God's most complex ...

I hold in my hands a human baby, God's most advanced technology
I'm amazed.
This "thingy",
who's communicatingwith an onslaught on my eardrum, & by making cute kitten faces,
who recognizes me by the smell of milk ...
Is, within 1 yr, going to understand words, & use words!!!

She's so small, I've not yet had the courage to fully hug her!
She's running me exhausted! She just wants "feed, feed, feed!"
Everyone always asks me, Elders, Doctors,
am I able to feed her sufficiently?
Well! touchwood, as of now!
She feeds like a Tasmanian Devil.
Her pediatrician says, "Feed her as much as she wants feeding"
(Sigh!) That really means 24 hrs (WITH breaks)!

My Mom said "She's gone bribed the pediatrician" !!!

Burping is another thing.
After a feed, you're supposed to burp a baby.
That is done by putting the baby on your shoulder, facing backwards, & rubbing or patting his/her back.
Well!
Try that with this "baby"
She can't hold head, so her head has to be held. 1 hand engaged.
I can either hold her bottom, or pat her.
So I hold her a little higher, her hands over my shoulder.
That's it.
What rub, what pat?
She balances herself on my shoulder, raises hands in the front of her, legs backwards,
& assumes "Superman" pose, just ready to fly away!

So much for God's most complex creation!

Rhymes my Mom used to tell

Bangla language has numerous nursery rhymes, these are called chhoda

 These are of unknown origin, & generations old.
As of now, there are several compilations, & many renditions available commercially.
Predictably, all these are geared towards the "Khoka", equivalent of "munna" or "Babu", male child.
My parents & grans substituted it with "Khuku" whean they read or sung those to me.

These are a few that I've heard from my Mom, but not elsewhere ...

Shona gaychhe konkhaane?	Where's "Shona" gone?
Shaal-Piyaal-er maajhbone	Amid the woods of Saal & Piyaal trees
Shekhane Shona ki kore?	What does Shona do there?
Phool paade aar khela kore	(S)he gathers flowers & plays

Bula Bula daak paadi	"Bula, Bula", I call out!
Bula gaychhe kaar baadi?	Whose place has Bula gone to?
Ay re Bula baadi aay	Come Bula, Come home!
Doodh maakhaa bhaat bedaale khay	Cat is eating your Milk-rice!

Taapur Toopur brishti pode	Rain falls Pitter-patter
Maathaay kholaa chhata	Umbrella o'erhead …
Haansh-babaji khoshmejaaje	Mr Ducky, I a sunny mood
Jaachchhe Kolikaata	is going to Kolikaataa
Hijoltalaa pichhol bejaay!	Hijoltalaa is super slippery,
Pichhle pode thang bhenge jaay!	U slip, U fall, & break a leg :(
Tai na dekhe Changda Baynga	& thus observing, Rowdy frog
Bolle maathaa jhenke	shakes his head!
"Haansh-babaji thang-ti shaarao	"Mr Ducky! Now, go to a hospital
Haashpaataale theke!"	& Repair Ur leg!"

(I & my sister felt plenty bad for Mr Ducky! Hope they took good care of him at the hospital!!)

(Milkstained) Fluffball in my blanket

Once in our hostel in Delhi, a certain girl's bedding caught fire from her room heater. Since I too used a blower, & kept it close to the bed, that winter, I developed a easily disturbed, flaky sleep. I won't dream of fire, but I'd be half awake  several times, the blower always at the corner of my mind ...
That's how you sleep when you have a baby, "Did she just make a sound?"
Changes in sleep cycle are difficult. Irritability happens. To all who start on shift duty, & to new parents. I personally have a lot of support at home, & am encouraged to sleep when the baby sleeps.
That helps. One more thing helps.

You wake up hearing low but sharp distress sounds, You rub your eyes vigourously, because they seem to be glued closed.
When you ultimately switch the lights on, you see a tiny speck making a baby face at you ... yes, babies make that baby face .
Your own baby is more cute than any baby, human or animal that you have seen, & when those huge eyes get rounded, flat nose get crinkled, little mouth assumes an expression so innocent & ignorant, "I don't know nooothing! Is this milk time?"
It helps
:)

Life as a cliche'

How does it feel to be a mother?

Well! Big question! Very philosophical! Motherhood is a very heavy word. Has the air of sacrifice above all else.
For all the world, I certainly do not feel sacrificial!


For the time being I'll leave the experience of "motherhood", & rather tell you my experience of the phenomenon "baby"
Next few posts are about this phenomenon.


Baby feels good
:)
Yes, "good" with a smiley!
I feel all buttery elated when I watch her.
When she's swaddled (bundled up), lying between my body & my hand, I feel her movements that I used to feel inside my tummy.
I feel relief that I had a live healthy baby.
I feel a (yet) undescribable feeling that this is mine.
I feel that this is a source of happiness right next to me, something I can only describe as a Bundle of life.