Weddings

We had two wedding on 25^th and 26^th, my cousin brother M’s and my brother’s brother-in-law S’s. The second groom, S, was marrying my teacher’s daughter. For Aisha and me, the weddings started on Friday. We went to the bride’s home on the wedding eve of M. The next day was their wedding. The same day, it was the wedding eve of the S, and so we went to the bride’s home. The next day, it was S’s wedding.

By the time we reached home after S’s wedding, Aisha was having severe nappy rashes. Continues use of diapers for almost three days made her skin red and swollen. She started screaming every time I took her to bathroom. Peeing and pooing became nightmares. I stopped using panties and pants for her. It took almost a week to get rid of the rashes.

Tour with Aisha V

We decided to leave Munnar on 6th. Everyone has got cough and cold, especially the kids. We left after breakfast. On our way to Munnar town, we stopped at the Echo Point. It was fun to shout from one side of the river and listen to the echo coming from the hills at the other side of the river. Even Aisha started shouting. 

Our next stop was at Munnar town to buy some chocolates and tea powder. Since it was a long journey back, we decided to give our legs some exercises by strolling in the park. Aisha wanted to slide, and I promised to take her to the slide. But there were no slides in the park. Luckily, we found a swing and Aisha had to get contented with it.

It was again long hours of drive through the dense forests, stopping only for lunch. We reached home at around 9 pm. Both the kids were fretful, and all of us tired and hungry. But our home was not at all welcoming! We forgot to close the water tap in our kitchen when we set out to Munnar. There was no water in the tap when we left, but later when water was supplied, it gushed down the floor . Now, our beds (I did not fold it up on the day we set out, because I thought it would be best to come back to a laid bed and fall on it) were wet, our bags spoiled. We together with the whole house were in a mess. Cleaning and unpacking again.

We had a little surprise waiting for us when we returned home. A bird's nest inside our lamp shade!

New residents.

Tour with Aisha IV

We went out for a morning walk around our home. Our home was situated in the middle of a tea plantation. There was a small garden and some woods separating our home from the plantation.

 After breakfast, we went to Top Station (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Station), a tourist spot where you can get the panoramic view of the lush Western Ghats and the valleys below it. The fog, the mist-clad hills and the greens will surely make us realize how great Allah’s creativity is!

We came back home for lunch and after that, we drove to a nearby village, Vattavada. Aisha slept throughout the journey. At the top of the hill was a small town and beneath it were fields of strawberries, carrots and other fruits and vegetables. It was the planting season. We descended down the road and stopped beneath the hills. We were watching the beautiful scenery when we saw an old lady coming towards us. She was carrying Acacia tree trunks on her head. When she reached near our vehicle, she said something to us – don’t know if it was their tribal language or Tamil. She repeated, but we were not getting her. Then she spoke using the global language, actions. She patted her stomach and acted like eating. She meant she was hungry. We gave her a packet of biscuit we had. She said something, may be she was thanking us, and walked away. A few minutes later, on our way back, we saw her ascending the hill with the load on her head. I was surprised. Walking up the steep hill empty handed would have made us very tired, but this old lady, in her eighties or nineties, was climbing with a load of wood on her head! It was really a lesson learned.

The crops.

 On our way back, we stooped at another tea plantation area to watch the sun set. Aisha woke up, walked around the area and posed for some snaps.

Tour with Aisha III

Finally the day came for our Munnar trip. Munnar is a beautiful hillstation situauted on the western ghats of Kerala.

At Cochin, ready for the trip.

We started at 9 am in the morning on 4th May. It was a beautiful drive through the lush green forests of the ghats. We had a pit stop at my brothers' friend's home, where she served lunch for us. It was a very tasty meal, and we were very hungry. Our breakfast has been not so great since we were busy with getting ready for the trip. Coincidently, it was her birthday. Her parents and sister treated us wonderfully and it was really sad to say goodbye to them. We decided to present her with some gift on our way back.
Soon after leaving her home, we started ascending the hills of the ghats. I don't think I'll ever forget the drive. Through the dense forests with the music made by a thousand birds and crickets and cascades, where our eyes could only see trees, trees and more trees. It was like a mystery - you anticipate something at every turn of the road, you watch cautiously for a deer or an elephant in every dense growth of trees. But all you see is a squirrel crossing the road in a flash or a couple of birds fighting for the leftover foods from the tourists. As we reached the top of our ascend, my nephew became more and more peevish, and we had to stop. He vomited a little and then he got fine. Within a few minutes, we reached Munnar.

Our destination was Yellappatty around 27 km away from Munnar town. We reached there at around 4 pm.  Aisha and Ml was glad to get out of the car. They started running through the lawns. The air was filled with their squeaks and cries of laughter. The slightly cold breeze and the rays of the setting sun added more glory to the happiness of the evening.

As we were all tired after the long drive, we didn't go for any sightseeing that day.  We just walked around our tourist home, a beautiful bungalow built during the British rule. We haven't lived in a home with such an ancient architecture and so it felt like living in history!

The difficult part was too keep away Aisha and Ml from the china ware displayed along the corridors of the bungalow.

Tour with Aisha II

My brothers changed their residence two days ago and so we had to start everything from first. We had a lot of unpacking, cleaning and shopping. The mornings were busy with cleaning and the evenings filled up with shopping. Cooking was only done for namesake as there were only a few utensils and raw materials. It was a difficult job with the two kids, as one of us has to be always with them. As Aisha was not so social with others, usually I took the charge of looking after the kids. This was the first time my SIL staying alone with her son. It was a bit difficult to handle him, as he is a very active child. But that makes him more lovely. Taking care of both of the kids sometimes needed patience beyond our capacity. It was also a new way to learn many things.

One way to keep them away from fighting during shopping was to put them in separate trolleys.

Tour with Aisha I

Last week have been great. Three of my brothers took a home at Cochin, where they are working. We decided to visit them. We started on 2nd. We went to the railway station with my FIL, and my elder brother, Nb, my SIL H and her son Ml joined us. The train was at 5 pm and was unusually on time. We reached Cochin at around 9 pm. It was fun to sit and talk - my three brothers, two sister-in-laws and the kids - Aisha and Ml.

At Kuttipuram Railway Station.

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.