What DO you call her?

So, it's official now.
It was a very small ceremony with her grandparents and a couple of great grandparents. We did it the Malayali style, quick & short.I really appreciate the style, great economy of movement and effort. Aarti and baby were first smothered in 'vibudhi' and 'sandal' followed by rice on the head and a sip of milk from a gold coin! Baby got very angry. She wailed through the entire episode. Maybe she wanted a spoon.


The naming itself was fantastic for me, I got to do the 'whisper in her ear' thing with the Beetel leaf. Everyone was complaining that they didn't hear what I said. That was why I whispered!


And then, engineer thatha found a way to make a megaphone - with the beetel leaf.






Banker thatha threatened to call her Adithi, and was firmly wrestled to submission by both parents... Or was it only me. Banker thatha wanted to feed his baby first, and this big baby, being what she was, kicked up a fuss and pulled a face and refused, must be the lack of a spoon.

A big relief for me was the absolute non-proliferation of banana and the atrocious concoctions with the fruit, ubiquitous in anything to do with Kerala.
Adhiaa went absolutely quiet after screaming her head off during the entire ceremony. She made an appearance afterwards and spent some time socialising. I wonder if we will ever find the switches?

Aarti's dad has been transferred to Madras now. He now spends nights at my parents' place and walks over to our flat for meals. My dad is constantly out of town following his wife and paying her electricity bills in Delhi! I am not kidding. My mom and dad are right now in Bangalore, dad supposedly on work and mom definitely on work. Aarti's mom is with us. It's like a formula one pitstop lap. I'll let you know when it all shakes down.

We were over at my mom and dad's for lunch on Sunday. Yes, both of them were in Madras as well on Sunday! It was nice spending time with mom. Both Aarti and I agree that we miss her very badly. Here's a snap of Paati and baby. We miss you mom! Finally Adhia has added a few more expressions and grunts to her vocabulary. Apparently she gurgled the other day. And she now smiles every now and then. Take a look at this...


Adhiaa and I passed a new milestone of familiarity on Sunday. She threw up on me! She proved to me I can handle "output", although I admit my reaction was a tad dramatic. I am absolutely certain I can hear cheering on the sidelines.

Adhiaa is slowly settling down to a routine, but I'm still using her as an excuse to be late at work, wasn't 'Hadhia', Arabic for "guide to righteousness"! Hmmm...

Time stands still

I received an email asking why I am not in the photos. That's because, I'm taking them!
I fished out a snap that Aarti took in her anesthetic daze. Yes, I lied when I claimed that I will not lift the baby until she stopped frigthening me. I am still petrified of those other orifices. This weak moment was after someone told me "first few days no potty!". And how it came when it came, the really bizzare bit was the releif in Aarti's face when it came. I will continue to try to take adequate precautions. But kutty's ammamma is encouraging her to go, you know what, on me. WHY?
To be fair, that photo of me was taken by Aarti sitting up in bed and looking at things, looking like this. (She's going to kill me for this!)






Talk about ups and downs! We've had a very very tumultuous two weeks. As Aarti put it, "It's a conspiracy! No one tells you how hard it is". Apparently all her 'new mother' friends are now empathising with what she is going through. She promises to write 'The book' (the exact name is frustrating her right now). She has also promised that when their time comes, she will tell them! Sounds very.. very... recondite. She has already threatened Anu.
I'm taking it as it comes, I'm just the systemising male. Here's one of me trying to figure out how it works and if all the bits and pieces are there! And things are coming thick and fast. Everyday is a drama, tragic and comic! Apparently it doesn't get better for the next 4 weeks.

8-o

Rajan called yesterday saying that time is flying; started reminiscing with Aarti; on parties from when they first knew each other; what they looked like then; it being twelve years; and so on. Dammit, for us it hasn't moved in two weeks! The fuzzy haired man proved that when you move faster, time slows down. He's right!

Mahesh

Nainamma and Thatha

I've put up some snaps of the Thatha and Nainamma. Nainamma has been an "oasis of calm in an upside down world" says aarti. Nainamma is right now in Delhi, Thatha has a foot each in Madras and Delhi.

What do you call her?

We have been trying out a name. What do you think of 'Adhiaa'? Pronounced Adhiya. We think it's a very interesting name. It seems to have a lot of meanings in many languages. We learnt it means God's treasure; In Hindi I guess! It is also a Hebrew girl name. In Swahili, 'Hadiya' means a gift. It means "Guide to Righteousness" in Arabic. All this from a little bit of browsing on the net and what Rajiv told me. No claims of accuracy being made at all.


The amazing thing is the way she reacts to music. If she's angry, wailing, kicking and screaming; bring her to the living room where the music plays and she'll go quiet and curl up like a perfect angel. We have to figure out her tastes, right now she listens and sleeps to Voyager on Worldspace. Take look at her trying to name the song... She was a different animal a few moments before this snap.

Aarti used to tell me that before she was born, kutty used to kick when we watched Formula 1 races. This set of a debate about whether she was a boy or girl. I was a little upset that I was going to get a motor-head boy. Now I'm completely thrilled that I have a motor-head girl. I will be watching her reaction to the next race soon. Prenatal cognition happens, memories begin in the Womb.

Thatha came home

Aarti's dad was in chennai last weekend, two days this week and this weekend. Suddenly there seems to be a lot of work for him in Chennai. Take a look at the doting grandparents... Apparently Aarti's dad was very relieved it was a girl. He's got one other person to spoil!

Ammamma cant get enough of her "Dazzling smiles". Hey, ammamma cant get enough sleep! Ammamma has done so much for us, I don't know how to start to thank her.

We are working out details of the 28th day ceremony. At this stage it looks like it will be on either the evening of the 23rd or the morning of the 24th. Watch this space.

Later... Mahesh

Baby came home

Take a look at the latest photos of our little one. Mom and kutty are finally getting used to each other. Kutty has the entire household wrapped around her little finger.
On average, 3 adults are on call for her.

Every sound is interpreted, every move she makes or face she pulls is filled with significance.

We guess she is still figuring out all the systems... But she already clearly knows what buttons to press when it comes to things she wants.

Ammamma, Mom and Dad are desperately trying to figure out methods and protocol to shut her up, feed her, burp her, wake her up, etc, etc.

Her dad, as per agreement with her Mom, handles the INPUT process and runs when it comes to output. Well, all her output 'runs' so...

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Mahesh