Baby S turns 2

Dear Folks,

My baby turns two today!! It makes me wonder if I can still call her 'baby' :-) She is our little 'toofan' as I am calling her nowadays.

It is close to 2 Am now and I think I will make a 'bullet-point' type post.. Mostly mommmy-bragging so bear with me :-))

1. She talks a lot. Her vocabulary has exploded in the last 3-4 months. Some of the words that she uses are - Fire extinguisher, Escalator, Stethoscope, Smoke Detectors, All heavy motor vehicles like Diggers, Crane, Front loader etc etc (these are her favorite vehicles I guess)

2. She identifies about 8 to 10 different cars by their logos (Honda, Audi, BMW and the like)

3. She is very attached to the immediate family and loves to have them around. She whines and cries when her dad goes to office. It is a big task to distract her everyday when C has to leave...

4. She loves music and sings a lot of rhymes that are so cute to listen to. She also loves dancing to MJ's songs :-)

5. She loves reading books too... and her current obsession is to tell her stories about anything under the sun! The stories could be about our visit to the doctor or the temple or the zoo or the beach.. which as pretty much normal you would think. But she wants a story about amma's nose or just about the doctor's stethoscope!

6. She takes time to warm up to visitors. She does not cry, but then she doesn't speak to them as well. She mingles with older kids easily, but shuts up once the 'aunties' and 'uncles' talk to her. Hope she changes that and becomes more social.

7. We do not speak to her much in English at home and consequently her English vocabulary is limited. We are just trying to get her started on that slowly...

There are so many incidents that I want to write about (that I have probably written 10 times in my mind!) but I hardly get the time. One particular episode is fresh in my memory. A month back or so, we were playing in the park and it was past 7.30 or so. I had had a very tiring day with the usual laundry, cooking, cleaning chore. Baby S was busy playing on the slide...As she was playing, I was just talking to myself and said 'oh I am so hungry'. After a minute or so she came to me with a spoon and pretend-cup and said 'indha ma'. For a second, I didn't know what it meant and when I realized she was actually trying to feed me food, I was overwhelmed.I didn't even know she was listening to me. It was such an emotional moment for me.

Just another note before I wind up. Initially when I started reading blogs, I used to feel strange reading about mothers talking about kids and their emotional connection and things like that. I used to wonder if I would ever have a kid and feel these emotions. And now, when I experience these feelings, I truly understand what it is. And I have to thank God.

When I think about the pregnancy, the scare, the surgery and the bed rest - I really have to thank God. I have to thank my husband and My mother. Without them I would have completely lost it. And how can I forget her. Thank you Timepass. And of course I remember this. I know he is just around us everywhere... thank you, it was you who actually made me realize what motherhood is. Ok, before I get all emotional and choked up, thank you folks.

I Quit

Once again a short quick post after months...

I quit my job and yesterday was my last working day. Submitted the laptop, badge and other items in office and said goodbye. It was a little emotional...I spent almost 6 years in the company...it has been very kind to me, adjusting to my every demand, allowing me to work from home, take leave of absence, flex time and what not...but unfortunately I just couldn't continue. Managing home, toddler and extended family takes up almost all of my time. Spending around 2 hrs on official work, that actually requires 9 hours - was making me feel terribly guilty. More than the physical exertion, I think the mental pressure and guilt was driving me nuts. So, instead of cribbing and whining all day, I decided to take a break. Let us see where how this phase of my life goes. A full time home maker :-)


And there is a new addition to the gadgets around. Since I had to return the office laptop, we decided to buy one for personal use.

This is my first post from an iMAC :-) Still getting used to the Apple world :-)

I will try to do a post on Baby S sometime this week. Hope to get back to blogging a little more regularly. Let us see.

Ciao

Obituary

C's mother passed away on the 24th of August. We are all yet to come to terms with it.
She had high grade fever for a week which was dismissed as a viral. Unfortunately, she developed severe pneumonia on one lung which then spread to the second and after being in the ICU for 13 days (on ventilator support), she allegedly had a multi-organ failure on the 24th. She was 61.

We strongly suspect the hospital of medical negligence and are seeking counsel to take them to task. However, the damage is done and it is irreplaceable.

C is devastated. To see my husband in this state is heart-wrenching. What can I say to console him? What can I do to alleviate his mental agony?

I am in a way glad that, after almost 25 days, he has returned to work today. I hope it will provide him some distraction.

Note: If our legal course doesn't work out, I will publish the name of the hospital and the doctor on this blog and hope to spread some message out there... so that other unsuspecting people rethink before visiting that hospital.

Happy Birthday, my Love

My dearest little darling,

It seems only yesterday that I was carrying you and it is already been one year!
We have learnt so much from you... much more that we can ever hope to teach you.
You already seem to sense people who need special care... the way you reach out to them is amazing and humbling. Your eyes sparkle when you smile and it lits up the entire room with festive lights. You are such a happy child and that is all we want. We want you to be happy and healthy.
You have unlocked the mother in me. Shown me feelings that I never knew I was capable of. I sometimes lose my patience but you have forgiven me always. I am learning baby.. am learning every day and I sincerely hope I will do better and better. Because I have the most loving and persevering teacher in you.
We love you so much baby. Words can't express it.

People

Am reminded of this quote today:

Oh! what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive!

Just feeling lost today.

C and Baby S

One thing that I haven't mentioned in all my updates of Baby S is how she and her dad have this magical telepathy between them, that has left me dumbstruck on numerous occasions.

I think they had this going right from the time I was pregnant. Whenever C played the guitar, I could feel her move around..as if dancing to his song :-)

And right from when she was like a month or so, whenever C said specific things (like 'who's the baby here', 'gundu papa yaaru?' (who is the fat baby?)), she used to give this cute smile :-)

And as far as I can remember, except for one single day, Baby S goes to sleep only after he comes home from office. Am really not exaggerating, but she does hAnd since C comes home quite late most of the days, you can imagine when Baby S sleeps!

Now, C left for Delhi on Tuesday morning. This is how the sleep time - wake time worked between C and Baby S.

Tue. Night - C calls at 9.15 to say goodnight. Baby S sleeps by 9.30
Wed. Morning - C wakes up at 9 and calls. Baby S wakes up by 9.15.
Wed. Night - C calls up at 10.30. Baby S sleeps by 11.
Thur. Morning - C is up at 7.30 for a training. Baby S wakes up at 7.45!!!

What is this thing going on between them??

Update on Baby S

It has again been a while since I wrote on this space. Hope everyone is doing well.

To give an update on Baby S, on the 23rd of Jan, she had her mottai done.

The custom in the family is to do the mundan either before the baby is 1 yr old or wait till she is 3. But Baby S has (or had) quite some hair that was falling all over her face and she simply resisted any attempt to tie it. So we decided to go ahead with the tonsuring.

The day before the tonsuring, we managed to dress her up a little for the Krishnar Vesham :-)




On the 23rd, we reached Mailam around 10 and my poor baby cried piteously through the entire process and C who had to hold her felt helpless and was even angry with us for putting her and him through it. Anyway, she calmed down a bit after half an hour or so. And once we reached the temple she was back to her usual self and was all smiling. Seeing numerous other bald babies and kids probably cheered her up :-)

So, here she is after the mottai :-)