Tring Tring Tring!!
Man : Hey sweety, how are you doing?
Woman : Am good just tied up fully, you know why :-)
Man: haha , i can understand. Hey, did you listen to this song "cow-u cow-u holi cow-u,i want u here now-u"
Woman: ???? What is that?? Which movie??
Man: Gossh it has rocked the world now.Sung by Dhanush..upcoming movie.
Woman: Is it? I dint know that..
Man: hehe , all you have been listening to is "uaaah uaaah uaaah uaaah", all these days :D
Woman : Very funny :P
Beep!! :) Guys you cant listen to the conversation any longer as i have muted the phone line :O
The above conversation was between myself and Vrunda back in Nov,2011. You can imagine how she was fully tied up with Akshita,she wasnt able to log onto the internet often those days.Akshita as expected was getting too dependent on Vrunda :) Am sure many mothers will agree here :)
Well for me , i was just counting days, as Vrunda and Akshita were going to be back to Chennai on Nov 27th.
It was going to be a big day for me, not sure how Akshita will react seeing me, as i hadnt spent much time with her. I used to travel to Pune monthly once all this while. Go there, spend 2 or 3 days time with her, click loads of pictures and videos of her and come back and keep looking at them whenever I am feeling bored. :)
How will Akshu react ?? First time she is going to travel in flight. Will she trouble Vrunda too much ? Will she smile at me or cry.. How will she react to the new people around her, weather...etc..:) So many things were running in my mind.
Chennai domestic airport : Myself and dad had gone to pick up Akshita,Vrunda and her mom. We reached airport by 4:30PM as flight was stated to arrive at 4:50PM. I should have known that Indigo airlines has never arrived on time. Already i was so eager to see them, but these guys were testing my patience. There you go i saw the status updated on the board as "Arrived".
After a little while ,yipeee i saw Vrunda ( little more chubbier :D) from a certain distance. She was bringing huge pile up of luggage on the cart. Akshita was sleeping on Vrunda's Mom's arms.
I just ran, security stopped me from entering, I said 'Sir my wife is coming there with a lot of luggage and I need to help them (in my broken Hinglish :D )'. Security looked at me from top to bottom once (by looking at the amount of hair on my face, probably he would have thought "Does child marriage still exist in India? ") :D I didnt care much though. Just ran towards her and started to say "Vrunda, Na unne virumbala , nee azhaga irukenu nenakala, aana ithelam nadanthidumbonnu bayama iruku "(the famous dialog from alaipayuthe). Vrunda started blushing :D
Just when Dad carried Akshita, she woke up. For some reason Akshita was staring at me till we reached home. Probably she wasnt sure how to react, cry or smile. My mom would have called atleast 5 times to know whether we are on the way and flight had arrived on time.
Taxi just zoomed pass the water-logged streets in Chennai. You can expect how the weather is down here during November and December. Our well constructed and maintained drainage systems are also of great help. :D
Akshu was still small. Like in Pune, we couldn't find a lady who can come and help us to bathe Akshu in the mornings. Vrunda had seen the lady bathing Akshu in Pune and had some hands on experience a few times herself. So we decided to bathe Akshu ourselves. Everyday Vrunda used to oil-massage her (as in my previous blog post) and my job was to help her by pouring water on Akshu while bathing whenever required. I used to be very scared in the beginning. What if I pour water inappropriately and make her cry?? Slowly I got used to it.. I used to go little late to office than usual, but will we get these days back? Akshu used to scream as much as she could before we dried her hair. We used to take out the flash cards (letters A to Z) and she used to stop crying immediately. :) We have been showing flash cards to her from probably 3rd month. Akshu has seen these flash cards so many times that as soon as we take them out, she gets this big smile on her face even now :) Its true guys, flash cards really work. First few days, babies may not even look at what we are showing, but once babies are interested, they listen to whatever you show with absolute attention.
