Early Life with Hassaan

Hassaan.  My cute, adorable little red headed boy who can create so much chaos and drama where ever he goes.

Hassaan.  My squishy, cuddly little red headed boy who gives the absolute best hugs and kisses in the world.

Hassaan.  My takes a licking and keeps on ticking child.

Hassaan.  My never still, always moving, very tiring child.

Hassaan.  My child who I love dearly, but whose stubborn streak often has me wanting to strangle him child.

Hassaan is five and a half years old.  From the time he was born, there was always something different about him.  The first week of his life he spent in the NICU with idiopathic pneumonia.  After he came home, his true personality kicked in.  The doctor he had for the first few years of his life commented upon meeting him for the first time at ten days old that she had never seen a newborn who moved so much in all her career - she just retired after a lengthy career, so she'd seen a lot of newborns.  Even while sleeping, some part of him was always moving - a finger, a foot, his head.

Every afternoon at about 4:30pm Hassaan would start to scream.  If he was held tight, he might stop after a half hour or so, but if he had to be put down so someone could help his older brother or for some other reason he would scream for hours upon hours.

Life with Hassaan as a baby was a contrast in extremes.  When he was good, he was very, very good.  When he was unhappy with something, he had no qualms in letting you know he wasn't happy.  He wasn't happy when I had to stop nursing and went on a hunger strike.  He wasn't happy every night at bedtime and would cry and scream unless being held.  He wasn't happy with wearing clothes.  Heck, he's still not happy with bedtime or wearing clothes, he just doesn't get a choice.