Kendra and Evan were just waking up from a nap on the second morning after the birth, and I'd been watching Evan gaze outward like that for a two or three minutes when I realized with a start that this was the image that I wanted to use to introduce Evan to our friends and family.
Another shot that shows the personality expressed through his eyes:
This photo was taken when he was about 20 hours old. I saw that expression many times in his eyes during the couple of days after his birth. Since the end of his second day, I've more often seen in his eyes an activity, energy, and interest in the world. This photo shows him just trying to deal with the overwhelming experience of being bathed for the first time. (In this picture, I'm holding Evan, and a sage-femme, or trained midwife who delivers babies in hospitals, is teaching me how to bathe him.)
Another step back in time, to a moment just after we have moved from the birthing room into the room where Kendra and Evan stayed for four days (the standard length of time for a mother to stay in the hospital after a delivery in France):
What an accomplishment for the two of them!
A picture of Evan that was taken just a few minutes after we arrived home from the hospital on April 3:
I got to spend a fair amount of time doing my best to comfort Evan during the first couple of days after his birth, and it seemed that he never stayed asleep for long. Once Kendra's milk arrived, things changed a lot, and now it sometimes seems impossible to wake him up fully during the day. Here's a picture in which he is sucking hard on my index finger just a few hours after his birth, trying to comfort himself:
and here he is about 12 hours later, during a short nap:
And here he is two days after the birth, finally sleeping deeply with a full stomach:
What a relief it was to see him sleep like that!
Here's one last photo, which captures a very characteristic expression in which Evan is waving his arms and looking around energetically:
Kendra is recovering well and expects to get back to blogging soon. In the meantime, you can look at Evan's personal blog, created by our friend Kari Masson:
7 comments:
Way to go Mark on posting! I appreciate the pictures and the details. It's good to see that mother and baby are doing well. I wish I lived closer though and could bring you a meal. :)
Evan is a beautiful baby! When Doug heard his name he said, "I really like that, I especially like Mark. If we ever have a boy, let's name him Mark." :) I think it's the first boy name that we've ever both liked.
I enjoyed looking at Evan's blog created by your friend. What a special friend to create that. I especially enjoyed Mark's take on fatherhood. Isn't it true how our priorities seem to just change course over night?
Congratulations! I can't wait to meet Evan. Hopefully it won't be too long until that happy day.
It is a lovely blog entry, Mark. I loved reading how you experienced Evan's first hours and days. He is beyond fortunate to have you for his papa: so attentive, kind, intelligent, nurturing.
Love it!!! Thanks for sharing.!!!
I am so happy for you too!
Evan is adorable!
1. Welcome home, Evan!
2. Welcome to blogging, Mark!
Congratulations, Mark and Kendra.
What a beautiful baby!
Looks like a brainiac already.
Way to go!
Mark and Kendra- Evan is beyond words! He encompasses both of his parents in his sweet face. We are so happy for the MK family...MKE family :)Thank you so very much for sharing these special moments with us.
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