Rishab's - January experiences

Now that I have finished writing about all of our daily activities in details I have decided to write once every week on Rishab's activities. This month some very good things happened and some not so good things also happened with Rishab.

Let start with the "not so good things" - baby rishab got his vaccination shots in first week of January 2012. It was bad .. very bad ... infact, worse than the previous two times - more so because he was more aware of the pain this time. On the day of vaccination, just like we take him for morning walks every day, we took him to the clinic. The doctor examined him and was happy with his progress. Then came 2 shots - one on each thigh like a  bullet piercing by little baby.. ouch!! this was followed by a loud cry and an inconsolable baby. Ohh!! It must have hurt too much!! This was followed by 2 days of mild fever and discomfort for him. Well all bad things come to and end... and for now the vaccination episode stands closed till he turns 13 months. Its a relief, cause it really pains to see a small baby undergo so much agony.. but as parents this is part of our duty to see that he is properly vaccinated. This was the worse part of this month.

Now coming to the "really nice things" that have started happening.. Rishab has stopped sleeping in his crib as he has outgrown it. Now he sleeps almost anywhere, when he is sleepy so that a good thing. No one could be happier than me. Another good thing is that he will like a good boy have his milk without us having to distract him, which is quiet a relief cause as a mother I no longer need to bother about how much milk he drinks. He has started eating pureed food and enjoys it quiet a bit now. One change that we noticed is now he will not have his food in the stroller. He has now got enough sense to figure out that, if he is put in the stroller with a bib, then its food time. So we struggled a bit to find new ways to make him eat we tried to make him sit in the lap or on the bed- and a high chair was a definite no-no cause Rishab hates being confined. We observed he would hate to sit and eat and just wanted to stand and eat. or walk and eat... so we brought in the "walker". Many people would curse me for introducing the walker so soon... but believe me he loves this experience and can walk quiet well for his age. May be you should check out this video :
https://picasaweb.google.com/110030338176687730236/Jan92012#5701491425829085874

Among other thing we have observed he has started hating strangers. He will start crying if lifted by a stranger. The other day we took him to a friend place and he cried a lot. We have also taken him to the beach and how he hates the sand and the sea water!! Well the irony is that when he is in the bath tub he will play a lot with water but the other day when I took him to the swimming pool just to wet his feet he burst out crying.. i guess he can still relate water only with his bath tub and not the pool or the sea.

He is learning slowly but surely. In no time, I am sure I will see him jump into the swimming pool and think back on this day when my baby would cry when water touched his feet. A new experience each moment - I say so because when you have a baby a day goes by like it was a moment come and gone. So let these moments go by for now!! See you next week.

Rishab - Morning and Evening Walks

My baby's most enjoyable time is when he is out of the house. From the time he has been  2 months old we have been regularly taking him out of the house. It initially started with sun-bathing in the mornings. Me and Rishab would go down and enjoy the morning sun. He would look at trees and grass and birds feeding and would be delighted to hear the cuckoo bird coo.

Now that he has grown up and dropped his evening nap, he goes outside the house twice - once in the morning and once in the evening. One thing that remains till today is his love for nature. He loves to see the trees and the leaves swaying and flowers and birds feeding. He will be so quiet when we take him down in the mornings, absorbing each and everything he sees around. He loves to see moving objects .. right from the moving leaves on the trees (when the wind blows) to cycles and cars. If there is nothing moving his innocent eyes continue to look at the trees above him to catch some leaf moving. A very alert and observant baby.

Now we come to the evenings time when he is all energetic. This is because he has by now completed all his feeds and all his naps (the biggest nap is the one just before he goes down). We will take him to a Park down. Let me describe the park to you. The park has a slide, see-saw and a baby wall climbing area. Around 5.30 -6.00 pm in the evening there will be lots of children who will be running around and playing. Rishab also wants to do that - the first indication will be -- he will start to struggle to get out of his stroller. We will take him to the see-saw and then to the slide. Now since he is small he does not enjoy the see-saw too much .. but he has started to like the slide. We then take him to a platform where he will keep jumping - his favorite activity - and keep doing it till he gets tired.Well recently I started playing this game with him --- once he start jumping I count from 1 to 10 and then i suddenly say "STOP" and he stops. He has started understanding the meaning of "STOP". Good achievement Rishab!!!

