A very very happy b'day dada, said Richie

As I am sitting and writing this blog early in the morning, my baby is wide awake. He has turned on his tummy and talking to the soft toys, his favourite baby Pooh and a pink teddy bear. :) In between his busy time, he is giving me glances and smiling whenever I turn back and acknowledge him.:) Ok wait, I got to see him. He is crying, maybe tired .........

I am back. He is fast asleep now. I sang some soft nursery rhymes for him. He loves it. He held me close and dozed off to sleep. He wanted “his mama” to be near him. He was feeling sleepy as this is not his usual wake-up time. Now let me tell you why he was awake so early...

Last night, at 11pm, we put off the bedroom lights and he went to sleep after a while. This is his everyday routine. Usually, he sleeps through the night, occasionally waking up for his feeds. He was sleeping away to glory with soft purring. Suddenly, the purring stopped so I looked his way. I saw him staring at me with his one eye open. I thought, maybe he is just dreaming or seeing angels. I told my hubby. When he saw dad, he was wide awake and smiling at him. We were surprised. Otherwise, he doesn’t get up even if there is noise. But yesterday it was different. He knew there was something special going on. And he did not want to miss it. There he was, wide awake, and saying, “Dada, a vedy vedy happy birthday to you”. We saw the clock. It was indeed 12am. OH WOW!! He was the first one to wish dada. What better present could dada have on his b’day?

But, did he really know that? Yesterday, I was telling him about dada’s b’day. But do you think he really understood what I meant? Last night’s event really made me wonder!! He is just over 4 months old now. And as if that was not enough, he woke up early the next morning and gave dada his “wide gummy smile” and kisses. He then was ready at the door (of course, mom was carrying him), saying “ have a nice day dada, see you home soon”. What is going on in their little brains, we will never know. But they are just wonderful to be with.

Time for fun - Sixth week

Richie has started enjoying himself. He is watching nursery rhymes on youtube. Too early right? He has just completed 5 weeks. But kids these days.. You can never know what they are upto.

He looks at the empty ceiling and keeps smiling and telling some stories. God only knows what he imagines and sees there. Maybe Angels!! Have you seen a similar behaviour in your babies? It seems that babies are very much tuned to their higher self and angels play with them. Maybe true!!

Nowadays he has developed a craze for the air-con. He turns and stares at it whenever it is switched on/off or when it moves. Sometimes he even scolds the air-con by making loud sounds if he feels too hot.. ha ha ha..

He opens his mouth to say something when we tell him stories. He also smiles when we sing the “ABC” song. Maybe he remembers it, as we used to sing it when he was in my tummy.

As for me, I have become more relaxed and enjoying my days with my little baby. He is so adorable and fun to be with. I am happy with his development and his achievements. After all he is taking big leaps starting from nowhere.

Celebrated Richie’s 1st month milestone - Fifth Week

Richie became 1 month old this week. It was a month of mixed emotions for him and me.
We celebrated his 1st month b’day with great pomp. After all he had a cozy time in my womb for 9 months and to adjust to the new life in this BIG new world certainly called for a celebration.

We decorated the house and got a delicious cream cake. You won’ t believe when Richie tasted the cake he could not stop asking for more. ;) He was excited that he was tasting something different than the usual mama’s milk. We clicked a lot of snaps for our collection.

This week Richie had his 1 month checkup. The doctor said that he was gaining weight well and his height and head circumference was average. His neck also was getting stronger and everything was just perfectly fine. Good to hear that!! :)

Milestone: This week Richie held his head high for sometime when I put him on his stomach. Wow!! :) He is also trying some sign language, but we are yet to understand what it means. ;) He shows a great deal of curiosity about his environment by changing his facial expressions to different sounds.

Fourth week – Richie growing up fast

Richie is growing up fast into a cute young boy. His demand for milk is increasing. He cries loudly when he is very hungry. He likes to sleep on his side with his hands over his forehead or sometimes in a ‘W’ position with his head on one side. He gets hiccups 2-3 times a day, same as the way he was getting when he was in my tummy. He stares at new people and seems like he tries to remember new faces. I guess he keeps thinking something as he is always in a thinking position with his hands on his chin. ;)

These days dada also is helping out with nappy changes and taking care of oil massage and bath. GREAT DAD!! Richie enjoys his bath and sleeps during oil massage and in the bath tub. he he he ..cool isn’t it? ;)

I also had a 1 month checkup this week, though a little in advance. The doctor said my uterus was coming back to normal and my body was getting in shape well. There were no concerns whatsoever. :)

This week we had a visitor. The health center volunteer came over as a part of their routine checkups for babies. She gave me lots of tips on caring for a baby. It was very helpful to know what problems other first time moms face and how they tackle them. I realized that all the new moms were in the same boat. Everyone goes through a similar phase and what matters most is the positive outlook in every situation. As we are in a foreign land, it was also very beneficial to know the various facilities provided for child raising in our area.

Third week – Richie adjusting well at home

Richie has started adjusting well at home. He is drinking milk well and takes short naps. The best part is that he turns in the direction of my voice, even when I am not in sight and becomes happy when he sees me. It is such a great feeling that he recognizes his mom's voice.It is just the third week and he has already achieved one milestone. He likes to listen to the rattle and the squeaking toys sounds. He also has a liking for musical toys, specially the one hanging above his bed.

But there are sounds which disturb him a lot. He gets up startled with loud noises, like the vacuum cleaner, mixer, washing machine etc..Even the sound of plastic bags disturbs him. I guess it is good in one way. He is aware of his surroundings and is very alert and shows a great deal of interest in the things happening around him.

He got a little nappy rash and was throwing up a little. He also got a sore throat and was making sounds as if clearing his throat. As I was new to all this I got a little scared. We took him to the doctor. The doctor told us not to worry and gave medicines. Richie was happy to take a ride outside in the fresh air and same with me. :)I had not gone out for the past 2 weeks after coming home from hospital and it was a welcome change.

Second week - Baby's first year of life

Richie and I came home. He is such a sweet lil child, just like an angel. We were given a nice welcome with the place decorated with balloons and “WELCOME HOME ”　wordings. We made his bed and Richie was ready to be tucked up in his bed. But it was all not so easy. It took a while for him to get adjusted to the new surroundings and for me to get use to the new routine. First day first show, Richie got up in the nights for his feed and he would not sleep as he felt gassy. I held him and rocked him for a long time singing lullabies. I really wonder from where mothers get the strength. I used to hardly sleep, but nature makes us so strong that we can withstand anything. We established a routine for him of bath, feed, sleep etc. He used to sleep a lot in the day, waking up every 2-3 hours for feeds. This went on for many days.
The best time was when Richie gave his first smile. I was holding him when he was asleep and when I touched his forehead, he gave a cute smile. It seems little children are so pure that they can God and angels. Maybe he was playing and enjoying with them.:)