A Day Care! After all this...

I finally had to let go of my baby's long term nanny about 10 days back (for atleast a month I guess). I went to the day care and paid them before I could change my mind again.

I was fed up of her uninformed absenteeism, and that too for 10 days at a stretch sometimes. For the past 6 months she had only worked for about 15 days per month, which is not right if she is supposed to be a daily babysitter. I could manage so far cause I have my aunt staying with me (for better or for worse), but the delays in her in-time, going earlier than her out-time, no pre-intimation before leaves, etc., was getting on my nerves.

She was a caring babysitter though. She looked after Arya since he was 6 months of age and was very caring about him, fed him well, did other house work that was out of her normal JD. So, well it was a tough choice. Now I have to manage the baby stuff as well has the entire chores in the house. Although technically I won't DO everything, I still have to make sure they get done. And that's a whole lot stressful than doing them yourself.

I have put Arya is a nice day-care facility nearby. They have lots of fun stuff to play with and Arya will get kids his age to play. There is a beautiful arrangement for sleeping and they give variety of food to the kids. I saw the hygiene in kitchen and around, and it was good. I even spoke to the cook and she seemed a homely and caring lady. Day care stays in touch with me too.

So now he has to go to daycare post his schooling hours. It broke my heart to think that my baby will be staying for a larger chunk of his day outside of his home. When I was in school, I used to imagine my favorite corner in my home and think of getting there as soon as possible. It is the same with me now. I know Arya will want to go home after his normal school hours. I feel so sorry for him. It is not fair.

On his first day of the daycare, I made the preparations and talked to him about them. But at around 12 pm I came to know on calls that he was crying a lot, not eating food, and didn't want to stay there. I cried in office too and couldn't eat lunch. Stressful time for me and Arya...(for Y it was just another routine day)

A few days have passed now, and he is still not okay with the day care. I still feel sad for him and wonder why we want kids when we can't take care of them ourselves. There's a small change however. Arya tells me these days what variety of food there was in the daycare, the different types of games they play there, and the sleeping arrangements there, or what his didi said to him. He enjoys a tiny bit of the day and keeps waiting for my aunt to take him back home.

The babysitter has apologized, and I may or may not give her another chance, but I do have an option now. I don't know if I did the right thing, and I hope things work out somehow.

Onomatopoeia! And other fun incidences with Arya

1.       Hapin-bhapin bhipin-bhapan.

These are the words Arya uses to animate fights when he is playing the role of Bheem. If there is a takkar of 2 cars he says Bhapaan. 

These words are so funny. I wonder how he came up with these. 

·         The other day he was describing to me some boulder that fell down in a garden (I have no idea where this was - school, my building or TV). He said, "Mummy, Galdan madhe to dagad dhass padla". (The boulder fell in the garden with a dhass noise.)

·         Then again there are dichaun, dadham, etc., used wherever applicable.  

2.       Location ala

 

Yesterday he was asking, "location ala?".

I didn't understand what he meant, so I asked, "What location? Is it related to Dad?"

"Nahi tula location aahe." (No ,you have location)

"Okay, good". Didn't understand a single word 

3.       An incident in one evening showed his sensitivity. I was sitting on the couch, staring into the void. Arya notices whenever I sit in 'thinkers' pose.  

Arya: Mummy tu aj ashi sad ka disti aahes? (Mom why are you looking so sad today?)

Me: I'm not sad sonu, I am just thinking.

Arya to Yogesh: Pappa, hi aj sad aahe. Hila TV lavun dya ani doctor cha lava TV madhe. (Dad, mom is looking sad, so please put Dr. House serial)

Arya to me: Mummy, tula Guddu Babbanchi athvan yete ka? (Do you miss your parents? He calls his maternal grandparents Guddu-Baba.)

Arya continued: Guddu-Baba Vashi madhe aahet. Mag tey Pimpdi la janar, nantar they aplyakade yenar, ok? (He said that my parents were in Vashi at my sisters place, then they would go back to their house in Pimpri and later visit us.) 

