November is National Adoption Awareness Month and a time to celebrate all of the families whose lives have been changed by adoption as well as pray in anticipation for those who are still waiting to meet their child.
There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about adoption with several celebrity adoptions as well as the story of Steve Jobs’ and his childhood. If you have ever thought about or questioned adoption, I think this video says it all…
Each day I am realizing how quickly I am becoming more and more like my parents. It is scary actually. As a parent I am finding this constant struggle between being excited to watch Nolin learn and grow up, yet already dreading the day that he no longer needs us for everything and gets excited to let us know it.
Nolin is growing up so quickly, and I think with each new milestone you start to get worried that the next stage will not be as exciting as the last. I mean eventually they will turn into teenagers, think they know it all, express their independence (with really awful long red hair) while at the same time turning all your hairs gray. I am slowly gaining a better appreciation for that cycle…sorry mom and dad. But in between all that, I have found that there is a lot of really good stuff to experience, and it looks like we are just getting started. Continue reading “I You”
This weekend Jenn & I realized just how lucky we are to have Nolin in our lives. On Saturday we decided to do the unthinkable…we attempted to pull off the social event hat trick. It’s sort of the equivalent to climbing Mount Everest for parents of a new born. We started off with a 9am promotional video shoot for Stepping Onward and then went to visit our friends for a pre World Cup party, after that it was off to another house to watch the England vs. USA World Cup match. Needless to say this was going to be at least an 8 hour day…with a 3 week old?! Nolin, get used to this because as you get older your life will be filled with 8 hour + workdays…none that will be as exciting as your first hat trick.
And work it was. Do you know how much planning goes into keeping an infant content for an entire day away from the house? A lot! Jenn and I started on Friday night, making sure we were prepared for anything, everything and any possible variation of those two things that could potentially happen in one 8 hour period. It was like getting ready for the arrival of a rock star.
And Friday night Nolin James was a rock star. He decided that the hours of 2am until 7:30am were great hours for getting us ready for the day ahead…up all night, sleep all day. Thankfully Jenn & I took shifts so there were small amounts of sleep allowed.
We made it out of the house and downtown for the video shoot by 9:15 (not too bad considering the work that goes into orchestrating chaos). He was perfect for the entire 3 hour production. Then we went over for the pre-party and again no issues. So we mentally prepared for the hell that he would unleash as we entered the party to watch the World Cup match.
Ten steps from the door, and the fun began. Oh great, we are not going to be welcomed here very long I instantly thought to myself, but we fed him (and changed him) right as we walked into the door (yes we are now those cool friends/guests that have decided it is socially appropriate to undress our kid and wipe away poop as we enter your house…so be prepared when you send us an invitation) and then everything was right as rain, and again he charmed the crowd. Nolin definitely knows how to work a room.
I don’t think I deserve to be this lucky. To have a kid who is as socially mobile as Nolin. The pessimist in me says enjoy while it lasts because he is going to be a terror when he gets older. Right now, I can’t imagine him unable to sit in the palm of my hand or being difficult at all, but at least if that happens I’ll always be able to look back at these days and say remember when my kid thought I was the coolest…and maybe he will too.
Yesterday though was the true realization of just how lucky Jenn and I have been. While it is fun to say that we have a son that we absolutely adore and who for the most part is very easy, there is also a very real drama that surrounds infertility and adoption. We took Nolin to our church for the first time since he’s been home (I didn’t even have to run frantically to the sound proof screaming child room once during mass) and we met with friends of ours who attended the adoption classes with us. They had matched with a birth mother before us and their son was due about a month before Nolin.
Since everything happened so quickly for us, we had not seen them since we found out about Nolin. They came into church and saw Nolin, their faces lit up with excitement and they gave us a huge thumbs up from across the church. We met in front of the altar after church and they gave us a big hug as we introduced them to our little guy. It was bitter-sweet for all of us. While they were so excited for us, they were also grieving because an hour before their son was to be born, their adoption fell through. Their story was the main reason why Jenn and I didn’t tell everyone when we found out about Nolin. It was a reminder of just how emotional the entire process can be.
Our story didn’t take the same twists and turns that many people face. There wasn’t the drama, heartache and loss that so many good people face in their journeys starting a family. I am not sure if I’ll ever know what either of us did to be so fortunate, but I definitely believe that I am the luckiest father alive.
