Sing along...

As soon as I was happily chatting my baby up... I wanted to sing to him... Not that I have a great voice but still... Some sweet nursery rhymes so I could use them once he was born..... only all nursery rhymes just sounded horrible... I mean rock a bye baby... really??? your baby will fall.. I don't think so!!!

Hush little baby -Now I liked the tune of it .. I used to hum it a lot...but the words not so much, so finally I just add my own words to it...my words, my story, our story more like... I decided to let the little one get to know his mum n dad before he came... so I made up a little remix of the rhyme with Aadi's and my love story!!!

Hush little baby don't you cry

Ill tell you a story 'bout your dad and I

We met at work, at the end of the stairs

That's where it began our whirlwind affair

We laughed and we joked and we fought and we kissed

When daddy went to jaipur each other we missed

So when he got back we decided this was it

In two years time we were happily hitched!

It took me three years to convince daddy for you

Now he's all convinced he's excited too!

So first there were two now there's three of us

This completes my family, oh yes it does!

I sang this to him all the time... and even now I sing it to him.... it would be awesome if he learns about his dad and mum thru this silly little poem!!!

Meeting New Mommies

Luckily for me, I have a lot of new mommy friends.. And I think no book no website is as good as first hand experience of something like this.

I spent as much time as I could with these friends and still call them for every little thing that I find confusing!

What all will I need for the delivery?
How easy is breast feeding? Will it hurt? Will I have enough milk if I'm having a c sec?
What to do if my baby has gas?
What to do if he isn't sleeping? What if he's sleeping too much?
When to shift to the bottle? Which top feed is good? When to wean him off?

Having a baby is a big big deal... And it isn't an easy thing to do.. I think it's very very important to be sure you want one before having one.. Because once you have him ... Your life is going to be very different.. And you'll be confused sometimes, agitated sometimes, overwhelmed sometimes... But knowing that you're not the only one helps... Knowing that all of my new mommy friends went thru some thing or another that I'm going thru gives you a sense of relief...

And understanding that you go thru so much before it starts for me was a greater sense of relief.

And of course spending time with their little ones was great too! Especially the new born... Seeing and holding such a tiny baby really prepared me for mine...I have always been petrified of holding little babies...so when my friend told me that when it was my own I would automatically be confident of holding him I wasn't so sure she'd be right... But I have to admit the first day he was in my arms... I truly just knew...!!!

Suddenly I was super mom.... because I knew some pretty super moms!! So this post is for all you wonderful friends who have really helped me be a better mom!!!

Little Toes And Little Fingers!!

Anyone who has seen a picture of a sonography knows that most normal... I mean non medical people.... cannot understand heads or tail ... Literally!!!!!!

So on my birthday I had a sonography appointment... I was seven weeks preggie... I was hoping to see like proper hands and legs and make out everything... But no... That cute little baby was still just a little ball of... Well.... Confusion!!!!

The best part was that my darling hubby was in there with me this time along with his Ma... And we all heard the heartbeat together and tried to decipher the little one!!!

But the next time I went for a sonography the little one had grown up... Now we could actually see little toes... Little fingers... Oh it was just so precious.... Suddenly from a ball of cells it looked like a full on tiny baby... The head the spine the hands the feet... The doctor was really nice... All thru my tears (yes I guess I cry easy!!!) he patiently explained and showed me each part of the baby.. The blood flow from and to the umbilical cord... Everything in detail...

My mum was with me for this one and that in itself made it a special moment!

Eating Again!!!

Nausea and having an aversion to food is the worst part of the first three months....

But just as great is when you get ur appetite back.... And when mine was back.. Oh boy!!!! I ate everything!!! Lucky for me I don't have a sweet tooth... Infact I'm more of a spicy food person... So I didn't put on much weight... Though the last two months I did have some random cravings for sweet!!

But any how luckily for me I was at my mommys place for the second trimester and could just order her around for all my favourites!

From frankies to undhio to methi theplas paani puris!! .. To soooooo much watermelon... Just the idea of getting it during the winters was so exciting for me I ate it everyday... And pastas and veggies the way my mommy makes them...and oh the fried fish... Yummy yummy fried fish and fish curry.... !!!!!

Bu especially, for some reason, I was hung up on Mexican... So we had tacos and salsa and tortilla chips a lot!!! And there is this restaurant Sammy Sosa.. My mouth still waters thinking of it...

My brother mum n I went there ... It was like a city bandh.. I think Bal Thackeray had died or was about to or something and all shops and restaurants were closed except for these guys... And the three of us had such a great meal together!!! It was soooo much fun!!

