Often, I find it strange hearing mothers complain their kids hate milk and refuse to sip even a bit. I hear versions of, "Oh, I have tried it in cornflakes, with a tinge of Milo/Bournvita/ Chocolate to give it a different flavor and ultimately forceful feeding but nothing works." This sounded rather strange to me for I've never had any difficulty in getting LG to drink milk.
Almost with everything else that I've had no trouble with LG be it his sleep patterns or feeding habits, the moment I acknowledged it in public I had jinxed the process. No sooner would I admit in public to another mother that LG would start acting crazy what was so natural to him until then. It was the same with his milk drinking habit too and I had myself to kick. LG's friend's mom asked me how I gt him to drink milk and I casually remarked, "Oh, that's not a problem at all. I give him his bottle and he finishes it." Within a day or two I was having nightmares as he violently pushed his bottle and would rather stay hungry than have any of it. This was also a time when I was making good progress in weaning him off the bottle to the sippy cup. I tried various flavors, porridge but to no avail. Finally, one day last week I got back the evening bottle with two teaspoons full of Bournvita and he seemed to enjoy it. I started with a lesser quantity and gradually increased it to his previous level over a week which worked great. I know too much milk/liquids at this stage can fill up their stomachs easily leaving little room for solids. I try to ensure that he gets his daily dosage of 450-500 ml though distributed in three seatings - early morning, after breakfast and evening. Until a few weeks back (18 months old), he drank a glass of milk around 11:0 p.m. but he refuses it completely now - I attribute it to a full stomach.
Days when intake of milk reduces, these are other foods which are equally rich in calcium to be supplemented with:
1. A cup of yogurt with a little sugar after lunch.
2. French Beans / broccoli.
LG is allergic to paneer and cheese of any kind, so that's off his diet now.
Photo credit:
Wikipedia
Does your kid refuse to drink milk?
Toddler : Home remedies and tips for cold and cough
I did a post a while back on home remedies for cold and cough for a baby. The same works for a toddler. In addition, here a list of things that works for my son:
- Boil a few leaves of Tulsi in water . Filter the water and give the same two times a day.
- Hot milk with a pinch of turmeric and sugar.
- To get the phlegm out of the system, a tinge of Thalasadi churnam (available in any ayurvedic shop) with honey.
- Rub Vicks on the back and onthe chest.
- Make the kid sleep on a raised pillow which will ease breathing.
- If you start on a antibiotic like Mox, finish the course even if there is no fever.
- Have a decongestant nasal drops handy. Difficulty in breathing usually occurs in the night.
A Nightout
It feels like it was years back when we stayed up all night tending to Lil' General. That was when he was barely 8 weeks old. I can't recollect a single night after that when I've woken up so many times because he was sick. Viral is in the air - the kids downstairs had a nasty infection that went around in round-robin fashion in their family relapsing time and again for over 2 weeks. Then, The Seniol caught it Saturday.; he was down and out with a running nose, temperature and called in sick at work Monday. Just when he was back on his feet, his mother caught the bug. I was crossing my fingers that LG has been fine and should just come out unscathed.
By evening, he was coughing and had vomited once. I gave him tulsi water soon after, took him for his evening walk and played with him a bit, fed him dinner, played a bit more and tucked him in bed with a dose of cough syrup. Within an hour he was wide awake finding it difficult to breathe and congestion in the nose. It just got worse by the hour. The neighbours came calling when he didn't stop S.C.R.E.A.M.I.N.G even after an hour. Nothing worked and he threw up more. Amidst all the screaming and suggestions from everyone, it totally skipped my mind that I had a decongestant handy all the time - Nasivion nasal drops (basically a sline solution) works wonders for a baby. I'm ultracool in such situations and never get hassled how much ever he cries. I know I can handle him come what may. My family on the contrary just go over the top - it's a cold and we all go through it. Sure, there will be a little discomfort if you've got one. And, LG still can't talk yet. The only way he knows to express his discomfort is by crying and screaming. He is surprisingly very sportive and doesn't let out so much as a cry for any of his vaccinations. He doesn't out cry uncontrollably unless something's bothering him truly. Last night was one such case when he was NOT Ok. So, The Seniol called up The Paed and he prescribed a decongestant.
