Adu @ 10 months

Oh do i have a talkative little man here! We talk and talk and talk the whole day!! He's got many words  now and tries to repeat many of them too. he's now mobile with access to a lot of things and places!

• Our little Adu is now mobile, crawling on all fours, exploring the far off corners of the house! That means mamma has to be very very active and careful now! His grandparents were worried that he's not started crawling even after nine months. We both however, were not bothered about it as he is otherwise a healthy baby. But he started moving on fours when he was about 9.5 months, initially in a funny way of using his legs, knees, hands and bum. and very soon he picked up proper crawling, initially at a slow pace and now with great vigor!
• He's got so used to some of the regular words we use with him, and if we forgot to say them, he'd tell them himself in his language. For instance when I make his formula carrying him, I count the number spoons of powder that i put into the bottle and then pour the water and shake the bottle, saying out all the steps to keep him engaged. In Paris, we stayed in a small studio apartment in which the kitchen table was visible from the bed. One night he woke up in the middle of the night hungry and started crying. His dad rushed to make the formula for him while i tried to soothe him. He suddenly stopped crying and started saying 'tan, toa, te, ...'. I was surprised how he could stop crying when he was so hungry and then realized he was counting the number of spoons of formula his dad was putting into the bottle! We had a hearty laugh!
• He once said Thatha, thatha to his grandfather on phone as many times as we asked him to, and surely his granddad was elated! Now his grandmas are waiting when he'd call them ajji.
• The words he says mostly sound the same, but the tone matters. He just imitates my tone - the one i use with him to repeat the words. His favorite words are light-light-bright-bright when we switch on the light or open the window blinds, dark-dark when we close it or switch off, counting one two three while making formula, catch (a ball), nanna (water), nappy, tegi kai when he puts his hand in his mouth, and understands a host of other words.
• We love to sing and dance the whole day! He has a few favorites from what I hum too! And he nods his head and shakes his body to some songs! Its cute to watch!
• He has a set of favorite rhymes to, which he signs to be sung. Like twinkle twinkle, clap clap, baba black sheep, johnny johnny... If i don't sing one of them for a few days and then sing it he shows his delight at having recognized his old favorite! As soon as I start Johnny Johnny now, he says 'ahh ahh'
• He  blows kisses now, waves bye bye, gives hi-fi, shakes hand, does namaste, hits his forehead as if to say rama rama, shows he wants to eat, wants water, and wants to sleep. Ohhhh its all so cute!!
• But he's become a fussy eater now. He wants something different everyday, likes something one day but flatly rejects the same the next day, Hmmm... mama is having a difficult time trying to impress the little man.
• On the allergy front, we met his doctor but the allergy test will be done only after he is one. Till then we are not to try any allergen on him. And we've now stopped nursing and that's a relief for mamma, though it was kind of strange initially, to suddenly start having all milk products! 

That's it for now!!

A week in Paris - Some tips for travelling with a baby

We're back from a week's trip to Paris with almost 10 month old Adu. And boy, are we glad he's inherited our travel genes! Being avid travelers as a couple, we're now so so grateful that our little one enjoys traveling too. It was a no-hassle, simple trip to just one place - Paris, for a week, with a lot of buffer to rest, with no hard and fast tick list and that helped us have a relaxed trip in spite of a 10 month old.

We covered the important places like Louvre, Eiffel tower, a day's hop on hop off and so on, but kept the rest of the trip to just walk around the city, and explore things at our own pace. Little Adu enjoyed his time in his stroller, babbling away happily, singing long notes, waving at strangers, giggling, and falling asleep when tired! And we walked around the city, a few kilometres everyday, exploring the city, clicking pictures, tasting amazing French food, and taking in every bit leisurely. Unlike our earlier trips, we'd wake up late and start from the apartment in the late morning, after Adu had his share of rest, pack food for Adu from home, venture out till evening when we ourselves would get tired.

Some of the preparation that helped us ease travel with the kiddo:

• Pack light. Consider your baby also as a piece of luggage - a big and cranky one at that! Even when you're taking his stroller, your hands will be busy pushing the stroller. Also, you never know when the kid insists on being carried in arms rather than in stroller. So pack very light for yourselves, but make sure you carry the baby's most essential items.
• Don't have a hectic schedule when traveling with a baby. You'll need a lot of buffer including resting times, unexpected delays, time to prepare the baby's stuff before every outing, more sleep time than usual owing to the added tire traveling with the baby and so on. Keep the plan relaxed. 
• Be flexible. It is more important to enjoy the trip than to tick off places. There is no point in visiting every place on the tourists' guide when everyone including the baby is getting dead tired. Also, everything might not go just as per you plan. For example, you might plan to visit a place that requires you to set off early in the morning, but your kiddo might have given you a bad night, meaning all of you needing more sleep time in the morning to be fresh. So just push the early morning plan to a better day and do something else that is light instead.
• Carry enough supplies of your baby's favorite food. Even if your baby is willing to try different stuff, it is better to carry his favorite foods. We had carried some fruit smoothies he's used to, his usual cereal, and some dosa flour. 
• Book a place with a small kitchenette. Or carry your own little one burner stove and a pan. This really helps to dish out something fresh at least for the baby. In our case, we carried Adu's favorite dosa flour (not batter) (a mix of wheat flour, rice flour and a bit of methi powder) that we'd mix with water and make a tiny dosa for him that he'd be happy to eat after a tiring day out.
• Keep a couple of his favorite toys. And we'd give him one when he's bored sitting in his stroller for quite some time. It would delight him to get his favorite toy suddenly and that would keep him busy for some time. And with small kids, a lot of other 'junk' things can be used to keep them engaged for long periods of time. Like Adu loves to look at and play with maps and brochures after we're done with, lids of throwaway containers without any sharp edges keep him busy for some time, he like studying tickets, receipts and such. Just make sure nothing you give the baby is harmful.
• Reserve time to just spend with the little one everyday. That may be playing a silly game, singing rhymes, giggling with him, or just cuddling with him.
• Make things interesting for the baby. Your baby will definitely not appreciate being on top of Eiffel tower or looking at Mona Lisa! What he instead enjoys is playing a peek a boo with you, giggling at the monkey faces you make, clapping hands with him for a rhyme and so on. So make sure you do it with him often, to keep him happy. Don't worry if the people around think you are a bigger monkey! They mostly will not and even if they do, that's ok.
• Carry the essentials always. Always when heading out, make sure your baby bag has refills of food, water, nappies, tissues, bib, a snack and so on. Having a bit more is better than running out of something midway with a crying baby.  
• Keep Emergency Numbers handy. That includes the local doctors, baby's doctor back home in case there is a need, you don't have to panic searching for numbers.