 

Sometimes he says to Yogesh: Pappa, hila bhuk lagli asel. Hila jevan dya na.

 

Or to me: Mummy tu majhi friend banli aahes. (Mom you've become my friend)

4.       Indian Maggi

 

On Monday morning I was by the kitchen table making vermicelli. He loves it and calls it Indian Maggi. This way I don't have to deny Maggi to him. Whenever he wants Maggi, I give him vermicelli. He doesn’t know my trick so far.

 

Arya: Mummy, aj tu majha sathi kay banavti aahes khayla? (What are you making for me?)

I showed him the packet.

Arya smiling and hugging me: Mummy, tu changli aahes. Tu majhi friend banli aahes. (You are so nice. You have become my friend.) 

5.       Bath Tub

 

I was bathing him yesterday. He used to hate bathing in a tub before. I had bought a round tub for him when he was little. Now he barely fits into it. When we were at Mani's house last weekend, he saw Shaurya bathing in it and tried it. Since then he wants me to use the older bathtub at my home to bathe him.

 

Arya: Mummy, mala pink round bathtub madhe anghol karaychi aahe. Pan Shaurya jhopun anghol karto na? (I want to have a bath in our pink and round tub. Shaurya lies down while having a bath)

Me: Nahi sonu, tyacha tondat pani jail na. So he doesn't lie down in the tub. (No he doesn't, or there'll be water in his mouth.)

Arya: Ok. Tu mala motha tub an. Pink colour cha. (Ok. Pls get a bigger tub for me. Pink in color.)

Me: Ok. I’ll get it on Saturday.

(But I know he is very particular and remembers things well.)

So I say: Pink color nasla tar konta color anu? Yellow anu ka? Or Purple? (Can I get a Yellow or a Purple one if not Pink?)

Arya thinks: Chalel.

But just after a few minutes he says: Nahi mummyyyyyy, Pink color ach an. (No, I want Pink)

Me: Ohhh, thik aahe.

Chubby cheeks, Dimple chin

When I woke up yesterday morning, Arya was already staring at my face, waiting for me to wake up. When I did, he began poking my cheeks and eyes, saying 'A Mumma, A Mumma'. This is our routine.
 
Arya (poking my cheek): "Mumma..... Chubby cheeks, Dimple cheeen".

Wow! I couldn't believe that he said those words. He cannot talk clearly yet, and I have never attempted to teach him to say these words. You know, like lots of parents who make kids repeat words after them.

We do have videos of nursery rhymes, and me and Yogesh sing them for him sometimes. We teach him parts of the body though.
 
So this little guy sang the above 4 words. I once again underestimated him and began repeating the same line over and over again.

Arya (pointing at my teeth): "Mhan" (Say).

Me (now getting it): "Rosy lips, teeth within."

Arya (pulling his hair now): "Mhan hail". (Say hair)

Me: "Curly hair, very fair. Eyes are blue, lovely two."

At this he poked his finger in my left eye.
 
Me: "Mothers pet is that you?"

Arya: "Yessss, yesssss, yessss"

.....................................

Oh, yes and he keeps saying 'Jindal bell, jindal bell' for the song 'Jingle bells jingle bells jingle all they way.

He makes nice hand gestures for 'Twinkle twinke little star'. I have taught him to make a diamond shape with his two hands for this rhyme. The poor guy puts a huge effort to do it in a hurry before the last line is over. He repeats 'Tinkle tinkle, staal'. He points to stars on his bed cover and says 'Mumma, bagh tinkle stal'. (Mom, look there is a twinkling star.)

I think his rhymes are going to be fun!
 

Arya’s First Birthday and Naming Ceremony

WARNING: This is a huge article giving a detailed account of Arya’s Birthday planning and celebration. It is written more with the perspective of bringing a smile to me and Yogesh on reading it after a few years. Advance apologies to persons reading this and getting bored.

