Chatty mornings, shrieks of anger and, squeals of joy

Every morning the first person I speak to is Veda and the first person she sees and speaks to is me. Veda is an extremely vocal person in the mornings. She wakes up stretching and flexing her tiny body and smiles at me, followed by a couple of giggles. At this point I find her too cute and I pick her up after she reaches her arms out to me. After I wish her good morning if I don't get any response I say mmmm and that gets her started. She goes mmmmmmm, mumumum, babababa, bamama, and sometimes she mixes up stuff. Yesterday she said obamamama :). I believe she tells me about her dreams and the fun she had while sleeping. After talking her way through her diaper change I set her down to play. Once Veda is amongst her toys, she plays happily, until she gets bored.

Veda has a short temper, like me. She sweats on her nose and shrieks when she doesn't like something or wants something. On Saturday we were in the mall and after a while she started shrieking. It was pretty embarrassing, but if I spoke to her she would be calm and coo back. So I spent half an hour making "gaagaa", "mmmmmm" and other baby noises while walking around the store. I have no idea what people thought of me, because I was too busy talking to Veda. More recently she shrieked to be picked up and carried around and once when she was sitting alone in the back of the car. We had to pull over and make sure she had company to calm her down.

Most girls are daddy's darling daughter's and mine is no exception. She searches for her dad and stares at the door to see if he will come through. When my husband does come through, she will start bouncing up and down, grunting and squealing. She claps her hands, smiles her broad toothless grin. If she is lying on her belly she moves her body so that her butt starts wiggling, sort of like a puppy dog that is excited.

She knows her name :)

Ever since we decided to name our baby Veda we have been calling her by that name. We also call her other names like Vedula, Pattu, Babushka, Gabushka, Gugu Mari, Vedu etc. Till recently she would look at us whenever we said something , but now she responds to her name !!! - December 8th 2009.

Sad Goodbyes

I enjoy the time I spend with Veda, and I think she does too. Her big toothless grin and bobbing head assure me that she loves me. She leaps into my arms ( and leaps out too her dad too) and buries her face in my neck or chest. "Oh yes !!!!" I tell myself, this little person definitely loves me and wants to be with me :).

Luckily or unluckily Veda is rather social, she is happy at daycare, she doesn't cry when I drop her off at daycare, or when she meets our friends, or random strangers at the mall. She coos and talks to everyone, reserving the hugging and cuddling for mom and dad only!

I feel great when Veda clings on to me. Her clinging on to me is a classic excuse to sit and play with her and not do any of the chores. At twenty six weeks Veda has begun to cry a teeny tiny bit when I leave her alone. I saw this as an indicator that she needs me and/or likes me more than everyone else. I thought this was because of all the fun stuff we do together.... but I get this baby e-mail two days after Veda cries indicating that this behavior is a developmental milestone that kids get at 28 weeks.
"Your baby is becoming aware of comings and goings of the people he loves, and who is familiar and who is not. Along with becoming uncomfortable with strangers, he is likely to develop some distress related to separations from you with increasing intensity over the next couple of months. Expect that necessary separations when you leave him at childcare or with a sitter may make him unhappy during this phase of development. Alert friends and family (especially grandparents) that your baby is in a stage of development that may require them to interact with him more gradually than before. They shouldn't feel hurt if he refuses to be held by anyone except Mom, your partner, or his regular babysitter for a while. This stage of development, like all others, will pass."

eyes

two beautiful eyes big and bright
they follow me when I move left to right
she stares at me and rests her gaze upon my face
her eyes sparkle indicating mischief
glow when she is happy
open wide in surprise
and fill up with tears when she cries
they have so much to say
even when she rests and sleeps, half open they stay

the worm ....

Different babies move around differently, I heard this often as a kid, but I understand it now when I see the way my daughter is moving around. I have seen babies crawl, roll, and some sit on their butt and move along using their elbows and thighs. My daughter has a unique style, which my husband and I call the worm. She started moving this way in her sixth month.

It starts off with her lying on the ground on her back and staring at the roof. Next she places her feet flat on the ground, as she does that she lifts her butt and back off the ground. At this point of time her head, part of her shoulders and feet are the only parts on the ground. As she lowers her butt and back to the ground, her head slides up in the direction she is moving, and she becomes flat again.

She repeats these steps and moves 8 feet in around five minutes. Other than this she can roll, which is pretty common for babies. If she keeps moving this way, I should fit into my skinny jeans in two months :).

Veda's first....

ride in a car seat - May 30th, Veda came home from the hospital
bath - May 31st, Paati gave Veda a bath.
walk - June 13th, Chella Patti, Pinky Athai, Dad and mom went on a walk with Veda in her stroller. Veda's umbilical cord fell of today :).
oil bath - June 15th, mommy gave Veda an oil massage and bath.
holiday - July 3rd, Veda Chella patti, dad and mom went to Maine for two days. It was very nice and cool. We saw Moose !
temple visit - July 18th, Veda Chella patti, dad and mom went to the temple in Ashland , MA.
puke - July 26th, Veda's mom gave her more milk, much more than she could eat and out it came.. gabak...
visit to Boston - August 1st, Veda saw the harbor, the commons and enjoyed milk on the ocean front and a drink in the park too.
roll from back to stomach - September 3rd, Veda rolled from her back to her stomach.
flight - September 4th, Veda flew to San Fransisco to meet her Piya, Peripa, Jayanth Mama, Gayu maami and Jaanu akka.
solid food- September 17th, Paatti gave Veda Raagi
feet in mouth - September 24th, Veda kept her foot in her mouth and sucked her teeny tiny little toes.
pulled of mommy's glasses - October 6th
day at daycare - October 13th, Veda spent 7 hours at day care
full roll - November 6th, Veda rolled from her back to her tummy and then onto her back too
Ears pierced - November 10th
word - November 14th, Veda started saying mumum and lala
sitting - November 19th, Veda can sit when seated without falling
holding milk bottle on her own and drinking too - November 24th, in her sleep Veda held her milk bottle and drank from it.
mama, baba and dada - November 27th

Before the baby ....

We were expecting a baby girl for a while now, she was due May 24th 2009. 2008 was a whirlwind year for me. It was extremely exciting and fun. I traveled a great deal starting with trips to upstate New York, Baltimore, Washington DC, New York City, Chicago, New Hampshire, Florida. The momentum carried through in 2009 too, I traveled to India during my second trimester and returned during the third trimester.

In India my mother threw me the Iyer baby shower also known as the Valagapu and Seemandam. The ceremony was fun and it was nice meeting up with my relatives. Following this my mother in law gave me the Maharashtrian baby shower also known as the khelvan. After relaxing at home and getting pampered, I returned to the USA. After much discussion my husband and I finalized on the name Veda. My friends threw me a surprise baby shower on the 22nd of March and my colleagues surprised me on May 7th.

My mother came to assist me with the delivery on April 24th. I worked till May 27th. Our little girl Veda finally arrived on May 28th 2009 at 3:28am (EST), weighing 7lb 8oz and 20.5" at birth.

My amazing Veda

Soft and chubby
Playful and Bubbly
Pink and cuddly
Innocent and impish
Giggly and mischievous
Sparkly and gorgeous
.. I fall short of words
that describe my amazing Veda