Baby Hashtag speaks | My fourth month

Well what do you know! I am five months old already. Either time is going by really fast or I've been sleeping for most of the past few months. Oh wait, I HAVE been sleeping most of my life so far, haven't I?

Being a four month old is so much responsibility. Babycenter sends mum newsletters telling mum that I should have rolled over on my stomach and probably roll back to the earlier position. Setting high standards for babies, these lame websites. Not that I haven't rolled over. Yes, I did. But if I knew that I had to conform to some stupid norms states in a lame website, I would delay this rolling over business considerably. Oh well, now what is done, is done. So yeah, I finally rolled over. The first time I rolled over, mumma caught it on tape. And I was a tab bit on the edge of the bed. Mum still decided to shoot the rolling over cos how could I fall down when she is right there! Cut to one week later, when I was in the middle of one of my night slumber party feeds, I decided to do the rolling over (in my sleep) and I rolled right out of my mum's lap and on to the floor. I won't lie to you people, it hurt a lot. But five minutes of coddling, I was fine and then I made goo-goo eyes at mumma and papa who looked like they had just been smacked in the face by a truck. Mumma vowed to be extra careful that day on, cos well, every night after that I have rolled over in my sleep. So that's new. 

This month, I took my first nap in the crib and I kind of enjoyed it. I sleep in my crib more often and I seriously enjoy it more than mumma and papa's bed. It's sturdier, flatter and allows me to play freely. The bed with its dips and waves is just not for me. 

I recognise papa now. Everytime he comes home from office and calls me, I greet him with a huuuge smile. Why wouldn't I? He makes me sooo happy and makes me play on his belly. Mumma is fun too, but she is ALWAYS around. A little change in the form of papa is wee fun. 

This month, I did a lot of things for the first time. 

• I now enjoy tub baths. Mumma got this tub with bather from firstcry and I love it. She says she will review it soon. Let us add one more to her pending list of posts! 
• I sat in my rocker chair while Mumma cooked when the maid decided to bail on us. 
• I have now started sleeping on my side and I love it!
• Went to three new restaurants this month. Like I sais earlier also, I sense a pattern. 
• Mumma started working out and I flap my legs wildly when she does. I enjoy it thoroughly.
• I now move around on the bed a LOT! SO hello, fort of pillows.
• I spend more time playing on the play mat on my own. But when it does get boring, I scream bloody murder.
• I now roll over in my sleep which is wee fun but that messes with my sleep and that is so not cool. What do I do? I cry ofcourse! 

I also had my naming/christening function and I am named Kiara Genevieve Yashika Dadala. Phew. I know that's long. But I respond only to Yashika so that will stick. Popular theory has it that mumma is a photographer so she decided to name me Yashika. NO! I was named Yashika cos Kundali, Nakshatra and all that jazz bro. Having said that, I need to get clarity on this. For the last time guys. It's YASHIKA. With the K. Not C as in Yashica. I hope that is sorted once and for all. 

Mum cut her own hair at home. Though she was really pleased with the results, now she wants even shorter hair and will have to head to a salon. I will obviously accompanying her when does go, but whether or not I will throw a tantrum depends on my mood and how much mumma pampers me early on. 

I also met a LOT of people over this month who keep insisting to pick me up. Honestly, what is the deal with that! Maybe I'm just too cute. Then, I scream and throw a tantrum and all the cuteness honestly is pushed down the drain and I am returned to my mumma.

Works every single time! 

I also got vaccinated. I was administered the third dose of a single vaccine and there was no fever in the aftermath. Yay to that. 

Mumma has started writing letters to me and to be honest, I do not get most of them now. Hopefully, I will understand them in a few years but I have heard people say they are good. I cannot wait to read and make sense of them. 

Now I am five months old, time for daily milestones and daily achievements. But also, time to give mumma no breathing space whatsoever. Now that I am rolling over and am on my fours already, I feel like crawling soon. Let's see! I'll be back with my monthly update next month unless you want to hear from me often. Do tell me if you want me to come back earlier. And I will. 

Until next month,
Cheers! 
Baby Hashtag

Y fot Yesterday | AtoZ Challenge

Dear Baby Hashtag,

Like how you are crossing milestones by the minute, your mum too crossed hers. My milestones were nowhere nearly as significant as yours but they matter, because they all led me to you. What is crazier is that everything that has happened in the past feels so fresh. Like it all happened yesterday.

It was just yesterday I had graduated from college, full of zeal and enthusiasm. I was ready to take on the world. I still did not know what I wanted out of life though. I decided to take it as it comes.

It was just yesterday that I met a man in the most unexpected of places and we became friends in the most unusual way. Normally, I would be wary of talking to anyone within days of knowing them. But the rapport with this person just hit it off and we became insane friends.

It was just yesterday when I lit my Papa's funeral fire. He was my hero, and watching him crumble broke something in me that day.

It was just yesterday, when my little family tried with all it's might to move on and recover from the loss of all the elderw in the house within a couple of years. My mother became my friend and my uncle and aunt, my heroes.

