Searching Dad

Aisha's dad, S left to Dubai day before yesterday. You know what? Aisha searches for him whenever we get into our bedroom. She was whimpering all day long for two days. In her sleep, she turns over to the warmth of her dad. But when she finds the bed space empty, she turns back to me. She misses him a lot!

In the warmth of her dad.

Sleeping with dad.

Happy 3 Months

3 months completed. We reached Aisha’s dad’s home on Jan 26^th (the republic day of India). I was a little tensed not knowing what will happen with the change of home. The home, my in-laws etc are new to her. Even the climate. It’s a cool atmosphere at my home while it is hot at my Hubby’s home. No flannels, turkeys, blankets, mittens, booties etc etc. The fan is at its high. I don’t remember switching the fan on when at my place. Aisha’s dad came on 28^th. She laughed and cooed when she saw him. She was glad to see him.

Aisha was fine. She adapted to the situations and surroundings well. The only problem was her sleep time – from 4 am to 4 pm with a one-hour break for her bath. I am sleep deprived!

On Jan 22^nd, I gave her second vaccination. Although she didn’t have a high fever like last time, she was all quiet for two days. It worries me a lot.

Happy 3 Months.

Bathing Baby (ME)

Today I bathed Aisha. My mom was there to give me instructions. Aisha is 72 days old. I was afraid to give her a bath although I give her the oil massages form her 42^nd day. But today, my mom had to take my youngest brother, MN, to hospital and so there was none to give Aisha a bath. Yesterday and day before, my mom was in hospital with MN. I called my Aunty K to give Aisha a bath. Today I decided to do the task myself and so with my mom’s supervision, I washed Aisha. Tomorrow I have to take her for her second vaccination. I dread that! Last time, she suffered from fever for two days. It was sad to see her, without smiles, silent and weak.

Vaccination

I took Aisha for her vaccinations. We had two follow-ups earlier, on her 15^th day and 37^th day. She weighed 2.5 kg on her 15^th day, ie, gained around 0.25 after we left hospital. She was ok, the doc said, and there was nothing to worry about her pre-term delivery. On her 37^th day, which was my expected delivery date, she weighed 3.6 kg, was 51.2 long with a head circumference of 36 cm. The doc said she has become a normal baby, ready to explore the world. He gave me a short counseling, ‘coz of my worry when the baby vomits or makes sound when breathing. Well, that was right. Her sleeping time has reduced from 23 and half hours to some 15 - 20 hours and she started to observe her surroundings. She smiles, she knows my sound and smell.

Her vaccination day was her 52^nd day. She cried a little. My uncle was there in the hospital, a pediatrician, and he gave me advices about how to take care of her. Her belly button was protruding, which we haven’t noticed in any other babies. Uncle said it is ok to have protruding belly button till she reaches one year or so. I was relaxed.

Aisha's Day Out

I took Aisha for a get-together today. Usually in our place no one goes out with their children until they reach 90 days. But Hubby S gave me permission for the get-together, and so I went with my brother N. Aisha was happy. I saw four of my friends with their kids. Aisha was the youngest of all. She was glad to be out of the cold place, my home, and to be out of her flannels and blankets. She enjoyed the outing.

At around 4 pm, Aisha felt sleepy but couldn’t sleep with so many people and noises around her. And me, as a first time mom, had no idea about how to put her to sleep. Aisha started crying and then started screaming. I was planning to go home when my friend S, a mom of two, came to my help. She took Aisha from me, and cradled her to sleep. Aisha was asleep within minutes! Thanks S for your help! You are good Mom.

Aisha's First Day Out

Mummy Starts

Yesterday my mid-wife, Aisha's R-mom left. Now I'm here to take care of Aisha, with the help of my mom. Aisha was sleeping when R-mom left, and so she couldn't say goodbye to Aisha. Well, today I massaged Aisha with medicinal virgin coconut oil. Not that difficult as Aisha loves the massages. It was my mom who bathed Aisha, 'coz I was afraid if water would get into her ears and nose. Aisha was very co-operative.

Enjoying her massages!

Hair Cut

Today it was Aisha's first hair cut and her Aqeeqa. She was sleeping when the barber uncle came to take her hair. She was sleeping during the hair cut and after the cut! Her R-mom bathed her and put new dress. Her aunties, uncles and grand-mom came to see her. My aunties and uncles were also present. It was a big gettogether of our relatives and neighbours after a long time, may be after my brother's marriage. My elder brother, whom Aisha calls Vallikkakka and his family was not present. We missed them a lot.
Aisha's uncle, my hubby's twin brother and his family were the special guests of the occasion. Aisha woke up for a few hours during the day time, which is very very rare. She was able to see her relatives.

Before Hair Cut, Sound sleep.

Aisha's Aqeeqa.

After Hair cut...still sleeping!

Advices Not Welcome.

Before becoming pregnant, and even before my marriage, I used to wonder about the nuclear families who don't have parents or grandparents to give them advice about their post-delivery period and baby care. Now I think its better not to have them with you. The reason? So many. Let me add a few. Those written in read are the old beliefs and those in green what the doctors have to say.

• They say babies hiccup to get their belly bigger. Hiccups occur when the diaphragm (the muscle that helps us to breathe) contracts forcefully. Feeding with the baby in the lap, patting on her back etc are done to stop or reduce the hiccups..
• Tears in the eyes make their eyes bigger. Some babies are born with a blocked tear duct, which causes tears to back up and overflow. Massage therapy is best for this problem.
• Possetting in babies make them grow faster. New-borns vomit often when their peristaltic movement is not normal. It can be reduced by holding the baby upright for some 15-30 minutes after every feed, patting their back until the burp comes out and laying her in a half sitting position.
• Massaging the head/hair with a lot of oil makes their hair grow faster. The kids will suffer from cough and cold with such a lot of oil.
• Black collyrium (kajal) should be applied on their eyebrows to make it thicker. Nonsense!
• Protruding belly button should be pressed down to make it normal. It becomes normal after 3-4 months. Pressing it may bring infection on the belly button.

There are a lot more. This list will go on at every stage of Aisha's growth. ;)

Eid

Today was Aisha's first Eid. R-mom was not here, so we had a difficult time with my mom suffering from fever. It wasn't a great Eid, and I forgot to dress Aisha in her new clothes. Two of my brothers were here. We didn't make any special meals. I couldn't go to the mosque as it was only the 16th day of my delivery.
Hope we have a great Eid for Aisha the next time.

All covered in flannels and blanket... On Eid

Bathing Baby

It was today that I bathed Aisha. The doc has said its ok to bath her, but we were not so sure about it, as Aisha was around 5 weeks premature. After long discussions and consultations with different doctors, we decided it was time to bath her. It was her 10th day and we have only wiped her with wet towels until now. R-mom bathed her in lukewarm water, after massaging her with medicinal coconut oil. I was afraid if she would cry, but she was sleeping all the time. She opened her eyes when R-mom poured water on her head. A few moments later, she resumed her sleep. This was her fist bath.