Long time. Lots of news

Its been a while since I blogged. Bad mommy! Let me start with the latest news and then go into the past.

The most recent development is that Kav has joined a playschool. He started this past Friday and I stayed with him for an hour and then brought him home. Its a 9 - noon center and offers pick up and drop off services. The environment was very casual and kids were smiling and playing about without constant adult interruptions or expectations for the most part. Pre-schoolers have a separate classroom and if Kav is interested, he can join the classes anytime, which I thought was real cool. They also do potty training without really forcing them if they are not ready. My friend has a daughter there and she was satisfied with what they offered. So far, the 2-3 times I went there to check it out, Kav liked the place and was very comfortable with the teacher and the help. Will post pictures later of the place.

Kav is now one bald baby! We atlast did the mottai at Tirupathi this past Tuesday. We rented a minivan and both sets of grandparents came along. We started early in the morning and while Rajesh and I walked up the mountain, the rest continued along in the van. We kept a brisk pace and covered the 10km distance in a little more 2.5 hours. Kav had already finished his lunch and they were waiting at the barber's place.

I was anxious to say the least! We just prayed hard and sat Kav down on Rajesh's lap facing him. The guy placed two buckets of water for Kav to splash around and play. My eyes were shut tight when he began the job. Wonder of wonders, there was no a peep out of my baby. He was blissfully unaware that someone was even messing with his head! He only cried for a couple of mins when the guy had to shave the front of the head. We then headed for the darshan and were back home by 10pm. He was totally fine during the travel as well since he was nicely entertained by everyone.

Its been a few days and we have gotten used to the bald guy. He dosen't seem to be bothered by the new hair coming in. I'm applying a little oil twice a day to chill him out.

At his 18 mo appointment which actually happened at 19 mos and 2 weeks, Kav weighed in at 12.5 kgs, up a kg from the previous checkup. The shots this time swelled up his thighs and he was limping around for almost a week. I still do feel a small lump, but atleast its not bothering him anymore.

One of my most emotional moments in recent times was when he started calling me by name. The 'Ra' is mostly cut off and it comes out as 'Amiya', but its the cutest thing ever. He dosen't call me out regularly but I notice he uses my name when he is mad at me!

What else? He has suffered from a throat infection, a viral fever and a cold in the past 3 mos. All normal according to the doctors, but it is terrible to have a sick child in your hands. But I guess I have to be prepared for more what with his going to playschool now. That's it for now. gotta take a nap when the little one is!

Kav's first viral fever

Kav came down with a fever of 102F on Thursday evening. Thankfully Rajesh had the day off on Friday and we went to the doc. He got the viral fever from me and has been on meds since. His fever came under control that evening but he still has a runny nose. He was real clingy and whiny that one day. It was a different side to him that made us all depressed. He bounced back on Saturday and has been active since. But since he is still on cold meds, he is a little lethargic and gets tired quicker.

It has been amazing to see though that he is such a fighter. He wants to play, he wants to laugh and have fun even when he is battling the bug. Its only when he was unable to even walk around for long that he became frustrated and whiny. I really wish I had the same spirit as my little guy. I am just so proud of him.

First word!

Kav said his first word today. And you can never guess what it was!!

Everytime an aeroplane went roaring past our house, he went aeroplane, although it sounded more like 'air-ple'! His ears would perk up and he would run to the nearest window to peek out. Every single time. I am just so thrilled. So far, he would say a lot of words but not in context or he would repeat what we say. This is the first time he is initiating conversation. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Weekend get-away

We went to a beach resort called the Dune this past weekend. It is about 15 kms before Puducherry on ECR. The USP of the resort is its thematic bungalows (spread over 30 acres) created by in-house artists who came together from around the world.

We stayed in a cottage called The Mud House with its own private garden and a separate bathroom. It was close to the swimming pools (adult and a kiddie one) as well as the restaurant. Kav and Rajesh spent most of their time in the kiddie pool. Kav actually did swim a bit. The legs moved naturally but he got scared when his head hit the water once. After that he sat clinging to daddy. He totally enjoyed seeing daddy do some laps in the big pool though.

There were a few dogs and cats that came to the cottage patio to rest from the harsh sun. Kav was so friendly with, touching and poking them, and thankfully they were harmless too. He especially loved the big Dalmatian that always had its tail waving.

