Nursing

Nursing is the single most important thing and also the toughest. Accompanying the bliss of having a baby is the nursing anxiety. It’s a learning process for both mother and baby. To begin with, the baby has to latch on. I had read some horror stories about it on the World Wide Web and had doubts right from the start. But when the hour came, both Nikki and I were a real pro. He latched on effortlessly. I nursed him for the first time in the recovery room 20 minutes after the C-section. And right then I knew, I could abnegate all my worries about latching on.

With latching right on track, it was the colostrum supply that I started worrying about. After some panic calls to the lactation consultant I was assured that I was making enough colostrum for a baby whose stomach is the size of a marble. They also told me that the supply would increase if I kept nursing him frequently. I did know in theory, the demand and supply thing about breast milk. But it’s just scary when there is scarcity. Little did I know then that the fears would come back every now and then and that milk production would be my topic of conversation to everybody and anybody. I would just scour the Internet on how to increase milk supply. I consumed plenty of lactation agents like Fenugreek, Dill and Oatmeal to increase the supply. But, I have come to realize that when the supply seems to go downhill, all I have to do is nurse (and also rest) frequently and within a few days its back up.

I introduced bottle to my son when he was 3 weeks old. As much as I loved nursing him, it was just hard for two reasons. One, I had to be there all the time which hardly left me any time for anything. Two, my nipples were sore and it hurt. In my breastfeeding class, I was told that nipples wont be sore if the baby latched on correctly. That was total BS. It hurts either way. So, I started pumping and it made my life a lot easier. But one tricky thing here is, my milk supply would reduce if I constantly pumped with out nursing. In order to ensure good milk supply I worked out a routine with both nursing and pumping. I pump four times during the day, with each session lasting about 20 min and nurse during the night.

It’s easier to follow the routine now, as I am on maternity leave. Once I start working, it’s going to be a challenge. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Shantaram

I picked up Shantaram, during the last month of my pregnancy. It was a very good pre-labor pregnancy stress reliever. It helped me relax and kept my anxiety at bay.

Well, Shantaram is an awe-inspiring novel of epic proportions. It’s an adventurous journey of an international fugitive, ignorantly seeking inner peace, after wronging his wife, daughter and the society. Semi-autobiographical in nature, one has to appreciate the perseverance of the author, Gregory Roberts, in writing this book. He first wrote the book in prison, which was destroyed. A subsequent one was also destroyed in jail. He wrote the book, once again, when he got out of prison

Most of the story is set in Bombay, India, thus showing Bombay in a new light. I promised myself to visit Bombay on my next Vacation. I’ll definitely drop by Leopold for a pint of beer. Who knows, I might bump into author himself. I read he still spends some time in Bombay and when he’s in Bombay he comes to Leopold.

The protagonist, Shataram, escapes from a maximum-security prison in New Zealand and comes to Bombay with a fake passport. He spends some time in a remote village, where he gets the name “Shantaram”. Running short of cash, he successfully procures some space in a slum, with the help of his friend Prabhakar. He treats the slum residents for minor illness with his first aid skills, while using the medical supplies obtained from the leper’s colony. He builds quiet a reputation in the slum,which kinda helps him stay in Bombay without proper Visa. He works day and night during the cholera outbreak which brings him closer to his girl friend. The cholera episode seems to me like an honest,but fruitless effort to redeem himself.

After a short stint in Arthur rd prison, he comes in close contact with bombay’s underground mafia don, Khader bhai, who he see’s as a father figure and eventually starts working for him. As the story unfolds he’s tricked by his American girlfriend and Khader bhai, to embark on a dangerous journey to war torn Afghanistan. It’s amazing how he comes out alive from that hell-hole.

It’s evident throughout the novel that Shataram has a flair for inviting trouble. Quiet a paradox to his given name “Shantaram”
The novel ,sometimes gets philosophical. It has lot of interesting quotes some of which are on Ashok Karnia’s blog.

The book is being made into a movie and is directed by Mira Nair with Johnny Depp playing the lead role and Amithab Bachan is cast as the Mafia Don.

Beginning of motherhood

The first two weeks after delivery went like a breeze. The first few days in the hospital was filled with anxiety and elation. We would jump at every small whimper and cry. Sometimes he would cry incessantly and I just couldn’t figure out why. It would either be a wet diaper, gas or that he’s hungry again. It sounds simple, but trust me it’s hard to figure out which one. We eagerly waited for him to open his eyes. When he did, we talked to him, made sounds, smiled at him and we said we loved him very much. That ‘I love you’ was very different and had a new meaning with emotions hard to articulate (At least for me)

After I got home, all I remember doing was nursing Nikith. Venu would burp him and change the diapers. As I was drugged with painkillers and sleep deprived, it was impossible for me to be alert. Initially, the adrenaline kept me up. But as it weaned off, it was extremely hard to cope, being new mommy and all. Everything other than the baby seemed utterly insignificant except for our renewed relationship as husband and wife, which transcended overnight.

Our son was like this new toy, procured after 9 months of hard work. It was exhilarating! We dressed him up, we took plenty of pictures, we talked about him all the time to everybody and I would dream of all the things we could do together. Oh, Sweet dreams they are!

Venu’s paternity was over and panic took over for sometime. I had gotten used to Venu being around, burping, diapering, trying to keep me awake, and all of a sudden he wasn’t there anymore. This irked me and I would curse God for going so easy on men.

I would be locked in my bedroom all day and night nursing, burping, diapering and if my son showed some mercy, napping. This was my introduction to motherhood. I thought, all this is going to pass and I’m gonna get back to my normal life, except, that was my new normal life… and I’m getting used to it.