4 months completed

It was T paati’s (our tenant cum family friend) son’s wedding on 21^st March. So, many of our relatives were here last weekend. Big thatha & paati from Srirangam, Kutty thatha & paati, Twin mama and Twin chithi from Hyderabad came over. All of them had a great time with Chittu. She was continuously having fun, shouting back and laughing for more than 5 minutes when Big thatha was talking to her. All of us were seated around in the cot and enjoying those moments. I could even catch it in the handycam as Chittu was too involved in the talks and didn’t pay attention to the camera. Big paati “alainju thirinju” got a bindi achu for Chittu, which we had been planning to purchase for quite some time now but couldn’t find one in the stores. Mama thatha, P anna & Big A akka also came. P anna is having his Board exams and came to get blessings from J paati & thatha. Both Big A akka & twin chithi were highly elated when they were allowed to carry Chittu for a couple of minutes. Both of them are just 10 years old and this is the first time they are carrying such a small baby.

T paati’s grand daughters S & M had come from Singapore for the wedding. They were so fond of Chittu and were going and coming up and down all day. They did small small stuff – like opening & placing Chittu’s mosquito net, dancing for Chittu (Kilimanjaro song) and entertaining her, taking her rocker around wherever she goes, singing rhymes to her and so on. Taking these responsibilities made them feel so happy. They were almost about to break down when they bid us good bye yesterday. Very sweet kids!

It was Chittu’s 4^th month birthday yesterday. Nowadays Chittu is making a lot of hand movements. It is so forceful that most of the times she ends up beating her thighs. However she doesn’t bother about it. She is still trying sincerely to move on her tummy. She knows the art of spitting out water given to her with a “burrrrrrr” sound or through the corners of mouth. S mama bought her a couple of dresses. One was a cotton choli & long skirt which can be worn after a couple of months or so. The other one was a Rajasthani cross knot top & panchakacham – like the one in Dol Bhaaje song. It was so beautiful but a little tight. So we took some photographs for which Chittu posed very cutely and later returned it in the shop :P

V athai came today to invite us for S papa’s aayushyahomam which falls on April 4^th. A anna, V aunty & S papa are coming from the US on 31^st for this function. If everything goes well, that will be the first function that Chittu will be attending. There would be a good bunch of relatives there who would play “Pass the ball” with Chittu. I am sure she will be in my hands only during the feeds. My maternity leave ended on 28^th Feb, I had requested for an extension of 3 more months. But my organization is asking me join back on 1^st April. I had asked them to reconsider as we haven’t started any supplement food and have told them that I can join only on 1^st June. Yet to get a reply from them. Fingers Crossed!!!!! And it has been decided that we will be going to our home on 10^th April 2011. I came to mom’s place in my 9^th month of pregnancy, so according to the tradition we will be going back in the odd month – Chittu’s 5^th month. A herculean task of finding a maid, cook and getting them trained before I join work is awaiting me.

Ending this post with a customized song by Kutty thatha

கன்னதில் என்னடி காயம், அந்த குண்டு கொசு செய்த மாயம்

In the tune of an old MGR, Jayalalitha song - kannathil ennadi kaayam

ThaNNeer, ThaNNeer!

Chittu had her Pentaxim vaccination – 3^rd course & OPV today. I was surprised for she did not cry even for a microsecond.  Dr was happy as Chittu was highly co-operative. Her eyes are clear now and there is no redness at all. She has gained 670 gms in 37 days. Doctor calls it “borderline” but OK. Mostly she would be suggesting supplement food by next month. As summer has started showing its ugly face, Dr. S has asked us to give two paalaadais of plain water to Chittu twice or thrice a day. No bottle, she should be fed by a spoon only. So this is the first addition to her existing diet and that is the reason for this title. As soon as we came back from the clinic, I gave her one palaadai of water and Chittu took it well. We have been given an "Immunization and Health Record" during our first visit. It had space to write our names, address & telephone numbers. I wrote them using a Gel pen and someone placed a book on top of it by mistake before it dried. So all the letters got smudged up and looked like a mess. So I bought some beautiful stickers and stuck them on the mess and made it look beautiful. Dr. S and Sister N kept smiling at my work and commented "Cute!" Heee heee for the very first time I was appreciated for something during my daughter's pediatric visit. Wow!

