The next in the WishList....

Europe tour was done for the season....parents from India and sister from US had visited us in London..summer was happening but now that it was all over ...life was suddenly slow and boring now with nothing new.

I live life by days...a dear friend once commented on my life style that I needed a short term goal to keep myself engaged and happy .In the absence of something to look forward to,I turn gloomy and contemplative!

The usual facebook activity..checking what friends are doing ........ then I saw a video, a friend had posted that rekindled a hidden desire.The video was about his skydive..just by watching the video I almost felt the thrill and passion of the sport...just before he was jumping, I could feel my heart fluttering and then going numb as he jumped! I had been wanting to do this for long...

The first time,I had thought of doing it was when I saw one of my batch-mates skydive pictures. I had awed her courage then and secretly sworn to myself, want to do this before I die!

And following my heart I did search about the places where it was done.Found a couple of skydiving schools, all of them were quite far offs. Lil disheartened but all right I thought can't expect everything handed over in a silver platter.Then I found out the charges and my dreams were dampened , a whopping two fifty pounds per person!!!! The excitement went down and gradually I let the thought elude my mind...

But now looking at this friend's video I was all excited again...I looked at the video couple of times and asked myself "Do I have the courage to jump off the plane from a height of 13000 feet??!!??" And I heard a meek voice saying it's scary but I want to do it.

The more I thought of it stronger the voice grew within me.Though such sports are done under expert guidance ,there are always some amount of risks involved in such sports! I definitely wanted to do while I was a free bird.. definitely before having a baby...so it was time to pursue this wish!

My hubby who almost never objects to anything or says no to any of my demands, gave in.But he refused to do it himself!!! He is the sporty type but I guess he didn't feel the price justified.

I booked a slot for this Tandem skydive , the available dates were after a month, quickly I booked the slot....and waited eagerly for the D day.It was the month of September and the weather was bad.As per the rules of skydiving if the sky in not clear on that day, the jump couldn't be conducted as its essential for the jumper to clearly see the Drop Zone from the exit point from the altitude. Wind speeds must also not exceed 15 knots , else one would land elsewhere after jumping!

Meanwhile something unexpected happened, out of the blue I got an interview call.The role was of a technical support person a bit mismatch but still I was asked to go for the interview the very next day, the bane of being in technical line..I was totally out of touch with the books and didn't know what to do, still I went just to check what it's like to have an interview in UK.It was a very simple one, the asked me to come for the next round,a written test after 2 days on Monday...I brushed all that I could in the weekend burning the night oil!That Monday when I arrived,I saw a handsome guy was being interviewed for the same position.Not caring much I wrote my test..I did very well in the written test, the manager was impressed!
I left with high hopes...end of the week they came back just to let me know that they offered the role to the not so after all handsome guy,who was more experienced and suitable for that support role.

Now it was just a week left for the dive, the weather was bad, the whole week the forecast showed rain and clouds.Hope against hope I waited, luck might favor who knows!
Just a day left...the weather wasn't reliable but then sometimes it turns better than forecasted....that night I didn't get good sleep..to be frank I was a bit nervous..in fact quiet a bit nervous.

Morning , the weather was bad..but the tickets were already booked so we decided to go and see the place and try our luck.It was two and half hours journey from there...as we left London and went North the weather kept on getting worse.By the time we reached there, it was raining Cats n Dogs.In the station we met another guy who had come for the dive...the three of us went to the Skydivingcenter just to discover the event had been called off cause of foul weather :(

Didn't get the refund of the booking amount, instead was offered a date after 2- 3 months.That was too late.....

Atleast I tried ,may be sometime in the distant future, I thought and made myself content! So this one stays on the list!

Clipping his nails...

that's the most daunting task I find till day.

Every week for the past seven months I have been doing it at-least once a week and still I find it so laborious.

When he was just born, I used to wonder what to do with his nails, he was so fragile then ,I couldn't dream of clipping it with clippers...And with loads of advise from all kinds of people...I kept wondering what's the best way to do it.