Time had started to fly very fast. Each time I come from office, Akshu is playing with Vrunda and when she sees me, she gets this big smile on her face and starts kicking in the air showing signs of happiness. My entire office stress goes for a toss. :):)
First place Akshita explored in Chennai was "Mylapore Saibaba temple ". As soon as we stepped inside the temple, there was a huge temple bell which was ringing at least for half an hour for evening Arati. Akshu began to cry loudly :O She did not stop at all .We waited patiently outside but had to take blessings from outside and then go to city center :) There she was looking around the place and slept soon, so myself and Vrunda roamed around with Akshu in hands. So Akshu developed this habit of sleeping whenever we were out, so we could eat well outside. :P Good for us! And then she wakes up and gives this cute smile :) One good thing about Akshu was, she never pooped when we were outside :D. Vrunda, as always, would be well prepared with additional diapers, wipes,one set of dress etc. We had to carry a backpack whenever we went outside.
People believe that babies bring loads of luck to you. Well Akshita did bring loads of luck for me professionally. I got my Visa stamped after she was born especially when there were so may rejections happening around. Before I was asked to fly, I had to make Akshu's passport ready as well. To get your kids passport, either of the parents should have their spouse's name included in the passport. I should have done this right after marriage. I didnt :( TCS taking over as a passport issuing authority from government (passport seva kendra) made rules more strict, so I had to make a lot of documents ready as well. Btw even though rules are strict, process is more streamlined now and more online based, like booking appointments and tracking your passport etc. You get your new passport at max by 5 days. So once my passport was in hands, I had to apply passport for Akshu. Here are some lessons I learnt in the process of getting a passport:
So, finally the day arrived, March 3rd 2012, when I was asked to travel to USA for work. Working in US was one of my long lasting wishes and there couldn't be a better time than this when Akshu and Vrunda are along my side. On the other hand, we also knew that it was going to be tough with the new environment for Akshu, how we will manage with her and stuff. Still we were confident to pull it off. The real journey starts like this.
March 3rd 2012, 4 am - After the baggage checks and bye-bye's to dad, mom and relatives, we got our boarding passes. Flying in an international plane is a long haul, and a long time to have a tired child on your lap. So if you are travelling by international flights for the first time with baby, be sure to request for BASSINET for your child to lie down. We were thinking how Akshita would sleep nicely in this box and not trouble us much. So, as expected we were in for a ride :O
My wife had already prepared a checklist of things to carry for a long journey :D
Takeoff & Journey
Babies and young children do not know how to clear their ears to reduce the pressure during takeoff and landing. Unless your child is asleep, you need to help them with that. For older children, gum is a good aid. For babies, nursing, a bottle, or a pacifier would work. In addition to helping with ear pressure, milk also acts as a mild sedative, so feeding your child can set the stage for drifting off to sleep. General thought is that young babies often sleep well in flight with the motion of the plane and the engine noise providing a very soothing environment. It wasn't in case of Akshita though. She hardly slept for an hour in the bassinet. Then she wanted to get down from the seat and crawl. :D Not to mention she cried a lot when she was sleepy but couldn't sleep. She wasnt the baby who would keep quite when we roam around carrying her in the plane. She is someone who likes to be set free.
Food: We carried milk and boiled apple for the journey. She mostly drank milk and had apple. My wife believed in introducing fruits for Akshita at a very early age. Hence she has been eating boiled apple right from month 4.Surely it gives a lot of resistance to babies.Even today Akshita takes an apple everyday. Dont expect to get whole milk from the flight attendants. It is going to be thin low fat milk, but for babies it wouldn't matter.
If you don't have a stroller/back carrier for toddlers,I recommend the one shown below. Disney stroller provides very good value for money. Also some of airlines provide the strollers (depending on the airline).
We felt the difficulty to carry Akshita always in hands between terminals and across the airports. It would have been incredibly easy for us if only we had a stroller.
