Baby Diaries : Making friends with mommy :)

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Finally!! The little man and I seem to have become friends. A few days back, while I was begging him to sleep at 2 AM, he gave me a lovely smile that made me forget all the sleep deprivation and tiredness. Not the random ones that he directs at the ceiling and curtains or the ones that he gives in half sleep. Yes, he looked into my eyes and gave a smile meant just for me. A milestone indeed!

Having been together for more than two months now, I have learnt his ways better and he has started to recognize me too and shows it in his own little ways. He seems to calm down from his bawls if he hears my voice or if I hold his hand. He even smiles if I look into his cradle and talk to him just after he gets up from slumber. A slightly dimpled cute smile that shows his delight at being attended to even for the small shriek that he gave :)

With proper weight gain, he now feels like a sizable baby and I enjoy picking him up and cuddling him. His gurgles and baby talk, the interest with which he observes things around him and his wide array of expressions are a real treat to hear and watch. The way he pouts before crying is unimaginably cute. That one is my favorite expression (Quite a wicked mom, am I ? ;))

There was a time when I actually wondered if I was ever going to enjoy motherhood. The first one and a half months was a roller coaster ride of stress and worries. I guess it took time to get accustomed to being primarily responsible for someone after so many years of carefree existence. Motherhood does take its time to sink in. All those stories about baby and mom bonding instantly and motherhood feeling heavenly as soon as one catches the first sight of the baby sound quite unbelievable to me. Or maybe it is just that I happen to be different :)

I still do miss the times when work, books and music filled my life. I sometimes long for the couple life with just me and the husband living like good friends, discussing the day's happenings after coming home from work, enjoying dinner watching episodes of 'Everybody loves Raymond'  and travelling whenever we felt like it.

But now that the magic between mom and baby has sparked off, I am really beginning to enjoy this phase. Looking forward to write more about this wonderful journey in the baby diaries series!! :)

Reminiscence, Some Thoughts and a Travelogue - Part 1

The first moments when you become friends with someone are very special and defining.  You are initially guarded, then gradually open up and the magic either works or does not. With some people, the bond just forms and strengthens with time. The rest become mere passing clouds.

Munnar is where the husband and I started our journey of friendship. Ours was a proper arranged marriage. We spoke over phone, met in person, decided that we will get along well and the wedding bells rung! So the initial phase was all a flurry with more of trust in gut feel, phone conversations and what was clearly visible before the eyes. Our first trip after marriage was where we discovered our many many common likes, explored the ones that were not common and enjoyed those too. That was where we found that we could talk for hours and laugh together without reservations, that we could slip into a comfortable silence when we felt like it and still feel together. That was where we shared many of the interesting anecdotes and self defining episodes from each others' lives.

If I think of the trip today, after nearly two years, I can still see images of lush green mountains, tea estates, lustrous lakes and two people walking hand in hand, taking in all the beauty around, feeling content to just be. Needless to say, we became the best of friends in the real sense of it. In a way two strangers sometimes do. Not simply because we were man and wife but because we truly got along. 

We embarked on the journey to Munnar from Madurai by car and the drive was lovely for the sights that we passed by and the constant chatter about them. Once the ascent up the mountain started, I had to be armed with a cartload of lemons for all the nausea it was inducing. The driver seemed to be having trouble too from all the weird reactions he was giving :) The husband for his part, was totally undisturbed pointing out scenery and gushing over its beauty. The lemon besotted me tried my best to enjoy it as much as a person fighting puke can. 

It was with great relief that I got down at the reception of Club Mahindra, our place of stay for day one. As I looked down at the panorama of a faraway beautiful lake surrounded by lush green tea estates, all the travel discomfort lifted off to be replaced by a sense of complete peace and happiness. 

After settling in, some rest and a light lunch, we ventured out to try out some of the resort's activities and to simply explore the surrounding mountains. I had never tried any physical adventure activity then and had great fun doing some rope adventure amidst the scenic setting. We then set out for a short trek up the mountains, enjoying the peace and quiet and taking in the abundant green and blue around. 

Club Mahindra has very tastefully done each and every part of the resort. For evening tea, we were directed to an open terrace and we enjoyed hot tea and snacks looking at the mist floating around mountains. The front portion of the resort overlooks the lake in the photograph above and tea estates that slope down towards it. They have two huge Jhoolas erected a little before the mountains drop to form this view. During daytime, you can enjoy the lake and greenery but the night view simply steals the show! The husband and I spent more than an hour after dinner sitting on the Jhoolah and looking out at the stunning canvas of the night sky scattered with stars.

Next day, we set out to visit some dams, lakes and waterfalls and did some boating as well. Each place stood out for its serenity and bountiful natural beauty. Here are some pictures :

PS: I usually post a lot of pictures in travel posts but could hardly find any from this trip that does not feature either of us :) This post is more of an effort to jot down the memories before they fade out rather than a proper travelogue - as the title suggests! It is also to make sure that this space does not become a mommy blog and so I have written about something other than the little fellow who has otherwise taken over my life now :)