i could call it a Thingie Post 4

or just name it Love! The father cannot wait for The Bub to able to jump on and around him too!

Please to notice Bub's undivided attention and loving gaze at her Brother. Please to NOT notice Cub's new fake smile! I hope he outgrows it soon! :p

And yes, there is lots to share which in terms of moments and milestones and I hope to do it soon. I am already forgetting so much of it. Especially Cub's gyaan! Must share Bub's smiles with you folks too. Soon, i promise! :)

Hope things have been awesome with all of you! :)

The Thingie Post 3 and Cub n Bub ki kahaaniyaan!

I love the man for buying me Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on the day of its release and the very next day of the release of his son. Yes, Cub's birth! I wish I could hunt for the photo of a day old Cub, the Book and me at the hospital.



And the book has two sweetest messages;


To My Sweetest Sorceress and Strongest Ma
Thanks for giving me life and changing my Nappies
Love, Bumpy

and


Thank You to the sweetest magician
Who has the strongest spell on Me.
M

And lets not forget we saw the HP movie a week before Cub's birth, FDFS! :)


And here's what Cub has to say about Bub.


On taking responsibility

When Bub grows up, I am going bathe her and dress her up! :)

On games people play

When Bub grows up, I am going to ask Papa to buy her also one Gada (a la Hanumanji, his latest favourite) and then we will fight with our gadas! :p


And here are some photos of Bub's first outing on her first month birthday. We went to UB City and had a yummylicious meal at Tasty Tangles while Bub slept peacefully in the stroller Starry graciously shared with us! :) The weather was perfect to enjoy the open seating! Thanks Dad for a great time! :)

The Phirst Phamily Photo of Phour before we left. And the pink teddy is named Goldilocks! :D

Happy to be out and about! New FB profile pic?! :p

At UB City. Another Foursome! :)

The Three Generations! with my parents! :)

Bub being fed AFTER we all had our fill. She kept sleeping till then like an accha baccha! :)

Happy to be home after a fun day out! :)

The Thingie Post 2 and Bub's naamkaran!

How can you not love the man who sends this sms when you have just found out you are pregnant and wondering what should you call the baby in-utero?

"We will call her Bumpelina 3D because A) She better be a she and B) she announced herself only in 3rd month and C) all sequels are now 3D! ;)

or when traveling dreams about cleaning his kid's snotty nose and misses him even more!

Our kids are very lucky to have an unbashedly sentimental Papa like you! :)

NB: For folks who joined the pahty late Cub's in-utero name was Bumpy! :)

And here are Bub's naamkaran pics. We didnt really go the whole traditional hog. It was mainly a getogether with the family here. WE did bits and pieces of Maharashtrian barase and tied it up with beer and biryani! :p

The photos arent exactly in order. But i am too impatient to set them in exact order! Please to bear with the lazy mother of two! ;)

Almost midnight the previous evening we attempted some last min decoration! :) The Aaji and grandson were doing ghoda ghoda on the beanbag! :D

The welcome note by the father of the kids! Love it! :)

Proud grandparents and bada bhaiyya with the Bub before the pahty started!

Cub looking dapper wearing kurta gifted by Mansi bua! :)

Ruhi bua whispering the name in Bub's ear!

Bub in the decorated cradle!

 The "aukshan" or arati. This one by my Mum.

 Aukshan by Meenoo Mausi - the local daadi! :)

 By Ruhi Bua! :)

since I had no salwar kameez i could fit into, i stuck to my maternity jeans and silk stole! :D

Cub eating the cake he had just cut! No need to be fed n all! :p

Cake for Cub! :)

And for Bub! You got the name by now i guess! :D

L'il bub tired of all the attention! :)

The Thingie Post and Bub's first smile! :)

Sue always comes up with the coolest blogposts and so many of em end up becoming tags. Now, i am gonna jump onto the Thingie Posts bandwagon. The husband M is traveling and will be back only sometime post mid-Feb. He is ofcos terribly missed and this is as good as any other time to look at what makes him so special. And always a good reference for days I am particularly mad at him! :p

So a few days after I got back from the hospital with Bub, i saw a darkened vessel in one corner of an unused sink. I asked my mom who had managed to char another pateela to cinders since that is my speciality and I didn't remmeber being responsible for this blackened piece of steel.


