So, I became a dad all over again last Monday. Thanks to technological marvels such as Blackberry, Facebook and Twitter, I could take pics and let people know within minutes of my son's birth. Felt weird, felt good too. Feb 23 was an amazing day for a lot of happy Indians, it became even more special for me.
The baby is doing just great. He keeps us awake most nights as any newborn worth his salt would. His mom is also fine and well, recuperating faster than most, thanks to an excellent gynaec whose only advice after the Caesarian was to run up and down four flights of steps. My wife being who she is, loved the advice and proceeded to do exactly that. She's almost fully back to normal now, within just a few days of the operation.
The big sister went through a mild patch of severe stomach ache and vomiting, which started curiously enough the day the baby reached home. She got a lot of extra attention the next couple of days and is back to normal now, thankfully.
We have named him Karan. Karan Madhav. You know he's going to steal your daughter's heart one day, don't you?
Our first choice of name was Kabir, though. It's sad that we live in times when we had to rule out a child's name, for fear of giving him an unnecessary handicap when he grows up. Kabir, you see, is perceived as a Muslim name in the south, especially in Kerala. Sindha and I thought of conversations which would go:
- "What's your name, smartass?"
- "Kabir"
- "A-ha! What's your father's name?"
- "Madhav"
- "Oh! We have a live one here. What's your mother's name?"
- "Thomas"
This would ensure him getting beaten up by all three communities. The Sikhs might also join in, given the importance they give to Kabir's poems. As much as we both loved the name Kabir, we just didn't want to setup our son for trouble later on in his life. The above scenario could very well turn out true, the way things are going these days, especially in Karnataka. I'm not very proud of it, but we chickened out finally.
At any rate, the baby is here and all of us are happy and well. We are four now.
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baby. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Baby update
This kid really has an attitude. She is very miserly with her smiles and doles them out only after a lot of coaxing. Picture a visitor looking at her for the first time - typical visitors are female, about 40 and bring dresses as gifts. Said visitor goes :"Rachu baby !! Agoo-goo-goo-gooo !". Our heroine lifts one eyebrow three millimetres and ignores the visitor. The tenacious sort among the visitors repeats the goo-goo routine. Rachu looks at her out of the corner of her eye ('chirayal' in malayalam) and sneers at her. She then turns her head away and mulls over the Kashmir issue. Most people give up at this point.
She can stare at the fan for hours, ruminating over how it works and its place in the grand scheme of things. She would much rather prefer looking at it than at her parents, not to mention friends and relatives. Maybe she will grow up to be an electrician. [insert 'fan' jokes here].
On the other hand, she is happiest in the morning when she wakes up, after her feed. She likes being held close to my body, happy with the warmth and comfort I guess.
She can stare at the fan for hours, ruminating over how it works and its place in the grand scheme of things. She would much rather prefer looking at it than at her parents, not to mention friends and relatives. Maybe she will grow up to be an electrician. [insert 'fan' jokes here].
On the other hand, she is happiest in the morning when she wakes up, after her feed. She likes being held close to my body, happy with the warmth and comfort I guess.
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
Another one of those husband-wife conversations
Me: "She looks lovely, don't you think ? So cute"
She: "She's extremely ugly"
Me: "What do you mean ?!!"
She: "Just look at that scowl on her face..there ! Now she's making all kinds of faces. Look at that double chin..I'm going to call her Dudley"
Me: "Dudley who ? Dudley Do-Right ?"
She: "Dudley as in Harry Potter"
Me: ".."
She: "Now she's banging her head against my chest. Maybe I should call her Dobby instead"
She: "She's extremely ugly"
Me: "What do you mean ?!!"
She: "Just look at that scowl on her face..there ! Now she's making all kinds of faces. Look at that double chin..I'm going to call her Dudley"
Me: "Dudley who ? Dudley Do-Right ?"
She: "Dudley as in Harry Potter"
Me: ".."
