Yoo hoo.......... The little one is 3 months old today!!!!!!!!!
Decided to make a list of her quirks (gasp... already??!!!) to make her day special...
She L.O.V.E.S watching laundry being folded. The happiness on her face and her excitement in kicking and cycling away is amazing! What she finds in the oh-so-boring chore... she only knows!
Continuing the laundry theme, when the weather was very rainy and muggy few weeks back, my Dad hung up a couple of clothes lines in the hall (yeah... we don't care what our guests think! This is our house and we like to live the way we want!!) and put up all the wet clothes on them. Little Joy had a field day... So many different colors, all swaying gently whenever anyone moved and there for her to enjoy 24/7! Man, what else can one ask for!
All her toys are subjected to the the pecking order. The first month she enjoyed exactly 1 rattle. Out of about 10. Anything else, she would either cry or turn face away. She especially hated one particularly noisy one. The second month, she loved a multi-colored ball. The beloved rattle was subjected to face-turning behavior!! The third month was dominated by elephant rattle. And oh, the hateful noisy rattle became a pet too! She wouldn't go to sleep without it! The slightest noise and she wakes up... while the damn noisy rattle actually PUTS her to sleep! Go figure...
(BTW, all the above toys except the noisy rattle... courtesy Ashu. Thanks a ton Ashu... what would we do without you!)
The first two months Thatha was her favourite. She sees him and there's a brilliant smile. He moves away and the smile fades out. It's sleepy time and he HAS to carry her. Else, no sleep for the day... try all u can! She wakes up from sleep in the morning... he HAS to wish her "Suprabhatham". (My parents insist on traditional greetings! It has to be Suprabhatham for Good Morning, Shubha Rathri for Good night and the likes!) Her best smiles and gurgles were reserves specially for him! And now... move over Thatha... It's Pati time! She doesn't as much as second glance him now!!! It's Pati all the way! Oh, she loves him and smiles at hima nd everything, but the special twinkle in the eye is all for Pati alone! This kid... I tell you!
(Psst... little secret.. Thatha was needed the first 2 months to put her to sleep and now Pati takes her outdoors to watch the traffic AND sings to put her to sleep... so it's all about the math, really!)
She has learnt to cover her face with her tiny hands while I nurse her. And what EVER happens, I am not to move it! I move it thinking she's asleep, and back it comes again with the tiniest hint of irritation!
This one is not a surprise lover. Anything new suddenly thrust on her and she bawls out like crazy! But, tell her what you're going to do and then do it, she's a doll! (I swear... even when she was as little as 6 weeks old!) No surprise parties for u, kid!
She loves it when I clean her ears! Seriously... After her bath, (by which time she's howled the whole place down! Yes.. she's a water-hater!) I wipe the water out of her ears and she screws up her face and hands in concentration and has this hilarious expression of satisfaction combined with pleasure combined with curiosity on her face!!! Have to capture a picture of this sometime...
3 months and already so many... wonder what I'll do with this kid as she grows... Well, I guess I'll have to make peace with the fact that it will always my baby who will spring surprises on ME and never the other way round!
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Hell hath seen no fury...
... like a baby provoked!!!
January 26th, 2008 goes down in history. In my baby book, that is!
It's 10.00 AM. Colleagues call... they're coming to visit us and more specifically to "play" with Joy.. thanks to the endless phone calls I've bugged them with, bragging about how wonderfully my little one plays, smiles, laughs, talks... you get the drift! I have a hurried shower. Meanwhile, Joy is sleepy and oh-so-slightly cranky. My mom wants her to be up to the occasion... so out come the gold bangles, to replace the tiny black ones Joy has been wearing since birth. Some irritation, some tears, the mood dips a little more. But hubby carries her and she seems content.
And then they walk in, helmets and all! One of them makes straight for her and picks her from Hubby's arms. A split-second silence.. and that's it! Ceilings shimmer, walls vibrate, glass rattles.. it's unbelievable! She's almost breathless crying! And this, from a normally pleasant tempered, sweet smiling, mellow voiced, peace-loving babe! In her almost 3 months of life, she has never EVER cried like this! Four helpless adults around her, all trying to get her to simmer down... not working the least bit! If anything, the bawls and howls get even louder and stronger, while the visitors watch dumbstruck! I try to nurse her and even that doesn't work. The air is filled with a tension that's bristling with current! My mom, with a sudden spurt of experienced wisdom, puts a couple of sugar crystals in her mouth... slight improvement. Then takes her out to watch the traffic.. usually a treat she loves! Slowly and steadily the wails come down, the breathing gets raggedly back to rhythm, though it's still a long way off from normal. And the air inside slowly limps back to normalcy. My colleague is speechless and has her hands on her mouth and ears!!! (And that's saying a lot, considering the woman talks nineteen to the dozen 24/7! I'm sure she talks even in her sleep!)