I don't know why I delayed writing about this when it is so important to me. Maybe it was because words are not enough to describe the planning, effort and the fun we had!

1. Planning:

I was getting anxious as the event date approached. Yogesh and I had decided that we would not hire an event decorator due our budget. But I had made Yogesh promise that we will still do the best ourselves. 

The Cake - Mickey playing cricket!



2. Food:

We hired a Rajasthani Cook who had cooked for 900 people in Namita's wedding 6 years back. It was finger-licking delicious back then. He was somewhat expensive than the other caterers we could have hired, but we thought that food needs to be great to win the event!

3. Cake:
After visiting a few shops, we finalized a butter cream chocolate cake weighing 3kgs from Monginis. The design was Mickey Mouse in a cricket costume. Personally I hate Mickey (Why do kids like a mouse? I’m sure it is a big deal in US because they don’t see mice as often). I think the cake looked good though.

4. Shopping:

We got a beautiful Sherwani Suit in maroon for Arya, a red chiffon Saree for me and a new shirt for the dad. 

5. Invites:

We sent the invite to all friends and family. I called a few of them on phone to stay home prior to the event.

6. Guests:

Some of the guests came from Mumbai and few from Pune city to stay over. It was fun. Few stayed after the event too and Arya got to know them better.

7. Venue:

We had decided that we would have this event in our own society club-house. It was newly painted and clean. It would be convenient for all guests to come and for us to organize things. It is a one floor structure with an open terrace for functions. It can accommodate a crowd of 150 persons easily (catering section separate!)

8. Club house decoration:

Cake cutting done... Notice the lights and flex banner!

As the terrace was not covered from all sides and it was January, we decided to cover it with a colorful Pandal from all sides leaving the top open. We hired a guy to do light strings of various colors thrown on the trees and pandal. It gave a great celebration effect.

For the stage background, we arranged for a maroon velvet curtain with a peach frilly lace on the top and lights again. Sudhir bhauji had arranged for a beautiful flex printout to be stuck on it with Arya’s face and a happy birthday message!

We had got buntings, shiny stars, big cartoons, happy birthday cutout, alphabets of Arya’s name, lots and lots of red and blue balloons, shimmer, table decoration, all kinds of tapes, etc. from Pune city at wholesale rate. Yogesh was frowning on the demands but I'm sure he loved how it all turned out. 

We got musical candles, a “1” to be placed on the cake, and lots of b’day caps and return gifts.

9. Return gifts:

I wanted these to be useful for the kids. So chose apple shaped microwaveable kids lunch plates in various colors! We packed these in happy b’day return gift bags and kept them ready.

10. Balloons:

I wanted many many balloons, so we got a pump for inflating them and stayed up till late night. We made sets of 3 balloons for decoration. Maushi, mom, dad, me and Yogesh inflated about 170 balloons! We kept them in Arya’s room, filling it to our waists.

The little guy cried each time a balloon burst and I became more apprehensive about the balloon thing.

Hanging the balloons up on the Pandal was another huge task for us as they kept bursting or flying away due to the strong afternoon wind. Few balloons were even stolen and burst on purpose by neighboring kids too when we were not around! Somehow we managed to keep few them stuck.

The almost decorated background..

11. Table:
Table was wrapped with my white wedding Saree and maroon net stuck with balloons. We put a white table cloth on it, some stars and it was done! The cake went on it, a musical candle and the “1” letter too. Kid’s b’day caps were kept there for taking.

12. Food arrangement:

The hall for serving dinner had French windows on 3 sides. It was decorated with cartoon cutouts and stars and balloons. Buffet was set up there with chairs in case few people didn’t want to bear the cold.

13. Music:
We got a music system from my dad’s and played light instrumental music in background (The CD was purchased for my wedding but handed been heard so far!).