She: "Now she's banging her head against my chest. Maybe I should call her Dobby instead"
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Of promotions, houses, boys, office space and baby girls
Sindha got promoted ! There she was, moping around at home post-delivery, wondering if her job would still be there when she returned to the college. Her principal calls up yesterday evening and congratulates her on the delivery, and extends it by saying "I've recommended you for the post of lecturer" ! Now she hasn't yet seen anything in writing and is not very clear on what this 'recommending her' means, but it does look likely that she has been promoted. This is good. This means a bunch of things, the biggest of which is that we don't need to think of returning to Kerala any time soon. All right !
I've given the legal papers of the site to Biju Small, a lawyer friend of mine. The Small is to differentiate him from another Biju, Biju Large. Now Biju Large gets his name not because of his size, but from a term commonly used in relation to measures of alcohol. But I digress
I also plan to show my dad the site and if possible, take an architect friend of his along. If all the above people certify that the property is good, we will go ahead. Should be able to decide in a week or thereabouts.
ARR's Boys is good. It has a very youthful, peppy feel to it. Catchy tunes, cheesy lyrics as always. Then again, I'm getting old.
Two new additions to my divx collection - Raiders of the Lost Ark and Office Space. I haven't seen Office Space yet, but had a peek at the first 10 minutes and liked it. I can see why its supposed to be a modern cult classic (if that phrase exists).
Rachana looks set to be a mimicry artist. She makes all kinds of sounds both asleep and awake. Grunts, sighs, tuneful moans and what have you. She has an interested look on her face when I play music, especially ARR (or so I would like to believe). She also seems to mistake me for the WC; she waits the whole day for me to get home and take her in my arms, especially after I've had a bath and changed into clean clothes. Maybe its my singing to her which does it.
I've given the legal papers of the site to Biju Small, a lawyer friend of mine. The Small is to differentiate him from another Biju, Biju Large. Now Biju Large gets his name not because of his size, but from a term commonly used in relation to measures of alcohol. But I digress
I also plan to show my dad the site and if possible, take an architect friend of his along. If all the above people certify that the property is good, we will go ahead. Should be able to decide in a week or thereabouts.
ARR's Boys is good. It has a very youthful, peppy feel to it. Catchy tunes, cheesy lyrics as always. Then again, I'm getting old.
Two new additions to my divx collection - Raiders of the Lost Ark and Office Space. I haven't seen Office Space yet, but had a peek at the first 10 minutes and liked it. I can see why its supposed to be a modern cult classic (if that phrase exists).
Rachana looks set to be a mimicry artist. She makes all kinds of sounds both asleep and awake. Grunts, sighs, tuneful moans and what have you. She has an interested look on her face when I play music, especially ARR (or so I would like to believe). She also seems to mistake me for the WC; she waits the whole day for me to get home and take her in my arms, especially after I've had a bath and changed into clean clothes. Maybe its my singing to her which does it.
Friday, July 4, 2003
Odds and Ends
Longish update, hence the various lj-cuts.
Bought a few cds the other day, but don't tell Sindha - Meesa Madhavan, Nammal, The Ragpicker's Dream and a compilation of 18 modern rock hits. The last one is pretty good, though I thought all the artistes sound very similar. I was impressed with bands like Linkin Park, GooGoo Dolls, Nickleback, etc.
Has anyone got the new Metallica album, by the way ? I saw an ad that mentioned Planet M (or was it MusicWorld) was giving away caps with each cd. I'd like to see a good review before I buy it.
All my listening gets done in the car these days, what with the baby and people around the house all the time. Sindha's sis and family are at home right now. The house has been having a steady stream of visitors for quite some time. My ma-in-law will return to Tvm on the 13th, the day my parents reach here. Achan will be in the Ashram mostly, but Amma plans to stay home till the end of July.
I'd like to move into a new apartment somewhere in Whitefield by the end of the month. Prestige Langleigh is what I have my eye on, but I heard that the rent for a 3 bedroom apt there is close to Rs 20,000, which is ridiculous. Out in the boondocks and 20k for a flat ? My budget is more in the 10-12k range. If anyone hears of a good flat in that area, please let me know. Much obliged.
