Amazing feeling of seeing your offspring grow

As days passed, both my daughters amazed me with all the new skills that they developed. They learnt many things by imitating their elders. But things that they captured on their own really marveled me. A smile from a baby is an instant rejuvenator that makes one forget all his worries, qualms and stress. Your baby’s touch especially when she rests in peace in your arms is simply out of this world.

Sequential milestones in physical activity: Rolling over à Crawling à Stand up with Support à Walking with support à Standing without support à Walking without support. Tammu crossed all these milestones well ahead of Mannu. Reason??? She is light weighted compared to Mannu. What I feel is that she has that athletic blood in her inherited from her dad who was a soccer champion once upon a time. Mannu resembles me as in Sports and I meant North and South Pole. In ways more than one, Mannu resembles me Tammu her dad. The extent to which the similarity goes really surprises us because Mannu is more attached to Abbas and Tammu to me…

Foodwise, they were only fed milk till they turned six months old. Semi-solid food in the form of Cerelac and Nestum were introduced. They also gulped in fruit juices and apple pulp. We introduced Khichdi to them, which was a mix of Rice and Dal initially. Then we gradually began adding 1 new vegetable every week. By now their tongues have savoured on Carrots, Beans, Raw Papaya, Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, Potatoes, Ladies’ Finger etc. Gone are the days when we used to get the Khichdi pureed and take them in our lap and feed them. Now are the days when they consider themselves as grown-ups. They prefer to be fed the lunch that we have. They love to eat with us on the table. In the evenings we used to feed them with spoon, small chunks of roti soaked in milk. My daughters now prefer to have the roti in their own hands and nibble on their own. When they are hungry, they would get the container of Biscuits or Mudi to us and ask us to open it for them. The days are not far when they would open the containers and eat on their own. Whenever we are eating something and if they are around, we are bound to give them a share of it. By now, they have tasted ice-cream, soft drinks, biriyani, noodles, pasta and the list would go on…

Don’t get me started on their mischief. No newspaper could escape their reach without getting torn. Tammu would inspect the nooks and corners of the house to find dirt to please her taste buds. She even took a bite of soap once as though it was a bar of chocolate. Strands of hair, wires, utensils, pens, papers, combs, bottles – they have tasted them all. Oops! Not to forget - their own POTTY!!! Eeeks…Dustbin is the favourite place for treasure hunting. We even have our walls decorated with teeth imprints. They pee on the floor and start wiping it off with the first cloth that catches their eye. Bathing is a celebration… When my nanny comes out of the bathroom with one of them, I am forced to think who has bathed whom? They can now show you their teeth, tongue, hair and tummy when asked to. Mannu is so fond of crows that even when she is very much indulged in an activity, a crow can easily divert her, Tammu can’t be made to sit in a single place for more than five minutes. She is always on the run after committing a deliberate crime. Mannu learns by imitating her. They never like to play with their toys. Spoons, spatula, vegetables, newspapers, bags and mostly all that elders use are their play things. Its fun watching them take a newspaper in hand as though they are reading it or hang a bag on their shoulder or around their neck. They would wait for us to have a look at them and acknowledge it.

They demand our appreciation on anything that they do. They don’t need material things. Your love and attention means the world to them. Guilt pangs me when I see their sad faces when I leave for office. But I sure love to see them jump with joy when I return home from work. Nothing satisfies a parent more than seeing his baby happy. Every accomplishment of theirs makes me feel so proud.