Geoff and Gina's Little Addition: Innocence

noun

1. the quality or state of being innocent; freedom from sin or moral wrong.

2. freedom from legal or specific wrong; guiltlessness.

3. simplicity; absence of guile or cunning; naiveté.

4. lack of knowledge or understanding.

5. harmlessness; innocuousness.

The dictionary definition is so clear... Innocence is something that most people really value as a state of being.. the feeling of being innocent is a great feeling: knowing beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have done nothing wrong - that you are "free from sin or moral wrong". It is the feeling of freedom: freedom from having to concern oneself with anything other than the simple truth about how things are perceived when there is no agenda... simplicity: lack of complication.

The innocence of children creates an overwhelming feeling within me to love and protect. Experiencing my own baby and her innocence is so amazing - I love that she naive - that her needs are simple. If she's hungry, uncomfortable, overstimulated or tired, she will let me know so that I can meet those needs. She is an easy baby. I am very blessed.

Stella's existence beyond simple needs is a joy! All her mind and body need to do at this stage is to learn. She's learned to feel happy and to smile.. learned to laugh (although that seems to have been a debut with no follow-on for now!)...she's learning to grab things & hold her head up straight for longer periods of time. She's learning about the sun and sleeping during the night.. the sounds around her.. her own voice..mine & Geoff's.

Being pregnant is a very different experience from having a baby. The selfish days of only having to care for myself - for every aspect of my physical being to maximise my baby's chance of being physically healthy and well, have morphed into a feeling of extreme and seemingly constant exhaustion. Someone said {with regard to breastfeeding} that a baby 'sucks the water out of your blood' . This goes beyond the physical & is a pretty accurate description of the physical and emotional sacrifice one submits to a child. Looking back & knowing what I know now, the mental and emotional preparations for being a mother feel now as though they were completely inadequate. Admittedly, this is most likely because I listened intently with both ears & really understood with half of one. It was not possible to prepare for something that changes one's life so radically - until one experiences it. I can say though that I am extremely happy.

Enough musing.... Stella is 9.5 weeks old now & her hair is growing longer each week! She is so adorable & I have to restrain myself from buying loads of toys to hang from her baby gym!!!!

We have been going down to the beach in the late afternoons on nice days....

Here are some recent pics: