While we wait

We have done a lot to prepare the children for the idea of having a new sibling popping out at some point.

We told them right away when we found out about the pregnancy, we have read books and talked about what the baby was like at various points in time. There is a character in the "Little Bear" cartoons that is called No-Feet, because he is a snake. In the first few weeks Rajiv and Rohan had a lot of fun referring to the baby as No-Feet, because we had read that the arms and legs form later...

Then we all chose a name for the baby. Temporary, let me reassure you. It was decided for some reason lost in the fog of time that we should call him Picu. We don't know that it is a boy, but let me say "he" anyway, for now. We talk about Picu all the time and we talk to Picu too, sometimes.

A few times Rohan has seemed a little disappointed that he will not be the smallest child anymore and he likes to reaffirm, constantly, how small he is. Overall though the kids seem really happy about this new baby.

Still, sometimes I wonder whether there might be some doubts or fears they have and that they don't feel free to share with us. So a couple of weeks ago I asked directly: "Are you happy that Picu is coming out soon, or are you also a bit worried?"

Rajiv (convinced) - "I'm happy!"
Rohan (frowning) - "I'm worried. I am worried that Picu is not coming out!"

I can only sympathize with this feeling. We have talked about this baby for so long that it feel like a permanent feature of our life, to have a baby in mamma's tummy. Probably Rohan thinks he's been had and babies don't really come out of tummies, they just stay there.

Rajiv too seems to have trouble picturing a mamma with a vacant womb. We sometimes talk all together about whether Picu will be a boy or a girl and Rajiv really wants another baby brother. S would like to see what it is like to have a girl and he tries to convince Rajiv of all the advantages of that outcome. These days, Rajiv's reply is always: "The next one can be a girl, ok?".

Let me not mention the dad's reaction at this thought, but the point is that both my children are so used to me being pregnant that they think that's what moms do, they grow babies season after season in one continuous endless cycle. How appealing..

What could possibly prompt me to resurrect the blog after months of silence?

Well, it shouldn't be hard to guess :)

Some of our relatives have already received the news and at first I thought that I would wait to be further along in my pregnancy before spreading the news. After all, I am only 4 weeks pregnant, which means that there is no guarantee at all that this mustard seed sized lump of cells will hang in there for the distance.

Obviously though I changed my mind about the early announcement. The reason is that I really would like everybody to know that we are very excited and very happy at the idea of having another baby. It was discussed at great length and it was planned. If this time it doesn't work out we will most likely try again.

All this to say, I know three kids sounds like an excess to many people, but please be happy for us and show it next time you see us :) Just like the other two times...

Announcement

Our son (name still under debate, so let's call him "Piccolino") was born yesterday night, June 23, at 9:41. I am just posting a few pictures here, a more complete account of the events might follow later on.

We succeeded in having a home birth, so Piccolino was born on our old trusted futon in our living room. The large night gown covered blob in the picture is the mom :).



Dad cuts the cord...



... and Piccolino gets his first check up. He weighs 7 lbs 8 oz (3.4 kg) and measures 20.5 in (52 cm), if I remember correctly.



There he is, warm and cozy!



And here are the two amazing midwives who helped us out during and after the birth. Piccolino is a bit hard to spot here, but he is snuggled next to his mom.

Appu con mamma e papa'

I haven't been posting for a while, but we have been really busy. There has been some major renovation going on in the house and maybe one of this days I will post some pictures of our lovely new attic. We have also made some rushed last minute arrangements for the birth, thinking somehow that Rohan/Rowan would decide to appear early, but of course here we are still waiting for him. In any case, we are ready now (right...).

There are loads of things I can say about Appu, he has really amazed us in the last month. He has his favorite cartoons now ("Kippo", and sadly "Dora"), his favorite book characters ("Gossie") and he has his preferences on almost everything. He knows what jacket he wants to wear, if he wants one at all, and so on and so forth. He loves puppets and has a lot of fun impersonating various animals. He remembers some words from his favorite books and fills in the blanks when mamma is reading to him. He can can more or less count from one to ten in both English and Italian and he recognizes the numbers when he sees them written (this is making his dad suspect that there might be a brain inside, after all... :) ).He is very very cuddly, as if he knew that these are the last days he gets to spend as the only cuddly baby in the house.

