The Guptas' Screaming Little Person » mommy

Happy Birthday Wifety!

Rahul — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:21:00 +0000

(Birthday dinner last night at Darwin Bistro. Special 8-course tasting menu just for her!)

Back to Business

Sarah — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:58:37 +0000

Well fans…looks like maternity leave is coming to an end. I’m starting school again on Monday. Feeling very mixed about going back, but I think it is going to be okay. I’m really tempted not to go, but if I just stick it out for TEN MORE MONTHS then I’ll finally get that degree! Might as well. I’ve been working on the stupid thing for six years now.

We have hired a nanny though, so I think the transition will go all right. Supernanny came last week for a few days–kinda like an orientation since I was here with her most of the time–and things went well. It’s really hard to hand Little Baby Girl over to her, but fortunately she’s awesome! Rahul and I like her so much that we are afraid she must be a serial killer or something–she’s just so great. We are really lucky to have found her.

Anyway, Little Miss herself is growing like crazy, and getting to be SO much fun! We went to California for 2 1/2 weeks at the start of the month. While we were there she suddenly discovered that her hands can DO things and she’s been very busy ever since: touching her toes, patting her little paws, reaching for toys, grabbing my nose. And she smiles and smiles and smiles now. It’s just amazing to watch her and play with her. I love her so much!

Here are some pictures of her little 3-month-old self:

Letter From Tatiana for Mother’s Day

Sarah — Fri, 11 May 2007 20:22:15 +0000

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for taking such good care of me these past eleven months. It’s been really great so far. The first nine months were nice and cozy–very comfortable. There were a couple of hours at the end of the ninth month which were a little rough, but you know how it is–moving out of a place always sucks…particularly when you’re so attached to it, y’know?

Since then, everything has been amazing. I’m so glad I have you to help me through it. I like it when you smile. Sorry I get a little freaked out sometimes. I’m just a baby. One day, when I can talk, maybe I’ll tell you about it. Another thing I really like is when you feed me…it’s very cozy. Sometimes it’s so cozy, I fall asleep. I don’t think you mind. It’s really great that you nurture me in so many other ways. You talk to me, you play with me, you’re the best!

I love you,
Tatiana Amelie Gupta

Do you think Rahul helped her write this? I don’t know…she’s very advanced.

Vote Jess for President!

Sarah — Tue, 01 May 2007 23:38:24 +0000

Well…not exactly. But you can vote for a photograph by my sister Jessica here! At the very least, go read her description about the photo (featuring pregnant Me as the unsuspecting model). I thought it was really sweet.

See her entry in the sidebar!

Food, glorious food.

Sarah — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:59:16 +0000

As I may have mentioned before, we are obsessed with ins and outs around here. As in: food and poop. Very exciting.

This is partly because Tatiana has been a little slow to gain weight–possibly because of a milk/soy protein allergy–which means more food for her and less milk and soy for me (and a party over every empty bottle and full diaper). It hasn’t been so bad though–probably because I am lucky enough to have:

1) great pediatricians, friends and family
2) a baby who who happily eats anything she can get her little maw on (including her hand!)
3) an admirable ability to tolerate rice milk
3) a husband who can whip up dairy & soy-free meals like “Pork Loin with Mango-Pepper Chutney and Baked Apples” (with NO recipe…such a keeper!)

It is amazing though just how much time it takes to feed this little munchkin. We are feeding her every 2-3 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night…and when you figure it takes 45 min-1 hour to breastfeed, bottle feed, diaper and soothe her…well, you guys can do the math.

So anyway, send lots of happy fat Buddha baby thoughts for Tatiana (and hot mamma thoughts for me!). The more she eats and grows the cuter and cooler she gets. I think she even smiled at me yesterday.

Tatiana’s New Trick (Almost)

Sarah — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 02:14:20 +0000

It’s so hard to be a baby. Can’t even trust your own hands.

Almost One Month

Sarah — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 00:02:08 +0000

In case you were wondering, Tatiana is very grown-up now. She can almost find her hand to suck on, can hold her head up to look around (well…for a minute or two, at least), and has a quickly growing “vocabulary” of little noises (though her specialty remains the “short scream,” which she likes to aim directly into my ear). She has already changed so much. It’s amazing. Her face just gets brighter and cuter and smarter every day.

Right now, she’s sitting right here next to me on a blanket, wiggling her little arms and staring at a little stuffed sun while we listen to Stevie Wonder. Good times. She’s very very cute when she’s not screaming.

I know it’s taken me almost a month to post here, but these last few weeks have been exhausting and exciting (um, duh). I’ve been busy recovering from the birth and obsessing over things like schedules and poo and food and baby clothes. Not to mention all the wonderful visits and phone calls we’ve had.

Poop, by the way, is quite a hot topic around here. I know. Cliche. But the first few weeks our little girl was losing weight and, as it turns out, might be allergic to milk and soy protein. We changed my diet and hers though, and at Monday’s pediatrics visit she had gained half a pound (much to our relief). We’re so proud of our little pig-o!

That’s the news for now. Our days much the same: feed, cry, rock, stare at things, sleep, repeat. And nights are great–this little girl actually sleeps when we want to sleep.

I think I love her. Definitely a keeper.

Baby’s First Mullet

Sarah — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:25:02 +0000

Just Life-Sized

Rahul — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 16:41:57 +0000

(I started this the day after littlebabygirl was born, but didn’t really get to finish it… so I’m going to try now)

There’s more story to tell, about all of this baby-birthing stuff, but there’s one thought that I’d like to capture before I forget. It’s not really sweet or life-changing, but it was an interesting realization I had during Sarah’s laboring.

In imagining what labor and delivery would be like, I had imagined everything much larger than life.

I believed that Sarah would be impervious to pain.
I believed I would be able to sooth her discomfort simply by laying my hand on her forehead.
I imagined that when standing by Sarah’s head, that the OB would be delivering the baby 10 feet away.

I think that by making everything so abstract, I was keeping myself from getting too scared.

As it turned out, everything was exactly life-sized. That was far, far scarier.

I was only the man I am and Sarah was only the woman she is. Which, happily, was more than enough.

March 22, 2007

Sarah and Rahul — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 02:42:15 +0000

8 pounds | 20 inches | 2:16AM CDT | name: TBD

(photos: Jessica Hutfless, new Auntie)