Week 18

last picture in his 3 month, half sleeve onsie.

Happy Blogiversary

Is it already December 20^th?

Happy 1^st anniversary to Hello, Baby!

Exactly a year and three days ago we got the best news of our life. I can’t believe it’s already been a year. At times last year feels lifetime ago but at times it feels like it was just yesterday that we started this blog. Thanks for tuning in and hopefully I continue as Veer gets older.

Here’s are THE pictures in review.

Evolution of the mommy:

Evolution of the baby:

Week 17

Veer’s updates this week: he started to roll over. It has only happened a couple of times but it’s starting.

He is spitting up less now. He’s doing longer stretches for food. We have a doctor’s appointment next week so we will get to see his stats. But so far so good this week. His Manali masi is here this weekend till almost the end of January. Anand and I have both been sick (sore throat, sniffles, etc) and so far he’s okay but I did notice he has a slight bit of runny nose the last couple of days. I guess a little bit of germs are okay. We’re building his immunity. Yes, that’s it. That’s what we are doing by hugging him, and kissing him while we are sick.

Week 16

Veer’s Hiral masi came to visit for the week last week and we had a blast. The week flew by but we accomplished a lot. I got the holiday cards done (and mailed today). I got a little bit of holiday shopping. Veer had his first play date with his buddy Krish, who is a year and a day older than Veer. Krish was really sweet with him. He was curious about Veer and eventually even sat still to take a picture with Veer. Here are the two boys together:

Veer’s reflux is not getting better. He is still spitting up after every meal except for the last feeding. It must have to do with the fact that he is moving so much. His hair is starting fill in more. He went on his first road trip without me this weekend. Mom & Dad took him to my parents’ house to visit Baa (Veer’s great grandma) who is left for Houston this weekend. She really wanted to see him before she goes. I’m so glad she saw him even though she’ll be back in a few months.

Here’s the little munchkin. Dhaval was watching Glee and Veer couldn’t stop watching it too. All the pictures I got were of him watching TV. I guess it’s okay since it was Glee.

Week 15

He's so funny. He’s trying to sit up so he cranes his neck up and then falls. It looks like he's doing crunches. Such a funny little guy. His hair has grown more now. He's  also discovering his hands and fingers. The other day I caught him looking at his fingers and probably wondering what they were. He's also talking a lot more as you can see in the video. And when he goes to talk he makes bubbles.

His reflux isn’t getting any better. The doctor told me that as long as he’s gaining weight and not spitting up half of what he drinks she doesn’t think anything is wrong. She told us to prolong giving him cereal because the earlier you start the more likely they will have food allergies.

Here’s a shot of Anand and him on Anand’s birthday.

Here's the little bubble maker at week 15 (you can see his birthmark on his left arm. Anand and Kavita have similar birthmarks on thier arms too):

Week 14

He’s been acting a little funny for the last couple of weeks. He spits up more than usual. Kavita thinks he has reflux. Sometimes he spits up like 3 hours later. He’s still eating 4-5 ounces every 3 hours. I wonder if that’s enough. I feel like he should be eating like 5-6 every 3 hours except for at night time. He’s been really good about sleeping thru the night. We put him down around 10-11 and he wakes up around 7. He loves his room. He’s been in his own room for about a week and half now and he’s doing great. I think he loves that the crib is much bigger than the basinet. He can stretch out and not hit his head.

Kavita and I took him out shopping for the first time on black Friday. He was great. Slept thru the whole experience. On Sunday, Anand and I took him shopping (Pilgrim Furniture, BJs, Target, and Kohls) and he was great. He couldn’t stop staring at everything, mainly Anand and I. He was probably wondering why the background keeps changing. He was pooped after that shopping experience.

My hair is falling out more and more. Today a white hair fell out. As much as I’m happy that it was a white hair, I’m still sad it was a hair.  Anand has started to complain that my hair is everywhere. He even found some on the doorknob. No idea how and why it was on the doorknob.

Here’s the little ninja at 14 weeks!

Week 13

Today’s date is a palindrome. I just wanted to make a note of that. Tomorrow Veer turns 3 months old. He is such a little cutie pie- this morning he woke up at like 3:30 so instead of consoling him and putting him back in his bed, we took him in our bed. We fed him at 6:30 and again a little at 7:30 and after that he was up. We put him back in his crib and I swear he was happy as a pig in mud. He loves the reflections of his light fixture. I swear I think he was having a conversation with them. He’s a little more relaxed with his hands, meaning he is actually opening them now. He holds on to my finger when I want him to.

