A year back...

Exactly a year back , this time I used to have sleepless nights, shifting gently from one side to another most of the night ...waiting. Waiting and wondering when will my baby come ..how would the labor go .. waiting for my hubby to come to India. The world seemed to revolve around me ..I was the apple of everyone's eyes....parents always treated me like a queen , but now so did hubby and inlaws ! Those were such good days, perhaps the most beautiful days of my life!

 That day,I was waiting for another person , my cousin sister she was coming to visit me and was going to stay with me for a week..I was meeting her after three years ..I was excited !

She came the following day , as planned we were to go and stay in my own house for the next couple of days. Right now I was staying with my inlaws. Our house had been let out to tenants and had just been vacated. The house needed a lot of cleaning , quite a few things needed to be arranged..in preparation of the coming baby and the rest of my family who were to fly in from different corners of the world. For the past two months, since I landed in India , I would visit my house every two weeks , try and get things organised....but with my big tummy I wasn't able to do much or get much work done from the maid...it needed more time, so with my cousin joining in I was looking forward to getting everything settled.

We started in the afternoon ...finished couple of tasks on the way ...did some grocery shopping also and reached home by evening. The maid was already waiting for us ..she cleaned the house and was cooking our dinner in the kitchen.

I was in a jolly mood..felt so nice to be in my own home.

I had just finished my Puja and decided to lie down for a while..it had been a long tiring day. I was about to dose off when I heard my cousin screaming from the next room. Must be screaming for some silly stuff I thought and walked to the room ...just to freeze...I saw something that I had only seen in movies so far....FIRE !!!

an OMEN?

The candle I had lighted while praying  had fallen off , perhaps the strong breeze from the open window..the plastic rack had caught fire...it was blazing with rage! I stood there shocked...the maid came running with a bucket of water and threw it on the the burning rack which was kept near the window ...the thermal shock made the glass window burst..pieces of broken glass flew in all directions..I still couldn't react to what was happening. My cousin and maid shoved my to the next room ...I could hear them pouring more water ...and then the sigh of relief ..the fire was arrested ..but the black fumes had spread everywhere..to my room also.
I was choking..I went into the balcony for some fresh air. The lights had gone off I think..can't recall everything was dark and reeling to me anyways...

After some time when I went in,I noticed the white ceiling of the room had turned black with soot..there was a layer of black on all the walls of the house...curtains , the bed-sheets , furniture everything looked tarnished .There was a foul smell all around...ashes lay all over the floor. The maid who had just finished cleaning the house started all over again .Took her more than two hours to  scrub off the black mess.

I called the supervisor of the society who's a kind person and had always helped me with the knick knacks of the society and maintenance work..I explained him the situation and he promised to be there in a short while..

What was I to do..I was scared...and wanted some comforting but who could I talk to about this ? Not my parents..they will be dead scared..hubby in UK..he would only worry and be of no help !! Inlaws ... they will ask me to come back immediately.

Only one person I could confide in.. my friend staying close-by ..called him and narrated the tale... cried a lil bit over the phone too...I was scared..but not of the fire it had already been extinguished..but before dying off it ignited sparks of superstition in me..from some deep corner an eerie voice kept asking.....God's idol on fire.. is it an omen? No matter how hard I tried the thought just kept haunting me..... I had no peace of mind, what should I do?

Eleven months three weeks.

What I saw last week was just the trailer of a movie ...and the movie which is yet to be released!!! I am talking about my baby's walking...last week when he took his first steps I was thrilled that now he's gonna start walking..but my baby seems to be in no mood to walk yet..absolutely no attempts...he is simply enjoying his crawling.And so am I, its entertaining to seem him crawl...and more so the thumping noise they make while crawling ,is such a treat. At times even I crawl with him to entertain him :)

The week was more of a socializing one...visiting friends , some yummy meals ..a much needed welcome break from kitchen !!!It gets boring to keep eating food cooked by the same chef that's me...and invitations from friends are so refreshing.No..no I am not hinting for more invites just thanking my friends for the good time I had!

Still being regular in taking my baby to activity center and mingling with other babies in the neighborhood..but what's been more on my mind is that my baby's gonna be one year old soon...my lil bundle of joy is been to this for almost a year..how time flies. I was looking at the photographs..and they are so amazing! Dec starts and there are four sweet babies turning turning one ...month of B'day parties..and some shopping.