LG exchanged hands, went on a walk downstairs, met his buddies, saw some stray dogs on the road, got some fresh air but nothing worked until I pulled up the sofa under the fan and switched on the TV. Some crappy song starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee with crazy lyrics was playing on E!. This of all things worked. He found comfort in my arms and I found comfort in the silence. Lying still watching more crappy songs play, I held him in my arms walking down the hallway that never seemed to end to the bedroom and put him to sleep. He woke up many times intermittently through the night. After one more dose of Nasivion early morning followed by formula an hour later, we slept in till 8:00 a.m. He's still running temperature but the day hasn't been as crazy as last night.
As I think back at the past seven months, I think the flu vaccine did help a lot. He has not been under the weather all these months even when someone in the family had a viral infection.
Don't waste hours trying to put your baby to sleep
A 19-month-old is a toddler, not a baby right? But who cares. I still care for him as much as I did when he was born. Some habits die hard for a stay-at-home non-working mother - call it the luxury of not having to catch a bus at 8:00 a.m. to work or dying to sleep by 11:00 p.m. I've come to understand that a newborn's sleep needs vary from that of a baby's and drastically reduce when they grow bigger to a toddler. Sticking to the clock doesn't help; if anything it adds to the frustration.
Many a times, I drag him to bed in the afternoons because I am too tired to play anymore or prevent him from rioting the kitchen. When I try to take a quick nap, it is usually a futile attempt for he is all over me either pulling my hair or jumping on top of my tummy. Growing tired after 2 hours of this non-stop activity, he will put himself to sleep and it's too late for me to catch a nap as the chores take over. It's been a struggle to establish a nap routine ever since he turned 17 months old. It's the daytime nap which is the problem. Night sleep goes by the clock and happens quite naturally around 9:00 p.m.
Days when he gets up by 6:30 a.m., it's been relatively easy for he takes two naps - one at 9:30 a.m. and another around 2:30 p.m. One nap days are usually the toughest for he gets cranky by early evening. But, I've also come to understand that it's not helping either LG or me trying to get him to sleep if he is not. I go by the signs these days - rubbing his eyes or carrying a pillow and then put him in bed. He usually falls asleep within 10 minutes or less under such circumstances. Otherwise, it takes two hours which is rather frustrating for him and me. The sleep time environment - dimmed lights, curtains drawn, clean bed and pillows in place - works wonders only until a certain age.
How much does a toddler remember - a test on memory?
We were taking a different route back home from our morning walk to avoid the park. It was late 8:00 a.m. and already sunny. Taking the regular route would mean LG getting all excited, frantically pointing in the direction of the park, standing on his pram and fussing about playing there. We were about 100 feet from a different approach road to the park and for some reason I felt he would figure it out. He quickly examined the surroundings, turned his head two times either sides and started pointing his finger with his trademark compy-signal. I was impressed at his sense of direction. Not wanting to disappoint him, we did go to the park and play a while before returning home for breakfast.
In yet another incident last afternoon, I was truly surprised at his memory. I have no idea how good or bad their short-term memory is but from what I saw yesterday, I assume it is pretty good. About a month back, I had written about how he kept going to Crossword to get the ball. We've not been there again ever since until last afternoon. I didn't name him the place; casually, I put him down from my shoulder and let him walk on the pathway with McD and Crossword on one side. He was on the farther side looking away from these places at the colorful sale hoardings of Levi's. Then in a quick action, he turned around looking at each one of them. No sooner did he spot McD, he walked upto Crossword saying "Ba..ba" and led me inside the store. I was still recovering from what I saw...once inside he examined every lane and the look of happiness on his face when he found the box of smileys was worth seeing. Before the damage mission started, we marched out.
Happy Birthday LG : You turn 1 year and 7 months today
It's that day of the month again when I sing "Happy Birthday" all through the day and LG looks at me and The Seniol as if we were nuts. But yea, he enjoys all the attention and gives him more reason to climb over us and jump on the tummy.