And then finally, she goes to sleep in my Dad's arms. Phew... everyone heaves a sigh of relief. The 3 of them run away promising they'll come back another time!!! And all of us can't stop wondering what the heck happened! Maybe it was the immunisation thing still working her out. Maybe it was all the previous crankiness put together with many new faces. God only knows! Anyways, she wakes up a half hour later... all smiles and playful! We all heave huge sighs of reliefs! But wait... somethings not right ! The face looks dull, the eyes aren't twinkling and the smile looks forced!
And thus starts Joy's first bout of fever.........
P.S. Ttwo days and 3 doses of Metacin later, she seems finally back to her state of normalcy! Thank God for small mercies!
January 26th, 2008 goes down in history. In my baby book, that is!
It's 10.00 AM. Colleagues call... they're coming to visit us and more specifically to "play" with Joy.. thanks to the endless phone calls I've bugged them with, bragging about how wonderfully my little one plays, smiles, laughs, talks... you get the drift! I have a hurried shower. Meanwhile, Joy is sleepy and oh-so-slightly cranky. My mom wants her to be up to the occasion... so out come the gold bangles, to replace the tiny black ones Joy has been wearing since birth. Some irritation, some tears, the mood dips a little more. But hubby carries her and she seems content.
And then they walk in, helmets and all! One of them makes straight for her and picks her from Hubby's arms. A split-second silence.. and that's it! Ceilings shimmer, walls vibrate, glass rattles.. it's unbelievable! She's almost breathless crying! And this, from a normally pleasant tempered, sweet smiling, mellow voiced, peace-loving babe! In her almost 3 months of life, she has never EVER cried like this! Four helpless adults around her, all trying to get her to simmer down... not working the least bit! If anything, the bawls and howls get even louder and stronger, while the visitors watch dumbstruck! I try to nurse her and even that doesn't work. The air is filled with a tension that's bristling with current! My mom, with a sudden spurt of experienced wisdom, puts a couple of sugar crystals in her mouth... slight improvement. Then takes her out to watch the traffic.. usually a treat she loves! Slowly and steadily the wails come down, the breathing gets raggedly back to rhythm, though it's still a long way off from normal. And the air inside slowly limps back to normalcy. My colleague is speechless and has her hands on her mouth and ears!!! (And that's saying a lot, considering the woman talks nineteen to the dozen 24/7! I'm sure she talks even in her sleep!)
And then finally, she goes to sleep in my Dad's arms. Phew... everyone heaves a sigh of relief. The 3 of them run away promising they'll come back another time!!! And all of us can't stop wondering what the heck happened! Maybe it was the immunisation thing still working her out. Maybe it was all the previous crankiness put together with many new faces. God only knows! Anyways, she wakes up a half hour later... all smiles and playful! We all heave huge sighs of reliefs! But wait... somethings not right ! The face looks dull, the eyes aren't twinkling and the smile looks forced!
And thus starts Joy's first bout of fever.........
P.S. Ttwo days and 3 doses of Metacin later, she seems finally back to her state of normalcy! Thank God for small mercies!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Happy Birthday to me!
Another year older, and hopefully another year wiser! Trying to put aside the dreadful thought that I'm dangling on the verge of being thirty (sob sob) and enjoying with hubby, my parents and my best gift ever... my little bundle of Joy!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
It's THAT time of the month again!
It's Joy's next immunisation day tomorrow! The last one still stands vivid in my memory... the crying, the discomfort, her looks and cries of distress, my helplessness knowing how much pain she was going through, understanding it's for her own good, but still torn apart by not being able to make it easy for her. And finally praying and thanking the Almighty (and Metacin!!) for letting her sleep through most of it! She slept almost 2 full days straight! And that was probably more than what she had slept in her entire tiny 2 month old life put together!
And now already another month has passed, the question list for the doctor has increased, the anxiety is showing up and the praying has started! The only comfort is in knowing that my poor little darling will emerge stronger and healthier to lead her life ahead! Here's to your health, little one!
And now already another month has passed, the question list for the doctor has increased, the anxiety is showing up and the praying has started! The only comfort is in knowing that my poor little darling will emerge stronger and healthier to lead her life ahead! Here's to your health, little one!
