Sad when we leave

Pick me up! Pick me up NOW daddy!

Raghav seems to be going through separation anxiety. We went to visit Pallavi and Frank over the weekend, and Raghav, who's usually very happy to meet new people and constantly keeps smiling at them and charming them, didn't want to go to anyone's arms. We thought he was getting a bit overwhelmed with all the new things happening around him -- new place, new people, new toys.

When Pallavi tried to get him interested in a push cart, he started crying even though Nalin and I were standing just in front of him.

He played a bit with Frank later, and was very thrilled sitting on Neel's bobby car. When Frank pushed the car, Raghav was very excited. But a little bit more contact with Frank and again he seemed upset. So he was fine as long as the other person was playing with him from a distance.

But he was very interested in little Pia and tried to climb on her as she sat on her bouncy chair. He tried to grab her face and eat her hands.

However, he was very happy sitting on Neel's high chair and play with his toys while we ate our lunch. For the first time he was not demanding for us to feed him as Neel's little toys kept him busy.

He was similarly irritated at Mahesh's place when we went the next afternoon. He was happy to play by himself there, and was even playing with Mahesh's daughter Vilsu, but as soon as someone tried to hold him or things got too overwhelming he'd look at us and start crying.

It was only today that we realised that it was really separation anxiety when Nalin took him to the playschool -- where he goes twice a week and is very happy and very friendly with everyone (they always say they wished every child was as non-fussy as Raghav) -- and he started crying as soon as Nalin handed him over to the carers there. He wanted to stay in Nalin's arms and probably realised that Nalin was going to leave him and go.

They advised Nalin however to leave and that he'd be fine after he left, which is what happened. He was happy, distracted and playing in a few minutes.

When he doesn't want to leave your arms, and you put him down on the floor he stretches his arm out really long and gestures for you to pick him up again. And when you still insist you can't pick him up, he sometimes grabs hold of your leg and pulls himself up, still wanting to be picked up.

11 months

Raghav has started bending and picking up things from the floor while he's standing. It's the cutest thing he does nowadays. He stands with one hand on the couch (or whichever furniture he's holding) and then bends gingerly to pick up something with his other hand. He even prances around, crawling with his toy (or pen, phone, remote..) in his mouth between his teeth.

He's become very quick on the uptake. After seeing us do something only once, he tries to copy us, and successfully -- unbuttoning the change pocket of a wallet, removing the battery cover of a remote...

He LOVES bath time and even said "bth" the other day when I asked him if he was ready for his bath. He could be wailing over something, but as soon as I take him into the bathroom and he sees his little bath tub getting filled, he gets very impatient and then immediately starts laughing as soon as he is placed in the tub.

He has a variety of bath time toys, from rubber balls to squeezy cars and boats and a watering can. He loves them all, and squeals with delight especially when water oozes out of them. He tries to "catch" the water when it comes out of the watering can. When at the hotel in Barcelona, when Nalin had him in his arms in the shower, he tried to "feel" the water with his hands as it came out from the shower head.

Raghav has started flipping pages of books. It lasts a few minutes before he tries to eat it. Even hardcovers and board books are now given to him only under supervision.

The first time he asked for something

We were in a mall one day and were passing an area for children that had those big cars which rock and roll if you put money in them. As we were passing that area with Raghav in my arms, for the first time he bent towards something he wanted (apart from wanting to be picked up). When I put him in the driver's seat, he steered the steering wheel like he was a natural.

I put him in the sandpit the other day at the park, and he played with the sand for a good 10 minutes, first digging in cautiously and then finally going at it with gusto. After about 10 minutes he grabbed some in his hand and was ready to put it into his mouth when I intervened timely.

While travelling

On the tour bus in Barcelona

Raghav is so excited when we visit another city. It is very difficult to get him to sleep in the hotel room, even when they provide him with a baby cot. Since the cot is also new to him, he first spends an awful lot of time exploring it. And even after he's done with that, he keeps standing till we're around. He might get really sleepy and not be able to stand any more holding his cot railings, but he still tries, resting for a bit to sometimes lie down and suck his thumb, but then climbing up again to see what the action is. I have had to cover his cot with cloth from the top so that he won't be able to see anything going on in the room that might interest him, but he can hear - so it never helps.

But while we're roaming a new city, he sleeps in his pram, either reclined or in the sitting position when he's really tired. We have to also cover the pram to prevent him seeing anything. Because as long as he can look, he will look and not fall asleep. Earlier we used to just put a cloth to cover his pram from the front and then put it in place with pegs. But he's recently started playing peek-a-boo with the cloth (you give him any damn cloth and he plays peek-a-boo with it), so you have to secure it from the bottom, so that he can't lift and start playing. But that too he has figured out how to foil. He peeks from the sides, or just pulls really hard at the cloth and the pegs then stand no chance. When we went to Barcelona recently he also started really resisting getting into the pram when he didn't want to. He would just stiffen his body and you couldn't get him to bend even a tiny bit in order to get into the pram.

Forced to sleep in the main city square. Do you blame
me for creating a fuss? 

He throws a similar tantrum sometimes when he doesn't want to sleep. He stiffens his whole body and throws his legs straight with great force and a big shout.


He tries every food that we do, scolding us if there's a delay and if he thinks we're not sharing enough with him.

But at the end of the day he gets really tired with all the touristing, and sometimes has a cry it out before he can fall asleep in his cot.

Growing up quickly

Raghav has become very engaged with his surroundings this month. He has finally started taking an interest in his toys, beyond trying to eat them. If you do the stacking for him, he unstacks. Which basically means he throws things about one at a time, with great nonchalance. When I try to teach him to put them back, he still thinks he's meant to throw them out.

He's started taking things out of the big box in which his toys are kept (albiet on his way to chewing the box).

Sense of humour
He's also started playing peek-a-boo in order to make us laugh. The first time he did it when we'd just given him a bath and were dressing him on the changing table. He was sleepy and therefore cranky, so I tried to distract him by lightly putting a towel on his face. And next thing I knew he was sweeping the towel off his face, again and again, and saying "aah!" every time he revealed his face. He would then stretch his little arms completely to cover his face again, and then throw the towel off with a jerk and an "aah!", like he'd seen us do all these months with him. It was like he'd been observing us all this while, and has finally decided to ingratiate us.

Soon enough, he realised we were laughing anyhow, and decided to just do a cursory job. He now mostly just does it lazily, sometimes not even waiting till his face is covered.

The other night I was putting him to sleep, patting him on his stomach and head, when he just took my hand and covered his eyes with it and started playing peek-a-boo!

He plays peek-a-boo almost anywhere and with anyone now. He always plays in the tram, sometimes even on his own when no one's paying attention.

I like it bare

He's most cheerful when looking at other people in the tram, and always tries to catch someone's attention, whether or not they're looking at him. And if they are, he will go all out to charm them, smiling and trying to play peek-a-boo with them constantly till they give up and move on.

He laughs now when you make funny faces at him. He especially laughs when you wear sunglasses, because he probably thinks they've been put on to make him laugh. When he's being most difficult at the changing table (it's almost impossible to change him alone now, he's constantly trying to get up and climb onto things) if I make the coooo-chook-chook train noise, he looks really interested and even laughs. He also loves when you blow bubbles at him. He's learned now how to look up at the ceiling (as in, that there can be something above his head also) and is constantly looking up at the bubbles and trying to grab them. And then he winces when they burst too close to his face.

The Foodie
Raghav is a big foodie as of now. Although his appetite for his own food has sort of settled down, he's still very interested in what the other person is eating. The moment he hears the rustling of a chips packet, or a biscuit bag, he gingerly sits down from wherever he's standing and then comes to you enthusiastically, smiling and trying to act all cute. He'll then standing holding on to your knee and keep trying to woo you with his cuteness into giving him a bite. He'll literally try to climb on you and grab the bag from your hands, all the while calling out to you to give him something.

Fascinated
He especially loves watching other children now. When I take him to the park, that's his most favourite activity. I'd have him on the swing, but he'd be looking at the kids next to him on the see-saw.

I took him to Parc des Bastions the other day, and tried to put him on the ground next to the sand pit so that he would cruise holding a risen cemented platform if he wanted, but the ground was pebbled and dusty - he didn't like standing. So ,for the next half hour he just stood holding me, eating my t-shirt and looking around at the other kids playing.

When he goes to his playgroup, Fiona (the loud excited one who's his age, but still used to scare him at the beginning) flaps her hands and feet about when she sees him come in. They play together all day, and the other day when I went to pick him up she started crying when she saw him leave!

Don't "no" what you mean...
Raghav has started understanding what the word "no" means, but he doesn't necessarily obey it. There's a mesh of wires in the corridor, all kept in a basket, that Raghav tries to stand holding. Every time he leaves the room when you're still playing with him, he heads for the basket. It's the only thing I vehemently say "no" about for now.

His reaction to the "no" depends on his mood.

Sometimes he moves along as soon as he hears it.
Sometimes he moves away and then tries to get to it from another angle where he thinks you can't see him!
Sometimes he just smiles at you and goes for it anyway (he thinks it's all a big joke).
Sometimes when I jerk him away from it (just for impact, so that he gets the message) he lets out a short but sharp cry.

The other day I was working in the study room and he was playing there. I'd got all his toys there, so that he'd remain in that room. But he wanted to hang from the potted plant that was also kept in that room. I said "no" a few times, and he finally left it alone, giving me the impression that he wasn't interested in it any more. He played there in that room for a good hour or so (without once trying his hand at the plant again), before I decided to take him for a walk outside. I went to collect his things, when I distinctly heard chomping. I rushed to the study and caught him with mud from the plant all over his hands and mouth. He was chomping away noisily, and waiting to waiting to put some more in his mouth.

Getting friendly

I'm so happy to meet new friends

Raghav has really started communicating. Since we went to London in April, Raghav has been very friendly. He laughed and played with the ladies sitting behind us on the plane for the longest time. They played peek-a-boo with him, and he was thrilled, calling them with 'aye, aye' when they stopped.

Even on trams and in supermarkets when I'm buying the groceries he calls people out with 'aye, aye' sounds till they look at him.

On the tram he tries to catch the attention of any person who is in his vision, irrespective of whether that person is looking at him or not.

He's fascinated with dark sunglasses and probably thinks they're a game people are playing with him. When he first saw me wearing them he started laughing as if I'd cracked a joke. Now he laughs at random people wearing sunglasses in trams.

When we'd gone to Italy with him, we noticed that he suddenly wasn't too willing to give out precious smile to everyone. When we met people in the lift, he would look at them suspiciously and sometimes they'd have to work really hard to get a smile out of him. Perhaps he was just unfamiliar with his surroundings.

Back in Geneva, he has again started smiling at anyone who's within his vision.

When he fell ill with a viral fever and we had to take him to the hospital, he was really tired and very very sleepy by the time our turn came to see the doctor. In fact, he'd even fallen asleep several times in the pram and then in the doctor's room. But when the nurse finally came to weigh him and take his temperature, he immediately forgot about his bad mood at not being able to sleep in his cozy bed and started literally hankering for the lady's attention, calling her out with his 'aye, aye' whenever she looked away.

He did the same with the lady doctor. He was first very upset at being woken up and poked and prodded and started crying hysterically. But soon after he was calm, he again started trying to get the lady's attention by calling out to her and smiling cutely.

Open your mouth. Quick!

He also goes on diligently with his babbling, testing out every syllable he can. There's ba-ba, da-da, ta-ta, pa-pa, and other slightly indiscernible ones. He looks very carefully at your mouth when you make various noises, and sometimes then tries them out himself. He's currently fascinated with the existence of the tongue, and often reaches into your mouth to hold it.

He is often touching our faces to know what each part is. He's grabbing on to daddy's nose, or scratching daddy's eyes and inspecting the insides of daddy's mouth. He often holds on to my jaw while I'm talking, as if to see how I make that sound, and then to test whether he can make it himself.

The food monster

Mashed banana all over my face

Raghav has developed a roaring appetite, touch wood. He fell ill twice in a row and had almost stopped eating then, but since he's recovered, he has also more than recovered his appetite.

From the moment he sees his food being prepared, he starts getting excited. He will call out and utter sharp screams so that it's ample clear what he wants. When you sit him down in his high chair, he starts jumping excitedly and then banging his hands on the table; sometimes both hands for greater effect, and uttering his short sharp screams like he's scolding you to hurry with the food.

When he starts eating he continues with the jumping, banging fists and calling out between bites. Once he did that to Nalin even though he still had a mouthful of food.

When you go to get seconds, he starts crying and trying to get out of his highchair. Once Nalin was feeding him while I was preparing the second helping, and his first bowl got over but the second wasn't ready yet. Nalin hid the empty bowl from him and started feeding him with an almost empty spoon, with just wisps of food stuck to it. Raghav carried on eating for a couple of bites, but figured out quickly enough there was no actual food reaching his mouth. He then started trying to peep at his bowl which Nalin had hidden and calling out to Nalin for more actual food. Till then I arrived with a new bowl.

You can't eat any more with him around. He wants what you're eating. We've had to feed him everything from icecreams, to plain boiled rice, to shredded chicken and pastas... and then he cries when that gets over. You have to then divert his attention, which isn't too tough.

He doesn't stay quiet now if he sees anyone eat, whether it's on a train or in a restaurant. He makes his sharp calling sounds to show that he'd like to have what they're having, please.

You give him a tough piece of bread and he can occupy himself with eating it for 20 minutes.

It was when he was sick and not eating much that he started wanting to hold the spoon and feed himself. Although I wanted to encourage him to feed himself, I didn't want to do it then because he was hardly eating anyway. But I think he also tried to do that then because he was sick and didn't want to eat much and just wanted to play around with his food.

Nalin let him feed himself once and he pasted his whole face, head and ears with mashed bananas!

Standing baby

Let me see how I can get closer to the TV

Raghav has been trying to stand holding on to things. He started with pushing up with his legs when I propped him on Nalin. The next day he held himself up holding a drawer handle in the bathroom while I was there, and tried to eat the handle. By the evening he was trying to get inside the dishwasher, holding on to its door which lay open.

When I put him in his cot that day as soon, as I turned away he was holding on to the railing and lifting himself up on his knees. I had to immediately take him out of the cot and lower it to its lowest level.

And today when I looked up from the computer, he was standing on both his feet holding on to the TV cabinet, looking into the TV.