Note: The again in the title, cos the first post is here :)
The thought ran through me the other
day when I saw a woman carrying her baby in a baby carrier wrap. The child was
a few months old and she had a purse and a nappy bag slung over her shoulder. A
pretty lady, she looked like a travel system on two legs J
and she was doing her job of maneuvering through the market and shops pretty
deftly. (Not that I was stalking her or anything, I just noticed :D ) She reminded
me of my days. You know how I am not the one for nostalgia and all for moving forward
and future looking when things get better and easier. But once in a while I am
a normal human who has a wave of reminisce. ;)
My days with Chiyaa,
I remember well. I was by myself. She was the only child in the house. Every moment
was etched. But Pumpki was different. I had mummy around after she was born, we
travelled to India when she was 4 months old and stayed for 3 months. Amma
managed to come back once she turned 1 and then did mummy. Our movement from Ipswich
to Leeds ended up in her not having a nursery place and hence extended care
from grandparents. Now grandparents’ care exists even when parents are home. I have
always had someone shadowing me. So with her my memories are blurry. She is
also one who changes in a flick. No gradual transition, which makes moments
with her more like “blink and you miss it”. I do not remember her learning to
walk. She used to “cruise” that is, hold on to sofa, tables and chairs and get
up and walk a few steps. One hilarious thing she used to do is, hold on to a
stool and put one leg on it (kind of like a stretch ballerinas do). I have
umpteen videos of her holding that stretch for longer and longer, then gradually
leaving one hand, then the other. And one fine day, after her stretch she put
her legs down, and walked a few paces, un-aided. That’s it, from then on, she increased
her steps and in a couple of days she was walking! With Chiyaa it was way more
gradual – her first steps were noticeable. (I have a recording of it) But Pumpki,
no she just walked.
Same was with her
weaning. It seemed arduous and quite daunting, but 2 days into our attempt and
she was weaned. But she got on to a bottle. She used to have milk at night as
well. Sometimes more as a comfort feed when she woke up. Since she is going to
turn 4 in December, we tried hard to think of ways to get her off it. Chiyaa
was the same and it was quite a struggle to break the habit. We diluted milk
with water, then transitioned to only water to have her stop. We were not sure
with Pumpki. But 2 weeks ago, she developed a cough. When she woke at night, we
insisted she have water. We kept saying “water will stop the cough” to
encourage a few sips. After exactly two days of complaining, day 3, she stopped
asking for milk. Just like that, the habit is gone. Same goes for her getting
off diapers too! She was toilet trained but we put diapers as a precaution for
nights. One night, she was fidgety. When I asked if she needed the toilet, she
said yes and walked with me. Since then – no night time diapers for her. Same during
swimming. She doesn’t need one then either. Same goes for her settling down in
nursery. She used to cry and one day she stopped. She used to enjoy her day,
but was the quiet one. Someone who did not talk much and the nursery staff had
to really struggle to get words from her. They used to ask us to share home
videos where they could see her communicate so that there weren’t concerns
about her speaking. In fact I read an article on selective mutism and wondered
if Pumpki had it. As with everything with her, one day, she started talking a
bit more. First to her friends, when an adult was not watching, then to her key
person who works most closely with her, then with friends even in and adult’s
presence. Now a days I get regular feedback on her being “chatty” and sharing
stories and the like! Huh – she is a regular chatterbox now!
She is growing up to
be an independent person. She for sure seems to be slipping right out of my hands
L
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