Night Night Baby

I had no experience with a baby until very recently when I spent few hours with this cute baby boy of a friend of mine who is a single father. It is easier to lull a calm baby to sleep. But Arsh is not just super adorable, he is also extremely naughty. So how do you put such baby to sleep at the end of the day? Not an easier task than rocket science! Here are few things that we tried that day to put the hyper active baby to sleep – 

PLAY A GAME – A quiet game before the bedtime is a fun way to spend some time with the baby before he hits the bed. You have to ensure that it doesn’t over excite him. I played building blocks with the baby as his dad cooked khichdi for his dinner. He soon started screaming happily and toddling all around the living room, just because he loved his new friend. The next thing I knew was that he was throwing all the colorful play balls in every direction so that I would go and fetch them. This can be a risky venture if the baby is hyper active, but still worked out as we followed it up with something calmer. 

BED TIME STORIES – For all I remember, this is all I got when I was a baby myself. I used to love stories, especially when told dramatically by my grandmother. No, she never read from any book and I am still amazed by the number of stories she had told me during bed time. I used to listen to her very attentively and slowly fall asleep during the course of the story. We did not exactly tell stories to my friend’s baby. We used flash cards to make him learn and recognize new words by looking at the pictures. It is not only fun for the baby to guess the words from the pictures; it is also productive as it improves the baby’s language skills and intelligence.

FEEDING OR A BOTTLE OF FORMULA – It is important the baby’s stomach is filled till the morning. I fed him the khichdi when we were still guessing words using the flash cards. It also avoids the baby from waking up multiple times at night due to hunger pangs. And of course, the “brush your teeth” ritual followed immediately after that.

A RELAXING BATH OR MASSAGE – Now that is something everyone loves, be it a baby or an adult. It was a soothing experience for the baby to sit in the warm water and having a baby lotion rubbed into his back after he was patted dry. But this shouldn't include hyper splashing of water or tickles to make the baby go on a laugh riot (that is for you dads).

A LULLABY OR SOOTHING MUSIC – Isn't that time tested? From ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ to ‘Ba Ba Black Sheep’ to our very own ‘Lakdi ki kathi’, it just never fails. A lullaby in a soft voice works the best, but if you cannot pull it off even a tape of lullabies in very low volume can lull the baby to sleep.

CUDDLES AND KISSES – It is always best and sweet to end the ritual with a reminder to the baby that you love him dearly and will always be there for him. I got a lot of kisses in return too as he slowly drifted to sleep after being pampered throughout the whole evening. 

I am eagerly waiting for the next time with my new friend who is a whopping 27 years younger to me. 

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This post has been written for the Happy Hour Campaign by Indiblogger in association with Pampers. Enjoy the commercial.

Wish List of an Umar Bhar Befikar

Many a times, we dream of things we want to do in life, but cannot attain them because of situations we call as constraints. Be it a job or money or health problems or any relationship, we never run short of these constraints. Often some dreams remain unfulfilled because people do not have the courage to fight the constraints and make those dreams come true. And to think of that constraints do not exist, how heavenly that would be? You can do anything you ever wanted to do!!

Here are the top 5 things I would do if I am Befikar Umar Bhar – 

1) I’ll quit my job and travel

“If you don’t build your dream, someone else will hire you to help them build theirs”, truly said Dhirubhai Ambani. If I do not have any constraints, I would quit my job tomorrow to travel and follow my dream. I’ll sleep in the wee hours of the morning and wake up at midday and let no clock govern my body or life. If I do not have any constraints, I’ll seek my freedom as the first thing in this world.

2) I’ll visit my parents often

Many of us who stay far from our families, hardly get a chance to visit their homes more than once in a year. What kind of life is that, where you do not hold your freedom to visit that place where you grew up in your own hands? Instead you need to take permission to visit those loved ones. If I do not have any constraints, I’ll visit my parents as often as I want and I’ll also visit my sister and even my close friends. What is life without the company of those loved ones?

3) An Abode in Ladakh

If I don’t have any constraint, I’ll build a small house in Ladakh where I can go atleast once in a year to find peace and to be mesmerized by Ladakh’s ruthless beauty. Of course if I don’t have a constraint I’ll probably have a house in Mumbai too, but that won’t pull me as much as the one in Ladakh would. I’ll spend a month there every year, till Ladakh ceases to surprise me, something I don’t think will ever happen.

4) I’ll climb Mt. Everest

When I don’t have any constraints, I’ll travel far and beyond - up the mountains and inside the seething volcano. I’ll swim in the sea and sleep under the stars. And I’ll climb the Mount Everest and see the world from its top most point. Yes, and you would see my name besides the likes of those courageous men and women who had achieved that dangerous feat.

5) I’ll travel to Antarctica

Since I do not have any constraints, by now I have already been to all the continents, all except Antarctica. I would set voyage to Antarctica and as I set foot on the distant land, I would tick off the last continent that many never get to see in their entire life. I would play with the penguins, roll over on the snow and ice, I would do whatever I want to do. For screaming out loud! I am in Antarctica!!!!

To tell you the truth, some constraints should be there in our lives. Creativity and ideas are born out of these constraints. They teach us how to stand up for ourselves and fight for our dreams. Without them life would be life a bed of roses and we would never feel like waking up. And remember, roses have thorns!

Enjoy the IDBI Federal Lifesurance commercial of #BefikarUmarBhar.