Independence (or the loosening of ties)

So I'm a little sad. More than a little, perhaps. I have to wean off Vir. I know I have to do it, because he just won't learn to take a bottle or a sippy cup as long as he has the breast milk option. He obviously knows how to make his choices. So, the only way for me to do this is to make a clean break. Only problem is, even though it's been tough, a big part of me has always loved the time he and I have together when I'm feeding him. Now, I feel like I'm breaking a connection. Never again will he depend on me in quite the same way again.

I hope he takes this next week well...I know he won't, actually. And I guess I won't either. But at the end of tunnel is a sippy cup full of formula being gulped happily by the so-far-very-stubborn-Vir.

Biscuits are a serious business

Vir has figured out how to feed himself a biscuit. I broke a couple of small pieces and put them on the tray of his high chair yesterday to see what he would do. With extremely slow and deliberate movements and a very serious expression on his face, he was able to pick up one piece and neatly deposit it into his mouth. He sat and chewed it with his gums for a while, visibly swallowed, and then was ready for the next piece. Only, this time, when he withdrew his hand from his mouth, the biscuit piece came back too. He had forgotten to release it in his mouth. That was confusing. Once he had dealt with the challenge and eaten the second one, the third piece presented a whole new problem. He didn't manage to pick it up neatly with his thumb and forefinger and ended up wrapping it in his whole fist instead. It was funny to watch him search for the lost piece!

The great thing about this is that I now have one more way to keep him occupied for 5-7 minutes at a stretch. At least for now.

Oh my god oh my god!

Vir just said his FIRST WORD!!! I was generally baby talking to him and said, "Vir, aajaa." Without a second's gap, pat comes the reply, as clear as can be - "aajaa." He's refusing to repeat it and wondering what the big fuss is about.

So, I think he's ready to go to college now.

Crawling!

Mom and I were sitting in the drawing room last evening, and Vir was hanging out on the carpet, when all of a sudden, he spotted Khushi's balloon lying in the dining room. Normally, he half crawls-half creeps on his tummy to get wherever he wants to go. But this time, he just got on his hands and knees and started off - crawled properly with full speed and without falling on his tummy even once. It was so wonderful to see him heading out into the open to explore the big, open dining room without a moment's hesitation! I measured the distance later - it was a fully 12 grown up steps.

I'm amazed not so much that he can crawl, but that we were witness to this amazing process of trying and practicing and falling and getting up and failing and succeeding over the last few days till, finally, something clicked, and he just knew what to do and went ahead and did it.

A tooth a tooth!

I can feel the razor edge, and when he lets me, I can even see the tiniest sliver of his budding lower-front-right tooth. Since day before yesterday. So the official tooth anniversary is 4th of October. I just can't wait for the whole thing to come out. And the upper ones too. So we can see the silly gummy grin become a silly toothy grin instead.

He's doing a bunch of other stuff now too...like, yesterday, he pulled up to standing using my dad's knee as a support and then let go - so he was standing by himself for about a second before he fell. He might have stood for longer if mom and I hadn't shocked him by squealing loudly in delight. In our defence though, how often does your first kid/grandkid stand by himself for the first time?

My new project

I went out with my mom today and bought some nice blue wool to knit a sweater for Vir today. This is my ambitious new project. Mom bought some red wool for him. I think she'll finish hers before I do, because, if history is anything to go by, I will lose my enthusiasm and the sweater will be done three years from now. Given that it's for Vir though, I might just finish soon. I will be sure to post pictures to report progress:-). All this just so when Vir grows up and asks if I ever made anything for him (like I ask my mom), I can honestly say yes!

8 Months!

Yay! We're at the 8 month mark! I'm in Dehradun today, so we're celebrating the occasion with nana and nani. Vijay, mummy, and papa are contributing to this list as I'm typing. So, here goes:

• Crawl much more neatly than last month, though not fully yet.
• Get himself from lying on his tummy to sitting (with some struggle).
• Pull himself up to standing from sitting.
• Say blah blah blah and tla tla tla.
• Say mamamama predictably every time he is sleepy or hungry (I suspect he knows what it means!)
• Eat a biscuit by himself, though the last one I gave him mysteriously found it's way into his diaper.
• Tell us, in no uncertain terms, when he is not happy. He could always do that, I guess, but the manner is really funny now!
• Recognize his nana and nani and feel super confortable with them. I think he even knows his Dehradun house now because he doesn't seem to feel new here at all.
• Demonstrate his love for chocolate by lunging towards the piece his nani dangles in front of him despite all obstacles.

I'm waiting to be able to write that he has teeth in the next update. I can feel his lower gum becoming a little more pokey...so hope we're almost there.