Author: Harps

Hi I'm Harps – a vegetarian British born Indian mummy to two little princes - one who happens to have Down's syndrome! Welcome to my blog!
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Baby Brain Weekly Memoir … 19th June

Hello all, 
Hope you’re all well. 

Yet again I’m late with this post as we’ve been so busy! 
Last week saw lots of party planning – can’t believe it’s just a few days away! I can’t wait to share all our plans with you post party! 
Here’s what else we got up to:
We had a crazy busy weekend! 
It was our akhand paat (three day religious function where our holy scriptures are recited) bhog last weekend. 

   

 
I managed to get a few hours off last weekend to go to a dessert bar with my sisters and family friends. A Nutella crepe was obviously my choice! It was delicious. We went to Twist in Harrow where they do eggless desserts. We had a great evening out with lots of laughs. 
   

   

   
      
We also had a kirtan to attend to celebrate the birth of Arjun’s little cousin brothers Rajan and Jeevan. Arjun had fun playing with his dinky cousins. 
   
   

That same evening we also had Preetam’s Masar Ji’s (uncle) surprise 70th birthday dinner where Arjun got to see his daddy’s family after quite a while. He also thought it would be a good opportunity to test out his daddy’s ride! 

   

  

  

  

  

  

    

           
Although it was a super busy weekend and we were exhausted by the end of it, it was really nice seeing so many of our friends and family and catching up. 
Arjun managed to get some nanaji time last week and I managed to capture this super cute moment without them knowing. They are so adorable and I could watch them all day! 
     

Arjun’s Ramneek Pua (Aunti) and Sarub Chacha (uncle) also came to visit. He adores them and had lots of fun having their undivided attention! 
We later met up with Preetam’s siblings for dinner. It was a lovely evening and Arjun enjoyed picking his own salad for dinner.  
     

     

Last week we also got prepared for Preetam’s first Father’s Day. We made homemade wrapping paper together which was lots of fun. You can read all about our first Father’s Day here. 
   

 

We wrapped up the week by having Bhai Niranjan Singh and our family friends over for dinner. It was a lovely evening with great company and we also got to enjoy some spontaneous kirtan.  

It was my first attempt at a Nutella cheesecake and it came out absolutely delicious (if I do say so myself!). You can find the recipe here. 

         

         How was your week?x 

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Daddy’s First Father’s Day Gifts

Hello all,

As you all have probably gathered, Arjun is a daddy’s boy through and through. They share the most special and unique bond that is indescribable, it brings me to tears. I’m not sure if it’s because the first few hours of Arjun’s life he only knew his daddy, but it’s amazing. Preetam oozes energy when he’s around Arjun, it’s like they recharge each other. The way they look at each other, the way their body language mimics each other and the way their face lights up when together is beyond beautiful. 

For Father’s Day we did the following for Preetam: 


Matching Personalised Ralph Lauren Polo Tops



They both love rocking their Ralph Lauren polo tops so I thought personalised ones would be cute. You can find them here. I’m all for Arjun and daddy dressing the same – I think it’s adorable! 
   
 

Crafts Mug

I decided to get something for Preetam’s office as he spends so much of his time there. 
I purchased a jumbo mug which I thought would be great to use as a stationery pot. I used masking tape to make lettering saying “I love daddy” and Arjun (with my assistance!) scribbled all over the mug. Once dry, I peeled off the masking tape and voila! 

   

    

  

   

Dad Picture Book Wrapped in Homemade Wrapping Paper

I’ve been meaning to make lots of different picture books for Arjun’s life. I sort of miss doing things the old school way of having hard copies of pictures. Instead we have thousands of pictures that are all stored somewhere on a virtual world. I love going to my parents and in laws and spending hours looking through albums. I want my children to be able to do the same. I just haven’t got around to selecting pictures and deciding on how to structure the photo books! I thought this was a great opportunity to do our first one. I selected lots of pictures of Arjun and Preetam from the last year. I ordered the book from Photobox. 

