Archive for May, 2011

Weekend Developments

Posted by Will on May 30, 2011

This past weekend we initiated a big step in Nola’s growth and development – eating.

A few weeks ago, one of Nola’s revolving door physician’s at Children’s Hospital told Brittany that around 5 months, we could start attempting to give Nola rice cereal. So, as Nola will be, unbelievably, 5 months this Wednesday, we decided to see if we could pique her interest in ingestion that was off the liquid path.

Much to my surprise, rice cereal, for infants, is not the equivalent to the famous snap, crackle, and pop of toasted grain. It’s not even close. It’s more along the lines of a instant mashed potatoes. Adding a little bit of breast milk to the fine flakes renders a mush only a baby could love.

It’s only been a few days but Nola has taken to this soft, wet pulpy mess like a fish to water. Concurrently, she is undergoing an oral exploratory stage of development; everything must be put in her mouth for further review. So, combining food with this new investigative method has been a win-win for the Peanut. Here is to hoping that later eating adventures go this smoothly.

Another development, although one that has been long in the making, is having to say farewell to our dear friends Stan and Susie Austin who are retiring down the road to Richmond.

Stan and Susie were some of our first good friends in D.C. They are some of the kindest most hospitable people that we have known and have been inspirations in their tireless work with the children and less fortunate in our city.

We are sorry to see them go but know this is not good-bye.

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Nola, Lately

Posted by Will on May 23, 2011

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Mother + Child

Posted by Will on May 21, 2011

I am notoriously horrible with holidays. Ask around, they’ll tell you.

I think my apathy is even more inspired around the Hallmark holidays (e.g. Father’s Day, Valentines, etc.). Why is it that one day out of the year requires more urgency to express how you feel about someone? Sure, it could be a poignant yet shallow reminder to appreciate those that we have strong bonds with but shouldn’t we celebrate those relationships every day (not that we do)?

But, I do want to take this moment to step back and look on the past four months since Nola has joined our family.

I have said it once and I will say it again and again. Parenting is hard and I expect it to increase in difficulty as the years go by. But, I am fortunate I am not in it alone. I have a partner — a mother.

The strength of a mother really is incredible. She carries the child for the better part of a year. She then has to undergo physical and mental trauma to bring the child into the world. These are burdens that I will never know and frankly, I don’t know if I could handle them (for reference, see “The Toe Incident”). And all of that is just the beginning.

Since I have known Brittany, which, is hard for me to believe, has been for less than 7 years (it seems longer), she has made it known that she wanted to be a mother someday. As we have progressed through the stages of our relationship, and the time ticked away, she became very diligent in increasing her campaign to achieve this goal. You could say it was one of her passions although that might not be a strong enough word.

I always knew Brittany would be a good mother but in review, the strength and perseverance she has has been unearthly. Or at least, at levels I can’t fathom.

Being a good mother requires patience. A flaw we both obviously lack at times. Yet, with Nola, Brittany has an everlasting supply, even when mine runs short.

Being a good mother requires educating. Brittany is tirelessly educating herself with book and web resources and at the same time, continuously pushing Nola to learn through reading, exercise, and play. Sure, parenting does not come with a field guide but there is no reason to not saturate yourself with information. That being said, I think Britt knows when to put methods into practice and when to move on instinct.

Being a good mother requires love. It is different when you are in love with someone, varying from the declarative “I love you” assortment. Being in love requires a higher level of passion and concern. It is also an identifiable trait from third parties. Brittany is in love with Nola. It’s obvious from the way she nurtures her, plays with her, and talks to her. It’s also obvious that the love she has is growing every day.

In short, Brittany has been and will continue to be an amazing mother and regardless of time or occasion, her efforts and love should be celebrated. Parenting definitely gives you a lens on how you view life and the important things that go with it. My new perspective has been watching Brittany become a mother and flourish in the role.

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