It was just yesterday, when my uncle (whom now I call Bhai) took it upon himself to get me married to the man I love. He waded through every obstacle and made sure I got there in the end.

It was only yesterday, when I first woke up in my new home post marriage. I was so overwhelmed and oh so excited. I misses home too.

It was only yesterday when we first that result tested positive. Everyone was so happy.

Nine months post that day, you were born, little one. It's still so fresh. Feels like it was all happening yesterday.

No matter how new everything felt to me, you are growing at a rate that has me alarmed. Now that I remember, you rolled over for the first time over a month ago but silly me, to think it was only yesterday.  Oh, how I will miss tending to your newborn self. As much as I am excited to see you grow, I somehow want to relive all our yesterdays with you.

Please don't grow up so fast.

Love,
Mumma Hashtag

X for Xerox copy | AtoZ Challenge

When I was born, relatives looked at me and always said, "Arey, ye toh same Saroj hain!" ("Arey, she looks exactly like Saroj!") For those who do not know, Saroj is the name of my mother. Since birth, I looked like a similar albeit slightly unpolished version of my mother. And my mother in turn looked like her mother. So when the three of us, Nani mumma and I sit together, people can very easily guess that we are related and what's the relationship. But with Baby Hashtag, it's been different. Turns out she does not take take after me. The moment she was born, I was told (and retold multiple times after that) that she looks like her dad. Um okay, that's cool I guess.

A daughter should be her daddy's girl. As spoilt as can be, as princessy as he can handle. So what if she looks like her papa and nothing like me. I will not be superficial and say that I am not bothered by it. Of course I was. But I got over it in five seconds. I love that my daughter looks like the person I love, makes me want to stare at her all the more. In the morning, when both the father and the daughter are fast asleep, I sneakily open the curtain to let some light in so that I can stare at the two of them for a full two minutes. But anyway, this happens on days when I wake up before the husband and that rarely seems to be happening these days thanks to Baby Hashtag's sleep regression.

That I am my mothers Xerox copy, is something I love. Also that my daughter is her father's Xerox copy, is another fact I love. It's a win-win, ain't it?

P.S. Before anyone goes hyper grammar Nazi on me and point out that Xerox is the name of the company and it's actually called photo copy, let me spare you the time. I know. I chose convenience over technicality just this once.

W for Waking up | AtoZ Challenge

I am not a morning person. Never have been. I would get up at 8 in the morning, attend to the day to day and scoot back to bed if I could. After getting married, I took to inculcating the habit of waking up at 7 am. I can take the liberty of saying that the husband is also pretty much the same as I am, if not worse. This habit of me not being an early waker is not inherited for sure because both my parents are early risers. Everyone in my family wakes up early, even my uncles. I lived a reckless life in the night. Midnight snacking, staying up late into the night and studying, watching movies, reading books, wasting time on the phone. Ofcourse I was going to be a late to wake up in the morning.

But when I got pregnant, I went back to my schedule of waking up late. I had a normal pregnancy but I have the nicest mother-in-law who would not let me work at all and made me rest round the clock. Again, I was back on the old cycle. But all the aunties warned me.

"Your baby won't let you sleep at all. Say bye bye to sleep. No way to rest for another 10 years now. Sleep as much as you want now, you won't be able to sleep at all later."

The advises just kept getting darker and more sadistic. There was even a point in time when I was in my third trimester that I was panicky about not being able to sleep at all. And then the baby arrived and to my surprise, inspite of being born into the morning, she was on a similar REM cycle as most adults. She slept longer in the nights. Now another fear gripped me.

"What if I am not able to wake up when she needs me!???"

Call it maternal instincts but for this once I want to thank my hormones cos they woke me up whenever the baby even made a little noise. Hence, we swiftly waded through self doubts regarding waking up on time.

Now at 5 months old, Baby Hashtag sleeps a little longer and wakes up a fair few times in the night when she gets hungry. And she manages to wake me up. About when she gets up in the morning? What do you know! She is following in the footsteps of her parents and wakes up well into the morning giving both mumma and papa an opportunity to catch up on some rejuvenating sleep.

T for Thank you | AtoZ Challenge

Dear Baby Hashtag,
Your sappy mom is back with another letter to you and as much as I would like to try to be casual in my letters to you, I find myself getting emotional at some point in the narrative.

Today, I want to thank you. There are a million reasons I need to thank you. This very instant, I want to thank you for taking a longer nap so your mommy could nap a little longer after finishing her chores. But this is not it. There are so many reasons more.

When we first found out we were pregnant, your father and I, we were ecstatic. Beyond ourselves really. Waiting for nine months so that I could finally see you seemed like too long a time. While everyone was convinced that I was going to have a boy, your father believed almost blindly that we would be having a girl. And he was right. Thank you for being a daddy's girl already.

I have to be honest with you at this point. A lot of mothers feel boundless joy and happiness when they first see their child. Me? Not so much. I barely reacted when the doctor told me through my surgery that it was a girl. It was a full 24 hours later that it hit me, that you were here. A person. A life I was going to nurture and protect from then on. I knew my life had changed. And change, it did. Thank you for bringing about the most happy change in our lives.