I got the idea for homemade wrapping paper from fellow blogger Beau is Blue and had so much fun making it with Arjun. It’s something cute to  keep it in Arjun’s keepsake box too 🙂 

 

   
   

Picture Poem

I think the poem we wrote (which was so easy to write given the nature of their relationship), captures their relationship as well as words possibly can! Preetam was pretty emotional reading it! 

 “You held me tight when I was born,

You changed my first nappy when I cooked up a storm. 

Because mummy wasn’t feeling too good,

You gave me my first feed. 

You make me feel safe and that’s what I need. 

You soothed me, cuddled me and gazed in to my eyes, 

You stopped your busy life whilst the world whizzed by. 

I fell asleep in your big strong arms, 

Because here I felt the most calm. 

You still comfort me like you did the day I was born, 

Your hugs and love make me feel warm. 
When you aren’t here I miss you so much. 

When I’m sad, I’m soothed by your touch. 
You work so hard and I know you’re tired when you come home,

But you still give me love and you never moan. 
You’re always so patient with me 

Even when I’m crying in the morning at three!
You make the best crepes which I love to eat, 

And you do the best cosies even though you tickle my feet! 
You never say no,

Instead you show me how and that’s how I’ll learn and grow. 

You let me play with all your toys,

Boys will always be boys! 
You’re my best friend daddy,

You light up my face. 

Whether it’s playing on my JCB or having a crawling race. 
You take me to your projects and take me for lunch, 

Because I’m your little Arjy munch. 
We have so much fun at bath time, 

You’re such a loving daddy and I’m so glad you’re mine. 
Today is Father’s Day where I celebrate your worth. 

But really everyday I’m grateful for you on this earth. 

For without you, I’d be lost

You’re irreplaceable at any cost. 
I’m so proud of you daddy in case you didn’t know, 

I always show you off to everyone because when I’m with you, I glow. 
I love you so much daddy x”

    
 

For his two granddads and great granddad Arjun made handmade cards which were super appropriate! And a picture mug each as they all love a good ol cuppa! 

   
  

  

What did you get up to?x&nbsp

Modern Dad Pages
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Nursery Settling in Session – Day 1

So today was Arjun’s first day at nursery for his first settling in session and wow what a ball of emotions Preetam and I both were!

His session started at 2pm and we were both pretty busy in the morning which I was thankful for as it gave me less time to ponder over every scary eventuality out there. 

Of course Arjun decided to delay his morning nap till 12pm which meant when he woke at 1pm, lunch was super rushed! 

  

We made it to nursery in time and I could sense Preetams nerves and he could probably sense mine which were made all the more worse by watching our bubbly little boy smiling and laughing away as we walked up to the nursery. He had no idea we were going to leave him. He probably thought we were on one of our rare family days out. I felt terrible. I wanted to cry but I stayed strong. 

We were greeted by the super friendly and smiley staff which put my mind at ease a little. The last thing you want is to be greeted by miserable faces knowing your child is going to spending a large portion of their lives in this place!

We were taken to the room Arjun would be in and were greeted by 6/7 other little babies who looked like they’d never seen another baby let alone two big people in their wee lives! Haha! 

They were so cute and looked so confused and stunned! Arjun clung on super tight like a little monkey to his papa. He seemed shy and a little apprehensive. After a few moments in the room, Preetam placed him down. He took a look around at all these unfamiliar faces and gazed at his new surroundings. His demeanour changed starkly from the bubbly confident boy that walked in. It made me feel a little uneasy. Why wasn’t he smiling? Why wasn’t he going up to the other babies like he normally would? Was he going to be ok? 

We had an appointment to go through our paperwork but Preetam had already completed it all at home which meant we could leave Arjun to it. I told Preetam to exit the room swiftly whilst Arjun had his back to us as I knew he’d be an absolute wreck if he saw his daddy leave – I was equally feeling it for Preetam as I knew he was bursting with emotion. 

As Preetam left, one of the nursery nurses picked Arjun up for a cuddle. He seemed ok but still quite placid understandably. Everything was so new to him. As I was about to leave, one of the other babies took a tumble and burst in to tears distracting Arjun. I quickly left the room but my eyes filled up as I did. What if Arjun hurt himself like that poor little boy – I wouldn’t be there to comfort him 🙁 

Arjun’s key worker wasn’t in today so we were told we’d be meeting her tomorrow. 