This past month I've noticed significant changes in him than in any month since he turned one. To begin with, this will be the last time we celebrate his monthly birthday in Pune. He would be amidst chaos next month in Bangalore.
The most happiest moment for me was the day when he first kissed me. I need to ask him just once for the kiss and he is all eager to climb over me and plant the most affectionate one on my cheeks. Whatever he is in the midst of doing wherever, he drops it right there to come over to me which is unusual otherwise.
The "owwwww" (read : phone) is off the hook. I was forced to disconnect the phone after numerous damage sessions that involved the receiver off the hook for a good part of the day, pressing random buttons and once hitting the redial button. He can't talk yet but has this long imaginary conversations which imitate real ones full of high-pitched laughter, excitement in the voice and I am surprised he does this for hours on end. If the phone remains engaged during LG's waking time, it doesn't really serve any purpose to have one, does it. Anyways, we used the land line very minimally so it didn't make any difference to just pack off the handset and later disconnect it. Now he toys with the wires and takes good opportunity of those few times when I wasn't careful in keeping my cellphone at a 5 foot height - on top of the fridge or TV. If he lays his hands on, the same drama is enacted after which it duly lands in the parapet wall or in the kitchen sink.
The transition from small potty to the adults one with a seat happened a couple of months back. There have been no accidents so far, he makes those funny faces and sounds to get my attention. Bladder control hasn't set in yet which means I find River Nile flowing in different sections of the house. When questioned, I am duly answered with that mischievous grin and the mop cloth in other hand all the way imitating my action of wiping the mess.
The Master of Imitation enjoys being on the driver seat - something I'm not really proud of. He exerts more force in getting away from me than mine in keeping him on my lap. When The Seniol gets off the car, he is quick to jump on to the seat and imitate in an order of turning an imaginary key, releasing the hand brake, changing gears, adjusting his windows etc. No exaggeration seriously - I was surprised to see him do everything so meticulously last evening.
Gyrating to the tunes of "Nagada Nagada" and "Mauja hi Mauja" from Jab We Met continues even after two months. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen the movie in the past fortnight. He has no interest in the movie once his lunch/dinner sessions are over. The rhymes session are on as well.
Our evening routine of playing in the park is more exciting for I've something to look forward to - which kid is going to complain about LG getting near their ghar-ghar setup with a motto of destruction or whose chappals he is going to fill with sand and pebbles. I'm within a 2 feet distance of him always yet he manages to find his escape and do his stuff. Sometimes I let my hair down -- to heck with careful parenting. So long he is not bothering other kids who mind it, I let him wander around the park and the temple. He is at his best and the most happiest during his park visits.
LG's fondness for balls has grown by a 100 times. Every lane we pass by, he will sight a shop that has a bunch of balls hanging - those colorful ones that comes at Rs.10 per piece. He now has green, red, yellow and orange ones in his collection and is craving for more.
Times when I sit on the floor or on his mattress on the ground, he is quick to climb over my back and gently tap on the shoulder asking me to get up and gallop like a horse around the house. Another funny game is when I tie the FP dog with the black thread around his tummy ..the dog follows him around the house doing "bow bow".
He took a ride on the horse he sees every evening and one in the miniature car as well.
Anything hot like a steaming cooker or boiled milk that lets out steam is "ou..ou" for hot. It's the same for cold too.
I'm trying to get him off the bottle. He was very fond of milk until a few days back..now it's a struggle to make him drink a cup of milk. I've just started experimenting with Bournvita and he seems to like it a bit. No big changes in food habits but his exposure to outside food has increased dramatically from soups to idlis.
Our mornings start with a small song for which he enacts every part to perfection .."Brush your teeth; do potty; wash your face; comb your hair; drink your milk". The order is sometimes jumbled :)
His mom is his hairstylist..the saloons in our area are every bit fussy when it comes to giving a haircut to kids. After three unsuccessful trips to the saloon, I said, "To hell with them. I will give you a cool one and did." Only that this time it was not the rocking step footballer cut - a plain one!