We also play pee-ka-boo with him in the Park on the slide. one of us will disappear and re-appear from the other side of the slide and waoh !! he laughs and laughs mtill he turns red!!. Surprising how much fun such small games can give a child. The more we repeat the game the more he laughs. He truly enjoys his time in the Park.

He also tries to climb the baby wall to see whats on the other side of the wall. We help him climb and the moment he reaches the top of the wall and looks on the other side of the wall he is very surprised and sometimes he will burst out laughing if he sees a family member on the other side of the wall. For Rishab, its an achievement - cause he feels he just discovered a family member ON HIS OWN :)

Well now he also wants to walk on the ground... we give him some support and he will walk a few step and get elated. After all its an achievement for him!! Well done boy - Way to Go !!

All the above activities last about 30 -45 minutes which can be quiet tiring for him as well as us. If he is tired and done with his play, we will put him back in the stroller and he will wait quietly to be pushed back home. But if he still has some energy to do a few more jumps he will refuse to sit in the stroller and will struggle to come out. At this time we will need to allow him to do some more jumps before putting him back in the stroller.

When he comes back home from the park in his stroller he looks like a contented little "Buddha" - Cheeks all red after play - hair filled with sweat and very very hungry. Its END OF DAYS PLAY for Rishab.

Rishabs - Feeding time

Today as i write about his feeding time.. it brings in so many memories.. and obviously these will change with time cause he will start eating and experimenting with a lot of things.

Well little Rishab started off with milk like all babies do .... and things were going on fine till he discovered his hands .. around 4 months... Well Well Well this was also the time I had to start with office so it was double whammy for me. He suddenly decided that he wanted to practice pushing his bottle away from his mouth as a first exercise for his hands... And I was terrified .. as the doctor had advised us to start on solids only after 5 months .. so dear baby had to be on milk till then.. a whole one month to go and I had to start with office.. This was a new challenge for us as parents..here's when we started with the magic weapon called "DISTRACTION" will I believe will continue to be our weapon for feeding Rishab hereon.

The distraction methods varied.. we began with mozart music(DISTRACTION No.1).. which lasted for some days before which smart little baby realized "Mozart music means.. someone will come to feed me" so he refused... then we progressed to light therapy (DISTRACTION No. 2) which means we had a player with small red light .. so the mozart music would play and we would move the player up and down so that bay would be distracted following the light and have his feed....within a few more days another distraction came into picture [DISTRACTION No. 3]  singing of nursery rhymes which he liked sometimes... "I hear thunder.." being his favourite. We would need to sing the rhymes so many times that our throats would get parched .. so I decided to record the rhymes in a player.. and I remember doing recording "ABCDEFG.." and GOD alone know how many times we would have played it for him... Once it so happened that Hubby dear was at home and little Rishab decided that the normal method of distraction would not work...so in frustration hubby put on the Chinese Song FM radio and dear rishab enjoyed it, had his milk and slept ..:-) (Different ways of a baby, I guess!!)

Now that he has grown and understands the world better.. the "Distraction" weapon needs to be sharpened. This is also because we introduced him to solid after around 5 months. The start was lovely.. meaning obviously his taste bud found a new taste of solid and the first time he had it like a "Cerelac Baby". Oh!! What a moment that was !!! He like it soooo much I cant forget his expression.

Generally we will feed him solids only when we feel he is really hungry as this will reduce our efforts to use our weapon. When he is really hungry we will make him wear his bib and sit in the stroller and he will finish 3/4 th of the feed without the need for distractions. After 3/4th of the feed 3 things happen together for my son :1 ) He will want to burp 2) He will be almost full 3) He will get sleepy and cranky. So now the weapon comes to use...we will show him the fan or a toy or move our hands like a plane up and down or make some funny noises like "tichick" [Sorry but lost count of the distraction method number] and he will start laughing and here's is our opportunity to push a spoon into his mouth. The game plan will usually be 1 person will distract him and the other will feed him... so while he gets distracted.. the other person will hold his hand and push the spoon into his mouth.. Well the precision and timing needs to be excellent otherwise I sometimes miss the opportunity to push the spoon into his mouth as he will close it too soon (timing really matters) or the spoon will bang into his nose as he will suddenly turn his head or push the spoon(oh.!! bad precision).

