To celebrate, we went out to dine at Saravanaa Bhawan in Sunnyvale. Man, that place is busy - the wait is two diaper changes long.

Today was my first visit with my pediatrician, the sweet Dr. Sheetal Vora. I think I'm taking a liking to her style - she sure knew how to calm me down! She said I was in the 95th percentile with regard to my weight and height for my age.

My very first Christmas. Dad says I'm Mommy's biggest gift to him. Of course, I'm too big to fit IN the sock, so this was the best she could do.

Papa-Mummy took me to the Great Mall today. I accomplished a lot today, I think.


- I slept on the way,
- slept through a photo session with Santa,



- slept through my feeding,



- (mercifully) slept through most of Papa-Mummy's shopping,



- cried through Mummy's nose-piercing.
- saw lots and lots of lights, of all styles and colors. It was fascinating. Every shop had lights of different kind. In fact, there were so many lights that I had information overload and cried on the way back.

* The original photo is this, by the way.

By now I have pretty much taught Papa and Mummy to come pick me up within a minute of a whimper from me. My practice of a high-decibel cry - to be employed when they delay - is coming along really nicely. Papa tried a battle of wits and patience with me the other night when I demanded to be rocked to sleep, but with Mummy melting away, he was outvoted and outsmarted.

I also discovered that massaging and bathing is not all that bad, if you think about it. And that bouncer thing is not all that scary.

Papa-Mummy took me along to apply for my passport today. I normally do not schedule business work around my nap time, and I figured it was about time to let Papa-Mummy know who the boss was. I refused to open my eyes, which pretty much put a damper on their efforts.

Finally, after half an hour of coaxing, cajoling, tickling, being partially undressed, wiping with a wet tissue and diaper changing (!), I relented and let them have it. Here's my first ever passport photo.

Waah!
Eh-Eh-Eh-Eh-Waaaah!

You know, come to think of it, lights are pretty fascinating. They shine and all that. They rank right up there with faces and bottles. I'm already mastering gazing at them.



Now if only I could train my parents to feed me when I cry, change my diaper when I cry and rock me when I cry (should be simple enough), I'll have it all pretty much cornered.

Mummy and I showed enough recovery for us to be discharged from the hospital. I had my first chauffeured ride home and a first look at the toys that awaited me. They bored me to sleep.

... and already a bath, a massage, and a few pokes to draw my teeny weeny blood . I like this less by the minute.

... frankly speaking (see below), I don't think birth is all it was cranked up to be.

Having to work for one's food - whoever heard of that? In fact, I was so pissed off I did just that - pissed off, that is.

Anyway, here I am. Sushmit Kishore aka Rishu. Born at 4:40 PM on the 28th of November at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Clara, CA.

Sagittarian by zodiac sign, and born in the Chinese Year of the Monkey . I weighed (an impressive, the doctors said and Mummy groaned) 9 lb 6 oz at birth and was 20.5" tall. I was delivered by Drs. Brian Sitarz and Lisa Chong after a Cesarean operation, with Dr. Teresa Chiu as the anesthesiologist. A gleeful Papa was there to cut my umbilical cord.

The day was marked with quite a bit of drama. Mummy's earlier pregnancy woes had prompted Nana-Nani to come early, and Nanaji's vacation ran out today. Mummy, too, went to the hospital (again) with other complaints without realizing she was already in labor. So, while on the one hand frantic arragments were being made to see Nanaji off, on the other Mummy went through a labor that did not progress too well and a Cesarean had to be performed. All's well that ends well, they, say, though personally speaking, with all the baths, the vaccine shots and the crappy deal with crapping, the only silver lining I see is the tab on my diaper.