 Alex June 24, 2005 |
 April 18, 2005 |
Alex helping Grammie make whipped cream on Thanksgiving. |
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 Alex on September 7, 2001 |
Alex on April 28, 2003
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 Alex & Grammie August 18, 2001 |
 Alex & Elliot March 2, 2001 |
 The first hint of a smile we've caught on film! January 24, 2001 |
 January 26, 2001 |
April '09 - Alex is 8. He wears the heart monitor & watch I got in a fitness kit, so that he can measure his calories burned every day. He used to wear a pedometer every day to track his steps. He's very into fitness and numbers. He's getting excellent grades, and we love the way he writes stories. His favorite video game is Secret of Mana downloaded onto the Wii, followed by Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin on the Nintendo DS.
July '05 - Alex is 4 1/2 years old - Still loves heavy equipment, Playdough and art. He also loves digging in the dirt and playing in our little pool in the yard. He is really eager to start school. He will begin in September for 2 1/2 hour days at Pre-K. He loves to follow along with Elliot in their imaginary games, where they take turns composing the drama of the moment between their respective Lego ships, dragons, Imaginext guys, stuffed animals or cars. He is earnest, and loves to help - especially at our Organic Garden where he pulls weeds, digs, and enjoys the fruits (and vegetables) of his labor.
August '04 - Alex is very friendly and adventurous. We've discovered that he is a fan of amusement park rides, so now Sasha has a buddy to ride with. He says (so earnestly), "I'm so brave, because I'm not afraid of any rides, even The Lost Mine!" He gets very wrapped up in his emotions, hates going to bed, loves the County Fair
May '03 - Alex is taking very well to being a big brother. He runs to Nathan
if he cries and calls, "Don't cry Nathan - it's ok! Mommy's got you!" He
spends most of his time playing with Elliot. They like to pretend they are
cats, Pokemon
characters, dogs, Alex has a very limited variety of foods he'll actually
eat. He likes Ramen Noodle Soup, Pretzels, Spaghettios & Bananas and
that's about it. But he will expand his selections for any variety of junk
food. I'm rather discouraged about it. Looks like: Sasha's baby pictures
still. He makes some of the same faces, but I have to think I was a tad
mellower
as
a child.Tricks: Playing with the computer, helping with diaper changes and
comforting his baby brother. He's very attentive to Nathan and me. He brings
my water
bottle to me around the house and reminds me to drink it.
October '01 - Alex took his first steps alone today! (10/1/01) He
runs around behind his walking toy, almost like pushing a lawn mower,
but if he bumps into something and can't keep going - look out! He
gets sooooo mad! He crawls, sits up, eats a little bit of baby food,
pulls himself to a stand and seeks out all breakable items, grabs
things, drops things, babbles
September - Alex is a busy crawling boy, practically walking, but
still loves being carried. He has four teeth through on top and three
on the bottom. He loves chasing Elliot or the cat. He particularly
loves to crawl on top of Elliot's train sets and eat which ever one
is unfortunate to be wihtin his reach. Elliot calls him "Baby
Godzilla". I always know when Alex does this because I hear Elliot
shreik from the living room, "Oh NOOOOOO! Alex is getting slobber on
my train and he's making it derail!!
May - Alex hasn't slacked up on his very fast growth. His hair is
long and bushy! He has big fat creases where his hands and feet meet
his arms and legs. He is obviously teething - gnawing on everything
he can get his hands on. He's trying to sit up, but isn't quite
there. He loves to snuggle and still sleeps well at night.
January - Alex is getting big so fast! He is already into 3-6 month
old clothes, and he has gained 3 pounds already. He holds his head up
very well and makes good eye contact with us. He wakes up about twice
a night to nurse, and takes several naps a day. We've been in to see
the doctor a few times because of his virus, and he has already had
his first hospital stay, but he looks very healthy and robust. He has
definitely started looking more like me. His eyes are most definitely
brown and his hair looks like it's staying brown and he has some of
my year-round tan. I think he's calling me right now, so I better
go!
