You realise there must be a zillion kids in your neighbourhood.
You get more excited looking at the kids section in the mall rather than the ladies section
You start waving and talking to kids who spare you a glance
You time all your activity to last between two feeds
You expect your husband to be your personal assistant
You look forward to coming home early
You exchange kid stories with every parent you meet
You share best practice swig-taking guidelines unabashedly
You start socialising with the neighbourhood ladies only to get your kid acquainted with theirs
You become a speech and action policeman at home
You dont cringe when changing a poopy diaper while you are half way through your meal
You take washing poopy diapers as naturally as you would take bathing
You become a Schumy paced work doer at home
You become a bedroom singer instead of the bathroom variety
You start packing a baby bag as soon as you hear plans of a romantic dinner outing
You think you know more about raising kids than your mother
etc...
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
4.01.2009
2.20.2009
Happiness comes from Banana
There is many a thing that the poo-poo-pee-pee kid can teach an adult. One of the lessons I learnt yesterday was a reminder to me of all the simple things in life one forgets as one trudges along grumbling about everyday life.
Yesterday dotzy was subjected to the shock treatment of gunshot. I categorically deny us having anything to do with terrorists except when its meal time and I have to terrorise my dotzy with a bowl and spoon until she finishes every last drop. We decided that it was time to get dotzy a pair of earrings and set out to accomplish this yesterday morning. One small hitch though - she did not have holes in her ears yet. Nowadays the horrifying process of punching a hole through one's cartilage has been given a painless updation in the form of a gun. The "gun" is an ingenious contraption which punches a hole, inserts a stud from the front of the ear and clamps the stud from behind the ear all in a matter of one sec and one well-aimed shot. Well, that is if your kid is sitting still, not crying and more importantly not being jerky. As can be expected out of a wee 7 month old, a choked howl-cry started as soon as the first shot was felt and lasted for a full 3 minutes after the second shot ended. As soon as the studs were in place I whisked her outside onto the pavement, in order to get the villain hole-puncher out of her line of sight. But that dint deter her one bit and she continued to howl and look at me balefully and make my soul shrink with guilt. At that moment an angel swooped down on us in the form of a banana seller. All she had to do was cluck at dotzy and offer her a nice yellow banana. Dotzy (she seems to be well mannered beyond her age or as suspicious as a spy already) after a lot of encouragement from me accepted the gift through her tears. The very next instant the pain, the shock, the tears were all abandoned in the joyful vigorous swinging of the banana in her hand. The sun was back and shining on her sweet face and there were no words with which I could thank the banana lady. I would have walked away with overwhelming gratitude had T not nudged me to tell me that I could thank her better by buying bananas from her.
Happiness comes from a banana...
Yesterday dotzy was subjected to the shock treatment of gunshot. I categorically deny us having anything to do with terrorists except when its meal time and I have to terrorise my dotzy with a bowl and spoon until she finishes every last drop. We decided that it was time to get dotzy a pair of earrings and set out to accomplish this yesterday morning. One small hitch though - she did not have holes in her ears yet. Nowadays the horrifying process of punching a hole through one's cartilage has been given a painless updation in the form of a gun. The "gun" is an ingenious contraption which punches a hole, inserts a stud from the front of the ear and clamps the stud from behind the ear all in a matter of one sec and one well-aimed shot. Well, that is if your kid is sitting still, not crying and more importantly not being jerky. As can be expected out of a wee 7 month old, a choked howl-cry started as soon as the first shot was felt and lasted for a full 3 minutes after the second shot ended. As soon as the studs were in place I whisked her outside onto the pavement, in order to get the villain hole-puncher out of her line of sight. But that dint deter her one bit and she continued to howl and look at me balefully and make my soul shrink with guilt. At that moment an angel swooped down on us in the form of a banana seller. All she had to do was cluck at dotzy and offer her a nice yellow banana. Dotzy (she seems to be well mannered beyond her age or as suspicious as a spy already) after a lot of encouragement from me accepted the gift through her tears. The very next instant the pain, the shock, the tears were all abandoned in the joyful vigorous swinging of the banana in her hand. The sun was back and shining on her sweet face and there were no words with which I could thank the banana lady. I would have walked away with overwhelming gratitude had T not nudged me to tell me that I could thank her better by buying bananas from her.
Happiness comes from a banana...
2.14.2009
Gandhigiri and the cellphone
As the competition hots up I decided to blog about it to gain mileage among my sympathisers. T and me are into Gandhigiri these . So dotzy's attempts tp vandalise the cellphone is met with a smile and the offer of another. Want to know why? Here's my side of the story...