On a side note, my hair is falling out. It comes out in bunches. Each morning when I clean my hairbrush I get a handful of hair. That’s not taking in account how much I must shed throughout the day. Sigh. I’ll miss the days of full hair. Breaking Dawn Movie Spoiler. Stop now if you want to watch the movie and haven’t had a chance to yet. I swear my hair was like Bella’s in Breaking Dawn when she turns. Yeah, the last scene in the movie. It’s alive and full. Speaking of BD – what a great movie. First time ever the movie is just as good as the book. Bravo, Mr. movie director!

Thanksgiving is the day after tomorrow. My absolute favorite holiday of the year. I love the new tradition we (Anand, Kavita, Parul, Gee, Jalpa, and Amit) have started. We usually meet at somebody’s house for the event. I love that it’s a small, cohesive group. We are actually able to sit around the dinner table. It all started about four years ago when we collectively came together because nothing else was going on. 12 bottles of wine and a feast later we decided we had to do that again the next year, and the year after that, and the year after that… So come this Thursday we will continue our tradition of eating until we need elastic pants. We will continue our tradition of watching Love Actually after dinner. We will continue our tradition of shopping at midnight. But this year we will start a new tradition. This year will be the first year where there will be kids at the dinner table. I have so much to be thankful for, but most of all I’m thankful for Veer. 2011 has been kind to me. It may seem like an odd statement given what’s happened this year. But despite all the bad, the best thing happened to us this year.  

 

Week 12

I can’t believe the little guy was born 12 weeks ago today. Time really flew by. I was looking at some of his older pictures today and I can't believe how much he has changed. I'm back at work now. It was my second day today and the day flew by. I have only informed about 20-25 customers (outta 450) that I’m back. Believe it or not I really haven’t missed him while working... granted I worked from home today. But still. It’s nice to have him upstairs. Since he still sleeps a lot more, I usually go feed him during my breaks and my lunch. His nani (my mom) is here this week taking care of him with my dad and my brother helping out in the background. I remember the last time I worked from home or at least was trying to, my water had broken, and my feet looked like they belonged to an elephant. The last time I was at work it was 90 something degrees outside, I had never felt an earthquake, and there was no snow on the ground. So much has happed in the last three month... most for the best. Next week is thanksgiving - my favorite holiday of the year.

So far the Target brand formula is working well. It’s $10 cheaper than Similac, so yay! I finally had a chance to go thru pictures my friend Tina took of him during week 2 and here is one of them:

Here’s my little monkey at 12 weeks - not quite 3 months though.

Week 11

He has started to try to talk to us. I swear this morning he said, “yeah”. I’m getting sadder by the day because this is my last week at home. I start work on Monday and it’s going to be tough getting back in that routine and more importantly leaving him. Although I work from home two days a weeks, I don’t think that’s enough. A friend/customer of ours (at the store) told us she tried the Wal-Mart brand formula for her kids and they were fine with it. So when I was at Target I checked out their brand of formula. Everything looks the same compared to Similac. I think the only different I saw was in one ingredients. Similar had like 1000 units of it and the target brand had like 800. It wasn’t anything important like Vitamin A, B or Iron. .. I guess it wasn’t a well-known vitamin so I don’t think it matters. So far he’s okay on it. His poop has changed color though. He sleeps a lot less now and when he does nap they are cat naps. He has been on a growth spurt because he drinks 6oz of formula all of a sudden. It went from 3oz, to one day of 4oz and now 6. So bizarre.

Oh, and he definitely has a mustache now. OH, and Nirali and Ankur welcomed Veer's baby cousin in this world during Week 11, Anya!

Week 10

We lived thru disaster number two. Two months old and seen two disasters. Veer really will expect this kinda hysteria when he is older. We got hit hard with snow Saturday... So much so that we were forced outta our house again. In a way it's fitting. I started my maternity leave with a big bang and I am ending it (less than two weeks left) with a bang too. We started our stay at Kavita's house and we're ending it here. We can add Parul and Gee's house to the list of people's house that he has stayed over. Our power is still out and we are hoping it's back by Thursday or Friday the latest.

On a positive note... Veer was a pea in a pod for his first halloween. It's funny because Anand's favorite vegetable are peas. I know, don't ask. Anand is a little odd and this proves it. But that's not the reason he was a pea. I didn't realize until we were paparazzi. 

He's learning to sleep thru the night. For about a week now he has been sleeping till 6:30am when we put him to bed around 10-11pm. He's eating more but not every three hours like he used to. He smiles a lot more. He makes a lot more noise. I think he's trying to talk. But the best is the smile he gives Anand when he sees him. I swear it's a hallmark commercial.