After nearly 24 hours of journey, we arrived at Cincinnati, the 3rd new place for Akshita in less than 8 months :-)
Fortunately, I had my friends already staying in the same apartment, so we didnt hface much troubles in settling down. After a few days of jet lag, routine got back on track.
Next on the pipeline for us was to crack the followings for Akshita:
Vrunda was very particular of introducing solid food apart from milk for Akshita from her early age.It is good to introduce different food to babies at an early age because, once they are aware of the things, it becomes difficult to make them eat. So she started with home made solid food (Recipe: Ghee roast rice and moong daal, make a powder of both in mixer and pressure cook the same by adding water to it and serve it to your baby. Slowly you can vegetables in small amount.) from 4th month. Slowly Akshita started to eat boiled apple, dal rice, boiled vegetables grind to paste in grinder. Vrunda continued to give these food items to her during the course of a day. We got to know about Gerber food (similar to Farex in India). Akshita liked all the variants from oats,wheat to mixed grains. Hence she started to consume Gerber food along with milk. From the past few months, she has picked up on the flavored yogurt too (strawberry being her favorite).
What if my child is a picky eater?
Many babies are picky eaters. Being picky about food is a normal behavior for many babies. There may be times when your child wants to eat a particular food again and again for a while, and then not want to eat it at all. Offer your child a variety of nutritious foods and let him or her choose what to eat. You may want to serve something you know your child likes along with another new nutritious food. Don’t force your child to taste new foods. You may need to offer a new food several times before your child tries it.
You may need to be flexible with the meals you prepare to make sure your child gets a balanced diet.Try giving your child all kinds of home made food ( except dairy stuff) until they are one year old. Here is a website in which you can find all kinds of home made recipes :
http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/
Following is the list of foods that Vrunda has tried successfully for Akshita:
Vrunda, like everyone had this simple logic of trying different food for Akshita because you never know until you try.
Note : There were times when we faced problems about Akshita's eating. I was even wondering that she had become adamant. These were worrying times for me and Vrunda, especially after she turned one. We thought she would be fine after few days, but still she resisted. Akshita would shake her head saying "No no" and run. Then one day Vrunda told me its high time we shoutake her to doctor. When we checked with the doctor, Akshita was diagnosed for strep throat.He cleared our minds saying that she will definitely start eating properly once she is fine. Akshita's appetite came roaring back after a week on medication. Vrunda and myself got some fresh air again :-) Lesson was definitely learnt, if your kid doesn't eat well for few days, its better to get them checked with your pediatrician.
When babies cry always one's thought moves to giving her some food. This is not always true. Babies will be thirsty as well. Water is essential for babies. But how much water should babies drink? Too much water also causes water intoxication.
Infants under 6 months do not need any extra water because they get all the fluid they need from mothers milk. A sip here and there if the baby has hiccups is fine.Also, babies can get a condition called "water intoxication" from drinking too much water to the exclusion of their milk (or if too much water is added when mixing formula), causing a potentially dangerous electrolyte imbalance.
From 6 to 12 months, babies do not need much water but introducing some in a bottle or sippy cup can help them get used to the taste (or lack thereof) and consistency of the liquid. Limiting water to about 2 to 4 ounces per day is the typical recommendation as babies make the transition from all-liquid diet to one involving solids, although some babies may benefit from closer to 6 to 8 ounces per day.
