Triplets now three years old !

CELEBRATING THIRD BIRTHDAY TODAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLINGS...muaaahh...

                           

My triplets are three years old today. On their third birthday I am thinking of how much they have grown, and changed, from the babies we saw at birth. Not in terms of physical development or motor skills or speech, which they have acquired more or less in the same way as other babies (Thank God for that, there usually is a development delay for multiples), but in terms of their relationships with us, with each other, the talents they have developed, their individuality becoming clearer by day. Also about how much we have changed, from being carefree and career oriented to parenting triplets, that too parenting triplets in Kerala, where parenting multiples is mostly fun, whole family and relatives taking part in the process, and at the same time parenting multiples is difficult, due to unavailability of supportive mechanism in terms of available products for intended for multiples in the market.

It is fun to observe the triplets’ relationship with each other, their love for each other, and jealousy with each other. Also the way triplets have developed their own individualities and preferences.  I will try to analyse one by one. Raman- is the most babyish among them, even though he is the eldest. His development in terms of motor skills is a bit less than the others- meaning he can't climb on top of the cupboard as easily as Balu, and also (which concerns me somewhat) he can't tie his shoes on his own. His speech was a bit delayed, but now he is the one who speaks poetically about the sky and the sun and moon and the rain, and dramatically about elephants and trains. He likes to play all the time, run around, and mostly he likes to play with the other two. He has deep and special love for Balu and Kutty, expressed in many ways, but his love for Balu is also coated with intense jealousy. He is also a bit lazy at times (surprisingly he maintains that characteristic from his 'within womb' days). He has a tendency to fall down, I mean all three will be running around and if you hear someone falling, it is invariably Raman. He also has deep love for us and his grandparents, and he is quite easy, relaxed and confident in his social relationships- with both relatives and strangers. He has affinity for all toys, trains and other vehicles, and animals (not at all frightened of anything), and does all boys plays. His main talent is in drumming and dancing with a rhythm. He is the most artistic of the three.

Kutty is just the girl that she is. She loves stories, asking me to tell stories all the time. She loves books too, and whenever we go shopping, Kutty makes sure to get her favorite children's books. She memorizes all characters in these stories- their names, even the ones I can't seem to memorize. (But she doesn't know names of vegetables or doesn't know to count properly). Nowadays she likes to go upstairs and sit alone with her toys, playing and telling stories, and she can do this for up to an hour. She keeps asking questions- sometimes getting on my nerves, like 'why do we take a bath?', 'to clean ourselves', 'why do we have to clean ourselves?', 'so that we are healthy', 'why do we have to be healthy/', 'so we can go out', 'why do we have to go out/', 'to play', 'why do we play?' and so on and on and on. She loves both brothers and pretends that Raman is her son(loves to hug and kiss him), and Balu is her husband. She loves to goody-goody, and advise her brothers, and while playing she keeps telling stories. She has a taste for music, I think, but can be just a passing interest. She has sense of humor, finds something to laugh about in almost everything, which is a blessing most of the time. She passes wisecracks, and jokes, and laughs at her own jokes. She is happy to be with us, but is reserved with others, relatives or strangers, and takes her own time to mingle. 

Balu undoubtedly has the most IQ, and best motor skills. He can climb anywhere, and can fix any toy, and can operate all electronic equipment if once-just once-we show him how to. He loves to dress well, shoes and all, and imitate adults. He knows to do things, and knows that he knows, which makes situations difficult for us because many things we cannot permit him to have a go at, like say, operating the remote control or mobile phone (both of which he loves), even though we feel bad about it because we know he can do it in the correct way. He does all chores too, and does everything in a perfectionist way- like if someone keeps the toothpaste on shelf two instead of one, he gets agitated. He loves both Kutty and Raman and loves to play with them, but his love is intensely intertwined with jealousy. He simply cannot stand if they get to use a toy before him, and will start crying. He also has a deeper affection for his father and my mother, and somewhat keeps a distance from me, mostly because I scold him for taking things he is not supposed to take. He has mechanical skills and we think he will develop culinary skills from the way he likes food and observes how it is cooked, and tries to imitate it with his toys. He does not have any liking for toys that simply are toys, and do not run, or make sounds or other stuff. He likes pets, but is very, very frightened of dark rooms, being alone etc.- he cannot even imagine sitting alone upstairs, the way Kutty does. He is also not very confident in his social relationships, and is a bit insecure, but can nevertheless easily develop relations if he wants to, with his charming smile and mannerisms.