Background :
2007 - It was time for me to replace my aging Nokia. I had been waiting for more than a year for the perfect phone. Then came the Abhishek Bachchan Motorokr ad. I feel like a moron now but full credit to the advertisers for the campaign. It was uber cool. A groovy and humorous story line was all I needed to make up my mind (I dont want this post to be a confessional about how big a a fan of AB Baby I am) and I was hooked. I started dreaming of Rokr being the most appropriate successor to the sturdy (trust me, I have stress tested it to the max) 3310. I went ahead and bought the phone via a friend who works at Motorola (I am a sucker for discounts) and discovered with shock that the wireless stereo headset (the main reason for buying the phone, yeah yeah not AB Baby) was out of stock. I was thus stuck with a phone without its coolest feature. That is not the worst part though as I later bought one and found it to be inconvenient to use. I feel technologically challenged with the Rokr because I do not understand Linux which is the OS on that phone. I have never been able to install any application on it simply because I have not understood how. Looking through innumerable number of Motorokr forums is not helping my brain. I also discovered with time that the screen scratches easily in the hands of a not so delicate user like me. I am now at the end of the disillusionment tether. I want to buy a new phone and am waiting for the perfect successor!
Cut to 2009 :
My dotzy has made drumming her new hobby. She drums on and with anything. Give her a soft toy, a rubber book, her own hand or a cellphone! She goes on her "Atha atha atha" ("hit hit hit" in baby lingo") routine relentlessly and with more vigour with each hit. She has to just see a cellphone lying aroung and she will swiftly glide to it and grab it. Last week I realised that this could be a God-sent to get rid of my phone. How many hits on the floor does it take for a cellphone to stop working? I dont know, am still counting at 220. But to my dismay I found another competitor in the endeavour. T! He also has decided that he wants a new phone and is keen to expose dotzy to variety! So in an evil usage of Gandhigiri we voluntarily submit our phones to the rowdyism of dotzy.
If she hits one cell we calmly and gleefully show the other.
Will keep you posted about who wins.
Happy Valentine's Day T ;)
( I shall cherish these times when my dotzy couldnt tell anyone the truth)
Background :
2007 - It was time for me to replace my aging Nokia. I had been waiting for more than a year for the perfect phone. Then came the Abhishek Bachchan Motorokr ad. I feel like a moron now but full credit to the advertisers for the campaign. It was uber cool. A groovy and humorous story line was all I needed to make up my mind (I dont want this post to be a confessional about how big a a fan of AB Baby I am) and I was hooked. I started dreaming of Rokr being the most appropriate successor to the sturdy (trust me, I have stress tested it to the max) 3310. I went ahead and bought the phone via a friend who works at Motorola (I am a sucker for discounts) and discovered with shock that the wireless stereo headset (the main reason for buying the phone, yeah yeah not AB Baby) was out of stock. I was thus stuck with a phone without its coolest feature. That is not the worst part though as I later bought one and found it to be inconvenient to use. I feel technologically challenged with the Rokr because I do not understand Linux which is the OS on that phone. I have never been able to install any application on it simply because I have not understood how. Looking through innumerable number of Motorokr forums is not helping my brain. I also discovered with time that the screen scratches easily in the hands of a not so delicate user like me. I am now at the end of the disillusionment tether. I want to buy a new phone and am waiting for the perfect successor!
Cut to 2009 :
My dotzy has made drumming her new hobby. She drums on and with anything. Give her a soft toy, a rubber book, her own hand or a cellphone! She goes on her "Atha atha atha" ("hit hit hit" in baby lingo") routine relentlessly and with more vigour with each hit. She has to just see a cellphone lying aroung and she will swiftly glide to it and grab it. Last week I realised that this could be a God-sent to get rid of my phone. How many hits on the floor does it take for a cellphone to stop working? I dont know, am still counting at 220. But to my dismay I found another competitor in the endeavour. T! He also has decided that he wants a new phone and is keen to expose dotzy to variety! So in an evil usage of Gandhigiri we voluntarily submit our phones to the rowdyism of dotzy.
If she hits one cell we calmly and gleefully show the other.
Will keep you posted about who wins.
Happy Valentine's Day T ;)
( I shall cherish these times when my dotzy couldnt tell anyone the truth)
12.15.2008
James Band
Sleeping under the stars or sleeping under a starless sky? Which do you prefer? Well, your answer is not going to make any difference in my life. Why? Because I sleep under a roof with four walls a door and a window to the sky around me. Always. Am one of those who are scared to sleep outside in dangerous times as these. Big fat well fed hybrid Mosquitoes can kill...one's appetite to sleep. This confession has nothing to do with what I have to post about.