As Preetam and I sat in the car, we sat in silence for a few minutes as we both teared up. We didn’t know what to do with ourselves. I didn’t want to go home – I felt a little empty. The house would feel so quiet and empty without him. Although it was a perfect opportunity to go home to get some party bits done in peace, I didn’t want to. I wanted Arjun to be sticking his little fingers in to everything. It felt really different to when Arjun isn’t at home on the rare occasion he’s at his grandparents without us. I don’t know why. 

We decided to pop to Acton to visit Preetam’s latest project site. A nice little distraction though we did spend most of the drive down talking about him and wondering what he was doing! 

I managed to keep myself distracted while getting a quick update and show around if the project from Preetam and as I glanced at my phone I saw a missed call from the nursery and my heart sunk! I panicked and frantically tried to call back. I was so worried and felt sick with fear. Was Arj ok?! Had something happened?! When I finally spoke to someone they said he seemed a little distressed but was ok. It was more an update call. 

We decided to head back to collect him as it’d been an hour by that time anyway.  

As we approached the nursery, I was literally ready to jump out to go and embrace my baby. 

We paced quickly up to the room he was in (though it felt like I was competing in a sprint!) and half way up the corridor could hear his familiar cry. I felt distraught. Before he even noticed us we could see him from the doors window panel – he was inconsolable and the lovely nursery nurse was trying really hard to comfort him. 

My heart sunk at seeing him like that knowing we wouldn’t be there to comfort him always. 

We walked in and he literally jumped in to my arms (only because I was in front of Preetam haha!) and swiftly moved to Preetams. He cried and cried. It all felt so traumatic! 

  

I would have sort of been ok if he’d cried at seeing us. It was really hard seeing him cry like that when we “weren’t there”. 

The nursery nurse gave us an update of how he’d been and showed us lots of pictures she’d taken to show us. It gave me great comfort that the nursery are so thoughtful about parents and the fact that we end up missing out on a whole chunk of our baby’s lives due to work commitments. We saw pictures of him enjoying his beans on toast for tea and playing with toys.  She even offered to print them for us. 

   
      
  
She said he mainly played with the dinosaur figurines and the rattle and he also enjoyed the bubbles that she blew for him. He seemed happy enough but did cry at the sight of another baby crying. He’s become so sensitive – a trait that I do admire in him and i hope he stays that way but not to the point that it upsets him 🙁 
I think Arjun was particularly tearful as it was his milk and nap time and when he’s tired he becomes quickly distressed. 
When we got home, he was his content and happy self again. He had his milk, played with his toy hammer and we headed up for cuddles and a nap. It took him ages to fall asleep despite him being so tired. He finally fell asleep at 5pm! I knew this was dangerous given it was so close to his bed time but I didn’t want to stop him from sleeping either. 

   
   

I was also really exhausted. Today’s emotional journey and the realisation that this was going to very much be a daily “thing” for a while till Arjun settles in was also draining. 

I also fell asleep and had a nap with Arjun with him softly snoring in my ear! So much for getting lots of party bits done today! 

Today’s session has definitely thrown our routine completely off and we’re all so tired that I am quite worried about how we’ll cope when I’m back at work let alone how we’re going to manage tomorrow’s 11am session! 
If anyone has any tips on how you manage work/house/baby all in one go, please share!  
A huge thank you to all those that sent us messages to wish us luck and also all the words of encouragement – they really do make a huge difference and instil me with confidence that all will be ok pretty quick!x 

Modern Dad Pages
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Nutella Cheesecake Recipe

As you all know, I’m absolutely Nutella obsessed! It’s been a while since I made a Nutella cheesecake and with guests over for dinner last night, it gave me the perfect opportunity to do so. 
It turned out absolutely delicious! Rich, creamy and nutty! 

