Heyyyyyyyyy Blogdom! I'm back baby! (Let's see for how long!)
Alrighty... updating all that happened until now will be very very VERY difficult! A L.O.T has happened so far and we've basically survived them all... the move, visitors, relatives, weaning, weather changes, Hubby's work timings, a small bout of fever, playtime with the neighbouring kids, et all! We've lived with 15 people in the apartment and we've lived with just the two of us. And amidst them all, Joy's adaptability has to be seen to be believed! There are occasional incidents of unexplainable yelling or restless crying, but they're few and far in between.
Joy in a nutshell... Being close to completing 8 months, we're now up to 4 solid meals a day and in spite of all thefountain-spraying that's happening, we're pretty much into some semblance of a schedule now! (Which is generally the living-on-air-and-water schedule! Weight gain has become almost nil. Anyways, more on that later!) The lesser said about sleep, the better. Loads of crawling, creeping, screaming, babbling is happening. We're now able to sit unsupported and stand up holding on to something (mostly the nearest available shirt!!) and we're very proud of our accomplishments! We expect appreciation for anything and everything we do and in plenty, mind you! We're as cuddly as ever. We love to get out of the house, even if it means being mercilessly pushed around on a stroller in the apartment corridor! The drooling is still aplenty. We are sick of blaming everything on teething pains since the first tooth is not even close to making an appearance. (Interestingly, I saw a tiny white speck and even felt it on her lower jaw last month, but it mysteriously disappeared a couple of weeks later! No clue people!) Anyways, the gummy smiles continue to flash across and no one is in a hurry to lose them... so no worries!
I, meanwhile, have no time for anything that's not Joy-related! It's just her, her and her ALL THE TIME! Feed, bathe, dress, put to sleep, feed, re-dress, play, play, play, put to sleep (try, try, try again) feed (count 1 to 10, do NOT lose temper... she's just a baby) and the vicious cycle just goes on and on and on... And don't even get me started on laundry, cooking, cleaning and the likes! The apartment resembles a cow-shed for crying out loud! I have no inkling of recent movies, music, happenings around the world. I've forgotten what a newspaper looks like, that there's something called a television (gasp!) and after so many months have finally got reaccquainted with the computer only now! I can't care less (not that I have the time for it anyway) about what I wear or how I look. Thankfully for others, I'm still aware that I SHOULD wear something! AND I missed the BIG online baby shower. That was a real shame! I SO wish I'd been a part of it!Anyhoo... just started going through other bloggers archives to get updated! My blog updates will be directly proportional to Joy's quality and quantity of sleep... which are amazingly terrible and tiny respectively! Each time I think it can't get worse or shorter and time and again, she proves me wrong! There's a lesson to be learnt right there! Never expect anything from anyone and life will be bliss!
So so so... that's about the scoop so far. There's lots I want to write about... time and Joy permitting! Meanwhile, off I go archive digging!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
F O U R
As month four ends and the fifth one dawns both Pu and Joy are growing and discovering. Joy now joins her hands together and takes them above her her head whenever anyone says "Govinda Govinda", as my mother has trained her to do. She has stopped rolling over for the most part, as she's absolutely uncomfortable on her tummy. She loves to sit and is forever asking to sit on the swing, bouncer, stroller, car seat, or best of all, anyone's lap! Stranger anxiety is at it's peak and woe becomes anyone who side tracks her refusal and tries to carry her! She's babbling like a brook and all sorts of vowels and consonants are being introduced to a perfectly devoted audience everyday! Toys are getting kicked and thrown about like nobody's business. There's bucket loads of drool...on her fists, ours, her toys... just about everywhere. I have started bathing her and surprisingly, except for a couple of incidents, there hasn't been much vocal support from her! At least, she doesn't howl the place down, so I assume she's either resigned herself to it, or is actually starting to enjoy it. The "Brrrrr factor" (the one where she purpose-fully draws the ever-flowing drool into her mouth and then sprays out loudly) is being practiced in all it's glory! About a 2 km radius around her can be termed as the wet zone. And as always, she continues to be very patient and understanding, taking everything and everyone in her stride!
JOY in four words...
Cranky - With a capital C. The first half of the month she was ok. The second half has seen the brunt of it! She doesn't nurse, doesn't sleep, doesn't play. All we can get out of her is a polite courteous smile now and then and that's about it. She was clearly in pain and we couldn't figure out why. Two pediatricians, ("She's a perfectly healthy baby"... Duh! Like I didn't know that) many phone calls and free advices later (none of which helped) I read my baby bible (Thanks Boo! That's the only thing that pulled us out of our misery!) and finally found out the little one must be having teething pain! Apparently the teeth sprout only after the seventh month or so, but some poor babies (aka my sweet little formerly-good-tempered-Joy) face the pain a good one or two months early on. The symptoms are just way too clear to dismiss. Sooooooo... Joy still suffers, but now I know why AND I know it's temporary. So one out of two is less cranky!