Sometimes it is possible that he will want to burp in-between the feed. This can be called low category risk (!! yes its a RISK) as he might not take the remaining feed after the burp or we will have to try the highest level of distraction [all 4 of us try to do different things] for him to have a few more bites. You might be wondering why to do all this ..and maybe he does not want more.. but we know.. he wants more but just gets too sleepy half way between  the feed so we need to try all these things. Well burp time is quiet some fun for Rishab as we will play with a ball with him. He will be a goal keeper, standing, his father obviously holding him (he hates to sit and burp) and mommy dear would roll the ball over to Rishab. Rishab will do his "JUMP JUMP" and then bend down to pick up his ball. We will play this game 7-10 time and in-between while jumping, if we are lucky, he will burp or once in a way, if we are unlucky, he will not be able to burp then get all uncomfortable and vomit out the feed :(

Its surprising how Rishab can get everyone on their foot and sometimes also get them tired trying to feed him. Nevertheless its a pleasure to watch him eat and grow. Every effort we put in seem fruitful even if many times, after all the dance we do, he will not finish his food. We are looking forward to you eating many more things dear son and finding new ways to entertain and distract you!!

Enjoy one of his eating video:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110030338176687730236/Jan92012#5696622299838729170

Rishabs Massage and Bath Time

Well we have started and practiced a ritual right from his birth that is to massage and bathe little Rishab in the evening just before he sleeps. Once he is back in the evening from his walks he would be a little tired so I start with his massage. The massage routine goes like this --- spread the mat, remove his clothes then immediately give him the oil bottle ... it dawns upon him.. its massage time...then a budhha-like smile will enlighten his face.. cause he loves his massage. I start with his face first... as he can get very irritated if I do his face later.. thats because if anyone of you has got a massage done before you would know that after massage you are relaxed and so you will want to sleep... and no one would want his face massage when he gets sleepy right !! Again an adult-like trait. I start with his forehead which he will let me do very calmly, then i proceed to his cheeks... which is also ok and allowed.. then the neck and chin.... baby gives a green signal to this too.. but then comes the nose.. the moment i touch it he will give a cry something like "I hate this.. stop it" so i quickly finish it and move over to the ears to calm him down. When I do his ears his becomes a statue.. cause i think he loves ear massage and he thinks he is getting some Bali massage(as claimed by his father). Well the tough part is over.

Next I go over to his chest and stomach and count from 1 to 10 and he laughs his heart out cause i think it tickles him.. obviously during this part of the massage some essential gases are release from his butt which make him laugh all the more. Then I move over to do his hands .. cross them, move them up and down and circle his shoulders.. oh how he enjoys it.. with me singing the one-two buckle my shoe.

Next is his legs another important part which needs proper massage since he cycles his legs so much during the day and tries to stand and walk.. the muscles of his legs need to be relaxed.. Well his first laugh was when i had massage his legs some 3 months back.. pressed his thighs said "chicken legs" and he had laughed for the first time... Till today I do the "Chicken legs" ritual on his thighs and he always laughs it out. Nowadays I sing "knee knee knee" when i do his knees , he gets tickled and laughs like he has gone bonkers. I love this moment .. oh my baby you have the most adorable laugh i have ever heard. Then I cycle his legs and make him to a half padmaasana (yoga pose) and then fly his legs into the air all the time singing some rhyme or the other. Last I do his back with is normal up-down on the spine.

