It's a Baby's life!

I have always been someone who has enjoyed her work tremendously. Not only did I continue working throughout my pregnancy, I also was in office till the last day. So when I went on maternity leave I wondered how I would adjust to not having a routine to follow. What would mornings be like without getting ready for work?   Of course all these musings were before the baby came so I really had no idea what was in store. Still I spent the first month swinging between enjoying getting to know my baby and being frustrated at not having an office to go to. I was sure that when my leave ended I would be only too happy to be back at work. As days turned into weeks my little one changed from being just a crying, pooping, sleeping bundle into a person. She started exhibiting definite personality traits; engaging us in guessing who she inherited them from. She started sleeping more and crying less. She started figuring out that her hands and feet were attached to her body and she could m...

When we were discharged from the hospital, we brought our two day baby home full of new found confidence. We were parents (yay) and were determined to do everything in our power to keep our baby happy and healthy. When Ayana was 6 days old she suddenly started crying one night. It wasn't the kind of crying we had heard so far-this was a deep distress call; continuous and very worrying to hear.  We changed her diaper, tried feeding her, walked with her, sang to her, hummed and cooed, made funny faces; basically tried everything we could think of. But the crying continued unabated.  So finally we called my mom over who was equally puzzled. Meanwhile my husband suddenly felt her forehead and declared she was running a fever. So mom and I anxiously touched her and agreed that she felt warm.  Ayana was diagnosed at birth with a touch of Jaundice so the doctor had told us to keep her in the sunlight daily for some time. My husband who was not too much in favour of the...

I approached my first night at the hospital after delivery with trepidation. I had heard so many stories about babies crying all night that I was petrified of what awaited me. Instead I had a virtually full night’s rest with the baby sleeping through almost the entire time. Surprise! Surprise! The same was true of the next and the next night. In fact my little angel lent credence to the phrase “sleeping like a baby” And then started the Week Three. For those parents who have gone through it, the word Colic strikes terror in our hearts. That five letter word sums up a world of non stop crying, sleepless nights and undiluted helplessness at not being able to do anything. After seeing my baby transform into a shrieking being night after night I finally read up about this ailment. I was not happy to note that it seems to have a particular penchant for the number 3- it starts at 3 weeks, goes on till 3 months, its characterised by the baby crying for more than 3 hours a day, 3 days a ...

It’s a journey which began with the news that I was pregnant.  While I was hoping for it, there was a frisson of apprehension which ran down my spine.  What next? What would I need to do now to ensure that the baby developed well? What to eat? What to avoid? How much to sleep? To exercise or not and how much? And thus began the saga of questions which is so much a part of becoming a parent. Nothing really prepares you for the months to follow. The nervous anticipation of the first visit to the doctor. The poignancy of the first ultrasound. The dread of the endless blood test reports. And of course all the horror stories of childbirth and delivery. Somewhere down the line I realised that the more I read and talked to people the more apprehensive I got. Everyone had something different to say; little snippets of wisdom which became a gigantic mass of nerves within me. Should I opt for a C-sec or a natural birth? Would I be able to withstand the pain? Should I take an epid...