Need your help....

Please pray for both the kiddos. They are sick....yet again. Vomiting, diarrhea, fever......so worried about both of them. They have caught a stomach bug from somewhere...the doc said its going around. We have a couple more weeks before we head back to CA.....and I was hoping they stayed healthy, but it was not meant to happen.

Thank God for mom n dad to be there with me during this time....without their help I would be struggling right now.

Six months

Our son turned 6 months old last week. He is a playful infant now, whose favorite position is to be on his tummy, with his neck perched up & moving 360 degrees while his eyes soak up the world around him. I already miss the newborn stage where all we would do is cuddle, hug, cuddle, hug all through the day.

He LOVES to smile....and giggle, and laugh out loud too. And you can never get enough of a baby's laughter. A couple of days ago, we went to visit a family friend....fairly late at night. I never take the baby with me when I step out, but at night, he does not sleep without me...so we took him with us. We got down from the rickshaw at the entrance of their apartment complex and were walking towards their building....and we passed by many dogs in the complex who were barking loudly. Every bark made the baby so happy that he laughed uncontrollably :) :) :) :) - and every bark made my mom so scared that she clutched my hand and stuck close behind me. Such a stark contrast of feelings!

Our little man loves his milk, and he loves his mangoes. All his chubbiness comes from these two things. Apart from that, he has tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, bananas, peas and squash so far. I can clearly tell from his facial expressions that he hates all of these foods I have listed. But milk and mangoes - he can't get enough of. He's just like his mumma and his sister in this aspect. I am spending the month of March in India for the first time in 13 years. The mango season is going on in full swing and I am thoroughly savoring my favorite fruit in the world every.single.day!!!!

The other day, my dad was holding him, and he said "mum"! We can call that his first word. The daughter's first word was also "mum", and for the longest time, she used to call me "mum mum". These babies are born genuises - I tell you - they know their mumma provides food and they recognize us only from the smell of their liquid gold....hence "mum or mum mum" is so apt! Apart from that, there is a lot of cooing and really loud screaming (especially when he sees his sister) that we can hear all day from him.

On milestones, the little guy is right on track. He first rolled over at 3 months, then stopped due to illness and travel and change in environment, but at 4.5 months, he was rolling over non-stop. He now rolls over from back-to-tummy and tummy-to-back. He can sit up by himself at 6 months and is grabbing/reaching for things.....his favorite being my iphone which he will either grab or hit so hard that it falls down hard on the floor every time I am not paying enough attention. I imagine him crawling soon - and that is the stage that I enjoy the most during their first year. Between sitting up and walking, the crawling stage passes like a fleeting wave. Recently, I was watching a few videos of the daughter crawling sooper fast in our home and was feeling so nostalgic. I miss her being so little!

Just like his sister, he LOVES music. A lot of times...I put a playlist on Pandora or Saavn and leave my iphone next to him on the bed with a few toys. He will listen to it and play for a long time by himself. The moment the music stops or is interrupted by Internet connectivity, he starts crying. He also loves the mozart tunes that play in his crib mobile. I can't wait to get both the kids started on music and piano lessons - I made my sister learn 6+ years of classical music (and yes, she sings very well) because my parents could not afford to send me when I was young....and I definitely would want my kids to learn it too. If it works out, hubby and I will also take singing (for hubby coz he already sings extremely well) and piano (for me) lessons along with the children....and we will be one loud rhythmic musical family!

His sister now adores him, but is still sooper jealous, and possessive about toys, etc. She will not share any toy with him, and snatches away any toy that he is playing with. Same with books - she does not mind us reading books to both of them, but if we are reading alone to him, she will come and snatch the book. She is going through a lot herself - she gave up her milk bottle, gave up wearing diapers and is now fully potty trained (even for naps, bedtime with just an occasional accident), and took some time to adjust to Indian life but has gelled in beautifully - a lot of changes have been going on for her since her brother entered our lives....so we are very patient with her. Sometimes I wish she was older so that she would be more loving and caring and sharing with him, but I'm happy with what we've got.