After 12 months of age, a good rule of thumb is to offer milk with meals and water at most other times for thirst. This practice ensures that babies get enough calcium as well as fluids in general. Keep in mind that we get about 20 percent of our fluid requirements from foods so it's not necessary for babies (or most adults, for that matter) to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
Unlike India where we can take kids to the balcony to show trees,birds, kids playing outside to divert them to eat, Cincinnati being silent place, we dint have such options. Hence we used laptop as the source of entertainment. So, to divert Akshita while eating we came across a channel named "Hooplakidz" on Youtube. Akshita's very first rhyme " Wheels on the bus go round and round" was an instant hit. Infact we even shot a video to catch Akshu's reactions. This was when she was 9 months old. From there on she has been listening to so many rhymes on YouTube.Now she has come to a point of singing along few words in the rhymes :-). Also she wont eat anything without her rhymes. So when we travel, we ensure to carry our laptoo/ tablet. Here are few channels she watches on Youtube :
With the help of my friends here , we got an appointment with "Pediatric associates" and an Indian doctor too. So communication became easier. After the first checkup, we realized that the injection shots differ from that in the US and India. Link below details the vaccination schedule followed here in the US.
http://www.pediatricassociates.us/pdfs/IZSchedule_Childhood.pdf
Akshita should have been relieved that she didn't have to get her shot as soon as we entered into the clinic very first time. :-) Akshita got most of her injections back in India. She has been to the clinic several times now. Every time Akshita cries from the beginning the nurse takes her stethoscope until the entire check up and injection shots are over. Like every other kid, she knows so much about doctors now that even if we go to visit doctors these days for ourselves she thinks she is going to be examined and starts crying out loud and weeps "come come come... " :D
Milestones
Flip: Once your baby has head control, she'll learn to roll over. She'll eventually learn to flip over from her back to her tummy and vice versa, and she'll use her new found skill to get around a bit. Most babies flip over between month 4 to 6.
Crawling: Crawling is your baby's first method of getting around efficiently on her own. Most babies learn to crawl between the ages of 7 to 10 months. Your baby may opt for another method of locomotion around this time – like bottom shuffling (scooting around on her bottom, using a hand behind and a foot in front to propel herself), slithering on her stomach, or rolling across the room.
Don't worry about her style – it's getting mobile that's important, no matter how your baby does it. Your baby will likely start crawling soon after she's able to sit well without support. Her arm, leg, and back muscles are strong enough to keep her from falling on the floor when she gets up on her hands and knees.
Next?
After your baby has mastered crawling, the only thing between her and complete mobility is learning to walk. To that end, she'll soon begin pulling herself up on everything she can reach, whether it's the coffee table or mamma's leg. Once she gets the feel of balancing on her legs, she'll be ready to stand on her own and cruise while holding on to furniture. Usually by 10 to 18 months babies begin to walk.
Babies develop skills using different methods and different timetables. But if your child hasn't shown an interest in getting mobile by some means (whether it's creeping, crawling, rolling, or scooting), figured out how to move her arms and legs together in a coordinated motion, or learned to use both arms and both legs equally by the time she's a year old, bring it up at her next doctor's appointment. Keep in mind that premature babies may reach this and other milestones several months later than their peers.
If you guys have a lot of furniture, its going to be difficult during these months.Its better to move all the furniture specially the ones which have sharp corners away from babies.If you have tables which cannot be moved, try protecting the corners with spongy protectors. These are available in Amazon, Ikea, Kohls and Toysrus.
Diapers
You'll be a lot busier changing diapers when your child is a newborn than when they turn toddler.Fortunately, by the time your little one is a toddler, diaper rash is usually a thing of the past. There are two reasons for that.
First, a toddler's skin is usually less sensitive than a newborn's, so they're generally less bothered by dampness against their bottom. Second, toddlers just don't experience dampness against their bottom as often.They’re standing upright and moving around, so toddlers are generally in less close contact with their diaper than a baby is.
Newborns and babies grow out of diapers more quickly than toddlers. Though you'll go up in diaper sizes as your little one grows, you’ll often find in the toddler years that they'll be wearing the same size diaper for a longer time because they're just not growing as fast.
