I named my son as Tanay. Tanay means "the one who belongs to the family", it also means a good son! I had this name in mind since the time I got to
know that I am going to become a mother. This name caught my attention, how and
why, can't remember exactly now. But I had decided if it is a boy, I will name
him Tanay and if it is a girl, I name her Ananya. Both names are unique and
meaningful.
Now that Tanay has entered our lives with a bang, he has captured all our attention and time. My parents won't keep him out of sight for a minute and will always take him in their arms and talk to him. They won't let him cry for a minute. I am little strict when it comes to his crying. I know it is natural for him to cry and it is his way of shedding some energy and then getting a good feed. I do not panic a lot when he cries. It is either because he is hungry or sleepy or has passed urine. Over a month and a half I can now make out the reason of his crying.
Now that we all have adjusted to each other well, when I talk to him, he makes his eyes big and listens to what I say. As if he understands everything. I am sure he does, but can't express himself right now. He loves listening us talk. Then anything and everything under the sun is ok for him to listen to. I give him all the updates in the day and he listens it with great interest with an intriguing look in his eyes. I have to sing him his favorite song when he gets cranky in the evening. That song was sung for Tanay's dad by his grandmother and then Tanay's grandmother means my mother-in-law sang it for Tanay. I also learnt it from her and now I sing it for him regularly. It is a song of his praises, how good he is and how obedient he is. I add all the things, which are unique to Tanay and make it long and interesting. If he is crying or irritated, he stops that very moment when I begin to sing his “praises”. He likes listening to music a lot. He especially likes the album of children songs “Chocolate cha bangla” and instrumental music. When I was pregnant, I listened to lot of music and that might be the reason that he is also interested in music.
He hates it when it is time for his massage and bath. Rehana, the maalishwaali, comes in the morning and the moment he is in her hands, he brings the whole house down with his incessant cries. His skin is very soft and sensitive. He becomes red all over when he sobs constantly. Other people in the building might have an impression that something is seriously wrong with the baby and the baby is ill or something. But by now, we know it is because he hates exercising and water. The moment he is out of the bathroom in my mom’s arms for getting ready, he is quiet, as if the baby who was crying all this while was not him at all. It is past one month now, but still he doesn't seem to enjoy a bit of the morning ritual. Rehana feels bad because he cries and doesn’t enjoy her otherwise relaxing massage and bath. Most babies outgrow it within a month she said, but my boy seems to be an exception.
His pattern of sleep is set to a great extent. He sleeps by 8:30-9 pm and then gets up twice at night, when he is hungry. He doesn't usually cry, but tries to wait and see if me or my mom get up and feed him without crying. I usually check on him after 2-3 hours and sense his discomfort immediately. I am a light sleeper. I can't sleep with lights and noise around and now with my Tanay around, I hardly have a deep sleep at night. Most peculiar thing of my boy is the different sounds he makes when he is asleep. My mom tells me most of the babies do, but when I inquired with my neighbors who have a baby boy and baby girl respectively, they negated saying their babies sleep peacefully without making any sounds. If he is asleep and there is a slight sound around him, he makes a peculiar sound, “eh eh”, as if he wants to tell others, hello, I am aware of what is happening around him. But on the other hand he seems unperturbed by the sounds of aeroplane and thunder. In his dreams, he sees someone or something and cries "eeee" loudly, sometimes he leaves a deep breath as if he is talking to someone and that someone is useless and is not able to understand what Tanay is trying to say. Sometimes he laughs so loudly that it is heartening to see his toothless and innocent smile. Rapid Eye Movements is a common thing in babies and it helps their brain development it seems. I feel amused when I see Tanay with his eyes half closed and his mouth muttering something. I am really eager to know what exactly happens inside their brains and how it develops. Science has given us insights into so many things, but still what exactly happens during the developing stages in the babies brains is still a mystery.
His hands and legs move constantly when he is awake. He puts his own fingers in his eyes and then when it hurts, he cries in pain. This is something we can't help; it is a part of his growing up and realizing his body organs. He gets tired in the evening and then I massage his legs, change his clothes, put powder on his body and oil on his head. He smells so good!!! In the evening, it is a ritual in my house to listen to the “Vishnusahasranaama” and then chant the “Ramraksha” and “Maruti stotra”. I have been doing this since I conceived and Tanay might be well aware of it. Evening times, he gets little cranky, which most of the babies do. Now that he is one and a half months old, I plan to take him out for a little walk in the evening, before sunset. Let’s see when that is feasible for me.
I am sure, everybody who reads this and who has a baby at home and has brought him/her up will find lot of things familiar with what Tanay is doing right now. Isn’t it fun to watch our own baby grow with leaps and bounds? I saw him as a tiny dot in the 6th week of pregnancy and now he is in my hands, in flesh and blood and already 6 weeks old. His grandparents dote on him a lot and he is lucky to have 3 great grandmothers! His father is away and missing all the initial fun, but then his dad will soon be with us.