Please mark this day on your calendars. Because Friday June 11, 2010 is that day that you will be able to refer back to when Nolin gets in trouble or does something wrong, because Friday June 11 is day zero…the day I worked from home and Nolin and I spent it just the two of us. Any time Nolin gets in trouble for the rest of his life can now be traced back to this day.
Last night Jenn gave me the checklist to ensure that I did not cause any major problems in his future development. Nolin, the man you become will be largely shaped on the 8 hours we spent together today. The checklist went as follows:
I nodded my head in agreement, but figured after three weeks of hanging out with Nolin I had this parenting thing down. And then Jenn left for her class, and all of the sudden I realized…there is probably a lot of damage I can do in a short time. I don’t know if I am ready for this. To top it all off, Fridays are our deadline day and I really did have to do work today.
In between baby sitting and working, there were a few lessons that I learned today. First, working from home with a 3 week old is not much different from working in the office. I feel that my job as a manager has trained me well to be a father. The only difference between being at home with Nolin and being at the office, is that my staff typically doesn’t ask me to burp them, and Nolin doesn’t talk back (at least not yet).
The other lesson I learned was how to effectively multi-task. There is nothing like holding a a 3 week old in your arms trying to keep a pacifier in their mouth in order to keep your child from crying while a customer is yelling at you because they don’t feel that they should have to pay their bills…awesome.
The final lesson I learned, is that I am incredibly jealous of Jenn because she gets to spend those moments with Nolin everyday. Today was day zero, and I can’t wait for the days to follow.
The weekend is over and I guess it is back to reality. While there are a few less hands to help keep Nolin occupied, there are several more people who have had the chance to be seduced by his charm.
Friday night after my brother and parents left our house to go to sleep, I sent Teresa upstairs to get an uninterrupted night of sleep in a comfortable bed, and decided that the boys would have an indoor campout. I think my slumber party was a little less successful than Teresa’s. Everything was ready…bassinet was in place by the couch; Nolin’s downstairs feeding, changing and clothing outlets were all fully stocked and ready to handle anything that came our way; pillows were placed strategically on the floor for Pancake; and sheets and a pillow adorned the couch to provide comfort and well deserved sleep for me.
We made it through the 1 am feeding with no problems, and I went back to the couch for my next 3 hours of sleep. Then at 2am, I was awoken not by screams or cries, but grunts and sighs as Nolin was feeling a little gassy and unable to get comfortable. At this point he was wide awake and it was game on. Basically I spent the rest of the night trying to get him wound down and back to sleep. I also discovered that prime time TV programming does not extend to 4 in the morning.
Nolin would fall asleep and then after about 10-20 minutes of sleep for me, we’d start the game over again, and he would smile (again through the whole ordeal he never cried once)…awesome. During the brief moments that Nolin would sleep, Pancake decided he wanted to be in on the action too, and he would jump on the couch and try to get comfortable using my head as a pillow…even more awesome. This routine between Nolin and Pancake went on until about 8:30 in the morning when Teresa and Jenn left for the airport.
With very little sleep and a son whose temperament was about as stable as the volcano in Iceland we opted not to test fate and make the 5 hour round trip to visit Aunt ELO, but Nolin did assure me that when we head up north he has reserved some time just for her in his rock star schedule. We did head out briefly for breakfast and then decided that we would just relax around the house and grill out for dinner.
There are a few things I remember from my early childhood. One is when my dad would lay in bed on a Saturday morning and he would sit me on his chest to fall asleep. Apparently he still has the knack because Nolin was perfectly content in my dad’s arms and resting on his chest. I guess my dad has the gift of the hypnotic buddha…I think Nolin could have slept there the entire day if we let him. We have now discovered the 6th “S” to having the Happiest Baby On The Block “Send Him To THE Belly”. Well I have learned a lesson from the master and I am having some luck with this new technique albeit not as much as my father since he has had a few more years to develop his technique.
It has really made me appreciate this entire experience more to have the opportunity to share Nolin with my family and witness how this child has already brought so much joy into our lives…and he is just getting started. Nolin has taught me so much in his first few weeks, and I guess things have come full circle because once again I have learned from the master.