  

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Serves: 10-12 
Ingredients:

  • 300g digestive biscuits 
  • 120g melted butter
  • 400g Nutella (at room temperature)
  • 100g chopped toasted hazelnut
  • 500g cream cheese (at room temperature)
  • 60g icing sugar (sifted)

Method: 

1. Break the digestives into the bowl of a food processor. Add the melted butter and a 50g tablespoon of Nutella, and blitz until mixed well. 

2. Add 50g of the chopped hazelnuts and continue to pulse until you have a sandy like mixture.

3. Tip into a round springform cake tin and press evenly into the base. Place in the fridge to chill. 

4. Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth and then add the remaining Nutella to the cream cheese mixture, and continue beating until combined. 

5. Take the springform out of the fridge and smooth the Nutella mixture over the base evenly. 

6. Scatter the remaining chopped hazelnuts on top to cover and place the tin in the fridge for at least four hours or overnight. 
And voila! 
Enjoy x 
What are your favourite Nutella based recipes?x 

Modern Dad Pages
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Baby Brain Weekly Memoir … 12th June

Hello all, 

Apologies this post is almost a week late! But we’ve been so busy that I’ve barely had a moment to myself to do this. 

Here’s what we got up to last week! 

We attended our family friend Taran’s wedding. She looked absolutely stunning and the ceremony was beautiful. A huge congratulations to the lovely couple. 🙂
   

     

 

Arjun was also reunited with my dad at the wedding after two weeks of not seeing each other! 
   

 

Arjun had an impromptu visit from his big sister Shaan over the weekend and the glorious weather called for his paddling pool to be brought out! They had lots of fun splish splashing. You can find out more information about the Intex Dinosaur Paddling Pool Play Centre here. 

http://youtu.be/UWrPOReAtqo

   
 Arjun also had a visit from his Goov Masi and had fun playing with her in his tent before falling asleep together! I love them both so much x
   
 

Last week Arjun finally met Bhai Niranjan Singh Ji –  a kirtani (religious singer) that is really close to our family.  We’ve known them for years and they are like a part of our family. I was so glad that Arjun finally got to meet them. He was shy at first but soon warmed up! Bhai Sahib has come down especially for Arjun’s first birthday and I’m so grateful to God for that – it was my wish. They do the most emotion evoking kirtan and they are definitely one of the most spiritual and blessed souls I know. 

   
   

Arjun also saw his buddy Bachittar Singh this week at his nanijis. Bachittar is so cute with Arjun – such a caring little boy. He’d bring over Arjun’s water to him every so often. 

   
  

Last weekend my in laws had an Akhand Paat (three day religious function where our holy scriptures are recited)  and it was so nice to see the family and spend time at the Gurdwara. I love being at the Gurdwara as I find it very restoring. 
I got a double dose of the Gurdwara last week as I also went to Singh Sabha Park Avenue to listen to Bhai Niranjan Singh’s kirtan. It really isn’t the same post baby listening to kirtan as bad as I may sound – I end up being distracted most of the time with Arjun. Preetam was sweet enough to suggest I go alone the following day and it was absolute bliss. 

   
 

  

I hope you all had a great week! I’ll be posting about this week (hopefully!) tomorrow xx

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Cheesy Greens Pasta Recipe – Baby Led Weaning

Hello All,

I often post pictures on Instagram/Facebook and Twitter and I’m sometimes asked about recipes so I thought I’d start sharing on the blog however simple they may be!

Below is my simple Cheesy Greens Pasta recipe which is perfect for baby led weaning.

The natural flavours of the ingredients really come through in this and we happily eat the same (ours is spiked with salt too though!).

Plate can be purchased Here (available in three different colours). 