Chittu has a lot of hair, but off late, she is having hair fall problem especially on the back side. Not only this, she is having thumb sucking habit too. Thumb in the sense, it is sometimes thumb, sometimes two fingers, sometimes all fingers!! But Dr. S said, both of these are usual at this stage. If this persists after another year, it should be a cause of concern. Chittu talks a lot and sometime last week, she started grunting. I was slightly worried because she was grunting all throughout the day. Then J paati said, it could be her way of expressing extreme happiness and eagerness to converse.  Looks like IT IS. Today we purchased a couple of big sized quick dry and 6 gms coin for Chittu. In all the shops she was happily chitchatting with strangers. In Big Bazaar, there was this foreigner guy who was playing with her. She clutched his finger tight and refused to relax her hold and kept smiling at him. With great difficulty we forced her to leave him.

Last weekend K Paati accompanied S and came over to visit Chittu. Her PoP is removed and she is doing physiotherapy. As promised last time, she did hold Chittu for a few minutes but her hands started paining and she was forced to place the baby down. We have a maid who comes in the morning to wash Chittu’s clothes. She pays a visit in the evening too and neatly folds all dried clothes and keeps them in a bucket. I would later arrange them in Chittu’s shelf. One evening I forgot to do my work & the next morning when S mama was konjfying Chittu, he saw the bucket half full and made her sit on the cushion of clothes. She enjoyed it and put her hands comfortably outside the bucket and posed for the snaps which I clicked away.

For the Women’s day, I participated in the Funny Foto Contest in Chennaimoms and Hurray!! I won the contest. Today, I received the gift from them. It was a white ceramic coffee mug with Chittu’s photograph in it. I was completely delighted to see it and everyone at home are so happy because this is the first photo of hers to be printed on something. Rest all are either uploaded in Picasa / in the form of .JPG files only. Thanks to all my CMOM friends who voted for me and to Bhavani & her team for making my day.

I end this post by earmarking a few things for my future reference (would keep adding them as I find something new)

1.       My Print

2.       ITasveer

3.       Studio K

4.       Books for kids

5.       Semmozhi poonga

6.       Nageswara rao Park

7.       Panagal Park

8.       Natesan Park

9.       Vanilla Place

10.     KartWheel

11.     Hansel & Greetel

12.     Bamboola

The D-day & Recovery

I mentally prepared myself for C-section and went with mom to the Dr's clinic on Tuesday, 23rd November 2010 around 11.30. But doc had gone for a medical camp. I whiled away the time by transferring contacts from my old mobile to new mobile. Finally she returned at 1, examined me and said - NO CHANGE. However, the pills had brought BP under control. She said it has to be a C-section and gave me a choice as to when I would like to get operated. It was my birthday the next day. The star was good until 9 AM the next day, so I said “We can have it tomorrow early morning before 7 AM (Before yamakandam) so that me and my baby celebrate our birthday together”. However, doc had a different idea. She asked me a simple question - Why do you want to get operated on your birthday? If it is a normal delivery then OK. But this is going to be a C-sec. Why?

That too sounded right to me, so I said “OK, Let us have it today itself ”. My mom said, 3-4.30 was Rahu kaalam, so better before or after. Dr.U asked us to hold on for a minute, immediately called the anesthetist Dr. M and spoke to her to check her availability. She was free and I was asked to get admitted in the hospital immediately so that we could have it before 3 PM. Time was 1.20 PM then. We came out and called S & dad and asked them to come to the hospital immediately. The hospital was hardly 5 mins drive from the Dr's clinic. By the time we went there, Dr. U had already given instructions to the hospital staff and as soon as we entered, everything happened in a fast forward sequence. A nurse came, got my medical file and directly took me to the lift. I didn’t know where I was being taken and followed her blindly. She didn’t even give time to think. In the meantime my mom was asked to get some medicine. We had packed some 5 bags and my mom didn’t know where to keep the bags and the nurse was pressurizing for the medicine. So, mom asked the nurse to take care of the bags, went to the pharmacy, got medicines, came back, took the bags and went to our allotted room. I was taken to the labor room in the 4th floor and was shaved and given enema to clear my stomach. They asked to me to sign the form and remove bangles and rings. By then mom also came to 4^th floor, reassured me that everything was going to be OK.

