Rishi is tracking and smiles too!

My Talented Chechi

drew this for us!

He is five weeks already!

I can't believe that my little guy is already five weeks old. This week (Tuesday) we celebrated his one month birthday. His Dadima (Mom) and Amamma (Amma) were both here to kiss him on his big day. Unfortunately, after one month away from home, Mom had to head back to Ohio. She was such a huge help for the past four weeks that I was a little nervous to have her leave. Fortunately, my mother was around to help me out. She doesn't have nearly the amount of babysitting experience that mom has but she was also a huge help. It was also really great to see Rishi bond with her. He flashed her a HUGE smile on Friday before we headed back to the suburbs. We aren't exactly sure if that was a smile or gas but we're counting it as a smile. Anyway, this week is the first one that I will be on my own entirely during the day. Yowza! Yes, I am very, very nervous that somehow I am going to break the little one but I am sure it's just more unncessary worrying.


Speaking of which, before I had the baby, I was very nervous about post-partum depression but I have to say (knock on wood) I haven't felt any of that since he was born. I am not sure if it is just because I have had so much help and haven't felt overwhelmed since he was born (other than the breastfeeding saga), or just because motherhood feels so good because he's so sweet, but things are going really well. My friend told me that maybe I just needed to have a baby all these years. Maybe he's right. Since I got pregnant with Rishi, my emotions have been so much more even. And he's just so great. Easy-going and cuddly. What more could a new mom ask for? Well, I guess some more consistency with the feeding would be great but we'll just have to keep at it.


We will be moving into a house in two weeks (September 14) so our apartment is the the throes of transition. We have met with three real estate agents and have picked the Mario Greco Group. He walked in with brown leather sandals (man-dals as my students would call them) and seemed really unassuming. Then after my quick tour through the house, he sat down and started his sales pitch. He went from normal guy to fast-talking Ari-Gold-esque (no use of the f-bomb) sales guy. We liked him though. His presentation was by FAR the most professional of the three that we saw and since we called to tell his office that we were using him, they have been in regular contact with us to set things in motion. I am very impressed with them so far. We are hoping to list on September 29 so wish us luck!

Packing with an infant around has been a challenge, especially when recovering from a c-section. We have some stuff moved over there already but the majority will be done by movers since I still can't lift much without pain. We are also doing some remodeling to the place before we move in. We hvae to get the cabinets raised three inches to accomdate RC's culinary needs, the floors on the main level need to be re-done, the carpets in the upstairs has to be replaced, and I really want to get the basement and the upstairs painted before we move in. We are also buying a new modular sectional for the basement.

One thing that we will not be lacking in this new place (at least initially) is space. I am really looking forward to having people over again. I feel like with last year's travel schedule, this winter's, uh, pregnancy, and this summer's, uh, pregnancy still and move we haven't had the opportunity/will power to entertain nearly as much as we used to. I hope the new home will be a place that people will feel comfortable just dropping by like they used to. Though as our family has grown, so have our friends' families and the ol' college-drop-by now involves diaper bags and some serious planning.

Wow. What a random post. This is what sleep-deprivation does, I suppose.

Over heard at the Roti House

A conversation between Didi and Roti #2 (age 6)

Roti #2:  Is Mamiji's [mine] milk for Rishi full fat?

Didi:  Yes because the baby needs all the fat for his brain to grow properly.

Roti #2:  So the farmer doesn't take ANY fat out of his milk?

For those who need some animation. . .

Didi and Jijaji bought us a zippy Canon HD camcorder. We have been playing around with it here and there but haven't worked on a complete project. Well, here is the five-minute project of Rishi's first week celebration. I know many of you from around the country/globe won't be able to see Rishi in these first few weeks so hopefully this will do!

Brutus continues to ward off Wolverines

rishi strobist-114
Originally uploaded by snapshot chandra

more piks after the jump.

