The First Few Milestones!

Hey Ananya,

You are more than 6 months old now. You are continuing to grow into a beautiful little girl. Your mother is taking utmost care of you and she doesn’t get tired at all. She is happily putting up with what your heart desires. She laughs along with you, she cares for you, plays games and pampers you when you cry. She’s even extended her leave from office to spend a few more months with you. Not many young children are as lucky as you are. You should always be grateful. 

Alright, I think it is getting too serious. Life is meant to be enjoyed. So, let me take you through all the beautiful moments that I can recollect.

The world looks different – A rendezvous with perspective

It was 8 am in the morning, 7^th of December 2017, two to three days after you turned four months old. You were all well covered. We wanted to help you feel warm as the temperatures in Mumbai had dropped considerably.

On the majestic bed, at your mother’s house in Andheri, you rolled over and went upside down. Suddenly, the world looked different. The ceiling was no more what you saw. Rather you saw your bed very close to your face. You did not know what to do. Then, as if you brain had instructed you to, you moved your tiny hands below your chest and began to raise your head. That’s when you discovered that you could lift your head and see afar. What a feeling it might have been! Were you scared? Were you delighted? It seemed to be a mix of both when I looked at you. I am sure life would give you many more such experiences. Relish them and enjoy those moments. And like the upside-down moment, you should share the experience with two people for sure – your mom and your dad. Wishing you many more such joyous experiences.

Making Sense of things

Carrying you around has been a delight Ananya. When I would carry you around, I feel a sense of calm and comfort that I have never felt. However, unlike your younger days, you now seem to make sense of things. You make some noises and try to probably tell what you feel. However, from your actions, the only thing we could comprehend is that you were amazed, delighted and sometimes, even curious about things around you. Things such as lights, fans, paintings, photographs and new people whom you would have seen for the first time – all started making sense to you. I am amazed at how comfortable you are around people. You give them a lovely smile and make their day.  It is a great skill to have! Keep it up!

A birthday celebration

The day is 19^th December. It was your uncle Jagdeep’s birthday. Your aunt Shruti brought a cake for us to cut. Whenever there is a birthday, it is a practice to cut a cake and celebrate. If you are reading this, you would be aware of the same by now.

This was the first birthday celebration that happened after you started making sense of things. You saw a delicious cake being cut and people feeding cake to each other. You enjoyed the occasion. The mobile cameras, the photographs, the cake cutting etc.

First Taste

Let me explain this to you. Our family comes from a state called Kerala in India. Keralites have a concept called star birthday. (I will explain this when we speak).

Between the fifth and the sixth month of the birth star, a function is organized and is attended by your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunties etc. During this function, your mom and I gave you the first taste of food.

Your mom has been following the best practices in raising children. She was determined to ensure that you would be fed only mother’s milk in the first six months. This is very important and is the biggest reason for the good health you enjoy today.

Hence, this occasion was just a teaser into the delicacies that you will gorge on in your lifetime. You loved the taste of the various food items. This function was held in Shri Krishna Temple in Andheri (West), very close to your mom’s house. So, another milestone was accomplished. It was in the last day of the year 2017. The date was 31^st December 2017.

The joy of spitting

And it was during this time that you discovered the joy of creating saliva and spitting it around your mouth. You probably thought it was a game. You may have liked the feeling of doing it.

While it is not welcome for an adult to spit around, for a baby it is adorable. Your spitting expedition was an adorable one and we will cherish it in our heart and etch it in our memory.

The 6-month Anniversary celebration

Days turned into months. Months turned into half a year. We were all so happy. You had become six months old. I went to office very early so that I could leave a bit early and be back in time to celebrate with you.

We ordered a cake for you. A chocolate cake from a nearby cakeshop called Baker’s treat. This was the first cake that was cut for you. We put a little bit of chocolate on your face too. You were looking amazing. Your pretty white dress and a little bit of brown chocolate on your face made you look beautiful!

These six months have been the happiest for your mom and I. Hope you are your happy self all the time and cherish these joyful moments. After all, life is all about such well-lived moments enjoyed in the company of your family and loved ones.

I do not want to get into preach mode. So, I sign off here. Wish you all the best for the next six months! Enjoy each moment, cherish each experience and leave your worries, if any, to your mother and to me.

The first smiles and the first sights!

Hi Ananya,

Hope you find this interesting when you read it. I have tried to capture how you were from month two to month four after you were born.

You had probably started seeing better. You would gaze constantly on most things while being in awe of it. The tubelights, the fan, the paintings on the wall, the TV. Wonder what was going through your mind but you would repeatedly look at it when I would walk with you around the house.

This is the time when Deepa and you were in Andheri with your grandfather and grandmother. I worked in Clover Infotech which was in Andheri too. Every evening after work, I would hop into a metro and come down to the house, eager to see you. I would spend most weekdays with you.

The signal

I vividly enjoyed the moment when you would lift your tiny hands and legs (a signal to tell me that I should be lifting you up in my arms). You would give me a lovely smile too!

The calm and poised you!

I remember, one day, there were a lot of people in the house who had come down to attend a prayer session arranged by your grandmother for the devotees who were planning to visit the Aiyappa temple in Kerala. We thought you would panic and would cry when you see so many people. Au Contraire, you seemed happy with the attention and gave everyone a nice smile, much to the delight of all who visited the house.

Your playtime!

You chose to play during the nights, especially after midnight. You were a ball of energy. Deepa had a tough time and very less sleep during this phase. She would be up almost the whole night playing with you, feeding you, changing diapers if required and in general, taking very good care of you. You should never forget the love and care she gave you during this time. No one could have sacrificed so much for you.

I also changed the diapers at times. I thought I would do a very shoddy job of it, but I managed better than my own expectation😊

In the nights, to put you to sleep, I would carry you around. After quite a few trips and admiring things in the room with your head above my collar bone, you would slowly drift off to sleep. I would go and stand near the mirror to check if you have slept. And then, I would see your eyes wide open, sometimes you would give me a smile too. Its almost like saying, “Not yet, acha (dad), not yet”.

Then slowly you would drift off to sleep.

The weekends

In the weekdays, I would click a lot of pictures and videos of you. There is a video which I really like (actually two videos). Check it here. You were laughing your heart out and enjoying life to the fullest. I hope you live your entire life like this. Happy and laughing no matter what the challenges are!

I would go home, our house in Seawoods, during the weekends. We had a maid who would come down on weekends to keep the house clean. On a Friday night, when there is no one at home and I could sleep as much as I want, I strangely found that I did not get too much sleep. I used to keep looking at your pictures and videos till late into the night. I missed you a lot during the weekends.

To sum up

I know you are born in a generation where access to internet is easy and ubiquitous, and you prefer videos to reading. So, I would like to sum up this phase as below:

When I used to walk around and put you to sleep, I wouldn’t realize if you have slept because I couldn’t see your face resting on my collar bone. However, when I started feeling small breaths on my collar accompanies by the noise of your breathing, I would realize that you have slept. I would miss those breaths (and their warmth) forever!

I would fondly carry you around in such a way that my forearm would act like a branch of a tree for you to perch yourself on. Your head on my shoulders, your tiniest hands on my chest, and the small breaths are things that will be etched in my memory forever. I am going to miss them as you are growing bigger, taller, sharper and smarter with each passing day. But, I want to thank you for giving me so many unforgettable and precious memories to cherish. You have made our (Deepa and I) lives extremely special.

Cheers!

Vimal Pillai