Being fit...it's important.

Being fit for and post pregnancy is super important. 

I have never been one to excersise or do any physical activity... Climbing down three flights, walking to the car, pressing buttons on my tv remote are all I could get my self to do!!!!! 

After meeting Aadi who was and is still very pro working out be it in a gym or some yoga or just going for a long walk, I started doing stuff... But never in a very disciplined way.

Today I regret it.

With my terrible consistent back aches, zero stamina levels, wrist ache, knee ache, head ache, exhaustion, I climb up our stairs and I'm huffing and puffing... It's embarrassing!!! 

I now wish I had taken better care of myself before I got pregnant even. And though the weight is one of the major issues, it's more about the stamina. 

So a really important tip I would give most mommies to be or girls planning on having babies is: 

1. Be extremely healthy first. Work out regularly eat well, do all it takes.

And 2. Try and have them young. I know today the age bar to get married only is getting so pushed back that most people end up having kids in their early thirties... While it may seem like a smart decision because you are able to give your work those many more years, but seriously your body is not exactly stopping from growing older. And recovery and loosing weight just gets more tough. It's not impossible.... Nothing is, but it's just tough. So if you have a choice I would strongly recommend going for it earlier. 

But seriously take this advice, today I know I am really facing a tough time especially with my back. Every time I put him in his cot or pick him up or change his clothes it takes a moment for my back to straighten.

Also the munchkin is getting bigger and heavier!! So carrying him around isn't that easy you know... 

Get back to your workout in three months... Well atleast start walking in 45 days, but it fully depends on your delivery. Don't push yourself but don't stall for too long either!! 

Also eat well post pregnancy, I'm not saying eat all those ghee laden laddoos everyone will try to give you, but don't completely cut out butter and ghee and oil fearing you're weight will go up, you need a certain amount of it in your diet... Have your calcium tablets, as big and uneasy as they seem!!! 

Well I better fix my back soon... Because this little bumling is fully ready to start running around... And that's when I'll need my stamina at its best!!! 

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Fun things to do when you know you're preggie!!

Pinterest has ruined me!!

I cannot do anything without first getting fantastic references or well atleast going thru Pinterest for about five hours!!!! 

When I got preggie I went and searched for some fun pics and things to do for, during the pregnancy and after the little toy was born!!

Here are some of my favorite things:

1. Take photos of your belly by the month.

I tried doing this... But couldn't complete it :( I took for a month or three properly but forgot for a month or two and next thing I knew the baby was out!!! Ha ha ha!! So plan these well... Maybe wear the same dress or use the same location..it's always great to see the belly increasing!! 

2. Make sure you get a baby book

This I did! I bought a adorable book to document his first year. And this I would recommend to everybody... His first bath, the first time he turned over, monthly birthdays!! And it's got this fun images where you can place pictures alongside each milestone... It's from the company fisher price. 

3. Make arrangements for foot and hand print. 

Lucky for me the baby book had a page for prints and I had two amazing nurses at the hospital who helped me get them! But you also get these clay sets and moulds at mom and me and mother care, which you can then frame. It's a great keepsake I think... And if you manage to get prints maybe on each birthday at least till he is ten... That would be fun no?!!! 

4. Make a cute announcement pic. 

So these days like a wedding announcement or save the date, announcing that you are preggie is super cool!!! Taking fun pics of the couple, the girl with her cute belly... You can hire a professional photographer if you like... These days a lot of people are opting or one.. Or like a school friend of mine announced on our group whatsapp with a really cute image :)

5. Baby announcement pics.

This is for when you want to let the world know that bumble bee is in the house!!! Of course you can get a professional photographer for some really great pics... Or if you are creative (read: too much time on my hands!!) do it yourself!! Scour the net for great images ( references for your photographer or you) borrow a great camera from a friend... I was lucky I got gifted one just before bumbling was born. And then shoot away!!! A little photoshop and ta-da!!

From the hospital we sent out this:

And when he was a month old... I wrapped him up and tied a little ribbon like he was a gift!!! Which he was and is in fact!!

6. Make sure someone takes a great pic of you and the baby on day one.

This is super duper important. You want your first picture with the new love of your life to be some thing frame worthy... Not oh my god I looked so bad!!! So (obviously depending on the kind of delivery) try to clean your face up a little, a bit of lipstick and blush never really hurt anyone... Tie your hair back or fluff it a little atleast... And smile... That big happy butterflies in your stomach smile!!! It will come naturally when you see that adorable little ET in your arms for the first time!!!! And tell your hubby or mum or someone you really trust to take the pic!! 

Luckily I managed to fix my hair a little!!! But oh my god... Just look how tiny he was... I can't believe he was such a small little thing!!!! Oh I just love him!!!

Well, start with these and if I remember more I'll come add them to this post!! 

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Diwali with the bumling!!

Diwali and Christmas are two of my favorite festivals.... One for all the emotional and sentimental attachments and the other for the magical feeling it brings about! 

This year Diwali was super special because I got to share it with my little bumling. 

I made him experience everything that Diwali is about... Some lights, a few mithais, a party, a puja and the traditional early morning bath!! 

We didn't do firecrackers because it was just too smoky and he's too little. 

So Aadi's parents threw the bash of the year on our terrace! We lit up the entire house with fairy lights, my favorite paper lanterns and so many diyas.... We placed a few urlis with flowers and floating candles... I did rangoli around them....I even made these adorable paper diyas with sid's pictures on them!!! 

We bought him adorable kurtas and pyjamas for the party! He looked so so so adorable in them! 

The party was amazing... So many people came to meet him... And our little party animal stayed up till two in the morning!!!! He caught a few cat naps.. But was up and about most of the night!!! 

The next evening we took him to see the city lit up... Unfortunately there were hardly any lights anywhere... And he knocked out anyways!!!! 

Diwali morning... My mum made me do the traditional oiling of the family with a perfumed paste... So hubby and baby were placed on a flat stool which I decorated... And I oiled them and sent them off for their baths!!! 

Sid looked so cute all thru!!!! I bet he was super confused as to why his maalish was happening like this today!!! 

Then I found those little cucumbers that we smash so I got those for the family. So what it is is that the Diwali day is also the day where the demons are destroyed.. As kids we were given these little cucumbers on which we drew angry faces on and then squashed!!! It was a fun tradition and finding them in Jaipur made me instantly nostalgic!!! 

I dressed little bumbling up for the puja... Oh god how many times will I say how cute he looked... But he really did!!!! 

Ha ha!!! 

He loves diyas... Super fascinated by fire!!! And he loves mithais!! We took him to the gurdwara later to light a candle. 

I really love mishmashing all cultures for him... Love the idea of making him a global baby!!! 

The only part of Diwali, apart from the firecracker, that we didn't let him experience was taash!!!! Ha ha!! Aadi played for a few nights till the wee hours of the morning.... But bumling and I just crashed!!! 

So while this year Diwali was even more amazing because of this pet of mine... It was also super exhausting!!! 

I'm going to need this whole next week to recover!!! 

That's us at the puja, praying for a wonderful new year for all of us!!!

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