From Infant to Baby … The GIANT leap

Wikipedia reads : An infant (from the Latin word infans, meaning "unable to speak" or "speechless") is the very young offspring of a human or animal.  Vira is now ‘able to speak’ and so , technically, is no longer an infant . Aren’t we proud … You may THINK -  how come only speech is the differentiator ? Isn’t that a very small thing ?  But if you have kids around you will KNOW – that speech is a huge HUGE indicator of progress . I do think Facial Expression should also be considered …

So the story of evolution of Vira is that she has started experimenting and enjoying the sound of her own voice .

Along with the multiple repetitions of 2 lettered words … da da da daaa ddaa da daaa da dada … pa pa ppaa papa paaa aa aaaaa, there is this fierce enthusiasm to be heard. So the volume of rendering this ‘alap’ is very loud. And the pace differs too . This extempore delivery is often punctuated by random screeching .

So the activity cycle of Vira’s world now consist of

1.      Eat

2.      Sleep

3.      Run

4.      Bump (into furniture)

5.      Scatter (toys , newspapers)

6.      Blabber (the ‘alap’ mentioned above)

7.      Screech

Wow … a formidable list for a 12 month old .

The other good news is that the hair on her head has started growing . All of a sudden , there no of hair follicles per sq cm on her head seems to have multiplied. What a relief !! I was quite worried that she was practically bald till now .

This month has been good , with so many agreeable surprises .

Baby to me - 'I don’t like socks …'

Bangalore has that ‘chill’ in the air again . And my mom’s go the baby these fabulous socks of a couple of varieties –

·        the thick , furry kinds,

·        the pure cotton with cute embellishment kinds

·        the ‘ready to party’ kinds

As Vira jets about the house, it is important to keep her feet warm . This is slated to being down the incidence of cold AND to reduce the frequency of ‘su-su’ (errr , pee pee to the uninitiated)

With these noble objectives we put on a couple of them .. and were very pleased to see the Vira move around with growing confidence (initially she slipped about a bit ) .

Wow !! wonder grandmom and mom were soooo proud of our achievements. I bragged about this success to all my friends and foes with infants .. 

A month later the tables turned . Miss Vira learnt that if she tugged sufficiently hard or long at the toe of a sock, it came off !! She decided that this was a great game .. tug off a sock and mum or grand-mum , or Lakshmi aunty (the maid) would come running after her . What a great way to grab some attention!!

Since then this has become an often played game . The sequence of events is

1. Baby takes a bath
2. Dry her up , sprinkle lots of Johnson’s baby powder all over, including on her toes
3.  Person 1 - distract the wriggling baby
4.  Person 2 - put socks on the baby’s feet
5. Baby is happy to play .. for a while
6. Baby tugs at a sock on one foot
7.  Sock comes loose
8. Baby waves the sock around till someone (mum, grand-mum, Lakshmi Aunty) notices
9.  Baby squeals and runs
10.  We shout and run
11.  Catch the baby
12. Repeat activity no. 3 onwards

Phew!! The evening finds three exhausted women and 1 ecstatic baby .. Dihka diya na !!

Combat techniques from the art of war –

a.      Love thy enemy (here – the baby)… once she is asleep . Till then , prepare to chase !!

Evolution - wriggle ... roll ... crawl ... walk

A couple of days back Vira started rolling over onto her tummy and wriggling her hands and feet .  It seemed like she is doing some of the yoga asanas quite effortlessly . Bhujang asana is her favourite . 

And today in the morning, when all of us were rushing around in the ‘morning rush’ , she started crawling . I missed that moment when this ‘gyan uday’ happened. All I know is that one fine moment I saw the child on her fours and , with full concentration, making her way to an unknown destination. Wow!!

A couple of coordinated movements and she managed to reach the sofa for support. A few tugs and pulls and she managed to stand (albeit briefly) . Oh my !! talk of the pace of change :-).

This was too good to be kept to myself.. and as I called out , all the members of the household came out to ‘check this out’ . And promptly Vira refused to ‘do it again ‘ !! Haha

Do I believe in miracles? Yes . The ability to learn , unaided , is a miracle in so small a child. God sure has built in miracles into life .

Baby's first words , 'Maaaaa'. Homo Sapiens baby or a goat's kid ?

Maaaaa

Every hindi film buff will know these lines from Deewar (Amitabh Bachchan and Shahi Kapoor) :-

·        Vijay (AB): Aaj mere paas bangla hai, gadi hai, paisa hai.......tumhare paas kya hai?

·        Ravi (SK) : Mere paas Maa hai!

