It is called 'Aditi' talk

It feels great when your little one starts talking - properly in sentences - in a language not just understood by the mom and dad, but by everyone. Until about 18 months Aditi was happy to 'point and talk', and I almost always seemed to understand what she said. That was a huge relief compared to the initial months when crying was the norm always. Thanks to her nursery, she started speaking in sentences pretty soon. And for a while now, she can have a complete conversation and be pretty much understood by everyone around her. She learns new words everyday. And is extremely happy to use them in her sentences.
Rather than just saying the word aloud, she usually likes to say "It is called xxxx". And she can understand every word of what we speak in my mother tongue. She still finds it difficult to make sentences and use them in my language, which is not what I wanted, but I think as long as she can understand and respond to what we speak, it should be okay for now. I'll gradually build up her confidence and slowly get her to speak in my language.
Continued after 2 weeks....
I'm usually greeted with a 'I dont like this Amms' or a 'I dont want this Amma' especially when I go near her with a cup of milk. What is it that happens to kids when the transition from bottle cup takes place? My child loved her bottle. That would actually be an understatement. She loved the bottle so much that it took me almost five months to make her give up her bottle completely. I managed to completely wean her away from the bootle only when she was about two years old.
And back to the point of talking, books are her favorite. They have always been so. And she now reads sentence(more so recites them from memory) from every single book around the house. Its good that we can borrow upto 15 books from our local library on her card. We make full use of it. Evenings are spent reading every page of all the books. And books give her company during breakfast, lunch and dinner. Literally every meal that she has at home will be with the help of books.
And the pram has been bid goodbye. For almost two months, we have been walking to and from the bus stop. On rare occasions when its raining heavily, we use the pram. Otherwise its walk or carry. The 'carrying' bit is not so often, except when she sees a dog or cat too close to her for comfort or on days, when she's really tired. And I gladly oblige. We do the typical mother-daughter thing and chat on our way to and from the bus stop - about everything we see on the road - the cars, birds, other children playing in the compound/pavement, the occasional biker, just about everything. The only problem is that I can no longer do any shopping at lunch time and safely out the bags away in the pram basket. Since we already have enough bags to carry aka my office bag, her nursery bag and Aditi herself, shopping at lunch time has come to a standstill! But I do enjoy walking and chatting with my little girl. Reminds me of the time when I would drive my mom around.
I finally managed to change the header, since the summer has finally arrived in Sheffield.

India Trip - Part 2

We had about 90 minutes transit time, comfortable enough to change terminals in Paris and get through the security checks. But as soon as we got off the flight, we were stranded on the escalator(thankfully it was stationary), because our doors into the airport, from the gate where we had landed were locked. A stressful 45 minutes later, the doors were unlocked and we landed at our terminal/gate bang on the flight departure time. I was not alone, about a dozen of us were to board the Chennai flight from Paris, so we had a good time while waiting on the escalator and at the shuttle bus stop.This delayed our flight, which finally took off an hour after the actual departure time. Aditi slept from time to time, played for a while, walked a lot, drank about 6 glasses of juice in 10 hours and was not as troublesome as I had imagined.
At Chennai airport, Aditi stayed put beside me, while I collected our baggage. My eyes searched for my parents as I wheeled the trolley out of the terminal and it was easy to spot them. The reunion was the best - it was the first time that I landed in Chennai in five years and it was a huge relief to have reached home.It took a couple of days for Aditi to get used to the many people in our house, but soon she was ordering people around - thatha, pati, big pati and ayyaamma(our maid). Aditi met her great grandmother - my mother's mother who happened to be staying with my parents. She took to my father like a fish to water, but gave her 'orakanna parvai' at her pati. As she kept calling 'papi', my mother taught her to say Ammamma. It was so cute to see her go Amm-amm-amm-amm-ma.
We have a huge old-style teak swing that adors the living room at home. Much like a fireplace in this country, which is usually the focal point of most living rooms.Aditi loved this swing and enjoyed the to and fro motion. We went shopping to T-Nagar, visited the 'must-go-to' shops on Usman Road, called on friends and relatives and ade a 5 day trip to Bangalore to meet Aditi's other set of grandparents. She was pampered everywhere we went and I should agree that she was well-behaved most of the tim. She would normally take baout 5 minutes to settle in a new place and then enjoy the comapny of those around her.
Unlike last time, when she suffered from various immune attacks, this time was much better. A mosquito bite, turned into an infection and spots appeared at various places. There are a few scars that are yet to go away. She loved the fact that she couldpick the receiver and talk anytime with whoever she desired, unlike here where the phone is placed 5 feet above the ground.
But the look on her face was priceless when she met her dad at Manchester airport. It was a wonderful reunion and I wish I had recorded the conversation for posterity. All-in-all an enjoyable two weeks and a well deserved break for me and my little one.

