Alexandra was born at 1:13 PM on Saturday, April 11th, 1998. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 19.5 inches long. As you can see, she joined the world already adorned by a shock of black hair. The photo on the right shows her at the ripe age of one day, being held one-handed in her new father's arm, while the year-old cat Dot looks on and asks "what the heck is this thing?"
Alexandra's birthmother is a truly wonderful young woman, bright,
mature, beautiful self-possessed, and with a smile that lights up the
whole room. Less than a week passed between our
first contact and the
birth, but fortunately we had been well prepared for it by a previous
near miss. We hit it
off with the birthmother right away. When we got to the hospital, she
was already in the early stages of labor. Pat was fortunate enough to
be allowed to coach her during the delivery, which went very smoothly
(at least, Geoff says he didn't have any big problems out there in the
waiting room!).
Alexandra was released from the hospital the next day, so that she got home in time to be an Easter baby. We went through a bit of a comedy of errors, misplacing first Pat's purse and then the camera containing the pictures from the hospital, but arrived safely, which is all that really counts. She was welcomed by her new aunt and uncle, several close friends, and of course our cats. One of the friends couldn't resist providing her with her first sunglasses (right), so she's all set for the beach...or roaming Hollywood incognito!
The first night went pretty smoothly -- that is, if you consider getting up every two hours to be smooth. Alexandra wasn't a complainer, seeming unperturbed by dirty diapers. The many flashbulbs made her a bit unhappy, but she slept through most of the oohs and ahs over how cute she was. The only time she cried was when she was hungry, and we quickly learned to feed her and to check her diapers every time we got a chance. She woke us up several times, and by morning we were predictably tired, but of course she was a happy little camper.
Still in the incubator, just a few hours old, Alexandra has already
managed to stick her fist in her mouth.
A few days later, the exhausted father is still happy.
The new mother admiring our little bundle.
Trying hard to grow bigger.
Alexandra sticks her tongue out at the proud father.
(Closeup)
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