Age: 9 months plus (once your baby is eating solids)

Makes: 2-3 portions

Time taken: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

– 1 clove garlic
– half an onion
– 50g baby spinach
– 1 courgette
– a quarter broccoli head

– half a tea spoon of mixed herbs

– 100g whole wheat fusilli pasta (I use this as it’s easier for Arjun to pick up than the mini pasta shells)

Cheese sauce:

–  15g butter
–  15g plain flour
–  300ml full fat milk
–  seasoning
–  40g grated cheese (I use cheddar)
Method:

1. Roughly chop the courgette and broccoli.
2. Steam and blend the spinach, courgette and broccoli – I do this to get a saucy consistency. I use the Philips Avent Combined Baby Food Steamer and Blender to do this.
3. Place the pasta in boiling water with a dash of oil. Let it cook for 10 minutes.
4. Grind the garlic and onion using a blender. Shallow fry till slightly browned.
5. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan.
6. Stir in the flour and cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth sauce. Return to the heat and bring to the boil continually stirring using a whisk.
8. Simmer gently for 5-6 minutes and season with mixed herbs.
9. Stir in the cheese and allow to melt mixing well.
10. Add in the blended greens from step 2.
11. Stir in to the drained pasta and mix well for a few minutes and you’re done!

Serving suggestions:  garlic bread and salad

You can also make a larger batch of the greens purée/cheese sauce and keep in the freezer and store for up to 6 months so it’s quicker to make.

I’ll definitely be doing this when returning to work when I know I’ll be working with a super tight schedule between collecting Arjun from nursery and getting dinner on before bath bottle and bed!

Hope your babies enjoy x

For more information about our vegetarian weaning journey, click here.

Disclaimer: as when trying any new foods with your baby that you may be unsure about, please check with your health visitor first.

Modern Dad Pages

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Our Favourite Summer Outdoor Baby Buys

Given the gorgeous weather is making a come back, I thought I’d share our favourite outdoor toys.

Dinosaur Padding Pool Play Centre

Arjun’s first ever paddling pool which was gifted to him by my sisters. We used this for the first time last weekend and will definitely be using it at any given opportunity over the summer! Arjun LOVED it! It was perfect for him and his cousin sister Shaan. Although he can’t use the slide himself yet, he enjoyed throwing the balls through the hoop, peaking out from behind the waterfall flaps and watching the palm tree sprinkler from a distance. He enjoyed splashing about with Shaan. I especially love the vibrant colours used and it’s a great size for a few babies/toddlers. I’ve purchased a few of these for friend’s babies for birthday gifts.

If it’s too cold to fill the play centre with water, we often use the balls from Arjun’s ball pit to fill it and he has fun playing that way too.

You can purchase this dinosaur play centre from here:  Intex Dinosaur Paddling Pool Play Centre


      

http://youtu.be/UWrPOReAtqo


Extra Large Play Mat 

I can’t sing this mat’s praises enough. We use it for absolutely everything! It’s been amazing for our little picnics in the garden as it wipes clean. I’ve written a full review on it here and you can also find out where to purchase this huge multi purpose mat on my review.


  
JCB Dumper
Arjun first tried one of these at Willow’s Farm and absolutely loved it. Given daddy is also in the construction business, Arjun had to have one of these!

Although it’s for 2 years + and he can’t peddle himself, he loves being pushed along on it while he firmly grips the steering wheel. He also uses it as a walker and enjoys placing his toys in the tipper and tipping them out.

It’s been a great purchase for outdoors too. The robust build and rugged style chunky tyres makes it great for outdoor use.

You can purchase this super cute dumper from here:JCB Dumper Ride on Toy

 

 

What are your favourite outdoor buys?x

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Throwback to Last Year – Our Safari Nursery

As you may have gathered, I’m a sucker for themes and love going all out! So deciding on a nursery theme was my perfect opportunity to do just that!

We always knew we wanted a jungle theme as it’s unisex and we both love animals. It’s also educational.

I searched high and low on the Internet and sod’s law the only thing I absolutely LOVED was the Lamb’s and Ivy Safari Express themed set – and it was only stocked by Babies R Us in the US and geuss what?! They don’t deliver to the UK! That wasn’t going to hold me back though! Thankfully Preetam has friends that live in America and they were kind enough to arrange for the items to be couriered over to us.

Continue reading Throwback to Last Year – Our Safari Nursery

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Returning to Work – My Rollercoaster of Emotions!