(Tacky interpretation in English :-

Vijay:Today I have a bungalow, car, lots of money.. what do you have?

Ravi: I have my mother!(and even after having everything you have lost her))

Why am I quoting this dialogue?  Because Vira now tries out a few variations of Ma now .

1.      Mamamamammmm

2.      Maaaaaaa

3.      Mehhhh mehh (like a goat)

4.      MAMMMMaAAAA

Yes, this is the first word she has spoken . I cannot tell you the immense sense of pride I feel . Incidentally, my elder daughter Reet started off with ‘DaDA da da da ‘  which clearly was an attempt at ‘Dad’ . I remember how thrilled Vikram (her pop) was !! These days I cannot help smiling grinning at the sounds that seem to be Vira’s version of ‘mother’ . J

PS :- The most interesting variant is the mehhh which is so much like a goat bleating that we can’t stop laughing when she starts off .

THE PHONE SAYS 'BHOW WOW'

The mobile phone is the most important tool for a mother with 2 kids in the nursery .It serves as a lifeline for so many of the hallmarks of sanity – advice from the doctor , connection to a career (and hoping that your colleagues can’t hear the baby noises ) , instant access to a source of food (despite having domestic help , you never know how much time will go managing the kids – and ofcourse, adult food requirements are a distinct second priority ) …. The list goes on .

It is also the most hated devise , especially as it will start ringing just when the baby starts dropping off the sleep – after you have spent hours rocking her and singing ‘old mcdonald had a farm …..’ . Tring !Tring! And by the time you press the ‘silent mode’button , the deed is done. Vira is awake and trying to get going … And you know how kids are ..they are wide awake in a minute and look at you with injured eyes – ‘how dare you mummy ! how could you put me to sleep when there are so many interesting activities to do out here , with you !? ‘

And if you keep your phone on silent mode, you end up missing all the phone calls that come in ..and misplace the phone too . Is there no way out of the dilemma ?

I had a eureka moment a couple of weeks back when I realised that Vira sleeps thru even if the dogs next door bark loudly . Yipeee !! I choose  a ring tone of a barking Labrador and its solved my problem. The child ignores it , assuming it’s a dog barking next door , and I can keep the ringer on ..
Remember the saying – Dog is a man’s best friend !!it takes on a whole new dimension J

 Combat techniques from the art of war –

a. Camouflage wins the day

(You can download barks from :-http://www.soundboard.com/sb/Barking_Sound_effects)

I'M HAPPY AND I KNOW IT......

Eek …yeeeek… ayeeeeee. I ran from my work desk to the child’s room . And found a very pleased infant and a giggling maid .Whaaat was that? It was Vira communicating .WOW !!this is big .  I just have to sit down and see her do it. Common baby one more time … Pleaseeeeeee .  But these are moments that define her existence. THE YELL, made with all her might, tight fists and stiff legs, all the concentration on the creation of a sound. It is definitely not very musical but it’s a start. ‘Kilkari’ is word in hindi which defines it – the unique sound of childhood. It’s a big upgrade from goooo, which she was using till date to denote positive emotions.

The surprising part is how fast her vocabulary seems to grow. And as she adds new sounds to her database, she also adds in emotions. So she actually frowns and her tone changes. I am able to differentiate between the ‘yeek when not pleased’ and ‘yeek when pleased’.

The biggest joy of parenthood is to be able to watch these self –learnings . I know that kids pick up cues from the environment around them and, at this stage, its mostly the house. But it will be extremely pompous for me to claim the credit for all her learnings. As I watch in amazement and happiness, I can only say a big ‘Thank you ‘to the almighty for giving me an opportunity to watch this evolution of Vira .

 

THANK YOU GOD FOR EVERYTHING! - WHAT NURSERY RHYMES SAY?

Thank you for the world so sweet,
Thank you for the food we eat.
Thank you for the birds that sing,
Thank you God for everything.

Love this rhyme that my older child learns at school. It is the first rhyme in her book and a great way to instil the attitude of gratitude. If only we could say thank you more often, the world would be a better place.

You know how it is with a kid of 4 months. Constant demands, to be picked up, fed , burped , entertained, changing diapers – the list is endless .  Add to that the demands of your household chores and interaction with a 3 year old. And top it up with your work. It seems I am spinning like a wheel. And I’m doing nothing well – my house is rarely as clean as my friend's -  A stay at home yummy mummy with a toddler.

Combat techniques from the art of war –

          Keep an attitude of gratitude. It helps keep a sunny temperament and focus on the important things that are going right at the moment.  You are a more successful solider in this battle of sanity while managing kids. You hardly get overwhelmed with duties