Tidbits From...

Thomas Verny's 'The Secret Life Of Unborn Child' ...

o ...Contrasts catch his attention - in fact, his attraction for them is in one of the reasons a mother may have trouble establishing direct eye contact. His gaze strays naturally

o ...to the exciting contrast provided by her hairline. This sometimes upsets a new mother who must chase her infants’ eyes to establish direct eye contact.

o ...Next to sight, sound is a newborns’ principal tool for exploring his new world..... the one uniquely suited to his hearing capabilities is the human voice.... adults instinctively raise their pitch and speak in 5 to 15 second intervals, new tests shows that this particular combination of timing and sound arouses and holds a newborns very brief attention span better than any other.

o ....recent report indicates there area at least 4 odors that make a strong impression on him....licorice, garlic, vinegar; the 4th is his mother....

o ...within a month, he is able t recall his mothers face, he is still loooking larrgely at her eyes & forehead....

o ...a few weeks are all he needs to learn his schedule (eating times) and ...he does not like unexpected alteration sin it.

o ....demonstrates conclusively the presence of well developed (one could say adult) thinking, including the handling of abstract ideas, in the new-born.

o ...a child needs instant encouragement - meaning within 5 or 6 seconds - or he will not associate it with his behaviors ....he will not feel encouraged to speak more etc...

And...

...we finally bought the Crib! Yipee!
Bassinet is also here & that came from a friend, @the last moment :) we were anyways going to buy the same make/model!

"Feeling forgetful, clumsy?"
..reads the babycenter newsletter.

I am actually not 'feeling' it, but did some stuff that stands out, yet again!

Last Thursday, the 26th, I conviniently locked myself out of my house! I was planning on watering the plants & washing my dirty SUV when, without realizing, I walked out, locking the main door!

But wait!! This scatter-pregnancy-brain 'disease' didnt just hit me....TD also was attacked too, like the last time!
Well on a normal weekday, this guy walked out of the house without his car keys- just a day later I was diagnosed! Hee hee hee!

Watch my current fav

Photo courtesy:target,walmart

Only 6 weeks to go...

to make it to week 36(full term pregnancy)!
Unbelivable!

I am def growing:) See my week 29 pic ...
The swing and the cribs not here yet...nor the bedding or the mattress... lots of things still undone...gosh!

TD, I want some PB....

...now! Pav-bhaji that is....

I just got home from my evening walk, thinking of what I could make for dinner, something greasy & spicy but @the same time healthy too....& suddenly, I am craving for Pav-bhaji...
Oh how I miss the Shiv-sagar PB...the Camp chowpati PB & chinese stalls....red-spicy PB slathered with Amul butter...yummmm....& those hot freshly made brown paavs - half fried in Amul butter ...I can smell it right here....
TD, leave everything & come home soon ....... we are starving.....
UPDATE:
TD, you rock!
Yes! He does! After he came home, we googled to find a PB place nearby. We knew a place which did serve but when TD called, they said - only from Thursdays to Sunday! But they did recommend a place aft TD asked for one. So we drove to place only to find it closed - just minutes before we arrived! So TD knocked on the door & a lady answered. TD asked her for another recco & hinted her that his very pg wife was craving for PB and if she could help us out! The lady graciously agreed to make a coupla plates! & so all 3 of us had PB that night! Yummm! Tweetu was veerrrry happy so was her Mom :)
Photo courtesy:himadrimasala.com

My IInd Baby Shower !