The day my son kissed me...
There are some moments of life that no string of words do justice to. I experienced one such yesterday - the day when my son planted his first kiss on my cheek with a huge 'tch' sound. I was in seventh heaven. The Seniol has been trying to teach him how to kiss. He is one of those kids who doesn't know how to give a flying kiss yet and I like it that way for some reason.
So, yesterday I was putting him to sleep for his morning nap when I told him, "LG..give me a muchchu (kiss in Tamil." He quickly snuggled up to me, climbed over my tummy and hugged me and then gave this huge kiss with a big 1000 watt smile. I was stunned and happy. He repeated through the day as with any new thing he learns and was only too eager to give his dad when he returned from work.
I so wish moments such as these don't go away. I've never felt more happier. The Seniol says LG looks up to me for everything now - a big change from the time he was born. It didn't matter to him whether it was me or The Seniol washing his bum, putting him to sleep etc. For the mundane activities, it still makes no difference if either of us does it. But when he is uncomfortable or wakes up cranky in the middle of the night, I am his comfort zone.
He is growing fast. Before we realise, he would be sixteen ready to fly out of our nest. For now, I am happy to spend these happy moments with him.
An Original Piece
Shahid Kapur in a scene in Jab We Met tells Kareena Kappor, "Tumhe patha hai tum original piece ho. Aisa doosra piece nahi hain." On many levels, I can relate that "original piece" reference to LG.
This is what happens when you see a movie too many times.
That aside, some of my reasons for calling him one -
---- last evening, we were at the park. LG got off the swing when his fondness of others' shoes got the better off him. He marched swiftly to a girl's pink shoes, took hands full of sand and stones in both hands and filled the shoes. There was no point in me trying to empty them as I couldn't keep pace with him. Finally, he was transported to a different section of the park - towards the temple.
--- Outside the temple, he find a old uncle's chappals and hid threw them under the tree. I had to run to get them in time for the departing uncle.
--- We made a brief stop at Coffee Day to drink coffee of course. But LG decided he had better things to do there than wait for coffee. The pest control light that attracts flies was far more attractive and he contributed his bit by switching it off and on. Very soon, many places in this neighbourhood will be off limits for us.
A kid's side effects to a medicine
LG was prescribed Grenil syrup whose components include Domperidone and Paracetamol after his most recent fall. The Doc said it would control his fever and vomiting. Domperidone was for controlling vomiting which did more damage than any good. It only made him cranky, irritable, clingy and impacted his appetite to a great deal. After observing him for a day, I cut back on the dosage to find him getting back to normal. Any of you have faced side effects with Grenil?
Nah..it's not a slang for 'computer'. Remember the smallest Dinosaur from the "Jurassic Park" series. From the Dinosaur family called "Compsognathus", it was referred to as Compy in the movie. If you've seen the series even once, it's tough to miss those small dinosaurs which make a weird squeaky sound that wants one to bury their ears deep in sand. In the second part, there is a scene when dozens of them emerge out of nowhere and hunt a man down, who lost his way while finding a place in the bushes to relieve himself, turning the river red with his blood.
Now imagine hearing that irritating noise all through the day from the live entertainment channel at home, free of cost. Can't even say, "No, thank you!". Neither can I run out of the house and shut the noise out of my head. This is yet another phase of LG's where he makes this irritating shrill pitched sound the whole day for no good reason - the fancy name is "Toddler Tantrums".
When two becomes three : How to keep your marriage and life going
A child brings a cheer to the family, everyone says. I totally agree to that one. LG has made us smile in the most unexpected moments like 3 a.m. when he is shitting like there was no tomorrow. But that smile n his face puts on our faces too, if you know what I'm talking about. However, what no one ever tells like many other things about Pregnancy and Parenting is the amount of stress a baby puts on one's marriage. Even the strongest relationships witness a steep rise in conflicts not because the spark has died, but because of the everyday challenges we as parents face before our kids grow independent enough to handle themselves.