Monday, January 14, 2008
Joy Story
Joy arrived on October 30th, 2007 at 12.30 PM. She was all of 3.5 kgs (7.7 pounds) and 53 cms (21 inches) screaming at the doctor and everyone else for having disturbed her slumber! Once she was cleaned up the nurse cuddled her up to my face... I was so choked up and everything! She was staring out of her huge round eyes and every time there was a cuddle, she would close them up tight and screw up her wrinkly forehead and wait for more! It was a Kodak moment... one that will remain fresh as ever in my memory... forever and ever!
The lazy bum had to be pulled out of me by means of a cesarean section. She was 5 days post dated and refused to move out of her cozy home. And once she was out, man did she go on strike! She refused to sleep from the word go! Her eyes wide open since the instant she was born, it required the combined efforts of my mom, my sister and my dad to get her to sleep! Post-surgery, I wasn't in a position to do much for myself, let alone her... so the first few days went by in a blur with me trying to get on to my feet, nursing her, learning to handle her and the likes! Nursing her was a breeze... she caught on almost immediately and the only problem was that she was draining me out far too much! After innumerable crying sessions and sleepless nights, we learnt from the doctor that she is a "hyper active" baby! As in "baby who hardly sleeps", "baby who should have stories narrated to, be sung lullabies to, shown toys to", "baby who brings the ceiling down crying at nights", "baby who needs change of rooms/toys/other forms of entertainment at the rate of about 15 mins per activity just because she's BORED"... all this right from the ripe old age of about 10 days!!!!!!!! I mean, can anyone beat this??
It's 11 weeks since, and Joy has worked her way to come to terms with the human world! From being a totally sleepless baby, she graduated to being a day-time sleeper and is now almost a full-night sleeper! Daytime naps are few and far in between, with a maximum duration of about 15 mins, if any! From being an almost continuous feeder driving me close to the verge of picking up formula in desperation, she now has a healthy 2 hour staying time between feeds of about 20 mins each! Most of her hyper activity is now being diverted to constructive activities like cycling, kicking (What a kicker she is! If she had kicked half as much while she was due to come out of me, I would've been minus a large rip in my belly!) She smiles divinely at anyone and everyone. The large gummy grin and the bright twinkly eyes make me swell with pride every single time! She is in love with her own voice and cannot stop using it! There and aas and oos and goos and "amma"s (collar up!!) galore in the household now! The bubbles have started coming in cartloads! There's spray for a few metre radius all around her! She has discovered her own hands and spends hours in their company, talking to them, moving them, admiring them! After every nap, that's the first thing she looks at, making sure they're still intact! She loves having people around, identifies everyone at home and instantly knows if there's a newcomer in the midst! Anyone walking anywhere close to her CANNOT move away, without having spoken to her first! The tiny little pixie demands attention like crazy... and makes sure she gets it!
The more I look at her, the more I wonder... did we really create this wonder? I mean, zombies like Hubby and me... did we really make up this lovely little, twinkly eyed doll? I got to believe it... I actually saw her coming out of me... but still I wonder... at this adorable gift we have received from heaven... and every time I pray to God and pledge to myself... to protect her, to nurture her, to spoil her, to bring her up into this confident woman who spreads joy and cheer everywhere she goes, to be a good friend a great mother to her! I hope and pray that your life will be as successful and fulfilling as possible, my little bundle of joy, and I promise you, I will leave no stone unturned in helping you achieve all that you want! You are and always will be the center of my life, the apple of my eye! I love you and adore you with all my heart!
The lazy bum had to be pulled out of me by means of a cesarean section. She was 5 days post dated and refused to move out of her cozy home. And once she was out, man did she go on strike! She refused to sleep from the word go! Her eyes wide open since the instant she was born, it required the combined efforts of my mom, my sister and my dad to get her to sleep! Post-surgery, I wasn't in a position to do much for myself, let alone her... so the first few days went by in a blur with me trying to get on to my feet, nursing her, learning to handle her and the likes! Nursing her was a breeze... she caught on almost immediately and the only problem was that she was draining me out far too much! After innumerable crying sessions and sleepless nights, we learnt from the doctor that she is a "hyper active" baby! As in "baby who hardly sleeps", "baby who should have stories narrated to, be sung lullabies to, shown toys to", "baby who brings the ceiling down crying at nights", "baby who needs change of rooms/toys/other forms of entertainment at the rate of about 15 mins per activity just because she's BORED"... all this right from the ripe old age of about 10 days!!!!!!!! I mean, can anyone beat this??
