Her message was simple but I got the memo. Baby boy was premmie but had been world-side for eight weeks. If I were to somehow capture that newborn magic I had to do so quickly. Within a week of Karla’s first message I pulled up outside their house and caught up on the rest of details that we hadn’t had the chance to discuss.
“What’s his name?” I asked as Karla and I walked from my car to the front door, hands full of my gear.
“Arjun,” she smiled.
“Oh, how unusual, where does that come from?” my curiosity was piqued.
“My partner is Indian.”
“Ah, yes, how lovely! And what was his name again?”
When Karla told me, the pieces all fell together, so to speak.
“Jas? Jaspreet? I believe I spoke to you when you were buying this home last year,” I grinned.
It was one of those ‘small world’ moments when you realise you’ve heard all about someone from every other person and don’t connect the dots until the last minute
When I stepped inside, baby Arjun was nestled on his daddy’s chest. I couldn’t resist cooing for a moment and then paying attention to Karla’s laughing reassurance that no, the orange sweatshirt was not Jas’ intended photo attire.
While we waited for Jas to get changed, Karla showed me into the nursery. “It’s really small and might not be suitable,” she had warned me.
But it was the perfect size, in my view. And once the blinds were pulled up I was thrilled to see how the light poured in through the large windows.
With Jas in his classic neutrals and Arjun in his baby blues, I stepped back and documented the wonder of tinyness, the little whimpers, and evident delight and adoration that these new parents had for their sweet little boy.
I had warned Karla that babies don’t always settle easily when everything is so out of their normal routine. And in a sense, the warning was needed. But in another it wasn’t. The little man did not settle for close to three hours as I had warned could occur. But the warning wasn’t needed because his parents somehow just rolled with it and nothing could dim the radiant happiness on their faces.
Congratulations again, Karla and Jas!! There is no mistaking that your sweet Arjun is one very, very loved little boy.
Christella xx