May 27, 2017

Playtime Smiley time

Alarm bells started ringing frantically when it dawned on me that the little one is already 2 and still does not seem to have made much progress in his conversational skills.  All I had to do was an honest analysis of his activities through the day and it was staring me in the face that I spend way too less quality time with him, playing and communicating. Oh yes, catering to three different age group kids with totally different needs and routines can  be nerve wracking.  But excuses are not what we needed here.  Guilt was slowly inching its way into my heart. I made the strong resolve to sit down and play with him and talk to him and enjoy him more.

And like an added blessing all the toys ordered online poured in together!! There are building blocks, shape sorters, magnetic puzzle boards, shape matching kits, racing car slides etc to keep the low on energy mom and the super energetic toddler occupied on lazy mornings.

Once I started making the concious effort, I have discovered that it is indeed loads of fun to play with the small one.  In a few days I noticed marked changes in him.  He is so much more receptive and calmer.  His vocabulary has definitely improved and we celebrate each new word.  The latest ones are mooyi (movie) and toys.  I am on the look out for new games that will be fun and will challenge him more and more.

What games do you play with your toddler?

Happiness for me is.....



....these three smiling faces!

May 22, 2017

Chicken pox strikes

On May 4th Thursday, the husband decided to work from home.  So grabbed the opportunity to drive to school and pick up both the kids early. We decided to make it a fun day out for us. We had a quick lunch from Mcdonalds and saw the movie "Saira Banu" after that.   In the evening we attended Roshitha's bday get together.  After a bit, an intense tiredness and headache set in which I attributed to the walk in the scorching hot sun that I was not used to.  Headache was severe into the next day as well inspite of having a good long nap.  Thats when I noticed a water filled boil on my chest. A few more here and there soon after.  Chicken pox!! Something I had dreaded always.  And to make it more dreadful, I had been so lazy that the little one was not even vaccinated yet!! By Sunday a few spots broke out on my face as well and the numbers on the chest and the back increased rapidly.  Severe itching all over!! But it was a very mild case as I felt completely normal by Tuesday and by the end of the week all the scabs had fallen off.  All was good and I was waiting for the next attack wondering who the victim would be.

Exactly after 14 days, on a Saturday, Aarush walks in with an itchy small sore which was bugging him.  I immediately noticed the two boils on his tummy.  And on Sunday, I search all over a totally exhausted Appu and catch sight of the dreaded water filled boil on the tip of her finger and later a few popped up on her face.  The baby appears ok so far.  Keeping fingers crossed that he is spared this time.

Its day 3 today and Aarush has quite a few severely itchy boils.  Appu seems to be a milder case though its too soon to say.  Neem leaves is what we have been using mostly to get relief from the itching.  Brushing the body gently with the leaves, bathing in water boiled with neem leaves and cooled and applying paste of neem and turmeric.  We made Aarush sleep on a bed of neem leaves yesterday too.  Calamine lotion is being spread over the body at regular intervals.   I have also been adding baking soda to bath water.  Oat bath has been said to give a lot of relief so I am going to try that tomorrow.  Aarush is on Zyrtec, an antihistamine, but that is not helping him much. He is crying out and unable to sleep due to severe itching.  As I type this its 3 15 am and he has just dozed off.  I am sitting beside him brushing him with neem leaves.  Appu, the more tolerant of the two is deep in sleep thankfully.

Thats where we stand now.  Will be updating on the progress soon.

Updated to add:

Now its a household of 3 chicken pox kids.  The tiny one started breaking out in spots on Tuesday and have quite a few by now.  Temperature was moderately high for a day otherwise he is manageable.  God has been kind enough to keep it mild for all three and giving a break after my attack so that I can take care of them.  And the timing is right enough not to mess with our vacation plans.  Thankful for small mercies!

May 18, 2017

Cheers to New friendship!

So at 24 months, Aaryav has made his first official friend.  An adorable cuddly little 27 month old in our same building...just a floor below.  Surprising how we never met earlier inspite of me being on a constant search for playmates for the bored little toddler.  For now, the duo seem to be getting along well though Aaryav is a little boisterous at times and this intimidates the ever so gentle Baby A a bit. They watched and sang along with a few rhymes, read a couple of books and played with blocks. Mental note made to introduce the little one to new and better methods of expression.

Baby As mom happens to be an awesome mommie blogger and is extremely sweet and warm as well. Love her positive parenting style and look forward to getting some amazing parenting tips from her.