Disrobed!!!

I wanted to click my baby minus clothes, so before changing him into his night suites I let him play on the bed without his clothes on and he was so pleased ..kept jumping and playing around..he just loved it! decided to let him play without his clothes and nappies regularly from time to time.

I took my baby to his friend's place that day..he was playing and the mums were chitchatting, we were discussing stuff about getting into shape and exercises. I was showing her how to do crunches without hurting the back...I just laid on my back on the floor and was about to show her the exercise ..when my sweetu baby came crawling and climbed on me ....just loved the gesture and that's the cherished moment of the week!

Eleven months two weeks

For weeks my baby had been watching me put his clothes inside the white box and take it out after some time and then spread it on the clothes rack...the white box would even make noise and go round and round when the clothes were inside. He would keep looking at the spinning white box from a distance and then slowly go near and play with the buttons every time the machine was on. While I was busy spreading the clothes he was exploring what's inside the white box...kept him busy for quite sometime and gave me ample to chance to click him doing that :)

Checking what's inside the white box!

I also took him to the activity center for a session called babbling babes, babbling babes is a session for babies in the age range of 1- 18 months, a nice assembly of kids of his age , neither too noisy nor quiet. He enjoyed it a lot , and its a treat for me also to watch so many babies of different age groups playing around..some crawling, some walking ,while some just tugged in their mum's arms..the not so good part is the session is just once a week.
However trip to the activity center means his usual routine goes for a toss..everything shifts by two hours , his meals, naps..but must say its worth it.

Manged to do some baby shopping as well...getting some sleep suits and dresses for my lil one. This time when I went shopping I was confused between two dresses so I decided to pop the question to my lil one....I flagged the first dress with my right hand he looked at it for a while then I tossed the other hand forward with the other dress , he stared at the other dress and then kept shifting his gaze from one hand to another as if he's deciding which is better? I asked him again which of the two he wanted ..it was so funny to watch him swinging his head from one hand to other to take a look at each dress.. as if he was just as confused as I was and was making up his mind.Was he really deciding or just wondering at what mumma was doing..don't know!!! But it did remind me of a friend and her baby's tale about choosing a toy at the mall.

waiting for snowfall?

My baby now manages to stand freely for many seconds, subconsciously he even bounces up and down while he's standing and watching his favorite nursery rhyme!
And what's splendid is that he also took his first steps!!!Yes he walked for 2 -3 steps twice and it was wonderful to watch him do so! He wanted to reach for something that was at arm's distance and instead of crawling he just plunged forward slowly to hold on to it...May be he's still far from walking on his own but those were still his first steps and I was lucky to watch him do so :) My cherished moments for life.

Next day again he did the same for his dad who had missed seeing him taking his first steps!

This whole week my gymn schedule went for a toss...I have been feeling tired again , less energetic and sleepy ,wonder if its ..the dull English winters? Weather's cold , windy been raining most of the week...can't go out to the balcony.Baby keeps peeping out of the glass door at the swaying trees outside!

I am waiting...waiting for the snow fall. Last year I missed the snow fall..am looking forward to it this year...would be baby's first snow fall too!!!

Eleven months one week

a happening week..mostly good but a bit shocking too!

Eleventh month Bday !

the first day of the week was my baby's eleven month Bday :) just a month more and it would be a year since my bundle of joy arrived!!! the day started late with mom and baby sleeping till late in the morning..was woken by my friend's call to wish my baby B'day..this is a mutual thing that we do, wish each other every month...I got to wish her tomorrow :)

In my excitement , I uttered that I am gonna come and meet her in the afternoon. After the call ended it hit me that it was almost noon...I had wanted to cook something special for baby's bady ..but now that I had said I was visiting my friend..there was no time. Still I decided to bake a cake .. both babies have their B'days the coming month ...I was late but still managed to reach before the afternoon got over :P

Both the babies had a good time...and the moms too..chattering away !

Happy Diwali !

