November 26, 2009

4 months old

Aarush has turned 4 month yesterday. Appu woke up early in the morning to wish him 4th month birthday. At 4 months, Aarush is a active little happy baby who is developing well. He can now roll from back to front and vice versa like a pro. Each time he accomplishes the task, he loves being cheered. Then its a series of rolling over and waiting for the cheer, rolling over and waiting for the cheer and so on. Little show off he is! At times, he puts his head down and tries to pull himself up on his knees as if about to sit up and crawl.

At 4 moths, these are few of the things that he very clearly loves:

1) Appu - Oh..he loves his big sis! The moment he hears her voice he keeps twisting and turning to catch a glimpse of her. Put him in a room full of people and he will have eyes for her only. He loves the way he reads fro him, sings nursery rhymes for him, performs some Bollywood item numbers for him etc. She too is a thoroughly doting sis. I am amazed by the way she gets him to sleep. The other day I was tired and aksed her if she could cuddle baby for sometime. She started singing a beautiful old malayalam song "Aayiram Kannumai" and within a few minutes he was fast asleep. it is then that I learnt that this is his current favorite and mom sings this song while putting him to sleep. Now I have started using this melodious tool as well.

2) Ammoomma - Just like Appu, he too loves Ammoomma and breaks into peals of laughter on seeing her. He loves the way Ammoomma talks non stop to him throughout the morning when they are alone.

3) TV - Ooohhhh. If the TV is on and he is anywhere in the room, you can witness two tiny pairs of eyes glued to the screen.

4) Cooing - He loves cooing along with his dad. Its supposed to be some boyish game between them and they have a mini competition trying to see who can coo the loudest. One day I decided to joing the game and gave out a long loud coo. The little one had a clear look of appreciation on his face and was looking at his dad as if to say " Not bad Acha....she took can do it!"

5) Evening bath - he loves his evening bath soaking and splashingin his little tub. However, he is not too fond of the 2 little blue ducks who share the tub with him!

November 23, 2009

Breastfeeding

I am quite contented by the progress in breastfeeding. Aarush is still on breastmilk exclusively and he has been steadily gaining weight. I am regularly expressing in the office and so far the going has been good. I have been able to carry home enough supply to last him for the time when I am away. He also has no problems getting to my breasts when I am back.

Aarush has 7 feeds a day now. Out of this, 4 times he is on expressed breastmilk. I express 3 times a day - before I leave for work as he is usually asleep and it also saves a lot of time for me, twice in the office at about 11.30 am and 3.30 pm. This depends a lot on my work schedule and I admit I am finding it quite tough with the increased workload due to the year end. In my absence Aarush has about 480 ml of milk and I am so far about to meet this demand while expressing. The other three times he feeds directly – once when I am back from office, before bedtime and one night feed.

Aarush has not been waking up on his own for the night feed for the past week or so. But, nevertheless, I get up once at night to give him a feed and he suckles well. I do not know whether it is a good practice. But I don’t want to miss even a single chance of feeding him directly. Also I get extremely full and it gets very inconvenient for me.

I hope I can carry on this way for the next 2 months until Aarush reaches 6 months!

November 16, 2009

Catch them young...

This is an adage I believe in with regards to reading. Therefore, I decided to waste no time with Aarush and got him, yes you guessed it, his first books!

He thorughly enjoyed going through the books and his favorite seems to be the Hello Bee Hello Me book that has a lot of mirrors in it. He loves looking at himself and cooing! The colours and the pictures captivated the little one.

Here are the books and a dekho at the little one settling for a cosy read!



November 7, 2009

Our Trip on the Metro

The metro fever has been raging throughout Dubai and it seemed a though we were the only ones who had not yet taken a metro ride. So when Appu was assigned the topic of “My Trip on the Metro” for her Show and Tell this week, we decided to take the trip so that she would be able to give a better account of it on her own.

This Friday we boarded from Al Rashidiya Station and traveled till Mall of the Emirates and back. We got to experience the trip during the day and at night. We traveled in both the Gold and Silver class for experience sake though we had taken Gold tickets for both the trips. I should say the trains are class, the stations are state of the art. Parking is ample. But a lot of things are incomplete and those extra touches are missing. They don’t even have adequate seats at the station. But of course, it is too early to judge.

As far as our trip goes, it was tiring as Aarush chose this day to do a lot of super - throwing up and mom and me had to do a lot of cleaning up after him. By the end of the trip he was a little irritable probably from being carried the whole day.