Week 9

Week 9 flew by. I can hardly remember what we did. We did visit my co-workers so they can meet Veer. They loved him as expected. He was so well behaved that I couldn’t believe it. Over the weekend he met his buddy Niam. They were obliviously of one another but we had some fun on their expense. This picture proves it.

 Yesterday he got his shots (Pneumovax II , second half of hep B, and DTaP). He cried his eyes out but did okay overall. He is now 11.4lbs and still 24 inches (although yesterday the MA said he was 23.75inches). Only because he looks like an old man, but doesn’t mean he is actually shrinking. His next appointment is right after Christmas for more shots. Anand and I have now decided to put him in his basinet before our bedtime. Usually he sleeps downstairs in his little rockers until we are ready for bed. We find that occasionally he will open his eyes and look around. Even though he falls right back to sleep, I feel like it disturbs his sleep. Plus less than 3 weeks until I am back at work, so we need to get him ready for bed way early. So yesterday he went in his bassinet at 10pm (compared to midnight). He did really good and woke up around 12:30 to feed and then straight at 6:15. Yay!! He is cooing a lot more. He actually smiles when he talk to him. One of my favorite parts is when I have to do the middle of the night feeds and he smiles at me. I am cranky and sleepy. He is crying and hungry. The minute I see him and start talking to him, he smiles. I am no longer cranky or sleepy. He is, however, still hungry but now smiling. I love those moments.

 

One night Veer wouldn’t go to sleep in his rocker and just kept looking around even though he was super tired. He falls asleep in my arms in minutes, so we decided to put him in Anand's arms lay him on his body and in seconds he was asleep. I captured this moments a couple of hours later when Anand had fallen asleep too.

Today is Diwali- Veer’s first Diwali! Here’s is season’s greetings and 9 week picture!

 Oh, Welcome to the world baby Dhru!

Week 8

Week in New Jersey flew by. Veer was well behaved. He had a ton of visitors. He started this new thing of not sleeping after 4pm and staying up till like 10. His sleep patterns have really changed. He sleeps like 12-15 hours a day. He is his dad's son. Last night he went to bed around 10:30 and woke up at like 4:30am. I couldn't believe it. He is his mom's son after all.

He's doing this new thing of sticking his tongue out. I'm. It sure if that’s a good thing or bad. I feel like he thinks that's how you talk. He's smiling a lot more. It's pretty evident that he's going to have chicken legs when he grows up. He kicks and spins his legs all day long. We are looking at a future Beckam or a Armstrong

Week 7

It as been a long week for both Veer and I. He took his first road trip to New Jersey on Thursday and then another trip to Maryland on Friday for Rachealmasi's baby shower. He slept in baby Brooks' crib, which was his first time in a crib ever. He acted a little funny and wouldn't fall asleep as quickly as usual because I think he had a lot of space versus his bassinet which is snug. But the fact that he slept okay in a crib makes me happy. He met his friends Shiv and Nandi. Even though in baby years they are much older and bigger than him, I can't wait until they are a bit older and can play together. We are in NJ for the rest of this week and returning home next tuesday. His acne comes and goes. He is losing the hair on the top of his head but the back is staying put. So odd.

I feel like I am going thru menopause because I am constantly hot. Hot. All. The. Time. I have sweat mustache and eyebrows multiple times a day.



Nandini and Veer



Week 6

We changed his formula at the end of this week. We finished off the alimentum and gave him the rest of breast milk we had frozen and started him back on the normal formula. Let's cross our fingers and hope he is okay with it. The trouble with alimentum is that 1) it stinks. I mean it really smells 2) it's expensive 3) it's hard to find (our local BJs didn't have it) 4) did I mention it stinks?!

This past Saturday we took him to the temple to get blessed. He was such a cutie pie because he was sleeping when we got there and mom put him in front of the deities like he was a donation. He just slept there without waking. On Sunday Kavita hosted a Sip & See. It was nice to see everyone and for everyone to meet Veer. He also met his friend Sanya for the first time. They were so cute together. I think they were oblivious of each other’s company... but not to worry, we have plenty of pictures of their first meeting together. You're welcome, Sanya & Veer! Yes, you’ll thank us one day for these pictures. I'm super excited for this coming weekend because Veer gets to meet his new friends Nandi, Niam, and Shiv! More babies-in-bed-not-knowing-what-is-going-on pictures coming next week!

