I SPIN LIKE A TOP - MUMMY

At 4 months Vira has become quite a handful. She expresses herself freely – and when I say freely I mean FREELY – shout, squeal, purr… depending on the mood. Will she be a dictator? Scary prospect. A Singer? Hopefully. A Politician? My mum says so .Wow...That’s quite a handful of vocations for a 4 month old baby

But this is how we parents are .. Dreaming about what our kids will do, how they will look, behave and feel as ‘adults’. This day dreaming is a pleasure so specifically made for parents  J . It makes up for all the things we CANNOT do today – party for long hours, spend on our whims and oh! So much more on the material front.

 

AND I SAW HER SIT - I'M A BELIEVER

Then I saw her face
Now I'm a believer
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind
Now I'm a believer
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm a believer
Then I saw her face
I'm a believer
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind
I'm a believer ….

A personal favourite J and it comes to my mind every time I see Vira doing ..oh ..so many of the million things she does … like the first time I saw her sit up . We generally put her in the pram and prop her up with cushions. She was in a reclining position and suddenly pushed herself up !!and was upright – for about 30 seconds J her first ‘sitting by herself’ . 

Wow !!a small push for Vira , a big WOW moment for me . By the time I shouted out and my mom and thr maid came running , she had managed to topple forward and bang her head on the play rings attached in the front of the pram .  Oops !

THE MYSTERY OF VIRA'S HAIR - THERE OR NOT THERE

Ms. Vira’s head is nice and soft and round and fairly ‘clean’ – not much hair to be seen. This is just the opposite of what my eldest child has – lovely , soft and plentiful hair . My mother ‘s solution to this is to massage in oil on her head twice every day . The result of this practice has been that the existing hair has grown longer  but I do not see any new hair coming out .

When we went to the pediatrician for her check-up , I brought this to his notice . What he said gave me a small heart attack – his words implied that the kid will ‘shed all her hair by the time she is 6 months old and regrow them by her first birthday ‘ . The colour drained from my mother’s face and I was staring at the doctor – aghast .

We walked home in silence ..wondering how Vira’s hair will grow going forward . ?

Any thoughts?Your experience with something similar? Do share

WORKING WITH BABY AT 3 MONTHS !!

I’m losing my touch with the outside world ..and am feeling alienated . What’s happening on Facebook ? Linked In ?My favourite jewellery site? Let me log in … and then I lose touch with this new baby filled world and drift to my old one . The familiar feeling ..the mind moves into overdrive. Wow – that job opening is what I have  been looking for .. great deals on great stuff  … etc. etc.

A wail and I return to the world that centres around the baby .

And then I decided to get back to work – flexi time .

Step 1 – hire help. Even though my mom is around, she gets tired looking after the baby on a full time basis- mentally and physically. Babies are a full time job!! So , investing in hired help is the first towards freeing up time to work .

Step 2 – train the help . This is a two week process, and really helps me wean myself away from the baby as I see Lakshmi (the nanny) get a grip on things and do it ‘my way’. Vira is happy with her and I feel happy seeing this bonding. Leaving them under my mom’s guidance, I am feeling confident of spending time on work.

Don’t I feel guilty ?– handing the baby over to ‘others’ to take care? I think there must be no mother who does not feel that she is the best ‘mom’ and caregiver for her child. But then, work is my baby too and it is an integral part of who I am ..and my finances. The trick is to balance both and give each enough  attention to grow . Yes, I understand that I may not be able to do as much work as I was doing pre- Vira, but then, that is a trade-off I knew was coming .

A close look at the corporate environment and help from my friends helps me get work that I can do predominantly from home. Its not as easy as it sound

s as interruptions are many – mom drops in for an opinion , elder child returns from school and wants to share her day, maid asks if you need coffee etc. etc. But the flip side is , all of this makes me happy .. happy to be !!

Combat techniques from the art of war – 

a)      Be in a constant state of readiness for combat – create a no fuss wardrobe which needs minimum maintenance and ensure your battle gear (laptop, internet connection , wire-less ear phone etc.) are in top working condition for sudden assault from an external client and the baby . 

b)      Keep your main weapon in good condition. Listen to your body – don’t overdo anything else your work and baby will get effected tomorrow. Be smart. Think long term.

BABY TALK AT 75 DAYS :) MAKES MAMA PROUD

Vira’s maternal uncle (mama) was all agog to converse with his new niece. I sent him some pictures on Black berry messenger and one day the baby said the magical words – gooooo go goooooo!! 

20 seconds later we were on the phone for a mama bhanji  (uncle – niece) conversation –

Mama:- Hello beta (child)

Vira :-Gooooo

Mama :- So nice talking with u

Vira :-Goooo goo

This conversation is priceless !!Jand the first of many to come…

THE NIGHT VIGIL

The first 60 days are just over, and I feel like its been eternity since Vira’s been around. I can’t remember the last time I slept thru a night ..gosh ! 60 days look like a lifetime? No doubt Chinese methods of torture included sleep deprivation.

The best part is, she gets up , feeds, burps, poops and then falls asleep effortlessly about 80% of the time .. for these 20 mins of waking time for her , its 1 hour waking time for me – cause it includes,

·         20 mins with the baby

·         20 mins eating, drinking water, visiting the loo etc.

·         20 mins trying to fall asleep …

And then she is up again, in about 1 and a half hour!!  Since the spinal injection section hurts a bit every time I get up , the whole night is miserable .. and I get up feeling very tired in the morning . Thankfully my mother takes her from there and my life gets simple- try and stay awake and do some office work . Coffee – splash water in the face- type , type, type – feed – and repeat the chain . A two hour nap in the afternoon is the highlight of my day .

Combat techniques from the art of war –

a.       Be prepared to tackle the enemy

·         Keep some low calorie chocolate ready for a quick munch in the middle of the night

·         Keep lots of water on the bedside table

·         And all the baby stuff within reach

Stay positive .Don’t dwell on the current situation of siege– imagine the happy time ahead .Eg , the walks you will take with you kid, the slim figure you will achieve in a year or two etc.

 

The 'poop' issue

The poop issue

Baby poop is yellow and squishy. And seems to come out nearly everytime she pees .. or farts .. or burps .What is this ? Nothing to worry – say the doctors. It is normal for children to have no control over their bodily functions . Some kids, and it seems Vira  will fall in this category , do this till they are 90 days old. So I guess I can look forward to a million soiled nappy’s in the next 50 days .

P.S. In India grandma’s try to make you believe that baby poop is ‘chandan’ (sandalwood powder) J

Check out this site –baby poop guide - http://www.babycenter.com/100_baby-poop-guide_10319406.bc