics to demonstrate.

Ali meets Luci

Last night our friends Kathy and Luke brought us dinner. And they also brought their sweet baby girl, Luci. Luci is six weeks older than Ali and this was his first time meeting another baby. He was fascinated. Luci on the otherhand was not swept away by this younger man's charms. That's ok Ali, you've got plenty of time to practice your game.

Little Angel

Babies love their Mimies and their Nookies

Ali has proven himself a boob man and therefore does not want to be far from his at any given moment. However, he LOVES his mimi, and a cuddle and a nice long snooze on her shoulder run a close second.

We have been introduced to the controversial subject of the pacifier from many angles and as steadfast as I was in the beginning, not to let the plastic nipple brush his lips before 3 months of age, I have come to terms with the fact that my child has an oral fixation and while not quite coordinated enough to self soothe with the thumb, a nice nookie in the mouth when mom is trying to run errands at Target never hurt anyone.

Ali's Alphabet

A is for Angel.
B is for Boob man.
C is for CUTE!
D is for Dangerous with the ladies.
E is for Exploder (if you know what I mean).
F is for Fire sign.
G is for Guapo.
H is for Happy.
I is for Incredibly strong.
J is for Jamacian (honorary).
K is for Kissable.
L is for Lovable.
M is for Mama's boy.
N is for Napper.
O is for Organic.
P is for Papa's boy too!
Q is for Quick learner.
R is for Rocker.
S is for Squeaker.
T is for Tenacious A.
U is for Unbelievably sweet.
V is for Vicious grubber.
W is for Wiggle worm.
X is for X-ellent.
Y is for Yummy.
Z is for Zzzzz.

Getting The Cut

Ali is officially 1 week old today. He has already gained back his birth weight. I would like to say I have lost mine but alas it took me 9 months to gain it so...

Yesterday we took him to get circumscised. I have to tell you, it was actually not as traumatic as I would have thought. I guess I kind of imagined he would somehow "know" we had chosen this for him and instantly become psychologically damaged from this reality, scorning us as parents and no longer living in the belief that the world is a safe place. But he's a baby. And I continue to be floored by their resilience. He did cry, real tears in fact, and so did I. It wasn't all peaches. But, he was consolable and smiling and breastfeeding within 10 minutes of the snip. I think the toughest part about the whole ordeal is seeing his little swollen pee-pee with the blood soaked gauze every time I go to change his diaper. And yet he smiles and coos and stares out the window as I change him so the trauma for him must be over now.

Ali's First Days

Well, we have successfully survived the first week of parenthood! I have to say that aside from the fact that I want to weep every time I think of the enormity of my love for this baby and a constant postpartum throb in the bum, this new baby deal is not as hard as I thought. We thankfully have a child who does a four hour sleep shift from around 10pm to 2am, nurses for an hour and then does another sleep shift from 3am to 7am. He's been an angel so far. However, he does have a little condition called infantile stridor which is a loud chirping noise he makes upon inhalation, caused by extra laryngeal folds in the neck. To learn more about it go to http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/uvahealth/peds_respire/conlaryn.cfm . The doc said he most likely will out grow the stridor by the time he is 6 months but Greg and I have been hyper vigilant when he is napping, making sure he is still breathing (this is not at the request of the doctor but from our sheer desire as new parents to take the greatest care with our new little being.

We had some really wonderful visits from relatives this week. Greg's Dad, stepmom, brother, stepdaughter, mother, 2 sisters, nieces and aunt came to see Ali. And my sister and her husband and their 2 daughters came too. My sister, Lisa was at the birth and an incredible support for Greg and I. To read about her experience of Ali's birth you can check out her blog at http://www.bijousimone.blogspot.com . It's pretty humorus I think.


Pictures:
1.) Cousin Ashley, Sister Kristina and Ali.
2.) Uncle Dave and Ali.
3.) Grandpa Jim and Ali.
4.) Grandpa Jerry and Ali.
5.) Baby Ali.
6.) Auntie Heather and Ali.
7.) Daddy, Ali and Grandma Honey.
8.) Cousin Kennedy and Ali.
9.) Auntie Lisa, cousin Bijou and little Ali.
10.) Ali's first outing...downtown La Selva.

Welcome Baby Alistair!

After 36 hours of labor (24 w/o pain meds) little Alistair James Perkins joined us in the world at 5:46am on Thursday August 9th 2007. He has already proven himself to be a champion breastfeeder (and hopefully a champion sleeper soon). We are so in love! (and a little sleep deprived) Stay tuned for more updates on the first few days of Ali's life. Love, Kate and Greg.