Welcoming the new baby!

The stork pays a visit and a new baby comes into the house – but why does Mama have to go to the hospital to bring the baby?  Honestly I could not figure out the connection when my baby sister was born – did the stork come and give the new baby only to mothers in the hospital?  Yes even at the age of seven I was a complete dud and believed in fairy tales – in fact I do so even now. 

Coming back to the year when my little sister was born on 12^th July.  I remember Baba, dada and I running around buying baby stuff before going to the hospital for the evening visit.   There was lot of excitement and trepidation inside me and I know it must have been the same with my dada, who was a year older to me.  Imagine a new baby in the family!  Will she become the apple of my parents’ eyes?  Will dada and I be sidelined?  Will we be able to play with the new arrival?  Most importantly, will I still be able to sleep next to my mother?  I was a 7-year old with a lot of anxiety and a million questions impatiently bubbling for answers.  And the answers must be comforting and reassuring – at least those were my internal demands.

All questions vanished when dada and I looked down with wonder at the beautiful baby in the hospital crib next to my mother’s bed.  My sister was superbly beautiful with dark ringlets of hair, fair and big black eyes (which we could see when she blinked a couple of times as all newborns do).   What quizzed us were her skin flakes that could be seen on her hands and we (dada & I) were itching to pull them.  We accomplished this task when Baba and Ma were busy talking to each other, but unfortunately, the nurse had to pop in right then and admonished us duly.  We were just curious, but it must have hurt my newly born sister.