We have tried many brands of diapers for toddler size, pampers cruisers being among the worst. Diaper from " Simply Right" worked for us. Never ever leaks and you get value for money as well.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/simply-right-premium-diapers-size-3-16-28-lbs-228-ct/prod3830064.ip
Remember to check for diaper every 6 hours, earlier in winters :D
Baby talk at 6 months. At 6 months, your baby begins
babbling with different sounds. For example, your baby may say "da-da." By the end of the sixth or seventh month, babies respond to
their own names, recognize their native language, and use their tone of
voice to tell you they're happy or upset. Some eager parents interpret a
string of "da-da" babbles as their baby's first words -- "daddy!" But
babbling at this age is usually still made up of random syllables
without real meaning or comprehension.
Mothers need to keep themselves fit and take care of their health. Its good for dads :D One fine day Vrunda fell sick and Akshita was hardly a year old. I came home early from office. Vrunda had to take rest hence Akshita didnt eat properly that afternoon. So I had to spoon feed Akshita that day. I must admit it was very difficult. I had to dance, make her laugh to eat at least 80% of the food. I felt really good when Akshita ate. Oof!! I understood how difficult it is to raise a kid.
Its good that these days men are used to cooking, helping women in kitchen, thanks to their living abroad experiences. So all Dads ensure that your wife takes adequate breaks in between, coz motherhood can literally drain their energy. To be very frank i don't help Vrunda as often as it is required. I realize I have to do something only when she is completely drained out and tired.
"Cow-u cow-u holi cow-u, Please give me milk now-u
Dont-u drink-u soup-u boys-u, give me milk now-uuuu
Why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di"
Man : Hey sweety, how are you doing?
Woman : Am good just tied up fully, you know why :-)
Man: haha , i can understand. Hey, did you listen to this song "cow-u cow-u holi cow-u,i want u here now-u"
Woman: ???? What is that?? Which movie??
Man: Gossh it has rocked the world now.Sung by Dhanush..upcoming movie.
Woman: Is it? I dint know that..
Man: hehe , all you have been listening to is "uaaah uaaah uaaah uaaah", all these days :D
Woman : Very funny :P
Beep!! :) Guys you cant listen to the conversation any longer as i have muted the phone line :O
The above conversation was between myself and Vrunda back in Nov,2011. You can imagine how she was fully tied up with Akshita,she wasnt able to log onto the internet often those days.Akshita as expected was getting too dependent on Vrunda :) Am sure many mothers will agree here :)
Well for me , i was just counting days, as Vrunda and Akshita were going to be back to Chennai on Nov 27th.It was going to be a big day for me, not sure how Akshita will react seeing me, as i hadnt spent much time with her. I used to travel to Pune monthly once all this while. Go there, spend 2 or 3 days time with her, click loads of pictures and videos of her and come back and keep looking at them whenever I am feeling bored. :)
How will Akshu react ?? First time she is going to travel in flight. Will she trouble Vrunda too much ? Will she smile at me or cry.. How will she react to the new people around her, weather...etc..:) So many things were running in my mind.
After a little while ,yipeee i saw Vrunda ( little more chubbier :D) from a certain distance. She was bringing huge pile up of luggage on the cart. Akshita was sleeping on Vrunda's Mom's arms.I just ran, security stopped me from entering, I said 'Sir my wife is coming there with a lot of luggage and I need to help them (in my broken Hinglish :D )'. Security looked at me from top to bottom once (by looking at the amount of hair on my face, probably he would have thought "Does child marriage still exist in India? ") :D I didnt care much though. Just ran towards her and started to say "Vrunda, Na unne virumbala , nee azhaga irukenu nenakala, aana ithelam nadanthidumbonnu bayama iruku "(the famous dialog from alaipayuthe). Vrunda started blushing :D
Just when Dad carried Akshita, she woke up. For some reason Akshita was staring at me till we reached home. Probably she wasnt sure how to react, cry or smile. My mom would have called atleast 5 times to know whether we are on the way and flight had arrived on time.
Taxi just zoomed pass the water-logged streets in Chennai. You can expect how the weather is down here during November and December. Our well constructed and maintained drainage systems are also of great help. :D
Time had started to fly very fast. Each time I come from office, Akshu is playing with Vrunda and when she sees me, she gets this big smile on her face and starts kicking in the air showing signs of happiness. My entire office stress goes for a toss. :):)
- Don't believe what agents say? Download the instructions booklet from seva kendra website for the list of supporting documents required.
- Getting an appointment online for passport is very difficult, as the time window for booking appointments is very less and the website is very slow. So better use a very high speed broadband to block appointments.
- Unless and until it is urgent, don't go for Tatkal mode, you can save some money. Normal mode gets you the passport just in 5 days (police verification post issue of passport). Once you receive the passport, wait for 15 days. Still you are not verified? Call the local police station and get it done.
- For minors, you get passports in a day (no police verification necessary).
So, finally the day arrived, March 3rd 2012, when I was asked to travel to USA for work. Working in US was one of my long lasting wishes and there couldn't be a better time than this when Akshu and Vrunda are along my side. On the other hand, we also knew that it was going to be tough with the new environment for Akshu, how we will manage with her and stuff. Still we were confident to pull it off. The real journey starts like this.March 3rd 2012, 4 am - After the baggage checks and bye-bye's to dad, mom and relatives, we got our boarding passes. Flying in an international plane is a long haul, and a long time to have a tired child on your lap. So if you are travelling by international flights for the first time with baby, be sure to request for BASSINET for your child to lie down. We were thinking how Akshita would sleep nicely in this box and not trouble us much. So, as expected we were in for a ride :O
My wife had already prepared a checklist of things to carry for a long journey :D
- Diapers, Tissues, extra clothes
- Milk/baby food/Snacks (it depends on the airline you travel, most of them allow)
- Comforters for babies to sleep.
Takeoff & Journey
Babies and young children do not know how to clear their ears to reduce the pressure during takeoff and landing. Unless your child is asleep, you need to help them with that. For older children, gum is a good aid. For babies, nursing, a bottle, or a pacifier would work. In addition to helping with ear pressure, milk also acts as a mild sedative, so feeding your child can set the stage for drifting off to sleep. General thought is that young babies often sleep well in flight with the motion of the plane and the engine noise providing a very soothing environment. It wasn't in case of Akshita though. She hardly slept for an hour in the bassinet. Then she wanted to get down from the seat and crawl. :D Not to mention she cried a lot when she was sleepy but couldn't sleep. She wasnt the baby who would keep quite when we roam around carrying her in the plane. She is someone who likes to be set free.
If you don't have a stroller/back carrier for toddlers,I recommend the one shown below. Disney stroller provides very good value for money. Also some of airlines provide the strollers (depending on the airline).
We felt the difficulty to carry Akshita always in hands between terminals and across the airports. It would have been incredibly easy for us if only we had a stroller.
After nearly 24 hours of journey, we arrived at Cincinnati, the 3rd new place for Akshita in less than 8 months :-)
Fortunately, I had my friends already staying in the same apartment, so we didnt hface much troubles in settling down. After a few days of jet lag, routine got back on track.
Next on the pipeline for us was to crack the followings for Akshita:
- Food
- Finding good diapers
- Finding a good doctor ( she was due for an injection as per Indian schedule).
What if my child is a picky eater?
Many babies are picky eaters. Being picky about food is a normal behavior for many babies. There may be times when your child wants to eat a particular food again and again for a while, and then not want to eat it at all. Offer your child a variety of nutritious foods and let him or her choose what to eat. You may want to serve something you know your child likes along with another new nutritious food. Don’t force your child to taste new foods. You may need to offer a new food several times before your child tries it.
http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/
Following is the list of foods that Vrunda has tried successfully for Akshita:
- Rice - With Dal, Sambhar, Rasam adding any vegetable.
- Chapati/Puri - Grinded using Mixer, with Milk and any vegetable.