Yesterday our group met for Diwali 'faraal'( sweets & goodies - that I have been making for a coupla days) pot-luck & celebration. It was also a planned send-off event for the Bapat family,as are returning 'home' soon - for good.
Each of us gals had carried a 'faraal' item & the host had made arrangements for lunch. Sometime after lunch & a grand photo-session, all the gals suddenly gathered in the 2nd floor bedroom & were calling each other "to take a look at a picture"(to me this was a big hint that something was indeed 'cooking'!) so I declined once to walk up the stairs to add to the frustration of a few!! But then there was a 'call' again, & this time I decided to let it go!
No sooner I entered the room, there was loud 'surprise' roar & everyone was waiting for my reaction! I was rather shocked by the high pitched sound & acted surprised! TD followed & he was also welcomed similarly!
One of the bedroom walls was decorated in Diwali theme & underneath it wear 2 chairs where TD & I were made to sit on. The elderly ladies performed the 'Dohal - jevan' ritual like applying a little of both Vermilion & Turmeric powders(called 'haldi kunku') on our foreheads & thrice circled a lighted lamp around us(called 'Ovalney'). Later, for the first time in these 7 months, a couple of the gals filled my 'oti' with fruits, a deshelled coconut & some rice grains. I would love to elaborate on the rituals & write pages on it, BUT I will spare you & my much-needed energy! But if you do need some 'dose', just read my first baby-shower posting!

After the rituals, we played a traditional Dohal - jevan game: underneath 2 upside-down covered bowls were a Ladu & a Jalebi respectively. Generally in Marashtrians, each food item is referred to as having a gender. For eg, ‘Ladu’ is masculine whereas ‘Jalebi’ is feminine. This game is played by the 2-be-parents, esp. the mother-2-be, to guess the gender of the Baby by picking up one of these bowls. The selected food is exposed and announced to all present for the occasion & depending on the item and its gender, people speculate on the gender of the unborn baby.
I picked a bowl & a out came a Ladu! Is Tweetu a Baby boy?!!(wink)

Later at the gift-giving, we/Tweety received Blankets, onesis, mobiles, boppy play mats & other infant toys & a handful of gift cards...our SUV was jam-packed on the way back home.

I was waiting on this baby-shower to finish off Tweetu's shopping...coz I didnt want redundant items. Now all it will take are good 3-4 hrs!
BabiesRUS, here I come!
Photo courtesy: buzzle.com

Hi there....!

! Happy Diwali Everyone !

Know what? Mom bought me 2 more outfits, you know from where! She says, its my first Diwali so she bought me those outfits...funny, isnt she? She loves shopping @Carters for all my stuff, but she wouldnt accept that!

PS: Mom has asked me to tell you all that she will update her Baby-shower posting once she is free...currently she is busy making lots of goodies @home for Diwali...yummmm!

Signing off, Love, Tweetu!

My First Baby shower!

I had a fantastic evening today! 4 of the elderly ladies, I will address them as 'Aunties'(some unknown to us!) had planned a Baby shower(called 'Dohal jevan' in Marathi) for me ...
untill now, I had been a spectator to such events, but today I was the chief - guest!
Going to sleep...will update the details tomorrow!
Signing off...
TM

UPDATE:
Ok, here I am again! Lets continue with the Dohal-jevan details!
I will start with a brief on this ritual. It a long posting...so have patience!

Between the seventh and ninth months of pregnancy, a grand function called ‘Dohal Jevan’ is held for the mother-to-be. ‘Dohal’ means craving for certain foods or the longing of a pregnant woman (for special foods), which has turned into Dohaal-jevan. Thus ‘Dohal Jevan’ was a means to satisfy the food cravings of the pregnant girl.
Today’s practice is rooted in the samskaar known as Seemantonnayana (seemaa+anta+unnayana). The principal reason for this samskaar is to ask the Divine to protect the baby in the womb(Garbha-Rakshana). The pregnant woman is also encouraged to maintain a positive mind and a healthy body. Many of you are familiar with the story of how Abhimanyu, while in his mother's (Subhadra's) womb, had only heard of the way to enter the ChakraVyuha, but he didn't know how to come out, and its consequences when as a youth he entered the Mahabharat war. Some of you may also know the story of Ashtavakra who had dared to correct a mistake of his father in Vedic recitation, when Ashtavakra was still a baby in his mother’s womb. There are similar examples in recent times as well. The point to be noted is that the baby in the womb is very alert to what happens outside the womb. Thus, what the mother reads, what sort of shows she watches, what type of music she listens, what food she eats, etc., have tremendous influence on the mental and physical development of the baby. Considering all this, the function is arranged to (1) pour love on to the expecting mother and (2) indirectly alert her and draw her to the necessity of nurturing her mental and physical health (maanasik & sharer swaasthya). It is to create very soothing and positive impressions on the mother. Therefore various acts have been included to put the prospective mother in a state of bliss (peace, joy, contentment etc). Who can do this better than the mother, experienced and closest sisters & friends?
The pregnant girl is traditionaly adorned with flower garlands on her wrists, neck, waist, & a flower crown. She is made to wear either green or other soothing colored garments. Special songs are sung for her, her baby & her husband.

