10

I smell of baby. I have realised that very few things compare to putting a 15-day old baby to sleep in your arms. Baby Jaishna (my niece, yay!) is one smart girl. She whimpers and twitches till her mumma or her aunts pick her up and only then will yield to sleep. I gave it a shot yesterday. I rocked her to sleep, and her little bright eyes slowly closed shut. As soon as I stopped rocking, her eyes shot open- "What is going on here? Why aren't you doing your duty, mausi?" Nothing skips her attention!

When awake (and not crying), she stares at you with those shiny eyes of hers, her wide-eyed stare taking things in, making you wonder what's going on in that tiny little head. She smiles a lot while dreaming, making you think that there are pleasant things inside. She's growing so fast, and her legs are so long you want her to be a footballer. Well, I want her to be a cricketer, so close enough!

Being around her makes you forget the world outside, a pleasant drug with no side-effects. I can't wait for her to grow up, while simultaneously dreading it because I won't be around to see her grow and cuddle her and be her awesome-est aunt. I'll be the aunt she sees once a year, who she'll know by name. Everytime I see her, I'll exclaim over how much she has grown, and she'll smile politely. I don't want that. Ah well, lots of time to worry about that later. For now, I just want to smell the intoxicating scent of baby.