It's 11 weeks since, and Joy has worked her way to come to terms with the human world! From being a totally sleepless baby, she graduated to being a day-time sleeper and is now almost a full-night sleeper! Daytime naps are few and far in between, with a maximum duration of about 15 mins, if any! From being an almost continuous feeder driving me close to the verge of picking up formula in desperation, she now has a healthy 2 hour staying time between feeds of about 20 mins each! Most of her hyper activity is now being diverted to constructive activities like cycling, kicking (What a kicker she is! If she had kicked half as much while she was due to come out of me, I would've been minus a large rip in my belly!) She smiles divinely at anyone and everyone. The large gummy grin and the bright twinkly eyes make me swell with pride every single time! She is in love with her own voice and cannot stop using it! There and aas and oos and goos and "amma"s (collar up!!) galore in the household now! The bubbles have started coming in cartloads! There's spray for a few metre radius all around her! She has discovered her own hands and spends hours in their company, talking to them, moving them, admiring them! After every nap, that's the first thing she looks at, making sure they're still intact! She loves having people around, identifies everyone at home and instantly knows if there's a newcomer in the midst! Anyone walking anywhere close to her CANNOT move away, without having spoken to her first! The tiny little pixie demands attention like crazy... and makes sure she gets it!
The more I look at her, the more I wonder... did we really create this wonder? I mean, zombies like Hubby and me... did we really make up this lovely little, twinkly eyed doll? I got to believe it... I actually saw her coming out of me... but still I wonder... at this adorable gift we have received from heaven... and every time I pray to God and pledge to myself... to protect her, to nurture her, to spoil her, to bring her up into this confident woman who spreads joy and cheer everywhere she goes, to be a good friend a great mother to her! I hope and pray that your life will be as successful and fulfilling as possible, my little bundle of joy, and I promise you, I will leave no stone unturned in helping you achieve all that you want! You are and always will be the center of my life, the apple of my eye! I love you and adore you with all my heart!
Friday, January 4, 2008
What's the deal about blogging anyway?
Almost everyone I know blogs... they have been blogging since quite a while now. And I have been a blurker from as long as I can remember! So what is it about blogs? I mean... as far as I know, most of these people had never been in the habit of writing diaries... and in any case, aren't diaries meant to be personal? So what's with blogging on the net, where millions of people can read about your innermost thoughts on just about everything on the planet... and beyond, and even leave comments about it? I think and think... and have no answer! The damn bug has actually caught even ME!!
Reading blogs... yes... I have always been a reader, lapping up anything and everything that comes my way. Blurking... yes... coz I have never written anything in my life, except for a study tour report in college, and that too only because my lecturer threatened to show his capabilities in my internal marks sheet!! (Come to think of it... I had actually won a "Creative Writing" competition in college... something about "A strand of hair" or the likes... he he he...) Anyways, coming back to blurking... I don't think I have ever left a comment on any of the blogs I read, which are quite a lot by the way! People write what they like and who am I to comment on their opinions anyway?... is my thinking! But hey, guess what... looks like I'm growing up... ' I ' am blogging!!! In spite of some big-time obstacles like... what do I call it, and what do I call myself, and what if someone I know reads it and finds out it's me, and so on.... oh, and the great Blogger.com vetoing every single witty (supposedly) blog name I came up with, saying it's already taken! Bah... and most of them have stopped blogging years ago!
So yes, Hello blogdom... here I am... I will ramble all I like and as often as I can... and yes people, if you care enough to comment on my blogs, go right ahead! I'm just glad u dropped by! And if you know who I am, aw man, just don't ever tell me you found out!!!
Reading blogs... yes... I have always been a reader, lapping up anything and everything that comes my way. Blurking... yes... coz I have never written anything in my life, except for a study tour report in college, and that too only because my lecturer threatened to show his capabilities in my internal marks sheet!! (Come to think of it... I had actually won a "Creative Writing" competition in college... something about "A strand of hair" or the likes... he he he...) Anyways, coming back to blurking... I don't think I have ever left a comment on any of the blogs I read, which are quite a lot by the way! People write what they like and who am I to comment on their opinions anyway?... is my thinking! But hey, guess what... looks like I'm growing up... ' I ' am blogging!!! In spite of some big-time obstacles like... what do I call it, and what do I call myself, and what if someone I know reads it and finds out it's me, and so on.... oh, and the great Blogger.com vetoing every single witty (supposedly) blog name I came up with, saying it's already taken! Bah... and most of them have stopped blogging years ago!
So yes, Hello blogdom... here I am... I will ramble all I like and as often as I can... and yes people, if you care enough to comment on my blogs, go right ahead! I'm just glad u dropped by! And if you know who I am, aw man, just don't ever tell me you found out!!!
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