Now comes the risky part.. removing his diaper... well risky because the pee can go in all directions if i miss it. Sometimes it will come as soon as I remove his diaper.. sometimes i need to fan him and it will come out in 3  waterfalls and i catch it with my super placement of diaper to avoid getting wet(mastered over the 6 months).. and sometimes if i am unlucky it will come the moment i feel "ok he wont pee"  and remove the diaper totally. In the earlier months when this sudden event would happen I would shout(because it was sudden) and poor guys pee would stop.. and Mrugesh would be laughing away to glory. Now I am used to it.. I just smile at rishab and he continues to pee all over me.

After the massage he is super excited, Papa dear has filled his bathtub with warm water (most of the times.. sometimes he goofs up with the temperature - too hot for rishab) and lifted him and the mischevious rishab realizes now is fun time. Papa dear does the part of holding him and I do the washing him part.. Rishab hates his hair being done  but otherwise enjoys... playing with the duck and splashing water..  First his face... nose is again the tricky part...other stomach, legs and other part no problem. When Mrugesh make him stand in the tub Rishab will start talking with himself  or singing to himself and will continue to JUMP JUMP JUMP... he also tries to look in all directions around him. Sometime he is so amazed to see his toes.. like they were never a part of his body... he will make weird expressions and gaze away to glory at them. He will try to drink the water I pour over him and while he is doing all these activities we need to bathe him.. so thanks dear hubby for holding him and keeping him distracted otherwise poor mommy would not be able to handle rishab alone all the way. Well one more thing that hubby dear helps me in is making the "soooo soooo" noise so that if Rishabs missed peeing( after the massage) he does it in the tub.

May be you would enjoy a short video of him:
https://picasaweb.google.com/110030338176687730236/Jan92012


Once bath is over dear hubby takes over the task of changing baby, powdering and diapering him while mommy prepares the bed for Rishab. Thanks for your support dear hubby.

Well this is one of our daily rituals which Rishab enjoys like crazy..and we enjoy watching him bathe.. as days go by and he outgrows one bath tub after another.. the feeling of his growth sinks in and so does a feeling of achievement as parents.

Rishab - Rolling in sleep

New milestone - rolling. This is an important milestone which Rishab achieve quiet some time back maybe around 3.5 months. Initially I was scared as he hated to roll over or maybe was too lazy to roll over.. i thought so... he would initially turn only half from tummy to back then 3/4 turn and then roll back to his back.. then once in a way he would turn on completely to his stomach and also turn back from tummy to back. This all was done with lots of effort from our end. hubby and me would place an object exactly at north-east between his head and arm to attract him to turn to his left. So we considered this milestone done and achieved until a few days back when my son decided he should practice and perfect this action.

My parents were very happy that he started turning 4-5 times continuously on the bed till he reach the edge of the bed by the time he was 5.5 months. We all were happy .. but now as he gets aware of this milestone .. my darling son has decided to practice it in his sleep. Waaaooh !! how diligent ... practicing in sleep... so this is how our typical night goes off nowadays... Dear son will sleep off at 9.00 pm on his left side... Then somewhere between midnight and 1.30am he decides he need to practice rolling (in his sleep obviously) and he turns onto his tummy (flip in a nano second) Next he starts a battle with himself.. trying to turn back to his back or side.. he tries for 2-3 minutes but since he is soooooo sleepy and sooooo in his dreams he decides he can't do it on his own... And of course at night time there is no light on for him to make his judgement to turn over... So what does he do.. complain not cry he will make grunting sound like "eh eh" to call us.. then either one of us will get up go and turn him onto his back.. then he will again struggle to get onto his side.. We wait till he gets his position to sleep. Then we sleep back... Again after 2 hours he has turned onto his stomach and calls for us to change his positon. This typically happens 3-4 times at night. But each time we go to him we feel so bad for him.. pity that he is in so much sleep and cant turn himself  and so disturbs himself and his sleep. Very gently we turn him back to his comfortable position and just watch him for a couple of minutes.  Though I should say sometimes we find him so funny trying to turns himself back to his back. Somewhere we murmur and laugh to ourselves "Rishab who told you to turn over dear.. you did it yourself sweetheart".