The drive back and forth was painless, about 2 hrs. Which I think is an ideal time for a toddler. We did the onward drive during his nap time, which worked out great. I did have to take the stove with me to cook his breakfast and dinner though, and that is really a pain.

Been a while...

Kav is a year, 5 months and almost a week old. He's growing leaps and bounds, physically, intellectually and emotionally.

He is so into football. His accuracy and focus increases everyday. He has in the past 2 days started to hit the ball well with the left foot also. I got him some building blocks (big sized) a couple of weeks ago. He has gotten the knack of it, although it dosen't interest him too much. He absolutely loves to play with the older kids in the opposite house, and it helps that they adore him too :)

Another activity he loves to see is to play with wheels. Toy wheels, real wheels, whatever. All the mechanic work. Esp with his dad's bike.

As for books, he now knows vehicles and some animals. Plus he is a pro with his alphabets books, which also include shapes and some colors. He has gotten to repeat words like mama, papa, thatha, aayi, paayi, thaayi and many others, although he is not really talking to communicate his thoughts yet.

What else? He had his first first cousin a couple of weeks back. A boy whom my sister in law has named Aakash. Of course, the baby is still not awake or alert for the most part, so Kav is not too interested in watching him. But he knows who Aakash is. Can't wait to see how they grow up and interact.

16 month checkup

We went in yesterday to the ped to give Kav his MMS shots. It got delayed a bit due to a couple of fevers that he had. The shot was a breeze and no after effects as well. Kav weighed in at 11.9 kgs (a good kilo up from 2 months back) and was 81 cms tall (I don't think this has changed much). The doc liked the weight gain and said he looked great. I only asked about the fact that he is no saying any words yet and she said to wait a bit. No hurry till 2 1/2 years. A good visit, overall.

Teething updates

Kav has 2 more bottom teeth, both to the right of the central incisors, so that makes 4 bottom ones. I also got a sneak peek at the top right molar, thorougly surprised. It has broken through and he didn't even show it. Brave boy. I did feel the top left molar also, but I'm having a hard time to get him to open his mouth for me to actually see it. Its such a pain getting his teeth brushed. I should try a baby toothpaste soon.

Some new things up his sleeve:
He now shows up his index finger when asked 'How old are you today?'. I taught him that when watching the Happy Bday song. Will catch that in a camera and put it up here soon.

He also waves buh-bye these days. He took a while to get a hang of this one, as if he didn't want anyone to leave our home!

Adding to the parts of body that he knows, now its eyes, mouth, tummy and legs. Its so cute the way he pats his belly :)

This is something that just blew my mind away. On a picture book, there were 4 objects on a page, lotus, lion, mango and monkey. Of these, I've pointed the last 3 pictures on a previous occasion many weeks ago. That he remembered them and pointed out correctly was itself just great. When I asked him for Lotus, he pointed it out correctly as well. I am guessing by a process of elimination of the other 3. Awesome, ain't it?!! It was no fluke, it happened on a couple of other pages as well. I just keep telling myself to never under estimate babies. You can never tell what they can do!

Long outing

On Independence Day, we decided to check out VGP Golden Beach. I've been there years back and hardly remember the place or the rides. Kav didn't want to nap that day, so I packed up some lunch for him and headed out just before noon. It was kinda of a hot day but we went anyways.

By the time we went there, Kav took a short nap and was still sleepy. So he stuck around in the stroller (mostly) till the end of our visit. It was the first time ever that Kav was in the stoller for more than 10 mins. So it is good to take out tired, otherwise active baby! Anyways, he liked looking at the rides and we all went on a toy train through the doll house. Most of the older rides looked positively rusty and dangerous, so I ditched them all. The couple I went on, I enjoyed. There were hundreds of kids and not one stroller in sight. So naturally, Kav got a lot of looks and some peered into the stroller to look at him and smile!

After a few hours and some snacks, we went to Tiruvamiyur and dropped Vidya off at Anna Nagar. Again he took a short nap in the car and we ended the day with the most delicious dinner at Eden in Nungambakkam. Kav was eXtreMeLy well behaved in the restaurant. He had some soup and just sat in the corner talking to us and the spoons! I would have sooooo understood some cranky behavior or tantrums or sleepiness after a long day with no naps and a lot of travelling. But he is simply the best and made sure mom enjoyed her night and her food. Thank you, sweetie.

Vacation sans baby

Rajesh and I went on our first vacation without Kav this past weekend. I felt a mix of excitement and nervousness before leaving. And I was nervous as much about Kav's reaction as my own. I did know he was real comfortable with my parents. He loves them to bits and my mom has taken care of him forever. So my intuition said he would be just fine.

So we left Friday evening just as my mom was getting ready to put him to bed. He didn't seem to sense we were leaving and slept fine that night. But I shed a few tears on the way to the train station. At one point, I so wanted to just turn the auto around and take him with us! But once we reached the station and mom called me to say he dozed off fine, it just felt that it would all turn out great.

And it did...

I enjoyed my time totally with Rajesh. We talked about Kav all the time without feeling guilty or worried. I noted things that he would have liked, but never once thought that I should have brought him along. We did hiking, travelling and candlelight dinner that would have been just impossible with him. My parents took him out on all the 3 days, so he thoroughly was occupied as well. Whenever I called him, it didn't seem like he realised anything.

When we returned this morning, Kav was sleeping and I would have to be honest to say that I had butterflies in my stomach anticipating his reaction. Rajesh went to his pick him from the crib when he woke up. He looked at both our faces and it took him some seconds to wake up fully to register who we were. When he saw me, he broke into a cry that just broke my heart. But he stopped as soon as I hugged him, and all was back to normal after that. After a couple of minutes, he just wanted to be let down to play!

He seemed like a different baby to me at first glance. Too tall, too lean, too distant. But the world just seems right now, as he ignores me and continues with his play and tantrums!!

Our vacation photos are here.

My little genius

Yes, I do have a smart one on my hands. I introduced Kav very late to books. In the sense, I got a few picture books once he had learnt to sit but hardly spent any time reading it to him. He was into tearing and then chewing those books and I lacked the patience to deal with it.

Things got better around the 1st year mark. I slowly realised that he preferred picture books (ie, objects with names) to story books. So I got more & more of those. His favorite one now is an A to Z picture book. It goes through each alphabet with an example object for each. About 6 pictures per page. And I can proudly say that as of this week, Kav can point to any of those objects in that book correctly. I was the hesitant one initially and didn't point out quill or xylophone etc. I mean which child can be expected to remember something that he has not seen before and with complex sounds like that. But I had to because Kav had finished the rest of the alphabets. Infact yesterday he even pointed out alphabets like A, B, C when I asked him to, out of curiosity. That left me stunned because I don't remember pointing them out individually to them in that book.

My mom had told me not to bore him with the books and with all the pointing and reading that I do to him. She never realised just how much he enjoyed it, until he held her finger and took it to his book and made her read something out. I never ever do anything that he is not into (except force feeding, that is :)). Hope he becomes a voracious reader in the future.

TT (Teething troubles)

And so it begins. Kav got the top 4 teeth and bottom 1 out relatively peacefully. But this new bottom tooth is giving the chap some trouble. First on he was down with a fever and terrible runny nose 3 days back. Panicky I went to the doc who thought it was viral. Then he was cranky yesterday and didn't eat much, although there was no sign of the fever or cold. And then today, he refused to eat anything till dinner time, when he had some soup and fruits. So I guess it's all due to his teething. Plus he pooped maybe 5 times yesterday. All classic signs of teething, that I didn't have to deal with so far! Have I told you that I am so NOT waiting to deal with his molars.

I really wish babies were just born with teeth. Or atleast teeny ones that have just popped through. Why should they go through all this agony for almost a year?? Maybe that will be the case in the next stage of man's evolution.

Meanwhile, we attended my sister in law's seemandam today. Kav was just so adorable in his kurta pyjama set. He was in good spirits for the most part, so long as we didn't try to feed him anything. We also happened to catch up with Rajesh's friend's 7 year old daughter (in India on a vacation) and Kav really took to her. She carried him around their house and generally made a cranky, teething guy's day so much better :)

Weekend away from home

Kav and I spent the weekend at my mom's, since Rajesh was going to be away on official work. It also happened to coincide with the end of the first year since my granddad's death and the ceremonies for that. So the house was milling with people.

I took Kav's crib with me to make sure he was comfortable. I think it turned out to be a good idea since I didn't have to transition him back to his old sleep habits when I got back home. He totally enjoyed my mom's room layout as it allowed him unhindered space to walk around. And walk he did, for hours on end. I have just not seen him walk anywhere close to that at home. He was like a maniac, carrying his teddy bear, talking his sweet baby babble and walking round and round.

