21 July 2010
01 July 2010
Gymbaroo
Long videos from Gymbaroo. Naina attended two terms of Gymbaroo at Cheltenham. For N, the general excitability and screaming we noticed in October, November and December was channelled into jumping and better concentration spans by end of first term and hand eye coordination skills by the end of the second term.
Love the pirouette with belly flop.
It can all get a bit too hard.
Love the pirouette with belly flop.
It can all get a bit too hard.
Bus trips and June
For most of June, we were car-less. In fact the car was getting repaired for eight weeks. Eight weeks.
The first four weeks, I had a friend's car, which meant the routine wasn't shattered, broken. The routines were all similar. Then the friend's car had to be returned and it was public transport, everywhere. Inconvenient with Deepti being 7 months.
Somehow though, it just became good fun. Monday to Friday would be on the bus at 8:17, 8:30 train, 8:55 tram and at my desk at 9:30. And then walking back in the dark, invigorated but tired from the train station. Public transport all the way adds about 15 minutes each way to the travel time but reduces the stress.
Weekends were more fun; N loves bus rides, train rides, tram rides, even if it is just the novelty of seeing the world through big windows and not being strapped in. We'd do pointless things, like take an hour to get South Yarra just for Pacific Seafood House's average Saturday lunch. N loved the live fish though. We even did chips and hot chocolate in a fancy Sth Yarra restaurant that we'd never normally visit.
Getting the car back has been a hard adjustment. I long for long walks and I can feel the tightness returning. I deliberately got off the tram one stop early today, just to walk that extra while. We've been run off our feet catching up with eight weeks of missed shopping. And we haven't even got to Chadstone.
The first four weeks, I had a friend's car, which meant the routine wasn't shattered, broken. The routines were all similar. Then the friend's car had to be returned and it was public transport, everywhere. Inconvenient with Deepti being 7 months.
Somehow though, it just became good fun. Monday to Friday would be on the bus at 8:17, 8:30 train, 8:55 tram and at my desk at 9:30. And then walking back in the dark, invigorated but tired from the train station. Public transport all the way adds about 15 minutes each way to the travel time but reduces the stress.
Weekends were more fun; N loves bus rides, train rides, tram rides, even if it is just the novelty of seeing the world through big windows and not being strapped in. We'd do pointless things, like take an hour to get South Yarra just for Pacific Seafood House's average Saturday lunch. N loved the live fish though. We even did chips and hot chocolate in a fancy Sth Yarra restaurant that we'd never normally visit.
Getting the car back has been a hard adjustment. I long for long walks and I can feel the tightness returning. I deliberately got off the tram one stop early today, just to walk that extra while. We've been run off our feet catching up with eight weeks of missed shopping. And we haven't even got to Chadstone.
11 June 2010
Jah mani
It's N's favourite phrase. When things fall to the ground, such as dropping clothes from upstairs, she cries jah-mani. It's a conjoining of jah - closely translated to gosh and mani - being a sound from "jameen" meaning ground.
N understands most things we say, in English and in Hindi. When instructed to come and brush her teeth, in hindi or in english, she immediately understands the routine of finding the stool, climbing up, grabbing her toothbrush and waiting for one of us to apply a dab of baby McLeans. A separate example is "Dada se baat karna" meaning lets go talk to grandfather on the computer (via Skype). She drops everything, runs to the computer room, climbs up on to the chair (or further on to the desk) and waits patiently for us to dial in.
But at the same time, we're noticing her falling a bit behind in expressing herself in more ways than just nods of the head or saying no or nah. On the phone, she can say bye, take care and change her loudness to mimic me and say it very softly. What we don't hear is phrases like "I want cake" or "Mummy's got a camera" or "I love it" or the hindi equivalents. We get jumbles. N knows what she's saying is nonsensical because she doesn't get frustrated when we don't understand her, just smiles and tries again.
So it feels a bit disorientating; trying to talk to her is a one way conversation, with her understanding but not responding. And then it comes back the other way, with jumbles of total non-words and phrases. We're at a bit of a loss to explain why its taking her so long to progress from one word to two to three.
N understands most things we say, in English and in Hindi. When instructed to come and brush her teeth, in hindi or in english, she immediately understands the routine of finding the stool, climbing up, grabbing her toothbrush and waiting for one of us to apply a dab of baby McLeans. A separate example is "Dada se baat karna" meaning lets go talk to grandfather on the computer (via Skype). She drops everything, runs to the computer room, climbs up on to the chair (or further on to the desk) and waits patiently for us to dial in.
But at the same time, we're noticing her falling a bit behind in expressing herself in more ways than just nods of the head or saying no or nah. On the phone, she can say bye, take care and change her loudness to mimic me and say it very softly. What we don't hear is phrases like "I want cake" or "Mummy's got a camera" or "I love it" or the hindi equivalents. We get jumbles. N knows what she's saying is nonsensical because she doesn't get frustrated when we don't understand her, just smiles and tries again.
So it feels a bit disorientating; trying to talk to her is a one way conversation, with her understanding but not responding. And then it comes back the other way, with jumbles of total non-words and phrases. We're at a bit of a loss to explain why its taking her so long to progress from one word to two to three.
31 May 2010
Trunki
Look what Bua gave me... (N moves at hypersonic speed, this was the only photo of 6 that she wasn't a blur of excitement).
28 May 2010
Likes and dislikes
Exhausted by pavement pounding, a short post tonight.