 Hello all, 

 
Hope you’ve had a fab week and have had a good start to your weekends! 🙂
 
Given I’ve been going through a rollercoaster of emotions about the changes that are going to be happening over the next few weeks (like all mum’s returning to work!), I thought I’d share. I always find that getting my feelings and thoughts down on paper (albeit a virtual one via Microsoft Word), I feel so much better. It almost helps me untangle my web of thoughts and rationalise them. The advice I often get in response is also so helpful – so thank you to those that have shared their experiences and advice! x

 
When I went off on maternity leave, I was fully aware that my existing job wouldn’t exist when I got back. It was a projects type role and I’d managed to close off all my projects prior to my temporary departure. Although change always makes me very anxious, I almost welcomed the change in this instance as it’d push me to explore a new area of the business or area of accounting although I knew it’d be a challenge – especially coming back after a whole year. A part of me hoped I’d at least go back to the same team. So they knew what I was capable of. 

 
Having been on maternity leave, and the closer I’ve got to returning back to work, I’ve felt more and more anxious. While on maternity leave, I’ve often doubted my capability as a mother – what you don’t always see on instagram or facebook is that I still lack huge confidence as a mum which often makes me feel like a complete failure. Did you know I’ve only ever given Arjun a bath alone once? Yep. I wonder if such a mother even exists elsewhere?! How can it be that I’m too scared to bathe him alone? To me, in my head, it feels like a HUGE task that I simply can’t accomplish alone. What if he slips under the water? What if I drop him while taking him out? What if he gets upset?

 
It’s strange that as I’ve gotten closer to returning to work, my confidence as a mother has increased. Although I still haven’t given him a bath alone again, I feel that overall my confidence as a mother is far greater than my confidence as an employee, as an accountant, as a finance manager. 

 
“Baby brain” is no myth – I’m a prime example of it. I don’t even remember what happened yesterday, let alone how to do my job! I’m feeling pretty nervous and scared about returning to work. Excel used to be my best friend (yes I know I’m a geek!), but even trying to put together bits for Arjun’s party using it has proved a challenge! How on earth am I going to go back to macros, vlookups and advanced formulas?! I’m not the most confident person in general, but this has definitely been a huge knock to my confidence. I’m guessing most mothers feel the same as I do when it comes to returning back to work after mat leave.  

 
While I’ve been off, I’ve barely thought about work. But when I have, it’s been pretty intense. I’ve maintained regular contact with my old team/boss just to keep a constant reminder of the reality that I will be returning. A few nights, I have been really restless as I’ve been filled with panic and fear over returning to work. Who will I be working for? What will I be doing? What will their expectation of me be? Will I ever remember anything? How will I manage work and a baby? I feel like I just about manage to be a half decent mother, I just about managed to be a half decent employee, and now I’m going to have to do both together as well as manage a whole house! The thought overwhelms me and makes me want to just go to sleep. I’[m a born worrier (incase you hadn’t noticed!) – I always assume the worse and work myself up. It’s actually pretty annoying being me. 

 
A part of me has had glimpses of excitement when thinking about returning to work – it’ll give me some “me” time, a chance to find myself as something other than just a mummy. It’ll give me more structure and routine. It’ll give me the chance to get dressed and feel good rather than spend half the day mooching in my PJ’s – though I’m really going to miss that! 

 
I’m going back three days which I’m grateful for. It’ll mean I get to spend some time with Arjun on Thursday’s and Friday’s and catch up with our friends and family during that time.  

 
It’s strange and I almost feel guilty, but a lot of people assume it’s my fear of leaving Arjun at nursery that is what worries me. To be honest, it’s been more about actually going back to work. I hadn’t thought about leaving Arjun so much before my meeting at work – maybe because I’m in denial. I don’t know. I know I’m going to be a wreck. I just don’t deal with change great. It also sucks that you have a baby, only to leave them with someone else 🙁

 

On Thursday, thankfully Preetam took half a day off to take care of Arjun so that I could go in for my meeting. I enjoyed getting dressed and feeling good – I’ve always believed in the look good feel good factor. I felt confident and ready for it. I felt positive. 