24 Hours with Rishi - July 31

12 am - 1 oz pumped milk
2:45 - 1.25 pumped milk
3:50 - wet diaper
4:20 - 1 oz pumped milk
6:45 - wet diaper
6:50 - 1 oz pumped
8:05 - Nursed for 15 minutes
8:20 - Nursed for 15 minutes
11:25 - diaper change
11:30 - 1 oz pumped
12:45 pm - 1 oz pumped
2:00 - wet and soiled diaper
2:30 - soiled diaper
3:00 - Nursed for 20 minutes
5:30 - Jim Uncle comes to hang out with Rishi
6:00 - 1 oz pumped
6:10 - Chechiamma comes to cuddle with Rishi
6:45 - Melissamma arrives to play
8:05 - Nursed for 45 minutes!!!
9:00 - wet and soiled diaper
9:30 - Chechiamma says bye
10:25 - Mel and Jim leave
10:30 - 1.5 oz pumped

He's so cute, I just want to take him home!!

Thursday night, July 24, I went for a haircut and strolled over to my friends' house to hang out before heading over to Didi's place for some QT with the Rotis. The older Rotis had mentioned that things were going to change dramatically when the baby came so they wanted some Mamu/Mami-love before that happened. We were happy to oblige. When I left their house that night at 11:30, I was convinced that I still was not going to be holding a baby until the following weekend.

Boy was I wrong!

I woke up on Friday morning feeling like (forgive the TMI) that I had peed but I knew I hadn't. I just thought it was one of those late-in-the-pregnancy things so I told myself I would just talk to my doctor about it during my 10 am appointment that day. I was NOT going to call her and make my 5th trip to Labor and Delivery to be sent home again. As I walked out of my apartment that morning, I locked the door thinking, "Wow. The next time I open this door, I might be a mom already!"

I went to the appointment and my doctor indeed confirmed that my water had ruptured (but not fully broke) and she told me that I needed to be admitted to the hospital to be induced. I walked to my sister's office to tell her that I wouldn't be needing her help with an Excel spreadsheet but I would need her help to push and she just started jumping up and down. Usually, it's the other way around but this time, I was the calm one and she couldn't stop squirming. Then we walked over to Didi's office (all on the NMH campus) and told her. Her reaction was priceless - she was just in complete disbelief. My sister accompanied me to the Women's Hospital and we checked in at around noon.

The induction started at 3 pm. No internal exam was conducted because they didn't want to introduce anything to the birth canal until we were sure of active labor. My blood was collected to check my platelets but the blood got lost in the tube system so at 4 they had to draw blood again. We didn't get the results of the second platelet check until later that evening. We were all holding our breath to see if I could get an epidural. Well, I wasn't holding my breath. I was breathing pretty heavy as the contractions started to come in harder. We were also trying to wait for Mom to arrive but she didn't arrive until 7 pm. I finally got the epidural around 8 pm and the doctor said that nothing was going to happen until 3 am at the earliest. We decided now would be the time to sleep but the challenge was getting all the women (Mom, Amma, Didi, and Che) to go home and get some sleep too. I think they wanted to camp out all night at the hospital but that just didn't make any sense. We asked our sweet nurse, Kristy, to be the bad guy and she got it done! Unfortunately, Mom and Amma just kept Didi up all night at home instead of at the hospital.

At 3 am, the doctor told us that the pushing would start soon so we got everyone back there. We pushed and pushed from 4:30 until about 7:45 am. It was hard but that epidural is truly a miracle - I hardly felt anything. Unfortunately, RRC's heartrate kept dropping during/after each contraction. The doctor was a little worried and so she suggested if it continued to happen a C-section might be the best option. I told her whatever was medically necessary to keep everyone safe was fine by us. But his heartrate continued to drop and then it was decided at 7:45 that we would for a C-section. Again, not an emergency. Then, all the sudden some one said the words, "We have a crash." Now, I am not in the medical field but I have watched enough episodes of House to know that is a bad thing. The peaceful L&D room was flooded with 10 medical professionals within a few minutes - to me it seemed chaotic but they all had their jobs and purpose. I was terrified that they were going to put me under general anesthesia and I yelled out to RC that I loved him as they wheeled me to the OR. I could hear the panic in his voice as he told me that he loved me back.

In the OR, I was further doped up which made me horribly ill on the table. It was disgusting because they have to strap you down and I ended up almost choking on the sickness in my throat. The urgency of activity in the room continued and with it, my anxiety continued to escalate. Rohit was scrubbed in and even though all I could see were his eyes, the fear was clear and I knew that he had been crying outside. They had me opened up in minutes and the doctor annouced, "It's a boy!!" We were relieved when we heard his scream. Rohit was unable to cut his cord because he was rushed to the NICU doctors but they delivered the good news that his APGAR scores were 8 & 9.