I had tagged along with Kamalachitta and co when they visited a relative of Kunjachan. This chap has a son who has done pretty much the same thing as I - hooked up his pc to the music system and the tv. He had a nice collection of divx movies, mainly new ones though. I noticed two Monty Pythons (Life of Brian and the Holy Grail), seeing which I immediately asked for copies. He also had this movie called Pi which has been on my must-watch list. However I didn't get time to copy that.
The office folks continue their merry spree of downloading the latest movies. They do come up with a few good ones from time to time. I'm picking up Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bowling for Columbine from the Bombay office. Office Space was another movie that I copied over from a machine on the network here. Oh, Bandwidth !
The baby is keeping quite well. We have decided to name her Rachana as planned, despite strong resistance from the l-j community. I went to the Registration Office at Kamaraj Road to get her birth registered. I have this morbid fear of government offices. You have seedy looking characters loitering around the place, who approach you with an ingratiating smile and a promise to get the job done at a small fee. You don't know the language, you don't know which window/clerk to approach, you don't know which forms to sign. You give up and give the set of papers to the agent and pay him an exorbitant amount to get the job done. You exit with the certificate in your hand, happy to get what you wanted but guilty and embarassed over paying a bribe.
Thankfully this place wasn't anything like I imagined. I had a bit of trouble finding the location but once I went inside, it was smooth sailing. The gentleman at the desk wasn't overly friendly, but was professional and explained what exactly needs to be done. I filled up the form (in Kannada, but luckily I had a spare copy filled in earlier) and coughed up Rs 65 for the paperwork. I need to go there on Saturday to collect the birth certificate. Smooth and easy, no shady characters, no bribes. Nice.
And in case anyone's interested, here's what you need for registering a birth:
1. A certificate from the hospital
2. A couple of forms filled in, you can get this from the registration office or the SBO (Sub Health Office, or some such)
3. You should know the exact SBO to go to. The Karnataka govt has a nice website which gives details on where you need to go.
4. Rs 65
5. The name of the baby, if you want the certificate to include the name
And now for the weekend...!
Bought a few cds the other day, but don't tell Sindha - Meesa Madhavan, Nammal, The Ragpicker's Dream and a compilation of 18 modern rock hits. The last one is pretty good, though I thought all the artistes sound very similar. I was impressed with bands like Linkin Park, GooGoo Dolls, Nickleback, etc.
Has anyone got the new Metallica album, by the way ? I saw an ad that mentioned Planet M (or was it MusicWorld) was giving away caps with each cd. I'd like to see a good review before I buy it.
All my listening gets done in the car these days, what with the baby and people around the house all the time. Sindha's sis and family are at home right now. The house has been having a steady stream of visitors for quite some time. My ma-in-law will return to Tvm on the 13th, the day my parents reach here. Achan will be in the Ashram mostly, but Amma plans to stay home till the end of July.
I'd like to move into a new apartment somewhere in Whitefield by the end of the month. Prestige Langleigh is what I have my eye on, but I heard that the rent for a 3 bedroom apt there is close to Rs 20,000, which is ridiculous. Out in the boondocks and 20k for a flat ? My budget is more in the 10-12k range. If anyone hears of a good flat in that area, please let me know. Much obliged.
I had tagged along with Kamalachitta and co when they visited a relative of Kunjachan. This chap has a son who has done pretty much the same thing as I - hooked up his pc to the music system and the tv. He had a nice collection of divx movies, mainly new ones though. I noticed two Monty Pythons (Life of Brian and the Holy Grail), seeing which I immediately asked for copies. He also had this movie called Pi which has been on my must-watch list. However I didn't get time to copy that.
The office folks continue their merry spree of downloading the latest movies. They do come up with a few good ones from time to time. I'm picking up Raiders of the Lost Ark and Bowling for Columbine from the Bombay office. Office Space was another movie that I copied over from a machine on the network here. Oh, Bandwidth !
The baby is keeping quite well. We have decided to name her Rachana as planned, despite strong resistance from the l-j community. I went to the Registration Office at Kamaraj Road to get her birth registered. I have this morbid fear of government offices. You have seedy looking characters loitering around the place, who approach you with an ingratiating smile and a promise to get the job done at a small fee. You don't know the language, you don't know which window/clerk to approach, you don't know which forms to sign. You give up and give the set of papers to the agent and pay him an exorbitant amount to get the job done. You exit with the certificate in your hand, happy to get what you wanted but guilty and embarassed over paying a bribe.
Thankfully this place wasn't anything like I imagined. I had a bit of trouble finding the location but once I went inside, it was smooth sailing. The gentleman at the desk wasn't overly friendly, but was professional and explained what exactly needs to be done. I filled up the form (in Kannada, but luckily I had a spare copy filled in earlier) and coughed up Rs 65 for the paperwork. I need to go there on Saturday to collect the birth certificate. Smooth and easy, no shady characters, no bribes. Nice.
And in case anyone's interested, here's what you need for registering a birth:
1. A certificate from the hospital
2. A couple of forms filled in, you can get this from the registration office or the SBO (Sub Health Office, or some such)
3. You should know the exact SBO to go to. The Karnataka govt has a nice website which gives details on where you need to go.
4. Rs 65
5. The name of the baby, if you want the certificate to include the name
And now for the weekend...!
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Baby stuff - be warned !
First, thanks a million for all the wishes. Megha seems to be the name of choice for most l-jers. Actually most people I know prefer Megha to Rachana. However...Rachana seems to fit, somehow. Kichan and Sindha have already started referring to her by that name. So even though the jury is still out, inside sources reveal that Rachana Madhav is very likely to be the eventual winner
GK Vale screwed up my photo cd ! The pics arrived as hard copies yesterday but the jpgs cannot be read ("Can't read file header !"). Damn. Need to go shout at them and get this resolved. Too many folks - relatives and friends - waiting for the pics.
The baby wakes up every hour on the dot at nights. Sindha and I are having a lovely time. The sequence goes like this:
1. "Waaa-haa-waaa-haa"
2. Cotton, warm water, new nappies, baby powder.
3. Soiled nappies go into two buckets - one for the ..er..#1 and the other for #2 (or both #1 and #2)
4. Feed starts, wait for some time
5. Burp. Wait. If "Waaa-haa-waaa haaa" then repeat step 4
6. Back in cradle, parents back in bed. zzzz.
7. "Waaa-haa-waaa haaa"...and so on.
I'm back at office, catching up on email and struggling to stay awake.
Crib of the day: Indiatimes hasn't shipped The Book yet. Why am I not surprised ? Sent them a stinker. Maybe I should have gone to fabmart like I used to.
GK Vale screwed up my photo cd ! The pics arrived as hard copies yesterday but the jpgs cannot be read ("Can't read file header !"). Damn. Need to go shout at them and get this resolved. Too many folks - relatives and friends - waiting for the pics.
The baby wakes up every hour on the dot at nights. Sindha and I are having a lovely time. The sequence goes like this:
1. "Waaa-haa-waaa-haa"
2. Cotton, warm water, new nappies, baby powder.
3. Soiled nappies go into two buckets - one for the ..er..#1 and the other for #2 (or both #1 and #2)
4. Feed starts, wait for some time
5. Burp. Wait. If "Waaa-haa-waaa haaa" then repeat step 4
6. Back in cradle, parents back in bed. zzzz.
7. "Waaa-haa-waaa haaa"...and so on.
I'm back at office, catching up on email and struggling to stay awake.
Crib of the day: Indiatimes hasn't shipped The Book yet. Why am I not surprised ? Sent them a stinker. Maybe I should have gone to fabmart like I used to.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
Baby girl !
Sindha delivered a baby girl at 8:15pm on Friday, the 20th of June. Both mom and daughter are doing fine. The daddy, too.
