Shivam arrives

On 8th January 2009, 12:49 am Thursday, we were blessed with a son, Shivam. He is now the center of our universe and an apple of our eye. Today he is almost five and a half month old. We started a new blog for him to document his progress. You can read more about him here http:\\shivampande.wordpress.com

Names Picked-finally!!!!

I think this is it...we have finally decided on names for our kiddo......hope he likes them too,
He will be known as Shivam Siddharth Pande to the world-apart from being a name for Lord Shiva, it also has a beautiful meaning, it means ''auspicious" in Sanskrit.
But at home, to his Ma, he will be her "Arka" (pronounced as orkoh)- her little sun.
That's not it.....Dad has a whole slew of names.....pattu, potlu...he keeps concocting new ones everyday.
All the best to our little bambino!!

A little prayer

This few verses have been reverberating in my mind throughout the day nowadays.......and I also sing it out to my little baby....just wanted to put it down
Asatoma Sat Gamaya
Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya
Mrittorma Amritamgamaya.
Shanti, Shanti ,Shanti,
-Vedas
Translation: take me from wrong to right, take me from darkness to light, take me from death to immortality....Peace, Peace, Peace
I really want it to be a mantra in my child's life!!

Papa Bear

Its the 37th week.....4 more weeks to go, ideally. I could feel that the little guy is desperate to make his debut. His movements have increased....and interestingly, his communications with his Dad has also increased. Its like him pleading and prodding to Papa Bear everyday...."Please please bring me out......its cozy and all in here, but I want to see the world."
I might have said this before in the blog....but I find this phenomenon so fascinating that I simply wanted to reiterate it.
Papa on the other hand is extremely busy nowadays....he has got his job, his projects, his dreadful Accounting exam and aboveall, his two huge responsibilities....the mom and the son. While the son is always hankering for Dad's attention......Mom has her own agenda as well.....like the house needs to be cleaned, the crib needs to be assembled, the car seat needs to be installed....and then the occassional but extremely annoying, "you are not listening to me". But I must say, through it all, Sid is doing pretty well.......its amazing how he still retains his sense of humor....I hope he stays strong because we need him more than anything else in the world right now.

The Little Guy has got his moves

He is only 34-week old....still snuggled in his mom's womb...........but trust me, he has his moves. And I just love them!! There are so many different types of them.......and no, I am not imagining things, its true. In the morning or after the afternoon siesta I can feel him rolling lazily on his side as he wakes from his slumber. Then the little tip-tap-toe dances that he does to Keith Urban's latest or to the peppy numbers from Rock On........Then there's the madly active little guy running around in his little space after the sugar surge (typically after a wholehearted meal).
But my favorite one-is when he says "Hi" to his Dad...........the cute plays that go around as the two men bond. He will be absolutely quite for hours together, but as soon as Dad whispers the words-"Oye Chotlu" or gently taps my bulging belly....the little fellow shoots a kick.......as if he wants to reach out to his Dad..........its his way of saying...Hey Dad....see I have my moves....get ready to show me yours.

Obama and Shivam

Obama just ushered in a new era in American history. Our little boy Shivam will usher in a whole new chapter in our life. Our best wishes to both of them!!!

32nd week

The countdown is on..........can't wait till the 40th week. Just had my Ultrasound....my little man looked happy and healthy...so a big sigh of relief.
What's stressing me out now, we still don't have a name for my baby. I wish we were more creative or lucky. Its a tie between Shivam and Aniruddh now.

Baby Shower

I love this idea......Baby Shower for a would-be Mom. Its apparently a very American concept.....the idea is to pamper the expecting mother. Friends (mostly ladies) throw her the shower where they get her gifts for herself or her newborn, play games with her...basically have fun. Its a nice way to extend support to the new parents when they are embarking on a brand new adventure.
We had our own baby shower last week. Sid organized it and did an excellent job at it. Starting with the place, the menu, the cake....everything was taken care of. It was a fairly big party....about 50 people showed up.....all friends. We had a wonderful time. Although I was a little worried about not being able to give quality time to all the guests, but things went well.
We got so many cute gifts.....kid stuffs are so adorable.

back to the blog with some exhilarating news!!!!

