Corwin: The FAQ

• When and where was he born?
  February 1 (Groundhog's Eve), 18:23 PST, at Irvine Regional Hospital in Irvine, CA. (Since he was born prior to the lunar new year, this puts him in the Chinese Year of the Monkey, a factoid to which we make occasional reference.)
• How big was Corwin at birth?
  9 pounds, 3 ounces (4.17 kg), 21.5 inches (54.6 cm).
• How big is he now?
  • 26 April 2006 (15 months): 24 lbs. 14 oz. (11.28 kg; 60th percentile); 32.25 inches (81.9 cm; 85th percentile).
  • 8 February 2006 (1 year): 21 lbs. 7 oz. (9.72 kg; 35th percentile); ~31 inches (78.7 cm; 90th percentile).
  • 9 November 2005 (9 months): 19 lbs. 11 oz. (8.02 kg; 40th percentile), 30.25 inches (76.8 cm; 95th percentile).
  • 10 August 2005 (6 months): 17 lbs. 5 oz. (7.85 kg; 50th percentile), 28.25 inches (71.8 cm; 95th percentile).
  • 15 June 2005 (4.5 months): 14 lbs. 12 oz. (6.69 kg; 48th percentile), 26.5 inches (67.3 cm; 95th percentile).
  • 23 March 2005 (7 weeks): 11 lbs. 8 oz. (5.22 kg; 65th percentile), 23.75 inches (60.3 cm; 90th percentile).
• What's his full name?
  Corwin Alexander O'Madadhain.
• What is it that you like about these names?
  We like how each of them sounds, individually and in combination. More specifically...
  • Corwin: we like at least some of the meanings; depending on who you ask, it may mean
    • "raven" (Latin)
    • "from beyond the hill; heart's friend or companion" (Gaelic; Old English, Old French)
    • "dark" (Celtic)
    • "white castle" or "white choir" (Cornish)
    • "shoemaker who uses Cordovan leather"(!) (Old French again)
    (Joshua, in particular, is amused by the multiplicity of meanings available.) It's unusual, but reasonably easy to spell and pronounce. Plus it's short enough not to require a nickname.
  • Alexander: again, we like the meaning ("defending men", Greek). We also like the variety of nicknames that it allows; this, plus the fact that it's not as unusual a name as "Corwin", will give him a number of options should he want a more low-profile name at any point.
• Is he named after anyone?
  Not exactly. "Corwin" is a name that we have encountered primarily in fiction, but we didn't name him after any particular fictional character (although Joshua is fond of the character by that name from Roger Zelazny's Amber series). "Alexander", however, was chosen in part as a tribute to our friend Alex.
• What is his coloration?
  Hard to say yet. His eyes are still dark blue (as are those of most infants), and what hair he has seems to contain brown, blond, and reddish strands. Overall his coloration seems more like Megan's than Joshua's.
• What's that blue thing you're carrying him in?
  A sling, from Babymoon Slings. It's a convenient and flexible arrangement for carrying babies and small children around, that basically consists of a long strip of cloth with some padding (on the shoulders and along the sides, as "rails"). It's a lot easier to haul around than a stroller, and more versatile than a front/backpack; carrying him in it also seems to calm him.
• When will you post more pictures?
  When we do--we don't have a particular schedule. Probably every couple of weeks or so, at least for a while.