So that was all about the ritual. On this particular evening, all 4 of the Aunties carried out the traditional dohal jevan rituals and one of them also sang for me! She had written a song especially for me & my baby!

Each had made sweetmeats & savoury dishes. My plate was full! Tweety was enjoying too as she was actively kicking! TD enjoyed too & witnessed the whole ceremony first hand.
The hosts gave us a baby-shower gift thus bringing an eventful evening to an end!
Photo courtesy:baby-shower-theme.net

Week 28 Tummy Pic

Yep, thats me...I am slowly growing! I am gonna make TD click a picture @the end of every week, now that we have only 11 weeks to go!
My appnt was good...lost a pound though...but not a very alarming news as I am already 25lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight!
Measured 29cms @Fundal height & Tweety is doing fine too!
So we were at this b-day party, & every one wanted to know if its a Boy or a Girl. But we asked them to best guess instead. So far, I have 2 more additions to the 'Pink' team...making it a total of 4! Yep, rest of the junta is all for a Boy!

This is Totally UNBELIEVABLE!

Check out this Tabla "maestro", only 2.5 year old Aditya Phatak! I am blown away....you will be too..just watch these videos!

&

HapPEE buDdaY Tu yOU...

...Dear Grandpa,

!!HAPEE HAPEE BUDDAY 2 U!!

Urs,mOm-DaD & TWeetY-piE

My Grandpa Turned 60 2day! Do u know smthing? My Mom was born when he was 30 & now I am with him in his 60s!
Granpa, eagarly waitin to meet u...Lovvvve - Tweetu:)

PS: On the eve of ur budday Granpa, Mom got me 3 more dresses from her favourite store- Carters! She seems to be on a shopping spree & forgets about the promise she made to Dad, to slow down!!

! WELCOME IIIrd TRI !

"You have 86 days or 12 weeks left, and are 70.0% of the way there"

What? Only 12 weeks to go!!??? WOW!! Where did the last 6 months go? Didnt they go too quickly...? Wow, I am very much there!! Amazing, isnt it?
...Only 12 weeks to go....My God! I cant believe it...!

Just came accross this pregnancyweekly article:"Around the fifth month of pregnancy, the "nesting" instinct can set in. This is an uncontrollable urge to clean one's house brought on by a desire to prepare a nest for the new baby, to tie up loose ends of old projects and to organize your world."

Ha!! My "nesting instincts" were sharpened right from the 4 month itself...& I am still riding on them!
I wanted to paint the whole upper floor & the kitchen... paint the kitchen cabinetry... Weatherproof our back yard swing...put hedges in our front yard & get a fountain! Replace the old bachelor/student style oak computer desk with a new one...buy a King size bed....change the upper floor bedroom draperies ... & buy a new car !!
& all of this, even before we buy Baby stuff like Crib etc....which BTW are still on the 'pending' list--ha ha!!
I so want TD to take care of these things and not spend his precious weekend, watching TV! I want him moving........BUT....!!

Here are some good new's'... I have cleared the Glucose 'in'tolerance test - Yipee!
& I no longer have a low-lying Placenta or the Ovarian(Corpus Luteum) cyst!

