A Kerala Trip And It Was All About Meeting New Friends!

We were in Kerala for a ten day break. I wanted to go to Trivandrum to be a part of Attukal Pongala, but we stayed on for a few more days since B was anyway travelling. So we spent a couple of days at Cochin with B's parents and the remaining days in Trivandrum. As always, the home trip was very hectic and busy. Again, as always, I started off with a list of to-do things while at home, even before I packed my bag, but nothing got done and yet again I've come back with a list of pending items to do that has been pushed to the next trip.

Yet, I enjoyed every moment of this trip. This little space of mine is growing and I have a page of my own. I've opened up on social media a lot more than I thought I ever would, considering that I have my set of people whom I reach out to for anything, even if that is in the middle of the night, and I've never felt the need to put across (a part of) my life out there for everyone to read. Yet, when I restarted my writing, this time not restricting to my diary, I poured whatever I felt like to this space. And over the last year, I can't tell you enough about the goodness it has brought to my life. I've reconnected with a lot of old friends, I've made new friends and I've had someone or the other, knowingly or unknowingly, by my side always.

This time's trip to Kerala has been a wonderful reiteration of this. Despite none of the plans I made not working out, I met a lot of friends. There wasn't a day that I sat idly at home, wondering what to do. I met a fellow babywearing mom at Cochin, with whom I had contact only over the internet and we chatted for a long time over lots of common topic. In Trivandrum, we had a mini babywearing get-together where a few of us, like-minded moms met and shared carriers and babies, tried out various carriers and chatted over babywearing, cloth diapers, and even menstrual cups - I am sure that this was a first in Trivandrum. It was so easy to connect, considering that some of us have never met each other before, and we had a beautiful evening together. As for me, I loved the cuddles I got with the squishy, little ones that I would have loved to run away and hide with these babies until their moms left ;)

Just when I thought things couldn't have gotten any better, an old friend (in fact, she was a close friend's cousin) called to check if she could drop by. It was this little space that  helped us to reconnect and I was excited to see her and her family. She came over with a box of homemade cupcakes and she stole the little boy's hearts. There was no formality, no uncomfortable silences and no starting trouble. Even if we got just an hour of time to catch up, we did have a lovely time catching up (and running behind the kids)!

This trip was not how I had it planned. Yet, it was much more exciting and wonderful. I never thought a blog or a facebook page is going to give me friends. But, it has gifted me tremendously and this trip was just a reaffirmation of that!

Fun With Flyaway

I was over the moon, jumping with joy, when the Soul team contacted me asking if I would love to review a few of their products. People who know the babywearing mom in me knows how I look up to the wonderful bunch of people at Soul for their amazing service, ethics and product quality, and how much I love their products. So, my excitement was natural considering my love for these guys!

After much discussion, we decided on a size 4 wrap for review. I left it to the team to decide on the fabric and design. Good I did that, since I got one of the most amazing designs from their collection! Once everything was finalised, I waited eagerly for the parcel to arrive and I couldn't contain my excitement when it reached me. The Soul team had sent me their Flyaway wrap and along with it, there was a doll carrier for the little boy (review coming soon).

The Flyaway print - white balloons in a beige shade on one side and vice versa on the other - is dreamy, if I have to sum it up in one single word. The design/pattern is one of the best that Soul has, both sides competing against each other to be the best print. I love how the fabric emits a slight shine while capturing images and I love how the print is as dreamy as it could get. Additional advantage? This colour is so versatile that it blends well with almost all your clothes! 

As with all the Soul jacquard material, the Flyaway too is soft and grippy. Yet, I would place it somewhere in the middle, while ranking the different jacquard fabrics that Soul has, when it comes to the fabric and its softness. To be more specific, it is more soft and cushy than their Switch Sides/Sweet Lime fabric (these are not available as wraps now) but not as buttery soft as their Maze/Sensational. 

I thought a size 4 would be easy to try out quite a few carries for me, considering that my diy wrap too is a size 4 (realised later that it is just a tiny bit above a size 4). However, I am not sure if it is because of the few kgs that I have put on or the little boy growing up, it was difficult for me to do the finishing knot while doing a forward carry (Front Wrap Cross Carry).  But, we had some wonderful back carry moments and it was perfect. It had been a while since I had wrapped and I had forgotten how weightless a wrap carry felt. The back carries with this wrap were literally weightless, spreading the weight of the little boy across my shoulder and back. I loved how I was able to do waistless carries with a Size 4 and still get some beautiful finishes. We did a couple of hip carries too, finishing it off with a slipknot which was grippy yet smooth enough to glide across easily.

I must add that this wrap brought along with it a lot of sleepy dust as well. We had moments where the little boy was talking to me while being snug within the wrap and the next moment he was in dreamland. It was very easy to transfer the little one from the wrap to bed, after which the wrap worked as a perfect convertible blanket, helping the boy have a good, snuggly sleep. Yet, there were times when I didn't have the heart to put him on the bed, inspite of he being asleep, and all those times, I carried on with my chores with my sleeping little boy on my back.