What's so different about the first six months of my son vs the first six months of my daughter is the anxiety - Mainly related to feeding. The daughter was very skinny, and I used to worry A LOT. I must have gone and weighed her more than 20 times. With my son, since he is chubby, I never worry about it. He turned six months old and we have not weighed him yet....we don't need to....I'm pretty confident he is fine. The daughter met all her milestones and did well on charts except her weight. Also being a first time mom, I had a lot of paranoia about other things too. Experience is definitely helping me be more laid back and at peace with his upbringing.

I don't get to hold my son and spend as much one-on-one time with him as I did with my daughter. However, I nurse him full time....so we bond during those sessions. We also co-sleep so I am next to him all night. And when I'm not holding him, he's held and loved and cuddled and hugged either by hubby and family, or our awesome friends and neighbors. We are incredibly blessed and lucky in that respect. There has not been a dirth of warm, loving and caring people around us during this time of our lives.

He has met all his grandparents, visited India, been to the beach, eaten Indian Alphonso/Kesar mangoes, and has worn lovely outfits gifted to him by so many people. His dad and I have read many many books to him. And I bought more than 100 books from India (in English, Gujarati and Hindi) during this trip....can't wait to read them ALL to the kids!

I'm sure I am missing out on listing a ton of interesting stuff here....but this post is already long.....so now onto some pictures :):

Since the day he was born, I wanted to dress him up as a girl....finally fulfilled my desire :).....

Dressed him up in a kurta-pajama on his six month birthday.....

Enjoying his mangoes....

And at 6 months old, sitting up by himself.....

He had a very sick period from 3 months to 6 months - he probably caught the flu in US which weakened his whole immune system and made him fall sick couple more times...hope he stays healthy now and gets a chance to boost his immunity....I am also trying to do my best by feeding him 100% breastmilk and no formula from my end. Please pray for him from your end too!

The Indian vacation continues....

And I am soaking it all in.....

We spent most of February with hubby and his family in Mumbai. The baby was sick when we reached there, but after a few days he got better. At the airport, the daughter was expecting her daddy.....but when she saw him, she could not believe that he was really standing there, in front of her. She was so shy, but when he picked her up and hugged her, she showered him with lots of kisses and love :). At home, our son greeted his grandma by peeing on her clothes (his diaper leaked) as soon as she picked him up :).

We had a wonderful time in Mumbai. The daughter spent almost every minute with her daddy. Husband's elder brother also came over from Europe to spend time with all of us. We visited malls, the beach (the warm waters of the Arabian sea at Juhu beach were so inviting - the daughter spent two hours playing and didn't want to leave), the marketplace, and many parks. The daughter accompanied her dad on his dentist visits, and I'm told she was very well behaved. We are lucky to live in a clean and developed area of the city (Powai) so we made the most of our time out there. I had a Starbucks after a long time, and totally enjoyed it. We also met family who is in town, and the daughter particularly hit it off with my nephew who is as naughty as her.

We also relished some yummy Alphonso's to mark the start of the 2013 mango season in India! Both the kids can't get enough of them everyday.

Back in Ahmedabad here, both the kids were so so happy to see their nani-nana. They missed them a lot. Even the baby was jumping with joy when my mum held him. Mom n dad had kept the house ready for us with so many goodies - I felt I was given the welcome of a princess when I got back. Hubby spent a couple of days with us, and in that short time, we managed a few visits to the relatives houses, two temple visits, and I took him on my scooter to eat dabeli, vada paav, pav bhaji, pani puri, sugarcane juice, etc. He totally relished all the street food, and I sat next to him watching him gobble up all that stuff. I didn't eat anything coz I fall sick way too easily.

The daughter has also been reunited with all her friends here. She missed them a lot when she was in Mumbai.

Today morning, I was lucky to be able to watch both the kids wake up in the morning - one after the other. It was a amazing feeling for me to experience it and I managed to record a video as well of my son waking up.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, there's difficulties and hardships here. But internally, I'm just very happy and at peace. And I attribute my happiness largely to the people - both our parents, siblings, relatives, neighbors, house help, etc. Our neighbors routinely feed meals to my daughter....it's one stressful part of my day to feed her three meals, and I hardly have to do it here - such a huge relief. People take her out.....dad always takes her out to run errands. Lots of cousins and aunts and uncles call and check on us. My bapuji comes over daily and spends time with me (he is ~75 yrs and I am very very close to him).

