Dress Up, Get Set and Go

We went to meet our friends tonight and the biggest challenge was getting out of the house. It's such a cliche that girls take a long time to get dressed. My girl took the longest but not for the expected reasons.

It didn't start all that well. For beginners, Suhaana hates wearing anything with sleeves. But as a parent I'm ever the daring and hopeful dreamer. Not to mention I have agendas of my own.

When it was time to get her ready to go out, I was eager for her to try the new black polka dot dress that her aunt (my close friend) gifted recently. My little girl in black n white polka-dot dress with a pink rose flower! Oh I'd been looking forward to this all week! The problem? Full sleeves.

I somehow got her in a white onsie and then, literally shoved the dress down her neck. She was not happy and not shy to say as much( read: loud angry crying going on). Then, I realized that he dress is actually too short and should be worn with black tights. I sort of remembered some reference of tights when receiving the gift, but in front of this cute dress any other memory is pale. Also, Suhaana doesn't have black tights yet.

Anyhow, I proceeded to take her dress off and go for another dress (sleeve-less) which had been tried before. But the harm had been done and Suhaana was mighty pissed.

All my feelings of accomplishment were drained when in the end, after the dress fiasco I realized it's quite cold outside and Suhaana needs to wear a sweater and pants (hence obliterating the need of a dress - she could be wearing anything under the sweater).

Suhaana was so mad by the end of her dressing-up stage that we hastened to strap her in the car seat, load the car and get going. A moving car is the biggest pacifier.

As soon as we reached our friends and they saw Suhaana, the first thing they say? You didn't put any socks on for her?

Week of firsts

Last week was a week of firsts. Suhaana went to a lake for the first time. She saw a dog for the first time (she'd had plenty opportunities earlier but she preferred sleeping on the stroller than make four legged friends).

She went to the mall for the very first time.

But more momentous moments came at home. Yesterday she did away with her the bath tub sling.

Her bath tub used to have a sling for newborns much like a hammock while taking a bath. Sitting in the bath tub requires head control (therefore neck muscles), and strong back muscles so as to not fall sideways.

Couple of weeks earlier, Suhaana was still falling off sideways, and the sling was re-employed. But as of yesterday, she's graduated from the sling and enter - bath tub.

No photos please.

Eating Binges

One unexpected change that has come upon me is my diet and appetite. Now, when one reports appetite changes it usually goes to say how the appetite has reduced. But in my case, it's the opposite.

Last night, long after everyone was done with the dinner, I felt like I've just barely begun. I went for another round. Followed by another. I even coaxed the others to join in and take another serving. Partly it was just so I don't feel like I'm hogging big time! But alas, no one else jumped on the bandwagon.

Good news is that I have a scapegoat in the name of breastfeeding to blame these eating binges on. Bad news is.. For how long?

I Needed a Haircut

Ever since Suhaana has gotten the art of grasping down, she's not letting things get away anymore. Plus, she clutches things like she really means to: tight and firm.

Lately, her favorite thing to clutch and pull? My hair.

But as of last week and post haircut, my hair are heaving a sigh of relief. Too short to be in her grasp anymore, they feel like they barely made it!

And the strange thing is that..

Somehow when I don't write, I have nothing to say. But once I write, I keep remembering things that I neglected to mention, and details that I haven't yet jotted down. Strange!

Milestone - rollover

As this week draws to a close, there was a big milestone that Suhaana made that I haven't yet mentioned.

Last week, as I was giving little Suhaana her oil massage, I put her on her tummy for tummy time. Now, even though tummy time is good for babies to help them develop good head and neck control and motor skills, it's not Suhaana's favorite time of the day.

Earlier, when she was younger, as soon as we used to put her for tummy time, she used to go all red in the face and visibly unhappy. It used to scare me, as if we're hurting her. Checked with her doctor and got the prognosis that she's just mad because it's mildly uncomfortable.

But lately she's been doing exceedingly good! But the best came when I was giving her an oil massage last week and put her on her tummy, she kept sort of fidgeting, being mildly uncomfortable. And then as she was leaning on to one side, before either of us realized she turned over from tummy to back. I was thrilled but the suspicious.. Wad this a real rollover or was it a fluke? So, I got her on her tummy again. And she did it again!
At this point I was like going wild cheering her on! She rolled over with such ease that she was probably looking at me and wondering was the hoopla was all about. Nevertheless, I was thrilled.