Appu was thrilled at the beginning of the journey. It was the first train journey for her. We had a lovely trip earlier in India but she was too young then to remember.

Appu’s sincere comments:

“Wooooww..its like an aeroplane!”

After some time…“Will we have ‘food serving’?” (She said it so loudly, I am sure all might have heard and suppressed a laugh)

After some time.....” No food??…I am hungry! I had only one dosa for breakfast!”

After some time…“Ahhh..its so boring! Don’t they sell chips in the trains?”

After some time..(she wanted to pee and was wriggling and twisting herself in an attempt to hold on until we reached our destination..poor girl)
“When are we going to get down?”

When we reached the station…”Haaah…thank you lord!” ( I love the way she thanks god!)

And when we were to start the return journey later in the day after having lunch, a stroll in Mall of the Emirates and a little bit of window shopping…“Oh! Again? ”

And after the trip I asked her how what she would say for her Show and Tell about the trip. Pat came the reply:

“ Good Morning everybody! I went for a ride on the metro this Friday. It was sooo boring.!”

I guess that sums it all up! 

November 5, 2009

Its tummy time…

Appu had once flipped over when she was barely 21/2 months and I had gone around bragging to all and sundry that my super daughter is going to go great lenghts as she had reached her first major milestone so early. The experienced mothers gave me a knowing smile. It took me a few days to realise that this flipping act was only an “accident’. She started actually rolling over when she was four months (13.02.2004 to be precise).

Once bitten twince shy…so when Aarush rolled over a few days short of his 3rd month birthday, I decided to keep quiet about it thinking this too might be just an accident. He repeated the act many more times in the coming days as if to convince me that he was in the process of mastering the trick. But doubtful mama was still not too sure. I however managed to get a video made on my cellphone during one of the attempts so that I could prove myself to others if I later realised that he was indeed turning over. Finally, a few days after his 3rd month, mom called me to office excitedly saying that he has rolled over. Hurray! (psstt…. I did not want to dampen mommy’s spirit by saying that I have caught him “red tummied” many times earlier. Atta boy…congrats!!!!! You are mamma’s super hero ! mmmwwwaahhh!)

Now, Aarush has mastered rolling over from back to front but cant get himself to roll back. He enjoys holding his head up and looking at things from a different perspective. When it gets boring for him, he keeps banging his little nose tip for the floor. If none around pays heed to this cue and rolls him back over, this is what he does in sequence:

a) he signals with a short squeak (no response still)
b) he tries with 2 more squeaks (no response still)
c) he lets out what he believes is a roar but in reality its only a louder squeak (no response still)
d) he tries banging his nose and forehead continuosly

We have not yet let it go beyond this so far.. in a short while, when mom and B are not around, I plan to see what his next course of action would be and will update ;). But at the rate he is going he will soon be handling things on his own and would not require our help to flip him back!

November 3, 2009

One month of work....

I have completed one month of work post Aarush. Whew! What a feat! Returning to work was so difficult that I initially thought of posting regular updates about the ups and downs. On second thoughts, I felt it would be better to wait until things ease out for me and I would be able to look at things from a different perspective so that my comments don’t seem too biased.

Infact, the last couple of weeks of my maternity leave were totally spend thinking of whether to return to work or not. The justifications were many:

a) It’s a baby’s right to have his mother pampering him 24/7 and returning to work will deny my baby this right
b) I have worked continuously for 11 years and its time for a break
c) Work place has become less challenging and I need to take a break, refresh myself and find out a better opportunity
d) I could spend more quality time with Appu
e) I suddenly had a love for all things domestic and wanted to throw myself into cooking and housekeeping

The list could go on. Since there was not much of support from any quarter, I was struggling with the confusion through out the days I was at home. B had left it to me entirely to make the choice and assured me that he would support me on whatever decision I took. Mom was firmly against it and made it clear that she would return to India if I were to stay at home (Grrr..), my friends kept telling me that it would be a bad decision given the cushy job that I have (in their opinion!!! Little do they know how demanding and frustrating things can get for me at times! ), many felt that I would regret the decision later when I get bored of the mundane chores at home….

