Baby D Gets First Taste Of Solids

Baby D has been getting increasingly vocal about his interest in foods other than his formula. He recognizes an apple slice and makes spirited swipes at it. Just yesterday he was champing so vigorously at his allotted apple slice, which he was basically meant to play with and have a lick at, that Mommy D had to take it away in a big hurry. Not knowing what else to do with it on the spur of the moment, she ate it herself, in full view of Baby D. Naturally he was hurt and upset and Mommy D heard about it for several minutes from him.

Fortunately the very same day it was his doctor's appointment and he was going to evaluate him and give the go or no go for starting solids. Once he said "yea", Mommy D came dancing out of his office full of plans while Daddy D was more quietly pleased. Baby D didn't know what the fuss was about.

Baby D's first food was to be a mashed slice of banana mixed with a bit of his formula. As Daddy D "sat" Baby D down on his lap and Mommy D, nani and nana all gathered around in anticipation, camera at the ready, he looked up mildly surprised. The attention was a little too much even by his standards. Mommy D then gave him a spoonful of his banana mash, which he took in without a fuss but looked puzzled all the same. He wanted to hold his spoon from his first official bite and so we let him feed his nose, chin and ears. Between the pictures, and all of us taking turns to feed Baby D, he might have had more than the doctor's strictly worded instructions of "just a taste, we don't want him filling up".

Next we offered him his bottle to get his first sip of water. Baby D grabbed at it with great gusto, as if to say - "finally, something familiar". Then he assumed an extremely surprised expression - "Have you changed this as well!" All said and done, Baby D was glad to have his familiar bottle of formula at long last.

Baby D's first day with solids has passed without incident although he does seem to have gotten an extra sugar kick soon after his banana mash. His particular coo after his "meal" sounds like he's saying "o good" which is repeated for the next half hour with vigorous arm wavings and leg kickings. Not so successful has been the savory side of things - "daal ka paani" without any salt. Baby D took in a spoon, made a face as if to say "Bleah! what's your point?" and then soon after spit it out. We are hoping for better luck with "chawal ka paani" and then next week we are to give him some apple sauce which is bound to please him.

Can't wind up this post without mentioning that Baby D has mastered the syllable "ma". With a little stretch of imagination it sounds like he's saying "mum mum" or if not, then a Scottish person thinking aloud "Emmm".

This Is How We Roll

Baby D nodded off at 9:30 after his usual 3 oz and Mommy D heaved a sigh of relief. He woke up fussing at 10:45, Mommy D wondered why. Turns out he wanted 3 oz more. He nodded off once more, Mommy D breathed out slo-w-l-y. Baby D was up again in fifteen minutes, he had forgotten to burp. At 11:30 pm he woke up again - just because. Then Daddy D settled him down for hopefully what is his seven hour stretch. Phewwww..and now the big news of the week can be told.

Baby D has achieved yet another milestone..drum rolls..he can now roll! The first time he did this, he was chasing Mr Rattlesworth and looked pretty pleased with himself on his tummy as we clapped and cheered. But rolling doesn't come as easily to him as does the sideways turn - not yet. And so Baby D practices. From the time he gets up in the morning to the time he's ready to go to bed at night. His nose is bright red from taking his weight as he first turns easily to his left, then buries his nose in the bed attempting to make the complete turn. This he does after a bit of a struggle but then gets his arm stuck underneath him, which we have to untangle, to keep him from getting too frustrated.

Baby D is enjoying his first views of the world from another angle as he lays on his tummy, smiles and turns his head around, generally shows off and thinks to himself - " a whole new world".

The other news is a degree of snobbishness that he's acquired, choosing to go to a specialist rather than his regular pediatrician. Baby D's eyes have been going pink despite a couple of different drops that were prescribed to him by two different pediatricians. So Mommy and Daddy D took him to see an eye specialist at a swish new hospital where Baby D charmed the receptionist with his well timed coos and babbles. The eye doctor says his infections are to do with a partially blocked tear duct, which Mommy D has a hard time believing given the copious amount of tears he's capable of producing when he's displeased.

Also, Baby D has decided to treat his cradle cap by his own simple method - he's scratching it out with his fingers. Mommy D has tried to prevent him, but finds that if stopped, he would pop both his hands into his mouth instead and make himself throw up. So she has decided to let him pick at his cradle cap, as the lesser of the two evils. As it turns out, Baby D's methods are proving to be more effective than his doctor's. So it's all for the best.

Baby D has discovered lately that he has ears, and naturally he tugs at them. Between his head scratching, ear tugging and lip chewing, Baby D is fast taking on the appearance of a somewhat eccentric pint sized scientist.

