And now I become a metric

The parting words from my gynac after 6 week checkup were "Now go on, lose that weight". Yeah, I gained and gained during pregnancy and shedding seems no where in sight. The only exercise is taking the baby out on a stroller in the evening (which happened 2 times in the last two weeks thanks to the rainy rainy monsoon).

The whole Hyderabad has ongoing sales and I so want to buy new clothes. But what size should I buy? The one that I currently am or the one I hope to be in the next one year. Time and again I lament my lost shape and Vibhu gives me a patient ear and pep up speech "Its only been 3 months and you are feeding. You'll be back to pre pregnancy weight in an year. If anything you look good."

So, while I keep wondering about my weight .. just how fat am I? Should I trust the scales or the husband? We took Venky to see Ganesha idols across the city.  We saw some small ones and some big ones. Finally we landed on an idol which seemed the largest of all but was not clearly visible. Vibhu took Venky for a closer look at the idol while I waited in the car with Tunmun. When Venky came back, he was super excited and said "Mommeee.. the idol was soooo BIG, tumse bhi jayada huge tha".

Well, I HAVE to lose this flab now!

Traffic Rules

Vibhu and Venky were driving to his school. The road was fairly empty. They pass through a traffic signal.

Venky - "Papa, was the light green or red?"

Vibhu (irritated that Venky still does not know his colors) - "Don't you know colors yet? It was red!"

Venky - "Papa, then why did you not stop?"

Next time we were driving through an empty signal and the light was red, Vibhu applied the brakes right on time.

Colors

I was waiting for Venky to learn to color, for that is one activity that can keep kids sitting and busy. That time has come. Venky is now on his 2nd Jumbo coloring book. Like all kids, he loves coloring. Finally he's found one activity that he can enjoy that can keep him in one place. But there is a catch. I should color with him! While he is coloring one page of the book, I should color the other! So much for my wishful thinking for peaceful FREE time!

So, here I am. Coloring pages after pages. Much to my surprise, I enjoy it just as I used to when I was a kid myself. Its true that kids color your life - literally! :)

Baby Breath

After the feeds, I hold you propped up on my shoulders for five minutes, waiting for you to burp. Your face is so close to mine, barely inches away. I keep staring at you for I have never seen something so pretty. I revel in your baby scent for I have never known a smell so sweet. That moment is solely and completely mine. Those five minutes after every feed, they make the nausea, the labor, the sleepless nights, oh, so worth it!

Fast Forward

Venky - "I am growing so fast, I will become 11 years very soon."

I - "Yes, you will."

Venky starts counting and stops only at 40.

"I will become 40 years very soon."

"When you will be 40 years old, you will also have a baby like Tunmun."

I had promised myself that I will not nag my kids to become parents after being at the receiving end by all the ladies of the previous generation. But I see myself not letting a chance go already!

"Mommy, what will you name her?"

"You will name her Venky." Secretly, I am thrilled at the prospect of him letting me name his babies

"I will name her Aditi"

"That's a nice name."

"And Tunmun"

"Tunmun"?

"Yes, like you call her Tunmun" Venky points to his baby sister.

"You mean, ghar ka naam (pet name)"?

"Yes, ghar ka naam."

"Do you know, what is your ghar ka naam"?

"Yes, house no 47 ....." And Venky recites our full address :). That is where our discussions on his future end.

The Night Owl

is what Tunmun has become. For the past week she has been sleeping like a log during the day and been up all night. This has resulted into Vibhu and Venky shifting into another room so that Venky can be up in the morning to go to the school and me struggling with her alone till the wee hours of the morning. Sigh .. the joys of parenthood !

And Miss T, I am the one who rocks you throught the night, but you chose to give your first smile to Big B. That is fine. But that you smile ONLY at him is JUST NOT FAIR! I deserve at least that much for .. well, I don't want to cite the old hindi movie dialog "maine nau maheene tumhe apne kokh mein pala hai.", but heck, that's true! I've worked the hardest. Now c'mon, give me that heart melting smile of yours!

And please, please, please start sleeping during the nights again.

And the first smile goes to

The BiG B. Who else ? While Vibhu and I were making funny sounds at Tunmun, she looked away in a 3rd direction. Venky came there and cooed "Hi choti behena" and lo and behold! He gets a smile!