Geoff and Gina's Little Addition: 2012

Wow... Everybody keeps telling me that time will fly and it is so true: Stella is almost 4 months old: I can hardly believe it! We've just had a beautiful Christmas with Geoff's side of our family... Stella got treated with many beautiful gifts from family and friends...most of all, I feel that we are so blessed to have our little one with us this year, where last year at this time we were only just getting used to the idea that we were finally going to have a baby! So much has changed since then. It is all pretty fantastic! :) ...and now we are officially in 2012 & we are so excited about the year ahead of us!

Geoff and I have some special little names for Stella:
Geoff mostly calls her "monkey pop" , "tsatsongololo" and "kookaburra" and I mostly call her "noentjie" (she is so 'nu-nu' so she's my little 'noentjie'!) and "bubzi". We also have a tendency to add 'pop' onto most things we call her (eg: noentjie-pop / angel-pop etc)

Geoff and I have been reading books by Aletha Solter and implementing some of the principals of her philosophy of "Aware Parenting"

link here

At first it was quite challenging accepting Stella's need to cry... but it is such an amazing thing to get to the other side of the crying - when her eyes are clear & there is such a peace that comes over her - whether it's an awake or a sleepy peace. It is beautiful to see her tears wash away the stress & tensions she accumulates from all her learning & the stimulus she's exposed to.

It is a cathartic experience for me to see & support her through the tears. It is so important to me that she will always know she can come to us with anything at all, big or small, without being judged - rather that she always feels supported & loved in whatever she feels... I trust that this is a good way to start our relationship with openness & honesty. The main thing I am trying to always do is trust my instincts - if it feels wrong, it probably is. It distresses me when Stella cries and I cannot leave her to be on her own in it: my instinct is to hold her & support her in what she is feeling, so that is what I am doing.

I love being Stella's mother. I love watching her grow & learn new little things every day. I am savouring the moments I have with her & grateful that there are so many of them.

Here is a photo & video update from the last few weeks: