Day 4 - Words, sounds, and actions

When I met our ped last month for another ear infection on the son's right ear, she mentioned that back-to-back ear infections could cause hearing issues and speech delays. I took the opportunity to discuss his milestones with her, and was relieved when she told me he is WAY above average.

His milestones have gotten very little attention on the blog. So time to fix that :).

Next week, my little man turns 16 month old. We will see an explosion of vocabulary around 18 months of age, but he talks A LOT already.

His first word, apart from mama, papa, dada, and nana was "light". He was, and still is, mesmerized with lights. He LOVED watching the Christmas lights at home and all around town. Department stores attract him a lot, so does the iPhone which is his favorite gadget :).

He can now say "didi" very clearly....and its fun to watch him chase her around chanting "didi didi didi" - music to our ears, but not to hers :) :)!

Some of the other words he says are:

NO - probably the most important one of all
No No No No No - with actions - the frequently used one
aapo  - gujarati for give me
aav aav - gujarati for come here
doodhoo - gujarati for milk
aaaanu - for our friend A
nani, dadi - for grandmas
key
aalo - for hello :)
booooooo - for book - the cutest thing ever.
bhua - for water
aaaaple - for apple
cat
tar - for star
moooooo - for moon - another adorable sound
boa - for ball
bub - for bubbles
khakho - for any snack or food or to tell us he is hungry
tight - for light
cheeee - for cheese
Names of ALL of his daycare friends - he can even say a complex one like "Dhruva"

And I'm sure I'm forgetting as many as I wrote above. But he is definitely not delayed, inspite of the multiple ear infections he has had.

He is also building a good database of animal sounds. He can say the following when prompted: cat, dog, cow, sheep, snake, lion/tiger, bear, owl and elephant. They are clear, and distinct, and oober cute to listen to :).

And my favorite part about him right now is all the actions he does. The BEST are his dance moves - he dances to the beat, shakes his head, throws up one hand (sometimes two) up in the air and goes round n round.....he gets into a trance and it's a joy to watch him do his thing on the floor.

One day, he woke up very early in the morning, and got into a position on the bed quite far away from me. He started his 'mumma mumma' chants, and I was a very grumpy person when I opened my eyes. But as soon as I looked at him, I saw him crouched down on the bed, looking at me, and he started waving his hands while saying "aav aav aav aav aav". I saw a huge relief on his face and a megawatt smile soon after - he had accomplished a new feat afterall. All my grumpiness melted in an instant and I scooped him up in my arms!

When we say "didi ne hug karo", he will RUN towards her and hug her tight, wrapping both his arms around her. Absolutely priceless to watch. (She does the same to him too - when she is not throwing her tantrums around :)).

It is very interesting to see his personality develop. He is a mover (can never sit still), a destroyer (of blocks, puzzles, books, anything that he can lay his hands upon), a transportation engineer (he loves to move and push things around), a dancer (he's got great moves), and a heart charmer (he has the BESTEST smile).

He has fallen in love with books (finally, after an entire year of not reading) and can't get enough of them. The first thing he wants to do after waking up is to plop his bum on my lap and read a book. I never say no :).

It's a blessing and a privilege, to watch him grow. I love my golu SO SO much!

Rusham!

The much-awaited surprise has finally arrived! Meet Rusham, my son :)!

Rusham is pronounced as "Ru-shum" - it's a hindu name and it means 'peaceful'. So far, my little man has totally lived up to his name. He brings so much serenity into our lives. All the anxiety and worry that I was experiencing in the past few weeks has disappeared. I love hugging him, kissing him, cuddling him, taking in all his newborn smell, and just gazing at him while he sleeps.... occasionally flashing that dazzling smile which can never be captured by the camera!

Even though I did not know for 9 months whether I was having a son or daughter, it feels I knew him all along. To experience a baby inside of you - moving when you sing or pat your belly, nudging you with his arms and kicking you with his legs, hiccuping, waking up suddenly when you drink something cold or sugary - it's something that is best experienced rather than being described in words. The mother already has a strong relationship established with the baby, even before birth...and it does not matter to her whether she knows the sex of her child or not.

I had a very painful labor - as long as my labor with my daughter - and this time around, with my doula's help, I went through it without epidural. An hour before birth, to help me wait for the doctor coz she was busy delivering another baby, I took a little bit of pain medication which provided relief for about 45 minutes....and by the time its effect wore off, I was ready to push the baby out. It was a day when hospital rooms were full (I was told to wait a couple of hours at home so that I would not have to wait in the hospital lobby) and the OB/GYN was sooper busy. In contrast, when my daughter was born, I was the only patient in the entire maternity ward.

Inspite of the 25+ hours of painful labor, I enjoyed this birth experience thoroughly. I knew what to expect, I was mentally prepared, I had my doula to help me push through, and I had my regular OB/GYN on call that day to deliver my baby. As soon as he was born, they laid him on my chest, and I held on to him (skin-to-skin) for a couple of hours, before they took him to do his first bath and check his vital signs. The moment when you first look at your baby is magical.....it feels out of this world (even though just moments ago all you could think of is the acute pain).

Rusham shares his birthday with my late grandma. She was my only grandparent that was alive since I was born. She lived with us for 20 years. While growing up, I shared my bedroom with her. She passed away a month after I came to the US, and I have nothing but fond and precious memories of all the time I spent with her. It feels special that he chose to arrive on her birthday....whenever I see him, I get reminded of 'baa', who I loved a lot.

So now I have a son, and a daughter - I feel immensely grateful and blessed. All I wish is for my children to be happy and healthy. May my ability to love surpass my desire to be loved. I know that there is no one way to be the perfect mother, but there are infinite ways to be a good one - so may I always be able to offer the best I can to my children.

I hope Ruhi and Rusham grow up to become each other's best friends. I hope they find a sense of belonging and security in each other, and a confidence that their bond is stronger than the rest of the world. I hope they always have this feeling in their heart that if everything else goes away.....we'll still have each other.

As for me, I'm just grateful to be their mom.....I love them both gazillion infinite much!