life and its ways

I turn another year older and a lot crazier. My son wished me and asked what I wanted for a gift - a jacket, leggings, shirt, or a bag and that made my day. He is 5 years old. In his words, 5 years and 7 months it would be. :-) He said we need to invite people and throw a party and the list consisted of  his friends only.

Well, I wanted to update on what happened next after I landed with a job offer since I am blogging frequently at the rate of one post per year. :-) I got pregnant when my EAD came and did not take up the job offer. What a climax, literally and metaphorically, I mean. We are blessed with another baby, this time, a baby girl and I went to the moon and back. Feel so blessed. I used to think that people who have twins are lucky. Even if they struggle the initial years, the kids grow up and you are free to have your own lives again, but oh, this tenderness you feel all over again, the cuteness of a new born! Can you feel the love in this post?! I am so glad I did not have twins earlier.

Mom is here to help me out, and she makes fun of me that should my daughter marry at my age, I will be with a walking stick. :-) I laugh a lot with her, and fight over the care of the baby too, but I feel blessed for every moment she is here.

(Typed this post in January, but I am publishing it only now after mom has left for India, and the baby is 4 months old. )

and again

The tyres screeched and then a bang! My baby started crying suddenly. i cannot put in words what i felt in that second. Thank God, nothing happened. Well, the car behind us had rear-ended our car. We were at an intersection, stopping at a red signal. With the baby, S is a very careful driver. The other driver apologised profusely, but it has left me a little shaken about taking him out. i wanted to hug him and pacify, but you cannot remove the baby from the car-seat immediately. This might be just the heart of a mother, but the most painful road safety rule in the U.S is not being able to hold your child while you are driving. Yet, i have to thank the car-seat for the safety of my child in that accident. If he was in my arms, he could have been hurt.

We  moved to Illinois at the end of July and S is yet to get his driving license from here. If we report to the police, it goes against the car and the driver that the car has been in an accident no matter whose fault. We were worried that this may hinder S from getting the license and decided not to report, and go via the insurance. i still do not know how to drive (this has been my new year resolution for many years. Darn, i make it like going to mars), and S has been doing all the driving for every small thing. As new parents, we are also struggling with the baby and trying to get to a routine.

i don't know if it is the hormones; after the baby, i have been crying for every small thing. So, let me cry for what could have happened (my baby could have been hurt), what did not happen (o thank God, we are all safe), and what happened (it is our brand new car and we need to change the bumper and some parts).

To release tension, i called up mother-in-law and reported the incident. The conversation went to another direction about God and me not praying enough or offering enough to God as i had been bed-ridden once after an accident. i am spiritual, but not too much into homas and pujas. S was pissed with me for instigating this to the mom-in-law and made me sound like a hypocrite. Going forward, all tension will be released on my blog.

A friend had suggested we go for apple picking this weekend to some place which is an hour's drive from here. i have decided to pick apples from the refrigerator instead.

Mission - bathing the baby

i never knew bathing such a tiny person would take such a long time. The doc told us not to bathe the baby until his cord stump would fall off, and we should give him just a sponge bath, if at all. Baby's hair was not smelling good anymore and S and i were on a mission, 'bathe the baby'. We planned so much, and it was time for execution.
We set the room temperature right and S removed baby's clothes. (It took him forever). Then, we took him to the bathroom. The tubs that are available here has a mesh so that the baby's head would be supported by the tub and water would drip off easily. Ok, if we place the baby on the mesh, then how do we lift the head up? There is no space for that so, the baby has to be held by someone and the other has to bathe because if we pour water directly, it may go inside his ears. We could not decide whether to wash the body first or the head. (So much for planning) and while we were doing this, the baby pooped on S and some fell on the floor. S screamed out, 'do something'. What am i supposed to do! The focus suddenly went from baby to S and the floor. i ran and got some paper towels and wiped the floor. The baby, by this time was crying his lungs out as S has kept him dangling in the air. S handed him over to me and removed his shorts. i was visibly pissed as he had been concentrating on himself. i am his wife and i didn't really care in what state of undress he was, i wanted my baby to have a bath. S also found a towel and wrapped himself. i was so angry by then that my pout was about to reach India. S held him and we started bathing him. Baby was still crying and in that anxiety, i poured more water than required, which wet his ears. S reacted. We threw some unpleasant adjectives at each other. In the twenty minutes, we managed to wash only his hair and legs, and decided to leave the rest. My baby was just about 21 inches then. :-) We promised each other to plan better and also ignore smelly hair for sometime.

Now, it is a thing of the past and i bathe my baby effortlessly. It is fun remembering.

And there is joy

Blessed with a baby boy. After 24 hours of induced labour, i had to go through a C-section to have my little one. Haven't slept in days, and blogging seem too ambitious at this point in time, but i shall keep trying.

A love affair starts, where i will happily sacrifice. Cried the first time i saw and held him. After a trying and painful day, both mental and physical, there is hope when the little bundle sleeps or shows a hint of a smile.

Hang in there

Hang in there, little one. i can hear you. Are you doing the salsa inside to cheer me up and lift my mood, to calm the head that has a never-ending list and forgotten to comb?

It is another 5 days, and 10 things to complete, but i know, i must. The list is made. It is only about striking them off and enjoying the feeling. When i am down, suddenly you kick and let me know that you are bursting with life, and give me reason to stay calm and hope, hope for everything that is beautiful and sweet. Longing to hold the little fingers and forget all pain. So for now, hang in there, little one.