T needs a claustrophobic combination of pitch darkness and warm close-window-shutter-during-winter room to be able to sleep fitfully. When he got married to me, he (obviously) had to give up his luxury and he got used to the window curtain being thrown open to let the street light in. This, so that I can sleep fitfully. Well, I am also scared of sleeping in the dark. Yeah yeah am all grown up and have a kid of my own but that doesnt drive away all those monsters lurking in the dark corners of my mind. And some under the cot. Sigh, yes I am scared of looking under the bed in the nights. I totally believed in the movie Monsters Inc. and find it hard to sleep for days errr nights on end after watching a horror movie. But my fears can be effused upon in another post or autobiography...whatever. Our little dotzy commands now. We have been adviced by elders that babies shouldnt be allowed to sleep in the dark. (Obviously they did not get this advice from their ancestors who lived the dark ages hyuck hyuck. ) The fact is that I was more than willing to oblige this favour as it provided me with a brightly lit room to sleep in. For five months since the birth of our kid T vehemently refused to stay over at my parents' house (where I had camped). I tried everything including emotional blackmail but to no avail. It is only much later that I realised the reason behind this. We (me and dotzy) came back to T's home and T couldnt run away from sharing our room anymore. After a lot of fuss and arguement about bringing up kid in light or darkness, dotzy prevailed and wailed in the darkness pitched at her. So T (again obviously) had to give up the luxury of a dark room completely. We now proudly (ouch) sleep under a zero watt bulb. True to the Necessity-is-the-mother-of-all-invention cliche T struck upon a wonderful idea. Last year, between T and me, we had flown 16 times out of which half the time we were given eye masks in-flight. We are also the kinds who store such exquisite knick knacks in the fond hope of being able to use them someday. Thus eroding most of the storage space in our already cramped cabinets.
T needs a claustrophobic combination of pitch darkness and warm close-window-shutter-during-winter room to be able to sleep fitfully. When he got married to me, he (obviously) had to give up his luxury and he got used to the window curtain being thrown open to let the street light in. This, so that I can sleep fitfully. Well, I am also scared of sleeping in the dark. Yeah yeah am all grown up and have a kid of my own but that doesnt drive away all those monsters lurking in the dark corners of my mind. And some under the cot. Sigh, yes I am scared of looking under the bed in the nights. I totally believed in the movie Monsters Inc. and find it hard to sleep for days errr nights on end after watching a horror movie. But my fears can be effused upon in another post or autobiography...whatever. Our little dotzy commands now. We have been adviced by elders that babies shouldnt be allowed to sleep in the dark. (Obviously they did not get this advice from their ancestors who lived the dark ages hyuck hyuck. ) The fact is that I was more than willing to oblige this favour as it provided me with a brightly lit room to sleep in. For five months since the birth of our kid T vehemently refused to stay over at my parents' house (where I had camped). I tried everything including emotional blackmail but to no avail. It is only much later that I realised the reason behind this. We (me and dotzy) came back to T's home and T couldnt run away from sharing our room anymore. After a lot of fuss and arguement about bringing up kid in light or darkness, dotzy prevailed and wailed in the darkness pitched at her. So T (again obviously) had to give up the luxury of a dark room completely. We now proudly (ouch) sleep under a zero watt bulb. True to the Necessity-is-the-mother-of-all-invention cliche T struck upon a wonderful idea. Last year, between T and me, we had flown 16 times out of which half the time we were given eye masks in-flight. We are also the kinds who store such exquisite knick knacks in the fond hope of being able to use them someday. Thus eroding most of the storage space in our already cramped cabinets.
Dr Asha Benakappa, doctor par excellence
Dr Asha Benakappa. This name sends the shivers down my spine even now. What a woman!
I went to this lactation consultant for guidance because my li'l tweety's swig taking sessions were unbearably painful for me. Thats besides the point in this post.
It was a rainy night and I was waiting in the car with dotzy for what seemed to be a promise of painless existence. Thats when I got a glimpse of a fiery woman (mehendi'd hair) striding purposefully into the clinic shouting out to her maid for a snack. I dint want to believe that was the doctor. For who had heard of a child specialist/lactation specialist (jobs which require a soft personality, or so I thought) being anything else but soft and demure? Still I dint let my confidence waver as I waited for my turn. In the process I heard her lambasting a small kid albeit for a correct reason. Now I was scared. The first thing I heard when I stepped in was a loud "Have you come about feeding problem?". From then on it only got worse. She scolded me for everything that I did and even chided me for having a baby when I stated a small problem. Ten minutes later I was waiting to run away but my dotzy was hungry so had to endure some more bellows. Another five minutes later my mom was fuming because the doctor kept calling her fat when she herself was twice her size! I had to calm my mum down and restrain her from giving her a wallop. I was due for another visit to her "to answer all my questions", a week later and I swore then and there that that would never come to be. I was a raging mama by the time I came home, enough to feed my baby without a fuss. Lol. By the third day thence I realised that I was not being fussy at all and had actually entered a painless existence. The shock at this discovery left me numb. The visit to the scary doctor had helped me!! From then on I have only been singing praises of the doctor to anyone who cares to listen. Under all the temper, scary personality and loudness lies a good doctor who treats patience without patience. Hats off.