From the time you were a newborn, you did not conform to any general baby notions. You did you. You fed well, you slept through the night, you were (and still are) a no tantrum child. Thank you for that.

You are everything we dreamed of, and so much more. You surprise us everyday and make us want to be better people. We are already discussing meal plans and family rituals for when you grow up, we want to be able to follow those so we can be a wholesome family. Thank you for giving us a purpose and making us a family. A unit.

You have brought joy to SO MANY people. Your father's and mine, most of all. With just one smile, you can shift the axis on which our world revolves. And if I could, I would move mountains for you. Thank you little one.

Lots of love to you,

Mumma Hashtag

S for Sanskaari Bahu | AtoZ Challenge

Sanskaari (adj) - Cultured and well-mannered
Bahu (n) - Daughter in-law
Sasuji (n) - Mother-in-law
Shaadi (n) - Marriage

Until about yesterday, I had decided that today's post would be dedicated to Sarso ka tel because it has played a vital role in Baby Hashtag's well-being. And then, just this morning, I read an​ article which was so fundamentally wrong that it made me go another direction with the letter S.

Sanskaari. The holy S word that all women are taught to be 

since childhood. Explored extensively by the likes of Ekta Kapoor, exploited by soap operas for years. Because, beti is paraaya dhan innit. She has to leave her home, get married to a certain someone and accept his family as her own. Of course, this codswallop has been fed to every woman in our country and it's an age old, albeit accepted tradition. 

Fundamentally, the family system would cease to exist if a marriage fails to take place. So logically, for the continuity of species and family lines, a shaadi is necessary. And for a shaadi, you need a bahu. It was fine up to this point. A lot of people experience different things in their marriages. Some are happy, some are just about ok and some are plain abusive. But the freak generalisation of the sanskaari bahu as a prerequisite to a successful marriage had me tongue tied.

Sanskaars are subjective. To each, their own. What is morally sanskaar approved for you may not be just for someone else. This logic a lot of people understand but the need for the textbook 'sanskaari bahu' remains as old as ever. 

I, for one, am in no way a Sanskaari Bahu.

What is a sanskaari bahu?
A bahu who wakes up before sunrise, cooks for the family members (not just cooks but must cook various other cuisines), knows all the housework (so in case the maid decides to take a raincheck, you are still good), must press sasuji's legs till she falls asleep in the night, must still continue housekeeping duties even after having a baby, must be willing to take the second place in the husband's life cos he will always be the Mama's boy, she must treat the new family as her own and let go of the older family where she was born, so on and so forth.

Like I said, I am none of the above.

I wake up well after sunrise cos well, I have a baby to nurse all night and mornings are the only time we all sleep in peace. I know my way around the kitchen and home but not to the point of being called the expert homemaker. I'd rather be a commoner. When my sasuji is at home, we gossip over a cup of tea. That's a better and fun way to bond. I have a maid and a house help to help me manage my home cos I'm no Superwoman. I look after my husband just as much as he looks after me. I also take breaks for work or to simply chill while the baby is being watched over by other members of the family. I am in constant touch with my 'other' family and my husband treats them with no less love and respect. My mother and I still talk for hours, cos well, some things don't change. But I am sure I am still loved in this house. Both the houses, in fact. For me, happy marriages have nothing to do with being a sanskaari bahu. It is merely an extension of my pre-marital life except now I have more people to have fun with.

R for Raconteurs | AtoZ Challenge

I had nearly given up on the challenge cos Baby Hashtag has a really troubled night's sleep. I intended to be at her Beck and call the entire day and as luck would have it, she gave me some 'me time' eventually.

My husband is many things. To his parents, a dedicated son. To his family, a watchful over-indulging family man. To his friends, an extremely loyal and truthful friend. To his colleagues, a fun and able co-worker. To me, his wife, everything I want him to be. Even more. He is also renowned for his temper, and more often than not tells it like how it is. So reveration and fear are two things he gets often from people.

But ever since Baby Hashtag was born, I have seen a whole new side to this man. Yes, he is an exceptionally careful father. Very loving, and nurturing. One thing I found out about him during my pregnancy was that he was a Raconteur. While I am dying to introduce books or some other communication aides to the baby, the husband insists I tell her a story. Now I know only this one story, that of the tortoise and the hare. I mean who doesn't. After a couple of recitations, the purpose of story telling was lost on me. I decided I would just read to her when she grows older.

But not my husband, no. Turns out, this storytelling habit of his had carried on from his own childhood now to my baby's bachpan. So there he is, one fine evening, reciting some random story about Kings and his sons to this little baby who looks up at him in awe. She gets nothing out of it, does not understand anything but the way these two look at each other will convince you that they can converse in some secret language.