- Chick peas,paneer, mutter based curries..
- Idli, Dosa
- Rava/Vermicelli Upma
- Rava/Vermicelli Kheer
- Fruits - Apple,Banana,Strawberry,Muskmelon, water melon.
- Pasta (made of wheat with any Ragu Sauce with grated Cheese.
- Mild spice chicken.
Vrunda, like everyone had this simple logic of trying different food for Akshita because you never know until you try.
Note : There were times when we faced problems about Akshita's eating. I was even wondering that she had become adamant. These were worrying times for me and Vrunda, especially after she turned one. We thought she would be fine after few days, but still she resisted. Akshita would shake her head saying "No no" and run. Then one day Vrunda told me its high time we shoutake her to doctor. When we checked with the doctor, Akshita was diagnosed for strep throat.He cleared our minds saying that she will definitely start eating properly once she is fine. Akshita's appetite came roaring back after a week on medication. Vrunda and myself got some fresh air again :-) Lesson was definitely learnt, if your kid doesn't eat well for few days, its better to get them checked with your pediatrician.
When babies cry always one's thought moves to giving her some food. This is not always true. Babies will be thirsty as well. Water is essential for babies. But how much water should babies drink? Too much water also causes water intoxication.
Infants under 6 months do not need any extra water because they get all the fluid they need from mothers milk. A sip here and there if the baby has hiccups is fine.Also, babies can get a condition called "water intoxication" from drinking too much water to the exclusion of their milk (or if too much water is added when mixing formula), causing a potentially dangerous electrolyte imbalance.
From 6 to 12 months, babies do not need much water but introducing some in a bottle or sippy cup can help them get used to the taste (or lack thereof) and consistency of the liquid. Limiting water to about 2 to 4 ounces per day is the typical recommendation as babies make the transition from all-liquid diet to one involving solids, although some babies may benefit from closer to 6 to 8 ounces per day.
After 12 months of age, a good rule of thumb is to offer milk with meals and water at most other times for thirst. This practice ensures that babies get enough calcium as well as fluids in general. Keep in mind that we get about 20 percent of our fluid requirements from foods so it's not necessary for babies (or most adults, for that matter) to drink 8 glasses of water a day.
- Hooplakdiz
- Muffin songs
- KidsTV123
- SuperSimpleSongs
- MotherGooseClub
- KidsCamp
- DreamEnglishKids
- Rajshri
- CyberVillageSolution - English,Desi Rhymes in 3D :)
- Appu series
- Mickey Mouse Club House
With the help of my friends here , we got an appointment with "Pediatric associates" and an Indian doctor too. So communication became easier. After the first checkup, we realized that the injection shots differ from that in the US and India. Link below details the vaccination schedule followed here in the US.
http://www.pediatricassociates.us/pdfs/IZSchedule_Childhood.pdf
Akshita should have been relieved that she didn't have to get her shot as soon as we entered into the clinic very first time. :-) Akshita got most of her injections back in India. She has been to the clinic several times now. Every time Akshita cries from the beginning the nurse takes her stethoscope until the entire check up and injection shots are over. Like every other kid, she knows so much about doctors now that even if we go to visit doctors these days for ourselves she thinks she is going to be examined and starts crying out loud and weeps "come come come... " :D
Milestones
Flip: Once your baby has head control, she'll learn to roll over. She'll eventually learn to flip over from her back to her tummy and vice versa, and she'll use her new found skill to get around a bit. Most babies flip over between month 4 to 6.
Don't worry about her style – it's getting mobile that's important, no matter how your baby does it. Your baby will likely start crawling soon after she's able to sit well without support. Her arm, leg, and back muscles are strong enough to keep her from falling on the floor when she gets up on her hands and knees.
Next?