My relatives were just so amazed at how well behaved he was. He bothered no one, ignored no one, did his thing and didn't even bat an eyelid when I went out shopping for a few hours one evening. The thing that blew them away was that I could put him in the crib and he would sleep on his own. I didn't realise that it was something new to the Indian culture even now. We got back home yesterday, and he just went back to his routine.

I was one proud mom. And it made me look at things that I had started to take for granted. What a good boy I have. He deserves every praise, every kiss and all the love that he gets. And I thank the Lord for him.

How kids change...

Something I was discussing with another mom made me realise how much a kids behavior changes dramatically in a blink.

There was a time when Kav would never interact with other kids. I mean, at this age their social skills are almost non-existent, but we always used to laugh at how Riya and him would just look through each other :) But now, he runs to touch her, get her attention, even turn her around so that she can see him! We are actually having to restrain him from being too enthusiastic with kids!!

Kav flirts wonderfully well too. Its so fun to watch him make eye contact, smile, play and interact with other girls. And he dosen't bother if he dosen't immediately succeed either. With some girls, he plays hard to get though. With boys, I see that he just observes what they do discreetly, although at times he just ignores them. Makes me wonder if he actually realises the gender difference.

Teething and Walking update

My darling now has 5 teeth: 4 at the top, and one at the bottom. The bottom tooth popped out a week back and looks like the tip of a rice grain. They don't seem to grow as fast as I would have thought. He has started to bite me a bit, but its not bad.

He's walking real well with shoes as well. We went out walking on the road today and he did an awesome job. Didn't want to hold my hands. He was treating the roads like his own private living room and was running towards the people, cars and scarily, towards dogs as well. Anyway, I made sure he was walking in a non traffic'y' road and all was fine. He did get tired after some 15 mins and I had to carry him the rest of the way!

Oh yeah, and he completed a year and 3 mos on the 15th. Time is flying at supersonic speed.

The cutest things...

• I just love to see Kav swagger around as if all 'beer-ed' up!!
• He opens a book and just starts reading aloud. And he's so serious that you gotta believe that he knows what he is doing!
• Of course, which mom won't love her baby come up to cuddle her. Those are moments to die for.
• He's just started to give little kisses. But I have a nagging suspicion that he is actually trying to bite me with his newly popped up teeth!
• Anytime I give him something new to eat, he makes this contorted face as if it is the foulest thing on earth. And then he looks at me bewildered as to why I am laughing so hard at him!
• He does this little booty bouncing dance that is just so cute. And he so loves to shake it up even for some newscasters rambling!
• When he is a real good mood sitting on my lap, he moves his head left to right and back and makes me imitate him. He just finds it so funny.
• I love to see him play football. He has been doing this the last couple of days, where he hangs onto some support and then hits the ball hard. It is just amazing what watching the World Cup has done to him :)
• Kav can play in sand all day long. He would just dig his hand in and move it back and forth in a semi circle as if searching for some treasure.
• I just love to see him explore the kitchen. The cheapest tupperware products give him the greatest pleasure. The learning opportunities are just a bonus. He has learnt to stack utensils, open and close lids as well as learnt which make the loudest noise!
• He can walk round and round, around the coffee table while slapping on the table top. Makes me dizzy just see him do that!
• Kav can multi-task and how! He can hold onto his fuzzy teddy while sucking his thumb and walking all around the house.
• Whenever he drinks water too quickly and starts to cough, I would naturally knock his head softly as is the tradition. But now my grown up boy needs no mommy help. He helps himself by hitting his head after a coughing bout!
• He loves to pretend cook with a spoon and bowl. He makes yummy soup!!
• But my most fav cute thing is when Kav is eating. He would pretend that he is still munching on his food even when his mouth is empty! I just don't understand how he learnt to do such a sneaky thing to cheat me. I just had to pry open his mouth to learn the truth. But the way he keeps his mouth 'ubbh' with his cheeks hanging out pretending seriously is just the absolute cutest thing!!

Father's Day Special

Mommy had to do all the planning for Father's Day. But I enjoyed it because I feel every relationship should be appreciated, although in one's own unique way and not the way Archies or Hallmark designs it. And this is something I wish to pass on to Kav as well.

I came across this great website to design slide shows and montages. So I went about selecting all the best pics of Kav with Rajesh and packaged it with one of Rajesh's fav songs. The result can be seen at http://www.onetruemedia.com/shared?p=97ae8c6362d0c9cf4efdc&skin_id=0&utm_source=otm&utm_medium=text_url. I sent it out to Rajesh's inbox and he was just so touched and moved by it. Also I had made a cake to start the day. Kav didn't dig much into it; dosen't have a sweet tooth like mom :)

Lunch was a great buffet at Aruna Inn's Tandoor and I had invited my mom and dad to join us as well. The icing on the cake came when Kav gave Rajesh his special Father's Day gift. The envelope said something like 'This is my gift so that he can be the healthiest and fittest daddy. Love, Kavin' and it included the membership to an awesome gym close by. I think that has been my favorite gift to select in recent memory ;) Dad was not too thrilled but you can't scold a year old baby, can ya?!

Walking!!!!!!!!!!

Kav has started walking. And everything he does, I can't stop crying. And I can't even blame any hormones now!!

He had taken 1 or 2 steps on a couple of occasions last month. But this past Saturday (June 11th), he walked numerous steps between Rajesh and me. He was just so excited and when he saw us even more excited, he started clapping him hands after every trip he made. It was the cutest thing!

He then refused to walk the next two days. And today, he just started walking without me even prompting him to go anywhere. He was moving all across the room, from the table to the TV, TV to the dining chair, to me. And unbelivably, he actually started playing ball in the afternoon. He would just walk to his football, throw it, follow it up walking and continue playing!! I was just so amazed at the progress. And when I clapped my hands all happy, he looked at me as if asking what I was fussing about :O.

I have taken some photos. Will upload tomorrow.

Kav's first vacation!

We wanted to take Kavin out on a relaxed vacation to see how well he does. We decided to go to a hill station so that it will be cooler weather and being in a nice resort means you don't have to be guilty about not roaming around the place! So we chose Yercaud since Rajesh has never been there before. Also I wanted to show him around Salem where I did my high school.

We left on June 2th in the early morning Kovai Express. Kav enjoyed the train and flirted like crazy with 11-month old Diya who was travelling with her mom in the next seat. He slept the last 2 hrs and we took a cab to Yercaud from the Salem station. I think he felt a bit queasy in the bends, so he just laid down on me and stayed quiet.

The cottage was spacious with a living room and a large bedroom. The icing on the cake was a huge bathroom with a family sized jacuzzi and an outdoor shower with massage sprays. After lunch, we decided to head out since Kav was refusing to take a nap. And what do you know, he slept in the car! We went to a couple of view points and after his nap, he enjoyed a bit in the Rose Garden. We headed back to the room and Kav with daddy got into the jacuzzi. I think he would have stayed there all night, if we let him! Daddy had to rock him to sleep and the tired guy just slept through the night. It was chill-lax time for mommy and daddy after that!

There was a decent playarea in the hotel itself. So Kav played there the next motning and took a long nap in the afternoon. We went to the Shevaroy temple after that, walked around the Yercaud lake area and headed back after some drizzles started to fall. We went boating on Sunday morning and then started the descent to Salem.

I had taken a single coil electric stove with me and that turned out to be a good decision in the end. I was able to warm water and cook oatmeal cereal or health mix for Kav. Only for lunch did I have order some rice for him. It was not much work and I didn't have to force bread toast (which he just rejects at times) or more rice on him.

We went to Namakkal and drove around Salem. The worst part was waiting for the 10 pm train. I totally miscalculated how much time we needed and we ended up with 3 hrs to kill and a cranky baby on our hands. If I had to do something differently, I would have taken the 4 pm train back to Chennai, so that Kav would have slept in his own crib by 10. To top it, the 2 tier sleeper was not so wide enough for a plump mom and a baby that likes to move around when sleeping! Anyways, it was just one bad evening and was not Kav's fault at all. Rajesh feels that our next vacay should be when Kav can eat any McD food and pizzas, but I think it went better than expected.

First tooth is here!!

I was bouncing Kav on my lap yesterday and he was giggling when I noticed a white protrusion from the upper gums. His first tooth finally decided to make an appearance after a year and month! About time. He has been eating and sleeping well, touchwood, so I never suspected a thing. He did have some night wakings though, and I just thought those were nightmares. So when I saw that top tooth, tears just welled up in my eyes! It felt as if my little boy has entered into toddler-dom.

A second top tooth is also making an appearance. They are still real small, but real wide! I think he is going to be a real cute bugs bunny in a few weeks!

What he has learnt recently

He has learnt to

....eat small finger foods like Cheerios over the past month or so. The downside is that he has learnt to put sand, stones and ants in his mouth as well!

....take the magnet off the fridge...and then put them back on. He practised for an hour today. One dedicated guy I have.

....switch on and off the various electrical switches. His fav is the light switch, of course. Practised for an hour yesterday at Chromepet paati's place.

....get very angry and scream/screech/swear when we take away his favorite possessions such as OUR pen, OUR mobile or OUR keys. He is not into any of HIS things!

....stealthily chew on big, chunky stones at the beach, just when we are relaxing by the waves. If I get a heart attack, you now know why!

....dance away to glory. It is such a treat to see him toggle his foot or shake his little bum. He can dance for anything, right from his fav song to the rhymes on the DVD or even the news being read out! Here's one talent he did NOT get from daddy ;)

....clap his hands. Today, the first thing he did on waking up was clap his hands and then his legs! So cute.

So I celebrated my 2nd Mother's Day day before. The gift I got from Kav was, he stayed up well past his 8pm bedtime and went to sleep only after I rocked him till 10.30! He woke up a couple of times at night and eventually, we slept together from 5am. I did love to see his face first after waking up though. I can't wait for Kav to grow up and tell me that what a wonderful mom I am and possibly, even get a gift. Well, hopefully :)

Kav's sick!

Kav has had his longest sickness this past week. I took him to a local ped last Sunday when he had some light fever. He was diagnosed as having throat infection and was on antibiotics and cold meds (Sinarest) for 5 days. The fever went away in a couple of days of taking Nise, but he started having a runny nose from the 4th day. He started sneezing through the day and was totally listless. Plus his food consumption was down to almost nil and it was only after some WWF like wrestling that I got a few bites down his throat. He was ok with the milk though, thank God.

Since I was not too happy with my neighborhood doctor, I took him to another one on Thursday. He suggested that I give him Pedia Care and another cold syrup for 3 days. This time, I messaged Kav's regular doctor who was out of town, to confirm that it was ok to proceed. She was not at all happy with giving him Pedia Care and suggested a cough/cold med along with Asthafen for the nights for 3 days. As of last night, that dosage is over. His cold is better and he has started to feed and play better as well. He was full of mischief yesterday, and that's a welcome sign! He still has a little bit of phlegm though that comes out when he sneezes. I am just going to keep an eye out for a couple of days and see if he needs another checkup.

It's sucky having a sick child on your hands. When Kav stays put in one place for 5 mins, it seems like all is wrong with this world! But it has re-inforced my belief to go with my instincts. Because when he first had that fever a week back, the common consensus at home was that it was due to teething. But I was just not convinced and just had to take him to the doc. So Mom's instincts are always kick-ass and never to be ignored!

Another lesson I have learnt is not to force feed a child. This is a toughie and one that I am likely to break in the future. But his doc said that they lose all sense of taste when sick and asked me to be content as long as their fluid intake is up there. Do you like eating when down with a cold? Its the same for your baby as well, she said. One interesting tit bit from a friend is that kids can be fine even without eating a morsel of solid food for 3 days! Point taken. Or maybe not!

Baby Babble is the Best!

Kav has been babbling for a looong time. He does say decipherable words like amma, appa, thatha, attai that go more like ammamma, appapppapppa, thathathathatha and the like.

But for now, he is an expert at the 'Ya' language. He says titiya, kaliya, koyya and several other tongue twisting sounds that end with a 'ya'. What world language is that, we ask?! It is so cute to see him take a book in his hand, raise his eyebrows as he babbles on. His expressions make you wonder if he knows what he is talking about. If I ask a question, he dosen't miss a beat and talks back as if with an answer. It's a real treat to hear his sweet voice and watch his inimitable tongue movements :)

First Birthday Party & 1 year checkup!!

Woohoo!! Kav's big day arrived on the 15th. The entire family was so looking forward to the party. The decorators, caterers, magician, entertainers were all arranged well in advance & I was just so excited that my baby was becoming a toddler. Many moms feel a sense of pain at their baby growing up; but I am just so looking forward to it. Seeing Kavin grow each month has just been a pleasure, so there is a sense of expectancy as to what he will do next. Walk? Talk? What will his first word be?

