I have noticed that as soon as a couple plans to have a baby they start thinking of buying an SUV. Out of the three couples I know who are expecting a baby soon, two already have SUV’s (Honda Pilot and Toyota 4Runner) and the third is looking at Subaru Wagons.
 
I don’t understand though, what the reasoning is to buy an SUV, if you have a decent-sized sedan. I understand that once the baby grows older, and has friends who will need to be picked up and dropped off, having an SUV is fine.
 
But for a new born?

Now that there are three friends who are expecting babies, I decided to run a pool and have everyone guess two things about each baby:
 
1. Weight
2. Time of birth
 
Everyone is chipping in with some $$ and their guesses, and there will be 6 winners.
 
Cool, eh?

Wow. What and eventful Wednesday evening it was. We were all talking about a friend whose wife (also a friend) is pregnant in her 6th month.

Then, as we were getting ready to go eat, another friend stopped us and said that they have an announcement to make. And boom, they said they were expecting their child in Jan! And we had not even let that thought sink when another friend casually said that they were also expecting their kid in Jan!

Wow!

Wow! Wow!

Suddenly, we are in a minority here, in the ‘non expecting’ couple category.

Wow! Still shaken up a bit from the news.

First it was my roommate from LA, though it’s been a long long time (2 years?).

Then it was my roommate from DC. Their kid is about 2-3 months old.

Then it was my cousin. Their kid is about 2 weeks old.

The other day I met a friend who was visiting from India. His kid is 22 months old!

We met this friend at a common friend’s place. Their kid is 4 months old!

Then the other friend in the 6th month.

And now, add these two to the list.

Suddenly, the talk was about morning sickness, exercises, OB-GYN, common doctors, hospitals, stroller valet, etc.

Things are changing so fast around me. Need to come to grips with reality. :-)

The baby’s come home! No more probes. No more purple light. No more beeps around her.

Just home sweet home. She looks quite at peace. Well, at least the 30 minutes that I spent with her. Looks like she is getting used to the place. She did open her eyes and at least pretended to look at me once ;-)

Now, to get her settled in her new house.

Long long weekend (taken the Friday off) in Miami and Key West planned. Was quite pumped up about the trip. First time for me. First time for my wife.

But after the li’l one’s situation, our minds and hearts will be here. Hopefully she will continue to improve and get her health back in order. Our prayers are continuously with her. Hope it is just a minor, temporary thing. Hope.

We debated if we should stay back and not go this weekend. But it seems that the baby has to be in the hospital till Tuesday in any case. Plus there is some help around, so it should be ok for the weekend.

Cell phones are a wonderful thing. Hopefully we will use them only to exchange ‘I love you, sister’ calls … Mojito, anyone? ;-)

What a contrast of emotions I had this evening, in seeing the same person at two different times. I saw the li’l one again today. But this time, instead of seeing her in the kind of freedom that I had seen her last time around, I saw her with countless probes and needles attached to her body.

Due to some complication, she has been admitted to a bigger hospital with better facilities and she is in the ICU there. What a poor little thing she is now. She has lost weight. She does not know how to complain. She is crying a lot. Finally she was able to get fed.

That was a relief. But how long will this agony last? Science, despite all its advances, has no idea about so many things. Doctors are clueless about the cause. What is going on? No idea. The only hope is that it will wear off after a month or so. With medication. More needles. Poor thing. I feel sad for her.

One thing I learned from the experience - we are so helpless when kids are that age. She is trying to tell us something, but we have no idea what it is. Is she cold? Is she warm? Does she want to sleep? Does she not want to sleep? Is she hungry? Wants to burp? So many possibilities, but no answer.

Who knows the New Born Language? We need help. Fast. For the baby’s sake and the parents'. For my sake. For the sake of all who love her.

I wish someone comes forward.

I have seen it now. The bond that a parent forms with the child immediately after birth. I was too young when my other cousins were born and then maybe i was not really focussed on such things when my nieces were born, so I did not see it then.

Now, I see it. Clearly. The love. The emotions. Mom and child. Dad and child. How does that happen? Who programmed us that we immediately have this kind of affection with the kids? Miracle of life. That’s when you know there is a supernatural being somewhere. That’s when you start to appreciate the beauty that is life.

Bow down…

My niece is born…after what seemed like a long period of labor, she’s finally a part of this world!

Happy Birthday to you!