A bunch of 1sts

6 weeks on July 16 - almost 8 lbs now

Arjun is sleeping next to me as I write this. That is still his favorite activity, although each week he is more alert and has more time awake than before. Which is another challenge - because how do I keep him entertained when he is staring at me intently with those big brown eyes? Here is a rundown of his achievements in the last couple of weeks:

• First visit with family July 2-3: The Mathew and Thomas families came all the way from Staten Island and Long Island to meet Arjun for the first time. Mony uncle and Alice aunty helped to take care of me when I was a baby, so talk about coming full circle. Arjun met Matty, his almost 2 year old cousin, who gave Arjun kisses on his feet. They also helped us celebrate Arjun's 28th day (Irupathi Ettu Kettu) and we had an impromptu ceremony, where uncle presented the baby with a solid gold chain. We didn't have a black thread to tie around his waist but this worked just the same. More on the ceremony: http://vedictalks.blogspot.com/2009/05/namakarana-naming-ceremony.html
  

• First non pediatrician outing - visit to friends house July 4th: We drove to Mt. Pleasant for a mini WID reunion with Mary Rojas, Clare Ye Sheng and Bhavna Lal. Arjun did very well, but I can't say he was the life of the party since he slept through most of the visit. Arun and I successfully changed his diaper a couple of times and I did manage to breastfeed, outside of the comfort zone of our house. So far he does well with strangers and does not mind being held by others, although I'm sure that will change as he gets older. 

• First 4th of July - Fireworks in front of the Kennedy Center: We tried to get home before the fireworks started on the Mall, but got lost on our way to Rock Creek Parkway and almost made it to the Roosevelt bridge when the police shut it down. Apparently they shut down all bridges over the Potomac before the fireworks start, and you are stuck until they finish - wish we knew that! So we ended up in a cue in front of the Kennedy Center with a wonderful view of the fireworks - you could even feel the blasts, they would shake the car. Arjun didn't mind the sounds, but did start to fuss about his carseat. At one point I was afraid he was having trouble breathing and jumped to get him out of the seat as fast as I could. Arun was commiserating with the other stuck drivers, but all in all, it was a neat experience. It took us another hour to get home since have the exits were blocked and traffic was nuts, but a good lesson that Arun and I can handle obstacles to our well laid plans, and that Arjun can handle it too. 

• First trip to store July 7: In anticipation of Arjun's first walk, we set out to BuyBuyBaby the night before to get a new Snap N Go stroller. We actually had one from the baby shower, but when we assembled it, discovered that it had a defective wheel. We went to the store before the baby came and they fixed the stroller, only to have the wheel fall off when we got back home. So for 4 weeks I had not been outside with Arjun, other than sitting on our balcony. Needless to say we were both desperate to get outside. When we got to the store, we had to figure out how to get the carseat in the cart, estimate how much time we had before he started screaming, and plan out the route in the store to get the items we needed in the least amount of time. Arjun did great! He hardly fussed, and we got most of what we needed. He only melted down in the car when Arun and my mom went to TJ's next door. Quite stressful - but I learned not to push his limits...
  

• First walk outside July 8: My colleague Meghan and her baby son Max stopped by on her day off to spend some time with us and take us on a walk around Old Town. She was accompanied by our buddy Frank, who brought us a bunch of presents including some all the way from Haiti. We got a break from the intense summer heat that day and although it looked like it was going to pour, we were treated to a cool breeze and no glaring sun. Arjun slept through the whole walk in his carseat and I figured out that pushing a stroller ain't that easy! Potholes, cracks in sidewalks, needing to find the graded corner instead of going over the curb...Wish the snap n go had shock absorbers but Arjun didn't seem to mind at all. We walked to a schoolyard park on Cameron, back up the trail from King Street and Braddock metro, saw Meghan and Max off at the station and then back home. Success!
  

• First time in the swing July 8: Later that night Arun and I assembled the Bright Starts Swing that his cousin Sag sent to us. Arun is a trained engineer, but you wouldn't know it from watching  him assemble baby stuff. He starts by NOT reading the instructions and then trying to put a square peg in a round hole. Ok its not that bad but suffice it to say that I LOVE putting things together, and after sometime we figured it out. Arjun was a bit small for the swing but after some adjustment we tried it out. He got his "what the heck is this thing" look on his face, and after some consideration, decided, "eh, its not so bad" and tolerated it for a few minutes. We can post some adorable video soon.
  

• First bottle July 9: Meghan graciously helped me figure out the Medala breastpump, and I managed to express a couple of ounces for Arjun. This meant that Arun could now participate with feeding and that I didn't have to be on call every 2 hours. We got the Breastflow brand of bottles and gave it a try. I hovered like a hawk over Arun's shoulder, criticizing his every move, so much so that even my mom told me to back off. Typical new mother protective instincts I guess. I got the message and backed off, and Arjun didn't completely reject the bottle. Since then, we've had a lot more success with it. Which means I get a break now and then - yay!
  

• First stink eye July 13: Here's the other lesson I learned about bottlefeeding: mama needs to be scarce! Arun and my mom were feeding Arjun one early morning so I could sleep in. I heard the baby fussing so I got up to check it out. When I sat down next to Arun and the baby, the baby took one look at me and gave me the stink eye. I'm not kidding! It was a look that said "Hello mother. What the F - why are you torturing me with this bottle? Give me your boob already!" He's so cute when he's angry :-)
  

• First BBQ July 16: Today we are going to a BBQ at the house of one of my colleagues, and Arjun will get to meet the rest of my workmates. I'm pretty sure I know his plan: to sleep through most of it, and then poop at an inopportune time.