Laila Ali Shows Off Newborn Curtis Muhammad
 Courtesy OK! for use on CBB |
"You can plan all you want, but things happen." That’s Laila Ali’s new outlook after the planned homebirth of her son, 5-week-old Curtis Muhammad took an unexpected turn in her 39th week of pregnancy. "The doctor thought that the baby might have a growth restriction," Laila explains. "Sometimes, when the baby is not getting enough nutrients, the abdomen will be smaller because the organs aren’t really needed yet, but the head and legs will keep growing. When I got to 39 weeks, they [wanted him out] because he wasn’t getting 100 percent of his nutrients."
For Laila, who wanted a natural birth, the change in plans was difficult to wrap her mind around. After the complication ended in a hospital admittance for a scheduled induction — "That was hard too, because I didn’t want to be induced" — Curtis Jr. entered the world on August 26th, after a 15-hour labor. "Curtis [Conway] caught him," Laila notes. "He was able to pull the baby out. He cut the umbilical cord."
"They gave Curtis Jr. to me. It’s important for the baby to bond with the mother in the first moments. I started crying immediately."
Curtis Jr. "seems a little feisty," Laila, 30, reveals. "He looks like a mix between his father and I. I wanted him to look like his dad!" The former boxer has quickly adjusted to motherhood, even giving Curtis — already father to three children from a previous marriage — diaper-changing lessons. When it’s mentioned that her husband is most likely quite comfortable with diapers already, Laila cracks, "Just because you’ve done it before doesn’t mean you’re doing it the way I want you to do it!"
For photos and more from the interview, pick up the new issue of OK.
- Posted on Oct 1, 08 at 1:00PM
- Permalink
- 45 Comments
October 1st, 2008 at 1:15 pm
beautiful!!
October 1st, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Is he really Curtis Jr.? or is this an error? I just assumed he was named Curtis for his father, and Muhammad for his grandfather.
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The full name they’ve released is Curtis Muhammad Conway Jr.
-Sarah, Staff Editor
October 1st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
What a cute baby! Look at all that hair! Even though Laila didn’t get her homebirth, it sounds like there was good reason for it and she’s at peace with it.
Funny about the diapers, I used to re-do my husband’s diaper changes because he would never pull out the sides when he changed the baby and without fail there would be a poop explosion unless I fixed it. Finally I got sick of him and told him he had to do it correctly.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:32 pm
The article should read Curtis Muhammad Conway Jr. They make a beautiful family.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Beautiful family!!
October 1st, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Awww, that baby is so tiny. So cute. What a lovely family.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:49 pm
He is such a cutie!
This may not be popular opinion, but while I’m all for keeping family names, I’ve never been a big fan of making kids “Jr.”
October 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Cute cute cute cute cute! What an impossibly good looking family!
October 1st, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Nicole,
It’s usually a cultural thing to give first born sons the Jr tag. No one in my family did it so neither did I, but I know plenty of people who did because it was common in their families. Personally, I’ve never known a Jr who had a problem with being a Jr.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
aww,he’s so cute
I think he looks like his mommy.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:32 pm
I don’t know why, but it turned me off that she said;
“It’s important for the baby to bond with the mother in the first moments.”
It just seems like she’s speaking with an authority she doesn’t have…For HER personally, it was important, but that doesn’t mean that a mother who doesn’t have their child on her chest as soon as the baby comes out won’t bond with her baby. Sometimes it takes awhile, and that doesn’t include adoptions, NICU, etc.
Anyway, the baby is adorable and they seem so happy.
One last thing…my dad was a Jr. and hated it because it was too confusing. He felt he never had his own name! Just one person’s experience.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Beautiful family picture!! Congrats to Laila and family!!
October 1st, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I loved her comment about her husband changing diapers her way! As a stepmom, I used to feel bad when we had a first born together when people would always diminish our experience saying, “well,he’s done this before, or “he’s an old pro”, or my personal notfavorite, “well, he probably knows more than you”.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:03 pm
thekate…don’t be turned off by her comment…all she said was it was important, and she is right. It is important.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:07 pm
I think he is beautiful and from what I can see he looks like a mixture of the two. Such a gorgeous family. Congrats,Laila and Curtis!!!
October 1st, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I really hope those aren’t airbrushed pictures because they all look so beautiful and perfect!
That baby is GORGEOUS! Look at all that hair!
October 1st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Nice family picture.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:19 pm
He is just adorable, I love his hair! Congrats!
October 1st, 2008 at 3:25 pm
Cute picture but Laila confuses me. Why did she want the baby to look like his dad instead of a mixture of them both???? Oh yeah, that baby isn’t an official Junior, his dad’s real name is Curtis Lamont Conway, not Curtis Muhammad.
