Introducing Classical Music

When I think about what most excites me about parenthood, I most often think about the joy of introducing things I love to my children. Last evening, we did just that with Elizabeth.

A string quartet from the Munich Philharmonic performed in Bethlehem. If there is any place where it would be appropriate to take a toddler to a classical music concert, Bethlehem is the place! The people here love children, and I expected none of the elitism that often permeates such events. And I am very proud to say that Elizabeth did great!! She sat quietly on J’s lap for the duration of the concert. She exuberantly clapped at the appropriate moments. And most importantly, she was mesmerized by the musicians on stage and the beautiful music they were making. 

Sarah, who I had expected to sleep for most of the concert, was less impressed. One forgets how many sudden volume changes there are in classical music until one is holding a tired baby in one’s arms who just wants to sleep. And she definitely was not a fan of the clapping either! So I won’t chalk up this event as Sarah’s first introduction to live classical music. We will give her another chance at a later date :)

Broken Dolls and a Broken World

Today Elizabeth encountered a headless doll. It traumatized her.

This morning we were visiting with our neighbor woman. Elizabeth went to throw away a piece of trash and suddenly she started crying. Loud cries. Fearful cries. I went to see what had happened, and I saw her looking into the trash can with big tears rolling down her cheeks. When I looked in, I saw a small, headless doll. It took a long time to console her and for her to be quiet. And even after we returned home, she would occasionally start crying and go to our door and say “pop” (which is doll in Dutch).

Of course it would be scary for her. In Elizabeth’s world, there is probably no difference between a doll and a person. Dolls have eyes. Dolls have hands. Dolls have feet. In her limited understanding of the world, dolls are just like us. So to see one without a head must have been a disturbing sight for her. And now, looking back on the incident, I’m not sure that my explanation that the doll was “broken”, was so helpful after all. I hope her 20 month old mind did not interpret that to mean that if she breaks she too will end up in the trash?!

Elizabeth was out of sorts for the rest of the day. While it is hard to discern if her emotional state was purely a reaction to the headless doll (she is also on the verge of cutting her incisor teeth), we are convinced it significantly contributed to her instability.

Observing Elizabeth react with such emotion to the headless doll caused me to reflect on all the painful things in life she has yet to encounter. I soon found myself with tears in my eyes; overwhelmed with the knowledge of the sadness she will need to feel and burdened about what my role as a parent will be in guiding her through these painful experiences.

But I am reminded of one of my favorite children’s books, “The Giver”. The take away point of the story is that life without suffering and pain is a life devoid of love, joy and all the beautiful emotions of life. At the end of the day, life is a mix of emotions. It is in this mixture that we find meaning and purpose. It is my prayer that J and I will love and parent our girls in a way that will provide them with a solid foundation on which to stand as they encounter more and more of the suffering of this world.

Time with Papa

I never grow tired of watching these two interact with each other!

A Glimpse into our First Week

This first week has been one of the most special experiences for me and J. Caring for a newborn infant bonds you as a couple in new and amazing ways. We are a great team! I have been the chief feeder… J has been the chief diaper changer. He has also been a great encourager while my emotions have been on an hormone driven emotional roller coaster. And his practical assistance and tender loving care has blessed this new mother over and over again. I know I will always think back to these first days of parenting with delight and joy. Yes, we are tired. Yes, I am still recovering from giving birth. But these physical discomforts pale in light of the joy we feel when gazing at our beautiful baby girl; her perfectly formed fingers; her button of a nose; her bright eyes. It’s been a time of deep contentment, peace and an overwhelming sense of being richly blessed.

Here are a few pictures to give you glimpse into this special week in our lives.

We arrived home from the hospital the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  What a special time of year to welcome a new baby into your home! The fact that we live in Bethlehem area is just an added bonus :)We had a quiet Christmas Eve, listening to music and admiring our beautiful baby. Christmas Day was another quiet day filled with naps for Elizabeth and the parents, Christmas music, and another cozy evening in front of the lit Christmas tree.

We had two outings this week. One for a medical appointment for me. Elizabeth did great, not surprising since she still sleeps most of the time. And J and I enjoyed the café lunch and reminder that life with a baby…although different…does not exclude such activities. The second outing was for Elizabeth’s one-week check-up with the pediatrician. She passed with flying colors! Her jaundice had improved. She had gained weight and was on par to reach her birth weight within a few more days. However, it was recommended that we use good Palestinian olive oil instead of Johnson’s Baby Oil…”It’s the best”, according to the nurse. We have not followed that advice, preferring the smell of baby products to that of olive oil on her skin!

Since Elizabeth had come home with a touch of jaundice, she has spent many of the daylight hours on our enclosed sun porch. It’s been very cold this week, and staying warm has been our number one goal. Homes without central heat are common here, and it never feels like a good construction idea during these cold snaps! So we are grateful for the days when the sun shines with enough strength to provide some warmth to the house and much needed rays for Elizabeth.   

We also received our first guests this week. What fun to introduce our daughter to friends, and we look forward to many more such introductions! We enjoyed a nice afternoon visiting with Keith, Laura and Maryann, friends from our church.

In the food department, the week can best be described as “God providing us with manna from heaven”. The perfect food for the moment was provided throughout the week. When we first arrived at home, our neighbor lady immediately brought over a pot of homemade vegetable soup. The next day she gave us a big pot of soup made with freekeh, commenting that THIS is the food that all Arab women eat after giving birth. Both soups were the perfect comfort food for me during those first days of recovering from giving birth. And then several days later, a friend provided us with a “Christmasy” meal, just when I was beginning to feel interested in heavier food than soup!

In general, it has been a relatively easy first week. Elizabeth has been sleeping at night, and her fussy moments (both day and night) feel manageable. She has taken to breastfeeding like a pro, and her gusto leaves little doubt about the adequacy of her food intake. Although Elizabeth is only a week old, we are already seeing changes in her. When awake, she is much more alert. She is beginning to make real eye contact with us when holding her. And it is a joy to see her visibly respond to our efforts to soothe her when she is upset and crying…a sign that she is beginning to recognize us as special people in her life. All three of us are getting to know each other more and more with each day!