Happy birthday!

Alex turns two weeks today, and to celebrate we took a walk in the neighborhood. Up to Golden Gate Heights to look towards the ocean and enjoy the sun's rays. We had him in the Baby Bjorn, and it worked well. He fell asleep and was quite content.

Here are some pics from the past week. Grandma Adair was here helping out, and a we had a few visitors. Grandma is gone now, so CW will be staying home for a week. Then Grandma Margie and Grandpa Bob come out for a couple of weeks. Fortunately for them Alex is still very very cute. In fact, he is just about back at his birth weight (7 lbs 14 oz).

Thanks to Grandma Adair for all her help these past two weeks - and a special thanks for the week's worth of fish dinners - CW very much appreciated it!

Out and about

We took a walk around the neighborhood today. Alex was fine for the first half (the walk down the hill), but started fussing on the walk back up. Dad ended up carrying him half the way, which soothed him. We stopped at some favorite haunts, including Arizmendi Bakery.

Tiger, meet Alex

Tiger has always been Adair's first baby, so it was with some trepidation that we introduced the new and old baby. After a couple of days, Tiger has accepted Alex (although I think benign neglect is a fairer assessment). Gracie, on the other hand, is fine with Alex - she follows us around as always, seemingly oblivious to the endless new distractions (including crying - Gracie is not at all bothered by the wails!)

Clean bill of health!

Alex visited the pediatrician today, and checked out o.k.! He is putting on a bit of weight, after losing ~ 8% of his body weight over the past few days. This is good news, as the past couple of days have been challenging from a feeding perspective. The first day we got home - Monday - Adair's milk hadn't really come in, so Alex was not feeding well. It was a long, exhausting night (particularly for Adair!). Next day, she took command, going to a lactation consultant at CPMC, and gaining a ton of insight. That day we supplemented with a bit of formula, which got us through the day and night sans problem. Today, the milk arrived. Whoa, nelly! Adair is in full production mode and Alex is trying to adjust. I foresee a few more days of climbing this learning curve.

Adair's mom has been staying with us, and proving very skilled at soothing young Alex, as well as feeding Adair with plenty of home-cooked food. Very lucky, we are.

Here are some pics taken this afternoon in the sun room-cum-nursery.

Homeward bound

The Willard's came home this afternoon, with a bit more gear than normal for a Monday afternoon. Alex slept soundly the whole way home, seemingly enjoying the car ride. It was a standard foggy SF day, but the flower gardens were in full bloom in front of the arboretum in the park - Alex and Co. are already planning on coming down Saturday to see the dahlia gardens in full splendor. Mom intends to strap on the baby bjorn, perhaps as soon as tomorrow, and start carrying the little guy around. Dad, unfortunately, has to go to the office, but will hopefully have some time off next week. We came home from the hospital to Adair Sr., who is staying for a couple of weeks and had prepared a nice meal - a great help! She will get to see how Alex adjusts to home life, or, perhaps more accurately, how Adair and CW adjust to the new member of the clan!

Here are some pics, from Day 2. Mom is looking beautiful. Everyone is doing very well, aside from standard discomfort for mom. We had a nice visit from Grandma and Grandpa Tench, as well as Cal (the priest who married us), and Ale (and her Dad!) - Ale spent much of Sunday with us and was a BIG help. She gave Alex the green jungle blanket, which we love and was a HUGE hit in the hospital. I think half of the nurses have ordered one online by now. Sarah and Scott also stopped by with a fruit and baked goods basket - thanks! And, in opposite order, Nathan stopped by, about 20 mins after the birth (I think Grandma Margie put him up to it) - needless to say, timing was not optimal, but he did actually get to meet the little guy outside the delivery room!

We have a name!

After much vacillation, we have settled on Alexander August Willard (Alex for short). August is Adair's maternal grandfather's middle name (Fred August Miller), whom Adair loved very much. We both really like August (and Alex!), and had a difficult time deciding whether to call him Alex, August, Gus, or Oggie. The last choice, Oggie, was never a real option, as his favorite (and only!) boy cousin is named Ogdon, and Oggie for short. He lives in KC, and we are all looking forward to a visit with the KC-Willard clan soon! (see the Willard5 blog link on this page)

More pics soon, I promise.

No more waiting!

Baby Willard (name TBD) arrived Saturday, 8/16/08 at 8:40 a.m., weighing in at 7 lbs, 14 oz, and a nice 20.5" long. It was with great joy and emotion that we welcomed him into our family. Adair had a long, exhausting couple of days prior - she started early labor Thursday night ~ 11:00 p.m., and we went to the hospital at 5 a.m. Friday morning. Initially things progressed well - contractions were relatively regular and intense, but that stopped being the case Friday night. Late Friday night Adair received an epidural and started a pitocin drip. After a night of fitful sleep for both of us, she started delivery ~ 7 a.m., with a wonderful nurse (two actually, as she delivered during a shift-change) and her doctor (again, two actually). After a bit over an hour of intense, but manageable pushing, our son was delivered with a head full of dark hair and a quick pass to mom's chest. Everyone in the room was overjoyed and the love overflowed. I can't describe the emotion and elation I experienced - a combination of intense happiness, pride, astonishment, and above all love and admiration. Adair was phenomenal - she didn't waver, relying on her innate athleticism and recent yoga and mediation training to manage the pain and provide consistent pushing, above and beyond what anyone expected. The docs and nurses were genuinely surprised at how quickly she was able to deliver him. I stood over her the entire time 'coaching' and encouraging. She is amazing, and I honor her effort. The results speak for themselves.

STILL WAITING!

We went to Dolores Park in the Mission this afternoon to enjoy some SUN. Last week the Sunset district was socked in with fog, so we took advantage of the rare appearance of the big yellow orb today to get our vitamin D. Nathan met us there with Aspen, and afterward we went to dinner at Kasa (Indian) and Bi-Rite for ice-cream. Orange Cardamom is my new favorite flavor!

Oh, yeah, tomorrow is D-day, and no sign of the little guy. Also, its our anniversary - we would love our son to be born on our 7th anniversary!