Dude, you amaze me.

Yesterday when we were all having lunch (but of course!) you wanted to hear the song 'Masakali' from the movie Delhi 6. You are of the generation that thinks every cell phone can play music and have display pictures of you! So I got the song going and we all continued to eat a little faster. In a couple of minutes you got busy with trying to get the belt of your high chair. I figured you have no interest in the song anymore and stopped the play of the song. After a few seconds you said "What happened". I was stunned to hear that expression from you and then asked you "Ennathu what happened kanna?" (What happened to what sweetie?). And you said "What happened cell phone"?!!!! Huh? Whew...

Last week, Friday I think we were in what is designated as RK's room, playing. There is a bookshelf there with some soft toys one of which is the character 'Goofy'. DT won this at the arcade games in one of our travels. RK was always a little scared of this Goofy doll and would never touch it though he would willingly point it out. He again looked at me and said 'Goofy irruka' (There is goofy). I said 'Eduthutu vaa' (bring it to me). He actually said..."Bayama irrukku"! (I am afraid!). And I my dear am awed! You totally amaze me.

The cycle of Peek a Boo

I started playing peek a boo with RK when he was around 3-4 months I think. I don't exactly remember. But it sure was about the time when the email from BabyCentre said 'Your child @ 4(or something) months....Try peek a boo with your infant" or something like that.
At first it got a smile. That was the best reward as any mom will attest.
Then it got to where I would say peek a boo (kaanum in Tamil actually) and he would say 'Adho!' (There...I see you) after a second or so.
The next stage was RK hiding behind the curtain or his hands and saying 'RK kaanum'. And this is the stage where RK would play this game a zillion times without getting bored. For those who have been there you know how it is.... :-)
After this peek a boo was used by me as a tool during diaper change/post bath lotion time etc. I would encourage RK to use a towel and play peek a boo since this kept him in place allowing me to put his lotion on, put his diaper on etc. At this stage RK and I also played hide and seek. I would run and hide and ask RK to find me. There were a few suspects in terms of hiding places and RK knew them. Nevertheless the moment I heard the helpless sounding 'amma' I would call out peek a boo giving away my location.
For the last couple of weeks RK would hide his face with his hands peer at me through them and play peek a boo. And even when he said 'I see you' his hands would be on his face sometimes; teasingly. Nevertheless this represented a stage when he knew how to play the game and played it all by himself with me a mere participant. This so contrasted with that initial stage when I played the game and he could only enjoy it!
Yesterday as we were driving to an uncle's house for navarathiri, RK looked at the moon from the window and said 'moon', which is great but not what matters to this post. He then moved his head to the left and said 'moon kaanum' (I cant see the moon) and then moved his head back to the right and said 'adho irrukku moon'. He did this a few times all by himself.
This to me is the cycle of peekaboo. He can now play the game by himself with anything he fancies. My dearest RK, play away with the moon and the stars in the sky. I am so so proud to see you playing this game all by yourself and figuring it out. My heart swells with pride my little one...

Sweet, Cute, Lol, Wonderful... moments

• Saturday morning you were in bed with us (but of course - RK scores are going way high in this arena) when you woke up and said 'Saturday' :-). Do you know it because both mom and dad are relaxed and in no hurry to get out of bed? What gives?
• You are now able to say complete sentences. Earlier it used to be 'amma book' for me to read a book to you. Then it became 'amma book padikkum' (amma book reading) which is a complete sentence! You can always learn to dot your I's and cross your T's in school! :-D And now you say it like 'Amma inga ukkaachi book padikkum' (amma, sit here and read the book!) We are all amazed at you doing this at 18 months. My mom says I was a talker quite early too. Hee hee most who know me can agree. And DT can vouch for that too!
  
• You kept saying what sounded like 'damake'. You are usually good about no baby talk and I know most times you mean something. I then figured it out. You were attempting to say 'Dam laga ke' (a hindi phrase used when trying to push/lift something heavy means use all your might). You had heard me say that to your dad when he was doing a chore around the house! :-)
• You like the song 'Masakali' and demand to either dance when standing on my feet or that I carry you around and dance! Whew!
• I loving call you a bunch of things like 'chella kutti, pattu kutti, thanga kutti' etc. When I ask you 'RK amma vooda?' you will say 'thanganga'. And I say 'amma loves RK' every night before bed. This evening you said 'RK loves amma' (coached by DT - who scores big for this BTW!)
• The other day you asked your grandpa to lie down (taachi), stroked his chin and said 'pattu kutti'. He was bowled over.
• You want your grandpa to sing 'Johnny Johnny' to the tune of what sounds like a classic raaga in Carnatic music.
• Your grandma used to scare your dad into eating/sleeping with tales of 'Maago'. How this 'Maago' will come grab you if you don't etc. When she said that to you for the first time, you listened with rapt attention and then demanded 'Maago' stories only to laugh when she tells them!
  
