Week 43 - Daughter Diary

Ridhima completed her 43rd week yesterday. It was just another day till one of our relatives called me and invited us to his daughter’s birthday party in the evening. I reached home around 9 in the evening after a long day at work. Summer is at its peak and humidity is the biggest killer here in Mumbai. You feel exhausted by the time you brave your way to home.

Ridhima’s curious eyes- when I ring the door-bell- are the biggest respite in this otherwise unfriendly world. Out of enthusiasm I took her in my arms played with her a little and took her to the bathroom to have shower together. It seemed to be a good idea as she had to get ready for the party soon after. Rinku dressed her up like an angel with an off-white dress that hung till her ankles. She looked perfect for the party. 

Rinku and I took her to the nearest mall to buy a gift and she was fine until then. Ridhima was in my arms when we were at the billing counter. It was not more than five minutes when she started to vomit furiously. It was scary! It was cold inside the mall and the sudden change of temperature might have caused this, I thought. I handed her over to Rinku and she rushed outside leaving me for the billing etc.

It was the gift wrapping that took more time than the billing when Rinku reached me saying that she has not stopped vomiting and we needed to rush to see a doctor. I did the wrapping myself in a hurry and we reached home in a jiffy. She looked alright then. Rinku fed her and made her rest in the bed. She bathed again and we changed our clothes including Ridhima who was looking pale by that time. We had the courage to restart for the party.  

I was pulling my bike to start it and Rinku cried saying that Ridhima was vomiting again. I was like, why? It was already 11.20pm and you can’t see many clinics open at that late hour. We rushed back home and made her sleep for some time. In 30 minutes she was  finally fast asleep and I again decided to go to the party to at least hand over the gift. Rinku did not go.

We are still contemplating as in what went wrong. Many speculations have been made about the cleanliness, temperature fluctuation, shower at the wrong hour etc. what’s best, Ridima is hale and hearty today.

She continues to learn new tricks to make us do what she wants. She now calls papa “Pa”, she knows where the moon is – she just saw it with me when I took her to the terrace and she fallen asleep in five minutes flat. She tilts her head to one side to grab attention; she knows where the airplane is. Anything beyond mother's milk is still a no,no… thanks to her Grandma who ensures she is fed well with lentils and Ceralac all through the day even if she is not happy. We give her plenty of water and use the milk bottle to do it because she does not drink milk with it or with anything else for that matter.