 

Week 5

We kinda found a solution to his acne/allergy. Turns out it might be eczema after all. The Aveno Eczema therapy cream did wonders. As soon as we lathered him with it, his bumps disappeared… well almost. His face cleared 110%. His head, however, still had loads of the bumps. On Friday during his 1 month appointment, the doctor told us it’s Cradles Cap. I guess a lot of babies have it. It’s now turned into these really gross, crusty yellow flakes. It’s like baby dandruff – it’s yellow and flaky. Normally things like this on other people gross me out so much. Dandruff, eye boogies, nose boogies, ear wax are just so gross. But when it comes to Veer, I’m not hesitant to clean it up. It doesn’t even gross me out.

One of my favorite moments with him was this morning. I was feeding him and I took the bottle away from his mouth and just smiled at him and he smiled back. I don’t know if he returned the smile because I smiled at him or he just happened to smile but it was the sweetest thing ever.

Oh, and I stopped pumping this week. I’m kinda sad because I really thought I would pump at least for six months or until I went back to work. I really was disappointed because I know breast milk is the healthiest thing for him right now. I hated the idea of having to pump every 2-3 hours. But don’t get me wrong, I would have if there was enough to feed him. The last week I was producing only about 5 ounces a day and the little munchkin drinks about 25 ounces a day.  I wish our bodies produced milk like beer on tap. Take some whenever in need.

1 Month!

Week 4

Veer's baby acne turned out to be something else. Little guy broke out all over his shoulders and chest early last week and I just knew it couldn’t be acne. I took him to the doctor on Friday and she thinks it might be a milk allergy. She gave me special formula. It smells. Bad. Especially when he burps or spits up. Not sure if it's really a milk allergy though because he's been on it for 4 days and it doesn’t seem to be getting better. The doctor, Kavita, and now I think it might be eczema. We have been giving him a bath every day for a couple of weeks now and it might be drying his skin out a lot. The doctor ordered not to give him a bath every day. Let's hope it helps.

He's been cranky for the last two days too and I wonder if it's because he is itchy.

You can see a little bit of eczema/acne/allergy in this week and last week's pic.

Little Monkey is 4 weeks old today!

Week 3

My mom left last week and my grandma is helping me out with Veer. As much as I miss having my mom around, it's nice to have my grandma. She's awesome with Veer (as was my mom). She talks to him and he listens. I really need to start video taping this because I am sure one day he will appreciate having this time with his great grandma recorded.

Small hurdle this week - I am not producing enough breast milk to feed him during all his feedings. This week I had to start supplementing formula. I hate the idea of it because I really wanted to feed him breast milk for at least 3 months. We have his doctor's appointment this week, so I will find out what else I can do. I started taking fenugreek pills. I'm drinking more milk myself and eating more too. Drinking lots of water. Not sure what else I can do. He won't latch on and now is spoiled with the bottle.

The breakout from the allergic reaction are almost all gone. I look like I am about 4 months pregnant. I have outgrown the Belly Bandit and now need a Medium.

Veer started breaking out and now has a lot of baby acne all over his face. It's also growing on his body. The doc said it's normal. She said some babies have it month 1 and some during month 3. There is nothing we can do about it but wait it out. I feel so bad for him b/c I'm not sure if it's uncomfortable. It's red at time and it probably looks worse than it feels. But still...

We moved back home yesterday and Veer immediately fell asleep after both of his feeds. Woohoo!!

Week 2

Week two was kinda hell for me. Not because of Veer, but because I broke out all over my legs, thighs and feet. My mom was making me drink this special drink that helps heal the body and also produces more breast milk. The drink was too warm for my body and I broke out. It was so itcy and dry that at times I wanted to cut my legs off. I talked to Hetal about it and she said she knows two other people who have also had the same reaction to this special drink. I was relieved to know there was a solution for the break out. I initially thought it was the sheets, and then I thought it was the comforter, and then I thought maybe it was the laundry detergent. A thousand different things ran thru my mind. It took over a week for the bumps and breakout to disappear and now during week 3 it’s almost gone. I would have photographed that too but it was too gross even for me to take a picture of and then post here. You’ll just have to imagine it. Think hives- and now picture that all over my legs, feet, thighs. 

Other than that, I was glad to have bladder control back. Physically i was still a little weak, but i'm still able to move around. I get tried in the evening but that's expected. I am getting used to Veer and his habits. He’s a pretty normal baby so far. Sleeps thru the night for the most part, wakes up ever 3 hours for a feeding. Sometimes he does want to play in the middle of the night and that’s a little tough because I want to sleep. He’s lucky he’s so darn cute, or else I would have to be mad at him.

The Belly Bandit is really helping. I've lost about 20 pounds. I would love to lose about 20-30 more. I look like i am about 6 months pregnant. My outie is once again a innie. 