Some suggested to gently bite off his nails with my teeth..with no disrespect to the others who do it, I find the idea quite revolting.I know a lot of people have the habit of biting their own nails, but I have never given such brutal treatment to my nails , infact I had beautifully manicured and shaped nails for most of my life .....now's a different story...no wonder that's how I feel about biting nails, specially if it were my baby's.

While some other's suggested me to clip them when he was nursing...I know a good friend who does that.Nothing wrong with that ...suits a lot of people, but didn't suit me.And also cause of another reason, the person who suggested the idea,she's not in my good books.Still it's not that I rejected the idea outright...but cause my baby is very active even when he's enjoying his feed , he wouldn't keep still for more than few seconds.And in that if I were to try to cut his nails then, the distraction would be too much for him to handle.

Filing was also suggestion , but filing I feel can hurt the lil one's finger even if done with very tender baby nail fillers.

When he was just born , after two or three weeks, I started covering his hands in mittens to save him from scratching himself, and so soft were his nails that occasionally they would come off on its own!

Couple of times I thought of clipping them, thankfully I didn't cause when I spoke to the pediatrician, he advised me to wait for 10 weeks, the time till when he would have his tetanus shots and then clip the nails.Tetanus shots are very common in India.

The best way that came to my mind was clip them when he was fast asleep.That's the time when there would be the least resistance from him and least chances of getting hurt.
Still remember the first time I cut his nails, while he was sleeping I managed to trim well all his nails of one hand but while I was cutting the other hand's nails , accidentally I grazed a bit of his skin of his ring finger, a very tiny drop of blood oozed out , one like you get with the prick of a rose thorn.I got upset and started crying looking at his tiny finger....cursing myself that I hurt my baby :( Thankfully it was just a very tiny prick, but I still feel guilty about it!

The next time , I was more cautious and am still very cautious till this day.

I have tried to clip them with scissors too , but with scissors , I find they leave a very sharp edge that needs filing.

Some tricks that I have discovered over time:

Clipping after baby's bath.After a bath his nails are soft and easy to cut.He usually goes into deep sleep after a bath followed by feed.

I usually run the clipper under the nail before cutting and keep it tilted up to avoid cutting any skin that sticks to the nail.

I wait for almost a week for the nails to grow a descent length ,not long enough to
scratch himself but long enough to be easily clipped.

Ooh..just found this guide while surfing..I am on the right track!!!

Guess would have to keep doing this till he grows big enough to understand that he has to stay still when his nails are being clipped !

One day when I read this post ,when he's grown up I know I am gonna miss these moments too!

Nine months two weeks!

Sometimes I feel time is flying too fast...it was just yesterday he was born..a tiny lil thing that would fit in my arms...and now he's grown tall enough to fit out of my lap!!!

Infact I look at his pics when he was just days old...and I already miss those days! And I say to myself how wonderful and blessed is being a mother!

And then I think that even I was like this when I was young and how much my mother must have loved me then and how much she still loves me... parents are so special in our lives:)

Baby is getting naughtier day by day!Everything around, arouses his curiosity! Opening the laptop when he's around is next to impossible.He has an eye on two thing's that mom doesn't let him have, her laptop and her camera....so he ensures that he doesn't leave any chance to get hold of them.

Day by day, shelves are getting more accessible to him.I find myself searching for higher places to shove off all those that I need to keep safe.And its not just the things , baby too! The other day,when I was not looking at his direction may be for few seconds ,in a fraction of a second somehow he managed to get hold of an utensil that was kept on a high rack..somehow he got hold of it and the utensil landed on his foot..thankfully he didn't hurt himself!

Everyday I have to more and more alert ..and I wonder how can I leave him to a child minder and go for work???

The weathers slowly changing and the winters are almost here..guess this week was the last week when my Baby could play in the balcony.The coming weeks are going to be chilly.