I was given a blue hospital gown which I wore and catheter was placed. My hair was tied up and covered with a cap. A pair of socks was tied around my legs. With all these I walked like a robot from the labor room and entered OT at around 2.25 PM. Dr.U welcomed me with a smile into the OT saying "J, Bali aadu madhiri varaadha. Sandhoshama vaa" I was made to sit on the operation board and had BP measuring apparatus attached to my right hand and pulse monitor to my left. Dr. U painted my back with a chill solution. Dr.M was busy placing IV in my left hand. My eyes were closed with a piece of cloth. Needless to say I was tensed and my BP shot up to 140/90. Dr.M was very friendly and asked me to bend down in sitting posture. She said that she is going to administer an simple injection in my spine and I don’t have anything to worry. After the injection I was made to lie down and slowly the anesthesia started working. My legs started becoming numb. By then, Dr. U had started the surgery. I could feel the incision being made from the right side of my lower abdomen though I couldn’t feel the pain. After a few minutes I could hear a gurgling sound which I guess was the suction of my amniotic fluid. It was a different experience to listen to the doctors chit chatting away about their children, their studies, etc while doing an operation. That was when I realized what my chithappa had earlier said about C-sec “Idhellaam avaaLukku Rava upma paNNra madhiri avvLo easy task” Few more minutes later, Dr. U said “Time paarungo Dr.M” I was not sure if I heard a baby's cry and Dr. U did not open her mouth. I was feeling thirsty and had a slight breathing problem - rather short of breath. A couple of minutes later Dr.U announced that “Girl Baby, J. 2.40”. Blissful moment! "Thank you so much doctor, Is she healthy? 2.40-aa?" were the first words that came out of my mouth. "YES, absolutely" came the prompt reply and it made me float in 7th heaven. Later doc said the baby was 3 Kg. Thus, Chittu came into our lives bringing us happiness, pleasure, ecstasy.

Few more minutes later, pediatrician came with the baby wrapped in a blue Turkish towel, removed my eye fold and showed me MY DAUGHTER. She was a small cute dark pink softy rosy bundle of joy. I never thought that I would cry - but automatically tears started flowing and it was an emotional moment and I kissed her. Then I was stitched up & cleaned. I think the stitching up task takes more time than actually delivering the baby. All this time Chittu was crying outside and I could clearly hear it. In the meantime Dr.S showed Chittu to hubby, mom, MIL, G chithappa and R chithi who were waiting. Dad just barged in the last but right moment and caught the glimpse of our sweet baby. Mom was the first to take Chittu in her hands. I was told that Dr.S commented “She is a beautiful baby with cute eyes.”Inside, I saw the cleaning lady put the placenta (which looked more like heart diagram in biology books to me) in a polythene cover for disposal. The assistant doctor helped me feed Chittu just outside the OT and instructed me to feed her routinely once I go back to the room. Chittu's pediatrician Dr.S had strictly instructed the hospital staff that no cradle should be given and the baby had to sleep either with the mom or with the attender only. I was wheeled from OT to the room in 2nd floor around 3.45. As soon as I came out I saw my mom - who had Chittu in her hands. She asked me how I was and said everything is OK. Then came my husband to whom all that I could emotionally say was "Ponnu dhan" and give a faint smile. My dad, chithappa and chithi waved out to me. I felt pretty OK when I came back to the room as I was still numb below the waist and the nurse put me on drips. I was speaking to everyone normally and explained what happened in the OT. But within 15 mins I was completely drained of all my energy and couldn’t even speak.