All you new mothers in Bangalore, please visit her clinic in Banashankari if you any problems about swig taking.
The address is :
601 , 1st Cross, 30th Main, Banagirinagar Banashankari 3rd Stage, Bangalore
I went to this lactation consultant for guidance because my li'l tweety's swig taking sessions were unbearably painful for me. Thats besides the point in this post.
It was a rainy night and I was waiting in the car with dotzy for what seemed to be a promise of painless existence. Thats when I got a glimpse of a fiery woman (mehendi'd hair) striding purposefully into the clinic shouting out to her maid for a snack. I dint want to believe that was the doctor. For who had heard of a child specialist/lactation specialist (jobs which require a soft personality, or so I thought) being anything else but soft and demure? Still I dint let my confidence waver as I waited for my turn. In the process I heard her lambasting a small kid albeit for a correct reason. Now I was scared. The first thing I heard when I stepped in was a loud "Have you come about feeding problem?". From then on it only got worse. She scolded me for everything that I did and even chided me for having a baby when I stated a small problem. Ten minutes later I was waiting to run away but my dotzy was hungry so had to endure some more bellows. Another five minutes later my mom was fuming because the doctor kept calling her fat when she herself was twice her size! I had to calm my mum down and restrain her from giving her a wallop. I was due for another visit to her "to answer all my questions", a week later and I swore then and there that that would never come to be. I was a raging mama by the time I came home, enough to feed my baby without a fuss. Lol. By the third day thence I realised that I was not being fussy at all and had actually entered a painless existence. The shock at this discovery left me numb. The visit to the scary doctor had helped me!! From then on I have only been singing praises of the doctor to anyone who cares to listen. Under all the temper, scary personality and loudness lies a good doctor who treats patience without patience. Hats off.
All you new mothers in Bangalore, please visit her clinic in Banashankari if you any problems about swig taking.
The address is :
601 , 1st Cross, 30th Main, Banagirinagar Banashankari 3rd Stage, Bangalore
8.18.2008
The swig-taker guide
Disclaimer : This post is not for gentlemen and ladies who snigger or feel eimbarassed about the most important thing in motherehood.
My little tweety bird who is 3 weeks old is into taking swigs from nature's own bottle. The long idle hours spent in aiding this has pushed my brain to 2nd gear and I thought I should come up with a set of pointers or must-remembers for dummies like me getting into motherhood. My hubby dear beat me to it and posted the following on his restricted access blog which I reproduce here:
1) Pregnancy is nothing. When compared to the entire lifetime of mothering, pregnancy is a cake walk. Dont give over importance to the fact that you are carrying a child, give more importance to the fact that you need to take care of a child your whole life.
2) Mothering may not be instinctive. While you might feel the pain of a crying child instinctively many of the feelings may develop with conscious effort. Getting up in the middle of the night from a deep sleep to attend to an inconsolably crying baby may not be the most instinctive feeling for a new mother.
3) Get a strong arm. Make sure you lift weights for atleast 6 months to strengthen your biceps and triceps before getting pregnant. You will need all the strength to hold your little one in the right position while she takes a swig. And you cant do weights while you are pregnant.
4) Learn to sit straight always. A swig can last anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour depending on your little one's mood. If one is not sitting right (assuming one is not into lying down) then it can result in pai ns in the neck and back. You dont want more pains than you already have at the moment. Voveran gel helps though.
5) Dont panic at every sniff. The little one can make a lot of sounds as it grows. Can be deep breathing while taking a swig, relax she is not choking. Can be passing gas from top or down which is very relieving for her. She can also throw up a little, this could be stuff she never swallowed. Or she might just be responding to your talk (the occasional "kak" or "keek").
6) Is what she is taking in enough? If she is peeing atleast 6 times in 24 hours then the answer is yes. If she takes a swig once every two hours then a session lasting 15 mins is also normal. If she is taking a long one for 45 minutes before letting up, that is also normal. Be happy coz there might be a long sleeping spell for your baby and you around the corner, if you are lucky it could last for 4 hours.
7) Dont underfeed. Your little one might take a break or sleep off while taking swigs. Do not assume the baby has had enough. Wake her up and she might want more. Put her down and she might bawl.
8) Swig on demand. Scheduling doesnt work with teeny weenies. They have a mind of their own and dont care about dictators.
