half birthday!

Yup, Diya is 6 months old. Past month she learned to sit unsupported. I think she really likes sitting. I still keep pillows all around her cause I don't really trust her. If a toy goes out of her reach she leans in the direction of the toy and kinda falls and can't get back to sitting. She gets excited that she was able to get to the toy, but then realizes that she isn't comfortable so she starts crying. Its so funny.

She is also eating many veggies. As you can see it gets messy. Its fun to give her solids, but sometimes I wonder if the smelly diapers are worth it. Her poop smells so bad now. You're thinking well don't smell it, but you can't get away from it. The other day I was standing her in my lap when she started her business. She I let her finish and I could smell it through her 2 layers of clothes, diaper and being a foot away. I told Premal to take a wif and he came close to her bum and started to cough. We both agreed it was the worst smell ever. Good thing is that she leaks less cause the poop is more solid so it kinda just stays in one area of the diaper.

Ok, enough poop talk. So here are the photos from the past month.

Diya's 6th month and random other ones...

I've also posted bunch of videos on google. Here is a link to one and you can get to rest of them where it says "More from user".

Xmas, Anniversary, New Years, Birthday

Our parade of special occasions are now over. Instead of writing a post for each one I've included it all in this big post with respective pictures.

For the Xmas holidays Diya and I stayed at my parents and Premal joined us on his days off. I'm not sure who enjoyed this time more...Premal and I, my parents, my sister or Diya. Premal and I loved getting the extra sleep. My mom loved having Diya all to herself in the mornings while rest of the family slept. Dad loved how easily Diya would smile at him just by hearing his voice. Deesh loved everything about Diya except her dirty diapers.

December 29th was our 5th anniversary. It was nice. We were still at our parents and they took care of Diya while Premal and I enjoyed an quite evening out. It was only the second time(1st being the night before when we went to Premal's work holiday party) that we left Diya. We ended up talking about her the whole time.

New Years we spent with the samaj gang. Diya behaved well and Premal got to play his precious teri(card game) after a long time so it went pretty well.

Jan 4th I turned 29 for the first time(I like how I say that). It was a freezing day and we just spent it indoors and got take out. Next day bunch of the Umass gang came over and it was a lot of fun. Neha and Diya got to known each other and they spoke to each other in baby language. Gautam gave us some really great entertainment and a good glimpse to out our future holds with Diya. Guess the only bad part was the cars slipping on our driveway when people were trying to leave.
Well, the busiest and most fun time of the year is over. I think January and February are the most boring cause we get so lazy about going out due to the cold. Now that Diya is in the picture it'll be worse. It's bad enough having to bundle up ourselves. Bundling her up and taking her diaper bag and stroller is so not worth it sometimes.

She loves me

We setup the highchair. It looks so nice and new now...lets see what it looks like in a couple of months. Until now I used to feed Diya in the bouncer, but she is starting to get too big for it. Today will be the first time I feed her in the highchair...will see how it goes. Here is her highness testing it out.

So, all that one-on-one time I spend with Diya is starting to show. Yesterday, Premal was holding her while I was getting ready for bed and she was fussing and crying. Soon as I took her not only did she stop crying, but she acted like an angel...no fussing...no crying...she just went back to admiring her hands. I couldn't believe I possessed that kind of power. I had to test it out so I gave her back to Premal...sure enough she went back to crying. I took her back and the angel reappeared. I have to say it made me feel kinda nice...she really does love me.

Kishan's photos

These are few of photos that were sent to me recently. For the whole album click here.

He is an exact 50/50 combination of Alpaben and jijaji. He looks just like Kali when she was born...chubby, fair, and lots of hair. Another cutie in the making.

I love the hat they have on him in the last photo. Also, they have nice receiving blankets in the south...care bears and footprints...all we get are pink and blue stripes.

Month 5 coming to a close

Diya is officially 5 months old today. I feel like this last month was a big one for her. She just seems bigger and dare I say little wiser. I've been trying for couple of weeks to teach her "Raadhe, Raadhe, Raadhe...". (Basically, teaching her to clap when she heard that song.) Yesterday she finally did it! I tired to take a video of it. Here is the video but be patient cause she finally claps near the end. Also, here are pictures from the past month.

New arrival...

Welcome little Kishan!

Date: December 19 (Today)

Weight: 7lbs 3oz

Height: 20in

Mummy and baby are doing great.

Congrats to big sister Kali, Alpaben and Jijaji!!

(Will post pics once I get some.)

eating before and after...

Okay, here are the before and after eating photos...they didn't come out as good as I thought...I'll take them again when she starts eating something more colorful.