You must be wondering what I am talking about...!!
Well yes, I had these conditions & these were dectected during my week 20 u/s...I had not mentioned them coz my whole family, esp. my Mom reads my blog almost everyday!
But if you were watchful enough & do thoroughly read my blog, I had hinted about them in the 'Resources' section & yesterday,had updated the 'Journery '06-'07' section(wink!)...

I had a scheduled week 28 appointment yesterday(October 10th) to check the Placental position & look for the cyst...the placenta has 'moved' up & the cyst has dissappeared! Yippe!
So all I have to take care of is the Fe deficiency...!

BTW, I will now be seeing my OB/Gyn, 2wice a month!
Photo courtesy:nd.edu

Bye Bye, 2nd Tri!

Its hard to believe but 6 months have just gone by in a blink of an eye! & today is last day of my 2nd trimester! Wow, I am getting there so quickly!

& we still have to do so many things... my baby's nursery is not ready, baby essentials are not here...& everyday, I am adding adding things to 'the list'!

Its not long when I started my pregnancy blog(something I wanted to do since I was a teen-ager!) & hopped on to my 2nd trimester!
& here I am, 159.5lbs later, still very much enjoying my pregnancy!
Sure, I have my share of hiccups & bumps...but overall, it has been a wonderful journey so far!
Knock on the wood!
I love being pregnant!
& Tweety has made it even better for me! I am so used to her kicks, her rolling, hiccups... just everything that my lil 'Dora - the explorer' does, still amazes me so much...that now I cant imgine not feeling her inside me....!
I know I will miss being pregnant once my Baby is here...
& looking back I feel, I should have taken this chance long ago!
Unfortunately,TD will never experience the joy ,the pride of being pregnant...
I am so thankful to God that I am a female, & belong to the Homo-sapien species...
I am loving & living every moment of it....!

Oh BTW, I bought a cute Footsie & 5 body suits for Tweetu during the Columbus day Carter's sale@ Macy's.
Photo courtesy:littletoddlersdaycare

Low On Iron...

CBC(complete blood count) results suggest I am running low on Fe(Iron). My white blood cells count is high. RBC count is low.
White Blood Cell Count :13.7 H (4.0 11.0)
Red Blood Cell Count: 3.54 L (3.90 5.40) M/uL
Hemoglobin: 11.3 L (12.0 16.0)
My OB has advised me to take Iron supplements('Fe Sequels' OR 'Slow Fe') & increase Vitamin C intake. So now I am on 'Slow Fe' & take it any time before lunch/dinner with freshly squeezed orange juice(a good source of Vita C).
Its not like I wasnt having Vita C at all...I dont remember having so many strawberries, before I got pregnant & Strawberries have more Vita C than Oranges.
I am not sure when my next CBC will be taken. Hope my Fe levels go up by then.
Also, as I was reading through Fe deficiency sypmtoms, I noticed, headaches were on the top of the list & I have been having them for a week or so now. Of course, they have reduced from the time I started taking the supplement.
Beetroots & dried Dates are good sources of Fe ...but I am going to be a little careful with dates as they are loaded with calories...
Photo courtesy:rkm.com.au

Glucose 'In'tolerance...

You must be wondering where I suddenly dissappered... Well, I have been on a roller-coaster ride...!
On 3rd, after the routine 26th week appointment with my OB/Gyn, I took the routine Glucose Screening test(GT) & donated yet few more mls of my precious blood for CBC(complete blood count).
I drank the Fanta-like awesome Orange(Dextrose 50) drink within a coupla minutes! I had heard/read so many not-so-good things about this drink, esp its taste & after effects!
Boy, I enjoyed drinking it & had no nausea etc!
Ok, my GT results are out, & I have a 'High' flag. It should be in the range of 70-140 & I am @164.
I have been asked to go on a 3 day carbohydrate load-up diet. On the morning of the 4th day(fasting), 3 times on every hour, blood will drawn to check my glucose levels.
I pray I am not a Gestational Diebetes(GD) victim for the simple reasons that non of my family members have it(& GDs happen due to heredity) & secondly, its just not good to have one! I have seen a couple of my friends who had it & had to keep pricking themselves all throughout the day & had to be on a GD diet...
I dont want these "last-minute"(coz my pregnancy has been wonderful, so far..!)conditions to worsen my pregnancy experience...which I am so enjoying! & I dont want to deprive my baby of anything...

