Firstly, let me apologize to everyone who has heard of the birth from others instead of Anne or myself. We have had a very hectic two weeks, and have had little time for anyone but our children.

Tristan Alexander Lawrence-Hovey was born on January 9, 2007 at 5:58 EST. He weighed 7[lb]{style="font-style: italic;"} 13.8[oz]{style="font-style: italic;"} in anachronistic measuring units. He measured 19.25[in]{style="font-style: italic;"} in length (also in old units). He inherited my hair, nose, ears, and toes. From Anne, he got his eyes and mouth. He appears to have a calm disposition like Caroline (another trait that must come from Anne). I added a gallery of photos from Tristan's birth, and made a short slideshow of the birth (you can save any high-res photo or the QuickTime movie by choosing 'Save As' from your browser's 'File' menu).

Tristan was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit a few hours after birth because he was having difficulty breathing. Nothing conclusive was found to be the cause, and he was breathing fine a few hours later. The doctors decided to begin a seven-day course of antibiotics while they continued to test. He was moved to the half-way room two days later, where we were permitted to hold him. We visit him for most the day. Anne is nursing/feeding him as best she can given the awkwardness of the situation. I spend a lot of time moving Anne and the children to and from the hospital and schools. The hospital will release Tristan Tuesday evening, pending the completion of his medications and his hearing test. I prepared some photos from Tristan's stay in the NICU and a QuickTime slideshow of the past week.

PS. My only disappointment was Anne rejected Euphrates for a middle name. I have some solace in the knowledge that his full name in iambic pentameter.