Another road trip

This time it was a 1 week, 600 km round trip to Sakleshpur, Coorg and Mysore. The boy's diet went for a toss in Sakleshpur with 5 children and many adults to distract and entertain him. On the bright side, he started eating whatever we adults ate. We made sure his food was not spicy or had salt added. Technically he uttered his first word - akka (meaning elder sister) - and B's daughter A was so thrilled! The stay at Sakleshpur was at Nyrit Villa. A relaxed, wonderful stay with very helpful staff and good food. The temptation to build a home and settle down there was high. 

From Sakleshpur we drove to Coorg, the stay being at Old Kent Estate. Another fabulous place, tucked away in the coffee estate, from the maddening crowd. The staff at Old Kent were highly helpful and considerate. The boy's Khichdi was always ready at lunch time and they made extra sure that we were comfortable. I would highly recommend the above 2 places of stay.

Windflower was our place stay in Mysore and I must say that the staff did not pay special attention to children unless we requested. The boy had a tough time in the Mysore Zoo with the heat and the sun beating down. The zoo is very child friendly and we took him around in his pram. The staff is helpful and so far this has been the most well maintained zoo I have been to in India. Only the while peacock caught the boy's attention, he was gaping at it! Otherwise he braved the zoo visit and we were very glad that he was taking it well. We skipped the Mysore Palace.

The car seat is getting small for the boy but he sat happily throughout the whole trip. He is getting used to sleeping in new places. He also ate bits of whatever we ate - Idly, Dosa, Rice, Chapati, drank juices and a lot of water. One thing the wife and I noticed is that any trip - the moment we are on our way back and nearing home he starts going waaaah!

Food habits and going Organic

My father was relieved as the boy did not cry, unlike earlier when he saw him yesterday. The boy started at him and there was a faint smile.

He prefers Idli to Dosa. Last week B gave the boy a piece of Dosa and he did not like it. Yesterday he ate half an Idli and he kept asking for more.

We also started going the organic way. Detergent has been replaced by Soap Nuts for laundry.

To quote Daily Dump "They are actually the fruits of the soap nut tree and contain ‘Saponin’, which is a 100% natural alternative to chemical laundry detergent and cleansers. When in contact with water, it creates mild suds, which is similar to soap.
Soapnuts are highly-effective and gentle at the same time. It will leave your laundry fresh and clean and compared to other detergents, its mildness will keep colours bright, maintaining fabric structure of your clothes for longer periods. It can be used on all fabrics and at all temperatures. It is a 100% substitute to normal detergents."

Diet change and position swap

Last week we started on Heinz - BabyDinners - Cheesy Vegetable Pasta for the boy. 

He loved the change. Also switched to Pristine - 1stBites Rice & Dal from Ragi and Daal

On Friday night, the wife and I swapped our sleeping positions as the boy was constantly reaching out to her in the night and we felt he should not get used to it.  I decided to pacify and rock the boy in case he cries. He created a ruckus and did not drink milk as my wife was on the wrong side. We had to come back to our original positions. I was of the opinion that babies adapted easily to change.

Saturday night the boy cried non-stop for 20 minutes. We did not know why. He eventually feel asleep. 

He enjoys picking and dropping things, especially phones. On Sunday, the lunch was a traditional feast and he ate a bit of everything without complaining. We went out for dinner with him and he was squealing in the restaurant. I took him outside to rock and he was staring at the bright lights and biting my shoulder.

Lesson learnt

The boy was on the verge of falling off the divan and off the bed. If we are not sleeping with him, we have decided to let him sleep on the floor on a mat with a thick cloth for the cushion effect. The stress is way less this way.

8 months old

Another month older he turned yesterday. It seems that the boy did tell the words "abba" and later changed it to "amma" (mother). His crankiness during the day continues.
B came in the morning and the boy was hoping to go out with her when she left. The dejected look on his face was evident.

Monkey face

I don't know where the boy learnt to show such a face. He scrunches his eyes, shapes his mouth in the form of a O and makes noises. He started doing this in the last 2 days.

He also jerks occasionally when he is carried.On the bright side his cough seems to have vanished. No more fake coughs also for now.

Cut his nails today. He loves it when they are filed along with a "chikky chikky" noise.

Pick and drop

I saw the boy doing this for the first time last night. Give him a towel and he immediately drops it on the floor. Pick it up, give it to him and he does it again!

 

Apart from that he has been generally cranky for the past 3 days. He has to be carried most of the time. We went to see my parents over the weekend. One look at my father and he started crying. Although he did warm up to him later.