We headed to recovery and he was scrubbed and Rohit finally made it outside to tell everyone that both Rishi and I were okay. I was almost completely unconcious as I made my way up to the Mother/Baby floor. It took me most of the day to come out of my anesthesia fog. Fortunately, Brutus was there to keep an eye on Rishi (picture above).

We had loads of visitors at the hospital over the weekend and it was absolutely fabulous to see Rishi get showered with so much love from so many friends and family.

We came home on Tuesday and the ups and downs of the first week home have been interesting. Our first night at home was something out of a sitcom. We couldn't figure out how to console him or get him to sleep in his bassinet. We tried everything and at around 4 am, I just started to laugh because just how much we fit the stereotype. We have struggled with the awfulness of learning how to breastfeed. If you want details, email me and I'll be happy to share. Last night, I think RC finally got some sleep because we decided to use a bassinet that actually goes in the bed. It was a night without much screaming and that was a relief to everyone. Then today, Rishi had his first doctor's appointment. He has lost 6 oz of his birth weight so now we have to try to pack on that weight over the next seven days. Unfortunately, he is a sleeeeeepy baby and we have to wake him up for his feeding most times. But I determined to avoid formula.

Well, that's our week so far. I have been trying to return phone calls and emails when I can but the every two to three hour feeding schedule has me tied up quite a bit so apologize to all those that I haven't returned their contact. It will happen sometime, I promise! More pictures coming to RC's Flickr soon!

Our colony now has three!

DSC_0060
Originally uploaded by snapshot chandra

more pictures after the jump.
We are doing well and expect to be heading back to uptown tomorrow morning! Can't wait to take Rishi Rajendran Chandra home tomorrow!
He's perfect!

In the past 39 weeks. . .

With a week to go until our due date, I decided to compile a retrospective on the past few months.

Day that I thought I was preggo:
November 22 (Thanksgiving)

Day that it was confirmed by home test:
November 23

When we told our families:
November 25

First time we saw a heartbeat: December 5

Appointments since then:
OB appointments - 17
Hematology appointments - 6
Other - 2 (1-genetic counseling; 1-anesthesiology consult)
Blood draws - 22
Ultrasounds - 6

Trips to Labor and Delivery with no labor or delivery:
March 30
May 26
June 14
July 9

Approximate amount given to to NMH parking: $234

Platelet counts
Highest - 120,000 (December 5)
Lowest - 65,000 (sometime in April)

Cities visited (outside of IL):
St. Louis, MO
Atlanta, GA (RR)
Cincinnati, OH
Oxford, OH
Madison, WI
Kettle Moraine, WI (RC)
San Antonio, TX
Austin, TX

# of weddings attended: 2

Baby Showers:
May 10 in Ohio
June 21 in Chicago

Movies seen:
Enchanted (Theater)
Wall-E (Theater)
Becoming Jane (Apple TV rental)
Rescue Dawn (rental)
The Dark Knight (theater)
The Incredible Hulk (RC - theater)
Wanted (theater)
I Am Legend (library rental)
Charlie Wilson's War (library rental)
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (theater)
Juno (theater)
P.S. I Love You (RR - theater)
(there might be others but I can't remember anymore)

Gadgetry purchased:
Canon HD camcorder (gifted from Didi and Jijaji)
Catchlight
many many many SD cards
the Fiddy (50" LCD from Costco)
2 iPhones

Knitting projects completed:
hat
Anya's baby blanket (finally - it only took a year!)

Baby's movements felt by:
RR - early March (but I thought it was indigestion)
RC - March 13

Names considered:
Boy Names
Keshav (curly - Krishna)
Madhav (Krishna)
Udaya (sunrise)
Vinayak (Ganesh)
Rishi (sage)
Ayaan
Raman (god of love)

Girl Names
Alka (lock of curly hair)
Radha (Krishna's consort)
Satyavati (speaks the truth)
Savita (sun)
Saroj (lotus)
Revathi (star sign - wealth/prosperity)
Tara (star)
Suparna (lotus)