So, since I happen to have a couple of pictures of Appu with his parents - even a very rare one with the mom, self-taken of course, because who would do it otherwise - I thought this would make a nice last post pre new baby (says the mom who keeps hoping for labor to start... now!).

Isn't he so so so cute? And very tanned - sorry achamma!

Names - again - II

A significant number of people whose opinion we value has suggested the name Rohan instead of Roan (or Rowan). As a matter of fact, that was our initial idea as well, but then I proposed we modified it to Roan to make it easier on the Italians who notoriously mess up their 'h's. I didn't even know the name Roan actually existed, but since it turned out that it does (and the variant Rowan is even the name of an actor that S greatly admires) then it seemed settled. I also like that Roan/Rowan comes from the name of a tree - now I couldn't tell you which one, but something that grows in Ireland and has red berries on it.

I guess Rohan is still a possibility, but in the last decade lots of babies have received that name in honor of The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's shadow would always hang on the little one.

Anyway, I think we will put aside Niccolo', for the reasons I already mentioned. I don't think most people could pronounce it right and I wouldn't enjoy having him called Nick by all his friends. Nonna Laura seems to be very excited about the middle name Ernesto (her mother was called Ernestina, after an older half brother Ernesto who died in World War I, so lots of family history there), so we might keep that.

At first I really wanted an Italian name for this baby, but if we end up living in India I don't want one of them to always feel that he fits in less than his brother because of his strange name. I know it is not a big deal, but this is the kind of stuff that sometimes matters to kids, so why risk it.

So:

Roan Ernesto Ashok?
Rowan Ernesto Ashok?
Rohan Ernesto Ashok?

Names - again

Please vote:

Roan Niccolo' Ashok
Roan Ernesto Ashok

or Rowan (S. claims it is pronounced exactly as Roan, but my Italian instinct to pronounce the letters I see makes me suspicious) with the same middle names.

or Niccolo' ... Ashok - and please feel free to fill the dots.

I think we are quite in favor of Roan/Rowan at the moment, but not so strongly that we won't have changed our minds by tomorrow morning of course. It does however have the advantage of being easy to write and pronounce and it cannot be shortened into some dreadful American like nickname. My favorite name Niccolo' doesn't satisfy any of these requirements, so maybe it is time to abandon that idea. Thoughts?

By the way, cheer up! Only one month to go and then this name agony will be over. :)

Let's try again:

Rowan Niccolo' Ashok?

How does it sound?

Niccolo' Ashok

Note that Niccolo' is pronounced with the stress on the last 'o', like you would in a French word for example. Clear as mud? Well, the pronunciation issue is one of the things that worry us about the name.

But mostly, we are not sure if the name goes well with the last name. Opinions?

Another point is: will the brothers find a way to feel treated unevenly over this? Like: why didn't I get an Indian name too, or vice versa. More opinions?

As an Indian alternative we have considered Nikhil, which has the "nic" sound that the mom likes, but I don't feel so good in giving again a name that has no Italian history. Anyway, thoughts about Nikhil?

Ok, I think you have enough homework for now. More later. :)

It's a boy!

Or so it seems... the ultrasound technician said it was quite clear. (This should disprove once and for all the flat belly/ pointy belly theory.)

Of course now we are having second thoughts about the name, so suggestions are welcome and we will keep you updated on our indecisions.

E il responso dell'ecografia e'... e' un maschio! Un piccolo fratellino per il piccolo Appu. Siamo di nuovo indecisi sul nome, quindi suggerite pure.

Bellies

This was belly #1, the first and original, 2007. Six months and a half along.

Pancione #1, 2007, sei mesi e mezzo di gravidanza.


This is belly #2, as of today morning. Seven months and one week. Let's forget how huge I am and instead focus on the joy of being finally able to wear spring clothes. Even here, winter eventually comes to an end!

Pancione #2, questa mattina, sette mesi e una settimana di gravidanza.

