A Mommy Needs....

...a pediatrician and a maid! When you are the mother of an infant, two people assume utmost importance in your life; the maid and the pediatrician. So understandably, i was very apprehensive when I moved to Bangalore. Would I find a good enough maid? Will I find a good, kind, sympathetic doctor who also had a degree in patience for paranoid mothers. I was lucky!

The maid has been fairly good! She sweeps, wipes, dusts, washes vessels, puts out the clothes from the washing machine, folds clothes, washes and irons the baby clothes, cuts and cleans veggies, and cooks dinner (her beef curry and alloo parathas are to die for)!

The pediatrician proved to be even better, though it took a while to find him. Our hunt first led us to a tall insipid looking fellow who ran his practice close to where we live. Let me confess that I tend to be rather wary of male pediatricians. Will a man ever understand a mother's fears and concerns? This first doctor didn't! Every question was brushed aside. He seemed more keen on the expensive injections. "Let's give him one today. Come back after 2 weeks and we will give him another one."

"No! Let us think about it", I responded, after whispering to Ro that I needed a second opinion. Still not very happy, we asked more questions. The man answered, as if recollecting from memory. Staring into space, and using his fingers to list the milestones the baby should have reached by now, he recited what he'd no doubt mugged up well in the past. Then he decided to check Adiv's length and weight. While holding the measuring tape against Adiv's wriggling body, he muttered to himself, "Should be between 48 to 54 cms."
"Oh, he is 62 cms", he said looking confused. "Going to be 6 footer i guess."

Anyway, the meeting ended with Adiv wailing, and us promising to return after 2 weeks. We never did. Thankfully, by then my aunt had introduced us to a friendly (again male) doctor who wore an amused expression in his eyes and a permanent smile in his lips. I knew I liked him as soon as I saw him.
"Put him on the table" he said. As soon as I did, Adiv turned over to explore the contents of that examination table. When I tried to hold him back, the doctor said, "Let him do whatever he wants. Don't stop him." Then he began bonding with him. He made these clicking sounds with his tongue and spoke gently to Adiv, who smiled and cooed in response. Then he picked him up, examined him and carried him with one hand to the weighing machine. Adiv seemed thrilled at the prospect of flying to the weighing machine. The doctor in turn seemed pleased with the huge gummy grins he was getting. They liked eachother, and I was relieved!

Two weeks later, we went back for Adiv's vaccination. The doctor gave him a grand welcome by picking him up and playing with him. "Tickle Tickle" he said, while he tickled Adiv who was laughing loudly by now. Amidst all the fun, he suddenly gave Adiv a poke that he didn't even notice. He got his injection and he didn't cry! Everyone in the waiting room was surprised. "He didn't cry?" The older children who were either crying or close to tears, seemed a little sheepish as we walked out with a "still smiling" Adiv. He was the star of that clinic!

Now that both the maid and pediatrician are taken care off, I can finally say I've settled down in Bangalore!