8 years of knowing this man and this side of him, of a doting father, is what I love the most. Moreso he reminds me of my own father who was a really funny man who always had anecdotes up his sleeve. I've written extensively about my father in his fond remembrance but it never seems to be enough. His stories about his childhood and the days when he was growing up still make us laugh. With him around to entertain, there was hardly ever a dull moment. And he loved his family to bits.

They have so much in common, these two men of my life.

My Father. My Husband. The Raconteurs.

N for Nana-Nani | AtoZ Challenge

Growing up, I revelled in the 'laad' that my Nana and Nani showered upon me. I was the eldest grandchild on my mother's side and that sort of led me into believing I was a privileged child. So I shamelessly asked things when I wanted them and sometimes I was spoilt for choice. Little #BabyHashtag too has the gift of being the oldest and the only grandchild. She has her Nanimaa, my mother and her Nanu and Cheeni (my uncle and aunt) and other Nanajis and Nanijis to spoil her rotten. My father, who would have been her Nana if he were alive would have had the most fun showering her with gifts and love.

I've always been told that grandparents' love for their grandchildren is much more than that of the parents' but I never deemed it possible. But today when I have a baby, I see both her sets of grandparents play with her, become little babies around her, promising her to get her anything she wants. Now that she is only 20 weeks old, she does not understand the prospects of having fun grandparents. But I can already see a future where the toddler #BabyHashtag runs to her grandparents for every goodie that mum and dad have refused to give her. That is the beauty of having a Nana-Nani and Dada-Dadi.

I remember this one time I was a little older than 7 years old, I found something fancy in my Nani's kitchen while I was there on vacation. I chimed shamelessly, "Nani ye mere ghar pe nahi hain, ye main le jau?" (Nani I don't have this thing at home, can I take it?) Mum looked at me with disgust, others in the room laughed and Nani said 'yes' without even giving it a thought. Grandparents are selfless when it comes to their grandchildren and I have been extremely lucky to have been loved by them. I still love going to my Nana-Nani's home and I try to make it there atleast once a year.

If you, as a parent, are trying to keep your children away from their loving grandparents consciously, please don't. They learn how to love boundlessly from them. When people say that babies are drawn to other babies and really old people, take that as a sign of how much they care for their grandparents.

Baby Hashtag with her mumma, Nani and Great Nani

The demons of the post-partem times

Everyone speaks about how wonderful it is to have a baby and how amazing being a mother feels. For all those who have been following my blog will concur with the fact that all the information you have from me about having a baby and the times after that are all fun and merry work. But it is not entirely that. Post delivery challenges are real and affect mostly everyone. If you meet a mother, who admits to having sailed through without a hiccup, the time after she delivered her baby, she is either too strong willed to accept defeat or she is just too proud to accept that anything was off. 

Let me make one thing very clear. Getting pregnant and having a baby are the two most rewarding experiences of a mother's lives. When I talk about the downside of post delivery experiences, I do not in anyway undermine the joy of birth. I am merely making the reader aware of what a new mother goes through in varying proportions. 

Here are some demons that the new mother faces head-on with the arrival of the baby:

1) Post partem depression

Post partem depression or PPD is real and grips women when they are least suspecting it. The counter to PPD is given as, 'she just had a baby, how can she be sad?' Well, women who are diagnosed with PPD do not hate their babies. In fact, they succumb to PPD because of the baby in their lives. Suddenly, a life depends on them for its well being and health and that overtakes every other thing on the mother's mind. Multiply that feeling of responsibility with raging pregnancy hormones in the system and you have a mother who is too weepy, emotional, angry and frustrated all at the same time. Add to that, being sleep deprived does not help the new mothers one bit. I, for one, am the most non-weepy person there is. I did not shed one tear or feel all too overwhelmed when I heard the baby's first cry and saw her in the box but I cried my eyes out the first night I sat through nursing the baby. Hormones. Luckily, I had the support of my husband and the family to help me with the baby and I was back to my normal cynical self. 

2) Neglect

A lot of women feel neglect when the new baby arrives as the focus of everyone's attention is not her anymore. Not that women are attention seekers but having gone though rigorous labor or a c sec surgery makes mommies a tad too emotional and needy. The feeling of neglect grows manifold especially when the husband decides to pay extra attention to the baby instead of her. A little advise to the new Papas. For the first couple of weeks post-delivery, go out of your way to make your woman feel special. Just little somethings like flowers, a backrub, chocolates or a simple pat on the cheek. The feeling of being neglected with subside substantially and she will not feel sidestepped. 

3) Overwhelm

A new mother in many cases is a proud mother. Today, women are well read and well informed. A little too informed actually. But having a baby is not about how well you know your shizz, it's about hands on knowledge. 

4) Under the scanner
A new mom is always under the scanner. What she does, how she raises the baby, the decisions she takes to that end, everything is being judged right from day one. And that is not a pleasant situation. A new mother needs to be advised only when she seeks the same from you. And you are out to give her some unsolicited advise, then be gentle and humble about it. She is already a sack of emotions and raging hormones. Do not judge her and put her to distress. Be supportive. 

