The First Six Weeks!

Per the Ridulous! post, here is an album of the first six weeks of Amara's life. The next two weeks will come soon. Also, I am committing Ami to posting a few stories within this coming week.

The First Six Weeks - Oh My!

Ridiculous!

Without denial, I will first and foremost recognize the lackluster perfomance of Blog maintenance. Without a post since January 18th, I am promising not to let another 48 days lapse between updates. This being said, I would love to invite all to read through the 14 starts on New Posts that I had begun which had ended in either futility or due to a child in need.

All of this being said, let the updates begin! Our epitomal big sister, Annika is fully embracing her role. Her sense of nurture has already kicked in (a chip off of Ami's block). Anni's Elmo makes a daily appearance lying on top of Amara when she is in her carseat/boppy/bouncer/etc. She is also continuously concerned with Amara's well being by offering her pillows and blankets, hugs and kisses, and by telling us where Amara would like to sit next (carseat/boppy/bouncer/etc.) and shortly thereafter followed up with the previously mentioned Elmo situation. Annika's vocabulary has begun to grow and she is able to articulately reference the world around us in addition to repeating what she hears us say. Some of her new words are Ernie, Donut, Cereal, and (I'm not too proud of this one) McDonalds! However, her favorite word is ... CAKE! (Side Note, Annika loves her Anju Masi so much that she refers to her many times as Cake - interesting on so many levels!) Overall, Annika is growing and developing fantastically - we could not be more proud of her. Ami and I are finally understanding not only the joy of having a family, but the joy of being a family and the joy that interacting with your children brings.

In attempting to make this entry a concise one, I am making a conscious effort to switch children. Amara just turned 2 months old today! Contrary to Annika, Amara is a substantial baby. Coming in at 75th percentile in both height and weight, she is a substantial child. She is now becoming cognizant of the world around her and seems to be soaking it in. So far she is soothed by music, much like her sister, and prefers ballads and the occasional up beat adult contemporary/rock that now defines my aging generation. (***I have realized that I have to lock my children into liking my music early or else I will become a parent embattled with their teenagers over listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers or some shirtless, uneducated, punk band of their generation that sounds like a group of disfunctional monkeys destroying a music store. Although I am pretty sure that I am deluding myself, and that the aforementioned paradigm is inevitable.***) - deep breath - Amara has begun to smile, and in particular, at me. I seem to be her favorite for these few fleeting moments. Additionally, she seems to be enjoying Organic Chemistry and we anticipate her scoring well on the MCAT this summer as she seems to be studying hard at Ami's side when they are together. She also seems to be paying a particular eye to Annika and watching her like a hawk, although I can not confirm this, I believe it to be true.

As for Ami and I, we're closer than ever - and happier together to boot. We have learned to communicate with incorrect grammer, incorrect words, sentence fragments, and even via a complex system of grunts and shrieks - no wait...those are chimpanzees. Ami is going to begin posting anecdotes and memoirs as she is leaving the summaries to me, so please make sure to check back in in another 48 days for the update.

Also, we have a new album linked...it will be up soon.

Oh how time flies.

First off, I would like to express thanks to all of our friends and family who have been helping us with everything from kind words to food to taking care of Annika when we need to focus on Amara.

Yesterday, Amara turned Two Weeks old! A formidable mile marker for me. Ami and I are constantly amazed at how quickly babies grow at this age. She is looking less like a newborn and more like a baby (a subjective distinction, I'm sure). What was difficult for us over the last two weeks (and by us I mean me) is that I had forgotten what Annika was like as a baby. I remember the good times and tend to forget the bad, maybe that's a personality thing for me, but I tend to believe that is how we are programmed otherwise we'd be a society of single children families.

Also, I must say that Ami has gone above and beyond the call of duty in letting me sleep through the night in most cases. Rarely will she wake me up for help. And the truly amazing part is that she still manages to put on a great face and not be perpetually frustrated because of her exhaustion. Amara has shown glimpses of nocturnal brilliance by occasionally sleeping a whopping six hours only to turn around the next night and party all night. None the less, it seems (as I knock on wood) that she is starting to make the distinction between night and day, which will be a great step forward.

