From the horse's mouth...

Had to put this on record. After getting fed up of my incessant cribbing on lack of sleep, my mommy finally conceded and gave me the true milestone. She says I will get to sleep for longer hours only when Manya is done with school. She talks out of her first hand experience at raising too hell-breakers for kids. Sigh. She never ever told me this before I got pregnant :D.

Looks like my sleep quota's exhausted!

Irrespective of whether you know the art of power nap or not, you will agree that atleast 6 hours of sleep at night remains non-negotiable. 6 hours! Damn! There was a time I needed 9 to 10 hours of sleep every night. I used to joke about it when people raised eyebrows - for all the energy I spent during the day, I had to have that 'recharge' time. 

So, very obviously, Sleep and I have shared a beautiful relationship since the longest I can remember. I could sleep anywhere, anytime, anyhow. I slept entire weekends with barely any wakeful time. Long, boring train journeys, bus rides, car rides, plane rides: I could and would sleep to my heart's content. 

Then 11/6 happened! 

It was like our relationship status went from 'happily married' to 'no longer see each other', overnight. They said at 6 weeks for sure I'd get atleast 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep. No luck. 

Then, I was the told, at 3 months, life would magically change overnight and we both (mommy and baby) would be sleeping for longer stretches. Haa! 

We are reaching the 5-month mark now, and 2 hours of continuous sleep happens only on days I am very lucky. The pediatrician gave me some gyaan on 'sleep regression' in 4-month olds - emphasizing it was "all normal". So, that's the thing with parenthood, all you end up with is truckloads of jargon for all the annoying stuff and a mutated meaning of 'normalcy'. 

The verdict?

They say, the half year mark will be the turning point. 

Only for Bollywood buffs: I feel like the Sunny Deol of Damini. "Tareeq par tareeq par tareeq milti rahi hai, par insaaf nahin mila." (Translated as: All that was given was one date after the other. But, justice was never given).

Sigh.

Ask me again, "Is it really that bad"? 

I swear it is! I have slept for 3 hours at a go on exactly two nights. No, don't even begin to tell me babies have phases that come and go. Ofcourse I know that. All that I want to know is in exactly which phase do I get to sleep?

And thus, my latest theory: God has allotted a fixed number of sleep hours to everyone. Something like the limited quantity of the chocolate ice cream in your refrigerator. You can have it all at one go or have a little and make it last for a very long time. Looks like, I have exhausted my sleep quota! How else do you explain other mommas getting to sleep 4-6 hours already?

Special note to all the parents-to-be: Use your sleep quota very wisely. Someone up there is keeping an account!

Our in-house acrobat!

The chipmunk is pulling out new tricks from her sleeve every other day, much to the delight of eager spectators :D. Here are some of the acrobatics:

• Guess what's going in the mouth these days - madame's own toes! Yes, it's disgusting, but very funny too. The first instance was when I turned around to get a fresh diaper, only to turn back and see that Manya had her hand firmly grasping her leg and the toe steadily inside the mouth.

• When being carried, she tries to crawl/climb up and down. Mind you, it's not slithering - she actually uses her legs in a walk-like fashion!

• She has developed a dance move that is somewhere between wriggling and twisting. She does it all the time - on her bouncer, on the bed, on the lap!

• Teething or not, she is a raging tiger at most times during the day - ready to pounce and bite on on anything and anyone - her favorites being mommy's jaw line and daddy's cheeks!

• 99% of the times, you will find her legs up in the air in a very neat gymnast posture - she can also sleep like that - Imagine my plight trying to cover her with a blanket in the nights!

• Another of her favorite pastimes is pulling her socks out and pulling her PJs up - using her hands!

• We also have a copycat in the making. During feeding her cereal, I often wipe around her mouth with a cloth. She has lately started doing that on her own during her cereal eating sessions - she picks up the cloth from her lap and wipes her mouth with it. It's all cute except for the fact that her entire attention is on wiping rather than eating!

Her Highness starts on cereal

As I mentioned in Manya's fourth month milestone post, the pediatrician recommended at her monthly checkup that I could start her on rice and/or oats cereal. And if you didn't already know, I could easily pass off as the poster girl for my doctors - I trust my docs implicitly and go by whatever they say. In the rare case, I am unable to place my faith in a doc, I find another one.

I am well aware of the ever changing first food trends and all the debates around "refined carbs" that make up baby cereal - also all the endless discussions on how introducing fruits or veggies is a better idea, or at what age to introduce solids etc. etc. Was I confused - well, Yes! But I was clear about one thing in my mind, I'd discuss with the doc and follow exactly what she said.