5) Mommy-shaming

A mother does not choose to not breastfeed her baby. But sometimes due to various reasons (which she may choose to divulge or not) the mother chooses formula for her child instead of direct breastfeeding. DO NOT SHAME HER. She is looking out for her baby and whatever made her decide to go a certain way, let's leave the mother to it, shall we! Also, it took me a little over a week to feel emotionally connected with my little one. I had no immediate 'motherly' feelings taking over my mind as soon as I saw her, it took me time to get there. And I am glad I was not judged for the same. I eventually became the textbook version of a mother: overprotective, nursing, making goo-goo eyes at the baby. And that happened only because I was allowed to live with myself and not shamed for anything. 

Next time you meet a new mother, greet her with warmth and preferably a chocolate. There is nothing in the world that chocolate cannot cure.

Until next time,
D

Baby Hashtag Speaks | My third month

It's been really exhausting, this past month. All I want is to feed and sleep and my mother still gets it all wrong. This is a snippet of a conversation we had one mazy afternoon. But of course, I cry when I talk to her. These dialogues have been translated for your benefit. 

Baby Hashtag (Me): I want food

Mumma: OK, come, let me feed you

*settles in to nurse*

Me: But I said I want to sleep

Mumma: Oh I thought you said you were hungry. No worries, I'll rock you to sleep. 

Me: Woman, I need foooood!

Mumma: But you just rejected being nursed.

Me: I am hungry and sleepy. Do something. 

Mumma: OK, let me nurse you and you can fall asleep while doing that

Me: OK. Om nom nom nom nom....Zzzzzz

Mothers, I tell you!

I am fast approaching that phase where I do not sleep as much I slept in the first few weeks of my life. And when I know I am sleepy, I need help falling asleep because I cannot sleep on my own, try as I might. It will only get worse for mumma as my fourth month approaches when I will have severe sleep regression. I am not enjoying this okay, it is a developmental phase and like everything else, this too shall pass.

Anyhoo, this went on for about 2-3 days after which mumma understood my wavery ways and learned to get on with it. I am now nearing the fourth month mark which according to a lot of aunties is now a safe age for me to venture out of home. What they don't know is that mumma takes me out 'every' evening for a change of scenery. On some days, when dad is home early, he takes me out as well. Both of them have separate carriers for me. Mumma uses a Soul ring sling while Papa uses an ergonomic carrier from Luvlap. 

Moving on.

I kind of enjoy tummy time now, not entirely because who enjoys landing facedown on the playmat after holding their head for a few seconds. It was adventurous the first few times, but now seriously, my head hurts. But tummy times are longer than earlier and I am getting rather good at supporting my head up. I am mighty proud of that actually. Mumma keeps telling Papa that she will increase the duration of tummy time sessions as days go by. Yay. Not.

I am also starting to get the whole 'turn to the side' vibe. It's fun to look at things from that perspective. But funny thing is whenever I turn on my side, mumma anticipates that I will roll over completely and I just come back again on my back to tease her. I carry on this charade for a good 15-20 times and each time she gets super excited. Silly mommy.

I take smaller naps in the day and I sleep happier in the night. So no worries there. Rather what bugs me the most is the bath session. Massage, I get. But this whole deal with water I don't get. Why is it so liquidy and scary and I don't seem to figure it out. As long as I cannot understand it, I cannot make my peace with it. So the whole time I am massaged, I am merry. And as soon as water touches my body, I scream like a banshee.

I am gaining weight at a slow and steady rate but the doc says its healthy so I am chill. Oh and I also got my 10 week vaccinations administered during this time. Two days went by sort of okay thanks to the paracetamol drops. The thighs where the needle poked me did hurt a lot so massages and baths were suspended for two days and I enjoyed that immensely. More on my developmental milestones and vaccinations, mumma will talk in a separate post. I, now, need to get back.

Until next time,

Taa!

Lots of love,

Baby Hashtag

Soul Earth Single Layer Woven Cotton Ring Sling

Before Soul got in touch with me to send their products, I had ordered myself a ring sling. The team was ever so kind to send it to me the very next day. I chose the cotton version over linen mostly keeping in mind the price point. 

Wearing Baby Hashtag on a particularly busy afternoon. She is at ease and eventually I have gotten the hang of tying the sling right

I have been using it for over a month now and I have my opinions about it, good and bad. I have worn my little one in the sling over a dozen times so far and initially I used to thread and unthread the sling every time I used it. After a couple of times, I realised it would be better for me to test and thread the sling once properly and get as many uses out of it as can be. Next fortnight onwards, I did keep my threaded sling at the ready but loosening and tightening the sling does get a tab but difficult as the material of the sling is slightly more denser than linen. It will take some time for you to get used to it, just like I did but after getting the baby's posture right and the snug, I have been wearing her practically all the time. She is still yet to fall asleep whilst being worn but baby hashtag does show signs of tiredness, so hopefully one day she will fall asleep while I am wearing her.