Our closest relatives were at hand to wish him in the morning itself. But the others landed at the venue, Granite Valleys, in the evening. The outdoor venue had wonderful landscaping, a lot of tall trees that were decked with spiralling lights, interesting water features and a lovely playarea. It turned out to be pretty pleasant weather in the evening for the 75 odd guests who attended. The balloon decorations turned out to be much more beautiful than I had imagined. The cartoon character & the clown mingled very well with the crowd and were a big hit. We had to start the magic show a bit later than planned since a few kids didn't land up as expected. The guy did a good job of interacting with the adults as well.


Kav looked soooo cute in his dhoti-kurta. He was just wondering what the hulla bulla was about. But he just played along and was never cranky the entire evening! Well, we ended up cutting his cake since he just wanted to look around at the people around him. It was a lovely 2-tiered chocolate cake with vanilla cream cover and yellow & blue icing. Actually, it wasen't prepared in the exact way that I ordered, so no more Adyar Bakery cakes!

The food was a real icing on the cake. My caterer is just the best! The menu consisted of tomato soup with croutons, dahi vada & pani puri as appetisers. Rumali roti with paneer butter masala, Vegetable sevai with tomato thokku, Bisibelabath with potato roast & vatral and curd rice with mango thokku completed the main course. Raj Bog (a Bengali sweet) and Milk kheer (the chef's specialty) along with butterscotch ice cream were the desserts. Kav's bday cake was also part of the buffet. Every single dish was delicious. One thing I have realised that the food is the most important component of any event in India. It makes or breaks the success of your party. So get the best that you can afford!

The mugs that we gave as party favors were a hit as well. I wish I had chosen a front profile of Kav's to be printed. Well, we live & learn!

Kav got the most wonderful gifts. We totally enjoyed unwrapping it all the next morning. Thanks to all our guests for making it a memorable evening :) I also have to add a special thanks to my sis Nithya who never minded accompanying me on my innumerable shopping trips!

A couple of days later, Kav had his 1 year checkup. He weighed in at a great 9.9 kgs, up 400 gms from just a week before!! No wonder he seems soooo heavy recently. Also got his chickenpox shots. Man, that injection was costly, coming in around Rs 1400. Doc said he would get his first tooth soon, but I have gotten tired of hearing it. Anyways, he's eating chunky foods much easier now. I can get him to have mixed veges by just dipping them in some yogurt. He's also standing without support for upto 10 secs. So it's just a matter of time before I am running behind him like crazy! Look forward to it though :)

All of the photos can be viewed at his website.

No teeth yet

See, I knew I would forget something!

Kav has no teeth yet, but I suspected that it must be on the way now. His doc confirmed it. So his gummy smile will disappear forever in about 15 days!!

I am so NOT ready for the change. I just am so used to the way he looks & smiles. I predict I will have a few sleepless nights soon!

Although on the plus side, I can get him to eat my pasta & noodles. And I wouldn't have to overwork my poor blender for his every meal :)

All about his transitions, infections, photo shoot & growth

I am doing a terrible job of updating this blog recently. There are so many things happening & I just keep adding everything to my memory blog, which is very unreliable to say the least. But I will try to recollect what I can now.

Kavin is just a week away from turning 1 year old! We are all so excited. The party invitations were a big hit and I am so enjoying putting it all together for my baby. I hope that one day he is happy with all that we did for his party! More on this later.

His one big transition lately has been switching to whole milk completely. I just started cutting one formula feed everyday, and he went to milk in under a week. The process completely on March 14, a day before he completed 11 mos. He certainly enjoys milk more, although we still have to climb mini-mountains sometimes to get him to finish his bottle.

He has a very bad case of fungal infection this week. Caused due to the excessive sweating in this weather. Poor guy, had a very bad couple of days (incl an afternoon when he just didn't want to even move an inch) but its healing well now. I am hoping he will be all fit & dapper in time for his big day!

On a happy note, we atlast got a professional photographer to come home to take some shots of him in action (on March 14th). Kav just refused to smile big all evening, but we got some great photos anyways. His eyes speak volumes, so a smile didn't matter! To see some of my fav snaps, get to his website.

Hmm... what else? Oh yeah, during his doc visit for his rashes, his stats checked out to be 9.5 kgs and 78 cms (more than 30 inches) height. He has put on almost a kilo and 2.5 inches in less than 2 1/2 months since the last visit. The results were a pleasant surprise because this is one baby who never shows his weight off!

You will see a detailed report on his bday here after his party on the 15th. All are invited!