Clingy - A by-product of the crankiness, arises clinginess. I can use terms like "velcro" or "fevicol" to describe her... It's mommy time all the way! The grand dad gets a cursory smile and that's it. The grand mom, thank God, is still held in familiar circles, but Mommy rules big time! As long as I'm with her and touching her, she's a dear. A couple of minutes of my disappearance and slowly the crankiness begins. Anyhoooooo... as my niece warned me, I have decided to enjoy this time and then try not to complain when Mommy is shown the door and Daddy starts to rule!
CUDDLY - The epitome of it! She loves cuddling and she loves even more to be cuddled! Wet, sloppy kisses abound the household and needless to say, we're all loving it!
Patient - In spite of all the Cs that I've come up with earlier, this trait deserves a special mention! I'm proud to say I'm learning from her (already!) and trying to cope up with her troubles as much as she is. The "Brrr factor" is being used as a defence mechanism. So nowadays, if she's unable to cope with anything, she does that instead of losing her temper and crying and I get the message. Poor little darling...
PU in four words...
Sleep-deprived - Again, by-product of Joy's restlessness and crankiness. Her daytime sleep has all but disappeared. Nights are typically restless and see a lot of tossing, turning and bouts of crying. There's no choice but to nurse her, (the only time when she actually allows me to nurse her these days) although sometimes, just comforting her and hugging or putting an arm around her works. We're basically taking each day/night at a time! I'm not a daytime sleeper at all by any terms. I'm still waiting for my first uninterrupted-sleep night!
Helpless - Watching Joy struggle for so long hasn't been easy. Although the mind repeats that this is nothing big, everyone goes through this, there's a lot more to come, and so on, the heart is absolutely wrenched. Nights are the worst. The poor thing is so disturbed and looks so full of pain, I'm at a total loss for words or actions. The book says the pain will continue till the damn tooth sprouts, that will take a couple of months at least, and I'm not sure I can continue watching this until then. I have never felt this helpless in my life. Ever. The poor baby clinging to me as if I can make it all go away doesn't make it any easy either. Since she's not able to nurse, I've resorted to feeding her expressed milk. Pushing that down her throat is another whole story by itself. If ever I got my hands on a magic wand, I would just swish it and make it all go away. Until then, all I can do is pray.
Anxious - Joy and me move to my place next month. My in-laws will be there for a while but after that it's just Hubby, me and Joy. Although I'm excited by the prospect of getting back to MY place and living life MY way and having my darling Hubby around me all the time (Ah... how we cheat ourselves!), the thought of flying the nest (this didn't seem to bother me in the least, up until now!) and losing the security of having my unconditionally loving parents at my beck and call, seems nightmarish to say the least. I'm hoping for the best. I'm not sure if I'm prepared for the worst. But the silver lining is that they're just a phone call and about an hour and half (on a good Bangalore traffic day) away!
Depressed - Just a wee bit! Much as I tried to live in denial, I finally admit it! I am never one who dwells in self-pity or gets depressed or upset at things... however big they may be. 'Take life as it comes' is pretty much my motto. But a few days back something happened, the dam burst, I cried a little bit, talked about it to Hubby (Not sure if that sorted out things... but whatever!) and I think I'm over it now. I think. I most certainly hope so... this one bout caught me by surprise and I didn't like one bit of it. Anyways, it's back to enjoying life again! At least for the moment.
P.S. Yes, I know this post is long over-due. It was done in many installments. I never edit or read through any of my posts, so I hope there's enough coherence and continuity to make sense!
JOY in four words...
Cranky - With a capital C. The first half of the month she was ok. The second half has seen the brunt of it! She doesn't nurse, doesn't sleep, doesn't play. All we can get out of her is a polite courteous smile now and then and that's about it. She was clearly in pain and we couldn't figure out why. Two pediatricians, ("She's a perfectly healthy baby"... Duh! Like I didn't know that) many phone calls and free advices later (none of which helped) I read my baby bible (Thanks Boo! That's the only thing that pulled us out of our misery!) and finally found out the little one must be having teething pain! Apparently the teeth sprout only after the seventh month or so, but some poor babies (aka my sweet little formerly-good-tempered-Joy) face the pain a good one or two months early on. The symptoms are just way too clear to dismiss. Sooooooo... Joy still suffers, but now I know why AND I know it's temporary. So one out of two is less cranky!