9) Its ok to admit the pains. You are not a martyr for the baby cause. Find out ways and means to relieve yourself of the swig-taking pains. Posture and latching position is the number one culprit, trust me. See a lactation consultant(will be a separate post) if pains persist for more than 2 weeks. You know what, see one immediately so that you dont have to suffer. What would also be a good idea is to have such a consultant on board in every hospital. It would be such a big relief from all the inferiority complex, pinching, pulling and pumping that one is subjected to if one is not "naturally well formed". The doctors leave this business to the nurses who treat a piece of you with total disrespect. Lanolin or ghee does not help to cure the big picture problem.
10) Dont be a kid yourself. Do not take your frustration out on the little one. Mother's hormonal build is tuned to feel very bad when the kid is dissatisfied or disturbed. So scolding her will only increase your guilt.
11) Comfort swig or hunger? Doesnt matter, your little one needs you.
12) Talk to the baby. She will learn the sound of your voice sooner than you believe.
13) Midnight could be good morning. Your kid might start the day as soon as 1 AM. So what? You are anyway awake to give her a swig, you might as well enjoy a half hour of fun with her when she is in a totally good mood
14) You might get some pee and yellow spray all over your hand and clothes. Big deal, you got to clean her anyway, clean yourself too.
15) There are different cries they say. But it could also be that the kid employs the cry that is most immediately attended to, for all her wants. Smart one that she is. Most times your little one cries for hunger. Sometimes for obvious things like wet diaper and sometimes for being unable to sleep. But do check for stomach pain and discomfort with clothing. Some little ones hate sweaters and throw a tantrum which could drive you nuts and you dont know why!
16) They say it will all settle down. Lets wait and watch :)
My little tweety bird who is 3 weeks old is into taking swigs from nature's own bottle. The long idle hours spent in aiding this has pushed my brain to 2nd gear and I thought I should come up with a set of pointers or must-remembers for dummies like me getting into motherhood. My hubby dear beat me to it and posted the following on his restricted access blog which I reproduce here:
Future parents need to keep this in mind :Now I will add on to this my pearls of wisdom that have been beaded from my experience so far :
1) During the course of pregnancy people (could be random people who you really don't know) will ask how many weeks pregnant one is. Be ready with the exact date and the number of weeks. I always had a problem with this and with great difficulty I could manage to remember the due date.
2) Once the kid is born everyone wants the baby pics. No, there is no need to wait in the fond hope that the baby pictures will be bought for some million dollars. That ain't happening you can as well send the pictures right away.
3) After the kid is born stop calling it a IT. Its either a he or she. In India you cannot determine the gender till the kid is born (government regulations). So we call it, sorry the kid, 'it' so often that it becomes a habit (aargh).
4) The name of the kid is a big thing. The kid is going to be stuck with the name for the rest of its life. So you better be careful. In India we are not required to name the kid immediately after delivery hence there is some breathing space so you can take your time and be judicious. A friend of mine told me about his uncle naming his kid Freeshow for no apparent reason. He wanted to call him Frisho but he spelt it all wrong.
5) Remember your kid's name. This is the most important one of all. You cant go around confusing your kid calling it all kinds of names. Hello, if you have to spread the name you have to remember it. (Not sure if anyone apart from me and my wife have this problem).
Other parents can add to the list to help the people who do not really know what they are getting into.n
1) Pregnancy is nothing. When compared to the entire lifetime of mothering, pregnancy is a cake walk. Dont give over importance to the fact that you are carrying a child, give more importance to the fact that you need to take care of a child your whole life.
2) Mothering may not be instinctive. While you might feel the pain of a crying child instinctively many of the feelings may develop with conscious effort. Getting up in the middle of the night from a deep sleep to attend to an inconsolably crying baby may not be the most instinctive feeling for a new mother.
3) Get a strong arm. Make sure you lift weights for atleast 6 months to strengthen your biceps and triceps before getting pregnant. You will need all the strength to hold your little one in the right position while she takes a swig. And you cant do weights while you are pregnant.
4) Learn to sit straight always. A swig can last anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour depending on your little one's mood. If one is not sitting right (assuming one is not into lying down) then it can result in pai ns in the neck and back. You dont want more pains than you already have at the moment. Voveran gel helps though.
5) Dont panic at every sniff. The little one can make a lot of sounds as it grows. Can be deep breathing while taking a swig, relax she is not choking. Can be passing gas from top or down which is very relieving for her. She can also throw up a little, this could be stuff she never swallowed. Or she might just be responding to your talk (the occasional "kak" or "keek").
6) Is what she is taking in enough? If she is peeing atleast 6 times in 24 hours then the answer is yes. If she takes a swig once every two hours then a session lasting 15 mins is also normal. If she is taking a long one for 45 minutes before letting up, that is also normal. Be happy coz there might be a long sleeping spell for your baby and you around the corner, if you are lucky it could last for 4 hours.