Another of my favourite food outings was at Trikaya... A new place near home.. Where mum and I had gone with an aunt.. And we had khau suey... Now aadis mum officially makes the most awesome khau suey ever and so we generally avoid it else where ... But this place... It was pretty damn good!!!

For both Aadi and me good food is very important!! So when he's in Bombay especially we go out eating A LOT!!!!

Heres a list of all the places we ate at (pretty much)

Indigo - yummy breakfasts and pork ribs and the pizza!!
Cafe Manji - the best barbeque chicken burger ever... And breakfasts
California kitchen pizzas
China gate buffet oh my god the amount of starters it was just wow!!!!
Candies of course fried fish and cup cakes
Brittania berry pulao and dhanksak!
Cci club for fried fish and come floats!
Lemon grass for a bowl of Thai and eastern bliss!!!
Scrumptious the pepper chicken and fried rice
Yokos for sizzlers
Banana leaf for yummy idlis...

There's got to be more... But I just can't remember!!!!

So yeah the second trimester with the return of my appetite it was a great three months!!!

To Read or not to Read?!

I read quite a bit.... What to expect when ur expecting and baby centre.com were my daily reads... I even had an app on my phone so I was constantly updated... Today your baby is as big as an almond.. Today he's a mango... Today he's a cantaloupe !!!! Wait... What is a cantaloupe ??? Oh my God... What is my baby?!!!!

See it was fascinating initially... To know what the little one was upto.. But somewhere along the way I felt it was all just too much information... And it got more and more confusing and scary... By the time I reached the labor and delivery information I was petrified!!!

Also I feel somewhere, at least on my case, one gets obsessed with the books. Like I would read " this month you will have gum problems, look after your teeth" and invariably I would imagine my gums to be hurting!!!! Also I read by the 16th week you should feel movement... But my little lazy bum didn't move till the 20th and for those four weeks I was constantly worrying "why isn't he moving? Is everything ok? Should I call the doc?" Just not worth it I think ....

So that was another reason I just stopped reading!!!

I don't think you need to go into the details.... skim all the main topics .. if there is anything specifically you think you want to get into only then read it in detail.... and even after that read it and keep it in the back of your mind... don't obsess about it.

Enjoy the experience.. that's what you're going to remember.... not the books!!!

First fluttering first nudge

Once you're preggie... You wait and wait and wait for the first movement.... Because up until then the pregnancy is just about the nausea and not feeling good bit.... But come that first fluttering.... Oh my god!!!

Nothing can prepare you for it... U instantly put your hand to your tummy and feel love!

Of course to be perfectly honest .. The first few times you're confused... Not sure if its gas or your tummy rumbling and growling or if it really is the little one... But when you know you just know...

For me I had a few sensations for a day or two... But strangely the night before aadi had to leave for jaipur... I felt a major almost pushing sensation... And I was able to tell him in time so he could feel it too!!!! It was amazing.... The timing of it it especially....:)

Post that, well I had a dancer in my tummy... And the nights would bring out his wild party animal side!!! So much so around the seventh month I was fully interacting with him... He would push from inside and I would push from outside and he would push again!!!! I swear... It may seem unreal but it happened...

And when I'd talk to him or mum would play music for him... He would start rolling around!!!

Some movements would be so strong I could see the shift in my tummy!!!

And he loved the right side of my tummy.... For some reason every morning especially he would curl up on the right side, so my tummy would be lopsided, and sit there for hours!!!!

Such a beautiful experience ... I think these were my favourite parts of my pregnancy!!!!

Talking to the little one...

I read and read and read all thru the first half of my pregnancy... You need to do this and that and eat this and not that... It started freaking me out....

I decided to let it all just be and enjoy the pregnancy.... But the one thing that stayed in my mind was that all books and all online sites said you should talk to your belly so that your baby starts connecting to you and your voice....

I still remember the first day I tried it... It was super odd!!! I mean you know in movies they show these super romanticised scenes of new moms being all mushy and lovingly talking to their bellies... Well in real life not so much!!!

I mean, what do you say you know... "Hi baby what's going on?!!!" I started slow... felt pretty silly pretty often... But stuck to it for a while and slowly, slowly it not only got easier but soon I was talking to the baby all the time!!!

I would start telling him what I was doing, what I was watching on tv or what I was eating... About how he would get a taste of all the food I was enjoying thru my preggie days... And it was fun! Especially at night when he was in a super rolly polly mood... I would sing my own silly songs to him!!

I even convinced my hubby to start talking to my belly... It wasn't easy for him as well but even he was in full form towards the end reading out stories to the two of us!!

It may feel silly initially and you may not understand it... But trust me its really fun once you get into it and I really really believe the baby can hear every single thing you say or make him hear.... :)