Clingy - A by-product of the crankiness, arises clinginess. I can use terms like "velcro" or "fevicol" to describe her... It's mommy time all the way! The grand dad gets a cursory smile and that's it. The grand mom, thank God, is still held in familiar circles, but Mommy rules big time! As long as I'm with her and touching her, she's a dear. A couple of minutes of my disappearance and slowly the crankiness begins. Anyhoooooo... as my niece warned me, I have decided to enjoy this time and then try not to complain when Mommy is shown the door and Daddy starts to rule!
CUDDLY - The epitome of it! She loves cuddling and she loves even more to be cuddled! Wet, sloppy kisses abound the household and needless to say, we're all loving it!
Patient - In spite of all the Cs that I've come up with earlier, this trait deserves a special mention! I'm proud to say I'm learning from her (already!) and trying to cope up with her troubles as much as she is. The "Brrr factor" is being used as a defence mechanism. So nowadays, if she's unable to cope with anything, she does that instead of losing her temper and crying and I get the message. Poor little darling...
PU in four words...
Sleep-deprived - Again, by-product of Joy's restlessness and crankiness. Her daytime sleep has all but disappeared. Nights are typically restless and see a lot of tossing, turning and bouts of crying. There's no choice but to nurse her, (the only time when she actually allows me to nurse her these days) although sometimes, just comforting her and hugging or putting an arm around her works. We're basically taking each day/night at a time! I'm not a daytime sleeper at all by any terms. I'm still waiting for my first uninterrupted-sleep night!
Helpless - Watching Joy struggle for so long hasn't been easy. Although the mind repeats that this is nothing big, everyone goes through this, there's a lot more to come, and so on, the heart is absolutely wrenched. Nights are the worst. The poor thing is so disturbed and looks so full of pain, I'm at a total loss for words or actions. The book says the pain will continue till the damn tooth sprouts, that will take a couple of months at least, and I'm not sure I can continue watching this until then. I have never felt this helpless in my life. Ever. The poor baby clinging to me as if I can make it all go away doesn't make it any easy either. Since she's not able to nurse, I've resorted to feeding her expressed milk. Pushing that down her throat is another whole story by itself. If ever I got my hands on a magic wand, I would just swish it and make it all go away. Until then, all I can do is pray.
Anxious - Joy and me move to my place next month. My in-laws will be there for a while but after that it's just Hubby, me and Joy. Although I'm excited by the prospect of getting back to MY place and living life MY way and having my darling Hubby around me all the time (Ah... how we cheat ourselves!), the thought of flying the nest (this didn't seem to bother me in the least, up until now!) and losing the security of having my unconditionally loving parents at my beck and call, seems nightmarish to say the least. I'm hoping for the best. I'm not sure if I'm prepared for the worst. But the silver lining is that they're just a phone call and about an hour and half (on a good Bangalore traffic day) away!
Depressed - Just a wee bit! Much as I tried to live in denial, I finally admit it! I am never one who dwells in self-pity or gets depressed or upset at things... however big they may be. 'Take life as it comes' is pretty much my motto. But a few days back something happened, the dam burst, I cried a little bit, talked about it to Hubby (Not sure if that sorted out things... but whatever!) and I think I'm over it now. I think. I most certainly hope so... this one bout caught me by surprise and I didn't like one bit of it. Anyways, it's back to enjoying life again! At least for the moment.
P.S. Yes, I know this post is long over-due. It was done in many installments. I never edit or read through any of my posts, so I hope there's enough coherence and continuity to make sense!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Dream Girls!
I had this dream middle of the night before last. During the wee hours of the morning, in a half-asleep, half-awake state, I replayed (yes, REPLAYED) the entire dream just so I don't forget it and can write about it to Boo and Yaada Yaada (YY) But the entire following day I totally forgot that I had even dreamt anything. Then, last night, in the same semi-conscious state, I remembered not remembering the dream and AGAIN replayed the whole thing in my mind, forcing myself to remember all the details! So here goes...