I'll put up a detailed post later - suffice to say that the last three days have been extremely hectic and a bit tense. She went for her regular checkup on Wednesday evening. The doc found that her BP was high and promptly admitted her into Chinmya Mission Hospital. We waited for a day without doing anything and another day with Sindha in labour. High BP, some minor bleeding and a scan that revealed that the baby had the umbilical cord around her neck forced the doc to go in for a Ceasarian section. Luckily everything went smoothly after that and the baby was delivered without any problems. Both sets of parents were here, which was good too.
Sindha is tired and a bit weak. She expects to be discharged by Tuesday. The kid is keeping us awake at night, as expected. Haven't yet finalised the name, but its most likely to be either Rachana or Megha. I'll put up pics when I get a chance
How do I feel ? I don't know, really. It hasn't yet sunk in, I guess. However it felt good to be with Sindha and the baby, cuddling together and looking into each other eyes.
We are three now.
I'll put up a detailed post later - suffice to say that the last three days have been extremely hectic and a bit tense. She went for her regular checkup on Wednesday evening. The doc found that her BP was high and promptly admitted her into Chinmya Mission Hospital. We waited for a day without doing anything and another day with Sindha in labour. High BP, some minor bleeding and a scan that revealed that the baby had the umbilical cord around her neck forced the doc to go in for a Ceasarian section. Luckily everything went smoothly after that and the baby was delivered without any problems. Both sets of parents were here, which was good too.
Sindha is tired and a bit weak. She expects to be discharged by Tuesday. The kid is keeping us awake at night, as expected. Haven't yet finalised the name, but its most likely to be either Rachana or Megha. I'll put up pics when I get a chance
How do I feel ? I don't know, really. It hasn't yet sunk in, I guess. However it felt good to be with Sindha and the baby, cuddling together and looking into each other eyes.
We are three now.
Monday, June 9, 2003
Name Game - latest results
Mythili is leading, closely followed by Rachana, Megha and Nandita.
The boys section is lagging behind, mainly due to a strong feeling from the mom-to-be that its a girl. The only names in contention are Manav and Siddharth (common, but the name I like the most).
Thanks a whole bunch for all your suggestions, good people of L-J. Sindha and I spent half of Saturday mulling over the list.
On the work front, I think I've played my cards right. Time will tell.
The boys section is lagging behind, mainly due to a strong feeling from the mom-to-be that its a girl. The only names in contention are Manav and Siddharth (common, but the name I like the most).
Thanks a whole bunch for all your suggestions, good people of L-J. Sindha and I spent half of Saturday mulling over the list.
On the work front, I think I've played my cards right. Time will tell.
Tuesday, June 3, 2003
Name game
Rachana, Megha, Keerthana. Manav, if its a boy. But then Manav Madhav doesn't sound too good.
Maneka Gandhi's book isn't helping any. We have reached the stage where we think Pinky is a better name than any of those mythological ones. Ghatotkacha is out. So is Avalokitheshwari.
Suggestions ?
Maneka Gandhi's book isn't helping any. We have reached the stage where we think Pinky is a better name than any of those mythological ones. Ghatotkacha is out. So is Avalokitheshwari.
Suggestions ?
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
In other news...
Kichan cleared the mains exam of the civil services, surprising everyone and making all of us very proud. The final stage, the interview, is on April 10. Went out a few days back and bought him clothes to wear for the interview. A pink shirt, red tie, black trousers and brown shoes is what he is going to wear, in spite of his brother & sister-in-law's advice to look sober and serious. Apparently, he wants to be himself. It has worked so far, it should work in the interview as well. Insha Allah.
The baby is extremely active and kicks his/her mom at every opportunity. Sindha says her insides must be black and blue by now. I can also feel the movements very clearly, its as though the kid is practising karate inside. Or maybe trying to bend it like Beckham. Sounds like its more of Sindha's kid than mine. But then it appears to be hungry all the time, so maybe its got quite a bit of me too.