If we adults are not present, they play without any fights. But we always watch over them to prevent accidents, and these results in them craving for our attention causing jealousy with each other and fights. But usually they are together, and if something happens to one, the other two are extremely concerned. We also find it quite easy to travel with all three, especially to temples, parks and zoo and close by places, as they are very, very adjusting during these trips.

To conclude, the trio has grown to become real individuals in the three years!

  

Triplets update on 12 Feb 2015

Afternoon, on a holiday.. Usually this time all three should be asleep. High time they started playschool but have not started yet. Today I have Balu for company. He generally does not like to nap in the afternoon. He sleeps early at night (11.30 pm, that is!) and gets up late (10 am). He is more sharp and intelligent than the the other two. If something is shown to him, he absorbs and understands it the first time itself, whereas Raman takes some more time- we have to show something at least thrice for him to really grasp the technique. Kutty does not bother with understanding things that she is not interested in, but if she wants, she can learn it if we show it may be two times. She has good memory of stories, characters etc. Balu remembers techniques well. Raman is good in his acting, performing skills. Balu is a special character- he does everything- if we ask him to keep something safely, he does it. He can dress up himself, shoes and all. He can eat by himself, he got potty trained first, he learns rhymes very fast. He can bear pain well, he would not cry if he falls down or even cuts himself. But he also has some bad habits- like throwing things, throwing a tantrum. He is very jealous at times, of his siblings. If he does not like something he would devise some way to avoid it. Like if he does not like a shirt, and if we make him wear it, somehow he will find a way to make it dirty or pour water on it, so we will be forced to change his shirt. But there is absolutely no doubt that he is smarter than the other two, and he will survive any adverse situations. Here I have a very independent son, who is absolutely adorable when he wants to be so, and absolutely naughty at some other times. :D

My triplets - when they get sick

My triplets are playing outside in the evening. I am very careful they do not put their hands anywhere near their mouths or nose. They know now that healthy habit includes washing one's hands before eating or putting it in the mouth, so they are careful too. I let them play in the sun (we need vitamin-D, immunity) and sometimes in slight rain too. Not a problem usually. We have Mily (pet dog) and Goldy (pet cat) and some of Goldy's friends visiting. They are exposed to animal hair. Again immunity to allergens. Not a problem. They wash hands after they play with and touch the animals. I am proud of them.

But today,it is particularly dusty. The strong breeze (Palakkadan kaattu) brings loads of dust. Also the mosquitoes have started to swarm. They sneeze at times. I ask them to stop the play and get inside. They are waiting for the moon to come, street lamps to come on, and the baang vili from the nearby mosque. At long last, by 7 pm I am able to get them inside. We rush to the bathroom. I give the trio a long, nice, hot bath. They play together, with the many toys in the water in the bucket, laughing all the way. Now they are clean, fragrant like the flowers they are, and we rush to the next stop- a dinner of dosa (rice pancakes). They sit in their respective seats and eat two dosas each. Today is a fairly good day, at times there is big fight between me and them over food. they just won't eat. But not today. They eat to my heart's content.

After the pancakes they play inside for a while, Ramesh arrives, all four of them play, or go out for a short drive, giving me enough time to finish my own bath and prayers. After they are back, they have a few spoonfuls of rice porridge (kanji) and sometimes a bit of seasonal fruits. The toys are scattered everywhere. They help me or my mother to put them back in the shelf (Not so easy- requires a lot of yelling to get them to do it, sometimes it feels better to do it ourselves). By now Ramesh has finished walking and feeding Mily, and the cats, and his bath too. I brush the trio. (They like to brush, but getting each one near the wash basin needs another round of yelling). Then again they have a round of a brief body bath, after which they are taken directly to the bed. Now it is about  9.30 pm. We take turns finishing our dinner and sitting on the bed with them while they jump around on the bed. The sneezing keeps coming back, it worries me. It is cold outside, so we close the window, but it is very stuffy inside. The humidity is building up.