Now that Tanay has entered our lives with a bang, he has captured all our attention and time. My parents won't keep him out of sight for a minute and will always take him in their arms and talk to him. They won't let him cry for a minute. I am little strict when it comes to his crying. I know it is natural for him to cry and it is his way of shedding some energy and then getting a good feed. I do not panic a lot when he cries. It is either because he is hungry or sleepy or has passed urine. Over a month and a half I can now make out the reason of his crying.
Now that we all have adjusted to each other well, when I talk to him, he makes his eyes big and listens to what I say. As if he understands everything. I am sure he does, but can't express himself right now. He loves listening us talk. Then anything and everything under the sun is ok for him to listen to. I give him all the updates in the day and he listens it with great interest with an intriguing look in his eyes. I have to sing him his favorite song when he gets cranky in the evening. That song was sung for Tanay's dad by his grandmother and then Tanay's grandmother means my mother-in-law sang it for Tanay. I also learnt it from her and now I sing it for him regularly. It is a song of his praises, how good he is and how obedient he is. I add all the things, which are unique to Tanay and make it long and interesting. If he is crying or irritated, he stops that very moment when I begin to sing his “praises”. He likes listening to music a lot. He especially likes the album of children songs “Chocolate cha bangla” and instrumental music. When I was pregnant, I listened to lot of music and that might be the reason that he is also interested in music.
He hates it when it is time for his massage and bath. Rehana, the maalishwaali, comes in the morning and the moment he is in her hands, he brings the whole house down with his incessant cries. His skin is very soft and sensitive. He becomes red all over when he sobs constantly. Other people in the building might have an impression that something is seriously wrong with the baby and the baby is ill or something. But by now, we know it is because he hates exercising and water. The moment he is out of the bathroom in my mom’s arms for getting ready, he is quiet, as if the baby who was crying all this while was not him at all. It is past one month now, but still he doesn't seem to enjoy a bit of the morning ritual. Rehana feels bad because he cries and doesn’t enjoy her otherwise relaxing massage and bath. Most babies outgrow it within a month she said, but my boy seems to be an exception.
His pattern of sleep is set to a great extent. He sleeps by 8:30-9 pm and then gets up twice at night, when he is hungry. He doesn't usually cry, but tries to wait and see if me or my mom get up and feed him without crying. I usually check on him after 2-3 hours and sense his discomfort immediately. I am a light sleeper. I can't sleep with lights and noise around and now with my Tanay around, I hardly have a deep sleep at night. Most peculiar thing of my boy is the different sounds he makes when he is asleep. My mom tells me most of the babies do, but when I inquired with my neighbors who have a baby boy and baby girl respectively, they negated saying their babies sleep peacefully without making any sounds. If he is asleep and there is a slight sound around him, he makes a peculiar sound, “eh eh”, as if he wants to tell others, hello, I am aware of what is happening around him. But on the other hand he seems unperturbed by the sounds of aeroplane and thunder. In his dreams, he sees someone or something and cries "eeee" loudly, sometimes he leaves a deep breath as if he is talking to someone and that someone is useless and is not able to understand what Tanay is trying to say. Sometimes he laughs so loudly that it is heartening to see his toothless and innocent smile. Rapid Eye Movements is a common thing in babies and it helps their brain development it seems. I feel amused when I see Tanay with his eyes half closed and his mouth muttering something. I am really eager to know what exactly happens inside their brains and how it develops. Science has given us insights into so many things, but still what exactly happens during the developing stages in the babies brains is still a mystery.
His hands and legs move constantly when he is awake. He puts his own fingers in his eyes and then when it hurts, he cries in pain. This is something we can't help; it is a part of his growing up and realizing his body organs. He gets tired in the evening and then I massage his legs, change his clothes, put powder on his body and oil on his head. He smells so good!!! In the evening, it is a ritual in my house to listen to the “Vishnusahasranaama” and then chant the “Ramraksha” and “Maruti stotra”. I have been doing this since I conceived and Tanay might be well aware of it. Evening times, he gets little cranky, which most of the babies do. Now that he is one and a half months old, I plan to take him out for a little walk in the evening, before sunset. Let’s see when that is feasible for me.
I am sure, everybody who reads this and who has a baby at home and has brought him/her up will find lot of things familiar with what Tanay is doing right now. Isn’t it fun to watch our own baby grow with leaps and bounds? I saw him as a tiny dot in the 6th week of pregnancy and now he is in my hands, in flesh and blood and already 6 weeks old. His grandparents dote on him a lot and he is lucky to have 3 great grandmothers! His father is away and missing all the initial fun, but then his dad will soon be with us.
Bringing Tanay up will be more fun with his dad being by my
side!
Amen!
