The Nappy Diaries

The last two weeks have represented a really steep learning curve for me. I have learnt what a “doula” is (for those of you who are as ignorant as me: it is a person, something between a nurse and a nanny who comes to new parents’ houses and helps them in the first few days), that you can feed newborns with Similac if they cannot be breastfed (they won’t notice the difference, believe me :-) and I listened to very arcane and heated discussions about the usefulness and harmfulness of pacifiers (or “binky” for the British) – yes/no, until which age?

But as a non-parent you still feel like being in an advanced astrophysics class when you listen to parents talking about the different forms of nappies (Huggies vs. Pampers) and how to apply them. When Peter and Frans were visited by another gay couple yesterday who have also become parents recently, the discussions on nappies were so arcane that I cannot even repeat them here. I just sat there with an ignorant and gormless expression in my face and nodded in agreement from time to time.

On a more serious note, the last two weeks have almost been a case study for the notion of photography as a way to explore the world and gain experiences. Without me doing this documentary photography project, I would not have been able to make this experience and participate in Frans’ and Peter’s journey to parenthood. At least I would not have been so close and constantly involved without a camera. That’s why I love photography!