Likes: Brushing her teeth up to three times a day. I stress by herself. Eating the toothpaste, by herself.
Dislikes: Not being able to hold on to and play with everyone's toothbrushes
Likes: Anything Gymbaroo related. Has master the art of sitting on a ball, kicking a ball, and the latest addition,
(haven't managed to get a picture of her doing this)
Dislikes: Occasional day care. Last week when we entered she was all shy like until she saw a phone, bolted and then whimpered when she realised we had gone. This week, started crying as soon as she saw the teacher and the next morning when she thought she had to go again.
Likes: Jumping. Obsessed. Especially on her bed.
Dislikes: Daddy telling her to stop jumping on her bed because its 830pm and to get into her pouch.
Likes: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, especially when he eats one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream, one slice of swiss cheese, one piece of salami... and when he isn't a little caterpillar anymore, he's a BIG FAT caterpillar.
Dislikes: Giving the phone back.
Likes: feeding daddy his dinner with a shamash (chamach, meaning spoon in hindi)
Likes: Brushing her teeth up to three times a day. I stress by herself. Eating the toothpaste, by herself.
Dislikes: Not being able to hold on to and play with everyone's toothbrushes
Likes: Anything Gymbaroo related. Has master the art of sitting on a ball, kicking a ball, and the latest addition,
(haven't managed to get a picture of her doing this)
Dislikes: Occasional day care. Last week when we entered she was all shy like until she saw a phone, bolted and then whimpered when she realised we had gone. This week, started crying as soon as she saw the teacher and the next morning when she thought she had to go again.Likes: Jumping. Obsessed. Especially on her bed.
Dislikes: Daddy telling her to stop jumping on her bed because its 830pm and to get into her pouch.
Likes: The Very Hungry Caterpillar, especially when he eats one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream, one slice of swiss cheese, one piece of salami... and when he isn't a little caterpillar anymore, he's a BIG FAT caterpillar.
Dislikes: Giving the phone back.
Likes: feeding daddy his dinner with a shamash (chamach, meaning spoon in hindi)
09 May 2010
Kids are amazing
After the fall; it's been tough. Naina has been bedbound, at times not able to move her right arm, clutching at her neck and always unhappy. Friday, lying down all day. Saturday, lying down, all day. Sunday, lying down, most of the day.
We gave up on baths yesterday as she screamed her way through it. Feeding was whilst lying down (dangerous) and drinking water was out of a soup spoon. Maximum doses of Panadol and Nurofen didn't seem to be making a dent in the pain.
With no tangible signs of progress, we began to despair that she might be this way for a few more days. Depressing. She had started to wriggle and use both hands freely yesterday, but any attempts at sitting upright were met with tears and screams. The words broken clavicle, broken clavicle kept ringing and ringing in my ears and a month of rehabilitation. This continued into today; but we raised her head a little bit on three pillows to get some sense of progress.
She's been normal in every sense apart from being on her back - screaming, kicking, reading, laughing, sleeping, chatting, although it's unsettling having a very big part of life changed from mobile and uncontrollable to bed-ridden and listless.
Deepti had a series of mother's day master strokes today. First she applied a cream to warm up the area and that seemed to go ok. As parents, we were probably neglectful in this sense for the next part. When all else fails, bribery. So out came the lemonade and some small drinking cups, left strategic distances from her supine poses. At 3pm, she made efforts to reach it and with coaxing she sort of started lifting her head and then with my support, sitting up without clutching and drinking. By 3:30pm, it was sitting unsupported, but not anything more. In fact, standing was surprisingly unsteady. More bribery, my (new) glasses and food on the coffee table. By 3:45pm standing alone and starting to walk around gingerly.
Deepti and I both felt like crying; within 3 minutes of the first unsteady walk without pain, N was in the pram and out the door and I was blogging about it. Life less ordinary.
We gave up on baths yesterday as she screamed her way through it. Feeding was whilst lying down (dangerous) and drinking water was out of a soup spoon. Maximum doses of Panadol and Nurofen didn't seem to be making a dent in the pain.
With no tangible signs of progress, we began to despair that she might be this way for a few more days. Depressing. She had started to wriggle and use both hands freely yesterday, but any attempts at sitting upright were met with tears and screams. The words broken clavicle, broken clavicle kept ringing and ringing in my ears and a month of rehabilitation. This continued into today; but we raised her head a little bit on three pillows to get some sense of progress.
She's been normal in every sense apart from being on her back - screaming, kicking, reading, laughing, sleeping, chatting, although it's unsettling having a very big part of life changed from mobile and uncontrollable to bed-ridden and listless.
Deepti had a series of mother's day master strokes today. First she applied a cream to warm up the area and that seemed to go ok. As parents, we were probably neglectful in this sense for the next part. When all else fails, bribery. So out came the lemonade and some small drinking cups, left strategic distances from her supine poses. At 3pm, she made efforts to reach it and with coaxing she sort of started lifting her head and then with my support, sitting up without clutching and drinking. By 3:30pm, it was sitting unsupported, but not anything more. In fact, standing was surprisingly unsteady. More bribery, my (new) glasses and food on the coffee table. By 3:45pm standing alone and starting to walk around gingerly.
Deepti and I both felt like crying; within 3 minutes of the first unsteady walk without pain, N was in the pram and out the door and I was blogging about it. Life less ordinary.
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