Taoist parenting

They say time flies when you're having fun. I think it depends on the kind of fun you're having. When you're lying on the sofa with a coffee, a book, and a five-day old daughter snuggled asleep on your chest, time just drifts amiably by.

Stella is currently lying on a cushion on my lap, squiggling away. She is, of course, a perfect little girl, but then I would say that. My overwhelming impressions of fatherhood so far - to my great surprise - are that it's a very peaceful experience. We find ourselves in a taoist paradise: go with the flow, and all is well. If Stella is asleep, you can talk and cook and do what you like. If she's awake and playful, you need to be nearby. If she's fidgety, she needs to be held - which means that using a computer or cooking a meal is impossible, but reading a book is easy enough. Washington weather is fairly hostile, especially while we're waiting for the sun-hood for our stroller, so if the sun is shining brightly, we stay in. If the sun is weak, we go out. In the evenings, best to walk east. In the mornings, best to walk west. It's a lesson on living in the moment. If you yield, you will conquer... Well, that's what the first week's been like. I will keep this note as a happy memory of the days before she started playing up!

Now we are trying to stretch ourselves with little adventures - on Monday, to the pediatrician. (A wonderful woman. And no problems so far.) On Tuesday, to Kramerbooks for coffee. (Kramerbooks was the site of our first meal in Washington.) On Wednesday, over to a baby-friend's house to watch a video about how to calm down crying babies: it's all about the "Five S's" and "The Fourth Trimester". Interesting - most of the babies looked older than Stella and the parents looked considerably more careworn: we're taking notes for later. So far, the way to get Stella to stop crying is to stop changing her nappy. Yesterday, we all went for pizza. You have to keep your priorities, even in a time of change... Today, we were going to go to the zoo, but the sun was too hot. C'est la vie.