As a mother to a 18 month old, I crave for those moments when I can be myself doing my stuff even i it's only for half-a-day ever since LG has come into our lives. Call it the bane of a nuclear family, I've not had a single day when I've had the opportunity to leave LG under the care of someone back at home while The Seniol and I have gone for a quiet dinner or a movie or just a walk. AS much as I love LG, I've come to that point in life where I NEED A BREAK - badly. Tired of hanging out with a toddler all day, it's taking its toll on me - physically, emotionally and mentally. Edging on a state of being frustrated and depressed all day, it's time to get some help and a break from the mundane routine where there is no difference between a Sunday and Monday. We wake up at the same time as everyday when LG does and the time between waking up and hitting the bed is filled with the same set of activities - breakfast, cook lunch, give a bath, play a bit, put him for a nap, evening walk, dinner and put him to sleep.
I've had enough and am consciously trying to make some changes and take sometime out for The Seniol and myself. Some of these we've been following for the past few months and that's what has kept us going and brought the much needed sanity:
1. Family walk: Every morning we go out for a walk with LG for 15-30 mins when we get our "our" time.
2. A movie on Saturday night: There's a time for everything and we understand that. Since we can't hit the multiplex as much as we'd like to to catch the latest flick, we rent out /buy the DVD as soon as it's out. We do this every Saturday night after putting LG to bed.
3. Catching up with friends : we are making a conscious effort to meet our friends every Sunday. Our social circle and interaction with anyone outside had become dangerously low after moving to Pune which got worse after LG came along. It's getting better now even if it means some more effort on my part - it's WORTH it. It is rejuvenating!
4. Celebrate important days : If it were not for the birthdays and anniversaries through the year, all the 365 days would be the same. Keeping up with our tradition- we cut a cake, hang balloons, get cards for our birthdays and anniversaries. I have a habit of calling close friends to wish them on their birthdays.
5. Appreciate each other : Appreciate your spouse's help (I know help is not the appropriate word for it is both of your kid) in feeding the baby or changing his diaper in the middle of the night or walking him after work if you are feeling low.
6. Compliment each other and dress well: It's easy to not look good and wear the most ill- fitting clothe and hang around on the couch at the end of a long day. It takes little effort to look well dressed in evenings but it does a lot of wonders - to yourself. I personally feel very good dressed well while stepping out in the evening. It brings back a cheer like nothing else does.
It's no doubt that a marriage requires more nurturing, care and effort after a baby comes along as it is more physically exhausting and doesn't take a lot for tempers to flare. The Seniol often tells me to celebrate the smallest occasions as big occasions are far and few in one's life. It's these little moments that keeps us going!
LG's first horse ride
Horses, donkeys, cows, camels, goats, cats, dogs are common around where we live. Sounds like LG grows up in Animal Farm, ain't he?
Every evening, he watches as the horses ride to the fair and the camels trudge their way along with the clinking of the bracelets in their knees; as they pass, LG does a little jig to express his happiness.
All these days, I wasn't sure of whether he is old enough to ride one. Finally, we decided to try last Saturday when the crowd was much leaner than Thursdays and Sundays. Contrary to my expectation, he enjoyed his short ride and didn't care as much if we were following him or not. He happily waved at us; I like a fool was tailing the horse and The Seniol was tailing me requesting me to stop and let the boy enjoy his ride. I present a picture of being a not so protective mother but letting LG go by himself even for 5 minutes was disturbing..didn't want to take chances and I followed him. It's time I change my ways and give the boy some room. Didn't have a camera handy to take a picture..maybe next time.
Lil' General's independent ways...
The way LG is asserting his independence, I'm afraid in a few days he will no longer need his parents - myself and The Seniol. Some observations to prove my point -
- When he is feeling sleepy, he waves goodbye to us, walks himself up to his bed; checks the temperature inside the room and if he feels hot, switches on the fan and lies down. If the fan is already on and he is cold, he switches it off. Of course, he can't stay in for more than 5 minutes and walks back to us. I can't remember one occasion when he slept by himself. This is not all - when we are at someone's place and if it's hot he looks for switch board to switch on the fan - sometimes it is embarrassing.