Week 1

What a week. Veer has lived thru more natural disasters than some people. I know I’ve never experienced an earthquake or a hurricane in my life before. So that makes Veer and I even as far as living thru these disasters. I still can’t get over the earthquake part. As soon as the doctor said I was ready to push, the earth shook…. Well it was my bed that shook. I looked around the room and thought it was some sort of a labor exercise they do. Anand also felt the room shaking and he asked the nurse what it was all about. She didn’t notice and after a few minutes it all stopped. It wasn’t confirmed that it was an earthquake until the doctor came back in the room and asked us if we felt it. After that about 2 hours later we welcomed Veer in this world. There were times in those two hours that I felt like giving up. I even told the doctor I can’ do it anymore. I told her I literally can’t push and she laughed at me because I told her I literally couldn’t do it anymore. She encouraged me by telling me I was almost there and she felt his head peeking out. To motivate me, she even showed me. Without getting into graphic details, as soon as I felt his head peek thru, it was a matter of minutes before his whole body was out.

The hospital believes in skin to skin, so as soon as his umbilical cord was cut (thank you, Anand); the nurse put him directly on me. And as soon as they did, all the pain I felt disappeared. Just like that.

Getting used to him was pretty easy, thanks to my mom. She took night duty with me and at times even told me to go to bed and she’ll put him to bed. I did that because I know it’s not going to last for long. The biggest challenge I had was with breastfeeding. I wasn’t producing enough milk at first and when I finally did, he wouldn’t latch on. Initially he did but the poor guy didn’t get enough food, so we were forced to feed him formula out of a bottle. He quickly learnt that bottle is much faster than the boob.

The biggest challenge came Saturday night when hurricane Irene made its way in our neck of the woods. We lost power at 2pm in the middle of a feed. After that it was Amish living. We lived by candle light and no running water. Eventually we moved to Kavita’s house and the world was at peace.  Well not really but all things considered things were good.

 

Week 39

Stupid hurricane irene. our power at the house is lost and i have the entry there. I promise, as soon as it's up i'll have it posted.

6 days later... we have power. Here we go!
_________________________________________


 

Was it just a week ago that I baked myself a batch of chocolate chip cookies ?! It feels like a lifetime ago. Well all things considered it is a different life now. Late in the afternoon Tuesday, August 23, 2011 we welcomed our baby in this world. In a matter of moments our lives changed. 

It all started on Sunday morning. I noticed I lost my mucus plug. I had been looking out for that for about two weeks because from what I hear, once you see that you can assume labor will follow. It might take a week or two but it will follow. So you can imagine my discomfort that I was going to be 40 weeks soon and I hadn’t seen anything. So I see that Sunday morning and I am super psyched. We walked around a lot, put a part of the baby’s closet together, and later went go Guilford for dinner. Monday morning I woke up early as usually but this time instead of lying in bed for another two hours I decide to go downstairs and finish the art project I was working on for the baby’s room at like 6am. Around 6:30ish I noticed a big gush of water and soon realized my water had broke. I tell Anand and we decide to wait until 9am to call the doctor since the office didn’t open till then and I was having no contractions. But around 8am we changed our minds and I called the doctor. He told me to come in the office and see him that morning. After doing some exams, he confirmed my water did break. He decided since I was not having any contractions and the baby was not in a danger, they would induce me either later that day or early Tuesday morning. He sent us back home to wait for a call from the office letting us know when we would have to check in into the hospital. That morning seemed to drag forever. Later in the day we got a call to come to the hospital that day at 8pm. They advised that I eat a big meal since it would be the last one before the delivery. So I did. Hello Malaysian food! Here’s what happened next:

8pm – check into Yale New Haven Hospital.

10 pm – start inducement with a catheter since I wasn’t dilated at all. Contractions start almost immediately.

Midnight- Nurse checks to see the progress – no progress.

3am – super discomfort and I ask the nurse to let me walk around the unit. She gets the doctor’s permission and says I’m allowed to walk for only 15 minutes. The doctor decides to come check my progress. 

3:15am – doctor confirms that I am about 4cm dilated. She okays me to move to labor and delivery to start my epidural. 

5am – epidural injected. Contractions stop within minutes and they start me on pitocin.

6:30 am – about 6 cm dilated.

7-11am – no change.

11am – Noon – contractions get stronger but only 6cm dilated.

Noon – doctors is a little concerned that I’m not more (?) dilated and says to wait for about an hour before she decides what to do (as in go ahead with a C-section). Contractions get strong and are about 3 minutes apart. She does an exam and realizes that my water didn’t break like I and the doctor has though. She breaks my water (yes, I know! What was the other doctor who saw me the day before was thinking?!!)

1:45pm – I’m about 9.5cm dilated and she tells me to get ready to start pushing. Contractions are about 1.5-3 minutes apart.

