Hawaii trip with N

We did it - we had a great vacation, with our baby!! YOU ARE TAKING YOUR BABY ALONG TO HAWAII!! THATS BRAVE - this was the standard reaction of people in office when we talked about our upcoming trip. Led me to think me and my husband were attempting something more ambitious like a trip to the Antartic or something..

Anyway, we made sure we packed all the milk bottles and bottle warmers and kettle to heat the water etc etc and we were all set. No mishaps, but a few embarrassing / tough moments recorded here to come back and laugh at later:

Borrowing diapers from another couple with a baby ( we forgot to pack diapers in the midst of the excitement of planning a hike to the most gorgeous valley - promised by the guidebook!)

Being stranded at a bus stand in the rain in Honolulu waiting / hoping for a bus to get us back to the airport. We made a foolish decision - decided to kill the 5 hours of layover time by roaming around the city in local buses.

Plane ride back where baby was cranky as she was unable to sleep and settle down.

Yes, thats all. Not too many, is it?

Highlights to remember:

Snorkelling in the bluest waters - swimming with turtles and some amazing varieties of fish with the most wonderful colors ( taking turns snorkelling while the other watched the baby)

Rainbow into the sea and volcano craters

Most wonderful beach - white sands and blue/turqiose waters

Feeding N icecream - she loved it!

Long drives and conversations with husband in a relaxed mood :-)

Meeting a 92 year old woman who runs her own B&B - a wonderful woman with a great sense of humor

Spending day after day with N watching her as she crawled, stood, laughed, shrieked, giggled

Memories

There are some memories that are so precious you know you dont ever want to lose them. You want to string them and wear them and keep them next to you - so they are right there and with you always..

Like memories of the day when the daughter was born and I heard her cry for the first time.
Like memories of the first day she turned over on her tummy.
Like memories of the way she used to look like a little mouse when she was tiny.
Like the way the clothes used to hang on her as she was too small.
Like how her aunt sniffed at her baby smell all day long secretly.
Like how me and her Dad talked late into the night since we knew we wouldnt get to sleep anyway.
LIke how she smiles when she sees the magnets on the fridge.
Like how she talks to her grandmom and laughs with joy when she sees her.

Like...

First day at work

Notunma is back to work. It was my first full day at office today. I was a bad Mom - forgot to leave the formula at home - got a call from my Mom in the middle of a meeting that my daughter is hungry and has nothing to eat! So I abruptly end meeting and come home in the afternoon to feed her - was secretly glad to see her during the day.

I've been thinking about how I can do justice to my work and spend enough *relaxed* time with my husband and my daughter. Next few days will be spent plotting this.

Few things I have thought to myself should help:
Set up an environment so that when I am in office I can actually work without having to worry about my baby's well being. Will blog more later on how I am trying to make this happen.
Set up priority - which is basically my husband, my daughter and then my work. So I know what I need to do when there are simulateneous demands.
Be honest in office. It becomes easy to put in less hours of work and rush back to family. But be honest and spend the time needed to do the best quality of work at the standards you have set for yourself.
Set up expectations at office about when I am available and when I am not. So nobody can crib later.
Minimise time wasted in office in ineffective meetings - I realized when I went back after a gap that there is a lot of this happenning.
Dont minimise time spent in getting to know people at office. What made me welcome when I went back to office were the greetings I got from people! Again, it is easy to cut down on the coffee breaks with co workers and lunch outings - in order to get work done and rush home. Dont get into the rush syndrome!

Whew! Thats a lot of things I am setting out to do. More later.

Colic - and new parents shudder

My daughter is colic. I discovered that word from the Bible for new parents - "What to Expect in the FIrst year".

This means that almost everyday she cries for no known reason for an hour or more. Reasons for colic are not certain - causes could be gas, over excitement, stress.. I think my daughter is colic because of gas. She writhes and stretches out her body as though in spasms - and cries continously. No amount of comforting helps. I spoke to docs and consulted books - it seems one just has to live with it. Meanwhile, one can try putting the baby on her tummy and things like that to relieve the gas. Has not helped my baby though.

I'm hoping she will be okay once she gets older. One thing I have experienced as a new mom - one gets used to all kinds of things, including a howling baby. Yes, I still want to tear my hair out on certain days, and cry myself when I see and feel my baby being in pain, but those days are not very frequent nowadays.

Meanwhile, I wonder whether tonight will be a quiet one?

Sad - Am far from Appa

Was travelling from Mumbai to Seattle with Xunjoni and Ma. Was so excited to meet Appa after a month and half of being apart. Wanted to see his reaction to X having grown up a little bit more and being so different since when he left when she was less than a month old.

My bag was stolen outside the Mumbai internation airport.It had my passport and visa. I could not travel.

I came back to Guwahati to get all the documents again. Can take upto a month or more. I'm sad to be far from Appa for so long. I know he is missing me and X a lot, he is lonely and that makes me even more sad.

Terrifying bomb blast

There was a bomb blast outside the office of the doctor I'd written about in my previous post. This is the 9th bomb blast in 2 months in Guwahati. This one was particularly powerful, 6 people died and close to 40 injured. There were gruesome images in the media. I shudder to think that we were at that very place two weeks back. People are now avoiding the crowded market places and commercial areas. Its like the Guwahati in the 90's. Terror in people's hearts, except this time the people want peace and nobody wants to be liberated anymore.

Experiences outside a "baby doctors" office in Ghy

A crowded street in the middle of a market known as Fancy Market in Guwahati. Fancy is the corrupted version - used to be "Faasi" meaning "death by hanging", which is what used to happen at the place long ago.

The area is full of godowns where Guwahati's groceries, clothing and what name you pass through. Full of trucks full of goods.

The docs office is through a pharmacy on a crowded street. Nearby are shops selling clothes, grocery, auto parts, you name it.

I get a small card with a number 8 on it. Wait my turn outside the docs office on the first floor. Outside, 7 marwari kids with parents wait. The doc is a Marwari.

Doc calls out the numbers one by one. Interesting to look at the kids. There is a year old girl with kohl lined bright eyes, payal on her tiny ankles, huge black bindi to ward off the evil eye.

A 2 year old precocious kid. Howls when entering the docs office, holds on to the door and refuses to enter. Almost drags everybody out of the office. Somehow comes out smiling.

Our turn to enter. Doc is wearing a small teddy bear on his stethoscope. Very cute. Good for entertaining kids.

Baby gets examined, all okay says Doc. I voice the thousands of concerns I have. None of which seem to be justified. They are all the this-is-what-life-with-kids-is-about variety.

All well, get back home happy with Baby in arms.