Gave the Palio for its first service today. The dealer I bought the car from - Manx Auto - had closed down, as predicted. Sundaram - the other dealer - will service the car, but they will also charge me for it. I'm supposed to take the bill and the warranty coupon, go to Manx and convince them to reimburse me. Great. On the positive side, the car hasn't given me any trouble so far. Its a great drive and the mileage isn't all that bad - I get about 11 to 12 km in the city, without a/c.
Stephen King's Everything's Eventual sucks. Kichan tells me From a Buick Eight sucks worse. My next book is most likely to be Llosa's Feast of the Goat or Gunter Grass' Tin Drum. Yum !
Played Serious Sam - the Second Encounter on Saturday. Went to the second level after vanquishing the Mayan firegod, Whatshisname. Sam rocks. However I don't like the jumping around and clicking on levers stuff thats been added in the second part. The first episode was a pure shoot-em-up. One of my all time favourite games.
Whats a good program to convert mp3s into .cda format ? I was thinking of burning audio cds from my mp3 collection. Tried out some shareware stuff from the net, didn't like it very much.
The baby is extremely active and kicks his/her mom at every opportunity. Sindha says her insides must be black and blue by now. I can also feel the movements very clearly, its as though the kid is practising karate inside. Or maybe trying to bend it like Beckham. Sounds like its more of Sindha's kid than mine. But then it appears to be hungry all the time, so maybe its got quite a bit of me too.
Gave the Palio for its first service today. The dealer I bought the car from - Manx Auto - had closed down, as predicted. Sundaram - the other dealer - will service the car, but they will also charge me for it. I'm supposed to take the bill and the warranty coupon, go to Manx and convince them to reimburse me. Great. On the positive side, the car hasn't given me any trouble so far. Its a great drive and the mileage isn't all that bad - I get about 11 to 12 km in the city, without a/c.
Stephen King's Everything's Eventual sucks. Kichan tells me From a Buick Eight sucks worse. My next book is most likely to be Llosa's Feast of the Goat or Gunter Grass' Tin Drum. Yum !
Played Serious Sam - the Second Encounter on Saturday. Went to the second level after vanquishing the Mayan firegod, Whatshisname. Sam rocks. However I don't like the jumping around and clicking on levers stuff thats been added in the second part. The first episode was a pure shoot-em-up. One of my all time favourite games.
Whats a good program to convert mp3s into .cda format ? I was thinking of burning audio cds from my mp3 collection. Tried out some shareware stuff from the net, didn't like it very much.
Monday, February 3, 2003
Virtuosity
Me: Hey, what if our kid is a vegetarian ?!
She: What if the kid is the Prahlad type ? A virtuous vegetarian ?
Me: Horrors ! I can just see me getting ready to watch my favourite action movie on T.V, a shot of rum and platefull of beef on the side..and the kid comes up and preaches to me, asking me to mend my ways....do you think this will happen ?
She: Our kid and virtuous ? I don't think we need to worry
Monday, January 27, 2003
Conversation snippet
Me: "Hey, look at this ad for a CD from Times Music - 'Let Amitabh Bachchan speak to your unborn !' Mantras and stuff to listen to when you are pregnant. Should we buy this ?"
She: "Yeah, right. See how Abhishek Bachchan turned out"
She: "Yeah, right. See how Abhishek Bachchan turned out"
Thursday, January 9, 2003
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Q&A
Will I stop having fun ?
Will I lose too much sleep ?
Can I feel irresponsible again ?
Can I go on vacation to far off places as before ?
Do I have the money ?
Can I play the violin again ?
A hundred and one questions.
Anxious. Expectant. Confused. Happy.
Sindha and I are expecting our kid to appear in another six months.
Will I lose too much sleep ?
Can I feel irresponsible again ?
Can I go on vacation to far off places as before ?
Do I have the money ?
Can I play the violin again ?
A hundred and one questions.
Anxious. Expectant. Confused. Happy.
Sindha and I are expecting our kid to appear in another six months.
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