Mixed Bag

There's a lot of catching up to do on the growth updates of Anvesha, so here's a mixed bag of all the updates:

First Tooth: One day, when Anvesha was almost 8 months, I felt a hard spot: a tooth, Yayyy !!!! I used to check her gums occasionally with my index finger in anticipation of that first tooth. I could tell something was wrong with her excessive drooling, fussiness and wakeful nights. Yes, teething can be pretty painful for babies and they let us know ( pretty loudly) that they are on the verge. The bottom two center teeth tend to pop up first. The best I could do was offer her some chilled wash cloths to chew on, but that just gave her temporary relief. Teething  gels were the next ones, I really won't advocate on their effectiveness as they numb the gums and can be harmful if swallowed... My advise to new moms, please don't spend a lot on these products,a chilled washcloth works just fine :) I wish I had some pic of hers with that tiny winy first tooth, so far, no luck !!!!

 Standing Tall: Anvesha had been pulling herself to a standing position from the time she was 5 months old. Now she has taken a step further and is getting closer and closer to walking. She moves around upright while holding onto furniture or anything that she can hold onto :) She can also take a couple of steps, with support of course. She is learning to bend her knees and sitting after standing, which is harder to master than we may think. Working in the kitchen is becoming tougher now as Anvesha would just hold me for support. she seems to be enjoying the vertical position :)

Sippy Cup: Now that Anvesha has a good grasp and can move objects from one hand to another, we introduced her to sippy cup. This requires more skills than just picking objects and putting them in mouth, something that she has been doing for so many months. I first purchased Dr Brown's, but she didn't seem to like it at all because of the hard tip, so then got her an Avent that has a soft tip that she can sip onto. Honestly speaking, I haven't done much research on the brands. Sippy cup also turned out to be a good opportunity to introduce her to water. Yeah, she hasn't tasted a drop of water for the past 7 months, the only reason being that milk contains 80 % water and infants don't really need it, else, it kills their appetite. As of now it acts more like a toy for her and she sips a drop or two after meals :)

Transitioning into a big tub: Bathing an infant can be quite a task for an inexperienced first time mom like me. A big thanks to my mom who helped us during the initial few days of taking care of a new born. We initially had a small tub that would fit into the sink and was pretty convenient too. Now that Anvesha has outgrown it, we got her big inflatable tub ( pretty portable if you are travelling). The first few weeks were quite challenging as Anvesha would get  scared of the open space and the loud sound of the water gushing and bath time was no longer fun for her. But that was just a phase and now she enjoys to be in the tub with her bath toys, splashing water all over :)

I wish I had something to write on sleeping through the night..... Iam so jealous of the moms of my birth club whose babies are sleeping through the night :( Please God please, give me back those long peaceful nights... That day will hopefully come... someday....  when I can have at least 6 hrs of uninterrupted sleep; and when it does I would be shouting out loud and there will be a post dedicated especially for that, I promise ;) Until then, I have to follow the golden rule, "Sleep when the baby sleeps."