Sleep training

I never thought I would ever have a post on this, but miracles do happen!!

Since birth, Kav needed to be rocked to sleep. It used to take real long before, but as he grew older, it will take anywhere from 5 - 20 minutes of rocking and walking around for him to sleep. Of course, there are always bad days when he needed an hour to doze off.

Whatever research I did on getting a baby to sleep on their own, involved Crying It Out or popularly called CIO. I did try it a couple of times and that didn't work for us. Kav can cry and cry and we couldn't take it past 10 minutes. So I always thought let me keep doing what works.

And then, last week (at 9 months and 3 weeks), I left him in the crib to get something done. I went back into the room after some 15 minutes and found him FAST ASLEEP. I pinched myself a million times!! Its' the first time since his birth that he has slept without assistance. So that encouraged me to try some sleep training.

The next day for his naps, I left him in the crib and left the room. The first time, he cried for like 2 mins and then slept. But after that, I met with failure. He would cry as soon as I left the room.

So I decided to stay in the room and see what happens. I never tried that before because I thought it would make him more mad seeing me right there and still not helping him to sleep. Anyways, I put him in the crib, then went to my bed and pretended to sleep. He made whimpering noises and walked around the crib trying to get my attention. But I never touched him once. I sometimes shushed him and said 'No crying baby. Sleep'. And that's exactly what happened!! He just needed a blanket to soothe himself. Took anywhere from 15 - 40 minutes the first few times.

After 2 days, I started to leave the room after he settled down. He cried once as I was leaving, but that stopped soon. This technique worked for his night sleep as well, which totally surprised me. We are now in the 5th day and he goes to sleep within 5 - 10 minutes of his head hitting the mattress.

It did take some patience but the results are more than worth it. It has helped him to go back to sleep if he gets up after some noise or other disturbances as well. But if he has any night wakings, I do pick him up and console him though.

Kav entered his 11th month yesterday. Time to start birthday planning. Am so excited about it!!

9 month appointment

Kavin went in to see his doc day before for his 9 month appt. At 9 month and a week old, he weighed in at a healthy 8.7 kgs (over 19 lbs) and has grown 1.5 cms more since his last appt 2 1/2 months back. The doc said he was pure muscles and bones and was ecstatic by his progress. So was I!!

He got his measles shot and cried for like a second. His chest congestion was all clear and his responses were on the spot. He was in such high spirits at the hospital. He made friends with a girl and was talking to her continually. Got a lot of attention and sweet talk from the people around, and he just basked in it!

Next visit is after he turns a year old.

Kavin's first cold!

I noticed a little runny nose on Kav about a week ago. The next day, the doc diagnosed cold as well as severe chest congestion. He seemed really surprised that he hasen't been having coughing bouts. Cold drops and antibiotics for 5 days has helped him to totally recover. Thankfully, his appetite and sleep were not affected. If anything, he seemed more hyper than usual!

Rajesh had to go to Hyderabad for a job fair recruitment drive. So we stayed at my mom's for a couple of days. Kav was just so happy to explore new territory, that he tired himself by crawling around my mom's spacious living and dining areas. He has become great at sitting down after standing. He neatly kneels down and goes about his business. But there are still some falling and crying incidents.

Kav's weight at the doc's was 8.5 kgs!! But I will believe it after we check it out at his regular ped's office. Gotta take him for his measles shot in a few days. I can't believe that he is 9 months old already. He is into double digits from today.

Weaning

I've been meaning to write about the weaning process, but it has been taking a back seat to recording other exciting stuff. Kavin has been totally weaned and on formula completely for more than a month now.

I kick started the process after Kavin completed 6 months. All the stories that I heard talked about babies not being ready to give up the comfort of breast feeding and that getting them to give up the last feed for the night was the hardest. So that's where I started! Kavin took to the bottle without any problem. It's as if he didn't notice! Every week, I replaced a feed. In the end, I just nursed him in the morning for about two weeks, and then stopped that too. My body recovered very quickly as well. Kavin didn't care and it's been so easy to get out ever since. All in all, a good experience.

I loved nursing him as long as it lasted, but I was ready to end it as well. I did feel some pangs the first day that I stopped. Will I miss all those intimate moments when it feels as if Kavin is looking and talking only to me? But everything's just the same.

Kavin's now 8 1/2 months old and just celebrated his first New Year. His chittis were so cute to get him a New Year card and cake. He is so pampered by them and he just loves all the attention!