Bye Bye Bed :(

In preparation for the arrival of the new baby we have decided to substitute our trusted Ikea futon bed with a king size bed (american terminology only, maybe? it just means a larger bed). This was an absolute necessity if we are to sleep in four in the same bed. Already now most of the space seems to be taken by just one person, with the other two pushed to the edges of the bed. No need to say who that person is... Anyway, as of tonight, we are sleeping on a regular bed, like everybody else. No more mattress almost on the floor, with frame as mere decoration at 3cm above the floor. I feel sad, although Appu and S. don't seem to share the feeling.

In memory of the older bed (Picture from 25/02/08, ages ago!):

We have a winner!

Abbiamo pensato al nome per un maschio e - ci dispiace nonna - il nome non sara' Atticus. Che cosa ne diresti invece di Niccolo' Kabir? Attendiamo commenti.

We are still a bit undecided about the girl's name, but for a boy we would like to propose

Niccolo' Kabir Ashok

Comments?

La caccia al nome e' ufficialmente aperta!

(English below)

Sembra che per una serie di imprevedibili circostanze non avremo la possibilita' di sapere se la piccola nocciolina che si prepara a vedere la luce sia un maschio o una femmina. La risposta a tra tre mesi... Quindi dobbiamo essere preparati con ben due nomi. In linea di massima vorremmo una combinazione di nomi indiani e italiani per un maschio e invece nomi inglesi e italiani per una femmina.

Qualcuna delle nostre idee:

Nicole Laura Ashok
Nicole Audrey Ashok
Nicole Martina Ashok
Audrey Anna Ashok

Federico Rahul Ashok
Niccolo' Abhay Ashok
Nicolas Kevin Ashok
Kevin Guglielmo Ashok

etc...

I commenti sono benvenuti, anche da parte dei lettori silenziosi che non si sono fatti mai sentire :)

---------------

It seems we will not be able to find out the sex of the baby before the birth this time, so the little peanut needs to be ready with two names. Probably we would like to stick with Indian and Italian names for a boy, but English and Italian for a girl.

I really like the names Nicole and Audrey for a girl. So we thought of the following possibilities:

Nicole Laura Ashok
Nicole Audrey Ashok
Nicole Martina Ashok
Audrey Anna Ashok

For a boy, if we want to lack imagination we can go with

Federico Rahul Ashok

Otherwise,

Niccolo' Abhay Ashok
Nicolas Kevin Ashok
Kevin Guglielmo Ashok

are also on our list. Sujay really likes the name Abhay (or however else you like to transliterate it), but it seems too difficult to pronounce to keep it as first name.

Comments are welcome, although they will probably be disregarded in the end, but you can try... ;)

The Peanut and other things we cannot know

I haven't given any official updates about my pregnancy yet, partly because of superstition perhaps, but the time has come to draw some attention to Appu's sibling to be, which for the moment will be referred to as "Little Peanut".

Some of you might have noticed that some new tickers have appeared on this page. In particular, on the right you can see a pumpkin in a patch of grass marking the progress of the Little Peanut towards birth. As the ticker says, I am now a little more than 19 weeks along in my pregnancy (note: for those who don't know, the total number of weeks will be 40).
I went yesterday for my mid-pregnancy ultrasound and the Little Peanut seems to be doing well. I haven't received the full report yet, but the ultrasound technician seemed happy. The Peanut was kicking actively to fight the intrusion of stuff being pressed on my belly, so it seems we have another spirited child on the way...

I am referring to The Peanut as "she" just because the Italian for peanut, "nocciolina", is female, but we don't know the sex of the baby yet. I would have loved to find out during this ultrasound, but the technician was not moved by my pleas and refused to look. That is really a big disappointment, no matter what the sex is it would have made me happier to know it. I could start thinking about the name and I would have something happy to communicate home, where good news of any kind are badly needed.

Unfortunately things are not going well in Italy. My aunt is very sick and is at the moment in a hospital with terminal prognosis. I will be travelling to Italy soon to see her and take care of lots of practical stuff. Unfortunately nobody knows how much time she still has or whether she is conscious and aware of her condition or not. It was all very sudden and it is a very frustrating situation.

Appu will be travelling with me and we don't know how long we are going to be in Italy. The only sure thing is that I am expected to be back in Canada by the beginning of March at the latest. Sujay might join us in Italy at some point if he gets all his documents in order in time.

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