Solids and sitting

I started Diya on solids(rice cereal) last week. First 3 days were tough. She kept trying to suck on the spoon and didn't understand why I kept taking it away from her. Of course I was refilling the spoon, but she didn't get that concept at all. I started her off with what the box recommended for first feeding portion which is almost nothing to a normal adult. Still it took me forever to feed her all of it. By day 4 we both were getting better at it. I started pushing the spoon in even if her mouth was not open and she started to realize that there can be food in her month without having something on her lips. Its been over a week now and we are both pros. She even opens up her mouth when she sees the spoon approaching. I give her rice twice a day now and it takes less then 5 mins each time. Only thing that sometimes gets in the way are her hands...she has to put them both in her mouth after I put a spoonful in....and that gets messy. I'm gonna need a lot of bibs. I keep forgetting to take a picture of her while feeding her...I'll post it when I do. It's a site to see.

Her bouncy seat is no longer a place I can leave her in even for a minute. The other day I put her in and gave her a toy and went to the bathroom. All of the sudden I hear her coughing. I run out and she is about to fall out cause she is leaning over the side and trying to reach her toy that fell on the floor. I got there just in time.

Looks like she isn't too far from learning to sit. She still needs support, but would rather 'sit' then lay down.

She learns new stuff all the time. We have to turn on the webcam every time we call the in-laws now. Its funny, last time Neha got toys and was waving them for Diya to see. Daddy, mummy were both making silly sounds to get her attention, but she was not having any of it. They really want to see her...wish they were here. Meanwhile the other grandparents are enjoying her. Looks like she really likes her nana the best...although her masi is trying very hard to make her love her more.




Its just amazing how she has to learn the most simplest things in life.

Diya...

November 20th will make Diya 4 months old. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime has gone by since she was born and other times its like it was just yesterday. She is getting big and more fun to play with. She smiles and laughs...I mean really laughs sometimes. She can also grab at things in front of her, but her depth perception is a little off still. She can kinda sit too. All these advancement, but her sleeping habits are still terrible. She has so much trouble staying asleep at night. Lately she is only doing 1 strech of 3 hours and wakes almost every hour otherwise....talk about no sleep.

The fun part is I can dress her how I want and she can't say no...not yet anyway. I put her in the costume, dolled her up and dressed her like a boy and no complains from her. I figure I should take advantage of this stage while I can. Soon enough she will be picking out what to wear.

I like this age of hers if it wasn't for the no sleeping thing it would be perfect. This month we can also start her on solids. All that means is rice cereal mixed with milk...which makes it almost liquid anyway. I am gonna hold off a couple of weeks to start, but can't wait. Maybe it will help her sleep better. I heard that the poops get really smelly with solids, but hey if it means more sleep...bring it on!

growing huge

4th, 5th, 6th and 8th month

Random other ones...

Baby Shower...over

This was taken at the shower. I can't believe the Baby Shower is over. I thought the event went very well. No major issues. I was happy with everything. Thanks to everyone who came. Thanks to everyone who helped out. I really meant it...we couldn't have done it without you. A special thanks to Premal and Deesh from me personally. Because of you guys I had no stress and was able to stay clam and cool all evening. All that planning and preperation is now done. What will we do with our time now? It actually feels nice to relax after the big event. Looking forward to a weekend of doing nothing :)

Tibetan Food

Yesterday was a friend of ours 30th birthday. Her husband had arranged all of us to surprise her at a restaurant. He selected a Tibetan restaurant. It was first time I had this kind of food. We went to a place called Rangzen Tibet in Cambridge. So what did I think?

Pros:

-Lots of vegetarian options. See menu here. This is always a big plus in my book. There is a whole section for veggies and almost any other dish can be made vegetarian. I hate when a restaurant has only 1 or 2 options for people like me.

-Their food has a lot of Indian hint to it. I like Indian food so this was another plus. In fact my order, Momo dumplings, was served with our famous 'Green Chutney' and 'Tomato Chutney' and a soup that tasted very much like daal. Premal's order(Shago Meto Chumma) looked just like our cauliflower and potato saak. That was served with white rice and a side salad made of peices of apples, tomatoes and best of all mangos mixed with Italian dressing. There was even Mango lassi on the menu.

-Price was not bad. It was not as cheap as taco bell of course, but not as expensive as Indian food either. Cost was reasonable.

Cons:

-Yes, there was lots of Indian hint to the food, but the taste was little bland. Nothing was spicy it was very much in need of some salt and chilli masala. My dish was still okay with the chutney, but Premal's had no hope without the hot sauce. Though he managed to make it taste decent.