This week was also my Baby's first Diwali!
Was a good one...wore traditional attires! Did Lakshmi Puja....had guests at home for dinner , lighted diya's ..did some fireworks too! only thing that I didn't do was Rangoli..you see scope for improvement!!!
Baby was really tried by night..but we wanted him to see some fireworks.I wanted to see his reaction. Thankfully Diwali night was less chilly than the other nights....he seemed to enjoy the fireworks! And I love the fireworks..so all in all we had a good Diwali night :)

This week I have been practicing what the health visitor suggested...simple things which we tend to overlook ! He had advised me to bring some discipline in my baby's life. Little do we realize that sometimes we are so overwhelmed with affection and care that we tend to let baby parent us. A very simple example whenever baby would throw tantrums and not eat , I would persuade him to eat for sometime and then when he won't I would just let him have his way. After a while I would just give him some milk instead of offering him the same food and being strict. The health visitor pointed to me that I was just letting him do what he wanted , give his favorite food ...milk. Solids require some efforts , and often babies don't want to take that effort and stick to their milk. Now I have started being a bit strict ..his feeding sessions have been reduced too. He's being offered the same meal that he refused..calls for less wastage of food too. The trick has worked for a week...he's more on to solids than before. Finger crossed it works in the future too!

Amazed with the fireworks

The other problem that I face is baby doesn't sleep at a stretch at night...wakes up atleast 3-4 times a night....the health visitor advised him to give him another snack just before he sleeps to keep him full for a longer time at night , incase he was waking up hungry! This trick hasn't worked well so far..but hope this gradually works.
Atleast he's having a fourth meal !

It's time to buy some safety locks for the drawers as he has discovered the joy of opening and closing the drawers!

And now the nasty shock...just like the usual nights, we were having dinner and baby was playing around us when he started crying ... a very sharp cry. Both of us jumped from our chairs , hubby picked him up ... what I saw made me hysteric..blood dripping from his mouth...was so scary and shocking that I went into frenzy screaming blood ..blood .. crying like an insane person. Hubby was shocked too...but thankfully has much more presence of mind than me..he handled the baby as well as me! He took baby to the washroom and washed his mouth...I can't describe what was happening cause I actually don't remember what was happening..I was just crying and crying! And all I remember that I tried going near baby and each time he started crying more as I was scaring him by crying like that..and no matter how much I tried I couldn't stop crying...even though I understood that it wasn't anything serious just a small cut in his mouth .. he had lost his grip while playing , slipped and hurt somewhere in his mouth. Hubby kept telling me baby's fine ..after sometime when my baby came in my arms and I hugged him to my heart's content..I manged to stop crying. I did realize I was being dumb..but I couldn't help. Surprisingly the same thing had happened to my friend's baby the previous day..her baby was also hurt and had cut her tongue! Such a shocker.

And did I mention I am turning into a new leaf..I took my baby to the activity center! the session was for bigger babies ..yet I took him there! It was too noisy for his liking and he kept crying on and off..he enjoyed a lil bit too.Looking forward to another session for my babies age group!

And yes the cake had turned out well...so much that it didn't last more than 24 hours..posting the recipe !

Ten months five weeks

...this week the focus has moved from the dustbin to the highchair.... He's much keen on pushing it around the house....he would push with all's his strength as its not light. And when it comes to making him sit on it..he would still push ..this time resisting to sit in it and being fed!

This week my baby attended a B'day party for the first time ...It was sweet Adi's fifth B'day! Last year I had missed his B'day as I had gone to India for bringing my lil baby to this world. Hubby n me were quite sure that we would have to come back within an hour , baby had been cranky all week with cold plus the hustle bustle of the gathering ...wouldn't be a place where he would stay for long! As anticipated my baby cried a lot in the party .. on and off , but he enjoyed as well..we were there for a good three hours.
There were other babies in the party too , and it was nice to see all of them together!

It was refreshing for me also to meet and catch up with the old group , but unlike other times this time I had to politely turn down a tempting tequila shot. It was tempting but I declined it happily.. ooh the changes motherhood obliges one with :)

The party also gave me the final push that I needed for stepping out of home with baby more frequently ...this entire week I have taken my baby around  be it visiting another baby , the mall or the garden... I am improving!!! And so is baby , if he's not hungry or sleepy he would generally be happy to play with other babies...hope I stick to the plan and keep taking him around. Friends beware ...I shall continue to drop in every now and then!