October 1st, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Congrats to the beautiful family. I am so happy for them.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:00 pm
He’s beautiful. But I’m really not surprised.
October 1st, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Great shot. Good looking family.
October 1st, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I can understand her comment on wanting the baby to look like her man. I know I want a little guy who looks like a mini-me version of my man.
October 1st, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I always thought the boy had to have the exact same name as the dad to be a Jr. my ex is a Jr.,but has his mom’s last name
October 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
thekate, I really don’t see anything wrong with her comment about it being important for a baby to bond with his/her mother. Personally, I think she’s completely right…
Anyway, Curtis Jr. is GORGEOUS! But he had a lot to work with! Both Mama and Papa are also GORGEOUS! This is a great picture of the three of them.
October 1st, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Beautiful photo!
October 1st, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Why do we always have something negative to say about every comment these stars make. If you don’t agree so what! If you don’t like Jr. so what! If you don’t like the sun came out today so what!
The baby is healthy and the family looks happy and thats all that matters.
October 1st, 2008 at 6:52 pm
If you don’t like my comment, so what! The point of this site is to discuss celebrities and their babies, and that includes their name choices.
I also thought you had to have the exact same name to be a Jr. though?
October 1st, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Mel, I totally agree with you. She said it’s important. She didn’t say it cannot happen later if it didn’t happen right away.
What a cute baby btw !!
October 1st, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Aww, hi little cutie pie! Beautiful family, and what a beautiful baby! Congratulations!
(thekate – I’m still kind of confused as to why that comment bothered you so much. It’s not like what she said wasn’t true, and it’s not like she was taking away anything from mothers who didn’t get a chance to bond with their children in the first few moments.)
October 1st, 2008 at 10:53 pm
technically she’s wrong… for the child to be a jr they are SUPPOSED to have the exact same name…
when they have different middle names, or something is different, they are ’supposed’ to be the second…
but in REAL life, you can name whatever you want…
my co-worker and his son have the EXACT same name and he’s a second…
on the other hand a friend of mine’s son has a different first name, but his two middle names and last name are his father’s entire name…and he’s a jr.
u can name ur kids whatever u want… but blah…
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 am
What a beautiful photograph. That little munchkin and that gorgeous hair … Big sigh. So yummy!! Mom & dad aren’t too shabby either!
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:12 am
Personally the baby is beautiful and so is the family congrats! and secondly he is a Jr in sorts as he is a Jr to have his dad’s name and to have his grandads name. Plus it is her baby, she can name him what she wants.
October 2nd, 2008 at 8:42 am
I don’t know why that comment bothered me, it just did. I guess I don’t like the feeling that celebrities are telling people what is appropriate because they have an audience. I was just expressing my thoughts. Frankly I’m surprised that so many people are judging my personal reaction. Maybe Laila and I wouldn’t be friends in real life, who knows…
Anyway, I wasn’t trying to be negative…just open and honest.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:06 am
thekate – after re-reading the post, I kinda see why you took issue, but I don’t think it’s really been meant that way. Laila was likely referring to her own personal opinions, and it just came out as a statement as if she had professional knowledge. I don’t think you need to take anything bad from it.
October 2nd, 2008 at 10:20 am
Absolutely beautiful baby and lovely family…God bless!
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:16 am
Oh absolutely! the pictures are airbrushed, have you ever seen a celebrity picture showing a birth mark, or a pimple or anything other than perfection? I haven’t.
Beautiful family though.
October 2nd, 2008 at 11:43 am
They look beautiful, too bad OK couldn’t reign in the photoshop for once though.
October 2nd, 2008 at 2:53 pm
What a cute baby. Look at that head of hair!
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I think she named him JR after her dad and Curtis. Her dad never had a son so I think this is her way of giving him something he has never had.
October 2nd, 2008 at 3:46 pm
I take that back, her dad had 2 sons….not sure why she named him JR
October 2nd, 2008 at 7:29 pm
She named him Jr because she wanted to name him Jr. I’m sure, hoping that he is both a Curtis Jr and a Muhammed Jr. Maybe not in exact name, but in personality and spirit. Her choice. Beautiful family.
October 3rd, 2008 at 3:31 am
Michelle – I think you’re bang on point about the Jr. That was my first thought upon realising that the little guy’s middle name was not the same as his father’s.
October 3rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I think he will favor laila a bit more. She’s so pretty
October 3rd, 2008 at 1:39 pm
He’s such a beautiful little boy. And what does it matter what she said, or the Junior matter. If that’s what they like calling him to differentiate between him and his dad, that’s fine. I’m just happy to see him. All that matters is that she got her baby and he’s just as beautiful, and healthy and safe after the problems that arose during labor.