Mango Season.

April heat gives the joy of sweet ripe mangoes. Here in Kerala, during this season everyone gifts everyone with mangoes and jackfruits. Some snaps of Aisha and her younger cousin enjoying the mangoes.

And her cousin who enjoyed the most....

Enjoying Vacation.

Some snaps of Aisha's days at my home.

Bought her a new churidar. She has been asking for it for a long time.

Play time with cousins.

Swinging.

In the ICU.

Something terrible happened yesterday.
 I went to see a dentist leaving Aisha at home. This was the first time I was going out without Aisha, and I missed her a lot. I read somewhere that the kids won't miss us as much as we miss them. That was true in Aisha's case. She was happy with her cousins. Her only demand was that I should bring her some candies when I return from the clinic.
I was waiting for my turn at the dentist when I got a call from home. My sis-in-law was on the other side, saying "Aisha has been taken to the hospital. She took some pills. There is nothing to worry, though." Even if there is nothing to worry, I worried a lot. What pills have she taken? How is she now? I got out of the clinic and rushed to the hospital. There was Aisha, all shocked and surprised with that innocent look - what have I done wrong? My mom was there with her. The pediatric, also a relative, was examining her.
"The kids were playing. We gave them some Chocos cereal in a bowl. Sometime later, we sensed something wrong as the home has gone all silent (Silence always meant trouble in case of kids.). I went to look for them and saw they were playing doctor- patient. There were some pills in Aisha's bowl. When I asked them if they have eaten it, they said Aisha has eaten some. Not sure though." My mom explained. She gave the doc the strip of the pills. It was my tablets for hypertension, taken during my first pregnancy and now expired.
The doc suggested to put her in observation for 4 to 5 hours and do a gastric lavage. She was taken to the kids ICU.

At ICU

A tube was inserted into stomach through her nose. Aisha yelled a lot, and we had to grab her hands to keep her off from pulling the tube. The doc ingested a small amount of  fluid through it, and then removed it. Out came the Chocos cereal, but there were no pills.
"Either she hasn't taken it, or she has taken it only in negligible amounts." the doc said. "But lets keep her in observation."
The tube was removed and Aisha stopped crying. She finally went to sleep. We stayed at the hospital for almost five to six hours and then returned home. Aisha was so tired that she almost fainted.  She has eaten nothing since morning. The little food she took was removed during the lavage. I gave her some rice water as soon as we reached home. She felt better.
At night, I asked her why she took the pills. "I haven't taken any pills, Mom," was her reply. Only Allah knows what has happened.

Weaning Part VI

I stopped lactating Aisha. I didn't even know that I was stopping. It all happened quickly. On 4th April night after dinner, we sat to watch some rhymes. Aisha slept in my lap without feeding on breast milk. I lactated her during her sleep. The next day, I explained to her that big girls don't feed on breast milk. I told her that if she wants to go to school, she should start drinking 'bottle milk' instead of breast milk. She promised me that she don't need breast milk anymore. And at night, I didn't feed her when she felt sleepy. Instead, I rocked her to sleep. Although she cried for a few minutes, eventually, she slept. While crying, she was shouting, "Aisha don't want to go to school!" I did not feed her during her sleep too. Instead, I gave her milk in a feeding bottle. I was planning to lactate her the next day, but my Mom suggested otherwise. She explained to me that giving one day old breast milk to kids is not good for their health. She got experiences, and I followed her advice. She cried a little for two more days, and then stopped. I feel proud of the way she adapted to her next stage of life.

A game of Cricket.

These are the batsman and bats-women. The bats are made of coconut tree midribs, chipped into shape by my mom. The ball is a small tender-coconut. 

This is how the kids in villages play cricket.

Weaning Part V

I came to my home last Friday. As I said earlier, there a lot of people at home. It feels like a festive season. Aisha and her cousins are enjoying the days - and the adults are struggling to maintain peace at home. Aisha has not taken her afternoon nap for the past days - meaning I have not lactated her during the day time. Its only night time nursing now. And yeah- she has started to sleep in a cradle, imitating her younger cousin. I think that is a good way to sleep as I don't have to feed her to sleep.