Mom told me that M was boiling the milk in the morning the day I was being operated to get Bub out in to this world. He forgot to turn off the gas in all the rush and excitement. She then said he looked so nervous and worried. He didn't move from outside the OT the entire time I was in. Refused to even go and have quick naashta at a darshini right next to the hospital. He didnt go anywhere even after he saw the Bub till he figured out what exactly was happening with me.


Standard expected behaviour one would say. But when I teased him about the kala pateela, he simply said "But i was so worried about You..." and my eyes welled up.


I love the man for always being able to laugh at himself and disarming me with complete honesty on rare occasions! :)


And here's Bub's first captured smile. Now she is grinning away to glory. But right now I am too smitten to bother taking photos. Just soaking it all in. The unexpectedness of it still takes my breathe away! :)

Taken with brother's spanking new fancy camera. But ofcos I am giving all the credit to the model! :)

The proud big brother! Bub ofcos bawls, but Cub wants his share of godi taking and cuddling! :)

The Cub and The Bub! :)

When we found out that I was expecting again, I had send out a sms saying "some people just don't learn from their mistakes!" And yes, of course i WAS kidding! :)


We are so thrilled to have Bubs with us that I cant even begin to express it. Here is the link to what the proud father had to say. Much better than i can ever express! :) And the blog christening of 2B has also been done by him only. Babli... in short Bub. Cub and Bub! Total cuteness overload, isn't it?! :)


Things have been pretty peaceful the second time round. Least till the parents are here! :p We are dreading the 16th Dec night which is the first time we will bother taking care of her and start staying up the nights! We have Meerabai Aunty to help us through it and we are keeping our fingers crossed.


Breastfeeding came a lot more easily this time. For one Bub leant to suckle pretty fast unlike Cub thanks to his hypotonia (which we didnt know at that time). The supply is better. Even now she is on combination of ma ka doodh and Lactogen, but i am able to feed more often and lot more comfortably. Plus i was very clear that I won't guilt trip myself about it like last time. So am at peace with whatever feeding I manage knowing I am doing the best I can! :)


For everyone who wanted to know Cub's reaction to his Bub, well, he is an ADORABLE and ADORING big brother! He has grown up so much all of a sudden, that we just keep marvelling at the transformation and also keep wondering how to make him be the baby that he is. The amount of help he offers at home is nothing short of amazing. Plus he is always more than willing to help with baby duties.

The moment Bub cries, he is at her side telling her "don't cry! your bhaiyya is here!" He repeats whatever we say to her and takes her godi every single time he can and remembers to! :D


He runs to get her nappies and tell us what colour to make her wear first. When his Papa says something even in jest against his sister, he pipes up saying "She is only a baby, Papa!" Lot more mature than i was when I had Cub, i tell ya.


That said there are obvious moments of other extreme as well. The time when he says i don't want her or i don't like her. But these times are few and far in between. He is mostly a very doting brother.


We had told him forever that she will be extremely boring for first few month just indulging in susu potty and sleep and his expectation in that sense were set right. I think it also helped that his aaji ajoba is here and he gets a lot on attention that is positive and encouraging rather than the grouchy, sleepless parents that he will get once the grand parents leave! :p


He is also being loaded with gifts by friends and family who have been visiting us. Be it books, toys including remote control cars or chocolates, everyone has been sweet and considerate to not forget the original baby! :D


There are times, when I have fed Bub and put her down on the bed. Cub is sleeping at one end. M is stretched with his laptop in another corner and i lie down wherever there is place. I look at the picture and feel a contentment I cannot describe.