They go to sleep one by one by around midnight (no kidding, they are yet to learn to go early to bed and early to rise), and I sit with my computer- checking mails, and other things. I have a class tomorrow, and also discussion with the two thesis students whom I am guiding, who have a viva coming up next week. I prepare for both and go to sleep by around 2 am. Ramesh is asleep, he has to get up at 4.30 am and leave for office.

I wake up in the morning and find that Balu has a cold. His nose is running. So no play outside for anyone today. I go to college, my parents look after them. I am back at lunch time, and find that Balu is crying. Kutty's nose has started running too. Raman is seeking attention. All three whining. My parents exhausted and angry. I give them lunch, sit with the trio while my parents eat. Afterwards it is nap time. The only hour during the day when my parents can rest. So my mother takes Balu to his cradle, rocks it. He starts coughing. I am rocking Raman's cradle with one hand, and holding Kutty and rocking her in my other hand. My hand is hurting, but usually she sleeps in fifteen minutes, so I carry her till she sleeps. This is the only way she would sleep. After a few minutes she throws up all over me and all over the floor. Raman was half asleep, now he wakes up fully. I rush Kutty to teh wash basin so she can complete what she started. All the lunch which was fed so painstakingly, telling stories and all, is on the floor and in the wash basin. I clean her, lay her on the cot, clean myself, change my dress and wipe the floor. By now Balu is coughing away, and mother lays him next to Kutty. All three are awake. No plans to sleep anymore. I am needed at college, but I don't think I can go now. So I take the afternoon leave, and ask my thesis students to meet me at home in the evening. I sit with the three by now, very sick and very irritable kids.

Now they all want the same toy, all want something that is kept on the berth, all want to go upstairs. Tears flow down, along with litres of running nose. Eyes are swollen, faces red. Coughing crying all around. I want to pick up each one and hold and soothe, but not possible as I can't carry all and all three want to be held. So I sit down with them trying to hug, but no point. They wriggle out, keep crying, and start throwing toys everywhere and at each other. Three of us adults have no option but yell at the sick babies. Now we have some medicines, so we give cough syrup and syrup to relieve mucus. We hold each to the electric steamer. Things settle a bit but still the crying continues. This goes on till late night until they finally go to a very cough-disturbed sleep. Afterwards we, the adults, gather the scattered toys, clean up, have dinner, do the dishes, have bath and are ready for bed. All of us are exhausted. Kids are in bed with Ramesh. It is around 12.30 am. I quickly go through my class notes etc. and get to bed downstairs. I am in a coma when suddenly I hear Ramesh calling for me. Kutty threw up again, now on the bed and floor. We pick up the now-crying Balu and Raman, sit them on the downstair bed, clean up Kutty, change her and place her also with them. She wants to cling on to us. Ramesh holds her while I change the bed sheets and wipe the floor. Again we lay all three to sleep. I go to dip the bed sheets in water so the vomit does not dry on it. I get back, Kutty is asleep, Ramesh is rocking Balu. I pick up Raman, rocks him for half an hour and he also sleeps. We lay them gently and I get to bed finally and call it a day by 3 am. Thus starts a week  (minimum)of sickness, crying, running noses, coughing, sometimes fever, sleepless nights, stress at the workplace, yelling at home, feeling disappointed and angry all the time.