We started having visitors right from day 1. The numbness started going off by 6.30 PM and I started feeling terrible pain. By 8 PM, Dr.U came back to check on me. Her gift to Chittu was a cloth sheet, a couple of soft muslin white jablas, cloth nappies and kerchiefs. Thankfully, she told that I can have little amount of water whenever I wanted. I was really relieved when I heard those words because I was thirsty since 12 noon that day. I was lying on my back. She immediately instructed me to turn to the sides. I tried to turn on my left and I just couldn't. She asked my mom to bring Chittu near me and said "Look at her and turn, you can". I blindly followed what she said. Bearing all the pain, I finally turned. From then on, for the first week until my pain subsided, turning on sides was the most comfortable position to feed.

Chittu used to cry profusely in hunger and I would take atleast 2 mins to turn on my sides. It made me feel guilty but I was helpless. By midnight the pain was unbearable and the nurse gave me a pain killer injection which provided a huge relief. Chittu slept with me in the crooked single cot, or my mom pulled the attender's cot close to mine and Chittu slept in between both of us. It was decided that S will take his paternal leave for the next 3 days, so he was the one who was shuttling between the hospital and home to get me food and anything else that me / mom wanted. My mil was sweet enough to cook whatever pathiya samayal that I asked for. Next day, I was completely on fluids - Mother's Horlicks, Tender Coconut, Mosambi Juice and Oats kanji. S bought cap, mittens, booties, blanket, towel with head cap, rubber sheet, mosquito net for Chittu and feeding nighties for me. Having identified them earlier made it easier for him to buy. I had two more pain killer injections on day 2. I was on catheter till 6 PM that day. When Dr.U came to visit me on 2nd day evening, she ordered to remove my catheter and asked me to walk to the bathroom. I couldn't believe my ears. I was operated hardly 24 hrs back and she was asking me to walk. But she was strict and said I had to. It was too difficult to get up & sit on the bed, herculean task to get down from the cot (which was pretty high) and himalayan task to walk all the way from bed to the bathroom which was hardly 7 steps. I am extremely grateful to the 2 ayaahs who were highly patient and helped me for 2-3 days to walk to the bathroom. The pain was kind of ok on the 3rd day and I walked better but with a hunch. Dr. U asked me to walk erect and practice walking either in the corridor / inside the room itself to which I complied. Day 3 - I was advised to take bath & mom helped me with that. After bath nurse removed the plaster which covered the stitches. OMG, when she removed the plaster which was sticking to my abdomen, it was too painful. They had kept gauze only on the stitches and NOT in the corners. Thankfully, the stitch part didn't hurt a bit. Drips were stopped. I started taking solids. It was Idly with sugar, rasam rice, curd rice and boiled vegetables. We filled Chittu's birth certificate form and gave it in the hospital. Day 4 was a smooth ride. I took French bath that day. I did not want the aayahs and with my mom's help got up from the bed. Dr. U said that she would discharge me the next day. I was expected to have BM but didn’t. That night I was given Evict syrup and it worked as expected on Day 5. Day 5 - I got up from the bed all by my own, walked with much ease. Mom gave me head bath and was ready by 10.30 AM. The hospital gifted Chittu with a pink new born suit, towel and a bib. They wanted her to wear it when being discharged. Mom completed the formalities and we (Me, S, Chittu and mom) started by around 11 AM and reached home by 12.15 PM.

Traditional haarathi was taken for me and Chittu and I placed her at Lord Guruvayoorappan's feet, thanking him for the treasured gift that he had given me and asked him to give us paripoorna aayur aarogya sowkyam and my usual prayers. Chittu was playing & S started by 1.30 after which she slept like a log for a very long time. It looked like - she has reached HER place and this is where she can get ample rest. She took the best rest that day and the next since the time she was born. The cot at home was more comfortable for me than the hospital cot and it was easier to get up and walk. Slowly but steadily, I started doing my activities on my own - right from taking bath to taking care of all of Chittu's necessities.

Both me and Chittu had our regular doc visits / reviews and after 1.5 months I started lifting light objects (like chair, less than a quarter bucket of water, etc) and bent down for extremely important things (like picking the soap when it fell down during bath, picking Chittu when she was placed on the floor, etc). In retrospect I realize this speedy recovery was possible only because of Dr. U and her strict procedure. Long live her.