14. House decoration:
We decorated our house too with cartoon characters, balloons all over, and a “Happy Birthday Arya” cutout.

15. Naming ceremony on 19th Jan, 2012:

B'day aukshan. See the
decorated crib behind.

Before the birthday, we wanted a proper naming ceremony for Arya. Yogesh and I decorated Arya’s crib (the one discarded 5 months back) with buntings and Mogra garlands. We decorated the house with rose bouquets.

I'm gonna buy this cake
today too! Yummy!

Arya was dressed in a Krishna’s costume that was gifted by my friend Nivedita. He looked very cute and adorable.

I invited about 5 women for a quick Haldi Kunku and the naming ceremony. Neelam had got a Palana song written for singing during the event.

Asmita was to get the honor of saying Arya’s name in his ear along with 4 other pseudo names (I think they were Ayush, Harsh, Ashish, etc. dunno).

We tried making him sit in the crib but he wouldn’t. Ideally we needed to pass the baby from under the crib and over it 5 times or so, but he wasn’t as small anymore, so we let it go.

He had just begun crying, so I played a Palana song on my cell phone that I had downloaded from a website, “Halke halke jojawa baalacha palana”.

Asmita whispered Arya’s name & 4 other names in his ear. We had to beat her up with our fists as a ritual, and we loved that part. Done, he was officially named!

16. The real birthday celebration on 19th Jan 2012:
Immediately following the naming ceremony, we had arranged for the cake cutting. We changed Arya to a cute kurti and churidar. There was an amazing strawberry cake that we cut. Kids loved it. Arya might not know what was happening, but he seemed very happy to see so many people.

17. Birthday bash:
The venue was ready with colored lights, pandal, decoration, balloons, birthday banner and all.


Arya, Yogesh and me!

   The flex print looked amazing. The caterer was doing his job.

We were ready. Arya was in his new maroon sherwani dress. Mangal looked after him mostly.

The cake was delivered and looked wonderful. When I saw kids reaction to the cake, I knew I was wrong in thinking that cake was not a big deal. Cake is the real key to the event! And Mickey Mouse, sadly, has to be loved.


Cake cutting!

 Many guests complimented on Arya’s resemblance to his dad. Ruchi was very sweet. She took care of distributing the birthday caps to all kids.

Arya cut the cake and we blew the big musical candle over and over again, as it rekindles! The firework rocket was lit and it blasted to shower many shiny and crape paper bits all over the place.



Ruchi distributing cake.

 Ruchi was an angel again and distributed the cake to all. Oh yea, and I had missed out shopping for the cake spoons! But people anyway helped themselves with a second and a third piece!

Next Arya got up on the cash counter to collect all the gifts (figuratively speaking)! He was now wearing a white suit Namita had gifted him.



Dinner buffet.

Indoor seating. Check out the
club house. It's converted to a gym now.

Dinner was served and the indoor cum outdoor seating proved to be amazing. People loved the food!





Nivedita and family, Jayant and
family traveled a lot to reach here.



On their way out we thanked the guests and handed the return gifts to kids. They even got to choose what color they wanted. I got a feedback few days later from almost all moms that their kids wanted to eat only from those plates!

Arya changed to his comfortable clothes. We were the last ones to have dinner and finally relax. After the huge anxiety and effort, the event did go as smooth as butter.

Here are a few photos of the event.



Sinhgad college staff and families.

 

Arya admiring the gifts and
his new white suit

 

Guests



My sisters and their families!
Mani is married now though.



Mom and pranju



Mani and Arya



Dad and all.


 

That’s it! I hate being hit.

Timepass post...

Mom was visiting me last weekend. Arya was playing around as usual. Whenever he came by to kiss or hug me, I involuntarily held both my hands around my face and head. If I am not as alert (or if I am eating something) and Yogesh is around, he protectively holds his hands in front of my face to save me, from a head-butt. My mom was surprised and even scolded me for being like that with my own baby.