In the first few months the babies were extremely protected as instructed by the doctors. But once they gained enough weight, we made sure that they got enough exposure to the sun and elements (a little bit of rain, dust, pet hair etc), to develop their immunity, and get enough vitamin-D. Whenever they got a cold, or a fever, we followed Akka's prescriptions. Usually just 2-3 doses of Paracetamol for fever (Fepanil), Mucolite and Tixylix combined with steam inhalation for cough and Cetzin, if any possibility of allergens in the air. When they were babies, steam inhalation was done by placing a pot of boiled water (with tulsi, panikkoorka (Indian Borage) etc) in their room. Once they were a year old, they started inhaling steam from an electric steamer. For fever we also apply small pieces of cloth dipped in warm water on the forehead. For mucus, it is good to have a bit of onion juice mixed with rock candy. Only once we had to give antibiotics as the cough and cold came recurring.

While using electric steamer be careful to keep your hand over his face, so you know when the heat becomes too much.

When they were about two years old, they got Hands-Foot-Mouth disease. This is just a viral disease, with blisters on the skin. Very uncomfortable, but not dangerous or painful (unless it affects inside of mouth). They had some Homoeo medicines for this, and the it got cured in about a week. Akka said it would have gone anyway, after the virus ran it course, but we just wanted to comfort ourselves thinking that we are giving some medication.

Kutty and Raman both got deep cuts on their forehead after falling on sharp surfaces. Three stitches for Kutty, done by a plastic surgeon (so that there will not be any mark left on the face- but the faint scar remains now also- cost us Rs.4000/- for the plastic surgeon), and four stitches for Raman (normal stitching- Rs150/-, scar almost similar to Kutty's!). I still shudder at the memory of blood gushing out from the wounds(some eight months between the two injuries).

A minor problem we faced was occasional constipation. This was usually cured when they had some fruits, but as Raman was a fussy eater, it was more difficult with him. We had to use suppositories at times. But a few weeks back we started a routine of making him sit on the potty at a fixed time everyday, and this solved the problem entirely. 

Potty training

Finally they have come out of their diapers. Occasionally we use them for a good night's sleep when they are not well, but other than that, now they have learned to use potty. We bought this Piyo Piyo potty online. It is expensive compared to the others, but there are a few advantages. We could use it as pot when required, and also as potty seat for the adults' toilet on which we could let them sit safely holding the ears of the bear. This makes cleaning using a health faucet easier and more hygienic.

We found that getting them to use potty at a fixed time everyday is very important. Initially we had to really make them sit on it, by offering toilet them play with our shampoo bottles, soap etc. Now they come and sit on the potty without any fuss. This has become a healthy routine, and we find that many stomach problems, general health issues are solved now! It took so long for us actually, most of our friends' babies established the routine much earlier- at 18 months or 20 months. We waited some time, to make the transition smooth and together for all three.

Play time: Toys for toddlers and Outings

Long time since last post. I am kind of busy with teaching, practice and a research paper I am intending to present in the coming week. At home everything is going well. Finally my toddlers are potty trained, although at night we still use diapers, mainly because they sleep late and wake up late, so it is difficult to wake them up in between to use the potty. Next week we should start play school, which might make them sleep early and wake up early.

Sunday afternoon is outing time. Temples (especially Vadakkumnathan temple at Thrissur), parks, zoo, beach and malls are the favorite places of visit for my trio. Vazhani dam is also close by, and the view is stunning here, although what they enjoy in Vazhani is the long walk and playing in the park rather than the view. They now know many animals and a few birds (some from the sound also, like crow, koel, magpie robin, babblers etc), flowers and vegetables. They understand colors and can arrange toys according to colors&sizes. 

Vazhani Dam

These are some of their favorite toys and cycles. The stacking cubes, stacking rings and First blocks are good to develop sense of shape and color. They love the Magic car (though they call it train!!). That and the BSA cycle are their favorite mode of transport. Also the card board box transformed to be a favorite toy for the toddlers!

Wonderful handmade toyhouse :) !!

                                       

                       

                          

                                           

Animations and other movies for children

These are some videos liked and enjoyed by our triplets. This is by no means a complete list, and the first few listed are Malayalam, however these can be a start. Feel free to click the links- they are not ads, but videos on YouTube or info on wiki.