The pregnancy tag

1. WAS YOUR PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Sort of.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Extremely excited and was thinking of how the father-to-be would react when I tell him the news.

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No way.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?25

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Home Pregnancy Test. Although I had the idea to buy one only on the way back home that day.

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Prashanth, followed by mum.

8. DUE DATE?
12 February 2007.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Yes, until the 20th week.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Kanja manga, kanja narthanga.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
Nothing really.

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
Girl.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
Nope, but would have if the first one had been a boy!

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
10 Kilos.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
Yes, arranged by us with friends/cousins as guests

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?It was the traditional ceremoy and I had not seen one myself, so had to go about doing things by asking mom/in-laws.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
No.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Blackburn, UK

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Approx. 7 hours

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?
Husband, with mom by my side.

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Husband and mom.

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
No.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
2.8 kg (6.3 pounds)

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
8th Feb 2007.

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY? We knew about the sex, so was eagerly waiting to see my little angel.

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
Relieved that the labour phase was finally over. Was thrilled to see the baby that grew within me.

28. DID YOU CRY?
No!

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Aditi

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
2years, 2months, 2weeks, 2days(Incidentally!)

Feel free to take up this tag. I'm not sure if ther's any blogging mom out there, who's not already completed this tag.

The Burn

Aditi had an accidental burn last Saturday. It was close to her nap time on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. We were planning to go out and I had dressed her up in her coat and shoes. I had packed her milk cup in my handbag, which was unfortunately left on the dining table. And I was wearing my own socks and shoes. Suddenly I hear the sound of the cup falling down and turn around to se the little girl bathed in milk almost. Hot milk trickling down her chin. And the girl let out her loudest cry. I quickly splashed water on her face and neck, but her winter jacket was in the way and by the time I removed her jacket and two layers of clothing and rushed her to the bathroom for more spraying of water, the damage had been done. Her chest and neck were badly burnt. But we did not realize it, for she was tired and sleepy and in pain!
I put her to bed and when she woke up, found a few blisters on her skin. We rushed her to A&E, and they put a huge bandage around her chest and shoulders. The little girl was irritated with her bandage. But thankfully I had to gaurd her for only a couple of days, as we had another appointment on tuesday and the doctor asked for the bandage to be removed. The burnt skin is now drying up and we were told that there would be no permanent scars, although the healing process would take a while.
Praying that the little girl does not have to suffer much - as I have been informed about the itching during skin regrowth. Do you have any advice to keep the itching at bay? And to hasten the healing process? She has been prescribed E45 mositurizing solution to be applied four times daily. I have been asked to try coconut oil as well. If you know aof any other remedies, please advice.