Most pleasant surprise for me this week...went for measuring baby's weight..expected him to loose some cause he didn't eat much for full two weeks when he had cold but surprisingly he had gained some....which I am sure must be some error in measurement. Either there was an error in last month's measurement or this months..whatever! Felt good to see the gain. Also spoke to the health visitor about his not eating syndromes, he gave some good tips which I am following this week..could post the outcome in the next post!

ten months four weeks..

his teeth have cut through his gums...and how many? not one, not two but three of them and I can see the fourth one on his way !!!

Teething is a difficult time for babies, so three together means more pain ? or is it nice that the are coming together, once they cut babies are fine till the next in the series..just have to keep guessing!

All of this week , baby was sick with cold and is yet recovering....was quite a troublesome week for baby and especially me , with daddy also following baby's footstep. Daddy was on sick leave ..which to him meant more playtime with daddy, even sipping from his tea cup, clinging and pulling his tracks!

This entire week baby's on milk , if he feels like he gulps a few spoons of food else only milk! Saw a physician too, just to ensure that it's cold, viral and no other infections!The physician did see my baby but somehow wasn't comforting.He asked me to worry less but didn't say anything that would put my questions and worries to rest.So I called up my good old pediatrician in India ...and I had answers to all my questions.

I asked him how does he get the energy to stay so active without eating any food..and if that's worrying some other mom's too ..the reason is at this stage the metabolic rate of babies decreases, and their energy requirement drops! We discussed the weather and also the need for some sunshine ,which is totally lacking in this dull weather.

Most of the nights , this week were sleepless...in the middle of the night , early morning my baby would be hot with fever.For two nights we got up around the same time each night, gave him some acetaminophen. Post the forceful medicine feeding session , when the fever lessened, baby decided to play each night. So we have been playing at night for three nights this week.

One night I pretended I am asleep , he kept playing around me and then when I didn't respond ,he went and stood near his dad's bed...whining to pick him up. His Dad ignored him for a while but couldn't for long. Once his dad picked him on the bed, he wouldn't let him sleep and kept pulling his hair and ears till he got out of bed and carried him in his arms, strolled around the house for the next half an hour. Managed some sleep in the morning.

His latest fancy is the dustbin...moving the dustbin,standing holding onto it and going round and round the dustbin...wondering what's next on the radar?

sunshine...

Coming from a country where the sun's always shining , I was always bothered about the SPF in my sunscreen and had never cared about the after effects of no sunshine....the absence of steroid vitamin D!

This vitamin is made by our body under the skin in reaction to sunlight ...I knew that in cold countries people are prone to Vitamin D deficiencies..specially in the winter months when there's hardly any sunlight. Babies are the ones who suffer most if not supplied with adequate levels of vitamin D externally.

I was speaking to my baby's pediatrician regarding his cold and was popping my usual questions about his health when the topic came up. I was telling him that baby sweats a lot at night time occasionally...so much that his head is totally drenched in sweat.

Sweating at night can be due to teething or due to lack of vitamin D.

He definitely in teething but his Vitamin D intake is also a doubt? After all he's hardly exposed to sunlight, doesn't eat much and is neither on followon formula milk.

Babies who are fed infant formula do not need vitamin drops until they are receiving less than 500ml of infant formula a day, as these products are fortified with vitamin D.
Breastfed infants may need to receive drops containing vitamin D from one month of age if their mother has not taken vitamin D supplements throughout pregnancy, thankfully not my case :)Breast fed babies fall shot of this vitamin and have to be provided with this vitamin orally in the correct dosage.

Two months back I had started giving him oral multivitamins but the dosage wasn't correct. As per the guidelines , babies need 400 IU of vitamin D per day...and I was giving him less than that.

Lack of vitamin D can lead to bone deformities such as rickets in children and bone pain while taking too much vitamin D over a long period of time can cause more calcium to be absorbed than can be excreted.
The excess calcium can be deposited in and damage the kidneys. Excessive intakes of vitamin D can also encourage calcium to be removed from bones, which can soften and weaken them gradually.

Apart from sunlight,Vitamin D is naturally present in few food:
oily fish, such as salmon and sardines
eggs
fortified fat spreads
fortified breakfast cereals
powdered milk

But the easiest and best source remains sunshine. And its not just babies , adults need it too..so next time the sun comes out I am gonna bask in it for sometime!