its been a long time since I blogged last. There is a reason I am back.......its my baby!!! Our first born- our son, expected arrival, Jan 4th 2009. Needless to say, the mom and dad are both in cloud nine. Me, I have been looking forward to this day all my life. With all the joy and delirium, comes the anxiety. Every week there are new symptoms, new signs (sometimes good sometime bad) and new test results that can throw you off gear. I remember climbing the scale every morning for the last 6 months to track my weight gain.
It all started in April 2008. I had the first hint, the first blood test- and voila-just like that I found out I was expecting. I still remember, it took us about a month to actually adjust to this new thought, specially Siddharth, he wouldn't believe it till our first prenatal appointment and the first ultrasound. OMG!! our baby looked like a small pea cocooned in my womb. I can't explain to you the surge of emotions I felt. Immediately, every part of me wanted to go in there and hold it in my arms, protect it so that nothing happens to it. So there it is- Siddharth was going to be a "dad" and I was going to be a "ma". I still remember the look in Siddharth's eyes when I showed him the first snap of our baby.....it was a mix of disbelief, joy, anxiety and something else, that I can't explain.....but suddenly he had his arms around me and we walked like that all the way to the car and the first stop we made was at the nearest Cold Stone creamery- because Mom bear you need to eat right....says Pappa bear.
Weeks passed by- with both me and siddharth pouring over the internet, trying to take in every possible detail about fetal growth. My parents were with us, Ma made all possible nutritious stuffs for me, cause the focus now was " you need to eat right, your baby will get all the nutrition from you". The first three months were tough, I literally threw up everything.......every morsel. But thanks to Ma's endless efforts, I still managed to feed myself with something. We waited eagerly for the 20th week. There will be a second Ultrasound and that can tell us if its a boy or a girl. Finally, the big revelation-ITS A BOY!!!!!! we saw our son, fully formed, covering his face with his hands on the ultrasound. It was a perfect kodac moment!!!! Next week, our Gyn called with a shocking news- your baby has just one artery in the umbilical chord instead of two. What does that mean? we were full of questions, nervous needless to say. Once again we searched the internet, called up bade bhaiya for clarifications and literally did everything in our power to understand the biological consequences of it. Needless to say, the more we learnt, the more my heart sank and I prayed and prayed that nothing should happen to my sweetipie. Now we had to sign up for a second level US to evaluate fetal development. Once again I was on the Ultrasound table-luckily we had a wonderful person performing the ultrasound. Our son was checked from all possible angles for any possible abnormality. Thankfully no issues. Finally, they performed a doppler to check the cardiac functions (apparently a major issue in fetuses with SUV syndrome), but our gudda's heart was beating away strong and loud. So we got the final nod from the doctors, our son is perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!! nothing to worry.....Phew!!!!!!!!!
weeks have passed by since then, I have grown a huge tummy, I can actually feel my little one moving inside me. I try to correlate its movement with things i ate, music i listened, stuffs i saw on the tv, things that i told him.......it has been my favorite pass time. I talk to him throughout the day on and off, as if he is my little friend, while his dad chants the gayatri mantra to him before going to bed every night. Our new dad is a whole new person now, every night he checks with me the cups of milk I had, fruits and nuts I ate, and ofcourse the medicines.
My clothes are growing tighter everyday, I feel tired at times, but amidst everything, there is this one dream- I am holding my baby in my arms, kissing his forehead and whispering in his ears- your Ma loves you a lot!!!
Can't wait to buy the baby stuffs, re-do my room to make it baby friendly and above all be a Ma.
Will keep posting in this journal as we go on (27th week).

Priya Bhabhi first post-

From Priya Bhabhi's kalam:


Let me take the privilege to introduce the youngest couple of Panday Parivar – Siddharth & Sunetra. This dear couple has taken the initiative of starting our Family website – a wonderful idea indeed!

Siddharth– the accomplished’ as the name suggests is God Loving, a devoted son, a caring brother, a darling devar, a responsible husband & last but not least the youngest chacha of the family. He is full of unconditional love & service – two qualities I believe are most fundamental in life. He wants to do something or the other for each & every member of the family – rather anyone around – a true humanitarian at heart.

A topper since his school days, a total technocrat – my devarji is an engineer from Mumbai – Sardar Patel, completed his MS from Ohio University & ever since for the last 6-7 years have been working for HP,Cupertino. He intends to pursue his management studies now.

In Ohio, he met his soul mate – my Hasmukh devrani – a bong beauty & brain. A topper in her university. She is currently pursuing her PHD in Gene Therapy from UCLA. Full of love & innocence galore,
she is never tired appreciating others. She is naughty & loves shopping & reading fiction.

“Both are child like at heart – a true religious nature” The youngest sibling of the Pandavas & the only daughter of the Rays make q great pair. Although saat samunder paar the two are always close us all times. May God bless them with the best of everything & a peaceful healthy life.

Best Wishes.
Priya Bhabhi