My life: Finally I have joined the gymn...feels really good to be doing workouts!The stamina has deteriorate like any thing but soon I shall be fit!! And healthy if not trim :P!!!

This week I also rediscovered my old love...movie in Theater!!! I went for a movie after a year with a friend, leaving my baby behind with his father! Movie was great ,was a good break,at first I was totally lost in the movie ...but towards the end slowly I was waiting for the movie to get over fast so that I could rush back to my baby...deep inside I was feeling guilty :(

Cherished Moment: I usually try to sleep as much as I can in the morning, till my baby would let me sleep.He would wake up and play around me.That day I was awake but still lazing when all of a sudden my sweetie decided to come and bite my nose with his sharp teeth! And he bit it really hard, but still it was so funny , amazing and very memorable!

Nine months One week

One of my friends suggested me to try Baby led weaning..she was successful with her baby and spoke very highly about it.

I had read about baby lead weaning and decided to give it a try.So I brought couple of variety of finger foods.

The following morning instead of making any puree, I cut some apple, banana into finger slices and offered them to my baby on his high chair tray. Surprisingly instead of putting them in his mouth like all other non-edible stuff, my baby just kept playing with them and spilling them over the floor, not a single piece went into his mouth.

The principle of baby led weaning says not to force babies to eat, let them decide what they want to have, which means that they are on milk for a longer duration till they don't learn to eat.So going by that principle I didn't offer any food forcibly to my baby and he went without food the whole day and just had milk.End of the day I couldn't bear it and offered him some puree which he did have little.

Next day again I tried the same...he just kept playing with the finger food.

On the third day, I couldn't bear that any longer and decided to go with both purees as well as finger food.

I had also started giving the multivitamin drops to my baby.
Slowly I found my baby accepting the purees , don't know whether it was the multivitamins or the temporary strike out phase was getting over or the baby led weaning had made him more willing to eat???!!???

On the forth day when I offered finger foods again I was thrilled to see my baby trying to eat the stuff that I gave him.

Now that he's nine months, he should be learning to chew foods and slowly I have to stop from purees to mashed and then solid foods.

At present I am continuing with a mixture of purees and finger foods.Thankfully he's willing to eat more than the earlier weeks.

This week also the thought came to my mind that perhaps I should start looking for work now, just the thought of leaving my baby and I found myself hugging him and kissing him more through out the week.

Looking for work also means I have to find a child minder and day care for him...and also the exorbitant cost of the same.

Word of caution : Baby led weaning also has the risks of choking and gagging while baby tries to eat on his own.I was always with my baby while he was trying to eat on his own...couple of times I found him gagging, the first time he did I got so sacred, immediately I held him up with his face down and thumping his back....but thankfully he wasn't choking I just got worked up.Neverthless it's good to know these tips.

Cherished moment - I felt so happy when my baby was trying to eat on his own the finger food offered after he got bored of playing with the food for three days.

..one more off the list....bags packed!!!

When I was moving to London,many of my friends envied me saying that now I would be able to tour most of Europe...deep in my heart I had this secret dream of seeing all of Europe!!

That was quite a dream...most countries in Europe are expensive destination. Plus UK's not the part of Schengen treaty , the extra burden of getting a Schengen visa makes it all a task that needs a lots and lots of planning.

With a small baby, travelling would be a distant dream...I thought.....so that summer I wanted to see as many places in Europe as possible.

Swiss was the first European country we saw that summer.Had applied to Swiss embassy for the Schengen visa that summer, had got a multi-entry visa for three months.

The top destination Swiss was already covered...The beauty of Swiss is known to all! There aren't words to describe the beauty of this country.Its simply breathtaking...and also a very expensive destination!

..the next country that we toured that summer was Italy.Saw the beautiful "eternal city" Rome, and I knew why its one of the top tourist destinations of the world.The most enchanting was the Trevi fountain, never saw anything so beautiful.