Boo and YY live abroad somewhere. I live in Mumbai. And I am on my way to join them. I go to the airport. It's a complete indoor setting. Following a red carpet walk, there's a Sufi temple (This is nothing... wait for more!) entrance next door and there are women in burkhas and men in the male equivalent of burkhas (whatever they are called) going in. There's a Yasser Arafat-like-dressed-man at the entrance smoking on a hookah and spreading out fragrant smoke, welcoming everyone. The next door is a glass door and leads to the airport. There's lots of cartoon characters a-la-disneyland welcoming everyone. I walk in empty-handed, because my sister has promised to pack all my stuff and bring it to the airport. Now this is pretty wierd (really? Just this part?) because I am coming from home and my sister is away at work and somehow she's the one doing the packing and bringing the luggage over! Anyways... I see my very close friend there who is also doing international travel. She has a 9-month old son with her and her mom has come to drop them off. And in my wierdoland, this friend wants to go home and drop off her mom, who has actually come to see her off... Go figure! So she asks me if I want to accompany them. I agree (my flight leaves in an hour, by the way!) and in the next scene we're all travelling in a cab, about half-way from the airport and suddenly, my brain alarm goes off, I do some quick mental math (hear hear) and figure out that I'll actually miss my flight as Bangalore traffic (Note : Bangalore as against Mumbai, where I'm supposed to be living!) is really bad that time of the day. So I apologise to my friend and WALK BACK to the airport. Same doors, same burkhas and same cartoon characters. This time they shake hands with me, gift me lots of balloons and streamers and wish me a safe trip. I walk in to find my sister and niece frantically searching for me. (Guess this was pre-cell phone era) And get this... I'm mad at her because all she has for me are two books to read during the flight!!! I ask her about the promised packed luggage and she gives me a wierd look and says "I thought you were coming from home. Why didn't you get it yourself?"
Cut to the next scene... somehow magically I am at my destination. Wearing some really cool clothes that belong to either Boo or YY. (Now, this is nothing new, as I've spent practically my childhood years well into teenage wearing their hand-me-downs. But, interestingly, I can fit into neither of their clothes at the moment!) So, coming back to the dream... it's a really beautiful, picturesque locale and I'm sitting under a HUGE lovely tree with some guy, who is supposed to be YY's friend (Pretty good-looking one, actually! Wink Wink!) with 2 bikes parked next to us.
And........... very very VERY unfortunately, Joy chose this moment to bring me back into reality with her characteristic tossing and turning! So... that's about how it all ended! Damn... HOW I wanted to get to know the guy better! And God found this really wierd way of punishing me by cutting it off right there! It's like "You have a baby on your hands woman! Stop dreaming and get back to work!" Ah Bah!!!
Boo and YY live abroad somewhere. I live in Mumbai. And I am on my way to join them. I go to the airport. It's a complete indoor setting. Following a red carpet walk, there's a Sufi temple (This is nothing... wait for more!) entrance next door and there are women in burkhas and men in the male equivalent of burkhas (whatever they are called) going in. There's a Yasser Arafat-like-dressed-man at the entrance smoking on a hookah and spreading out fragrant smoke, welcoming everyone. The next door is a glass door and leads to the airport. There's lots of cartoon characters a-la-disneyland welcoming everyone. I walk in empty-handed, because my sister has promised to pack all my stuff and bring it to the airport. Now this is pretty wierd (really? Just this part?) because I am coming from home and my sister is away at work and somehow she's the one doing the packing and bringing the luggage over! Anyways... I see my very close friend there who is also doing international travel. She has a 9-month old son with her and her mom has come to drop them off. And in my wierdoland, this friend wants to go home and drop off her mom, who has actually come to see her off... Go figure! So she asks me if I want to accompany them. I agree (my flight leaves in an hour, by the way!) and in the next scene we're all travelling in a cab, about half-way from the airport and suddenly, my brain alarm goes off, I do some quick mental math (hear hear) and figure out that I'll actually miss my flight as Bangalore traffic (Note : Bangalore as against Mumbai, where I'm supposed to be living!) is really bad that time of the day. So I apologise to my friend and WALK BACK to the airport. Same doors, same burkhas and same cartoon characters. This time they shake hands with me, gift me lots of balloons and streamers and wish me a safe trip. I walk in to find my sister and niece frantically searching for me. (Guess this was pre-cell phone era) And get this... I'm mad at her because all she has for me are two books to read during the flight!!! I ask her about the promised packed luggage and she gives me a wierd look and says "I thought you were coming from home. Why didn't you get it yourself?"
Cut to the next scene... somehow magically I am at my destination. Wearing some really cool clothes that belong to either Boo or YY. (Now, this is nothing new, as I've spent practically my childhood years well into teenage wearing their hand-me-downs. But, interestingly, I can fit into neither of their clothes at the moment!) So, coming back to the dream... it's a really beautiful, picturesque locale and I'm sitting under a HUGE lovely tree with some guy, who is supposed to be YY's friend (Pretty good-looking one, actually! Wink Wink!) with 2 bikes parked next to us.
And........... very very VERY unfortunately, Joy chose this moment to bring me back into reality with her characteristic tossing and turning! So... that's about how it all ended! Damn... HOW I wanted to get to know the guy better! And God found this really wierd way of punishing me by cutting it off right there! It's like "You have a baby on your hands woman! Stop dreaming and get back to work!" Ah Bah!!!
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