Before the 10th month passes us by...

I have been so preoccupied with everything that has been going on that I missed recording some of the things that M does. And now they have flown out of my mind. But I will try and put down everything I can remember.

M started crawling a long time ago - and I wrote about that, I believe - now she has gained confidence in her skill. So she can crawl faster. And when she does, she looks like a spider scrambling from one rock to another :D Really! Yesterday, S was counting change from her piggy bank on the family room couch. When M saw this, she crawled over so fast that I was left blinking my eyes! As I have said earlier, this is one girl in a big hurry. She has been pulling herself up by grabbing furniture for a long time. She even walks that way. And she has also been trying to balance herself on her feet. So she grabs something to help her stand up, then lets go gently and plops down on her bottom a moment later. Repeats. Ad infinitum. The time between her letting go and plopping down is ssss...l...o...w...l...y increasing.

And she babbles almost non-stop now. Seems like she is teething too - but we won't know for sure until the teeth pop put. Seems like she is going to sprout the pearlies on the top first and that is a constant source of worry for my dad :) He mentioned some ritual that the mama (maternal uncle) has to go through if that happens. Supposedly, he has to come to our house, deliver something (I am not clear on what that is - I think dad said a piece of black cloth) and return without setting foot in the house. So, my dear little brother, get ready to come to the US and return without even drinking a glass of water at my place (**evil laughter**). I have suggested a work-around to my dad. My cousin, who lives in NJ can come over, deliver "the packet" to us, leave, have breakfast at a local Mc D's and then come back as if nothing happened. Do you think that will fool the finicky Gods? I mean, I don't want my cousin from NJ to make that 2.5 hour trip just to go back without even a cup of tea any more than I want my brother to make that Trans-Atlantic trip. Anyway, we are still considering possibilities here. I don't believe in all this stuff so I wouldn't do any of it. But obviously my dad does, so I might do it just for his peace of mind.

M loves it if we sing to her. Specially the Alphabet song. If she is cranky or fussy, I start singing the song and nine times out of ten she'd stop crying and smile. Same song if she won't eat her food. Over. And. Over. Or if she creates a scene while getting dressed for daycare. I can sing it in THREE different ways now. Changing the tune grabs her attention sometimes :P She also likes the "Twinkle twinkle little star" song. I guess it is just the tune she likes (both ABC and Twinkle have the same tune, after all).

She HATES a diaper change. Just doesn't want to lie down. Keeps turning over, which is fine in most cases. But when it is number two that you are trying to clean up? After she has been on antibiotics for so long? (The antibiotics have caused slight diarrhea) NOT FUN!! I keep a lot of odds and ends handy for diaper changes - hangers, clips, bottles with colorful caps, paper, books, ribbons, coasters.... She gets those only for as long as the diaper is being changed and I take them away as soon as we are done. She doesn't see those until the next change. So, I guess that keeps the novelty of those things alive.

M LOVES to eat. Not what I prepare for her, but what WE are eating. Even after she has had her dinner. So I sometimes feed her even if it is spicy. She'll get used to the spices that way. I have started giving her yogurt which she loves. And pasta and cheese ravioli. Will start her on egg yolks soon. She loves dosa. And khatta dhokla. Doesn't like idli that much because it gets dry and sticky in her mouth I guess. She loves squash, sweet potatoes and zucchini. J picked out all pea from his plate once and gave them to her. She loved eating those too. And she loves to eat stuff she picks from the floor! But these days, as soon as I see her picking something up from the floor I say "Mujhe de do" (give it to me) and hold out my hand to her. She will either hand it to me or throw it away, depending on the mood she is in.

Bed time is getting easier. [Note: When I say something is getting "easier", please take it with a grain of salt. It is easy as long as she is not sick. And we all know how sick she has been lately. So sometimes she regresses.] After she has had her formula, we just lay her down in the crib (even if she is not asleep) and most times that is it. If she is half (or full) awake, we still put her down in the crib, cover her with her blanket (which she then crawls out from), turn the lights out, lay down on our bed and say "so jao" (go to sleep) to her every few minutes. She just crawls around for a little while and then finds a comfortable position and goes to sleep. Sometimes, she stands up holding the crib rail and howls, in which case we pick her up and try again a little while later. Or just keep saying "haan, mai yahin hu. ab so jao" (yes I am here. now go to sleep) and it works! Once she is asleep, we just cover her with her blanket properly and slip out of the room. She sleeps better when the room is dark, so we keep the lights off. She likes to sleep on her stomach, with her bum in the air! I have to remember to take a picture before she outgrows that habit.

She is sleeping through most of the night. Again, the same disclaimer about her being sick applies here too. She wakes up more frequently if she is sick - which is understandable. But generally, she goes to sleep between 7:30 to 8:30 and doesn't wake up until 5:30 or 6. Sometimes even 6:30 if we are lucky enough! And if she wakes up around 5:30 or 6, she drinks another bottle of formula and goes right back to sleep. Today she was tired but was in a mood to play. I simply put her in the crib. covered her, turned the light out (we keep the curtains drawn so it was dark even at 6:15 am), crawled under my comforter and said "so jao" to her a few times. She stood up and howled. I crawled out of the comforter, put her down on her bed, covered her again, and said "so jao" again. And again. She quietened down. I crawled back into my bed and she was up again! So I just kept saying "so jao, mai yahin hu" (go to sleep, I am here) and she finally drifted off to sleep. Then the little miss slept till 8 when J had to wake her up! My ultimate goal is to lay her down in the crib, smile and say goodnight, turn the lights off and leave the room. I know it is a long way off, but I am sure we will get there. We had trouble creating such a sleep-time routine for S (a post on it later) so now I have started early. And it helps that the daycare follows the same procedure. With uniformity, it has become a little bit easier.

This month, we also saw a budding sibling rivalry - on M's side! It was the weekend and we were just relaxing, finishing weekend tasks at our own pace. J was sitting on the floor and M was crawling/playing around him. S came and sprawled on the floor with her head in J's lap. M immediately came over and climbed all over S to get in J's arms. We found it funny, the cruel parents that we are. But J told S not to move and helped M share the lap with S. Maybe she realized that she doesn't have a sole ownership of the lap because we haven't seen that behavior again. But it is too early to tell anyway.

A funny thing that J taught M - if you bring your forehead close to hers, she will lean her head forward and touch her forehead to yours. Or if you bring your fingers close to (about 2 inches) her forehead, she leans forward and touches her forehead to the fingers. I love doing it again and again and again - until she loses interest and moves on.

She also loves to crawl under the coffee table and an end table in our living room. Doesn't pay heed to the fact that both these tables are very low and she gets stuck when she crawls under them. And S handed over one of her chairs to M. M loves to sit on it. With both her arms on the hand rests and rocking back and forth. And the fascinated/excited expression on her face is worth watching. I have taken pictures - will post them soon. She is even trying to climb the stairs, this little bundle of energy!

We just gave M some of the foam books that we had bought for S long time back. She loves looking at them and S loves to "sing" them to her :) With the warm weather arriving, I am looking forward to going out on walks with both the girls (and their dad of course).

NOTE: J took M to the pediatrician's this morning and called me to tell me that the ear seems to have gotten a lot better. YAY! We have been instructed to continue the antibiotic for 2 more days (in addition to the 10 day course) so it clears out completely. Keeping my fingers (toes and eyes as well) crossed.