Babies develop skills using different methods and different timetables. But if your child hasn't shown an interest in getting mobile by some means (whether it's creeping, crawling, rolling, or scooting), figured out how to move her arms and legs together in a coordinated motion, or learned to use both arms and both legs equally by the time she's a year old, bring it up at her next doctor's appointment. Keep in mind that premature babies may reach this and other milestones several months later than their peers.
If you guys have a lot of furniture, its going to be difficult during these months.Its better to move all the furniture specially the ones which have sharp corners away from babies.If you have tables which cannot be moved, try protecting the corners with spongy protectors. These are available in Amazon, Ikea, Kohls and Toysrus.
Diapers
You'll be a lot busier changing diapers when your child is a newborn than when they turn toddler.Fortunately, by the time your little one is a toddler, diaper rash is usually a thing of the past. There are two reasons for that.
First, a toddler's skin is usually less sensitive than a newborn's, so they're generally less bothered by dampness against their bottom. Second, toddlers just don't experience dampness against their bottom as often.They’re standing upright and moving around, so toddlers are generally in less close contact with their diaper than a baby is.
Newborns and babies grow out of diapers more quickly than toddlers. Though you'll go up in diaper sizes as your little one grows, you’ll often find in the toddler years that they'll be wearing the same size diaper for a longer time because they're just not growing as fast.
We have tried many brands of diapers for toddler size, pampers cruisers being among the worst. Diaper from " Simply Right" worked for us. Never ever leaks and you get value for money as well.
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/simply-right-premium-diapers-size-3-16-28-lbs-228-ct/prod3830064.ip
Remember to check for diaper every 6 hours, earlier in winters :D
- Baby talk at 9 months. After 9 months, babies can understand a few basic words like "no" and "bye-bye." They also may begin to use a wider range of consonant sounds and tones of voice.
- Baby talk at 12 months. Most babies say a few simple words like "mama" and "dadda" by the end of 12 months -- and now know what they're saying. They respond to -- or at least understand, if not obey -- your short, one-step requests such as, "Please put that down."
- Baby talk at 18 months. Babies at this age say up to 10 simple words and can point to people, objects, and body parts you name for them. They repeat words or sounds they hear you say, like the last word in a sentence. But they often leave off endings or beginnings of words. For example, they may say "daw" for "dog".
Because we hadn't been anywhere for a long holiday for initial months and recent debacle at Newport aquarium with Akshita, we had decided not to travel at all for next few months. Also we couldn't blame Akshita as she had just turned one. But Christmas was close by and there were lot of holidays in the pipeline. So we gave ourselves a chance.Considering weather and to engage Akshita enough, Florida was the best close by destination we could think of. We had one hell of trip. Here are few useful links which will help everyone for preparing for a trip with babies:
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/e6986/packing-checklist-for-your-baby
http://www.magicalkingdoms.
http://www.babycentre.co.uk/e6986/packing-checklist-for-your-baby
http://www.magicalkingdoms.
Mothers need to keep themselves fit and take care of their health. Its good for dads :D One fine day Vrunda fell sick and Akshita was hardly a year old. I came home early from office. Vrunda had to take rest hence Akshita didnt eat properly that afternoon. So I had to spoon feed Akshita that day. I must admit it was very difficult. I had to dance, make her laugh to eat at least 80% of the food. I felt really good when Akshita ate. Oof!! I understood how difficult it is to raise a kid.
Its good that these days men are used to cooking, helping women in kitchen, thanks to their living abroad experiences. So all Dads ensure that your wife takes adequate breaks in between, coz motherhood can literally drain their energy. To be very frank i don't help Vrunda as often as it is required. I realize I have to do something only when she is completely drained out and tired.
"Cow-u cow-u holi cow-u, Please give me milk now-u
Dont-u drink-u soup-u boys-u, give me milk now-uuuu
Why this kolaveri kolaveri kolaveri di"
Oooppss...now its Akshita's turn to watch her own version of Why this Kolveri by Sonu nigam's son on YouTube and shake her head with the rhythm :-D
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