Dany’s 5 Months Old

It’s amazing how quickly Dany is growing and changing. He seems to really enjoy interacting with us and is constantly looking for attention. Sometimes he’ll just sit there quietly and keep staring at us until we look at him. And when we do, we’re rewarded with a wonderful smile or laugh. He’s getting more curious about everything around him and when we take him out of the house, he loves to be carried around so that he can explore his surroundings. Because of Dany, even I’ve started noticing and appreciating things that I would have normally walked straight past.

He’s started teething and has this intense desire to lock his jaws on anything he can - his car seat buckle, our hands, our shoulders. He’s always sticking his fingers in his mouth and has a constant “drooling” of saliva. We’ve tried teething gels and teething “toys” but he likes the more “unusual” items around the house. The other day I picked him up and he went straight for my nose! We started giving him solids a few days ago and he’s doing really well. He loves the peach and apple baby food. The banana baby food didn’t go down that well, but that was maybe because it was one of the first things we gave him. He’s already getting a “sweeth tooth” and he doesn’t even have any teeth yet (although we can see a front tooth slowly starting to make it’s way out). Tamy tried to give him Barley cereal this morning but he wasn’t impressed with that at all. But the other day, I was eating ice cream and he started shouting “ah, ah!” so I let him taste a little…and I think I just created an “Ice-Cream Monster”! He insisted on more and more and got really upset when I wouldn’t give him any more.

Best of all, he’s started sleeping through the night (for almost a week now). We haven’t quite nailed the routine yet, so sometimes he’ll wake up but generally he’s starting to sleep in 7 or 8 hour stretches now. When he’s asleep I love to just watch him and long for him to be awake (as crazy as that sounds). He has a wonderful habit of always smiling when he sees you for the first time in the morning or when I come home from work. It just makes me melt. I always thought that I’d be the tough and disciplined dad, but I’m becoming such a pushover. I just want to use every ounce of energy I have to love him as much as I can and I want to do that forever.

Dany’s 4 Months Old

Dany’s getting bigger (and heavier) so fast! He’s around 16lb now and carrying him around in the car seat is getting harder too (especially for Tamy). He’s now realized that he has hands and feet and spends ages just staring at them. He has also started teething (which must be pretty painful) and he’s always putting his fingers into his mouth. I sometimes like to put my finger in his mouth and boy does he chew it hard! He also seems to want to be held a lot more these days and loves playful screaming (and smiling at the same time)!

We’re just starting to realize just how damn lucky we are. Dany is such a well behaved baby. Other than when he’s hungry, he just about never cries. We’ve gone to many restaurants over the last couple of months and never had any trouble with him. He just sits there quietly, looks around at *everything* and then goes to sleep. He wakes up from time to time, gives us a smile and then goes back to sleep. He’s such a cool baby!

Dany’s 3 Months Old

It’s amazing to see how Dany is changing and developing every day. Tamy put him in a pair of jeans today (instead of the usual one-piece baby outfits) and he looked like a “big kid”. Even now when I look at this photo, it’s easy to forget that he’s just 3 months old. He loves talking (baby talk) and screaming (in a playful way). He recognizes me now and pretty much always gives me a big smile when he sees me.

Dany’s 2 Months Old

It’s amazing how he’s changing. He’s started to recognize us both and respond to our smiles. The nights are still hard, he’s hungry and awake every 3 hours around the clock and it’s taking a lot out us both. But now all he has to do is smile and it all seems worthwhile!

Dany’s 1 Month Old

Today, Dany is one month old. He’ s changed so much over the last month and it’ s been so amazing to watch him grow and develop. Nothing really prepares you for this. But he’ s getting more and more cute every day and I guess it makes the sleepless nights a little easier.

Fatherhood

At 11.00am on Aug-17 2005 I became the proud father of Danyal Sami Khan. Both Danyal and his mother had to work unbelievably hard for him to be born. She was in labor for 27 hours (the first 12 hours with zero medication) and eventually we had to make the decision to have a c-section. Tamy is my hero. She showed me the true meaning of character and courage and I will never forget what she went through and her determination and strength. It’s just confirmed what I knew; she’s an incredible person. I always knew she was outstanding, but this experience has literally blown me away. She may be gentle and petite but she’s a hell of a lot stronger and tougher than I’ll ever be.

As for Danyal, he struggled on the other end of the 27 hours of labor. When he was born, it was clear that he’d been working hard too. I was surprised by my reaction in the OR when they pulled him out of his mother. I was expecting to have some sort of instant connection with him as soon as I saw him, but for a few moments I even felt nervous at the thought of holding him. The minute that the nurse handed me this swaddled baby, my world changed. I looked at this small and incredibly vulnerable human being and knew immediately that he needed us and that our love, care and protection for him was all that mattered now. He’s so much more cute and adorable than I ever imagined. And all the fears I had about parenthood are gone. Nothing matters more than my son.

I’m finally a father (masha’allah) and I love it!

It’s a boy!

We also went to the hospital today for an ultra sound scan.

We’re having a boy masha’allah!!