Arya has been head banging a lot since birth. What concerns me though is that instead of banging his head on a wall or furniture, he bangs it on mine. He runs towards me in playful mood and leaps on me. His head being heavier freely bangs against mine. No, it’s not painful for him.

A few days back, I was lying on sofa while he ran to me with his arms wide open. Looking at how sweet he looked, I forgot about the dangers of his action. Within a second he hit his forehead on my upper lip sending a sharp pain through all my teeth. I yelled. I cried. He didn’t get hurt as usual, but my upper lip was swollen. He sat there looking at me with tears in his eyes ‘cause he thought he had hurt mamma. I applied some ointment and held a hanky on it. Arya didn't like me hiding my face and so grabbed the cloth from my hand and put it on his lip! It’s been 5 days to it but my lip still pains when I chew.

And today he playfully hit me once again with his head, a full force blow on my left cheekbone. It's been several hours now but well...

I should get a helmet that I can wear around him or a cushion I can tie around his head.

I don’t think my mom would understand.

--------------------------------------

BTW he has started hitting other kids during playtime, some even older than him. He hit my sisters daughters and my maids children. My maid's 3 year old daughter doesn't come to our house anymore 'cause Arya hits her. So much for thinking that my baby would be timid and bullied around in school. I have to curb this habit.

Why watch a movie with a baby around?

I am a soft romance movies fan. I love movies like Only You, One Fine Day, DDLJ and the sorts. Before I start let me mention that I hate 'P.S. I love you’. It is a depressing movie about lost love that always makes me think all sorts of things that could happen and I start relating to the character a little too much. Similarly I do love serials that have romance as a theme.

There was this serial some time ago aired on Star World/HBO I don't remember - Sex and the City. It wasn’t very romantic. It revolved around 4 New York women who search for different things in life and how their friendship evolves. It also showed their relationships and NY fashion. Recently one of my friends gave me this pen-drive with the movie version of the same serial. It had the sequel too. These movies are fun to watch.

I can't sit across the TV and watch anything without interruption due to Arya, the chores or Arya's chores. So I watch few scenes and if Arya wants to eat, I miss 15 mins of the movie. Yogesh continues watching, so the movie proceeds. I come back and don't want to rewind it to start from the scene I was on. (Why spoil the fun for both?). Some minutes later, we get corporation water. The supply is timed, so Yogesh has to fill it up and store it. He misses a few scenes, but the movie continues, don't know for whom? This happens on and off.

Later when I see that he is not going to be around for a long time, I rewind to watch it, and he does the same. So actually we end up watching the same movie multiple times, in random scene order and making up the story in our heads. I don't understand why film editors take so much trouble compiling it! Thus, over the weekend and 2 more days, I have still not seen the entire movie and have also lost the desire to see it.

Arya's walking!

Arya started walking. On 19th April, 2012, the day he turned 15 month old, he took his first steps from the sofa chair to the wooden table – a distance of 3 baby steps. We kept smiling and encouraging him all the time. He knew he was doing something special and loved the attention he was getting.

Actually his self-training began by holding the rear bar of his bike and walking. We also held his hand so that he could get his confidence up.

But the sofa to table was his first independent adventure. I loved it. After that there was no stopping. The distance kept on increasing with a few more baby steps, every time he did it. The first week was an unbalanced, tilted to one side, sometimes leaning behind walk, resulting in his falling down. If he saw anything he liked, he'd let go of walking to simply crawl to it faster. He kept losing his balance when he saw something exciting.

Yesterday he learned to rise up from the floor and walk. (Oh, the earlier walk was when he was already standing holding on to some furniture.) The same evening, he learnt to hold an object in one hand and lift himself up with the other. Now he can turn directions, talk and carry objects while walking!

His latest try was to hold a big ball in both his hands and get up from the floor, something he couldn’t do yesterday. But judging by the rate that he is going now, he will learn that quickly too. I think he is trying to compensate for the time lost in the last few months!