We did have a lovely time with this beauty, which was mostly our preferred carrier while we carried on with all the housework and at times, accompanying us during our outings. This being a size 4 wrap, was perfect for some quick finishes and carries while we visited the nearby shop or went for a quick walk around our building. We might have done a lot more fancy carries had it been a size 6, but no complaints there, as we had a beautiful time with the wonderful flyaway print and the soft fabric. 

For reference - The little boy is just over 3 years, around 13 kg in weight and 86 cm in height.

When The Little Boy Became An Astronaut

A couple of days back, the lovely folks at Blog Adda partnered with Colgate to send us Colgate 'Magical Space Adventure' pack. We were sent three packs, that consisted of three different Magical Space themes - The Alien Planet, Space Walk and Space Launch. 

The little boy was eager to explore the pack as soon as it arrived, and overjoyed when he found that he could cut pieces out of the pack. We sat and spent some amazing time together cutting the pieces and fixing it on to the base. The little boy was fascinated with the spaceship, UFOs, and comets - all his firsts. He jumped with joy seeing a rocket that he could hold in his hand.

We then sat down for story time, and it was a pleasant change from the usual. I prompted the little boy to tell me a story and for a change, rather than pleading with me to tell him a story he was enthusiastic about weaving a story around space ships and astronauts.

We started from the first cut-out – the Space Launch. The little boy was the protagonist astronaut and he picked his friend from her home and ‘drove’ the rocket to space. As per him, ‘Zooom and we were in space’. In between, I tried to tell him real facts about space and spaceships, but someone little wasn’t interested at all and didn’t want anything that was shoot down his imagination. Once they reached space they went straight to their home, but couldn’t find the park there. I almost broke into a laugh hearing the little boy asking me genuinely, “but where is the park?”.

I slowly shifted the focus to the second cut-outs that we had made, showcasing the Alien Planet. Although the concept of aliens and the UFOs were slightly over the top for the little boy’s understanding, he did try to weave a story around it – a story that revolved around making the alien understand why he and his friend were there and how they were trying to find the park in space. His “do you want to help us?” question to the alien melted my heart and had me in splits at the same time. The innocence of a kid!

Then the boy decided that the alien was going to help him to find the park. We moved on to our last cut out on Space Walk. Here, I slightly took over and told him about the different planets and comets. His face shone bright when he saw the sun and clapped gleefully telling me that it was the sun and his friends (so much for trying to teach him about planets!).The search for the park was lost right there when the sun came into the picture and then he wanted to take the sun back home in his rocket.

This, I must say, served as a great time pass for Adhrith. It was quite different from our usual activities and although he is still young to weave stories, I saw, for the first time, how imagination soars high in kids. It helped us bond in a way we’ve never done before and much thanks to Colgate and BlogAdda, we had an amazing evening today!

P.s: “I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.

Second Baby?

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The other day, I was in the lift, holding a couple of grocery bags in both hands and keeping an eye on the little one who was in his balance bike plotting his next mischief, when a lady who lives in the same block as ours, looked at me and asked, "second baby?". I was quick to tell her that she was mistaken and it was just my tummy. She critically looked at me and pointed out her 'not so flat' flat tummy - "this despite having three caesarean". She asked me if I had a c-section too and although I was way too tempted to lie, I replied in the affirmative. Madam then wanted to know if I wore a belt and gave me a good hearing about how I should take care of the tummy and pointers on reducing it, which included, but not restricted to, drinking lots of ajwain water.

Little boy is three years now. Until the day before I delivered him, my huge tummy was celebrated. It was a baby magnet, with practically everybody passing by wanting to touch it, some even going to the extend of giving the 'tummy baby' a kiss, and all that it received was a 'wow'. Things Everything changed the moment I delivered. Soon just about everyone who came to see the baby was more concerned about why my tummy was still huge. In fact, there were times when I felt my tummy received more attention than the baby. It didn't matter how I felt. My reply, always has been how it took nine months for it to reach this level and hence it will take it's own time to go back. But I've always been tempted to question this notion, or rather, obsession of the post pregnancy tummy and the unwanted attention that it receives. 

What if it doesn't go away? What if some clothes don't fit me anywhere? What if I don't look the same as before? What if I have put on weight? So what? People definitely need to stop giving silly, unwarranted advices oh 'how to reduce your tummy' to a new mom (or a relatively new mom or anyone else too for that matter). She knows. If she wants, she will. If she doesn't, so be it. Rather, you need to be empathetic. Be known that it might hurt her, offend her, even depress her. She doesn't need it at the moment. She has a lot more in her hands to take care of. 

As for me, I've learnt to graciously accept it as a part of my motherhood, a reminder of that nine months of dreams and eagerness, and the endurance that my body underwent. This is my body. This is how it is. This is as real as it gets. And I will embrace it. Like my cousin sister told me during a light conversation that we had a few months after my delivery, "don't worry about it, Atheetha. It's only the first few months that you'll think about it as awkward. After that, it's going to be very dear to you and then you keep checking on it to see that it's still there". I think I'll hold on to her words than anyone else's because this is exactly what I feel now. My tummy, my body, my life. And I am happy even with it. 

Oh, and yes, for those who want to know if there is a second baby on the way, I will definitely let you know, very excitedly, when there is a second baby. Until then, it's just my tummy holding onto me tightly and reminding me constantly that I am a mother to a little boy. 😉