Now he sleeps on a matress on the floor to avoid falling down. Earlier it was more action-filled night when he slept in the cot. His legs would get caught between the railing of the cot or he would dash his head against the railings .. in the process to roll back ... so we realized he could not be kept there any longer. My baby has grown and needs more space.

We know this too will pass once he masters rolling back in his sleep. As we look in awe a baby who never knew how to move an inch when he was born to now when he needs almost the whole bed as he moves about everywhere... the journey has been satisfying and fulfilling.

A typical Rishabs Day

Well a babies typical routine day can be quiet boring when you look at it as a whole cause they keep doing the same thing.. practicing to be come perfect.. but then there are always some things they do to amuse us or sometimes themselves.

Rishabs typical day starts around 7.30 in the morning..He get up and stretches himself and give Mrugesh and me the sweetest smile... conveying .. "What a lovely sleep I had !!!" (please note I am not talking about my sleep) or maybe saying "what lovely dreams I had !!" (yes he might have dreamt of turning and jumping in his sleep).

Next he knows he will be changed to morning clothes .. greet good morning to mommy papa nana and nani... Papa dear will have his tea and then carry rishab... Rishab knows its time to go for a morning walk with papa... and you should see how excited he gets... just as you take him towards the door.. his face will lit up like he is going to see heaven... I will leave for office and  Papa will take him to local supermarket to show him fruits and veggies and then  have some sun-bath for 10 minutes..

Once he is back from his walks he will have his feed and take a short nap for 45 minutes and then he is back to his original energy levels.. He spends the remaining time playing and learning with nana nani .. have his cerelac and milk and then like a pandit (with stomach full) goto sleep for 2 hours straight. He gets up and does his most important routine of shitting (without which he is damn uncomfortable) Then again some play time learning time..By the time it is evening he goes to the park with Nana and plays... once he is back... we both feed him... then around 8.00 in the evening massage him. Next we will give him bath and then he will have milk and goto sleep by 9.00pm.

I know sound like a boring routine .. because this is the overall routine.. I will be writing more in detail on his park time,feeding time and bath time and the new role of joker that all family members need to adorn during his feeding time. Keep reading !!!

2012 - my baby almost six months

Its been almost six months now with Rishab my dear darling son been a part of our lives.. With the new year beginning I have resolved to put up each and every new memory with my darling son from now on.

I know my husband always say capture thing in your mind, but then I dont think I can always remember what all Rishab does because he just keeps doing different things all along.. and some day when I want to recollect his child hood I just want all these memories to be alive. and maybe one day he too might be interested in reading about his childhood.

Well my baby is growing up to be a fine baby man.. Baby man.. well even thought he is a baby some of his actions are so adult-like. Well from birth to now he has learnt a lot of new things.. He started learning to hold thing and let me tell you he will hold everything but his bottle.. i think he is a prince ...we hold the bottle for him and he will want to hold everything else :-) And just as we feed him he will suddenly within a nano second move his face to the left or the right an off goes his bottle .... then the cycle of distraction will start so that the poor bottle can get entry into his mouth.. Oh Rishab.. have some pity on the bottle at times. Well the only time  thats easy to feed him is night time when he is sleepy and not so alert. When he is on his back the thing he like to do is cycle his legs and he cycles them so fast that sometimes i wonder if he is fitted with some battery. and i forget to mention...if he has something in his hands he will try to transfer it to his legs and then kick it.. he can keep doing this repetitively without getting tired. My boys' energy has surprised me many times.

Rishab has also started to sit on his own. And of what a blessing this is for us.. Some times just after milk when we need to burp him we just make him sit and he goes arrrrrrr.. and the burp is like a man some times so loud and clear that it scares him ... funny boy. When we make him sit on the floor he will find new things to keep himself busy with .. like playing with his toes and trying to move behind. He does try to move push his butt behind with the help of his legs and in the process with move behind.

One thing he loves to do is stand and lately jump... all the time he wants to be on his legs and either jump or try to walk... but obviously we need to be slow with him.. this his not hims time to walk... neither to stand.

Well now its time to get back to some work.. More on Rishabs development  later.. Till then bye

Well just to show a pic of my baby boy :