2:00pm – the earth quakes and I start pushing.

3:00pm- I want to give up. 

3:15-3:30pm- I cry. I whine. I throw up. I void. I cry more. They bring in a mirror to show me the progress. I want to smack the nurse who’s being too nice. I almost cuss my doctor out. I hate her at this point because she won’t put me out of misery. 

3:45pm – I want to give up and tell the doctor I literally can’t do this. She laughs and tells me that it’s almost too late to turn around. The only way they would is if the baby was in danger and the baby was not. 

3:45 – 4:00pm – the room gets busy. There is another doctor in the room and they bring in a cart to start the end of my labor. 

4:03pm – Veer is born. 

Week 38

I gotta be honest. I don’t really remember Week 38. I mean I do, if I break down each day, but as a whole not really sure what happened. My parents came to visit. I went for a walk around my condo complex by myself. I made Idli/Sambar one night. Thank God I have my phone and  I have captured some photos of things thru out the week. Here we go:

This first picture is of my feet from last Wednesday or Thursday. I have never seen them swollen like this before. It’s not a camera angle that makes them look like that. They really are that big. You can call me Ms. Cankles temporarily.

This second picture shows the baby’s butt, foot, or knee pushing out. As you can imagine the belly should be semi round but the left side of the mountain is clearly raised. Use the line going down my belly to see how raised the left side is.

Oh, let me go back and tell you why I captured that photo. Early Wednesday morning, like 2am early, I got up to use the bathroom. Immediately I knew I wasn’t feeling well. I went to the bathroom and came back to bed. I started getting the worst stomach pains I have I ever felt. I had to go to the bathroom again. This time it was a little ugly if you catch my drift. I came back to bed. My lower back started hurting and I felt like I was going to throw up. I suck it up and sit in bed for a while. I check online to see if all or any of my symptoms were a sign of labor. Most sites said it was and recommended to call the doctor immediately.  I couldn’t take it anymore and woke Anand up at 2:20. We weren’t sure if it was labor, so we called Kavita and she suggested we call the doctor too. So we page the doctor at 2:25 and he calls us back within minutes. He said it could be something I ate or a virus. He said if it continued come see him at the office in the morning. He said there is nothing he can do about it and just to relax and hydrate myself since I probably lost so much water. If it was uterine cramps then we would have been in luck. He asked me to confirm the baby was moving. The stomach pain was probably the result of something I ate, which later I realized it must have been the bowl full of pasta that was super high in fiber. And later, I had some broccoli rabe. Back to the baby – well he was moving so much that a whole section of his/her body was sticking out. I have never seen a body part stick out that much. Anand witnessed it and can vouch that the picture doesn’t do justice to what we actually saw. It was pretty cool.

And this last picture is of the baby’s, okay fine, my crazy pregnancy cravings. I promise you that I really am a believer of mind over matter. I think most things you can control. But I swear there are times that no matter how much you try not to think about the warm and delicious Chocolate Lava Cake with Vanilla ice cream from Chili’s it’s something you cannot control. Case in point. So I couldn’t get the lava cake at 10:30 at night but I could make something at home. With my Kitchenaid by my side, I whipped up these super soft chocolate chip cookies in a matter of minutes. From scratch. Oh, yeah. The longest part was waiting for them to bake. By 11pm, my craving was satisfied and the baby was kicking with joy. That’s just the kind of mother I am. I am here to please.

Week 37

The doctor's appointment on Friday confirmed that we are going to have a large baby. the baby on Friday was about 7lbs 6oz and they are estimating the baby to be about 8-9lbs at birth. I told the doctor of my self diagnosis of early on set of arthritis and he confirmed it's not arthritis.. It’s just water retention. I was glad to hear that but I can’t believe even my fingers have retained water. That’s not the worst part. I think my nose grew. My nose ring is a little tight and it digs in deep into my nose. I am afraid I will have to take it out.

Since my last post I feel a little calm. I remember the uncomfortable-ness and just nausea from last week - well, that has passed. I’m uncomfortable but not as much as I was last week. I feel like in a matter of a few weeks, my belly grew so much that normal tasks (walking) are a pain. I’m starting to get knee pain again like I did during month 3. I’m sure it’ll pass once I’ve lost like 20lbs.

We’ve been on a hiatus with the baby’s room. I still have one more wall art to finish and we still need to find a twin size bed for the baby’s room. I think and hope we will tackle that this weekend. Who knows, maybe I can convince Anand to go to Ikea with me.

Before next week I want to pack my bags. The baby’s bag is packed. Anand needs to pack his bag too. We want to find a bed. Learn how to use the breast pump. Buy nursing bras.

