Baby Brain Weekly Memoir: 13th March 2015

Hello all,

I hope you’ve had a good week and made the most of the glimpses of sunshine we’ve had!

This week feels like it’s flown and had I not jotted down our ongoings I totally would’ve forgotten what we’ve been up to! My baby brain seems to be getting worse which is super worrying given I’m back at work in July!

So Saturday we had one of closest friends, Rithu, and her husband come over. We don’t often get to see them but when we do we have such a laugh and somehow manage to catch up on the ongoings from the last few months!

I decided to go for a Mexican themed dinner and tried out lots of new dishes. As a mum I don’t often get to experiment in the kitchen now as managing Arjun at the same time can become such a huge palaver that it puts me off even trying! But I really enjoyed cooking on Saturday and lucky for me, Arjun had a long morning nap which meant I was able to get most of the prep done in advance!

I went for nachos for starters, veggie bean quesadillas, cheesy corn on the cob, spicy mixed potato wedges and guacamole and salsa for mains and churros for dessert. If you’re interested in the recipes: Our Veggie Mexican Night In!. Arjun also had his own Mexican themed dinner of a bean quesadilla and a corn on the cob that evening.  Watching him eat a corn on the cob was pretty entertaining – it took him a while to figure out what to do!

I came across an article by one of my favourite bloggers Making meal times less messy! (go check her site out!) and came across the Babisil Fu Munch Set and decided to purchase one from Amazon for £12 based on the review: Babisil by Bebeco Fu Munch Set (Orange Tiger).  I’m so glad I did as the bib especially is so handy when it comes to Arjun feeding himself.  We end up saving a lot more food this way than using a standard weaning bib.  I haven’t managed to use the plate suction pad successfully as yet but hope to use that soon to stop Arjun from tipping his plate upside down!

Arjun was quite ratty when Rithu and Ian arrived as he’d just woken from a nap but he soon warmed up and was rewarding his Rithu Masi for her time playing with him with lots of smiles.

We also managed a short family walk at the weekend on Sunday morning. I’d hoped it’d put Arjun to sleep for his Sunday morning nap but he was way too distracted by Bruno!  Bruno is so cute with Arjun – every so often he’ll check that Arjun is still in the pushchair and give him a quick kiss (lick!) to say hi.

Sunday afternoon we went over to our friends Amrit and Amrit’s (yep they are married and have the same name!) for tea. We were joined by my parents and sisters and it was a really nice relaxing afternoon.

Amrit Kaur worked at Starbucks in her heyday so we were treated to a “proper” Starbucks style latte at home using the Verismo and Amrit’s special touch! I went for a vanilla latte. It was yummy. Amrit’s home made baked samosas were also delicious.

We also have a Verismo – Preetam is a major coffee lover and so I got him one for Christmas. I was a little apprehensive at first and thought it would just be another one of those gadgets that clutters our already appliance infested kitchen. But actually it’s the one that gets used multiple times daily!

I love the sleek slim design which fits snug in our kitchen. There are also a variety of colours available for you to pick.  The pods compartment is easy to clean however the nozzle is a little tricky.

The pods are £16 for 12 pods but it’s definitely worth it in our household!

At £99 (currently on offer) it’s worth it as we get to have a daily Starbucks in the comfort of our own home on demand!  Starbucks Verismo

After Arjun’s initial outburst of wanting to only be with daddy, he soon warmed up and was particularly fascinated by their gorgeous zebra print rug (their house is super fabulously decorated). He was also attentively watching Amrit Kaur when she spoke as she has an American accent and was pretty intrigued by that too lol.

Arjun also had a one on one date with one of my NCT friends Suraiya who we don’t get to see very often as she’s moved to Nottingham. Arjun absolutely loved her and all the love and attention she gave him. I love catching up with the NCT girls as we’re all on a similar journey where it comes to parenthood although with different obstacles. My NCT friends are the strongest group of women I know and are all so inspirational to me.  I’m blessed to have them in my life and to share their journeys with them!

I had another night off this week whilst daddy babysat. My friend Shivani and I went for a meal at Chiquitos. It was also a night off for her as she’s a mummy to beautiful twins. I really look up to Shivani and admire her ability as a mummy and often turn to her for advice and tips. I met Shivani in Dubai last year and it was so strange how similar our families are – she also has twin sisters like I do who are her support just like mine are.

It was such a lovely night off – the three hours that we were out flew by and we had such a good laugh catching up and sounding off. We have so much in common and it’s great to be able to share our experiences and for me to learn so much from her.

This week we also went to our first Mini Maniacs baby group which is held at the Mothercare in Uxbridge in Tuesday’s at 2.20pm. We met my school friend Manmeet and her gorgeous little daughter Shehnai there. It was the first time Arjun and Shehnai met and naughty Arjun kept trying to pull her shoes off!