For first 1 or 2 months, both me and Chittu were sailing in the same boat - she learning to adapt to this BIG world, me learning to adapt to her habits. And as days go on - I realize - With every child, the mother is also born.

Seemantham & later

Disclaimer: There are certain Hindu traditional customs which I am going to mention in a little detailed manner in this post. This would serve as a record for me

My Seemantham was fixed on 19th September 2010. All preparations & shopping were done and I was packing things into the suitcase to take to the chathram. That was when we got this phone call. One of S's cousins was blessed with a baby boy (1st child in our gothram in the 4th generation!!!) on 16th Sep. So we had 10 day vriddhi and were not supposed to perform any function then. So, all arrangements right from chatharam, sastrigal to maalai, catering etc had to be postponed. I was terribly upset, because we had distributed invitations to all and everything was ready to take off. Then we had to call each and everyone to inform that Seemantham had been postponed to 17th October. Thankfully, the same chathram & sastrigal were free on that day too. We did not get good feedback about the caterer whom we had fixed earlier. So, we shifted to our usual aasthana caterer for the new date and fortunately he was also available too. Apart from the mental agony, we did incur a loss on the amount spent for chathram and advance given for caterer. Everyone consoled me saying, whatever dhrishti we had has been removed by this postponement. I consoled myself saying "This is only because of a happy news. Everything is for good and something much better is awaiting".

By God's grace, Seemantham on 17th October 2010 was a grand success. Everything went on very well and everyone was extremely content. Both me and S are special and close to everyone's heart on both my side and his side. So this function put them all in high spirits and they wanted to show their happiness in some way or the other. My mom bought me a pair of bangles, my athai presented me another pair, chithi gifted yaanai mudi modhiram and my mil got a necklace for me.

Udhaga shanthi was done the previous day evening at home. Naandhi, Pumsuvanam (Mooku pizhiyardhu), Seemantham (parting of vagidu) and Poochootal were performed on 17th in the mandapam. We had a slight hiccup when we reached the chathram on 16th night. We had booked 1 AC and 1 Non-AC room and were under the impression, we can take 2 more rooms on a need basis. But, the manager left even before we arrived and took away all the keys with him. The non-AC room they had given us was as good as a dingy store room. S called up the manager and there was a small argument between them and finally, the manager came back and opened 1 more AC & non-AC room. By then, all of my side relatives (including my dad, perimma, perippa, chithi and all) had slept in the hall itself. I felt so guilty. Sorry for the inconvenience folks!! Me, S, mom and bro took 1 AC room while all my sisters-in-law & MIL took the other AC room. Then my mom, perimma & chithi segregated the bangles according to size and numbers and by the time we hit the bed, it was close to 12.30 AM. I had swollen legs and not sure why, there was a terrible pain in the knee area when I got up to walk. Everyone was tensed as to how I would cope up the next day in the function. I thought probably because the bed was too hard, I was facing this problem. So pulled out a chair, sat on it and kept my legs on the bed and tried to catch sleep in sitting posture.

Around 12.45, the power went off. We thought it would come back in 10-15 mins, but it didn’t. Half an hour later, mom went down to check why the generator was not switched ON. That watchman did not have the generator room key and was too rude in his reply. Mom tried to reach the manger but he did not pick up the call. So, mom directly called up the owner and after numerous tries he lifted the phone. She explained him the situation and within 5 mins, the manager himself called up and said he is on the way to switch on the generator. Finally, the generator was switched on at 1.45. It was a lesson to us, to confirm who has what keys and we should place all such emergency requests at the time of booking itself.

Highlights of the show were certain sampradayams followed based on my dad's advice.