Kathu is a Malayalam 3D animation that tells the story of a kitten and her family and friends. It has two parts of 45 minutes each interlinking a story line and songs about values like honesty, courage, respect to elders, helpful attitude, self-confidence etc. There is not a moment of boredom, and it is enjoyable to adults as well.

Manchadi has four parts, all with stories and songs/rhymes. The stories are from Panchatantra, Aesop’s fables and folktales. Most stories have some value to teach, and the rhymes are very nice- the familiar ‘Kunchuvammakk anchu makkalane’ rhyme is made with a catchy tune and interesting animation. The very familiar story of the elephant and tailor is made into a song, which any child would love to sing along. All in all, it is a great collection.

Pupi is a very curious puppy, and in his explorations and adventures we learn about chameleons, honey bees, spiders, birds and bats, earthworms and many other living beings on the earth, and the dynamics between them. Very informative, very entertaining, it is guaranteed to arouse curiosity about surroundings in a child.

Torpido is a Malayalam superhero- a boy who fights aliens with the help of a pair of spectacles that his father gives him. Then there are many animation videos like Mayavi, Meesa- Elumban, Ambili Maman, Kilukkampetti, Minnaminni, Kuttikurumban, Chakkaramamazham etc. which are entertaining.

Pachilakkoodu (My Home is Green) is a wonderful animation movie that tells us the evils of insecticides, particularly endosulfan.  It is a touching story of the friendship between an ant and a caterpillar. My kids were totally engrossed by the movie, and I am sure they got the message. I would say it is a must-watch. This award-winning movie is available in both English and Malayalam.

Jungle Book and Tarzan are available as 2D, 3D animation as well as movies. The 3D animations are worth watching for the art of making the animations, the pictures, the images, the scenery and the effects. These animations are sure to awaken and inspire the artist in your child.

Lion King is a 2D animation movie with two parts. The first part tells us about the ‘Circle of Life’ where everything in nature is connected to each other and obeys nature’s rules. ‘You must take your place in the circle of life’, the lion tells his cub. It also tells us a great story of love, friendship, travel and adventure, loyalty, rivalry, sacrifice and most importantly, duties and responsibilities. Lion King-II tells us never to give up hope, and that love can conquer the whole world, without shedding a drop of blood. It is lovely. And my kids have a great time watching the two movies, imitating the characters and delivering the dialogues. The songs are irresistible.

Little Krishna TV series made into two DVDs are available in English, Hindi and a few Indian regional languages. It is about the adventures of Lord Krishna as a little baby and child in Vrindavan. It is a beautiful animation and if your kid likes stories of Krishna, or if he likes superheroes, he is sure to enjoy this cute animation.  Your little girl will love to watch baby Krishna and his adorable ways. Krishna and Balram, and Chota Bheem feature adventures of part mythological part superhero characters as 2D animations. Children will like them, but it is better to sit with them while they watch these videos, and tell them what to absorb and what not to. For example, Chota Bheem gets his strength when he eats a handful of ladoos (sweet). While we can tell the child that Bheem became strong when he ate his food, we also need to be careful to let him know that ladoos are not good for health if eaten in such quantities as they show in the cartoon. There are many such loose ends in both these series; however they are very good to learn good English pronunciation and usage.

Once your son starts enjoying Spider-man, there is no turning back. That is all I need to say about this brainy-and-wimpy Peter Parker turned superhero. I am sure same is true for Ben10, Tintin and Batman, but I have not tried those. Nor have I tried Pokémon, Narnia, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park or Dora the explorer. I might, soon, and then I shall get back with reviews.

