Alex's first Christmas today. He is still too young to understand what's going on but he seems to be having fun. He unwrapped his presents (with a little help from mommy) and seemingly enjoyed ripping up the paper more than playing with the toys. I videod him crawling (yes, crawling) across the room to the tree where most of the gifts belonged to him. We are sure that next Christmas will be better for Alex, when he can get more excited about decorating the tree and the toys and not just the wrapping. I'm sure that we could simpy have wrapped some empty boxes this year and he would still have loved it. For us this is a very special Christmas and a dream come true.

His teeth are more pronounced now and applying TeeJel is becoming hazardous. Either he hasn't learnt to control his jaws properly yet or he is biting us just for fun. He is using them to good effect at eating time too as we experiment with feeding him new things. He seems to prefer 1) Savoury, 2) Sweet and then 3) Sour (as a last resort) in that order. He has started demanding his share of whatever the adults are eating at the table and almost strains his neck trying to see what is on our plates.

He is curious, clever and happy and we all love him to bits.

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Alex was baptised today. It was quite a challenge getting ready, feeding him etc. and making it to the church on time for 08h30. We had some light eats at our house afterward where Alex enjoyed the attention of all the visitors and probably wondered what all the fuss was about. He was unbelievably well behaved! He sat quietly throughout and didn't make a sound when the priest utterly soaked his forehead. When we returned to our seats Alex calmly fell asleep and snoozed to the sound of Christmas hymns.

Towards late afternoon, Alex started getting very miserable and we just thought that he was tired but on closer inspection to his lower jaw we discovered his bottom front teeth had broken through. This was a special day indeed!

I am on leave until 3rd January 2006 and I am looking forward to the time with my family.

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I know I'm really spoiling you but here is a quick update.

Alex has started eating the Purity 1st fruits. We will see how he takes to the new experience. He seems to enjoy it, although he seemed confused at the smooth texture after weeks of rice cereal and mashed up butternut and carrots.

It was really hot on Sunday and Alex enjoyed wearing shorts and being able to play with his toes. He is spending an increasing amount of time "grabbing" his feet and rocking from side to side. He is also turning from side to side to reach for things, but he is not rolling over yet.

After numerous requests I have finally taken some pictures of the new cot. As you can see it is mounted on the same stand which housed his carry cot. My dad had to make the blue "extension" box because Alex outgrew his carry cot and Vanessa and I aren't ready to let him sleep in his full size cot just yet. Later on we will use the blue "extension" as a toy box in Alex's room.

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As you all know, I have failed miserably in my attempts to update this site more frequently.... I have no excuse and I have no energy to manufacture one so "sorry" will have to do.

Alex was 5 months on the 15th of August. He has been eating rice cereal for a while now (breakfast and supper) and will start having veggies for lunch soon. He doesn't know what he's in for. We still have him sleeping in our bedroom but he no longer fits comfortably in his carry cot so my dad had to make a bigger bed for him. I will take a picture instead of describing it here. At least he has been sleeping better (which means that Vanessa and I have too). The weather is really warming up now and it won't be long before Alex can ditch the thick, fleecy stuff and spend the day in short sleeves etc.

He has discovered his hands and there are times when he tries to put both of them into his mouth at the same time. He is also experimenting with his voice and is making a wider range of sounds. His gums are paining but not swollen yet. This is causing lots of discomfort and the poor boy is drooling like Homer Simpson at an "all you can eat" buffet which means that he wears a bib most of the time. His coordination has improved and we've noticed that he has more hits than misses. Unfortunately this means that when he wants to grab a handfull of your hair and swing like Tarzan then there's a good chance that you're in for some pain.

