Saying Bye to Dubai.

I have started packing. Of course Aisha is 'helping' in every way she can. Yesterday she peed inside the box! Thankyou Aisha. Luckily there was nothing inside or I'll have to take all of the stuff out and wash it before packing it again.

To my dear blogger friends, I don't think I'll be putting a post for a week or two until we get settled in  India. I'll have a terrible time, with Aisha having stranger anxiety, no a/c to put her to sleep, the constant power cuts and the mosquito bites. She will be having more trouble in getting adapted to the new atmosphere. But I hope she will enjoy the greenery and the pleasant climate, the stroll with her grandparents (once she becomes friendly with them) and the animals  (squirrels, peacocks, sparrows, cats, dogs, lizards, dragon flies, butterflies and of course the mosquitoes.)to muse her.

UAE flags at our (Landlord's) home.

December 2nd is UAE's national day - the only day that we celebrate apart from the religious holidays and new years (Hijrah and Gregorian). Its been 40 years since the seven kingdoms got united and became the United Arab Emirates under the leadership of H.H Shaikh Zayed (late). So you can see the National flags every where, celebrating the spirit of union for 40 years. Aisha gets thrilled to see the flags, flying high in the air.
UAE was were I grew up and UAE was there at every point of my success. I wouldn't have reached here if UAE was not there for me. UAE is my second home. And I hope it will be a second hope for Aisha too. 

Little Mommy

Some snaps of Aisha playing little mommy with teddy.

Feeding...

... cuddling...

...and putting teddy to sleep with a lullaby.

Back to Home.

I took Aisha to the doc again yesterday for a follow up. He prescribed a iron syrup, a vitamin syrup and asked us to take her out in sunlight for at-least one hour every day. I wish he has said that some weeks before when there was more than enough sunlight around here, because now its winter and sunlight is something you don't get always.
We have started preparation for our trip to India. Shopping, packing and makings notes of items I shouldn't forget. I'm packing items that I won't need till I reach India. Well, there are items that should be packed only at the last minutes, like Aisha's medicines, dresses etc. Hope I never forget anything. I've started my packing when I was 13, the first time being when I went to my boarding. And then after my marriage, I've been packing for my trips to India and UAE. So packing isn't (I mean wasn't) a trouble for me. Last time when I came to UAE, Aisha was so small to 'help' me with the packing but now I think packing will be troublesome, with her 'help'. So, I'll have to do it when she sleeps. Alamdulillah, hubby is there to accompany us on our trip to India and will come to India to bring us back.

The Good Girl.

Aisha now gives back everything she picks from the floor, mouthing it only when we don't take it from her. She loves to hear our 'Good Girl' compliment whenever she returns anything to us. Now that is a good development, as we don't have to rush to raid her mouth every time she picks the bits from the floor. She also spits the pieces of paper from her mouth if we ask her to do so. Alhamdulillah, less worrying for me.

Living on Medicines

Me and Aisha has been literally living on medicines for the past couple of week, with Aisha's course ending today. I hope she doesn't have to take any more of those syrups again! For me, I have got a cough syrup and a nasal spray, thanks to the doc who didn't prescribe dozens of medicines this time. We have got a lot of measuring spoons now, from every syrups we bought. Aisha is having a good time playing with those, her new toys.

Aisha has started eating good, Alhamdulillah, and I hope she gains her lost weight before we reach India. Or else I'll have to hear the "Oh, my girl became so thin..." laments from every one. And there will be a lot of don'ts and do's waiting for me there. Why don't people mind their own business and let the mothers take care of their kids in the way they think the best? I hate advice especially the ones that comes with the myths.
Well, coming back to Duabi, Aisha has become more energetic, more stubborn and more possessive. She wants me near her all time, making the cooking and cleaning chores difficult for me. Whenever I get to the kitchen she starts wailing, and often I have to run back to take her even though at times I let her cry for a while. Parents shouldn't always submit themselves to the kids persuasion, right?
Aisha is also growing afraid of hair tufts and Pappus (Indian milk seed) and easily gets disgusted when her porridge or any sticky and thick liquids gets on her hands. Her favorite pastime is climbing on our cot (watch it here), sometimes slipping. As I said in my earlier post, she loves to go up vertically than go straight and learn to walk!
And yeah, she can switch on the TV using the remote.

Her second tooth has just popped out, and nursing her has become a little more difficult. She loves to eat more crispy and crunchy foodies now.

Before Two.

Every parents have a lot of dreams for their kids. Their dreams are higher for their first kids. And when their dreams become a reality, they become so proud of their kids. No one is more proud in ones success than their parents.
Here I put a list of tasks to be accomplished before Aisha reaches two, Insha Allah. These are my dreams for her. Some fun with a lot to learn. I participate in this program with Rainbow.

I plan to strike the assignments as we complete it and put the date of completion on its side and link it to the post. So, you can click on the date to read the post.
You can follow our milestones at my page Before Two, We Will...

Updates.

Aisha's fever has gone down, but the doc has asked to continue the medicines. She is doing well now, and has once again become the busy bustling bee.
Last friday, we went to meet one of my friends who came to UAE for a short vacation and as usual Aisha was unsocial. We got into the kids store and Aisha wanted the toys there. I had a very difficult time taking her out of the store.
Some more photos...

Hope you had a good weekend.

Million Moms Challenge.

Join the mission, spread the word and give love to the mothers around the world.