New Hobbies And Fresh Challenges

Baby D turned four months a couple of days ago. With that, he decided it was high time he tried a few new things. (I'm wondering what he'll decide to do on his sixteenth birthday!) He has been able to turn on his side for a while now, and rotate on his axis. But on his birthday, he decided he should do both of these things ALL the time.

So now, if one wishes to hold a conversation with Baby D, one must lie on their side. You can no longer talk down at him. This does pose something of a challenge while attempting to diaper him. Right at the point where you are about to heave a sigh of relief and fasten the last Velcro, Baby D decides to turn away, or even better, spin away. It's a bit like attempting to put a diaper on a swinging table fan.

Meal times too, got just that bit more "exciting". Baby D is no longer content to be just fed. No, he has made the discovery that milk comes out of a bottle. And so naturally, he has decided to take matters in his own hands. He'll clasp the bottle firmly between both of his hands and slowly and carefully guide the teat to his mouth, which he does successfully after a couple of misses - the teat first reaching his eyes, then his nose and finally his mouth.  Unfortunately he has not yet figured out the concept of holding at the correct angle, so he just lays there contentedly chewing away, quite oblivious to the fact that the milk in the bottle is by and large un-drunk. He resists any attempts on part of Mommy D to help him and so assistance has to be very discreet. And then he attempts to talk about the whole experience. Mommy D has had to admonish him quite a few times to not speak with his mouth full.

Baby D has had his first taste of solid food too. He was attempting to swipe at nani's fruit plate and so she let him hold a slice of an apple, which he enthusiastically sucked at. Hopefully this means a life time of good, healthy eating habits, unlike his parents who are averse to any form of greens or fruits.

Baby D's parents have had something of a conventional upbringing and accordingly are in conventional professions. And so they have impressed upon Baby D time and again that he can be what he wants - a cricketer, football player, musician, or a chef. With all of that, it is somewhat dampening to discover Baby D's interest in all things electrical. Switch boards make him smile and he  bats at them with a sense of purpose. The mosquito repellent attracts him strongly - is he going to be an engineer? Or perhaps it just proves that he is not repelled and hence not a mosquito. Mommy D has chosen not to over think this at the moment. If he wants to be an engineer, then so be it.

Meanwhile, Baby D's mixed feelings for the mirror have taken a definite turn for the positive. He never fails to smile at it, then turns away coyly, then smiles back again - my sweet little narcissist.

Sweet Reunion

Daddy D is back in town and Baby D is on the mend.

In the words of Bertie Wooster :


    The year's at the spring
    And day's at the morn;
    Morning's at seven;
    The hillside's dew-pearled;
    The lark's on the wing;
    The snail's on the thorn:
    God's in His heaven—
    All's right with the world!

Baby D woke up last night at 3 am just as Daddy D walked in the door. Without further ado, he requested that he should be picked up, walked around and put back to sleep as Daddy D was responsible for his waking up anyway. 

At a more reasonable hour, he brought his right arm over to his left side, torqued himself over to the left and finally succeeded in grabbing Daddy D's glasses right off his face without any help whatsoever. I'm sure that's some sort of a developmental mile stone.

He also expressed his delight at his new Winnie the Pooh stuffed toy and his sippy cup with two handles. Baby D will probably be ready to drink from it in a month's time or so but in the mean time it pleases his increasingly independent spirit as he pretend drinks from it. Baby D has taken to demanding that he be allowed to hold his bottle himself, swatting away at our supporting hands, so the sippy cup makes him happy.

This morning we took Baby D to the doctor because he was still not a 100% . We felt ourselves squirming as we stood under the "Silence Please" sign with an extremely upset Baby D. Really, why would a kid's doctor even think silence was feasible?! Mommy D didn't want to worsen matters for the general populace by singing " Raindrops on roses " or any other favourite Baby D ditties so she tried whispering them in his ears and Daddy D repeatedly tried to get him to read the sign. Luckily the doc took quick notice and prescribed him a bunch of meds, for his cold and his cough and even a mild soap for his skin, so we have no excuse to return any time soon. (Yay for Baby D.)

Baby D is a much happier baby as of this evening. He's taking an interest in his "twinkle twinkle" routine. If Mommy D (& nani) are to be believed, he's learnt to make the sign of diamond in "like a diamond in the sky". But it is true, he does make the perfect little diamond sign with his fingers!
He's even laughing at the antics of the singing Mr Rattlesworth - a short, gruff little sound that we figured is a laugh because it's accompanied by a smile. 