7) Dont underfeed. Your little one might take a break or sleep off while taking swigs. Do not assume the baby has had enough. Wake her up and she might want more. Put her down and she might bawl.
8) Swig on demand. Scheduling doesnt work with teeny weenies. They have a mind of their own and dont care about dictators.
9) Its ok to admit the pains. You are not a martyr for the baby cause. Find out ways and means to relieve yourself of the swig-taking pains. Posture and latching position is the number one culprit, trust me. See a lactation consultant(will be a separate post) if pains persist for more than 2 weeks. You know what, see one immediately so that you dont have to suffer. What would also be a good idea is to have such a consultant on board in every hospital. It would be such a big relief from all the inferiority complex, pinching, pulling and pumping that one is subjected to if one is not "naturally well formed". The doctors leave this business to the nurses who treat a piece of you with total disrespect. Lanolin or ghee does not help to cure the big picture problem.
10) Dont be a kid yourself. Do not take your frustration out on the little one. Mother's hormonal build is tuned to feel very bad when the kid is dissatisfied or disturbed. So scolding her will only increase your guilt.
11) Comfort swig or hunger? Doesnt matter, your little one needs you.
12) Talk to the baby. She will learn the sound of your voice sooner than you believe.
13) Midnight could be good morning. Your kid might start the day as soon as 1 AM. So what? You are anyway awake to give her a swig, you might as well enjoy a half hour of fun with her when she is in a totally good mood
14) You might get some pee and yellow spray all over your hand and clothes. Big deal, you got to clean her anyway, clean yourself too.
15) There are different cries they say. But it could also be that the kid employs the cry that is most immediately attended to, for all her wants. Smart one that she is. Most times your little one cries for hunger. Sometimes for obvious things like wet diaper and sometimes for being unable to sleep. But do check for stomach pain and discomfort with clothing. Some little ones hate sweaters and throw a tantrum which could drive you nuts and you dont know why!
16) They say it will all settle down. Lets wait and watch :)
8.12.2008
Is Cirque de Soleil the best Circus?
Nah! Motherhood is!
My angel arrived with a loud piercing wail 16 days back. So loud was she that she woke me up from the post delivery stupor enough to plant a kiss on her white cheek! And now my circus has officially started. I have no idea how to handle the kid. Every minute brings forth a shout of "Amma" from me instead of the kid. She is a bundle of joy but I did not learn to wrap her correctly. I am the center of her universe was what I believed the kid would think but thanks to my ineptitude that title goes to my mother. My kid only comes to me as a car would go to a petrol pump. She has even discovered that my mother magically appears near the blackish hole in the wall (the door) and keeps looking at it and shrieking, inspite of me being next to her consoling her! Something very funny has happened - despite the umpteen number of articles I read about pregnancy during it, I dont seem to have read a single one about the "afterwards". I wonder why I got so complacent about the most difficult stage in motherhood! I am getting less and less time for any activity apart from the aforesaid "petrol pump" thingy. I should have used my pregnancy more effectively than to take a pregnant pause from writing. But as we all know, after thoughts are always more ideal than reality. I will try to post here albeit a little less frequently. (Who am I kidding? Am not among the 5000 most popular bloggers in the world).
6.24.2008
Tryst with Love
At a time when our love is about to be consummated by a kid, I am compelled to sit back and take a look at my tryst with love.
8 years back if someone had talked to me about ‘love’, I would have dismissed them as fudge-brained, infected-by-dirty-movie-bug indecent folks. I and another smitten-by-love-later-on-in-life friend of mine R would guffaw at all the drama love brought in its wake instead of all the time the morons were losing in their lives whilst they had to study and become important people.
6 years back I still thought of it as waste of time while R went ahead with her new found take on the phenomenon. I 'tch-tch'ed her impetuosity to succumb to the dramatically flawed pastime of the non achiever.
Flashback to 5 years ago and my opinion had changed. As is the manner with me always, it was my head which took command and told the rest of me that indeed I was in the besotted stage of life. And as is the manner with me, I resisted this change vehemently. My heart was relegated to a corner to lub-dub away while I debated about what to do with the realization. The resounding thump did reverberate in my head as a reminder. The heart knows what the heart knows.
Cut to 4 years back and my whole self and body parts were in sync as I waited for life’s next turn leading me to happiness and culmination of my love. Why does love have to lead to marriage? I don’t really have an answer for this except to say that most of us live under the looming-like-a-shadow influence of our society. One is free to do whatever one wants within the boundaries of social correctness. I am not one to complain about this necessity though since it has been more fun to be married and “out of the closet” than not be and rot in agony.