Now, as I look back and write this, and contemplate a working life outside of home, I wonder how many of her milestones I might miss by just not being around.

Magical

Even now, though Suhaana is barely 3 months old, as I sift through some photos of Suhaana taken when she was just born, it just amazes me how very tiny she was. And how magical it was, and still is, to hold her in my arms.

One...Two...Threeee

Suhaana and her grand mother have a new game. To an onlooker it may not seem like anything at all, but the participants and usually giggling silly.

The game is unbelievably simple. All her grand mother does is say, "Onee... Two..." (stretching out the syllables as long as they would go). A pause of anticipation followed by a gleeful "Threeee". Suhaana is besides herself with giggles and laughs.

Actually it started a few days ago. Her grand mom would count till three and on three she would lift little Suhaana in the air. Little girl was enjoying it so much that from two she could barely contain the anticipation.. Soon, the game was all about what's coming next. So much so that it didn't even matter to her that no one is really lifting her up in the air anymore. Somehow the anticipation was hilarious in itself. For both Suhaana and her grandmother.

For the onlookers it's hard to decide who's the little girl in the game.

Cracking the Code

Yesterday we were just getting ready to call it a night. The kitchen was clean. Dishwasher was loaded and set to start in the night. Bedroom lights were off. Night lamp had reported for duty. Suhaana was in her sleep sack and aboard her crib for the night. I had just opened the bedroom balcony door to spend a few peaceful minutes of an unusually mild night (for this time of the year). Raj and I sat a few balmy minutes in silence under the stars.

Suddenly, Suhaana let out an urgent scream. Both of us started, wondering what happened. It lasted for about 2 seconds at the end of which she was about as fast asleep as she was before it. We both stared at each other in bemused amazement with the same question in our eyes -what happened? As she went back to sleep I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head.

But I've given it some more thought during the day. I think I've cracked the code:

Suhaana is an avid dreamer. And routinely meets up with her favorite friend - monkey in her dreams. Usually he's an interesting little fellow but occasionally he tries to act super smart and take her milk bottle and run away. Such behavior calls for a vehement if not quite audible outrage.. But then, she realizes it was just a dream. The bottle is still around. Heaves a sigh of relief and heads back to sleep...

Defenseless

Isn't it strange how a small little baby, even though defenseless and barely able to move her own head, can really move maintains. Get into a family gathering and no matter how many people there are, somehow everyone revolves around the little baby. It's like they were created with some special powers over us adults.

It reminds me of a Hindu mythological tale about lord Shiva and his consort and wife Parvati.

Once Parvati was furious and her anger was burning the world. All the gods tried all measures to pacify her but failed. They finally went up to Shiva to plead him to calm her down. Lord Shiva knew if he were to get in front of Parvati in her rage, he'll be burnt to ashes as well. So, he assumed the form of a defenseless, powerless, small baby and appeared in front of Parvati. On seeing the baby crying, her rage was instantly extinguished and she ran to comfort and love the crying baby.

People who call... (cynic alert)

People who call their dog or cat or any other pet their "baby", I have news for them..
They have no idea how much work and effort a "baby" is.

So, which radio station is your favorite?

Picture this:

It's been a while since we've been to our friend's place. There's a get together today. We were supposed to be at their place by 7pm. It's 7pm right now. We're still at home. We were headed out about 15 minutes ago when the little girl decided she needed to have a feeding right away.

But now, she's all satisfied. I make her wear a cap, pair of mittens, pair of socks, a sweater and pants on top of her onesie. The status: she's not happy. She barely tolerates her onesie, so all the extra layers are not appreciated.

As we're already late, we busy ourselves loading her into the car seat and strapping her in. Tied in, that's the last straw. She hates it. By the time the car seat is loaded in the car, the crying is on full volume. She's not happy that she can barely move at all. Who puts a little girl like that, she demands!

We quickly throw in all the supplies for an evening out of home. Her milk supply is packed in the diaper bag. Pacifier? Check. Blanket? Check. Wallet, car keys, and we're off.

Quickly get the car moving, hoping that might pacify her. No. Call out her name, sing a song to pacify her. No effect. Give her the pacifier to quieten her. Don't want it. Try to feed her to calm her down. No thanks. Out-loud her. Can't. Running out of options.. Finally, turn on the radio, loud, classic rock station. Suddenly it's quiet, calm and peaceful again.