India Trip - How it happened

It was the middle of February when I was informed that I had to take all my holidays by the end of March. There were still 14 days left and only 3 days could be carried forward to April. I had booked a week's leave in March. It started after a casual conversation at lunch time with a colleague, who said that flight tickets to India were really cheap at this time of the year. That night the thoughts of making a short trip to India took shape in my mind. We discussed and argued over it and finally Prashanth gave me the green signal. There is something special about an India trip and more if its an unexpected trip. Your mind is flooded with happy thoughts and the current worries and troubles take a backseat. I decided to take 12 days off. The next couple of days were spent in convincing my manger to grant me the holidays. Tickets were booked and it was the lowest price I have ever flown in the last five years. If I had planned a month in advance, I would have only paid 10 percent for Aditi's ticket as opposed to the 75 percent that I had to shell out as she was over two years. But when its a holiday to India, these things hardly matter. I spoke to my mother to take a week off from work and strangely although it was March and annual year end, Amma was granted a week's holiday(Amma is a bank manager, so the leave was a true bonus). Slowly things fell into place and I concentrated on the shopping and packing.
Shopping for gifts is something I love doing. A bit of retail therapy is always welcome. So I spent shopping for everyone in the immediate family and three babies whom I'll be meeting for the first time. I have been away from home for longer than 2 weeks, but this time, I was torn between wanting to visit India and having to leave Prashanth alone here. I tried as much as possible to make his cooking/cleaning less difficult. Packing was a simple affair, all I did was pack some cotton sleeveless dresses for Aditi and a couple of salwar suits for me.I was going home and I could wear the ones at home - that remain unused for most part of the year.
At work it was a different affair. The week before I left was very hectic as it always is. I promised to respond to mails when necessary and kept up at it. We were to board an early morning flight on Thursday morning from Manchester. The flight and how Aditi enjoyed her stay at Chennai and Bangalore to follow.
(To be continued...)

The real birthday

In my hurry to hit submit, I forgot to mention about the real birthday. We had been to a party the previous day and came back exhausted; so went to sleep early. By 3 am the next morning, both Prashanth and I were up and excited about Aditi's birthday. Prashanth had still not got back to normal sleeping patterns after a busy week of nights, so we had nothing much planned for the day except a special lunch at home and just being together. After all birthdays hardly come on sundays, especially when Prashanth is not working.

The little girl woke up by 7 am unaware of the excitement of her parents. We wished her and sang the birthday song for her. A short while later, wishes came pouring in from both sets of grandparents in India, from her aunt, cousin and uncle in Dubai and from some more relatives and friends. After breakfast, I gave her a shower and dressed her up in the pattu pavadai that she had worn for her first birthday. She was too happy to be decked up all bright and red; and kept calling otu to her dad to come and admire her. Dad came over, armed with camera in hand and she posed for some of her best pictures.

Soon our neighbour came over to wish her with a huge gift, an automatic cycle with a gear box, that moved by the press of a button. As with anything in this country, it had to be assembled and our neighbour and Prashanth sat down with the hammer and screwdrivers. Aditi was extremely co-operative, waited for the pieces to be put together and sat on it. Alas! it worked only backwards. It turned out to be faulty. So we trie changing batteries, but still no luck. We got it exchanged later in the week and Aditi now enjoys her cute geared cycle.

We spent the rest of the day at home and Aditi changed in all about 7 dresses that day and I gave in bcos I did not want to make the poor girl cry on her special day. We went out for our usual grocery shopping and enjoyed a cake roll. Simple, yet relaxing was how we celebrated her second birthday.

The second birthday

The little girl celebrated her second birthday at her nursery two days before the actual day. The birthday itself was on a sunday, so we decided to throw a party on friday at her creche. I took half a day off and Prashanth had just finished his week of nights, so was free to join us around tea-time. I shopped for the cake and other nic-nacs to take to the nursery and reached about 5 minutes before 3PM. Aditi was having a nap, and her care-taker suggested we set the table up. I was hoping that Aditi'll be delighted to see us, but she was upset to be woken up and took over 10 minutes to settle down, get changed and finally shyed away when we had to cut the cake.

The rest of the children went over to wash their hands, and then quitely sat on the little table and chairs arranged for them. And there was no quarelling/fighting over seats, no shouting and all eyes eagerly set on the cake. One of her carers offered to take pictures, so Prashanth joined us for the cake cutting ceremony. I was busy cutting the rest of the cake and placing them on the paper plates, almost forgot that I had to give Aditi a plate as well, until she asked for it herself. We had some mini-bites, cornpuffs and McVites mini biscuits apart fro mthe birthday cake. The kids enjoyed themselves and asked for more helpings, the popular choice of one and all being cornpuffs. After some milk/juice, the kids looked happy and content.

The staff then escorted the children to the wash room and cleaned up the tables. We then picked up all the bits and pieces, and headed home. The best part of this simple party was Aditi enjoyed being among her folks and I enjoyed the party rather then running around attending guests. Now for some pictures.....