2 and half years earlier he tied the knot and we became man and wife. T does tend to argue that the phrase woman and husband is more relevant for us but I do bully him to not give out family secrets. Nevertheless the man has not ceased to amaze me over the years. He has graduated from being angry-with-me-for-small-things young man to Buddha-like. I have imbibed tolerance from him but only in single digit percentages still. I started loving him for making me feel like the best in the world no matter all my flaws and it has transitioned to loving him more for all the calm, care and intelligence his persona exudes. Its not that we don’t argue, we do. I am one half of the relationship remember? Many of our friends wondered if we would stop bickering once we got married but we dint. But at the end of the day, we have been able to look each other in the eye and call ourselves morons. I am going to have my cute bundle of joy very soon with this wonderful guy and I thank God for small mercies.
Now if someone were to ask me what love is all I can is “If you feel for anyone what I feel towards T then that’s love”. Simple aint it?
8 years back if someone had talked to me about ‘love’, I would have dismissed them as fudge-brained, infected-by-dirty-movie-bug indecent folks. I and another smitten-by-love-later-on-in-life friend of mine R would guffaw at all the drama love brought in its wake instead of all the time the morons were losing in their lives whilst they had to study and become important people.
6 years back I still thought of it as waste of time while R went ahead with her new found take on the phenomenon. I 'tch-tch'ed her impetuosity to succumb to the dramatically flawed pastime of the non achiever.
Flashback to 5 years ago and my opinion had changed. As is the manner with me always, it was my head which took command and told the rest of me that indeed I was in the besotted stage of life. And as is the manner with me, I resisted this change vehemently. My heart was relegated to a corner to lub-dub away while I debated about what to do with the realization. The resounding thump did reverberate in my head as a reminder. The heart knows what the heart knows.
Cut to 4 years back and my whole self and body parts were in sync as I waited for life’s next turn leading me to happiness and culmination of my love. Why does love have to lead to marriage? I don’t really have an answer for this except to say that most of us live under the looming-like-a-shadow influence of our society. One is free to do whatever one wants within the boundaries of social correctness. I am not one to complain about this necessity though since it has been more fun to be married and “out of the closet” than not be and rot in agony.
2 and half years earlier he tied the knot and we became man and wife. T does tend to argue that the phrase woman and husband is more relevant for us but I do bully him to not give out family secrets. Nevertheless the man has not ceased to amaze me over the years. He has graduated from being angry-with-me-for-small-things young man to Buddha-like. I have imbibed tolerance from him but only in single digit percentages still. I started loving him for making me feel like the best in the world no matter all my flaws and it has transitioned to loving him more for all the calm, care and intelligence his persona exudes. Its not that we don’t argue, we do. I am one half of the relationship remember? Many of our friends wondered if we would stop bickering once we got married but we dint. But at the end of the day, we have been able to look each other in the eye and call ourselves morons. I am going to have my cute bundle of joy very soon with this wonderful guy and I thank God for small mercies.
Now if someone were to ask me what love is all I can is “If you feel for anyone what I feel towards T then that’s love”. Simple aint it?
6.06.2008
Rainy Kaleidoscope
Yesterday was a "Weird Cloud Day" in Bangalore. While it was raining in Cambridge Layout, it was not raining in Indiranagar. While it was raining near Command Hospital, it was not raining near LifeStyle. While it was not raining near Richmond Circle, it was raining at Basavanagudi. Anyone who knows the map of Bangalore can understand how crazy this sounds.
Holes in the sky!
I saw hailstones for the first time around 3 months back! In all of my life (most of which was spent in Bangalore) I had never seen, leave alone hold ice flakes falling from the sky. Now I will know what I am talking about when I talk about "Anekal Male" with my kid, thanks to T who indulged the kid in me (am talking about me own self) and stopped in the middle of a downpour so I could "feel" the hail.
What I like to do most when its raining is drench in it ofcourse. But given all the restrictions imposed on me right now, I can settle for the next best thing - a good (anything that I dont make?) cuppa tea, a great conversation or cracking up on Friends' episodes. Refreshments are welcome from the kitchen sphere ofcourse. Though these days its more of getting cozy with a bottle of water on the couch (have lost most of my teapetite) and having to ask for help to get off it for an "empty" and a refill once in a while. All the while having a good laugh and conversation. This is also fun :)
2.26.2008
Life's Crossroads
In August last year, I got an opportunity to take a long break from work (after 7 yrs). T made me an offer that I did not want to refuse - that of taking a 3 month vacation and following him on his assignment to the US. This was a very tough decision for me considering that it meant a lot of implications professionally. I had to sit back and ask myself that annoying question of "What do I want from life?" Annoying because who really has the correct answer to this question? I decided that I should have fun in life with family when I get the opportunity. Looking back I feel I took the correct decision personally. We had one of the most memorable time of our lives. The vacation was not only rejuvenating for mind and body but it also brought with it, change! When I came back from US in November I unexpectedly found myself at the dreaded crossroads again. And this time it was because of a new presence in our lives, our little one. I am not overtly modest and hence can state pretty clearly that I am a very ambitious person. Ambition in terms of my professional as well as my personal life. Yet I am back at the fork trying to decide what is more important to me - my career or my baby. While I will be off on leave for the second half of this year, this could be a serious setback for my professional growth. Parenting brings with it a huge responsibility, one which I have no clue about and hence I am also faced with the inevitable question of whether I can even get back to work for a couple of years. Its a joyous occasion no doubt but also the moment of truth :)
1.05.2007
A princess is born
If 2005 and 2006 were the years of weddings then 2007 is definitely the year of babies! This ofcourse is in my perspective. Two of my friends are proud parents and a couple of couples are in line.