1. Atleast 7 sastrigals sincerely recited the powerful Udhaga shanti mantram

2. My dad had collected holy water from Cauvery, Ganges, Yamuna, Saraswati (Triveni), Manasarovar, Rameswaram Kodi theertham (Courtesy - Friends and relatives) and abhishekam was performed with this water

3. Silver kinnam, pithalai Jala paathram and dhotis were given to 10 sastrigals for naandhi

4. Veena was recited and I (and in turn the baby in the womb) listened to it on the Seemantham day. Sankarambaranam and Kalyani are the important raagams to be played. Thanks a lot J, for making this happen

5. A male calf was brought and both me & S gave banana to it and caressed its tail

6. Narayaneeyam book was given as a Thank you gift to everyone

I went to my mom's house on 18th October and was going to office from there. Both mine and S's choice was always a girl. My mom and MIL's choice was a boy. Whenever S referred to the baby, he always said "MY DAUGHTER". In fact, S and MIL had a bet too :) But my face completely changed after Seemantham. I became darker, my face lost its usual charm and smartness and I started getting dark lines around my neck. Based on what I had seen with my friends and existing myth, I thought that it is going to be a boy and started preparing myself to accept it. But never had the courage to discuss this with S.

I went for my 3rd and final scan on 7th November 2010. Everything turned out to be normal. Both - my gynaec and the radiologist were happy with what they saw. After the scan, me, S and mom went to Naidu hall and I identified what all had to be bought for the kiddo and showed those sections to S, because he would be the one who will have to do the shopping at that time. With EDD on 26th November, I decided to take leave from 13th November which was 2 weeks before the due date. Mom had planned her leave from 18th. From 13th to 15th I was busy with washing and packing clothes for the hospital and cleaning the house and making it ready for the baby's arrival. After 15^th, the days moved on in snail’s pace. I didn’t know how to kill time and was showing my irritation to everyone at home. Later I  started writing Kandha sashti kavacham and also turned my attention towards SUDOKU which kind of kept me cool for sometime.

 I had my next check-up on 17th evening. That was when Dr.U said she was not happy with the baby's position. The head had just started turning, but not come down / fixed. However, she said there are 9 more days before EDD and so we can wait. She asked me to come again on 20th to see if the baby's position had changed positively. I was highly restless on these 2 days because of baby's position and it was boring to sit idly at home and the idle mind was working overtime as a devil’s workshop. At the back of my mind, there was a normal VS C-sec fight going on too. I always wanted a normal delivery but I wasn’t sure what was in store for me. If I sleep in the day, I had to spend sleepless nights. So I avoided the afternoon naps too. In the meantime, my mom consulted a homeo doctor, Dr.JD and got me some pills which would help in easily turning and fixing the baby's head. On 20th, there was no change in the baby's position. Head was somewhere in the left side. It was neither in longitudinal / breech / head down position. I was asked to come again on 22nd.

In between Kaarthigai Deepam came & went. My mom was a little tensed if the baby would be born in Rohini star. If the baby is a boy, there is a saying that “Rohini-la payyan porandha mama-ku aagaadhu” (If a boy baby is born in Rohini, it is not good for the maternal uncle because Lord Krishna born in Rohini killed his uncle Kamsa)But nothing happened. On 22^nd, Dr. U spent almost 8 mins to identify the heart beat. My BP shot up for the first time during pregnancy - 130/90. Doctor said that the baby’s heart beat was getting a little feeble and because the BP was also shooting up, it could be risky to wait further. She put me on Alpha Dopa and asked me to come the next day after breakfast and a juice, before lunch. She had made her decision - If the baby's position was the same next day, then we had to go for C-sec. She asked me to come prepared anyways to get admitted.

Pregnancy

In October 2009, I had delayed periods. I knew it was NOT pregnancy and fixed an appointment with Dr. U. She asked me to take a couple of hormone tests - FSH, LH & TSH. I met her with the results again in November 2009. She studied them and said, everything was within the prescribed range, but to conceive, FSH had to be a little stronger and LH had to be a little weaker. According to her it was a very very mild PCO symptom – but nothing of any major concern. She put me on Dronis 20 and asked me to repeat the test after 3 months and see her.