The class was held by a lovely lady called Hilda and it was quite different to anything we’d been to before. Hilda adopted a very animated approach to her class which is quite engaging for the babies. She also used sign language which I haven’t really seen before (not that I’ve been to many different types of baby groups!).
Arjun was pretty engaged for the most part as there were lots of new things. He really didn’t like the parachute, but he did like the flower petals that rained over him (he tried to eat them!). He enjoyed trying to catch the stars on the floor – it encouraged his crawling.

Towards the end of the class, Arjun was pretty ratty. The class time coincided with his nap and he just wanted to sleep.

The class was £6 which is a little steep for a half hour session but you do get a whole mixture of tapping in to your baby’s different senses. If you’re interested in more info, check out: Mini Maniacs

This week we’ve had a few rough nights and days as Arjun’s in teething mode again and nothing really seems to be helping. I really do need to invest in some Amber beads – I’m willing to try anything!

We’ve had fun and games on the weaning front .. I’ve mentioned before that Arjun doesn’t take too kindly to being fed anymore. He wants to eat everything by himself … I mean EVERYTHING! That includes Weetabix! :/ this whole baby led weaning thing when it comes to seriously messy food is enough to set my heart racing, raise my blood pressure and give me anxiety! I’ve calmed down so much with my OCD but it still drives me a tad crazy sometimes. I had little to no choice but to let Arjun eat his weetabix himself but of course he doesn’t yet know how to use a spoon. So he’d take the spoon and then it upside down as he’s drawing it towards his mouth so he ended up with more food on him than in him! He soon ditched the spoon and went straight in for the kill with his hands! He decided to tip the bowl over when he was done for good measure. Luckily it missed the cream carpet. Lol. Cleaning up these days is always so much fun..!

He’ll kill me when he’s older and able to read this but I’ll go on anyway … Arjun’s recently stumbled upon his manhood and it seems to be his favourite new toy! I guess coming across new body parts is probably quite fascinating for a baby. I’m sure he’ll soon grow out of it!

During the week Arjun spent some time fixing daddy’s car with him. He is just too cute when he’s with Preetam. You can see he’s bursting with pride when he’s in his arms … That’s Arjun not his dad Lol. His dad is equally bursting with pride. It’s so special and I love watching them together.

Randomly on Tuesday, after being put to bed, Arjun was wide awake after just a few hours. He was in a playful mood so I put him on the floor to play with toys and that’s when he took his first few baby crawl steps. He’s still not quite mastered it but is definitely a lot more mobile which means lots of fun and games for me! Yikes! I really need to invest some time in baby proofing the house and getting a baby fence as our kitchen is open plan and I’m so worried about accidents with a hot oven occurring once he is fully on the move!

This week was a super special week as Arjun got to meet his first baby brother. My cousin gave birth to a beautiful baby boy last week. Rajan is so adorable! It feels like a life time ago that Arjun was that small. He’s like a little doll. I don’t usually get broody but I definitely had a bout of it when I saw his pictures and met him! I had lots of nostalgic moments seeing my cousin Bhavan and bro in law Randeep – I remember having a newborn and how it felt back then and how much has changed. Time has flown.

Arjun was particularly fascinated by Rajan’s cute little mouse like sounds. I’m not sure he even realised another person was there until he heard his sounds. Arjun is so nosey he would immediately turn to see what’s going on.

When I held Rajan, Arjun tried to show Rajan some love but I was a little worried as he’s still a baby (although he looks huge in comparison!) himself. He was fascinated by this little person in front of him.

I’m so super excited for Bhavan and Randeep to embark on this journey. It’s a steep learning curve but so rewarding! I’m also so excited for Arjun to have a little brother. There’s a proper little cousins crew now! The next generation is here in full swing and before we know it they’ll be running the show!

Arjun had fun at his masis house. He was obsessed with their little Jack Russell Terrier, Peggy, and would excitedly start waving his arms the moment she walked passed! He also got to have a taste of mummy’s pizza topping, tried a mini Fab ice lolly (oops) as well as meeting his new brother! He hated the Fab by the way!

That same evening we visited Arjuns dadaji and dadiji.  It was a full house after ages and Arjun got to spend quality time with his grandparents, pua ji, fufar ji and chacha ji. Dadiji made him his very own broccoli cheese and steamed potatoes.  He enjoyed it but also had a few sneaky chips!

Arjun also popped in to my parents this week where his Rano naniji also came to visit.  With her practice with her new grandson Rajan, she’s once again become a pro – she managed to put Arjun to sleep when he got himself in to an over tired state!

Last night we went to our friends house for dinner. They have such a cute little 3 year old and Simran has done such an amazing job with bringing him up. He’s such a good little boy – knows to clear up his toys, knows when it’s bed time, tests his boundaries but knows who’s boss!  I hope Arjun is like that when older!

Simran made us yummy food – cannelloni with spicy garlic bread and wedges.  Arjun got his own fix with garlic bread and wedges.  He loved it. Dessert was amazing – homemade cookie dough!  After a delicious meal, we ended up talking till about 2.30am! I think that’s possibly the latest we’ve stayed out since Arjun’s been born! It was really nice to catch up though.

What have you guys been up to this week?x

I’m super excited for my first mother’s day and for Arjun’s grandmummies too!