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I know that I have neglected this site over the past 3 months. Gee, has it been that long already...? Our little boy is growing fast :-( Every day is an adventure and Alex seems to be having fun. He does get frustrated from time to time because his coordination lets him down when he tries to reach out and grab things. He also loves the sound of his own voice and sometimes wakes up in the early hours to have a chat. We try and communicate in his language (goo goo gaga etc.) but I'm afraid of what we might be saying... I hope that we aren't offending him in any way. For those of you wondering, Alex is not sleeping through the night yet so Vanessa and I are still suffering from sleep deprevation. The reward is immeasurable so we don't complain. Every week he seems to change his behaviour in subtle ways as he experiments and learns.

I will do my best to update this site more frequently.

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I realize that in real world days, I haven't updated the site in 3 days but in baby Alex days it's been a very long 72 hour day. Some nights Vanessa and I eat supper at 22h30 and breakfast at 03h00. If we're lucky then we sleep for two hours at a time but one hour is more likely.

Good news :-) !! Alex didn't need any more ultra violet lights. He will have to save it for later in life when he starts clubbing in about .... 40 years from now. Bad news :-( Alex has a slight eye infection in his right eye but he is already receiving ointment to clear it up. Too much winking at the girls and nurses.

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Alex and Vanessa are home :-) He spent the night under ultra violet lights to help with the jaundice and the doctors were happy enough with his progress to let him go home. We have to take him back tomorrow for a quick blood test to see if it's necessary for more treatment under lights. Fortunately there is a district nurse that can bring the lights right to our home so that he doesn't have to spend any time away from us.

There were even more arrivals today and after Vanessa was discharged the next new mommy took Vanessa's bed (the bed was still warm). While Alex was under lights we had some time to spend together (Vanessa and I). We watched some TV and we were both shocked to find the same TV ads and storylines in the soapies. What were we expecting? It's only been 3 days!

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Unfortunately he has developed slight jaundice and he has been lying on the "sun bed" under ultra-violet lights to help him. Don't be alarmed to see him wearing his "shades" in some of the pictures. We have been assured that it is a common condition and that things will improve as soon as his liver can cope better. The staff will check him again tomorrow and hopefully he and his mom will be well enough to come home. Of course we will not rush things and we will follow the medical professionals' advice. He must come home in good working order :-) Coming home is both an exciting and scary thought. On the one hand we're excited to be home and on the other hand we won't be able to just press the "call" button when we start to panic.

The doctors are very happy with Vanessa's progress but she is still experiencing a bit of pain when the drugs wear off. She is moving more freely and that will improve everyday.

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Throughout our pregnancy, we discussed how our lives would change when Alex arrives (ultimate responsibility, lack of sleep, financial and emotional demands... don't worry, we did consider all the positives too). And although all those things apply, we are starting to realize that it is not our current lives that will change but that a new one is beginning. It is not that our current lives will contain less sleep, but that our new lives will contain more Alex :-) So today all three Cuttings are 2 days old. It's funny but when you think of a child growing up, you think of teaching him everything but it's not until now that I've realized that a child teaches the parents important things too. Enough philosophy for today!

Vanessa is healing well after the Caesarian but she still needs pain relief medication. She will need lots of rest during her recovery. Obviously Alex isn't doing much more than (s)leeping, (s)ucking, (s)creaming and (s)h*tt*ng (4s) but it is a joy to hold him and watch his every move. The highlight (so far) being when he opens his eyes and looks around the room. Of course he can't focus his eyes and see things yet but he is learning to use the muscles and that's very important. He also had hiccups this morning and an earth shattering fart that almost had me needing a "change" because I was holding him at the time and he gave me quite a fright. After a rocky start this morning, mom and son are working very well together this evening on the breast feeding. I'm sure that by tomorrow they will be latching and suckling like pros. Breast is Best !!! It's a learning experience for all of us and we are getting wonderful help and support from the staff at the hospital.

Quote(s) of the day:

• He is so pretty that if I hadn't seen his willy this morning then I'd have thought he was a girl - CJ
• He is far too pretty to be a boy - Lindy

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Click here for Alex's Netcare page

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