Alex's Name: Alexander is a name from the Greek language
meaning defender or helper of mankind. My name, Sasha is a diminutive
of that name, also, used in Russia as a nickname for boys named
Alexander. Elias is also from the Greek, a cognate of the Hebrew
Eliyahu, which is derived from elyahu (Jehova is God). A variant of
Elijah. This was the given name of Trip's paternal grandmother's
father, Elias Bloxam Baker, along with his great great grandfather
and great great great great grandfather.
Alex's Birth Journal: Alex's birth story is quite different
from what I had pictured in my mind, but now I can't imagine it any
other way. I had hoped he would come on my birthday, and made as many
arrangements as I could to encourage that. I had read that balsamic
vinegar helped encourage labor, and then I remembered that the night
before Elliot arrived, I had enjoyed a big salad with balsamic
vinegar at Piancone's restaurant, so we did that again. My mom stayed
home with Elliot and had planned to spend the night. She had been
working tirelessly to help us get the house in order, and prepare for
Alex's arrival. When we came home, I somehow managed to consume 2 oz
of castor oil, which I heard will help labor start. Then I took an
herbal tincture I had mail ordered from herbalists in Boulder, CO.
Alex was full term, and I talked with my midwives about my plans to "guarantee" my
delivery date, and we all felt like my plans were fine. I planned to be attended
by my midwives, Gigi, Linda and Molly,
my mom, Lory, my mother-in-law, Jean, who would also be ready to step
out in case Elliot needed to leave the scene, and my best buddy,
Stephanie, who had just missed seeing Elliot born by seconds.
In the early hours of the 16th, around 2:30am I started having
regular contractions, but I also was having regular trips to the
bathroom, courtesy of the castor oil. At around 4:00am the
contractions were 2 minutes apart and about 45 seconds long, but I
waited till 6:00am to call the midwives and let them know I was on my
way. By the time they arrived at about 6:30, the contractions were a
minute long and still about two minutes apart, but they started to
slow down over time. The midwives checked me at 10:20 and I was only
2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. and finally we all thought the midwives
might as well go home, because labor seemed to have stopped. They
left at 10:30. I was so disappointed and felt like I had wasted
everyone's time. I needed a nap, and we thought maybe resting would
encourage things to start back up... And how!
At about noon, I woke up with a powerful contraction, and had one or
two more while I tried to continue my nap. Then I got out of bed at
around 12:15, and started calling for mom and Trip to help me. These
were not the benign contractions I had been having earlier in the
morning, By 12:28 we had called the midwives and Stephanie. Luckily,
Jean and Lou came by to take Elliot out for a trip to Smithville so
he could get a change of scenery. Labor was upon me fast and furious.
Trip and my mom held me and pressed on my back during the pain of the
contractions. Before I knew it, I was up on the bed kneeling on my
big green exercise ball during my contractions. And then I had the
urge to push...
I was shocked that I already felt like I had to push - and so was
everyone else! I tried to blow through that urge to push, but I wound
up ending each time with a big grunting push! Around me I kept
hearing, "Don't worry, the baby's not coming until the midwives get
here," but very soon I realized I was pushing out the baby. Then I
felt his head coming down and I was REALLY scared. I just never
imagined I would be at that part of the labor without professional
hands down there to make sure I wouldn't tear. And then his head was
out, and seconds later, he was in my mom's arms. Mom and Jean rubbed
him and patted him to get him to start up breathing and used the bulb
syringe in my birth kit to suction him. Those first moments were so
tense for everyone waiting for our little baby to take his first
crying breath. It was accompanied by joyful tears all around. Gigi
pulled into our driveway 1 minute after Alexander arrived, and was
nearly as surprised as we all were. She was soon followed by Linda
and Molly, who tended to Alexander and me, and stitched up my small
tear.
Elliot was able to meet his new baby brother just minutes after he
was born, and greeted him with, "Hello Alex, you came out of mommy's
tummy!" We spent the rest of the day resting, reflecting and enjoying
each other's company. While things didn't go as planned, all's well
that end's well, and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Updated: July 31, 2004