The Million Moms Challenge: It's a call-to-action. It's a campaign for hope. A movement for change.

By engaging a million Americans with millions of mothers in the developing world around issues that directly impact pregnancy, childbirth and children's health, the Million Moms Challenge will raise awareness and funds to help women and children everywhere survive and thrive.

The Million Moms Challenge brings together a coalition of more than a dozen world-class partners working around the globe to improve the lives of women and children. The Million Moms Challenge will focus on crucial issues that are a priority for all mothers, including access to proper nutrition to support healthy pregnancies, trained midwives to assist in safe deliveries, and vaccines that enable children to survive to their first birthdays and beyond. The Million Moms Challenge is sponsored in part by ABC News, the UN Foundation, BabyCenter and Johnson & Johnson, as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The energetic days.

Some snaps taken when Aisha was buzzing around.

Playing with Z's clay.

Learning the art of mobile-talking.

Still sick.

Aisha is still suffering from fever. After taking her to the doc on 2nd, her temperature went high again on 3rd. The paracetamol syrup proved no use, and we called the doctor. He advised us to give her a suppository Voltaren 12.5 mg, and we had to use it twice in a day to keep her temperature normal. Aisha was having a bad cough too, so we took her again to the doc on 5th, and he prescribed a cough syrup, Ventolin (Salbutamol). Aisha is now taking four medicines! No wonder she eats nothing now!!!
I made a mistake while giving her the medicines. The doc wrote 1 tsp of Cefedox (Cefpodoxime Proxetil) and I mistook 1 tsp to be 2.5 ml. It was on the third day when I noticed on the spoon that 1 tsp was 5 ml. Although I completed the whole medicine, the dose must have gone down on the first three days which made the infection worse resulting in the bad fever.
Yesterday morning Aisha was very weak, with sleeping till 9 am (she usually wakes up at 6 or 6:30 am) and waking up only after calling her several times. So I stopped the medications and took her to the doc again. Her temperature got higher as soon as she missed a dose. At the hospital the doc asked us to get her urine and blood tested. We got the blood tested, but was not able to get the urine. She pees only three or four time a day after she got sick.

Her test result was not a fine one, with a high bacterial infection and a low hemoglobin level. The doc decided to take an injection, for three days. It felt very sad to see Aisha crying, when they pierced her arms twice - to get the blood for the blood test and to give her the test dose, and then her thighs for the injection. The nurse was saying that she was too weak to pull her hands and legs and so they didn't have to put much force to hold her still. It felt very depressing to hear that. With eating nothing except breast milk, her iron level has also dropped. I don't know what to do. She doesn't even like water now.
I hope she recovers soon and everything turns out fine once again. Ameen.

Loss

Last Eid, I put a post about Alexander - the strong little man with loving parents who was blessed by many people all around the world to pray for him, his health and his long life. But with utter shock, a breaking heart and tears in my eye, this Eid, I post here the news of his d..., sorry, he never dies. He just started his life in heaven, with angels to  feed him and put him to sleep with their sweet lullaby, with God, the Most Loving One, to take care of him and many little friends like him, from all around the world, to play with him. I'm sure he will be enjoying his days and eagerly waiting for his Dad and Mom.

 Photo courtesy: http://alexandermerlin.blogspot.com

 I will always love you, Alexander. I know my son, Hamdu Mon, will be there for you in heaven. And also so many other precious little lives. Insha Allah, we will soon be joining you all, to be a happy family.
Anyone reading this, please pray for Alexander's mom and dad.

Drumming.

Sick again.

Last weekend, Aisha's cousin N came to stay with us. She had a slight fever and she gifted it to Z. With Aisha and Z always together, it was easy for Aisha to borrow it from Z and pass it to me! Aisha was having a high temperature yesterday, and we went to meet the doc again. He prescribed an antibiotic for Aisha. As for me, I'm trying the homeopathy as it was successful last time. I don't know why it happens but every time Aisha gets sick, I too get sick! Unlike Z, Aisha doesn't make a fuss while taking her medicines. But she never wants anything to eat, and I'm worried about it. Giving antibiotics on empty stomach isn't a good idea, isn't it? Well, she drinks milk, though.

Antibiotics for relief.

Sick and asleep.

Her nasal discharges are now thick with greenish yellow in color, meaning she has got an infection too. She wheezes and coughs, sometimes expelling the phlegm out. I wish babies knew to expectorate and blow their noses! Her sleeping ( and mine) is also disturbed when she coughs, or when her nose is blocked and she can't breath properly. To make matters even more worse, she has got a nappy rash too, which irritates her. I wonder why she got a rash when I don't use a diaper except while going out. The doc gave me a cream for that and asked me not to use any other lotions or soap on the affected area. I used to clean the area with soap after every pooing and peeing thinking that was best! I was wrong.
The happy part is that the doc said within their first year, babies have up to seven colds. Aisha had only two!!
I hope everything gets well soon, before Eid. Or else our Eid will be a stay-at-home-holidays, with no Eid prayers, no visit to friends and relatives and no outdoor activities.

Preventing child abuse

A short video on how to educate children about BAD TOUCH and how to protect them.

For more information, please go to http://childpsychiatrypune.com/.

Waking up into the second year.

Chronologically today is Aisha's b'day. Her corrected b'day will be in December.

On Nov 1st...

Its her b'day but she doesn't know it.

Trying to pull open the door.

Birthday Collage

Completing one year on planet earth (I mean, chronologically. Her corrected b'day will be in December)...