 
The meeting went really well. My new boss is absolutely lovely – I know him from before (which is a huge comfort for me) as we used to sit opposite each other in a previous role so often had banter. My new role sounds just up my street and it seems like it’ll be something I can be phased back in to. I felt really happy and almost excited when I left work that day. My new team is full of super clever people which is a little daunting but is also brilliant as I feel I’ll learn lots from them. I know I’ll face some challenges at work, especially where it comes to my memory. My ability to remember thigns was impaired when I had my car accident but it’s gotten a lot worse since I had Arjun. Going tback to work will help re train my brain again though I feel. 

 
Going back home to my little man was lovely, Preetam said he hadn’t had his nap but he fell asleep a few minutes after we cuddled up in bed. It was perfect. I felt so happy and content. I felt calm and blessed. God has always been so good to me. I also felt very sad at the same time – how am i going to cope with leaving him elsewhere? This was the first “proper” time it dawned upon me that I’d be leaving him to go to work. It didn’t really feel real before I went in to work that day.  

   

  

I know it’s going to be a huge huge rollercoaster of emotions where it comes to leaving Arjun at nursery. I hope my baby is ok. I hope his key worker is patient with him. I hope he receives cuddles when he needs them. I hope he doesn’t feel scared or alone. I hope he doesn’t miss us to the point of despair. I hope someone helps him to fall asleep at nap time – is that something I’ve done wrong as a mum? Not prepared him for falling asleep independently during the day? I hope he’s excited to go. I hope he enjoys the food there. 

 
Just thinking about that has reduced me to tears – I’m going to miss him so much. We drive each other crazy at times, but he’s the closest thing to me. He’s my life. The thought of him crying at nursery and me not being there breaks my heart. The thought of missing out on some of his firsts also saddens me. It’s going to hurt so bad but I know that I’ll cherish the time we do have so much more.  

 
But still, I know I’m very blessed to be able to go back part time and that not everyone has that privilege. 

 
The next few weeks brings with it a huge change in my family’s life – but it’s a change that most parents with children go through. I know it’s going to be a testing time too where it comes to things like Arjun waking at night. Currently I predominantly manage the nights but once I’m back at work it’s going to have to be shared – a huge change for Preetam. I’m going to also have to find a way to manage my tiredness – broken sleep with a teething baby, early starts, being at work, coming home and cooking plus managing Arj’s social life means I’ll probably be wiped out by Monday evening! Haha. I was exhausted even on Friday after going in to work for just a few hours on Thursday. No idea how I’m going to do it, but we don’t have a choice and I know we’ll find a way. Being woken up at 6.30am three days a week and being dropped to nursery is going to be something Arjun is going to have to become accustomed to. I feel so guilty for that – waking him. 

 
I guess it’ll involve lots of meal planning, prioritising where it comes to socialising, sticking to a routine (even though at times it may be fluid), compromising, general organisation and sharing tasks and generally taking a chill pill.. as well as lots of caffeine!  

 
My little monkey is currently napping, I think I’m going to go join him. Our snuggle time is going to be reduced in just a few weeks! 🙁 

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Baby Brain Weekly Memoir in Pictures … 5th June

Hello all! 

Hope you had a great week last week and an even better weekend! 

Here’s ours (a little late) in pictures (mostly!) x
Last weekend my birthday celebrations continued  at The Dorchester with my sisters and best friend while daddy and Arjun spent the day watching Moto GP. You can see more pictures from our day out in London here. 

   
 

   
We went for leaving drinks as Arjun’s buddy, Pranay, is moving to Florida. We will miss them lots but look forward to visiting! Arjun enjoyed all the cuddles from his uncles and aunties!

     
         
 We were visited by Amrit Masi x

  

We went for a cafe lunch x

   
 
We went to Taran Masi’s ladies Sangeet and Arjun was super fascinated by all the colours and people around him x
   
  



 
We had a play date with E and Josie. On the same day we went to Taran Masi’s mendhi where Arjun wasn’t quite himself. You can read about that slightly challenging day here. x

   
            
Goov Masi came over for a play date lol 

   

 
How was your week?x