VB or (elective)C-sec...

Theres a big debate going around this topic. After receving the babycenter newsletter , I would say, I am more confused now than I was before! & reading the comments posted by the readers has fueled my bewilderment.
IMHO,I do feel that PG girls should not get vexed by the sheer fear of pain involved during delivery. Babies health should be the first priority & decisions should be made accordingly. One should not be fixated with ones 'ideal-birth-plan' (which we are made to chalk out anyways..& I dont know why! when pregnancies,deliveries & babies are so unpredictable!) But keep the ends open & be flexible & accomodative...Afterall, dont they say; there are no wrong decisions taken during delivery?!

Vaginal birth	Elective cesarean
Pros	Pros
Less risk of maternal hemorrhage, infection, blood clots, damage to internal organs	Can be more convenient for woman, and reduce her stress about anticipation of labor
Less risk of baby having specific respiratory problems (TTN and persistent pulmonary hypertension)	Possible decreased risk of incontinence
Baby potentially less likely to develop allergies, asthma, or lactose intolerance	Possible decreased risk of sexual dysfunction for first three months postpartum
Shorter hospital stay (one to three days) and quicker physical recuperation	Reduced risk of oxygen deprivation to baby during delivery
Mother may breastfeed more effectively	Reduced risk of birth trauma to baby sometimes sustained from passing through birth canal, or from forceps or vacuum extraction
Mother much less likely to require c-section in subsequent pregnancies	Women feel a greater sense of control knowing when their baby will be born, and can plan for family help, a baby nurse, furniture delivery, work leave, and so forth
In later pregnancies, labor may be shorter and delivery quicker
Cons	Cons
Fear of childbirth may cause maternal distress	Possible pre-term delivery if due date calculation is inaccurate
Risk of oxygen deprivation to baby due to cord compression or problems during delivery	Rare: Possible infant injury when the doctor makes the uterine incision
Risk of perineum tearing (from first degree slight tear to fourth degree extensive tearing into rectum)	Risk of damage to the mother's bowels and/or bladder
Risk of additional trauma to baby when passing through birth canal, or from forceps or vacuum extraction	Increased maternal blood loss and risk of needing a transfusion
Labor, with the need for frequent vaginal examinations, can be traumatic for some women, especially those who have been sexually abused	Risk of complications from anesthesia (pneumonia, allergic reactions, low blood pressure)
Risk of unforeseen complications during labor such as hemorrhaging	Slightly higher mortality rate for mother
Risk of pelvic organ prolapse after delivery (uterus, bladder, or bowel protrudes into the vaginal canal, causing discomfort and possible incontinence)	Twice the risk of infant mortality
Rare: Increased risk of postpartum sexual dysfunction , particularly pain during intercourse, for first three months after delivery if the mother had an episiotomy or experienced a tear	Higher risk of infection and blood clots for the mother
	Decreased bowel function after surgery
	Risk of lower Apgar scores for the baby
	Longer hospital stay (three to five days) and longer recovery period
	Possible complications with breastfeeding
	Possible increased likelihood of clinical postpartum depression
	Potentially more expensive — your insurance may not cover an elective cesarean
	Internal scar tissue may cause problems in future c-sections
	In later pregnancies, risks to mother increase, whether she delivers by VBAC or cesarean

For complete article & source of the above table: babycenter .Thanks babycenter!
Other resources: The Risks of Cesarean Delivery to Mother and Baby

& here comes Scatterbrain-part III !

Yep, we did it, again!
Last night, we were supposed to be at a friends place for yet another Satyanarayan puja & we totally forgot about it...hee hee!