A little worrying is the fact that he is demanding repeated renditions of "soft kitty warm kitty". Mommy D very much hopes he will be nothing like Sheldon Cooper when he's a big boy.

But all in all, the outlook's definitely optimistic. Baby D is ready to drive us up the wall again.

Wish I Could Make It Better

Baby D is not coping too well with the advent of  winter, such as it is. For three days now, he's been listless and very very un-rambunctious. His blocked nose doesn't let him sleep comfortably and he has had to put up with saline nose drops. I try to pick gently at his tiny nosey in order to dislodge the "stuff" and give him some relief. I had never thought that successfully picking at another human being's nose could give me so much satisfaction! Oh grossness Baby D! What are you going to say when u grow up and read this?

The blocked nose is cleared up now, but Baby D has a teeny little cough and a case of the sniffles. I can't quite  say what , but something tells me he has a sore throat too. Poor Baby D is still trying to play, but always ends up falling asleep instead. If  I talk to him, he still musters up his smile, before launching into a narrative of his troubles. How can I help you Baby D except by holding you and singing to you, which somehow seems to calm you down.

I wish I could make it better and soon. I wish the doctor would pay attention to your cold rather than dispense useless advice about your cradle cap and arbitrary directives on the state of your dry skin. I like my baby with a cradle cap if only he'd become his usual self and drive the household up the wall.

Get well soon Baby D.

Post pregnancy, momma has too much hair fall. So I thought this was as good  a time as any to get a more Baby D friendly haircut. It's shorter than it has been in the past ten years,  and the hair dresser has assured me that the messier I make it, the better it will suit the "look". So I don't need to waste any time at all with my hair. Besides it can be scooped and swept out of the way of Baby D's exploring fingers. This is so he doesn't get strands wrapped around his delicate little fingers.

Ready to play Baby D, just you kick that cold away for good.

Baby D Has A Blocked Nosy

The changing weather seems to have caught Baby D by surprise and given him a cold and a very uncomfortable blocked nose.

To start with Baby D was fine, just sleeping a little longer than usual, which in every one's opinion, is not a bad thing given his general aversion to the good ole shut eye. When he woke up and had had his    milk, he asked to be picked up and taken on a tour of the house. So Mommy D took him to the breakfast table where all were assembled for tea. Once there, he espied the refrigerator with its fascinating magnets. Baby D frantically began working his arms and legs, his face screwed in concentration. This melted Mommy D's heart and despite nani's concern about the safety of some of her more fragile magnets, she took Baby D to the fridge. Here Baby D made several attempts to tug away from the fridge, a colourful Disney magnet. Figuring that it was made of rubber and as such damage proof, Mommy D pulled it off handed it to him. Baby D immediately lost interest and took swipes at the not so damage proof Madame Tussaud's magnet. Here Nani firmly put her foot down and Mommy D fears very much that Baby D might grow into one of those men for whom the thrill is in the chase! <sigh>

Since that time though, Baby D has been pretty much sleeping and eating only, and not eating as much as he should. As the day wore on he has become progressively more troubled.  Really, a blocked nose can be no fun for a little baby. His mommy should know, she still gets very cranky when she has one.

We have been very liberal with his nose drops, so he gets whatever relief he can. As soon as he gets a brief respite, he's ready to play and that pretty much chokes up mommy. Together with his antibiotic eye drops thrice a day for an eye infection and his usual twice daily dose of calcium, Baby D has a lot of medication going on for him.

When on skype with Daddy D, Baby D lost his calm. He tried to grab his daddy's nose and specs and wondered why he couldn't. He managed to start skype recording and then did something that made the video disappear. Disappointed and broken hearted, he burst into tears. Baby D misses his daddy.

This poignant little scene had upset mommy and Baby D surely won't be skyping for a bit.

Baby D Goes A-Visiting

Daddy D is out of town and so Mommy and Baby D are visiting with nani and nana for a week. Naturally, the shift entailed  packing and moving of epic proportions. There was a small carry on suitcase,with a few of Mommy D's things (she couldn't find place to fit her brush and comb), and all of Baby D's personal effects. In addition, there were the two bags he usually gets along for his day long visits, a few shopping bags containing various odds and ends - baby detergent, Baby D's carrier ( he has one now, the kind that you wear him around in), laundry that had to be urgently handled. There was the whole business of dismantling his cradle and somehow fitting it in the back of the car along with everything else.

It took two trips to get everything and everyone to where they should be. The next day Mommy D had to return with Nana to get things she had forgotten, like Baby D's bathtub and his bouncer (more on that later) and her own brush and comb.