- He woke up in the middle of the night - hungry. I've still not gotten over the habit of keeping two sterilized bottles, a thermos with hot water and his formula by my bedside. When he was barely a few months old, I started this practice to give him formula early morning. I've not had the chance to use one in the middle of the night over the past few months. He goes to bed after a fulfilling dinner and wakes up for milk only early morning. Last night, I guess he was hungry and he woke up. Generally, he goes back to sleep immediately if I pat him. But what he did took me by surprise - he pointed towards the bottle, handed me the flask in one hand and the formula in another waiting for me to mix the formula. Once he finished his bottle, he went back to sleeping like a baby. This is the first time he has expressed so clearly that he is hungry.
Food/snack ideas for a toddler while travelling
We'll be moving cities in the first week of August. It shall be a good 4-5 days from the time all our stuff gets packed/loaded to when it gets unloaded/unpacked. This period we'd have to manage without essentials such as a stove/cylinder and other utensils for cooking, sleeping on the floor etc.
I'll keep it brief and just say staying over at someone's place is not feasible this time around so I've been planning to get used to that period.
The protective parent that I'm (I regret a lot now), I've exposed LG very minimally to outside food - just rotis and soups at restaurants. This was my main concern as to how I would manage for 2/3 days with no gas connection or utensils. I spoke to a friend at the evening park who has two daughters - one 4 years old and another a month younger than LG. It was reassuring to know that she faced the same issues with her elder daughter. With time, she has learned the tricks and threw caution to the wind and has become a practical mother. In her words, "I scolded and ran everything that anyone had to offer my elder daughter with a microscope even if it were my mother-in-law. I always had the excuse she would fall sick. This was when she was 18 months old - old enough to be exposed to outside food. It all changed with my younger one. I started exposing her to food from restaurants and other munchies early. Now she is a non-fussy kid and I don't think twice before packing my bags for an outing over the weekend. With the elder one, we pretty much stayed home because I was always worried what to take for her." That pretty much sums my situation. She offered me some advice on how I can get LG used to other food over the next month gradually so that he is not overwhelmed while keeping a balanced nutritious diet.
Here are a few things that I've been trying for the past few weeks and it's worked well. If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. I'd very much appreciate it. The criteria I was looking is that would require minimal usage of gas and foods that are ready to eat or which can be powdered ahead of time and stored for a few days without getting spoilt.
Breakfast:
Milk (Amul Calci) - doesn't require boiling. Is readily consumable.
Kellogg's Cornflakes in milk
Cerelac
Roasted Semia that's readily available mixed with hot water and milk. (Assuming it shouldn't be difficult to get hot water anywhere)
Fried Rawa with hot water -( little tough on the digestive system)
Lunch:
Khichdi - rice and dal fried and powdered - to be mixed in hot water later. (haven't tried this one)
Raw vegetables - tomato, carrot - (LG is used to having boiled tomatoes and is finding the transition to raw tomatoes tough.)
Roti/soup from outside
Evening Snack:
Seasonal Fruit - Mango, Cheeku, Banana
Milk
Mathri
Biscuits
Dinner:
Khakra with butter
Idli available at any restaurant.
Do you prefer co-sleeping with your child?
There are three bedrooms in this house, and three people who live in it - The Seniol, Lil' General and I. But all of us sleep in the same bedroom. I've read on numerous blogs and often seen shows on TV encouraging toddlers to sleep in the kids' room/nursery, right from when they are only a few months old to be monitored through the night with the aid of a baby monitor.
Considering that I've never stayed away from LG for more than two hours at a stretch since his birth, it is only natural that I have my reservations letting him sleep alone in another room. He is barely eighteen months old - he has his whole life ahead to do what he wants once he moves away from us to establish his own identity - moving to a room of his is one of the biggest and first step I see in making his own space. I sound so much like a clingy mother, ain't I? Generally, parents complain of kids being clingy but here it is the stark opposite.
We have a double bed arrangement to accommodate LG. My mom got him into the habit of giving him a lot of space to sleep around when he was born. When he was 3 months old, he learned how to roll around from one end of the bed to another pushing everything (read: me, my mother) on the way. LG was a colicky baby who gave us a hard time so mom slept with LG and I to help me put him to sleep through the night. The habit that was formed then of defining his territory has stayed on till date.