The fact that the fabric of the ring sling is handwoven and 100% natural, makes for one hell of a product. It's breathable, safe and wonderful for the baby's skin. However, when you are wearing your baby for the first time, do make sure to follow the instructions to the T. It takes practise to get used to the sling but once you get the hang of it, it is the ultimate carrier option there is.

I love how compact the sling is. It hardly takes up any space in the carry on tote or the diaper bag even. I just have one issue though. The place I live in is extremely humid owing to its proximity to the sea. So when I wear the baby, we tend to sweat a lot. If this happens at home, it is no bother at all. But if we step out in sling while I'm wearing her, there is no way I can take of the sling without making the sweat on the front of my clothes noticeable to everyone. There is also no graceful way to wearing the sling (without the baby) in such a case unless I unthread it completely and drape it like a dupatta. This may sound trivial but this happened to baby hashtag, her papa and I when we stepped in to a five star hotel to relish a particularly delish brownie. When I took her out of the sling, I was drenched in sweat and I could only cover it whilst still wearing the threaded sling as I was to wear the baby again on our way back home. Not the best look I've sported.

All in all, I would recommend this sling if you are looking for a carrier to wear your baby. The versatility of the sling is such that it allows you to wear your newborn as well your toddler. If you have both, then try tandem wearing. If you have any doubts about their products, Soul is always ready to help you out. They are one of the most approachable brands I have met in recent times. And I am not a very easy person to please. 

Soul products come with self explanatory brochures that talk in detail about the product you have chosen along with the very many ways you can use and tie them (if it is carrier). They also have the most adorable variety of products, apart from the standard carriers. But more on that, in the next post. If you still need visual help as to how to use the Soul products, do subscribe to their Facebook channel. 
https://www.youtube.com/user/soulslings

Will be back soon with a new post/review unless Baby Hashtag feels the need to take over the blog with her latest rant.

Cheers,
D

P.S. This is not a sponsored post.

Dear Papa

Dear Papa

We have been through this conversation over a 100 times. In my head, of course. A lot of things have happened since the time we last spoke. It was a rough Sunday morning some three years ago when we saw each other last and since then, life has definitely changed. I am now married. Married to the man you approved of. We also have a daughter. You are a Nana now! As much as I would like to believe that the little baby (we call her Baby Hashtag on the internet) looks like you and me, she resembles your son-in-law more. There is a little bit of Mumma's face in her face. So you and me get a rough deal here. But we are a happy bunch now. It was a difficult year when you moved on, but recuperation is happening.

I have moved cities now. Everyone else is in Hyderabad, nandusa chachi golu and mum. Speaking of Golu, she has become the naughtiest version of herself. Nandusa has put on more weight and Soni chachi is still her happy self. They miss you guys a lot. You, Dadosa and Baiji. Dadosa's family is tighter now. Sunita Bua, Lalitsa, Devusa, Jyothidi, Cherry and their families are now bound with affection and understanding. It is something you always wanted and it is exactly that way. 

I have not lost any weight. In my defense, I did shed a few kilos before the shaadi but got it all back thanks to the baby. So, that is one thing that has not changed. Also, what has not changed is my love for you. Everyone misses you, sure. But no one misses you like I do. It is not grief that I feel, it just feels incomplete. I am however very glad that I could spend with you, all that time making fun of others the way we did. It was hilarious. That is what I will remember you by. All the happy pictures and the way we called out to people on our scooter rides. Thank you for making me iron your shirt every morning before school. That is one craft I know and love too much. Laundry. *kidding*

I do not know if I believe in a higher realm. I am a confused person like that. But you are the force I want to believe in. And so, all my prayers usually go out to you. 

We miss you dude. Love you dude. Bye dude. Until next time.

Baby Hashtag speaks | My second month

Things around me haven't changed much but I have. I am supposed to, right?

I just moved from my Nani-Maa's home to my own home in Kakinada last week. While I am adjusting to the new living conditions here, I do miss the cosiness of my maternal home in Hyderabad. But here, Papa Hashtag is around more and I love it. 

I am in the third month now and month#2 was a fun ride. I got another one of those wretched vaccinations. In the 6th week to be precise. The doctor did ask Mumma to give me fever medication much in advance so I hardly felt the temperature rise. But the pointy needle hurt so much more than I had signed up for. I am used to yawning, stretching and playing and unknowingly I did stretch the vaccination-administered leg a little too hard. Result? Unknowable pain. What did I do? I cried. It seemed like hours but I heard Mumma tell Nani that it was for a few minutes. Urgh, I don't think I am getting the hang of time anytime soon. 

Which is why nap times have become quite a hassle. While I nap happily and wake up fresh after what seems like hours, Mumma exclaims that I drifted to sleep for 10 minutes only. Honestly, I am exasperated that I cannot talk already and reason with her. So in its place, I choose to be cute and smile into space. Speaking of staring into space, all that staring has got me a new friend. That colourful pointy thing on the ceiling is bae. It goes round and round whenever I look at it and it is just the best. For reasons even I cannot fathom, that thing on the ceiling that everyone calls fan, is my favourite!