• You ask to watch 'Tom and Jerry' and are able to smile at the scenes that are funny in a slapstick way. I earlier thought it was because there was a laughter track somewhere that gave you a behaviour idea but no...even your grandpa doesn't laugh out loud or smile. How you comprehend them I have no idea.
  

Of Poo Poo diapers and pee pee diapers!

A few years back I used to hang out with a couple of women from our apartment complex. I overheard one asking the other "Was it a poo poo diaper?" It was the first time I had heard the term and it made me very amused. Today I can talk like that and not bat an eyelid even!

"Today was a good day. He went poo poo da!" so declared a close friend who has very recently become a dad. And I can totally relate to that. Most days when I leave for work at the crack of dawn (sounds dramatic right though dawn is 7 AM for me ;-)) RK is asleep. And when I make the first call home from work one of my standard questions to his grandma is "Nalla vishayam irrukkaa?" (Is there good news today?) And if the answer is no we go on to discuss how many days it has been and if RK should be given gripe water that day. Then we debate on his ability to poo with his dependency on gripe water.

At his 4 month checkup we asked the doc very concerned that RK does not seem to go potty every day and there sometimes is a gap of 4 days. His response - 'not to worry. Breastfed babies do not typically go poo poo every day'. But when they do after a gap it is usually a case of 'messy poo'!! If its been more than 6 days we were asked to send the doc an email. What good that will do I havent got a chance to try yet. Also for the very first few days after they are born breastfed babies pass more stools than babies who are not breastfed. This trend reverses apparently in the next months.

In the initial days after RK was born we would meticulously record every poo/pee. My mom was way too amused with this but seeing how serious we were she took it upon herself to remind us to mark every occasion of poo/pee. I remember her telling my dad about this on the phone and my dad was hysterical. He said "We didn't do all this with her (me) but tell her she turned out just fine!". Yeah, now I see that it was a way to keep us occupied and assure us that all was okay with the baby!

So yeah, those messy poo poo diapers are worth their weight in gold!

A big boy!

RK has grown! And so soon already! When I hold him to nurse, he no longer fits snugly in the space between my arms. His legs extend beyond my body and reach the bed even. His hands ...oh don't get me started! His nails they grow at such a rapid pace. Too much calcium in his diet I'm convinced ;-) And he has started grabbing/scratching any surface that his hands come across - the back of the chair, my arm, my shoulder, my nose, my mouth are all perennial targets! At this stage (5 months already, yeah!) he is exploring the textures of all these surfaces and it is very exciting to him. That is the same reason he gets distracted while nursing. Any sound that is a tad too loud is enough to get him to turn his head in the direction of the sound with a look on his face that I call - "Why, what, who, hmm?" Curious little bundle him! DT is just about banned from making any sound when he comes into the room if I am nursing Roshan.

RK laughs now...it started with a gurgle and now he laughs out loud, chuckles as DT calls it! Things that get him to laugh include --

• Rubbing his belly with our nose/lips
• Pretending to grab his face with my palms (works great for the car!)
• Blowing air on the back of his neck
  
• Playing peekaboo
• His grandparents telling him to say 'amma, appa, tatha, paati etc' with emphasis
  

Hmm... however much I love to see him grow, one part of me feels it is too fast. I want to enjoy every minute of it and yet every minute is new. I feel proud seeing him learn new skills and be able to do new things. Part of that pride definitely comes from knowing that I am providing for him and this is my doing; his 'meal ticket' :-)

He can also lift his neck very well and turn so he is on his tummy. He now effortlessly turns back to be on his back as well! He is a delight when he does this. I also think he is a cautious guy. Twice he turned on to his back on the hardwood floor downstairs and hit his head. From that time he will do it effortlessly on the bed or a blanket but not when he is on a mat on the floor. It amazes me that he has learnt to gauge where he is before trying out his skills.
Another new trick (about 3 weeks old now) is to grab his big toe and suck on that. What strong abs he must have to do that huh!? Its funniest when he tries to do this sitting in his car seat.
He also reacts so strongly to light or more like the absence of it. When we are driving and we pass under an over bridge (typically on the freeway) his eyes open so wide as though compensating for the lack of light. He is so funny! I wonder if he will pick up my poor eyesight and bad teeth. Hmm....he definitely has my hair - not very dark but fine and soft.

Those are my musings about my 5 month old RK. More to come...

0-3 months flew by!

And before I knew it, RK is...

1. Holding his feet with his hands
2. Putting his feet up (90 degree angle) and turning to one side
3. Bestowing smiles on all at home
   
4. Quietens down when I sing his fav song. (I think this deserves a separate post!)
5. Scratching his head
   
6. Holding on to objects
7. Recognises Roopa - his blue elephant toy
8. Cries when Roopa is taken away from his sight while he is playing with her
9. Smiles and coos for being lifted
   
10. Turns to follow the sounds
11. Plucks the petals from the roses in our backyard
12. Plays with the wind chime in the backyard
13. Grown out of his 0-3 months clothes
14. Grown out of his fist pair of boots. ( I got one when I was past 20!)