First Celebrations!!!

Anay!

"Anay??... that's an unusual name...are you serious you want to name him that?" asked my mom, the day after I confirmed my pregnancy with the doctor. I don't know whether its just me or most of us, but when either of my parents cast a doubt on what I'm about to do, my resolve gets stronger from my gut. With the power of google on my side, pat came my reply, "Yes, I'm sure! Its one of the thousand names of Lord Vishnu in the Vishnusahasra naam and it means he doesn't need a leader, he will lead." My mom doesn't give in that easily, "What if its a girl?". The challenge in her voice seemed judicious. Alas, I have yet to meet a rational pregnant woman (whoever is thinking of mentioning Marissa Mayer, is definitely not married to her)! So with a little more support from my gut, I came up with solid reasoning,"Of course its a boy, my face is breaking into a zillion zits!!" My mom gave in, she liked the name, more so for the reason that I named him after a Hindu God and didn't Americanize my unborn baby, all too soon. And just so that the hormonal me doesn't change her mind at the time of the huge upsurge of hormones (also called postpartum blues) my husband got it written over my baby-shower cake!

It was a beautiful spring morning when I held Anay for the very first time. I remember his gaze, his one eye shut because of the operating room lights, he looked at everyone, trying to absorb as much as he could in his beautiful little mind (not crying cost him a little on his APGARscore, we don't seem to mind). 

People say 'you fall in love just once'. I don't think they considered mothers when they said this. The more I looked at Anay, I could felt like my heart missed a beat (all those people like my hubby chuckling in their minds reading this and thinking of cardiac arrhythmia, I'm a mind reader :P). I didn't know what to say to him all day except, 'I love you', and I don't think I ever said that these many times in a day to anyone (Hubby... you are still my guy :)). 

Anay was a big baby, he still is! A 21inch, eight pounder, whoopie!! When Shanthan first held Anay, he was the happiest I had ever seen him. He just could not stop smiling. He ran around clicking pictures of his little baby boy.  

He was and still is an extremely active baby. He had a lot of hair, soft as a feather. He would come in each of the four days with a different hair-do. My favorite was a Mohawk he got on day 3. 

The memories of his first week are just so fresh in my mind. I'm sure they will remain so, for the rest of my life. My journey began 11 months ago but its something I cherish each passing day. Whoever says a mother gives birth to a child...I believe a child gives birth to a mother! Thank you my baby for this blessing!

First family picture

First meeting with maternal grandparents (Naani-nana)

First car ride home

First shower

First nap in the swing

To a lot more firsts!!! Cheers!

What the heck!!!!

When I was a little girl, I read "The Diary of a Young Girl", wherein Anne Frank talks about her day to day experiences at the Secret Annex. When I told my dad I wanted to write a diary, he passed me one of the many gifts he had got on New Year's eve. However hard I tried to write a diary every single day, it was the toughest place to be true. Surprising, isn't it? But I lived in constant fear of someone reading it, especially my notorious little brother, while I was away at school. But this insecurity of expressing myself honestly, ceased to grow about five years ago.

After I completed dental school in India, I decided I did not like the way things were going for me after graduating, and took the plunge to come to America. I was in the first six months of my Masters program when I was invited to a friend's wedding that changed my life forever. I met someone there, someone so special yet so simple, that when I first met him, all I could say was, "What the heck!!!!!" Of course, I still constantly use this phrase whenever he surprises me, he makes me mad, or simply hugs me. Five years have passed since we first met and got married five months later. I have learnt so much in these five years, and one of the most important things is to convey myself more earnestly.

Another reason that got me going sooner, is my 11 month old baby boy, Anay. The priceless joys and memories he has gifted us, in our journey through parenthood, are well worth every effort I make to document it. 

So here I'm blogging, which seems like a lot of fun, since this is one way which will keep me rooted to my love for writing. This is the best I have got so far, and I hope to catch up soon with a variety of topics.

Pooja