I went to her again in February 2010 (LMP - 19th February 2010) and she said the hormone levels were perfect and advised Follicular study to rule out any kind of uncertainties and make sure the follicle sizes are expected. I went every alternate day for follicular scan and was put on Gestin & IRS1 parallelly. Dr. U was happy with the follicular size and gave HMG 75 & HCG 5000 shots for better results. The scan was all over by 1st week of March and I was asked to come back after 3 weeks. I took an appointment on 22nd March and went to the clinic with mom. As soon as she saw me, she enquired my LMP and asked to give my urine sample right away. I had least of least hopes, gave the sample and waited outside. Till then, I had not even thought of being pregnant, but the moment she said “Let us do a quick test, better!” tension started building up exponentially. She called me in after 5 mins - and Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She gave me the good news :) Anyhow, she suggested Beta - HCG blood test to be doubly sure. I gave my blood sample and was hoping and fervently praying that everything should be OK. Blood Test results came out on 25th and it was positive too. There are no words to describe our happiness and how we felt. So, this is how the much awaited 280-days program started in my life.

We decided not to disclose this to anyone until June. So only MIL, dad, mom & bro knew about my pregnancy. I went for the 1st scan - to check the baby's heartbeat on April 9th. My friends had earlier narrated me incidents of ectopic pregnancy and no heartbeat, so I was too scared to take up this scan. In fact, every moment during my entire pregnancy period, I had a tinge of tension behind me because I wanted everything to happen smoothly and the baby to be hale and healthy  After a long wait, I was called in and there, I saw much to my relief, the small red dot blinking and it made me realize that this little one is growing inside me.

My morning sickness was mostly during the mornings - as soon as I get up, even before brushing. Every morning I threw up a yellowish liquid (which mom & MIL said was pitham) which would leave a bitter taste in my mouth. Though I liked eating fried items (chips, cutlet, fried veggies, etc) my baby didn’t like them and whenever I ate those, I would puke. Once I had carrot vada at my mom’s place and threw up the entire content in a matter of 2 hrs. So I completely avoided all my favorite dishes. Sputtering smell which used to induce hunger earlier started triggering nausea. So MIL used to close the kitchen door and I had to close the bedroom door when sputtering is done. Thankfully all these lasted only for 5 months and then my taste buds started working normally. However sambar rice was an aversion from the first day till last day. One of my friends told me that soda is bad for pregnant women, so sidelined my dearest Lemon Soda with salt.

During the May month check-up, I could hear the heartbeat through the Doppler. Every month, I eagerly waited for the check-up just to listen to this whooshing sound coming out of the Doppler. Finally, we disclosed it to all our relatives in the first week on June. It is a tradition to go to mom's house in the 5th month, so I went there in the middle of June for about a month. Suprafer, Supracal, MA-DHA, Folwise (until July) had all became a regular part of my routine by then. It was a pleasure to be pampered by each and everyone and it really made me feel very special & happy :) My cravings included mangoes (both raw & ripe), ice-cream, dosa, bread & puli upma

All my friends started enquiring me about the baby movements. I told them I never felt any. Few said they were able to feel the first movement in 17 weeks itself and asked me to sit in a calm room, concentrate, and keep my hand on the tummy and feel. I did it, but nothing happened. Others said it was too early for first pregnancy. I felt so guilty that I was not able to realize the subtle communication of my little one. I was waiting for my regular check-up on 9th July evening when I felt a click in my tummy. Woooohoooooo!!! That very moment I knew that it was the first movement of my baby. It was a different but joyful experience. At times it felt like a butterfly flutter, while at other times it was like a single kick. The movements were too random. There was no set time or count. Whenever I felt the movement, I would call S to come and feel it. But when he comes, it would not kick. He would wait for 15 mins and go off to continue with his work, when I would feel the movement again!! The baby started playing hide and seek with daddy so early :) Then they became regular. S was able to feel it. Slowly, the kicks turned into proper movements like a ball moving inside a pillow. Everyday me and S would spend half an hour atleast after dinner, talking to the baby and feeling its jig jig movements. But till delivery, there was no set pattern in which I would feel the movements. At times, the baby would be hyperactive during the day, other times it would be in the night. Few times it would be fast asleep for a very long time, making me feel uncomfortable, afraid and upset all at the same time. When I decide to go to the doctor, I would feel the squirming again :) May be that was doctor fear!!