The Ancient Rome had a haunting charm about itself the Colosseum, the Roman and Imperial Forums, the Pantheon were all breath taking.Saw the world famous St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican city , still remember climbing the 320 steps to the top of the Cupola..and view from the top made it all worth climbing those circular stairs!

Went to the much hyped City Of Venice.Visiting Venice was a dream...but it's one of the places that didn't live upto its expectations...frankly speaking the city is overrated....but the Venetian masks aren't..got a feathered masquared mask from Venice

..one of my prized possessions.Oooh and did see the Leaning Tower Of Pisa too! Quite amazing is the tilted tower!

Two countries visited...big hole in the pocket ..yet the greedy traveler inside me wanted more... so what next?But ofcorse the City Of Love - Paris.

Hmnn..but it wasn't that easy..needed some cajoling for "The Hubby" to give in :-)
After some sweet talks , convincing and more convincing hubby dearest gave in and my dream came true!!

Endless tourist spots, the city has more than one can imagine Notre Dam, Louvre - MonaLisa , Eiffel tower ,Montamartre, Arc de Triomphe,Champs Elysees , Pantheon, Moulin Rouge all done..done ..done!!!

Well I didn't think of any more trips that summer ...it was July end, summers were almost over but more importantly the Schengen visa had expired.So for then Europe had to wait..but I did seen enough of it to take it off my list!

Eight months , four weeks or almost Nine months!

...my lil one is almost Nine Months..oh my God how Time flies!!

This week was just an ordinary week...rather a dull one.

More experiments with lil ones food..he's off and on..however better than the last week. In fact I went and saw the Dr and Health Visitor.Not only for him but also for me,cause I just feel too tired all the time..sometimes I feel I am not able to cope up and other times I feel as if I have grown old and weary all of a sudden....when I look at the mirror, the reflection's not familiar ..I prefer not to look at it!!

While I went to see the Dr , my baby grew very restless , looking at him the Dr responded taking care of an active toddler.. can be exhaustive..you have to be a SuperWoman if you don't feel tired.

He asked me if I have a supportive husband...I wondered what to say? Husbands are ok...they think they understand but actually at times they don't..cause they can't..simply because their body has not gone through it...Well that's exactly what I told the Dr to which he quickly responded.."true, even I don't understand!!"

The Dr did advise some routine blood checks ..just in case I was going anemic!
The Dr prescribed some multivitamins drop for my baby and advised me not to worry too much about baby as he seemed quite alright to him ...God bless!

The Health Visitor was an elderly woman and was quite comforting..she asked me if I was eating well.She was right when she said that initially we eat well and take care of ourselves but slowly we stop.And how true I have stopped looking after myself..I didn't realize when I stopped taking my multivitamins, milk , snacks.I just nibble some food like a routine..and keep running chores.I have been planning to join the gymn back but for some reason have not been doing so...

May be I need a break...I feel like running into my mother's arms.Aren't parents the best thing that happened to you? Today also happens to be my Mom's Bday! A very happy Bday to her :)

This week I took my baby to the sensory room in the Children Activity Center.One section of the room has mirrors ..my sweetie was pleased to look at his own reflection in it, infact he was so pleased that he was licking and kissing the mirror.. was lucky could capture the moment with my camera..That's the cherished moment of the week!

..........time for that forgotten Wish List..

.......the folic acid shopping..I remember reading reviews and checking for different brands and composition. I read some people developed nausea or bloatedness with folic acid and got one that was lactose free as I am a bit lactose intolerant at times!

I had three months time before I started trying..then the thought creeped into my mind that once I conceive life would not be the same...I would step into the world of responsibilities and duties, the carefree lifestyle would be a thing of the past.But then I wanted to give up carefree life very much...and yet I thought of all the things that I wanted to do..may be it was time to go over that forgotten wishlist before I said adieu to my carefree days!!

One of things that I always wanted to do and that needed a good physique was learning horse riding...