It DOES feel like a complete family now! :)

Cub playing with one of his gifts for becoming a Big Brother! :)

laying and picking up mats pre and post dinner is Cub duty these days!

The Bub! :)

The Cub and The Bub! :D

from the do bacchon ki ma!

Time to make an official announcement on the blog. Albeit a bit late! Apologies for that!

So l'il Cubby now has a l'il Sister! Yup! 2B is a girl!!!! And M and me proud parents of a daughter!

She came into our lives crying and kicking on 12th! :)

It was a planned c-sec and things went off as smooth as they can. I got admitted the previous night at around 830 and after completing the formalities, all of us went to have ice cream at Corner House. We got back to the hospital at around 11, to be scolded by the anesthetist for doing the disappearing act. He was an old man and i just grinned a silly grin and said i wanted to have dessert! ;)

Got cut up the next day and doc announced "You have a daughter!". Somehow we were so sure that it would be a boy, that I was super zapped! So was M! :) The doc had let me keep my glasses on saying "How the heck will you see the baby?!"

Cub who somehow was always sure it was a girl was being super cute and helpful. he LOVED hospital visits as much for 2B as he did for Bourbon biscuits that were there in the room! ;)

Got discharged on 15th and came back to a gorgeously decorated home. My mom had totally outdone herself! There were flowers, streamers, balloons and the works! Cub had been an enthusiastic helper apparently.

Its been 12 days now and 2B seems to be changing every day. Right now I am trying to excel at my bovine duties and she her kumbhakarna duties. Mom-dad being around is a HUGE support obviously and things seem to be falling into place!

There is a lot more I want to share. Cub's reactions, our experience the second time round and all that jazz. I guess that will just have to wait for another post. I had thought of coming up with something incredibly nice even to make an announcement, but right now my brain is functioning only as much! :)

So that its from this household for now. More later! Hopefully soon enough!

Meanwhile thank you so much for all your prayers and good wishes! We are all indeed blessed!

Cubby aur 2B!

2B's arrival is fairly close now and the excitement is building up. My parents reach Bangalore on 4th night which means Cub gets to a see a little more traditional Diwali and M and me get a break from eating apne haath ka khaana! :p I am still working. Plan to till the 4th after which i might get about a week of R n R before the child decides to pop! :)


Most of the excitement for 2B comes from his/her Big Brother Cubby! He is really looking forward to having 2B with us and is being super cute, understanding and mature about the whole thing. Kala Teeka and Touchwood! :)


We have been trying to set his expectations right by telling him that 2B for most part of first 3 months will be pooping, peeing, having milk and sleeping. So what does the Cub do? He decided cleaning 2Bs potty in that case might be the most exciting thing to do. So he keeps talking about how he will clean 2Bs potty with water. Then as an afterthought he once asked me "But Mamma, will 2B have a bum?!" :D


He also talks about feeding 2B milk with a spoon. And cutest of all he joins both his hands like a curve and says this is a cradle for 2B and he will put her to sleep there! :)


He has always been understanding about no sitting / jumping on my tummy and now is totally OK with not being carried either. Sometimes he is SO sweet about the whole thing that it breaks my heart! :(


He happily started going to school by van when i told him that my tummy is now too big to drop him on the bike.


He ofcos kisses my tummy (yaani 2B) at all random times, strokes it and hugs it and gives the cutest of smiles! :)


Since I am having a C-sec, it was easy to tell him how 2B is going to come out. So he sweetly asked me "But why do they have to cut your tummy?!". I said "nahi toh kahan se bahar aayega 2b?". He retorts "From your mouth. Just do thoo!" :p


All in all he is all set to take on the Bada Bhaiyya mantle and do complete justice to it. I hope the love and excitement stays even after 2B is out.


Love ya my First Born! You are one of the gentlest souls i have known! Here's wishing you abundant love and fun with your 2B! mmmmmmuuuuuuuuuaaah! :)