Dear Syed Brian (vol. 1, iss. 1)

This past week marked the end of your first month with us. And what a month it was… You were determined from the day you arrived to let us know that we were going to have to adapt to doing things your way. It started with the day you were born, which was 3 weeks before we expected you. You screamed at the moment we first met you and let the entire hospital know that Syed Brian Mahmood Azhar had arrived and a few things in this world needed to be changed, starting with your parents. While you ultimately conceded that we would be somewhat acceptable as your mom and dad (pending minor alterations in mommy’s level of control and daddy’s laid back nature), you had made a few plans that we weren’t aware of causing us to adapt on the fly. You let us know you were an overachiever first by your screams, then by the number of toes you had, and finally by the size of your head which was quite remarkable. You also were determined to assert your independence starting on day 2 as marked by the need for you to spend your first week sleeping by yourself in your own bed in the NICU. We didn’t have to convince you that sleeping in your own room was “big boy” thing to do. Luckily your stay in the NICU was relatively short at just a week and before we knew it, our home had grown by two feet as the saying goes. You survived your first few weeks in your new home and marked it by several accomplishments. The first accomplishment was training your parents to survive on a sleep pattern characterized by 2-3 hour intervals. You were persistent in your training methodology and it paid off: mommy and daddy are still alive and functioning at some level. The next accomplishment was surviving your encounter with what we know as a sponge bath. I believe you felt it was some sort of medieval torture designed to develop lung capacity in newborn infants…at least that is what you told the neighbors. Before you knew it, you managed to graduate from the sponge baths to the tub baths. You much enjoy the warm water and being able to be immersed in it rather than waiting for mommy or daddy to sponge you with “warm” water that apparently turns to icicles in instant it touches your skin. The good news is that even with tub baths, your lung capacity has continued to develop as you have found even more opportunities to exercise your lungs and vocal cords. The third accomplishment was welcoming Simon and Charlie into your world. Simon and Charlie are pleased to have another human living with them and they have tried to make you feel welcome by “talking” to you at regular intervals, telling you all the things that you need to know to survive in this house, and teaching you how to play with your toys. In an unbelievable act of selflessness, Simon and Charlie have also agreed to demonstrate the proper way to play with your toys and have even managed to demonstrate acceptable ways of disabling squeakers in some of them. Although their “talking” can reach the point of driving mommy and daddy insane, you don’t seem to mind. One final thing that Simon and Charlie have taught you is how to mark your territory. You have found an overwhelming need to mark your territory and let all of the other infants in the town know that this house and these humans are yours and are not available for sharing. Things that you have marked/peed on in the past month: mommy, daddy, grandma, the doctor, the wall in your room, the wall in the laundry room, your dresser, the changing pad, the bathtub, and yourself. I think that peeing on yourself scared you the most if the look on your face was any indication. One significant accomplishment is that you have managed to learn how to turn your head from one side to the next while you are on your back AND when you are on your tummy. Yes, even though your head accounts for 73.87% of your body weight (I told you it was a remarkably large head), you have been able to lift it and turn it to the other side. At the end of the month, this is what you have determined you like: cuddles, hugs, eating, sleeping, bouncy seats, and car rides. Things that you don’t like: diaper changes, baths, waking up, having your clothes changed, and cold weather. But don’t worry, you’re not the only one who is learning. Your mom and dad are also learning. We have learned that we love you more than anything and are willing to do whatever we have to do for you. We have learned that we like sleep more than we ever thought possible and that it is important to appreciate the little things. We have also learned that we are the luckiest mommy and daddy in the world to have you as our son and we can’t wait to see what month 2 has in store for us. Until next month... Love, Mom