So, which radio station is your favorite?

What is Your Favorite Food

Our last trip to Spain got me hooked to Spanish food particularly Catalonian tapas cuisine particular to Barcelona. So that's my favorite cuisine. Thai is a close runner up.

But for Suhaana, it's a different deal. All until last couple weeks, her favorite cuisine was milk. There wasn't even a close second. But off late, there's a new contender.

Off late, she's started to take a particular fancy for her hands. She keeps putting her finger in her mouth so much that I've decided they must be delicious to warrant that much attention. Wrapping them in mittens have not been able to safeguard them either. It just leaves her with wet mittens. So much so that feeding her now requires one additional person who can hold both her wrists to avoid them getting in the way as they try to bump out the milk bottle and get in the mouth instead.

Meanwhile, I'm hoping when she's older Suhaana likes all fruits and vegetables (especially the bland ones) as much as she likes eating her hand. There's no dearth of hope.

A Parents Delusions

This week we were blessed with mild weather in spite of it being January. To make good use of the weather, I decided to take Suhaana and go for a walk in the park. I bundled her up in a sweater, mittens, socks, a cap and two layers of blankets and off we went with Suhaana in her stroller.

While I imagined Suhaana will be most intrigued by the trees, bushes, flowers, lake, ducks, dogs and other people, there was something else she was much more interested in: ME. The whole time, Suhaana didn't take her eyes off of me. Her eyes were glued to me. As if, in spite of the wintery wind, the dogs barking, the bumpy road and a blanket overload, she's still okay as long as I'm around.

And while I was wondering how much of my interpretation was grossly over-thought and inaccurate, as long as it suits me and she's not contradicting me, who's gonna stop me? There are many down sides to the fact that babies can't talk and tell us what they think or need, but there's still at least one positive: parents are allowed their own delusions!

Newly Acquired Skills

The newly acquired skill of grasping has its perks - at least for me it does.

For one, it's the cutest thing when Suhaana folds her tiny little fingers around mine. Perhaps not even meaning to do it, it just melts me.

But today, a new routine was discovered. As her grandmother and I lay her down in her crib and gave her the pacifier, she realized she wanted to have the pacifier, talk, smile and have her hand in her mouth - all at the same time. So, she got her hands to take the pacifier from the mouth, held on to it with her hands while she smiled (both of us were floored at this point), then got the pacifier back on to the mouth! Her grandmother and I were as astonished at this feat as amused.

After this she kept trying to put both her hands and the pacifier in her mouth at the same time. Usually the pacifier won, just long enough for it to be finally spit out. No one can accuse her of unduly favoring one over another!

The Best Jokes

Suhaana already knows that the best jokes are spoken with a straight face.

When she's swishing her head from side to side or pushing back with her feet instead of drinking her milk, and Raj or I give her the stern look or give her a talking to - she intently looks at us, then suddenly breaks into a smile. As if we just shared a private joke with her! We end up laughing with her ourselves. She is getting better at pushing our buttons by the day..

Motor Skills

With Suhaana's new found motor skills of grasping, ideally several objects should have come under the danger zone. But that is not so. Actually most of the things in her life are still out of her reach. The jungle animals hanging from the mobile on her crib are too far for her reach. (She calls out and talks to them for a long time nowadays, before eventually getting frustrated that no one is responding back.) The butterflies hanging from her play-mat are too far for her to grab. The other soft toys are still a little too big and probably a little daunting for her to try and pack a punch.

But there're some things that fit in her arm's reach just fine. Her mom's nose, chin, cheeks and hair are a perfect match for her.

After a lot of research and experimentation on my part I had determined that babies are quite smother resistant. And Suhaana had been a very willing and sportive participant of all my experiments. But it was during one such session that she discovered that her mom's face n hair make for good grasping objects. Speak of unexpected side effects!

Mission Impossible

I'd been looking forward to watch the movie in the theaters ever since the promos started coming in November. Not that I'm a big movie buff, but I'm a big simple-pleasures-give-me-big-satisfaction person. As a start to the new year, we recruited Suhaana's grand mother to watch over her while raj and I header out to watch the movie.

The movie was going really well. But we left mid way. I was too engorged. Once out of the hall the first thing we talked about: what the little girl must be up to. I kept picturing picking her up and having her all curled up in my arms.