Friday 31 May 2013

Myth busting

So the funniest part of a pregnancy is listening to old wives tales... For some reason while you are pregnant every old aunt thinks its her god given right or duty to fill your head with nonsense!!!! 

Some of the stuff I heard myself and some that I got from all my new mommy friends were just too priceless so I am sharing it with you..

While its in no real order of crazy to craziest or anything... The first one is just my absolute favorite!!!

Wearing under garments will flatten the baby's face and features!!!! Right........ So  thru all those layers and layers of fat your thin cotton panties are going to "flatten" none the less, your baby's face!!!

If your belly itches it means your baby has hair on his head!! (No matter your dry skin or stretch marks having anything to do with it!!!) 

Going out during an eclipse will deform your baby so carry a knife with you to counter it!!

Eating a rasgulla a day will make your baby fair... Science and DNA be damned!!! 

This is for during and after deliveries:

Eating oil or ghee will make your baby slide out 

If your hair is in a plait undo it during delivery and your delivery will be painless!!! 

Don't have curd while you are breast feeding it will curdle your milk!!!

So while I was doing my bit of research in this a friend told me that only silly Indian women can come up with these things... And that abroad no one must be so dumb to believe these things.. Well I found out that they are!!!! 

Putting your hands over your head will entangle your baby in its umbilical cord!! 

Drink lots of water while you are pregnant or your baby will either get dirty in the sac or will come out dirty!!!! Yes I have actually read this one!!!!

If you stay mad at someone while pregnant your baby will look like that person!!!!!!! Hmmmm.... My baby boy looks like his dad... ;)

And of course to determine the sex of the child the myths are just hilarious!!!

If you look tired and drained you're having a girl as a girl will rob you of your good looks!!!!!!!! 

If you are moody and cranky you are having a girl as you have an extra girls hormones (which apparently are sullen) and you will be happy and cheerful if you have a boy (whaaaaaat!!!!!)

And lastly if you like salty spicy food it's a boy and sweet stuff you are having a girl... Now this last one might just be true since all thru my pregnancy, more or less, I craved yummy spicy foods and here is my little boy!!!!

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Boy or a Girl?!!!

Knowing if its a boy or a girl can make so many decisions easier... The clothes, the colors of the bedding, the colors of the tub an towels but most importantly the name...!!!

Everyone told us we needed to have a name with each alphabet for a boy AND for a girl ready so depending on the stars and such we would have to name the baby... 

Absolutely ridiculous!!!!! 

I mean, yes I know a lot of people believe in this, but luckily for us neither aadi nor I believed in it. 

We decided we would pick one boys name and one girls name and that would be that. 

We asked family for options but finally just came down to it ourselves! 

Of course left to the hubby and my brother our son would have been Achilles and my brothers son would have been Hector!!!!!

So like most new parents we wanted something different for our kid.. So we went online on baby name websites. When that didn't help we went thru all our friends facebook friends lists to find something nice but came up with nothing!

Now the funny thing was I always wanted to name my son Siddhant, it was the name of my little nephew who had passed away, my mums brothers son. But I hadn't told anyone. 

When I finally did tell aadi, he told me that his mum had always wanted to name him Siddhant!!!! Can u believe the coincidence!!!! 

She wanted to name his brother Sidharth and him Siddhant but because granny couldn't pronounce the name they became Nitin Vipin!!!! 

So it just seemed like, well, the stars had spoken!!! And Siddhant it was for a boy!!

We did pick a girls name... But I ain't telling... Hopefully in another two years ill be writing another blogpost about her!!!


Monday 27 May 2013

Designing the nursery

Being a pinterest addict... I had rounded up a bazillion baby nursery pictures by the time I was in my fourth month... And most often it's considered bad luck to buy anything for the baby well usually till the 9th month but preferably till the baby is born...

So here I was with, like I said, a bazillion pictures and I couldn't buy anything :( it was horrible...





1 2 3


But then a friend was coming from Greece... And she said she had seen some really adorable baby stuff could she get some? And my mum said "ya sure"

Green signal for baby shopping!!!!

Also since I was having a baby shower in Bombay and all my friends wanted to get me something for the baby... It didn't seem right to say no ;) ha ha ha!!! 

So I got a lot of baby gifts... But the nursery was still something I had to figure out. 

Once I was back in jaipur I insisted on getting the whole thing done before the baby... I just couldn't understand how I was supposed to arrange everything once the baby was here...

So my super sweet parents in law took me shopping!!! And we got everything... The cot, mattress, a full set with bolsters quilts sheets and a bumper, a few pillows, a new cabinet plus changing station for the baby... Everything nice and white just the way the hubby and I like it!! 

I put up all the gifts my friends gave me... 

And a small little sewing frame made by me... This was the only thing I put thinking it may be a girl!!! Rest all was done in white even though I was pretty sure it was a boy!!

It's no fancy prancy nursery, it's simple and sweet and in my room.... Heck I didn't even use the cot up until now.. The  end of the third month!! 