So, here's the game plan. I started her on rice cereal. In a couple of weeks, I plan to introduce oats. This will pretty much constitute her top feed till she is 6 months old. Except for the situation that she gets constipated - I then have been asked to give her diluted peach/prune/apple juice. At the half year mark, we start with fruits and vegetables - will post more when we reach there.

Meanwhile, the verdict on rice cereal. She has been tasting it without much fussing. Not sure if she likes it or not. Time shall tell how good or bad an eater the highness is.

Welcoming Spring...

The little lion is 4 months old. We celebrated (:D) the day by going out (in the thick of the storm) for her doctor's check-up and shots on what has been the worst snow day of the season. 

Here are other updates:

• Her smiles from morning to night are a source of constant joy to us. She is also usually in some euphoric giddiness with it taking very little to get a whole-hearted laugh out of her.
• She has started looking very intently at books that I read out to her (It's another matter that just when I am delighted at the sight of her holding a board book, she shuts it tight!). She reaches out for soft toys too now. Loves playing with small-sized balls. But of course, is most interested in faces and expressions and conversations.
• Like I mentioned in an earlier post, she has rolled over. However, the only time she loves to roll is when I am sleeping next to her - so that's during the afternoon naps and bedtime at night!
• Mommy and daughter have established a regular mirror routine to get over the crankier times.
• Mommy has become bolder and has upgraded to nail clippers from the filer. It's less time consuming but I have to be double cautious now.
• I have a feeling that our cub is teething - she has been gnawing at everything, quite ferociously, and makes those typical biting gestures. The doc says she won't cut teeth for another month or two, so meanwhile we are coping with her teething tantrums!
• On the ped's recommendation, I plan to start her on rice cereal and oatmeal in a day or two - so more updates coming up on that!

Meanwhile, this is how spring looks here:

Pregnancy Journal: Checked off my to-do!

Sometime during my first trimester, Vish and I bought a pregnancy journal from B&N - basically a scrapbook kind of structure with templates for information to fill in for each of the nine (very long) months, and also space for lots of pictures (of the parents-to-be and the trillion ultrasounds we went for). 

Given my acute morning sickness till the fourth month, I had hardly made progress on the journal. Then up-till the 9th month, I was very regular on the updates (after all I didn't want to forget small details). The journal ends with welcoming the baby, and it was that part that I hadn't been able to complete up until last night, when finally my last set of pics reached our mailbox.

The verdict: Ofcourse, I love it :D. Though, the one thing that I didn't like about the book is that it has everything from the mom-to-be's point of view. For example, details of my family, my pictures etc. - no space for daddy dear. So, we had to take extra effort to squeeze in pop-to-be's details. Everywhere I had to cut out Me etc. to Our, Us, and so on.

I am glad this one's off my checklist - I hope some day Manya has the time and the inclination to go through the journal, and appreciate the memories we have so carefully documented. (Now, would that be too much to ask from the Generation Z? :D

P.S. Have started on the next project: Our baby book. This one was gifted by a friend and it takes off from where the pregnancy journal ends. I am already mostly up-to-date with that one but the completion is going to take a while as it covers the first 5 years! That seems a long time considering our babe is not even 5 months old!

(rock 'n') ROLL

Manya presented us with a pleasant gift on our wedding anniversary on the 19th of February - she rolled over from her back to her tummy for the first time ever! It came as quite a surprise to us because she had begun showing signs of trying only a day or two earlier!

The first time around, her other hand (opposite to the side she turned on) was still trapped under her tummy. Then on, she happily comes to crawling position with both hands in alignment. It's fun to watch her roll over then travel to my side at night (even though I am left squirming at the edge!).

First long drive and a social visit!

Three firsts achieved this Sunday:

• Manya's first long drive (about 45 minutes). 
• First inter-state drive - From Virginia to Maryland
• First social visit - We were visiting Vish's cousins; she had only been to the doctor's, the temple and the grocery stores uptil Sunday.

So, how did we fare? Quite well; I gave an almost 10/10 to Manya. The car rides were smooth. She did fuss a little while going and some more (about 8-9 minutes) on our way back, but that's about it! At our cousin's place, she was pretty much at home. Happy and cheerful - Smiling at everyone - And thoroughly enjoying her VIP status! Not to mention, how she bathed in the glory of all the attention (and gifts) she was receiving. This one is going to be one spoilt brat!

Good Morning, Sunshine!

This has been consistently happening for more than the last fortnight or so. Manya wakes up every morning anytime between 5:30 and 6:30. She looks at her left and then at her right to find mommy, then daddy. And then, she looks us in the eye and gives a smile, which changes into a huge grin and then a giggle, a loud chuckle and then extremely loud gurgles. 