(PIC courtesy : http://www.annegeddes.com/) P.S :- This is not the princess I am talking about!
Today morning I saw a princess. A less than a day old kiddo! She is beautiful. Very graceful features. Cute face, long fingers and long nails. Yeah of course she is scratching herself to glory with those teeny tiny nails. This is the first time am seeing a baby that young. I couldn't even muster enough courage to hold her in my hands.
The youngest baby I have held in my hands was my nephew when he was 10 months old so you can imagine how confident I am with handling new-borns!
But they are little bundles of joy literally. They are just over a foot long but when bundled in two or three layers of cloth then they become substantial enough to hold :).
(And in the midst of this post I discovered I have a college friend staying very close to my home!! Am so excited about this discovery! )
Ok back to the babies topic. This little princess, smiles sweetly when her pappa talks to her. And she doesn't even open her eyes! Instinct? Or is it because the pappa spent a lot of time during the last-months-of-baby-development with the mama? I think its the latter. Traditionally in India the girl goes to her parent's house in the eighth month of pregnancy. The only reason I can think of is "there is no care better than a mother's care and there is no touch better than a mother's soothing touch" and in those last couple of months of pregnancy a girl needs a lot of that. Because of this move, the husband doesn't get to spend lot of time with the girl for lack of time or because the girl's parents house is far away or in another city or some such physical barrier. I have seen a couple of cases where the baby needed to get used it's father. It cries when the father holds it! But not this kid she knew exactly who was holding her. Very clever for a less than 24 hour old!
All in all a shooo shweet way to start our day and her life :)
(PIC courtesy : http://www.annegeddes.com/) P.S :- This is not the princess I am talking about!Today morning I saw a princess. A less than a day old kiddo! She is beautiful. Very graceful features. Cute face, long fingers and long nails. Yeah of course she is scratching herself to glory with those teeny tiny nails. This is the first time am seeing a baby that young. I couldn't even muster enough courage to hold her in my hands.
The youngest baby I have held in my hands was my nephew when he was 10 months old so you can imagine how confident I am with handling new-borns!
But they are little bundles of joy literally. They are just over a foot long but when bundled in two or three layers of cloth then they become substantial enough to hold :).
(And in the midst of this post I discovered I have a college friend staying very close to my home!! Am so excited about this discovery! )
Ok back to the babies topic. This little princess, smiles sweetly when her pappa talks to her. And she doesn't even open her eyes! Instinct? Or is it because the pappa spent a lot of time during the last-months-of-baby-development with the mama? I think its the latter. Traditionally in India the girl goes to her parent's house in the eighth month of pregnancy. The only reason I can think of is "there is no care better than a mother's care and there is no touch better than a mother's soothing touch" and in those last couple of months of pregnancy a girl needs a lot of that. Because of this move, the husband doesn't get to spend lot of time with the girl for lack of time or because the girl's parents house is far away or in another city or some such physical barrier. I have seen a couple of cases where the baby needed to get used it's father. It cries when the father holds it! But not this kid she knew exactly who was holding her. Very clever for a less than 24 hour old!
All in all a shooo shweet way to start our day and her life :)
12.19.2006
Motherly times
Nowadays I can easily classify my group of girl friends into the following 4 categories
One of my favourite friends has also been intimated about a visit from the stork and I am all excited to hear about the baby's progress. I dont know what it is with me but I had tears in my eyes when she was telling me over the phone about the head and spine of the baby developing. Am an emotional old fool. I pray for her and all my other friends of the previous categories.
I do have a unique category for myself - a Very-Scared-mother-to-be-in-the-future
- Experienced mothers
- New mothers
- Potential mothers
- Mothers-to-be-in-future
One of my favourite friends has also been intimated about a visit from the stork and I am all excited to hear about the baby's progress. I dont know what it is with me but I had tears in my eyes when she was telling me over the phone about the head and spine of the baby developing. Am an emotional old fool. I pray for her and all my other friends of the previous categories.
I do have a unique category for myself - a Very-Scared-mother-to-be-in-the-future
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