I would have loved to do a lot more in terms of the designing but I'm really happy with it... 

Also having everything all set up felt good... Looking at all the baby stuff in the room in the last few days was such fun... Imagining the little tot on his or her bed, playing with the toys!!! 

And now here he is happily sleeping in his very own bed!!! 


Saturday 25 May 2013

The delivery

So all thru my pregnancy I was kinda dreading the delivery... I guess most women must...

Yes yes I know it's such a beautiful experience.. The first as a mother and all such.. But get real... The very thought that something that big can come out of something that small... It's just mind-numbing!!!!! 

So when my doc said I would be having a c section I should have been ecstatic but I was freaked.... Freaked because she gave me a date like two weeks later!!!! 

Because the injections I was on all thru the pregnancy had to be stopped, she wanted to get a healthy baby out asap post that.... 

From the moment I left her clinic my mouth just stayed open in disbelief... I had a date of a month later... And now suddenly I was going to have this little baby of mine like NOW!!!! 

Was I ready to even be a mom??? Had I read everything I could?? Would I know how to hold the little one?!!

Nothing made sense the whole day... By the next day I had called every mommy friend of mine pretty much and learned that for some reason or another they had all ended up with c secs... They all calmed me down and said it was a good thing...

And it was... After the initial shock... I realised that now that I had a date I was so much more comfortable... No filmy style rushing to the hospital screaming "my water broke!!" No anxiety of when the time will come... And no labor pains!!!!! 

But still the night before the operation in the hospital I just couldn't sleep... I had the craziest bunch of butterflies in my tummy all dancing to different tunes!!!! 

While I had decided on a partial anaesthesia ... Lying on the operation table looking at all those crazy machines and doctors all around me I freaked out.... 

I figured I'd much rather see the little kitten peacefully as opposed to seeing my tummy being sliced open!!!!! 

So general anaesthesia it was... I was beautifully knocked out... With thoughts only of my little baby... Boy....girl.... I still didn't know!!!!!


Wednesday 22 May 2013

Post Partum Depression


Post partum depression is a reality and anyone who tries to tell you other wise is lying.

It can hit the very next day a few weeks later or even randomly some day two or three months later.

However it really isn't anything else but an extremely overwhelming feeling. You feel like everything is just too much... 

The baby,the fact that you are now responsible for another person, that a little child is going to look up to you for every little thing he needs.... 

Your body and what has happened to it will do it for you... The change in your size your skin your hair your swollen feet... Not fitting in older clothes ( even though you may be smart enough to understand its normal there will be days when you will try on that pair of jeans and curse everyone that day when it just doesn't zip up!!! )... Standing in front of a mirror and just not recognising yourself...

It can get to a point even when every little voice every little sound everything will start getting on your nerves... Seeing people around you happy and smiling and free will piss you off beyond belief.. And then you'll feel super guilty and drive yourself even more crazy...

So stop... When you feel an onset of one of those roller coaster rides... Stop... Leave the room... Cry... It helps immensely... Listen to music don't talk to anyone if you don't feel like it you will only start a fight... Take deep breaths and tell yourself that this is only normal... 

Having a baby while it is the most wondrous moment of your life.. It is also the most life altering moment... Physically emotionally you are coping with way too many things for you to not break down once in a while... But just try and be aware of these emotions... It helps to know.. It's easier to fix for you for your husband... And trust me its way way better for you to  be with your baby once you have understood where these feelings are coming from... 

Just learn to deal with these emotions when they come.. Do t try to suppress them like some super mom... And trust me you will get over them... They are natural and more often than not short termed... 

So smile!!! 

Monday 20 May 2013

Baby Showers VS Godh Bharais


My memory of a godh bharai was a cousins I had gone to when I was 15... It was soooooooo boring!!! The poor preggie girl in her saree and heavy jewellery sitting in the middle of the room with all these aunties hovering around her  stuffing her palu with coconuts and what not..... It just wasn't a pretty sight... But that was from the eyes of a 15 year old forces by her mother to "come see at least!!!"

Also there are so many different customs on each religion... So the maharahstrians take a stone grinder wrapped in fabric and pass it over a crib a couple of times after which the mother kicks the crib!!!! Or so my mother told me she did at her function! 

In the Sikhs they feed (of course) a dish made if sweet rice.. So all the aunties (which are A LOT) come and feed the preggie girl one bite of the sweet rice and whisper a advice or good wish on her ear.... 

On the other hand baby showers are fun relaxed parties!!! Being a crafty Pinterest girl I have always loved the idea of baby showers and yet I attended my first one almost a year before mine... 

So the lucky bum that I am I had both versions... My mum and brother with friends threw me a Mexican baby shower!! 

It was on our terrace, mum had made some super fantastic burritos and salsa and nachos all at home!! My brother and hubby mixed some mad drinks together and made a cocktail which I of course didn't get a chance to taste!! 

