Time flies....

The things my almost 11 month old can do (can you believe it's almost 11 months?? I can't!)

-Says 'Amma’,’baba’ and 'akkra’- which we assume means akka
-Can hold on to things and stand and cruises along walls and furniture
-Stands on her own for a second or two
-Says áh!’when ever the phone rings.
-Waves her hand when asked to say ‘’Bye-Bye’
-Loves to bangs things on the floor to get a sound.
-Shows her displeasure quite vehemently when a thing she wants is not given or taken away.
-Holds baby rusks or toast and eats them on her own

She also has four baby teeth which sometimes make a her look like a rabbit, other times a squirrel ;)

It's been so long....

It's been over two months since I last posted.

So many changes to adjust to...for me and for my family.

Starting work really saved my sanity. It really did. I am indeed a better mother because of it. Both the kids are doing beautifully well. They do tend to cling to me when I return, but they are both OK. Weekend are spent giving them all my attention, that I just don't have the time to log on to the computer. I think I spend more quality and quantity time with them now than when I was home.

The past month was a little hard though because H1 was down with the flu. Every time she recovered and was sent to school, the fever would come up again. She had it for about 3 weeks...on and off. Now thankfully she is better but coughing quite a lot. Then last Thursday H2 got fever. Though the fever is down by now she too is coughing now.

I want to thank everyone who mailed me asking me about my silence. Thanks guys. It means a lot and it motivates me to somehow keep the blog going. I do want to keep it because while I was going through my old posts, I realized how much of interesting conversations and all that growing up I would have missed and not remembered if I hadn't jotted it down here.

Oh mummy!!

While waiting at the doctors office, much to my embarrassment and the delight of the rest of the room, H1 said the following to my protruding stomach...

"Hellooooooooo....anybody home?"

"Come out, come out where ever you are..."

Bringing water from the water dispenser for the umpteenth time, "You need to drink this. The baby is thirsty. No! she neeeeds water. You HAVE to drink it!"

"Is the doctor going to cut you up and take the baby out now? now? now? why not?"

and at home while looking through my belly button..."How come I can't see anything? It's too dark in there!"

Double the Joy

Today is such a special day. My big girl is SIX YEARS old and my little girl is EIGHT MONTHS old!

My eldest hasn't changed much from the day she was born. She is still the same drama queen. She still knows how to push my buttons. She still is a little know-it-all. She still uses her 'outside' voice more than her 'inside' voice and need constant reminders to speak softly. She still surprises us with the little gems that comes out of her mouth. She still impresses us with the way she looks at the world. She still cries more number of times a day than her baby sister. But...she has changed in little delightful ways. She has become more gentler. She has become more lady like. She douses her self in baby cream and baby cologne before going out. Just yesterday she asked me if she looks like a model while wearing the new bikini she got from Puncha for her Birthday.

It's great to see her turning out to be such an independent, confident little girl. It's a little sad to see that she has lost most of her 'baby-ness.' It's exiting to see how she is changing yet scary to visualize what lies ahead when she becomes a tween and then a teen.

But there is one constant in all this...my love and her father's love for her, our first born...

Meanwhile our second has turned eight months and delights us in everything she does. She is such a good natured baby. Her belly laughs make everyone around her go into helpless laughter. She started crawling exactly on the day she hit seven months and there's no stopping her now. She wakes us up in the morning at exactly 5.30 am by crawling up to us, jumping over us and patting the face till the poor sleepy mummy or daddy opens their eyes. She's eating better now and seems to like her food. She takes more formula as well. She growls when she is not happy. Points with her whole body the direction in which she wants us to take her. She still loves looking at birds, butterflies, ants and leaves shaking in the wind. Give her a toy and she either tries to see if it makes a noise by shaking it like a rattle or sees if it moves by moving it up and down on the floor like toy car. She loves to blow raspberries on my tummy or my face.

It's delightful to see her changing from a helpless baby to a baby that's learning to take charge of her world. It's fun to watch the wonder in her eyes when she discovers something for the first time. It's fascinating to watch her communicate her needs by using body language.

It's so easy to fall in love with this baby...our second born...

I am back! Am I? I don't know.....

Thank you so much everyone for all your encouraging comments. Just saw them now as I didn't even log into my account the past few weeks. It just got easier and easier just to ignore this blog and even the blogs I am so fond of reading. I think because writing comes from your soul and my soul needed a little rest...from what I don't know.

It doesn't help with the guilt that I have such a great life...a super husband, great kids and all that I need and here I am feeling blue. It doesn't help that hubby tells me about how cheerful the blind solders at the Ranaviru sevena are some of whom have no limbs. And here I am having everything I wish for, yet complaining of how dull my life has become.

Being a mom brings such conflicting emotions that sometimes my mind feels like a whirlwind. Part of me wants to get away from it all. The next second, I want to grab my baby and never ever let her go from my arms. Part of me is so exited about the prospect of dressing up nice again and having adult conversations. Part of me just sob at the thought of having to be away from my baby.

I question my decisions all the time. Am I doing the right thing? Is this what I really want? Will my babies be all right without me? Will they miss me? Will they cry? Am I harming them anyway by going back to work? It just goes on...

I am trying to ease it all for everybody as much as I can. I've found a loving person to look after them...the same 'Nanda' who brought up my husband and his brothers. She's like a second mother for them. I am slowly increasing the time I spend away from home. A few hours the first week, half a day the next and so on. So far both my kids are doing great. I am not officially starting work till May, but I am slowly geting everyone adjusted...including my self.

I am getting H2 used to formula. It doesn't help that every formula tin, book and doctor screams 'breast milk is best for your baby.' I am not taking her completely off breast milk. I am combo feeding and I did exclusively breast feed her for 7 months (why do I feel I need to give excuses and justify my self I don't know)

I think being a mom is the hardest thing in the world....

Feeling Blue

I don't know if I am having a late reaction baby blues....but I am definitely blue...
I don't feel like doing anything...writing the blog...taking pictures...doing house work...nothing.

I am bored...bored to death staying at home. I really need to go back to work. Soon.

If only things would fall back in place so I can go.

Food Wars

H2 is moving up in the food-chain. She has now graduated to eating mashed fruit, mashed veggies, mashed rice mixed with veggies, a bit of chicken, dhal etc. Does she like moving up on the food chain? NO!
You'd think it's because the food is bland because there is no salt, spices or herbs or that it's not sweet but she is not even keen on baby rusks which are slightly sweet.

I've been trying to introduce her to baby formula as well but she doesn't like that either. Tried switching brands, giving it chilled etc but nope, we just want to breast feed. Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!