When someone passes away (age of the person does not matter), people drop everything and go for the funeral and last rites. Even if it is in another town, they catch a flight/train/bus/car right away and go.

When there is a happy occasion - like an engagement or a wedding, a house warming or puja, most people make every effort to attend. There's never a dirth of people at the occasion.

I also find people making less excuses when they have to help someone.

Back in the US, it's the people that I miss the most. (and maybe because in India, I am lucky to have a family with whom we are very close and we have really awesome neighbors too). I've had many difficult days here (especially when both kids were sick at the same time) but people dropped by to hold them, hug them, help me in the house, give me advice, take me to doctor, and basically, helped me get through those tough times. They assured me things will be okay, and were there for me....not just virtually (over email or phone) but in person. Everyone is busy here, but they still make time for you. Life is not self-centered. You feel a strong community around you all the time, and it helps you especially when you are at a stage of your life where you need it the most. (like for me, right now, raising young children).

Another thing that I am absolutely cherishing during my break from work is the bonding between my two munchkins. The daughter still won't share her toys with her brother, and will occasionally try to hit him or harm him. But if you ask her whether she loves him, you will hear a resounding "yes". She loves his name so much, that in Mumbai, when people asked her "what is your name" she would say her brother's name :). Every morning, as soon as she wakes up, she will ask about him (if he is not next to her, coz he usually is). They play together a lot. She sings such an awesome lullaby for him in Gujarati....it melts my heart to hear it everyday. She is also very fond of getting pictures clicked with him.

Both of them in matching "moody" t-shirts.....

The big sister imitating her brother.....

Giving him a tight squeeze and kissie on the bean bag....

The daughter keeps telling me that she does not want to go back to America. She loves it here so much. Her conversations have gotten cuter, and I must do a post to share them with all of you....hopefully soon.

Oh, and before I end, I managed to read a few books as well - Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper, Preeti Shenoy's The Secret Wishlist, Sudha Murty's non-fiction books (Wise and Otherwise, The old man and his God, The day I stopped drinking milk), Deepti Naval's The Mad Tibetan, and I've finished 25% of Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow. I LOVED all the books I read. If you want a short review of any of them, please let me know, and I'll do a post.

Internet access is limited here, hence I'm not posting regularly. Once I am back to the states, I will post frequently.

January 2013

This is a panorama of the living room at my mum n dad's place in Ahmedabad. I've been camping here with the kids since early Jan.....and although it has been overwhelming with way too much going on, I have a happy soul within me :).

Wish you all a happy, healthy and blessed 2013.....howz it going so far?

I'm managing okay - it took a ton of effort to pack stuff and get here, and then we had several days of jetlag. The day we landed was very eventful. But it ended beautifully - my BFF who I had not met since 13+ years came over to meet me. She was leaving for UK with her kids the same day I landed....but her flight was at night so she traveled from her hometown a few hours earlier than her departure time and came home to spend time with me. I was very skeptical whether our plan would work, but it did.

The daughter is loving it here. She has made so many friends - her best friend is Sona Aunty who lives right across our home.....she is a mom to two teenagers and my daughter is in love with her. So much, that she told her one day "you are my new mom" - LOL!

The son is a happy chubby-cheeks baby too, but his digestive system is very screwed up. I have had to cut dairy completely from my diet (and being a vegetarian it's pretty rough) to help him get back on track. I personally think that things are improving for him but I can't be sure. However, he is not miserable or cranky so even though as a mom I'm worried and anxious, I'm relieved I'm not dealing with a major critical issue. He's gone through a lot in his 4.5 months of life so far, and I sincerely pray that things become normal for him soon.

My mom has major right knee pain, and she is on painkillers. She is also doing physiotherapy and is meeting a surgeon tomorrow for further consultation. It's worrisome for all of us...but again, it's not terribly critical and we have the medical care we need for her to get better. I hope she starts feeling better soon.

We really enjoyed Uttarayan in Ahmedabad this year. The daughter had a blast. Watching thousands of hot air balloons in the sky was a sight I will remember for a very long time. It is something I experienced for the first time in my life.

Whenever I'm in India, I'm always constantly amazed with how different we live here compared to the US. The milkman comes and delivers the milk every morning here, whereas we buy in gallons in the US. The newspaper gets delivered early in the morning, and even if we have tablets/pc's/smartphones with unlimited internet access, most people prefer starting their day by reading the newspaper while sipping their tea or coffee. We have so many maids - its a full time business to manage them. Every day, there is an issue with some person...either they are sick, or take leave, or don't show up.....or mess up what they are asked to do. But then a solution to any problem encountered during the day is also found readily. Neighbors go to each other's houses without knocking on the door...and yes it's sometimes inconvenient and feels like an intrusion, but most of the times....it's okay. Everyone's lives are so intertwined with each other, and you see a lot of life, in general. In the US, it's just plain boring routine. You become very self centered. There is so much consumerism in the US, so even if you don't want to, you find yourself chasing for material comforts.

My daughter here has hardly played with any toys (the very few we brought) since we got here. There are no classes that I have enrolled her in. I have not yet taken her to any mall, or park, or sightseeing place. Yet she is having a blast. She is always busy. Whenever her papa calls and wants to do FaceTime with her, she is never home. She likes to see him over video chat for a couple of mins and say hello, but then she wants to go "play". People here are so warm, loving and welcoming. They know I'm only here for a short period of time....yet they give me and my kids so much time. My daughter eats so many meals at our neighbors' house. They take her out for ice cream, they take her out for a drive at night if she asks for it. They make mild food even though they routinely eat spicy food so that she can share a meal with them.

Maybe I'm just plain lucky to be surrounded with great folks. Who knows? But I love it here, inspite of all the issues I have to deal with.

Now if I have to work full time, put two kids through schooling here, and manage my own household - I wonder how difficult or easy it would be compared to how I manage in the US. I have never worked in India.....and have always lived with my parents, so I may not have faced much bureaucracy in getting things done, or may not have faced many of the real life challenges that people have to deal with on a daily basis.

But then, I think, just like it's working out right now inspite of the many issues that I have to deal with....it would work out then too.

Hope you all had a fantastic January. I'm looking forward to Feb coz hubby gets here....and I need a breather from managing two kids full time!!!!

Adios 2012!

Wow - the year has almost come to an end (couple of hours left for us here in California)....

It started with us finding out on New Years Day that our daughter was going to have a little brother or sister.....I think we panicked and started worrying more than being overjoyed at first.....after we told our family and friends, we relaxed and eagerly looked forward to our newest addition....

And we were blessed with this little guy - so so precious!

I'm still sick, so making this a short post....but thank you for all those who follow my blog and comment regularly - Ramesh, Agnes, Andrew, Deana, Zeena, Gauri, Sriram (and more).....I write because I enjoy it so much and find it extremely therapeutic....and this blog is not publicized to my family or friends or people on networking sites....but all of you who read and comment are terrific people (with amazing blogs) that I consider my friends in real life. I hope to meet all of you some day. Thank you for your support and love!

This is my 84th published post this year....exactly the same as last year.....I hope to cross the 100 mark in 2013....fingers crossed!

Paulo Coelho wrote yesterday - "2013: the first year of the rest of my life"....here's wishing all of you and your loved ones a happy, healthy and blessed 2013!

Holidays 2012 - a photo post

I've been meaning to post a few pictures from the last couple weeks of fun times we've had, but everyone in the house is sick, especially the baby who is just miserable.....so I could not find the time, until now that is :).

We had a full house over the Christmas break - mum n dad are here, and sister was visiting with her hubby. The daughter loved all the Christmas lights in the neighborhood as well as a couple other places that we took her to. She got wonderful gifts - a train table that we set up for her on Christmas Eve and a personalized big sister book with lots of fun stuff inside.

We also got a family photoshoot done - didn't spend much time at the studio coz the baby was cranky, but it's going to be a while before we are all under one roof again, so I wanted a memory of that.

The daughter fell sick on Christmas eve, and she was very miserable and cranky. But the baby was okay, so we got him dressed up in his Christmas outfit. I clicked some pictures and did a comparison of both their first Christmas outfit pictures :)....ain't they both so cute and precious :)? and don't they look so alike?

At the studio, they were both very un-cooperative....so we only managed a few shots of both of them...none smiling, but memorable nevertheless....

We had lots of fun moments at home. We did shopping, packing, repacking, cooking/baking, a nice dinner outside, and loads of playtime with both the kids. Maasa-Maasi took the daughter out one morning to a new pretend-play place in town...she had so much fun, didn't want to come back.....I think that's where she brought the virus from and got the whole house sick, including herself!

This is the baby doing tummy time on the bed with me....

He then did potty so I had to change him....but before I put his clothes on, I clicked a picture of his chubbiness.....

 The baby is blessed - grandparents entertain him every minute he is awake.....

This is the daughter on her recliner chair.....taking part in the conversations happening at home....she looks so grown up!

And this is her doing the "Sai Baba" pose upon request....

She dressed up to visit the pretend play center with her maasa-maasi, and wanted to wear naani's bindi....

 And this is both of them...listening to Mozart tunes in the crib.....they both find it very calming.....

We clicked a few pictures of the Christmas lights....

The daughter is very much into gymnastics - I can't believe how tall she is....

I caught the son smiling away in his rocker chair a few times....

And I'll end the post here.....there's tons of pictures but I'm totally under the weather today - fever, headache, earache, runny nose, and cough.....and it's so cold outside.....I have not felt this way in quite some time so I will get some much needed rest!

Happy Holidays!

Wishlist Wednesday #3

For details on this series, please click here: http://justamotheroftwo.blogspot.com/2012/12/wishlist-wednesday-number-3.html

Today's prompt is: The one thing I wish everyone would learn is.....

There were a couple of things that popped up in my mind when I read this prompt. The first thing was: "To live in the moment, to live in the present".

Most people brood way too much over their past. And worry way too much about the future. And as a result of these two, they forget to enjoy the present.

After becoming a mom, "living in the present" is the one mantra I remind myself everyday. And I have to thank my children for inspiring me to enjoy the daily moments with them. They are babies right now and won't stay this way for too long.

My daughter will not go to bed without me. All night, she snuggles along my shoulder/arm for comfort and warmth. My son's face lights up when he spots me - from near or far away. While nursing, when he takes breaks, he looks up to me and talks to me with his eyes and smiles. My daughter was the same way when she was his age. It's surreal to experience such a connection with another soul.....I get lost in the moment every single time and nothing else matters.

My own childhood is not documented in the form of thousands of pictures or videos. And my parents don't like to talk much about it either. So, for me, watching my children grow is like getting a chance to grow up once again. It's a lot of effort and requires tons of patience, but the rewards are also unparalleled.

Another thing that popped up after reading the prompt is: "To stop judging others."

The above statement is Parenting Rule #1. Before becoming a parent, I was guilty of judging so many parents. I had opinions on every aspect of parenting, and discussed it freely with my non-parent friends. Now, I rarely do it. There are people who really don't deserve to be parents (seriously), and they still irk me a lot, but most of the times (especially with strangers), I try not to judge. Not only that, I always try to give the benefit of doubt and think positive. For example, a few weeks ago, we were dining at an upscale restaurant. A couple with their baby who was as old as my son was seated right across our table. The lady nursed her baby a little bit, then took out a bottle of milk to feed him more. At the same time, she ordered a glass of wine and was enjoying her drink too. Atleast she nursed before consuming alcohol and I hope she would not nurse again for 2-4 hours until the alcohol is flushed out of her system. I don't know the reasons behind her consumption of alcohol and I left it at that. I forgot about it as soon as I left the place and did not discuss it with anyone else. Before, I would have mentioned it to someone and said something negative about her.

I have started to apply the same principle in all other aspects of my life as well. Combined with the mantra of living in the present, I feel I have made my life a lot less stressful and so much more peaceful. When I go to bed each day, I make a mental note of 3-5 things that made me happy that day. I sleep with those positive thoughts in my mind....I hug and kiss each of my babies....and enter my la-la-land in a happy mood :)!