Baby D has now settled in and is doing what he does best - which is to throw the household in uproar and send people scurrying in all directions. He is being his usual rambunctious self, revelling in the fact that he now has a lot of options for entertainment. If he gets bored of one person, he simply ignores them, and goes on to the next and on again until he's run out of people to ignore.

He's also been expressing his approval or lack thereof of the decor in nani's house. The fridge door with its colourful magnets, nani's souvenirs from her holidays, has met with his enthusiastic approval and he smiles gleefully at them, trying to pluck them off, much to nani's trepidation. He gazes at the family portrait thoughtfully and listens with every appearance of interest when you explain who is who. When asked who is the prettier - mausi or Mommy D, he diplomatically refrains from comment. Baby D doesn't like the Paris corner - an arrangement of Paris sketches in black and white of the glass pyramid outside the Louvre, Arc De Triomphe at the head of Champs Elysee and the Pont Alexandre. Mommy D was hoping to instil in him a love for the elegant and the romantic by taking him to the Paris corner, but Baby D feels so strongly about it being a waste of perfectly good wall space (there could have been more magnets) that he bursts into tears!

Daddy D has been keeping in touch over skype and so it is that Baby D found himself online. He lost no time in making enthusiastic conversation with Daddy swiped vigorously at the ipad screen leading to all sorts of consequences. I wonder if Apple knew they were going so baby friendly with their products. Baby D has also made his debut on FaceTime. He really doesn't know his mausi well enough to make conversation, but does gaze intently at her face, thinking perhaps that he's met her before.

Ipads and FaceTime and this blog will be all too obsolete when Baby D becomes a teen, but he's well on his way to being a tech savvy kid.

Vaccination Time

It was that time of the month again, when we take Baby D to his doctor for his vaccination. We did explain to him enroute that there would be an injection and that it would hurt a bit. We don't want unpleasant things to come to him as a surprise as much as possible, but I don't think Baby D was paying much heed. He was far too busy looking at the view outside the car windows, twisting every way in momma's arms so as to be sure to not miss anything.

At the doctor's office, he made Mommy and Daddy D very proud weighing in at 5.1 kg and 58 cm - quite a big man! We then lay him down on the doctor's table and braced ourselves for what was to come. Baby D seemed unconcerned tugging at the large stuffed colourful caterpillar (no doubt due to his recent introduction to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar").

Then the doctor came along and Baby D felt he was a nice enough person, so he gave his stethoscope a friendly tug and attempted to play with him. It was then that poor poor Baby D had a needle stuck in each thigh by this very same individual. Even as mommy and daddy held each hand, he was administered some very unpleasant drops. Baby D, had to be carried howling away from the doctor's. He's a  much wiser baby now and has learnt to not take all things at face value. His grief was short lived though. Half  way to the car, he even found it in his heart to laugh at Mommy D pulling funny faces at him as Daddy D carried him.

Post vaccination, he has been very very sleepy, much to Mommy D's somewhat sheepish relief. Today though he's back to his usual "let's not sleep for more than ten hours" self and life is back to normal.

Some other Baby D tidbits -

He is now starting to lose patience with Mommy D's clumsy attempts at pulling a shirt over his head. "Come on lady. You have had almost four months of practice and I don't want to be half suffocated each time you change my clothes!"

Baby D is getting very good at picking things up and then right away putting them in his mouth. His blanket winds up there, as does his shirt (the one he is wearing and the one laid out for change), his burp cloth, his rattle, books, toys. If you take one item away, he doesn't seem to even notice, promptly replacing it with something else within his reach! In fact, he IS the very hungry baby.

I wash what I can, wipe what I can, but there's no way everything that finds its way into his mouth will fit into his compact steriliser. Mommy D is keeping fingers crossed his immune system has caught up with his appetite.

Baby D Celebrates Diwali

Well, not really. He couldn't see what all the fuss was about. After all there's little point to mutton curry and kaju katli when all you can have is milk. And he wouldn't understand why Daddy D must spend half an hour sprinkling colours on the floor when he might be better employed letting Baby D have a go at his glasses.

And so we tiptoed around Baby D's schedule, which he insisted go on as usual - eat, diaper change, play, wash & sterilise bottles, eat, diaper change, play and so on, in a loop. And then there were the episodes of extreme crankiness, which is Baby D doing his best to fend off sleep before finally succumbing. When this happened, we would breathe a deep sigh of relief  for a minute or two before jumping into the Diwali activities.

"Quick! We have twenty minutes, let's get the rangoli done." Or "Cover me for five minutes while I  light up the diyas". Needless to say, it was a rather abridged version of the usual Diwali festivities timed to coincide with Baby D's brief naps.