In conclusion I would like to add that whatever movies you choose for your children, it is ideal if you also watch it with them, and explain to them the story. Then you can tell them what important messages are given in the movie- it can range from instilling a deep moral value to understanding the way colours can be used to make a scene attractive. When the video shows a lion roaring, I tell them to notice the sound and how it differs from a tiger growling. When Jungle Book shows a cobra, I tell them to notice the difference it has from Kaa, the python. You will be surprised at how fast they absorb the information, process it within their minds and come up with endless questions. You might have to give an answer when your son asks why the jeep in the animation flies, as well as rides on the road- the maker of the film might have thought it would arouse the kid’s imagination, but most of the time it arouses his suspicion! But you can come up with innovative answers and help him be more imaginative, without ignoring the facts.  Just like during their various play, you need to actively involve while he watches movies also, to make it an entertaining, pleasurable and learning session.

Most of the videos are available for purchase online. The links below will take you to the amazon store, however, they are also available in other shopping sites. 

Happy Viewing!! :D And please don't forget to share your experiences and how your kids enjoy watching movies in the comments column below!

'Vidyarambham' ('Ezhuthiniruthal') - first peek into the world of letters

In Kerala, children start their formal education after a ceremony called Vidyarambham. A child is not supposed to read or write before his/her Vidyarambham (ezhuthiniruthal). Vidyarambham is usually done when the child reaches age three. If not, then it has to be at age five. At ages two and four, the ezhuthiniruthal ceremony should not happen according to texts like ‘Muhurtha Padavi’. The first letters are to be written on ‘onakkalari’(raw rice with bran). It is spread on a large bronze plate. The plate should be cleaned to the point of sparkling like gold. There will be a lamp with seven wicks (‘ezhuthiri vilakku’) decorated with auspicious flowers like thumbappoo. On a banana leaf (‘thoosanila’) we should keep a ‘niranazhi’(a measure of rice), lots of ‘unniyappam and ada’(tasty snacks of  Rice, jaggery, banana, ghee and sugar), ‘malaru’(puffed rice), ‘Kadali’banana, tender coconut etc. This is called ‘Ganapathykkopp’. Ezhuthiniruthal is to be done by an Aasaan (It is a colloquial term for Acharya or Guru- traditionally we had ‘Ezhuthupallikkoodam’ or ‘Kalari’ also called ‘Aasaan Kalari’, which served as primary school where an Aasaan or Aasaatti (female) used to impart education to non-Brahmin children). Aasan Kalari does not function anymore, so the ceremony can be done by a learned person, a grandparent or parent. This has to be done with utmost respect, good thoughts and in a spiritual state. Guru sits on a folded white dhoti placed on the ground, and the child sits on his/her lap. Then Guru guides the child’s index finger on the rice in the plate to write ‘Hari Shree’, at the same time pronouncing the letters. The child’s eyes follow the formation of the letter in rice, grasping the image, at the same time listening to the sound of the letter and repeating the same sound-mouthing it, while writing it and feeling it.  According to Guru Nitya Chaitanya Yathi, this process brings together and rouses the two Jnanendriya(Senses of knowledge- eyes and ears) and the two Karmendriya (senses of activity- finger and mouth)- a unique sensation to the child making him enter the infinite universe of knowledge.

They write "Om Hari Shree Ganapathaye Nama: Avighnamasthu" (Om, Lord Vishnu, Goddess Lakshmi, Lord Ganesha, we pray to you- let there be no interruption to our learning or actions).This is done in front of Lord Ganesha (the One who helps to overcome obstacles and is the epitome of knowledge, wisdom and kindness) and Goddess Saraswathy's idol, as She is the Goddess of all kinds of Learning and Arts. For Christians in Kerala also the ceremony is done with some modifications. 

Vidyarambham is done on Vijayadasami day, which is the tenth and culminating day of the Navratri festival. On Mahanavami which is the ninth day of the Navratri festival, we keep all books and tools for Ayudha pooja in a temple or at home. (Ayudha Puja is an integral part of the Navratri festival (festival of triumph), a Hindu festival which is traditionally celebrated in India. It is also called "Astra Puja", the synonym for Ayudha Puja. In simple terms, it means “Worship of Implements”). We are not supposed to use any tools on Mahanavami. I used to love the day as a kid as I was never asked to study on the day :) And on the tenth day of the festival- Vijayadasami day- we get up early in the morning, bathe and go to the Devi (Goddess) temple and take back the books. Then we write all the alphabets and numbers and read our books and refresh ourselves for another year of learning and gathering knowledge The freshness and enthusiasm I used to feel as a student on that day  is beyond words.