Annika is wonderful, as always. has shown nothing but love for her sister (Sissy). Anytime that Annika gets an opportunity, she comes over to Amara to interact with her. She has not shown any signs of jealousy - we recognize how lucky we are. She continues to grow into a young toddler girl. Her vocabulary is growing at an exponential rate and she is learning how to manipulate the world around her. Her favorite activity is working with me on house projects - give the girl a screwdriver and she'll pretend to know exactally what she's doing.

We are so lucky. We know this.

Day 3

It is absolutely amazing how quickly the little ones grow. Amara is starting to move away from looking like a feeble muscle-less elderly person to a feeble muscle-less baby. Her cheeks are getting round and rosy and her poo has changed consistency - a very important mile marker for those without kids.

Annika has become a great big sister. She fully understands that we have a baby in the house and seems to have an innate understanding of what is appropriate and not appropriate with her new sister. I am, as always, impressed with her. We went to Babies R Us today for supplies and as we walked the isles, she was intent on trying to get everything that caught her eye as a present for Amara by pointing at items and saying BeeBee (Baby in Anni-speak).

Amara is starting to sleep more regulary (we hope as it is only 11:30pm on Day 3). During the day her eyes are open and are so incredibly soulful and lately (and by lately I mean in the last 12 hours) have been more open than closed. And song, she loves being sung to, preferably a ballad of some sort.

I love being a family. I love being a dad.

The Pictures I Promised

As promised, click on the album below to open the pictures that we have posted so far.

Amara's Journey Begins

I am also adding a slide show highlighting Annika's last 18 months. I helps put my life into perspective and gets me REALLY excited about the next 18 months.'

Annika's 18 months before Amara

Insomnia Chronicles Part 1 of many

For those of you who do not have children, let it be known that the heresay and rumors on baby sleeping patterns are true. The first few days at least are tenuous. Trying to figure out the baby's comforts and dislikes in the first few days is a definite challenge. Ami afforded me two and a half hours of sleep earlier, and now it is my turn to provide here with some respite.

While Amara and I sit out here in the Mother and Baby hallway at 3:00AM, I figure that now is as good of a time as any to post a few pictures so that we can share our joy. There will be more pictures to come, so please check back in frequently.


First light. 2:36 PM, January 5th, 2008, Amara Samir Kulkarni was born. Her beauty is stunning and her spirit is abundant. She began to cry before even being fully delivered.

The three wise men. At least until she becomes a teenager, thereafter quickly becoming the three stooges for a while.

And here is the loving child with four lovely ladies. (from L to R, Samir's mother, Ami, Ami's mother, and Anjoli, Ami's sister)

4CM and in the hospital

We're in the hospital, Ami is 4 cm dialated with contractions 5 minutes apart, and we've got the Fray blaring (as much as you can in a hospital) to help provide some background noise between contractions. And I think that I've discovered the perfect time to begin a blog - not that we've ever been known to add additional chaos to our already chaotic situations.

6:55 AM - Our contractions (and by Our I mean her) are holding steady at 5 minutes apart, so they have instructed us to walk (and once again by Us, I mean her). Off we head to the cafeteria.

7:55 AM - It might be an oddity of my taste buds or a loose mental screw, but I don't understand how anybody can think that hospital food is not INCREDIBLE! I devoured a plate of Buicuits and gravy and Ami regretfully took to a chocolate covered donut filled with icing (sounded like such a great idea until the next contraction).

8:05 AM - Back in the room, Anjoli (Ami's sister) came to the hospital with goodies for Ami. I'm in the waiting room now since they only allow two people in the Triage rooms. She is going to try to be in the delivery room through out the delivery. I do have to say that I am proud of Anj, as she has grown up over the last 18 months specifically. I don't think that she would have had it in her to handle the entire delivery when Annika was delivered.

Hopefully the staff has checked Ami by now - off I go for an update.