It's almost like she is surprised to find us around the minute she opens her eyes and is expressing her joy at seeing us - it's very funny ofcourse, because the whole night she has been sleeping between us, and mommy has been waking up ever so frequently in the night to feed her! 

It also is the sweetest thing ever (even if I discount the fact that when you become a mom, everything your child does becomes undoubtedly the cutest thing ever :P) because whatever be the ordeals of the night or the weather that day, she fills our bedroom and hearts and lives with so much sunshine.

I sincerely believe (or want to believe) Manya is, by nature, very cheerful. Touch wood. I hope she maintains this personality trait forever. It will always be her biggest asset.

The birth story with all the gruesome details!

(P.S. This is going to be a very long read.)

Now, I did do a welcome post here, but apparently it's not enough for a birth story. Considering so many of my friends have been asking for details, I thought I'd might as well do a post so that I can direct them here for all the gory details and also preserve these to read when I am old and senile :).

My official due date was November 5th, 2012. I got up around 1AM that day, feeling a little weird - like IT was going to happen. Vish was ready to jump into the car and take us to the hospital but I dismissed the feeling, convincing myself that it was only because I knew it was my due date! I slept soundly for another 6 hours. Vish very reluctantly left for office (after asking me atleast 10 times that I was sure nothing was happening) - he had taken anticipatory leave already and hated the idea of going to work when he needn't have :D. 

At around 9AM, I felt as if my water was breaking. I had a regular prenatal appointment scheduled for 4PM that day and was wondering if I should hang on till then. Now, the doctor had warned us that it is not always a la Hollywood water breaking with a flowing puddle in the middle of a mall! Even a leak could mean the water bag has ruptured. And not to mention dad and mom were dead sure that I need to go straight to the hospital :D. So, hesitatingly, I called the nurse at the clinic and asked her what I should do. She very casually remarked, "you could come in now, I'll prepone your appointment." Then the tough part, calling Vish back after having pushed him off! Poor guy came rushing home and we were off to the doctor's by 10. We waited for our turn, what seemed like forever. One look by the doc, and he was like, "Congratulations, the baby is coming, please rush to the hospital". Both of us took a minute to recover from the shock those words caused. So, this was it! IT was happening. We took our last car ride, as a couple, to the hospital, completed all check-in formalities, and by 1130AM, I was on the I/V, hooked onto monitors and what not, in the hospital bed. My first ever "hospital admission".

My birth plan was discussed, which had only two major components: A. I wanted a safe delivery. The baby's safety and well being would be the number 1 priority in any decision that the hospital team would need to take at any time. B. Pain Management: I wasn't going to kid myself. With no experience of any real physical pain, I was absolutely certain that there would be a time I wouldn't be able to take it, so why not ask for it upfront. I had already researched a lot on the subject and spoken to the doctors, and had decided that at the time the contractions become "really" painful, I'd go for an epidural. The heads up was given to the anesthesiologist. 

The doctor wanted to wait for the contractions to start naturally, but nothing happened. At 1 PM, a team of 5 doctors and nurses came in to tell me that they noticed the fetal heart rate had suddenly dropped. I was told I would be under observation, and if this happened once more, I would have to go for a C section. But looked like, Manya was just being restless and feisty! At about 3PM, I was put on pitocin to induce labor. The contractions came slow. Like dull cramps. And then they increased in strength and frequency. By 7:30 PM, I was ready for epidural. and by 10 PM I was comfortably falling asleep - in fact I didn't even come to know when the nurse came for the hourly dilation check. By 12, Vish was also nodding off. I was only 5 cms dilated by then (the birth happens at 10).

I cannot tell you how sudden the progression was from then on. At 1:30AM, we were woken up by a flurry of activity in the room - the nurse told me I was 9.5, and we need to start practicing pushing. The second, "Oh My God It's happening" moment in 24 hours. In another half an hour, I was 10 - the doctor came in and told us he could see the baby's head and hair and it might just deliver itself :D. I pushed and I pushed. The epidural was stopped for about 10 minutes so that I could feel some sensation and push correctly. It was torturous. Having survived on two cups of grape juice the whole day, I was losing strength and consciousness. Everything seemed a blur. 

At 2:30AM, the doctor declared show time; given my almost unconscious state, he decided on episiotomy, and since the epidural effect was wearing off, I was given a local anesthesia prior to the incision. I don't remember the sequence of events very clearly from then on - I have vague memories of shivering constantly, of Vish telling me I am doing great (yeah right!), of the nurse shouting, of the doctor prodding, till suddenly everything was silenced by a loud cry. 

She was here. On November 6th, 2012, at 2:42 AM.