When we reached Nani's place in the evening, we lost no time in consigning Baby D to Nana - Nani's care and haring it away to set off a few firecrackers. ( Thirty years down the road, I hope Baby D doesn't expect the same of me for his kid!) After setting off some sufficiently noisy crackers that gladden Mommy D's heart, we were back to find that Baby D was taking things rather well given all the noise of the fireworks going around.

In fact, was he taking things a little too well for Diwali night? Shouldn't he have been panicking a bit? We forgot he had passed his newborn hearing screening test, all the times he had been scared by the sound of the pressure cooker or the way he tries to imitate our speech or a host of other indications that he is able to hear perfectly well, thanks very much. Mommy D did this desperate little jig to Sindbad the Sailor from "Rock On" at which Baby D laughed, but we couldn't say for sure whether it was the jigging or the music that amused him. Daddy D then tried speaking to him in different tones of voices from different corners of the room, but Baby D remained unimpressed. Finally a burst of a really loud and persistent sutli bomb from somewhere in the neighbourhood, broke Baby D's sang froid. He dissolved into tears much to the relief of Mommy and Daddy D.

Turns out our Baby D is a stoic little fella who believes in keeping a stiff upper lip. Since that day though, he's started taking a healthy interest in Indi Rock. "Sindbad the Sailor" is now a part of our daily morning play routine along with his sock puppets - Pluto and Tabitha the tiger, his book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and all time favourites Mr Rattlesworth and Mr Spots.

Pick Me Up

I have mentioned in passing a few times how Baby D loves being walked around. What I haven't managed to convey so far is just how favourite a hobby it is with him. If you were a baby that wanted to be up and about, exploring the world or at least all the spaces in your home, but hadn't quite learned to roll over yet, what do you do? You request someone to carry you around. Not just that, you make it explicitly clear that you don't want to be held horizontally like a new born babe, but that it's the view over the shoulder you are most interested in and that's how you'd like to be carried. That is Baby D's "pick me up" request.

"Pick me up" has quite a few flavours. There's the pretending to cry to "pick me up" when Baby D has had enough of the more sedentary forms of entertainment - such as his toys, his books, his chats with mommy or the sing alongs. He can be diverted sometimes from these if something sufficiently entertaining and novel is found. Mr. Rattlesworth serves the purpose admirably on these occasions.

And then there is the very forlorn "pick me up" when Baby D is not feeling too good and would like a burp. If  this request is correctly recognised for what it is, then there is no way Mommy D would have the heart to refuse or defer.

Sometimes when Baby D is put in his cradle he really doesn't demand much, but you can see that he is desperately trying to soothe himself sucking his thumb, eating his blanket and really trying to fall asleep on his own. It is at these times you can't help but pick him up and help him along. Baby D then falls asleep in a couple of minutes flat.

And then there is the extremely foolhardy choice of picking him up when there has been no request, just because you were feeling very lovingly towards him. Baby D when he gets a taste of a good thing, refuses to settle for anything less for a long time. So if you thought you were giving him a quick cuddle, you could very well end up walking him around and showing the sights for over half an  hour. Anything less would be met with annoyed protests.

At first, Baby D was content to lay his chin on the shoulder and gaze around listening to the songs and the conversation, and would invariable fall asleep. Over time, his participation has become more active. He tries to reach out to Daddy D's large punching bag and to the miniature figures on the table in the living room. He has been known to snatch at the singing bagpipes magnet on the fridge and gaze lovingly at the bottle of Scotch. (Perhaps he has the Scottish "spirit").

He dives from side to side, to make sure he's missing nothing and makes comments on all he sees. If you have complied with his request only after he has made his displeasure known strongly, then you'll hear from him in the form of very prolonged grumbling. These are short, sharp bass notes with a sort of nasal twang at the end, very expressive and very effective in conveying his thoughts, but they really make mommy and daddy D giggle.

Well, we try to entertain him best as we can, but are forced at times to curtail the excursions and convince him that it might not be such a bad idea to lay down for a bit. We look forward to the day he can crawl around to meet his travel needs. Then it would just be a simple matter of running around after him and ensure he stays out of trouble.

Speaking of Baby D's entertainment, turns out he's much more enthusiastic about "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" book than "Goodnight Moon". I was being afraid for nothing. It's not like he's not a reader. He just prefers books with crinkling cellophane within the pages and tooting sounds.

Also, never thought that the innocent looking Mr Spots would be a source of yet another chore for me. Ever since Baby D has taken to eating him, I need to give Mr Spots regular baths.