-Small place. It was a very small restaurant that fit maybe 35 people max. If it was just 2 of us it would have been fine, but we were a big group and took up most of the tables there.

-Location was very shady. It was in an alley with very little lighting and strange people. Yes, we were almost in Boston so it is little expected, but I would not feel safe walking down that street by myself at night.

Overall:

So would I go there again??....answer would be 'no'. I don't think I would ever crave that kind of food and it isn't worth going. But I'm glad to have tired it at least.

Been awhile...

Sorry I haven't updated in awhile. Here's what's going on in my life now...

WORK
I hate it. I'm part of this major project which has a due date of July 1st. We have to meet this date for tons of reasons. My due date is July 20 which means no relax time or 'take it easy' time. Besides this project I am still getting some random work which I am also expected to do in a timely fashion. Its just too stressfull sometimes.

VIDHI
My in-laws side have a vidhi known as 'khoro bhare'. It is a major thing for them. And although they are not here we are still going to do this vidhi. We are doing it one week before the baby shower with just close family members and it has to be at our house. It's like preparing for 2 parties.

BABY SHOWER
Major things have been done for this. Most of the shopping for it has been done, few little things are left to do. I have some minor worries which will only go away when its all done.

BABY
Baby is getting bigger day by day and the movements and kicks are very powerful now. I try to walk anytime I can to get exercise. Weather has been cooperating so that's good. Many of my work friends say that I have 'popped'. Which means I am really showing now. We had another ultrasound. As usual it was amazing. We saw the baby blink. Baby weighs 2.5 lbs so far. From the photos we got Premal is convinced baby looks like me. We'll see...

BIRTH CLASSES
We had our first class yesterday. I found it very useful. We have 6 total classes. They are every Tuesday 7-9 at the hospital. Our teacher is very sweet and tells us everything frankly which is good. It is very informative. Besides learning it is also a fun class. Some of the husband's concerns are very funny. Everyone is laughing half the time.

My babes...

After reading Disha's entry about her friends I have to talk about a recent event that involved my friends. The image you see at top is what I saw the other day after I returned from work. These four large boxes were outside our garage. At first I thought there must be a mistake. Then I read the labels and sure enough it had my name on it. After seeing the packing slips which said..."from the Umass girls" did I realize who they were from. My girlfriends from college had sent all this. These are the first gifts I've gotten for the baby. A high chair, diaper bag, hooded towels, car window sun gaurd, and a baby bath kit were all the contents. It is great stuff. It is such a kind thing for my friends to do. They are a great bunch of girls and I'm lucky to have them as friends. I wish we were able to see each other more often. Thank you to Amita, Charu, Madhu, Nehal, Sital, Tanvi and Tushima!

Vacation destination...

Every year Premal and I go on a vacation where its just the two of us. This year we were thinking if taking a mini vacation before the baby comes since we won't get a chance after. We would go in the month of May. We want to go for only a weekend. In the past we have gone to NYC and Vermont. But where to go this year? I'd like to go someplace peaceful and relaxing. Anyone know any nice places near MA? It has to be in driving distance as I won't be able to fly.

Happy Birthday Roshani!

Look who's 21!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ROSH!!

Love that smile...keep it coming :)

Hope you have the best day ever! Love you!

6 Month Photo

Bouncing Belly

It was really amazing when I started feeling the baby kick. Now it kicks all the time like in the morning, while lying down, while sitting, while driving, while in meetings. It really feels weird when I am in a meeting with bunch of people talking about important things and my little one starts playing soccer in there. I completely loose my focus. Its like the baby is telling me he/she is bored and wants me to go do something else. I smile to myself and hope that no one notices.

Now, the new thing is the watch the kicks! After dinner I lay on the sofa and look at my belly and I can actually see where the baby is kicking. A little part of the belly bounces and shakes a bit. Some kicks are hard and very obvious. Premal loves those...he gets a kick out of the kicks :)

I hear in few months I will actually be able to see the foot impression on the belly when it kicks. I can't wait.

*---------------------------------------------------------------------------*

Yesterday, Premal and I had a very silly discussion about the baby. We were discussing how after the baby comes we might start arguing more because a baby is a big change. I mentioned how buying a house was a big change and we did fine. Premal suggested it was because the house is divided between us and we each take care of different parts of the house.

So...naturally I suggested we divide the baby's parts :) I took the 'bugal', the hands and neck. He wanted the belly and butt. But when it came to the face, we both wanted it! We couldn't go on and we had to stop and gave up.

I know, its silly.

Situ's baby shower

Situ and I showing off our bellies at her baby shower :)

Do you see a difference?

Some of you have been asking for these...