To Mumma's happy luck, I sleep better and longer at night, waking up only to feed and drifting off to sleep immediately after. Once in a week, I do stay up after this midnight nursing session and play with everyone before crying my lungs out and falling back to sleep. Hey hey hey I know what you are thinking! If I establish a routine so early in life, where is the fun. There's got to be some unpredictable moments right? 

Oh and did I tell you that I totally rejected the bottle of expressed milk when Mumma offered it to me. She wanted to check if I fed from the bottle directly so she could take a break and let someone else babysit me once in a while. Not so soon Mom, you are not leaving my sight for at least six months now. Even after that, I cannot guarantee you anything (cue evil laughter)

Mumma started wearing me in this ring sling from Soul Slings. It was kinda uncomfortable at first but I love how snug it is now. She also switched from Himalaya to MamaEarth for baby products. To be honest, I don't miss Himalaya at all. Mum did blog about her experience with the MamaEarth products. You can read it here:

http://hashtagdisha.blogspot.in/2017/01/review-mamaearth.html

Also, I now talk louder. There are variations in my tone so I can express different emotions like happiness, hunger, irritation, anger, pain and mirth. I leave the interpreting to the adults. My job right now is just to be cute. And I think I am getting mighty good at it.

That is all for the second month update. See you soon!

Lots of love,
Baby Hashtag

Baby Hashtag Speaks | I HATE!

Hello World! Baby Hashtag here.

I am all of 7 weeks now and I implore you to not go by my puny self. I already have a list of things I am not particularly fond of. Can you believe it, I already have a list? Read on.

1. Bath time
I am not anti-clean. I am just anti-water. For now at least. As much as I enjoy being massaged by mommy, when she takes me to bathe and when water touches me, all hell breaks loose. Hey hey, do not peg me for a naughty baby yet, pouring water takes me by surprise and at my age, I hate being surprised. When I transition from these water-thrown-with-a-mug baths to the tiny-tub-baths, I am sure I will love them. Till then, I will go about taking the present baths with all the wailing and crying as I do already.

2. Vaccination
I just had my second set of vaccines administered recently and I can comfortably say that I hate them! Agreed it is important for me and all that. But being poked by needles? Not all that fun you see.

3. Cranky toddlers
I love playing with my 7  year old Golu Maasi. She dances for me, reads to me and keeps me entertained in general. But then there are those cranky toddlers who are downright loud, cranky and irritating. Moreover, they want to touch me and poke me and scream in my ear all the time. Like I am an exhibit. How about I scream twinkle twinkle in your ears kid, how about that! 

4. Dirty clothes
I need to changed three times a day because dirty clothes just ain't me. Even a speck of dirt and I throw a sneezing fit to let mommy know that I need a sparkling new outfit. Understand this! I am photographed pretty much all the time, thanks to the many many mobile phones in the house. And if I am being clicked constantly, I need to look photo-ready all the time. Right? Right! 

5. Soiled Diapers
Go away soiled diapers. After I am done doing my business, I wail and howl and squirm because baby needs a change of diaper. A minute's delay and I take major offence, not looking at mommy at all. Please! I am not a drama queen but PRIORITIES! 

Baby Hashtag speaks | My first month

Hello World! 

Life on Earth is fun. Not on vaccination days. But otherwise, it's a fun place and fun time to be alive. It was fun in the first week, napping for 20 hours straight, waking up only to feed and then dwindling back into that merry sleep stupor again. But sleep has gotten a tad more elusive now. My day is now a collage of random naps put together because I am hungrier than usual and sleeping sound for hours at a stretch is now a foreign concept. Nevertheless, the first month has been an adventure.

The first week went by in a haze. We were at the hospital a few days and were back home where we spent the next couple of days getting used to the new setting. Mommy is a bundle of hormones and emotions around this time and I try to make up for the overwhelming feeling she has by being all cute! Papa and the entire family are around a lot as well, trying to sneak in a picture or a video when they can. At the end of 2 weeks, I have learnt to make cute noises and gurgling sounds so now I have everyone at home wound around my finger. Each minute is an anticipatory dance of when I will chime 'ga-ga-goo-goo' next. I experienced my first growth spurt at 3 weeks and I fed round-the-clock for a couple of days. I enjoyed feeling snug and close to mommy the whole time while she got very little sleep. I take a little guilty pleasure in that but I compensated with all the adorable coo-ing and make gurgling noises. 

It has basically been a great ride and we have stepped into the second month feeling pretty proud of ourselves. By the way, I howl throughout the massage and bath sessions every morning, but secretly I love them. The post-bath naps are heavenly! Since it is winter, I am mostly dressed and covered up head-to-toe. I cannot wait for it to be sunny so I can wear them cute strappy frocks! Yay! 

Today, I am successfully past the 5 week mark and I feel nothing short of a celebration coming on. Maybe I'll treat myself to an extra hour of play time. Which only implies, one less hour of nap-time and one less hour of sleep for mommy and everyone else at home. 

See you all next month<3 font="">

Lots of love,
Baby Hashtag

Surviving the first week | Baby Hashtag is here!