On July 25th, I had the 2nd scan and needless to say I had the same feeling as that of my first scan. It was assured that there were no anomalies in any of the visible parts and I was relieved to see the results.

Century

Chittu has crossed her 100 days mark! She is 104 days old today and when I see the photograph taken on her 2^nd day, I just can’t believe this little one has grown up so much. She can hold our fingers tightly, can talk in her own aaah-aaaaahm language for minutes together, can light up our moments with her toothless pokkai vaai smile, roll over on both sides and completely lift her head. She is also trying hard to move on her tummy, presses both hands firmly on the ground, lifts her body, but doesn’t know to move. After N number of tries she starts crying. Initially I was worried that she is not trying to turn on her right side. But now, if it is roll over, then it is right side only. Rarely does she do it on the left side. And the beauty is, she tries to roll over half way through her sleep & starts crying as her sleep is disturbed. So apart from the sleep positioner rolls, we are also keeping pillows on both her sides while sleeping. Also, earlier she used to catch the roof rail of the mosquito net & cry, but now she keeps holding on to it silently until one of us see & relieve her. While nursing, she places her hand conveniently on my chest or hand. She watches a lot of TV / computer monitor because of the attractive color & lights coming out of it. So we deliberately turn her attention towards something else. Also her most comfortable position is placing her head on our shoulders. When she is too tired or too hungry, she would lean on our shoulder and protest if we try to change that position. So that is an indicator to put her to sleep or nurse.

My long time concern was on her hearing. She wasn’t paying heed to the sounds around her. However, while sleeping when there was a huge noise she used to get disturbed. But now, she automatically turns her head to the side from where sound is coming. We ring the pooja bell, clap our hands, play the Musical Dalmatian to keep her entertained. S mama’s gift for this month is the Rocker cum chair. Chittu just loves the rocker and enjoys it to the core. J paati has started going to office from 28^th Feb and so Chittu is under my complete care (including her bath sessions) I will treasure these days of exclusive bonding till eternity. While I have my breakfast / lunch / evening coffee, she goes to C maami or T paati’s (our neighbors) house and delights them with her presence.

When we went for our very first review with the pediatrician – Dr. S, she had told me not to bother about Chittu’s watery eyes and light yellow / white discharge in the corner of eyes. It seems that most of the new born babies generally have a tear duct blockage and she asked me to do massage with index finger / little finger in the corner of the eyes (where eyes and nose meet) and I have been doing it. The right eye became normal in due course of time. Sometime around 20^th Feb, I noticed a redness in the skin below her left eye (kajal area) and the eye looked a little small. But it was not there always – kind of ON & OFF. The area inside the eyes looked completely normal though. To avoid any uncertainties took her to Dr. S for an adhoc visit on 23^rd Feb. She said it could be due to involuntary rubbing movement of the kid & prescribed Ciplox eye drops to avoid infection. I continued the massage & also applied the drops thrice a day for 1 week and then thankfully the eyes are absolutely alright now.

And we (Chittu, me, J paati and T paati) made it to Maangadu & Thiruverkaadu on 17^th Feb 2011. We started at around 10.30 AM and went directly to Thiruverkaadu. When we reached abhishekam was going on, so we had to wait for around 10 mins. Then we took the Rs.25 entrance and had a wonderful darshan and Devi Karumariamman was glittering beautifully in the alankaram done after abhishekam. The priest placed Chittu in the step that led to sanctum sanctorum. From there we went to Maangaadu. There again, we had to wait for 10 mins or so because “Lalitha Sahasranama archana” was going on. We had a serene darshan there too. The Maha meru was completely submerged in the flower heap and Kamakshi amman was at her best in thanga paavaadai. They had placed a table just in front of the Maha meru and the priest asked me to place Chittu on that. In both places we did archanai and lighted lamp during Rahu kaalam in Maangaadu. It was a day of complete satisfaction and divinity.