I’m not sure if it was a labor sign or something else. I felt menstrual cramping for a few minutes and during the day like a strong jab in my abdomen. It never happened again. But I ask you this? How will I know I’m having a contraction… or at least early signs of it. They get stronger as labor progresses but maybe my threshold for pain is much stronger and I’ll just dismiss it. I hope there is an obvious sign that I’m in labor when it actually happens.

I have one small request to the baby and God  - please don’t make me go into labor at night time or the middle of night. I am so cranky if I don’t get sleep and the whole process would not be good if I didn’t at least sleep 7 hours. Okay, thanks!

Week 36

I did a complete 180 in the last week. I want the baby to come now. No more, “oh I want the bay to come in the last week of August”.  Baby.  Must. Arrive. Now. The extra weight that I’ve gained in the last 2 weeks (probably 5lbs) has really put an additional stress on my back. My back hurts a lot now a days. Saturday night I must have sat funny for like 2 minutes and my back gave out and was stiff for a day. Sleeping was uncomfortable and even walking was uncomfortable. I noticed if I sit in a place for too long it becomes stiff again.

During last week’s doctor’s appointment the doctor told me that she thinks the baby is probably 6lbs at that point and might be 8-8.5 lbs at birth. That’s kinda scary. That’s a big baby. Little butter ball. We have an ultrasound this Friday to see how big the baby is and it might give us a better understanding of baby’s potential birth weight. It will be the first time Anand will see the baby on the black and white screen. He’s super excited.

Since last week- Prashanthi welcomed a baby boy, Niam Pranan Docca, on Sunday. Hetal welcomed a baby girl this morning, Sanya. I slightly got jealous when I heard Hetal had a baby girl because I still think it's a boy we are having. Disclaimer - I will be happy with a boy or a girl.

Here's the last picture (unless we go past my due date) of yours truely at 36 weeks *small weep*:

Week 35

Less than a month away. I now know what pregnant women mean when they say it gets bad towards the end. Sleep- gone. Dryness- unbearable. Stretch marks- unwelcomed. It's now uncomfortable to sleep on my side. I think I get a good 4 hours of sleep each night now, especially the last few days. Taking naps in the afternoon/evening are a requirement now or I feel like a zombie. Believe it or not, the couch is more comfortable than my pillowotop mattress. And you guy know how much me loves my pillowtop.

One small symptom I’m noticing is pain in my fingers. It's the lazy kinda pain. Where they hurt because you feel like you haven't done any work. This is what arthritis must feel like. I have a doctor's appointment later this week so I’ll have to ask them if it's normal. I also noticed swelling in my face (hope it's swelling and not fat).

I want this baby now in a way but at times I want to go the full 40 weeks. I've decided to take the week I’m due off of work if the baby hasn’t made his/her appearance by then. If all the above mentioned continues, I might have to take the week before off too.

On a happy note - Rach found out today they are having a boy. Hetal give birth in exactly a week. Our friends Imran and Sara brought their baby girl who just couldn’t wait to make an appearance (13 weeks early!) home a couple of weeks ago and she's just adorable! Tiny little thing and cute as a button. Prashanthi is now past her due date. Those half-Sannidhi babies are so fashionably late.

I have a really disturbing picture of my swollen feet. Here is it! Hahahah. The indentations are from these sandals I wore.

Week 34

This week i finally felt a small sigh of relief. We are almost done with the basic set up of the baby's room. Now it's just the decorative stuff that is left, and laundry. I am working on a little project that should be ready in the next week or so. We also need to buy a day bed or twin bed to have in the baby's room. Once we buy that final piece of furniture, then it will be officially ready. Here is a sneak peek of the baby's room after we installed the light fixture and set up the crib. The flowers or spider type reflections can be scary but babies aren't scared of anything when they are small. Fear isn’t something you are born with.  So what, that i kinda think it's scary and cool! No wuss baby here. Yeah, that's right. Yup.

Anand and I went to BJs this past weekend. We knew that diapers were expensive, but didn’t realize they were almost $50 for a case a little over 250. I was in a sticker shock. Everyone so far as advised me not to buy in bulk just yet since we don’t know if the baby will be allergic to any particular brands. So we didn’t buy any but oh my! I'm definitely clipping coupons for those! If the people at Pampers or Huggies or Oprah are reading this and want to donate diapers for life, please feel free to. I'll give you my cell phone number. Even if you don't want to donate diapers, Oprah, you can still call me. I want to know what you've been up to since May! As a side note I had a dream last night that Oprah did a one-time special and for some odd reason she was sitting in the audience instead of hosting the show. Bizarre. I haven't thought of Oprah in a long time. I wonder why I dreamt about her.