A lot has changed in the last month since I wrote my last post. From a mommy-to-be, I am now a mother and the feeling is taking its own sweet time to sink in. More than anything, I am staring at the tiny tot's face longer than what is considered humanly normal and that behaviour, to me, is the epitome of completely normal. 


Speaking of parenting, I have had the craziest 20 days growing up with Baby Hashtag (to the uninitiated, that is my little one's name on the blog for all intents and purposes)
Together with the husband and my family, we are cruising along just fine barring a few hiccups I faced in the start. My first week with my new baby were the toughest and you will know why. 

But first, know this.

For new parents, a few pointers. Surviving the first week with your baby is going to be a real task. The easiest part will be nursing the baby, because babies are born stronger than we think. They are designed to be tough cos they are going to be handled by new parents, who try as they might, do not win at the parenting game. Not in the first couple of weeks at least. As time passes by and you get used to the new addition to your life, the baby is already used to you and guiding you through day-to-day with an unmatched dexterity. You think you have it under control, but in reality, it is the baby who runs the show and frankly you have to be okay with that. Whenever you can, hold your baby close. Learn how to swaddle the baby. 

New moms, pay heed. You are going to be an emotional wreck. How much ever prepared you are in advance and no matter how much pre-natal yoga you did, this is going to be your reality. The sleeplessness and the raging hormones will make you weep like a wimpy kid and weep, for no solid reason, you will. My image of being the crazy bad-ass comfortably took a tumble when I was bawling my eyes out on the second day after the baby for no reason at all. Let's just say, the waterworks will be your steady companion, especially in the first month post-baby. Teach yourself on all the feeding and nursing basics and be prepared, mentally at least. Choose the paediatrician well in advance because you will have a lot of questions about your baby that only they can answer reliably. Research about a competent Lactation Consultant in your area and stay in touch with them as well, for obvious reasons. Then there is the first round of vaccinations that will be administered to the baby in the first week of her birth. Stay strong and do not crumble into a crying heap at the sight of your baby in pain. Be practical about the coming fever post-vaccination and stay sharp. Cold sponges and cluster feeding your baby helps when they are running a high temperature. 

New dads, your turn now. Your wife is in that constant state of wanting attention. And now with the baby being the centre of everyone's universe, her feeling of being unwanted has only further deepened. Be patient to her temper tantrums and hysterical crying episodes. You made it through her 9 months of mood swings, a couple more months won't add to your woes. Be kind to her, but not sympathetic. Most importantly, help change diapers and do other baby-related chores. Ease her out of the overwhelmed self she is slowly sinking into. Keep the spirits high and treat her like the queen.

Amidst the tears, hormones, sweat, midnight feeding sessions and short naps, exhaustion, there are going to be those glorious moments when you will look at your baby and all this will seem too petty. Make that feeling your biggest incentive and dive into a new day with the baby with renewed zeal and love. I am in love each day, falling for the little Baby Hashtag over and over again. And that, keeps me going.

10 Random things-to-do!

This is for you. 
And you. 
You, as well.
10 Random things-to-do. Everyday. Or just today. Whatever!

HELL YESSS!

1. Tell someone they have a charming smile. Also, smile more often yourself. It is infectious. It is important, however, to know when to retract that smile. You do not want to be that weird guy who smiles that constant psychopath smile ALL the time.

2. Make conversation with that small vendor you see outside your apartment everyday. Ask him how his day was, politely. If he seems sour, just give him an encouraging 'koi baat nai, chalta hain' and walk away.

3. Greet the watchman and the lift-man in your office with a dazzling 'Good Morning' everyday if you can. It's a no harm done move. They like to feel important and you are giving them just that. 

4. Say 'Thank you' for the smallest courtesy offered to you. Be consistent but not overly enthusiastic about it. You want to seem courteous, not bat-shit crazy.

5. Call/text your parents and just ask them how their day was going. If you are someone who does not do this often, you might alarm them with questions of such concern. Reassure them that all is well and you are just generally trying to be nice.

6. Wave to a child/toddler on your transit. But do not be the creepy dude who gives them chocolates. Avoid them chocolates.

7. If you want to grocery shop, make a day of it. BigBasket your products only if you are swamped like crazy. There is no equivalent to physical shopping. EVER! 

8. Once a weekend, go out and play a sport for hours together. Does not matter if you play hide-and-go-seek with the apartment kids, what matters is that you revisit that playful side of you every once in a while.

9. Dance. And Sing. Even if you have two left feet and the voice that could put a frog's croak to shame, sing and dance like your life depends on it. Whether you do it in solitary confinement or full public view is a personal choice. 

10. Cook. Learn to cook different cuisines. Or pretend, maybe. And if all that fails, order food in and have a good laugh over your failed culinary attempt.

Do it and pass it forward. A chain reaction of all things happy is what we need the most today! Making someone else happy is rewarding, even just a little bit. And when it does a full circle and comes back to you, you will know you have made a lot of people smile and laugh along the way.

A little more joy did no one harm!