My friends organised the decorations and  games which were a blast!!!! 

Soooo many people came to wish me it was really heart warming... My friends my mums friends friends from our building... Old new close all sorts of friends!!!  

And they all gave such wonderful gifts!!!

It was really one of those nights I won't forget!! 

And back in jaipur my mum on law threw me a traditional godh bharai...  I got to dress up in a pretty suit (the only one that fit me!!!) and had all our friends come by... And yes it was the typical Sikh rituals of feeding me the sweet rice... How ever I made sure everyone gave me really small bites!!!!! 

But we also played a fun variation of housie... So with two pages we had nine lines which corresponded to nine months and one full house was for a boy the other for a girl and so on... It was super fun.. I even won!!! Ha ha!!! 

And Ma had set up a fantastic high tea spread with some yummy sandwiches and gulab jamuns!!! 

And the best part was my baby and I made lots and lots of money!!! Ha ha!!! 

So traditional or non traditional I had  fantastic pre baby parties!!!


Saturday 18 May 2013

To ayya or not to ayya...

Years ago when I was till in college and the idea of marriage and kids was alien.. My best friend and I were having dinner at a restaurant... A family walked in with a little baby girl around two years of age and another kid around six or seven along with an ayya a nanny.

All thru the dinner pretty much the little baby was outside the restaurant playing with the ayya. The baby was being super adorable and super loving to the ayya while the mother was sitting in and having her meal. The ayya didn't even have anything, I'm guessing they fed her and then got her. 

Now my friend and I had two extremely opposite reactions... While she thought having an ayya with your children all the time was absolutely fine I was completely against it. 

Yes you need help with a baby in the house, washing the diapers and the clothes, collecting everything at the end of the day... A regular house maid seems to fit that bill...

But someone to burp your baby? Someone to put him to sleep? Someone to calm him down when he's crying? Someone to feed him?  I don't think so....

Infant my mum once told me about how she saw this little baby hugging and kissing her ayya like she were her mother at a kids birthday party... It's a bit unhealthy a relationship i feel... Teaching  your little one to treat everyone well and blurring their lines of family and people who are not family are two very different things.

Aadi always tells me not to judge women who have ayyas as bad mothers.. And I don't,well not necessarily... But I do feel like they are missing out on a lot.. And they are loosing out on a lot of bonding that takes place when you burp your baby after a feed.. Or when he calms down hearing your voice in the middle of some heavy duty bawling.... 

And for me the worst is and always will be bringing an ayya to a restaurant and making her stand at your table just in case the baby needs anything...  I don't think I could ever do that....

I don't know... Somehow it just isn't for me I suppose... But to each their own.... 

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Pregnancy Weight :(

"Oh you're glowing!!!! Pregnancy suits you!"

Yes, I'm glowing.... because I've just put on about twelve kilos!!! I've been eating for two... I've been having juices and fruits so yea my skin is glowing people... But after all that what?!

Putting on weight during your pregnancy is inevitable... But you have to.... have to control it.

Easier said than done .. I know. I was so not a sweet tooth person in fact I loved the spicy taste and would generally avoid meetha post meals....

 .......................................................until that blasted eighth month.... from then on it was ALL about sweet cravings.... I felt like I was in the only one in the world who had earned her cadbury bournville and now I must finish them all!!!

It started with just one square post meals to two and next thing you know I was finishing bars in between meals...... aaaarrrrggghhhh!!! and to top it all a friend introduced me to this amazing chocolate place in Jaipur where you get super yummy chocolate waffles... oh man I was in trouble!!!

So ok.... as a preggie I get allowances .. but like I said post that what... its been two and a half months since the little one and now I'm still having that one square post meals....

Exercising was never my thing.... I hated the gym then and I hate it now. I have never been one for fad diets I don't think they work.... So what I am doing is something small but hopefully it helps.... Walking and stretching.... I'm not consistent... I almost always have an excuse but since Aadi gives me company I don't get away with it most of the times....

But really just walking and stretching ain't gonna help... even I know that.... but hey... it's a start.... for all those who know me.... know what a big deal it is to see me outdoor - in a garden --- walking!!!!

But what the hell... if Jennifer Lopez at this age and with twins can look this super hot.... so can I!!!! (yeah yeah I know lipos and such but still come on... I bet she works hard at maintaining it!!!!)

So lets see where all this walking takes me..... I'm giving myself till my birthday to be at least 7 kilos down..... that's not unachievable that's just like 2.5 kilos a month.... what do you think possible????


This was Nov 2012... I was in my sixth month... well this could also very well be me today.... So lets see three months down the line.... :)

Someone said skipping.... bring it on!!!!

Monday 13 May 2013

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!!!


Saturday 11 May 2013

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!!!



Thursday 9 May 2013

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!


Tuesday 7 May 2013

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!!!


Sunday 5 May 2013

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!!!








Friday 3 May 2013

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!!!!


Thursday 2 May 2013

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.... :)