16 weeks...

Sixteen weeks ago I was in labor, birthing my beautiful boy. It's amazing how much has changed in those sixteen weeks. Leila's become a sister, I have become a mother of two. Elyas has gone from unnamed blob, to seriously ill with RSV and hospitalized twice, to getting better, to first smiles, and first laughs, and first coos.

Today, Elyas is really becoming a person. He looks at you intently, his deep brown eyes take you in. He responds when you speak to him, often with a smile, and maybe a laugh if he thinks you are funny (or perhaps funny-looking). He especially loves his sister. It's amazing how just seeing her makes his eyes light right up! I knew that giving my daughter a sibling was the most wonderful thing I could do for her, but I guess I didn't give much thought to how wonderful it would be for the sibling. He just adores her, and I swear, if she had working breasts, she'd be his favorite.

Just in the last day or two Elyas has found his hands. He looks at them intently; reaches for objects with purpose; grabs on to toys and checks them out. It was a poignent moment this evening at dinner when he grabbed a napkin and held it with his hands, and then, in the manner of babies, he brought it to his mouth for a taste. The first time he has done that, though certainly not the last.



Now, though, it is late evening. Ali is in bed with Leila, surely having fallen asleep with her again, the only sounds in the room are the clacking of keys and the Forest Raindrops cd that drifts in through the baby monitor. Elyas, on the boppy, stretched across my lap; is asleep at my breast. He snores lightly and every few minutes gives a little suckle. Unlike his big sister, he rejects all pacifiers and prefers my nipple above all else. Tonight is an evening like every other, I come on to my computer to edit my photo of the day, catch up with friends online, and blog. He sleeps, tummy to tummy, happily snoozing to my quiet evening sounds. And I pause, occasionally, to look at him. His little head sparsely covered in dark brown hair; his long eyelashes; his little hands lightly holding the source of his comfort; his strong little chin, jogging up and down . My sweet little boy. Sixteen weeks ago, he was new to me, and unknown. Now, he is Elyas, he is my son.