We have a queen sized mattress on the floor, at the foot of our queen-sized cot that we sleep in. LG sleeps on the mattress on the floor ever since the great fall last year. It's big enough to accommodate three of us - two adults and a child, but not if the child is a roller coaster as LG is. When we tuck him in at 9:00 p.m. in the far extreme left, by midnight he has reached the far extreme right sometimes hitting his head on the floor only to wake up and either scream or reposition himself. There is a fortress of pillows which is of no good use for the 4*4 path that LG takes. I believe couples who let their kids sleep in another room by themselves do so for privacy reasons and appreciate the space. For us, it's the guilt. Even if I can get myself to do it, I doubt The Seniol will be who loves waking up atleast two or three times in the middle of the night to tuck LG in - who hates taking a blanket over him and wrestles himself out of it in minutes. The struggle continues - The Seniol covering, LG removing - until one of them gives up exhausted.
On second thoughts, I think it's time to let LG sleep on his own too at bedtimes. Either of us is around until he sleeps before we walk out of the room to join him a few hours later.
With The Seniol going away for an year, I find it hard to do the transition of moving him to another room and sleeping by myself. Every night the past week, LG has been waking up sometime between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. and screaming/crying inconsolably that just has us believe he was scared of something. A stroll outside the room is what calms him. I can't imagine leaving him in another room to sleep during this phase. Maybe, around two or two and half years will be the right time to start. I'd rather not think about that now. The thought of leaving a small kid in another room sends me shivers and makes me sad.
A few weeks back, we did looking for a bed that had railings on three ends but found none to our liking. So we designed one simple one with a feet and half railings on three ends that could be removed later with some storage space beneath. We placed the order too with our regular furniture vendor but he never got around to making it - I've no idea what transpired in between. Once I learned of the move back to Bangalore, there was no point following up and getting it done. Maybe once I am at Bangalore, I'll have to get LG's room furnished with a cot and some bright colors/curtains.
Jab We Met : Kids love repetitions
"Hamara main kaam tho fertilizer ka hai, par ham pesticide mein bhi enter hone wale hai" goes the dial
ogue of a character called Manjeet in the film "Jab We Met". This scene is immediately after the hit song "Nagada, Nagada" where Geet (played by Kareena Kapoor) and Manjeet are walking towards the open fields. Wondering in what context am I quoting this? I would have heard this dialogue a zillion times in the past month or so that I know every dialogue, every wink of a character's eye, every head movement of every extra in the movie that if Imtiaz Ali, the movie's director has any queries, I am qualified to clarify. Even If I go wrong, I can certainly vouch for the accuracy in LG's version.
I was a strong opponent of feeding kids in front of TV. One fussy episode during late March was the beginning of this habit. After days of not eating, we finally worked out the nursery formula. He got distracted with the nursery rhymes and started eating properly. Before we knew which was a good two months he grew tired of it. Oh yes, we are experts on the nursery rhyme front too. Then, by accident I had the TV on one day and was playing the "Jab We Met" VCD I purchased at More recently. I liked the movie when I first saw in January and wanted it for my personal collection. I was just playing to ensure that it worked. Soon, I saw LG gyrating to "Mauja hi Mauja". From no TV viewing it has now gone to no-food without TV. That's about the only time he sees TV but I'm not happy with this habit. I don't know what transpired in between ..we are now faced with a situation where when he absolutely refuses to eat anything, the mouth involuntarily opens when The Seniol moves towards the DVD player - let alone playing the movie. The parts of the movie we have seen many times are "Nagada, Nagada" and the scene after that - the duration it takes for LG to finish his bowl of food, and the song "Mauja hi Mauja".
When I wondered if he wasn't tired of seeing the same thing over and over again, I read somewhere that kids love repetitions. It's time I use this characteristic to some good use and get him over stuff that doesn't stimulate. Once in a while is fine but ten times everyday for weeks on end doesn't sound good.