I can officially work from home 3 days a week. Yay for me! I love working from home M, W, F. I wish it was an option all the time. It breaks up the week and I find myself to be so productive and just happy. It's good for my feet too because most of the days when I work from home I don't have cankles. I can legally take 2 weeks before my due date off of work, so that means in three weeks I can be home. I doubt I will do that since I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if the baby stays put until the actual due date, which I have requested they do. I’ll probably take off the week he/she is due until November.

On a really cool note, my little ticker baby turned upside down last week. This is what it looked like last Thursday:

Week 33

I had my bi-weekly doctor's appointment this (Wednesday) morning and he told me the baby's heartbeat was 162, which is much higher than the last few times. I wonder if it's a girl? If so, Anand will win a bet (on the gender of the baby) and get 6 months "hall pass". I told him he can have the hall pass when we are both 60, which will never be since he’s older than I am and we will never together be 60. Yes, I’m a trickster. My mom has been saying if/when the belly drops the baby is ready for it’s arrival. This lady at my work looked at me earlier in the week and said my belly and dropped. So at the doctor’s appointment, I asked him if my belly/baby had dropped and confirmed it had not. So baby’s staying put for another few weeks.


Earlier this week I think I felt my first Braxton Hicks contraction. I was sleeping and got this sharp shooting pain that woke me up. It lasted like 1 second and then it was gone. Since then I have had no other contraction. I don’t really even know if that was a contraction. It was painful so I can only imagine what real contraction/labor is going to be like. Yale better have that epidural ready when I walk thru those doors.


Heartburn is my enemy. I hate it. I get that no one actually likes it but I really hate it because drinking water gives me heartburn. Water should put out the fire, not start it. One day I had toast and peanut butter and it gave me heartburn. Really, Mr. Heartburn!?


The baby has been really making it’s evidence. One morning I caught the baby sleeping with it’s butt in the air. I would imagine it looking something like this:

I feel like the pregnancy is making me a little loopy and forgetful. I can’t for the life of me remember certain words at certain times. This past Saturday I thought I had a hair/makeup appointment but it turns out that it’s actually this coming Saturday. I have fog-brain. Days look or remind me of a Clartin commercial – the before part. 3 more weeks till full-term!

Week 32

Welcome Facebookers! Last week I posted this blog on facebook and have seen a lot of traffic on the blog. So I welcome you! Grab a blanket, popcorn, ice-cream, and a tea becuase you have a lot of reading to do... about 27 weeks worth! Please feel free to leave a comment. I'm sure 15 years or so from now the baby will really enjoy reading your comments.

Last week seems like a month ago. The last couple of days have been really long. No, let me rephrase... the last couple of nights have been really long. The Fourth of July holiday was awesome and super low key but the nights dragged on. I cannot for the life of me sleep thru the night or sleep thru a couple of hours. I probably wake up on the hour every hour for whatever reason. Last night was the worst - i had a dream i went into labor a couple of weeks early. It was so bizarre because I was totally faking the labor part. My body was fine but I just wanted to give birth that I thought I was in labor (in my dreams). It must have to do with the small symptoms I am feeling lately that must be labor related. My inner thighs hurt when I climb into bed, sometimes I feel like i might lose bladder control, odd pain in the abdomen once in a while, the baby kicking for hours. Lately i feel like there is no way this baby is going to stay put in there till the end since she gets so hyper at times.

We bought a bassinet last week and I we are super excited about it. Next on the list is to get the crib all set and buy baby friendly laundry detergent so we can wash everything we have and sort it out. We started the nursery. Here's a little sneak peak of what we're working on. We don't have a clear vision of what we want it to look like in the end, so we're just going with it and trying to see what we like and we don't. This part we do like:

We decided on a pediatrician last week... and guess what her name is ... *drum roll please*... Dr. Patel! We decided to go with her because her practice is less than 5 miles from our house and probably under 10 minute car ride. She lives locally. Her husband practices Internal Medicine, who just happens to be my doctor. Granted last time I went to him was like 2 years ago because I thought I had thyroid issues, but that's besides the point. He's easy on the eyes. Also, he shops at our store, so we figured they support our business, so we'll support their business. Plus I don't know about you but I'm kinda comfortable that they are a Patel. Worst case scenario - we find out we don't like her and we switch. Big whoop.

One of my girlfriends is full term now and now can have a baby- what will Prashanthi have?!?! I'm guessing a boy.

Here's me at 32 weeks - full 8 months!



give me a second... getting my hair ready...



Okay, ready!