And yes, I am congratulating myself too for not bringing the pressure on my child to walk sooner, although I was so eager!

TV, Tooth and Arya

Wanted to write so many stories over the days but didn’t get enough time. So here is one now. Of course it is about Arya. Writing about something else will require even more time.

Arya is smarter now. (Yea, I’m writing this for the 100th time). The other day he was standing near the sofa chair that I was sitting on. While playing, he dropped the TV remote on the floor and I told him to give it back. And hey, the little guy carefully sat next to the chair and tried to grab the remote. After three tries, he managed to get it. He looked up and handed the remote to me! He understood me even though he cannot talk a word!

Yea and he does know what to do with the remote when it is in his hand. He holds it up in the direction of the TV and presses several buttons at a time. He also looks up at the TV to confirm if something has happened!

To continue the TV story, my boy now goes to the STB directly and presses many of the buttons on it. Just to remind you, we have already paid few hundred bucks to get a new remote when he had dropped it. STB replacement will cost more. So this one presses buttons on the STB and cranes his neck up, towards the TV, to see if something has changed! Who told him this? I have changed channels only a couple of times from STB when the remote was too far off!

Ok, moving on.

He knows his name is ARYA now. I think he can say it too. It is just not very clear yet and I am not sure if he says ARYA. He pronounces it ‘AA EEE YA’. I would want to believe that he calls his name.

About 3 weeks back my baby has sprouted his first tooth! Yea! Finally I can feel something hard and sharp in his mouth! It is not all the way out yet. It is just a small point. But it is so funny. Sometimes when he remembers his tooth, he tries to chew a small grain of rice with full concentration. His face holds a frown and the sweet and round lower jaw does the work. It is so cute to watch! I’m thinking wow what a logic kids have – food+tooth=chew!

Missing the Baby

Dear Arya,

I am missing you a lot, just like most days in office. It is now 5.30 pm and it is still an hour and a half before I will see you again!

I love how you yell 'AYE AYE AAA' from inside the house the moment we knock the door ever so lightly. You are already waiting for us long before we knock. We love to hear your voice outside. It makes me smile even though I am tired.

You become so impatient for me to lift you up while I'm still dropping my helmet and removing my shoes. I know I should wash-up before I pick you up, but I can't let you down. After all you've been waiting... You get so excited, that you almost beat me up with both your fists, when I hug you, making me realize yet again what I am missing every day.

And you are getting sharper by the day. You have understood that when mom or dad wear helmets, they are leaving... and that's when you come to me so that I will hug you and maybe not go to office. It is your attempt to try and keep me home. You don't like it when I put you down or give you back to Maushi on my way out.

You've learnt to wave goodbye to me in the morning. It is heartbreaking. You don't realize yet that tata means we will be away from you for 9 hours!

Hey, it is nearing 6 pm now so I'll pack up to come home!

Love,
Mom.

My baby's first birthday coming up!

Arya is turning 1 year old in Jan 2012. Planning to throw a bash for him.

Need to do loads of planning.... lists of guests, cake, menu, decorations, gifts, invitations, clothes, venue, shopping, etc etc etc....

Wondering when it would be an ideal time to start?

For the venue, I need to choose from the 2 options below -

1. The club house in my society that has a big terrace and is surrounded by trees on one side. It can be decorated by some professional guy. We can have colored lights, 1 banner on the stage and balloons all over. We can have a buffet on one side with chairs... need to give this a thought. It sure would be nearer to my home and easier for everyone to come.
2. Any restaurant these days gives you a party space for free if you give them an order for X number of plates. They have professionals who can decorate the space for you. Pro - you do not have to bother with the prep and food arrangements as they do it all.

Invitation cards would not be needed since we would call up people on phone. Email invite would do for others...

Date is another thing... do I keep it on the 19th which is his b'day, but falls on a Thursday? Or should it be a convenient weekend party for everyone?

work and loads of it.