My first memories of a horse are that of a park ! Its a common thing in India to have horse back rides for small kids around children's amusement parks.Even after trying hard I cant recall why I didn't get on the horse but my younger brother did.

Many years later , when I went to Shimla with my sis , I rode a horse for the first time. Horses and pony rides are quite a respite when sighteseeing steep climbs .Among other things I remember a funny incident that happened there....I and my sister both took horses and my sis was trailing behind mine. The guide had explained well how to maintain body posture and the horse was well trained too.

All was fine , I was enjoying the beautiful landscapes when suddenly I heard a prolonged cry aaaaaahhhh ... I turned back to see that it was my own sister who was lamenting it and I actually saw her falling off the horse in a somewhat slow motion fashion.Thankfully she was lucky enough not to get hurt or roll of the cliff and we could enjoy the rest of the trip.How she had manged to fall from a walking horse is still a mystery! I still wonder and keep laughing to myself whenever I think of that incident.

My love for horses started with the Shimla trail !


Couple of years passed by. By then I had finished my college and had started working.

My friends and I went for a short trip to another hill station called Matheron a beautiful hill station situated 60 kms away from Mumbai on Shyadri hills.
One of the unique things about Matheron is that the only means of transport there is horses and hand pulled rickshaws.Vehicles are banned here and is a true "Pollution free town".Once again I had a chance to ride a horse, however this time I wanted more.I wanted to learn to gallop and not just sit on it.So in our 2 days tour , I managed to take 2 days crash course on riding a horse..the experience was exhilarating.

As much as I remember the beautiful experience I also remember the after effects of it.The next 2 days I had a very tender back and had to take off from work cause of the pain.

Couple of years passed and I had almost forgotten about how much I had enjoyed horse riding. I had changed cities and was married then.One day I saw an advertisement in the newspaper about a beginner's horse riding camp being held in the outskirts of the city. The classes were scheduled on early mornings weekdays.So impelling was my desire that even tough the place was very far and we also had office after , I still coaxed my husband to join the class.We went at the mentioned location just to find out that the classes were all full and were not taking any more students...I came back with dampened dreams.

But now in this city of London with such a wide choice of Equestrian schools I knew my dream of horse riding was going to come true.




I joined horse riding classes for couple of months..I thing off my wish list..clap..clap clap!!!

The PLAN

...the more I thought of it, the better it sounded..a new lil member in the family :)


When I look back I feel happy about my decision to wait all the while till I was totally ready for my baby..

Everyone who is a mother feels blessed to be a mother such is motherhood , yet some who have hurried into it at times feel that may be they were not ready that time and have regrets in some corner of their mind.Have a baby when YOU want to have...That's when you will enjoy the journey!

Now that I was happy with the idea, it was time to prepare for it!The first thing I did was went meet a Health Practitioner here looking for some advise!What I was expecting was possible health checkups etc...but the lady was indeed stupid and all she advised me to do was get cosy with my hubby...what an ass she is!!After that incident ,couple of times when I ran into her, I had a hearty laugh thinking about it all over again.

Thankfully the trip to India was coming up soon...once in India we went to see a gynaec!We went for a consultancy and I still remember that evening when we were still waiting at the reception for the Dr.....both of us were feeling so shy that we were actually contemplating running off....but we didnt!!!

The gynaec was a nice lady..she realized that we were uncomfortable and made sure that we were at ease.Among other things, she reminded me of the Biology Chapter of 10th std.

Many of my friends are still to start their family..here's a list of the top things that I remember the gynaec told me about :

Taking Folic acid tablets from 3 months before planning to at-least the full first trimester.

Check on Thyroid levels and a routine blood test.
Healthy eating and exercise.
No alcohol while trying actively.

Also I read a lot of articles, here's the site that I follow till day BabyCentre
If you are the techinical type :P , a good understanding of the ovulation calendar and understanding the basal body temperature is a good thing.

So as the first step ..I went shopping folic acid tabs!