After writing the alphabets we also recite the Sanskrit prayer

Saraswathi Namastubhyam

Varade Kamarupini

Vidyarambam Karishyami

Siddhir Bhavatu Me Sada

The beautiful Malayalam song "Manassilunaroo Ushasandhyayay.."  has a line which says 'we pray to you Goddess Saraswathy, come to us in the form of books and in the form of ayudha' (ayudha literally means weapons, or arms, but here it means any tool with which we work).

Our trio also had their Vidyarambham on Vijayadasami in October 2014. My father formally introduced them to the art of writing. After writing the prayer they gave Dakshina to my father. The whole ceremony has a certain elegance to it. Respect of knowledge, of elders, of teachers, of God.

'Vidyarambham' ('Ezhuthiniruthal') of Raman

'Vidyarambham' ('Ezhuthiniruthal') of Kutty

'Vidyarambham' ('Ezhuthiniruthal') of Balu

'Vidyarambham' ('Ezhuthiniruthal') of triplets in Kerala

Kutty loves to look at books. Whenever she goes out she makes us buy a book- small picture story books which she makes me read to her. Hopefully she will maintain her passion for books when she grows up.

Link to Rice-eating ceremony- 'Choroonu' or annaprashan http://www.tripletshouse.blogspot.in/2012/11/babys-first-solid-meal-choroonu.html

Books and Websites

I came across Penelope Leach's 'Babyhood' at a second hand books' sale, quite by chance, and bought it for an incredible two hundred rupees! But I'd say it is worth every paisa of its actual price in the range of Rs.2500/- (paperback). In the first page itself she says how a new mother and a new father are totally inexperienced, and how not to feel bad about it. When I started reading, I thought she was actually telling my story. Except that she does not mention multiples much, or the unique challenges a multiples' mother has to face. Apart from that small shortcoming, I loved 'Babyhood' and I bought two other books of Ms.Leach- 'Your Growing Child' and 'Your Baby and Child'. 

The great thing about those books that they understand the child psychology well, and that helps the parent to comprehend what the child wants. Ms.Leach also understands what the parent is going through. For example there is this part on the conflict between breastfeeding and formula feeding. I was feeling quite guilty of not breastfeeding my babies (see post on Breastfeeding vs Formula). However Ms. Leach says that the bond a baby has with the mother develops when the baby lies on the mother's lap and drinks milk, whether breast milk or from a bottle. Similarly she says that a baby's vision is two dimensional until she is three or four months old, so she will enjoy looking at pictures kept at 30 cm away from her face. She advocates reading to the child, ways of choosing the right playschool, dealing with baby sickness, sibling jealousy and a lot more. Hugely informative and greatly inspiring! It is a must-read for all parents I should say.

One GREAT website that helped me throughout was www.tripletsandus.com It shows stage-by-stage development of triplets during and after pregnancy. I still go back to the site often.

http://crappypictures.com/ is a fun site. Illustrated with cartoons, it deals with the stress of parenting in a very light-hearted way.

The Barnes blog is too good to miss, and describes very similar experiences to mine- http://barnesdailycircus.blogspot.in/

https://www.rie.org/

Babyhood, Your Baby and Child, and Your Growing Child by Penelope Leach

Three great books by Penelope Leach. 'Babyhood' I found extremely useful in babies' first months. At times parenting triplets brings a nervous breakdown. Our mood swings will be instantly reflected on the babies' also. In such situations I take Leach, and she will have a solution for me. Or at least her narratives will make me feel much better, and make me look at the world from my trio's viewpoint. Thank you ma'am! 

I think all three books are must-reads for all parents.
Here are three pictures from two of the books- about eating veggies, problem eaters and about jealousy. I bet you have never thought about these things in this perspective.

My kids with the books

Onam and Vishu