Friend on office messenger at 10.30 am

“Hi dear. How was your weekend?”

“ Very bad, loads of baby work, house work and no one to care about that OR about me.”

“Don’t fret. Your kid and house is your responsibility. Do not expect other’s to help. Do whatever you can, and let them feel the guilt.”

“No one would ever realize what I am going through.”

“They will, don’t worry”

Him on email at 13.15pm

“So how’s your day? Had food?”

“It’s fine. How’s yours? Didn’t eat yet.”

“How are you feeling?”

“Exhausted. But ok I guess.”

“OK. Take care, eat fruits.”

“Oh, you gave fruits in tiffin. I didn’t realize. Thanks v. much.”

Head banger

LO is developing a nasty habit. He bangs his head on the wall whenever he gets the chance to! We pad the walls near his bed with pillows, but since he has learnt to stand up, he raises his head above the pillows and bangs his forehead on the wall. It might be a great game for him, but it is a shocking for us to watch. Sometimes while playing, he accidently sits with his back to the wall. And as soon as he realizes that there's a wall behind him, he starts rhythmically banging the back of his head on it. Other head banging targets are my forehead (actually anyone’s forehead), anyone’s tummy, pillows, furniture like stool, sides of the bed, doors, etc.

As always, I read about this on the internet. It says that boys are more susceptible to this behaviour than girls. They do it when they are bored, or overstimulated, or if they have ear pain, or teething, etc. etc. etc.! So pretty much anything and everything. What’s more, only 20% of the boys seem to do it! And my baby is one among the minority! What a life!

Night-time awakening

LO woke up again this night at around 3.00 am. *Groan*. He has been waking up at nights from about a week ago. I’ve not had sleep for 2 consecutive nights and hence office just seems to be some halo I walk into every morning. Some days I seem to be sleep-walking and my tongue doesn’t seem to move quick enough to form clear words while talking to people. My analytical skills and typing skills have degraded. My appearance is just a little bit better than the at-home-and-with-a-baby look, barely passable office attire. These days the time and energy is too limited. On top of it all, my face says I’m an owl. I think I can expect someone in office to call me a retard soon enough!

I’ve been reading a lot of articles on the net about what to do to make the baby sleep through the night. Feed him, form a bed time routine and teach him to sleep back on his own. Assuming that he might be hungry at nights, I tried feeding him different kinds of food at different times to see if he feels full enough till the morning, but it hasn’t helped. Articles say children have frequent light sleep cycles with deep sleep cycles, and so when they half-wake up, they don’t know how to go back to sleep! Whew! Hence to make sure he doesn’t fully get up, I pat him on the back when I see that his fingers are twitching or when he changes sides in the bed. See! I am awake when he starts moving in sleep!


The only bed time routine that I can afford in my limited time as a working mom is to feed him, put a diaper on him, change his clothes, and rock him to sleep! I can’t afford to wait for him to go to sleep on his own, especially when the big bed is inviting me to sleep. Maybe someday when I have the time and patience to do that, I will. I'm hoping he will learn it on his own. Till then me, and yea a few times Yogesh, will have to be the two night owls, guarding our prize.

LO loves me!

I had read that babies’ as little as 8 month old give parents loads of kisses when they are in the mood! I never thought this was literally true until...Babies make life so easy!

For about a month now LO stands on my lap, and grabs my hair strands near the ears with his tiny fists. With a sudden jerk he tries to bring my face closer to his (he ends up banging his head on my forehead, and it hurts!) Oblivious to the pain, he immediately follows this by kissing my face (read licking). My face gets covered with slime from his wet kisses! The best part that is all the time he keeps saying something like 'booae booae' sometimes sounding like "boy boy". I am the one lucky person to receive this affection most number of times, since I don't have a moustache and a beard, you see. What’s more, if we have him playing in the lap & if we start making booae booae sounds, he immediately starts the whole routine again!