Month of April, 2007

Neil completes 7 months next week. We had his ‘namakarana’ in the first week of April. Through all the smoke from the ‘homa’ and the naming ceremony, Neil was perfectly content and happy to watch the entire goings on. He did get a little fussy during the naming ceremony but only because he was really hungry and he had not had his milk. People fed him “bhaje” using their finger/ring, who knows with what hands! But the little guy took it all. By the end of it all, he was really tired. The following few days he caught a cold and started coughing a little.

Through this week of April 9, 2007, Neil has been struggling through his first cold/cough. He has thrown up a few times and he fusses/cries through his feeding. Its hard to watch him go through this but there is really nothing anyone can do. I have tried applying baby vicks but he doesn’t really like it. He keeps rubbing it off.

He has started having formula in his cereal and a few times in the bottle as well. As far as his solids are concerned, he’s eaten peas, carrots, beans, sweet potatoes, squash and even potato. I started giving him rice and daal this week and he absolutely loves it.

Neil even had his full blown fever on the flight back to US from India. But he did just fine on the flight. God bless him – he was such a sweetheart. My only complain: he still does not sleep through the night very well. Sometimes he turns on his side and sleeps – that just looks so very adorable – I even got some snaps of it!

By the end of April, Neil is moving super fast all over the place – he doesn’t quite crawl yet but “creeps” on his belly using his hands and mostly just his right leg. But that doesn’t slow him down. I have to wonder what I will do once I am back in SD, all alone with him!

Week of March 26, 2007

As kids most likely do, Neil managed to amaze us during the long flight to India. We traveled on Singapore Airlines from LA to Singapore via Taipei. Sri got Neil and me into business class by giving up his seat. We traveled in style – the flight was very comfy and the service was excellent. Neil did not cry during take-off or landing and did remarkably well throughout the flight – eating his solids well, nursing well and not being fussy. I also had the seat next to me empty – so it was an added bonus. I was counting my blessings as we boarded our last leg to Bangalore – Neil did well on this flight too but off all the legs, he was fussiest on this one. During our break in Taipei and Singapore, everything seemed to amaze the little guy; he kept squealing in excitement and delight! I couldn’t have asked for a nicer baby on the flight!

Once in Bangalore, Sri and I thought, the heat and noise would annoy him. Not so! He seemed to be excited by everything – the noise, the people, etc. He did amazingly well during Vinod’s wedding and reception where he seemed to have become the center of attention. Everyone was thrilled with his constant smile and willingness to go to every beckoning person. Hmm, it wasn’t the same behavior as San Diego – thankfully, of course – he was nicer here.

Week of March 19, 2007

This week is just Neil and me – the first time that mom and son are alone at home. I am working from home this week and its certainly a challenge. Neil is not being himself. He has not been sleeping well in his bassinet. Moving him into my bed got him to sleep for a longer stretch but he does not sleep as well as before. We also undertake our long journey to India this week. I am anxious about Neil’s reaction to traveling in an enclosed space and changing air pressure.

Week of March 12, 2007

After Neil’s shots, he slept well one night but then he has not been sleeping well at all. I have had to miss several days of work due to lack of sleep. L But Neil did something quite remarkable on Tuesday (13^th). I was sitting in the study working and he was lying on the floor right there when we started rolling over – fist slowly from back to tummy then tummy to back and then faster and faster! It was great to watch him do that for the first time. He repeated it several times in the day and then the next day too. But then he rolled onto the hardwood floor downstairs and hit his head on the floor! That was sufficient to discourage him from ever doing it again the rest of the week!

Week of March 5, 2007

Neil is completing 6 months this week and he also gets his 6 month shots. This time Sri went with us to get the shots. Neil did remarkably well – he didn’t cry too much. But his weight gain leaves much to be desired – he is only 14 lbs 12 oz (10th percentile) and his height is 27 inches (75^th percentile). So the doc has asked me to ensure he gets more milk.

Week of February 26, 2007

Neil is on a better night-sleep schedule this week. I believe the “forget-the-monitor” did the trick. I, however, am not sleeping so well. The monitor keeps making these electronic sounds that’s very annoying. I have discovered that keeping it on the floor rather than on my bed-side table works – could this be due to the proximity of the cordless phone? Neil doesn’t sleep well during the day – he does remain very active and playful but no schedule as far as sleep is concerned! He focuses very intently every time he plays with something – any little thing that catches his fancy for that moment is the object of his undivided attention. Its very interesting to watch him focus and try to grasp things or turn them around. He also recognized my voice and even Sri’s voice from anywhere. He turns around so adoringly when we call out to him (yeah, he responds to his name now!) and searches for us!

Week of February 19, 2007

Due to all the crazy symptoms last week, I ended up taking Neil to the doc, who simply said everything was fine with Neil. He's 14 lbs, 4.5 oz. Just a shade ok... he still doesnt feed a lot but otherwise he is a happy active kid. Nothing to worry about. I need to let him sleep through the night is what the doc said! ;-) "Kiss him goodnight, close the room door and walk back in 10 hours later", is how he said it! Oh, well! I knew I wasnt doing a good thing by waking up at night and catering to his "mum..mum" demands, so I decided to mend my ways. And guess how I did it? I forgot to turn on the baby monitor! I got 8 hours of blissful sleep and woke up pretty amazed that Neil had not cried all night. When I turned around to look at the monitor I realized it was off and ended up feeling sooooo guilty! Anyway, he was fast asleep when I checked up on him. So I was not too worried. He nursed well and continued to be playful through the day.

Week of February 12, 2007

After returning from the trip, Neil's sleep cycle is all messed up. Its mostly my fault coz I woke up in the middle of the night several times and fed him. So Neil got into this habit of waking up and crying "mum..mum..mum" which during the day means he's hungry. At night, as it turns out, he wasnt really hungry but he probably figured out that doing that got him attention! I have also been noticing Neil sweating a lot during nursing, especially around his head/face. He still has his off and on coughing and several times this week he threw up or spit up his milk/food. It started getting us worried.

Week of February 5, 2007

This week is going to be a first for Neil - his first time on a flight! I am a little nervous - its a precursor to our long flight to India that we will be taking in March. Packing for this trip has been an interesting experience so far - almost 5 bags for 2 days of trip.

The flight itself turned out to be so much better than I had hoped. Both ways I got an extra seat to put Neil's car seat in. In retrospect, it wasnt such a great idea because holding him close to me turned out to be better. On the way to San Jose, I put the pacifier in his mouth. He did ok during the take off but during landing when the pacifier wasnt in his mouth, he started howling! Sticking the pacifier back in there did the trick but he has pooped and he was just miserable. On the way back though, I fed him during take off and landing - and I discovered that it worked wonders! He did not cry one bit and he was happy after we landed! Overall Neil was a great travel kid on his maiden voyage. He had an excellent time at his Uncle's place - carrying the portable bather made bathing time great fun too!