The first day of the rest of his life

The tears came easy and fast as we stepped out of the door at home and I could barely see where I was going with them streaming down my face. I told him he was going to be okay and that Mamma was also hopefully going to be okay. I told him how this was going to be a great learning experience for him and us. I took Noah to his first settling in session at his nursery/crèche today. I knew it would be hard, but I wasn't prepared for the belly blow it turned out to be. 

I sat in the same room watching him play, and be a friendly, smiley, sociable person, and marvelled at how much of a personality he has begun to show. I watched in amazement how he functioned as a little person, independent of me, and it filled my heart with great pride and joy. 

His father and I have been his primary caregivers since he came into the world, and here we are now, ready (or wanting to be) to hand over his care for a large part of his waking hours to someone else. I feel a huge mixture of emotions - excitement, apprehension, wistfulness, guilt and happiness. It hurts more than I imagined it would. I know he'll thrive with all the stimulation, develop great relationships, and learn things we couldn't possibly teach him all by ourselves. I know we'll have good days and bad days, but I hope and pray that, overall, it will be a positive experience for him and us. 

Here's to you and nursery, Noah. Mamma will miss you sorely during the day, and she is very, very, very proud of you!

A Bunch of Firsts

As the title suggests, my baby grew up loads in the time he spent in Bahrain with his Ammachi and Appachan, from the 31st of August to the 9th of September, 2011. There was a whole bunch of firsts and I'm going to list them for posterity:


- First long-haul flight (seven whole hours and he was incredibly good-humoured and settled)  
- First taste of water (the 40+ degree Celsius temperatures necessitated extreme measures and he seemed not to mind it at all)
- First time rolling over from back to tummy (lying on the plastic woven mat seemed to give him the tread/traction he couldn't muster up from being on carpet or a cloth mat at home)
- First tastes of watermelon and plum; and a taste of "potato bhaji" from Saravanna Bhavan, courtesy his Ammachi!
- First Onam sadhya with his first tastes of dal and rice.
- First haircut!! I was really heartbroken when it happened, but it was for the best - he was beginning to get dreadlocks from the wispy ends of birth hair. I am also very pleased to report it's all growing back and very quickly to boot. I am a very happy Mamma!


Since we got back, Noah's been making many attempts to sit up. He hates lying down and wants to be propped up so he can see what's going on. He's also had a huge growth spurt and has been feeding like crazy. I was struggling to keep up the breastfeeding - it seemed to comfort him but barely nourish him as my supply's on the wane, which was to be expected. I am less bothered by it now because we've begun weaning him and getting him onto solid food. Speaking of which, he also has tried pears, peaches, mangoes, broccoli, cauliflower and butternut squash, all of which he seems to like. He's changing every day and becoming so much more expressive and interactive. We're enjoying every day! 

More Banana and Stinky Poo!

Noah ate a second helping of banana today - he absolutely loves it! It's lovely to see him very interested in the food and his earnest attempts at gulping it down even as he drools all over his bib, the Bumbo and the floor and ends up spitting up half of what he's eaten because he hasn't quite mastered the art of using his tongue to move the food to the back of his mouth to be swallowed. While I am convinced this has been a good time to start him on solids, I am wary of rushing things along and want him to direct the pace. I'm sure he'll tell us when he's ready for more, like he's always done. 


On a not-so-yummy note, the tiny amount of solids has made a considerable difference to the quality (or lack thereof) of his poo. It is now more solid and has more green than yellow. Not green as in sick green, but just more green than yellow. Yikes, somebody stop me!

Avocado

We tried mushy avocado today, having run out of our trusty bananas. Epic fail. He spat out all of what he was fed and made the dirtiest face I have seen him make in all his four months of age! I hope sincerely that his love for bananas is not to do with only the sweetness - if it is, we are doomed! I am going to persist with the avocado. Watch this space.

Nom, Nom, Nom!

Noah had his first taste of solids today! Yummy squishy banana fed to him in beautiful silver cutlery gifted by his Chitti and Chachan. He seemed to like the taste and kept going for more. He has not quite perfected the art of using his tongue to push the food to the back of his mouth, but is slowly getting the idea. He was seated in his Bumbo chair and lovingly fed by his Mamma, Daddy, Chitti and Chachan in turn. He is a very lucky little boy!

Day 3- On our way home!

Day 2 - Still in the hospital