Sometimes I really wonder what happened to that impulsive me that I was a few years back. I used to be so impulsive that each problem I encountered would be seen as either black and white and I could decide on either one in the blink of an eye. I wont advocate that as a positive approach but things were so much easier that way. The inevitable consequences of your decisions were things to be dealt with later. I did so much of analyzing on this, thinking about the pros and cons soooo much that finally I reached no decision at all. It was back to how things were as soon as the leave ended. I was back at work on October 1st as planned. L

The first day – was hhhmmmmm…….horrible. I cried myself to sleep the night before. Hello…what else do you expect me to do… I had never been away from my lil bubby for more than a couple of hours. And now I would be gone for a good 9 hours!!! I cried in the morning at home, I cried in the car, I cried all the way to office, I reached the office crying! Sheesshh… I didn’t realize what a spectacle I was making of myself! But who cares… I was missing my baby. Within a couple of hours I was feeling slightly better.

Now I had to face a big test. I had decided to express in office and I had got my breastpump along with me. But now it was time to put it in action This was a first time I would be expressing anywhere other than the comforts of my home for me and I had no idea how I would carry it out. I was supposed to express at 10.30 but I was too nervous about it and after a lot of hesitation finally I was able to get myself to do it at 11.30. Used the pantry for the deed. Once I started, I could keep going without much of inhibition. By lunch break I was again miserable and wanted to cuddle my baby. I rushed out and went back home and fed my little one. It was bliss. My heart and eyes were full. I could feel my motherly affection bubbling strong within me.

I had purposely decided to join on the last working day of the week. I was back to myself on the weekend and miserable again when the weekend came to a close. Each day each moment my heart was screaming out to just QUIT! As if making my wishes come true, the cuckoonest was struck by a bad case of flu ad I got a few additional days to spend with the little one at home.

I am really finding it difficult to put in words the turmoil that I went through in the first few weeks. But I am sure that all working mothers can realize the anguish I suffered. The colleagues, though they did not offer any words of solace or support, helped by leaving me alone. I finally decided to take one day at a time. I decided that I would quit at the first instance I was faced with any situation wherein I had to compromise my son’s comforts.

So here I am….after a month! I am reasonably happy with the way things are going. I do miss my son through out the day. I keep looking at his photographs many times during the day. I call home and check with mom about him many times. But I feel immense satisfaction when I reach home exhausted and see the happiness on the little ones face when he sees me. I enjoy feeding him after the long gap and love the seeing the excitement with which he suckles hungrily. Both of us enjoy the evening bath, splashing in the tub. I surprisingly enjoy all the chores I have to finish off before I hit bed. And definitely the greatest relief to me is that I am able to continue breastfeeding. I will put up a post on this separately.

I am also making conscious efforts to spend quality time with Appu. Relation with mom also is on better grounds as she probably understands the juggling that I do though it is very minimal in comparison to what many other supermoms have to deal with.

So, here is a pat on my shoulder for having reentered the workforce and for braving it out for a month!

Lost - Art of Reading

Reading has been the most natural thing for me to do, that is until recently. I don’t know when and how it happened but somewhere down the line I lost touch with reading and progressed slowly but steadily to leave books mid way through (something I never did before, I used to read until the last page no matter how boring / ridiculous the book was). I started falling asleep after a few pages at a stretch. And finally, I quit looking in my bookshelf at the umpteen books left unread and untouched.

So in an attempt to get back into the habit, I pulled out a few unread books off the shelf and left it by the bedside so that I would be tempted to flip through the pages atleast. No luck. The unfortunate books were left unopened. A few weeks back, I discovered a small place in Al Wahda, Sharjah called Reader’s Paradise. It’s a very tiny, dingy place hidden away amongst flashier and brighter shops. It is supposed to be a lending library. I went there with the best of intentions last week and got myself registered by paying a refundable deposit, a quarterly fee and a weekly rent on the books taken. Its not a place with a huge impressive collection or anything. I thought that I might read books that I rent more seriously. Where! Its two weeks almost and The White Tiger has been read only upto the 48th page! Sigh…..can I be a voracious reader ever again! 

November 2, 2009

Dumb...who me?

This has been going around for some time so I thought I will give it a try and see how dumb I am. Here it goes...

[] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were talking
[] Gum has fallen out of your mouth when you were NOT talking
[x] You have run into a glass/screen door
[] You have jumped out of a moving vehicle
[x] You have thought of something funny while walking by yourself
[x] Laughed, then watched people give you weird looks
[] You have run into a tree/bush.
[] You know that it IS possible to lick your elbow
[x] You have tried to lick your elbow… a few times
[x] You never knew that the Alphabet and Twinkle Twinkle Little star have the same rhythm.
[x] You just tried to sing them.
[x] You have tripped on your shoelace and fallen.
[x] You have choked on your own spit .
[x] You have seen the Matrix and still don’t get it.
[ ] You’ve never seen the Matrix.
[ ] You type only with two fingers.
[ ] You have accidentally caught something on fire
[ ] You tried to drink out of a straw, but it went into your nose/eyes.
[x] You have caught yourself drooling.
[ ] You have fallen asleep in class and fell outta your chair
[x] Sometimes you just stop thinking
[x] You are telling a story and forget what you were talking about
[ ] People often shake their heads and walk away from you
[ ] You are often told to use your “inside voice”.
[x] You use your fingers to do simple math
[ ] You have eaten a bug ***YUCK!!!***
[x] You are taking this test when you should be doing something more important ..
[x] You have put your clothes on backwards or inside out, and didn’t realize it
[x] You’ve looked all over for something and realized it was in your hand
[x] You have run around naked in your house.
[ ] You repost bulletins because you are scared that what they say will happen to you if you don’t.
[] You break a lot of things.
[] Your friends know not to use big words around you.
[x] You tilt your head when you’re confused
[x] You have fallen out of your chair before
[] When you’re lying in bed, you try to find pictures in the texture of the ceiling or wall
[x] The word “ummmmm” is used many times a day.

Thats 20 out of 37. Hmm....54% dumb.

November 1, 2009

A few cuties..

This happened the next day after Appu's birthday celebrations. We were cleaning up after the celebrations and my house resembled the aftermath of a mini tornado. B asked whether to keep the birthday candle (6) for memory sake. I was not for it as it might just add up to the clutter that I am trying so desperately to minimise. Appu immediately quips " No Amma, we will keep it...we can turn it and use it again for my ninth birthday!". And she turns the candle upside down to prove herself! Wah...how innovative! Looks like cost cutting si getting into her too....

Another incident...

There is a boy in Appu's class that she has a crush on undoubtedly. Lets call him AP. She cutely throws me a hint or two at times to express her feelings. Last night we were in the car returning from Dubai after shopping. Mom was also with us. She comes up with the following questions:

Appu : What's AP's moms name?
Me : Its D

Appu : What's AP's dad's name?
me : Its P

Appu : D is acha's girlfriend. P is amma's boyfriend. So AP is...?

What could I say???

Appu visits the dentist

I have always been so particular about Appu’s dental hygiene that I was in for a surprise when the doctor detected small cavities in her 2nd molars during a routine check. The doctor recommended filling immediately inorder to prevent any further damage.

Now, a visit to the dentist is not something that any of us really enjoy. Who likes other prodding and drilling and grinding in their mouth? Appu has always been quiet resilient as far as injections etc are concerned. But I was not too sure about how she would react to this as it was new for her. I could have taken solace from the fact that she had sat through a suturing on her tongue with minimal fuss at the age of 3 and that too without any anesthesia. I thought it would be best to prepare her and take for the procedure at a later date. We took an appointment for a week later.

I started preparing herself telling her about the 2 worms that had made holes in her teeth and are residing there. Made a story about how the worms got inside and started eating the leftovers lodged in her teeth since she wasn’t brushing her teeth properly and how they became so fat that they could not come out of the hole. The doctor would now have to make the holes bigger so that the worms could come out (Yyyyyuuuuuucccckkkkk!!!). The tooth fairy who would be visiting her shortly (One of her milk tooth has become loose) also would not be too happy to see the worms and might leave without any gifts. I am not too sure that Appu believed any of these but she atleast pretended to and kept telling all about the worms that are going to be pulled out from her mouth (Double yyyuuuuuuccccckkkkk!!!). She was infact looking forward to it. It also helped that her doctor was rather beautiful and “stylish”.

So on D-day, that was last Thursday, mom and daughter set out armed with a lot of guts to the dentist. I admit I was a bit nervous but she was cooollll! She sat through the whole procedure with a lovely enchanting smile on her face. The doctor also was a real darling and made sure she got her involved in the process as well. Each procedure was explained to her in a cute way and she was bowled over by the doctor. So all in all it was a great success but I still hope that we do not have the requirement of such visits apart from the routine checks!