If You Book It, He Will Come: Delhi Day 74

I wasn't sure else what to do. As Hayden marked his 80th day in the NICU, I decided it was time for drastic measures.

So I did it. I booked a return flight to the states.

That's right, I booked a flight HOME for a yet to be disclosed date a few weeks from now... and then I told Hayden.

"Look buddy," I said to him, "either you're with us or you're not."

 And he looked at me with his huge navy blue eyes, as if to say, "Mom... I'm going to have to think about this one."

Really, buddy?!?

He explained to me that for 80 + days, his nurses have been telling him all about THEIR home in Kerala, a real life paradise on the Arabian Sea replete with coconut trees and year round 80 degree temperatures. Seeing as he loves these nurses so much, and you know, it's only a 3 day train ride, he was curious to know what this place I speak of called Maryland has to offer?

Well for one thing, I explained, it has a DAD!

Apparently, this was more than enough, as Hayden is finally, finally, finally stabilizing without his meds!!! 

It has been a GREAT week.

In other random news...

• I learned the Hindi word for "ticket" the other day. After 75 + rides in an Indian taxi this past year, it was my first. Or rather, my driver's first. Unfortunately, it was totally my fault. Amidst helmetless babies, cars whizzing by at 100 + mph, pedestrians weaving in and out of vehicles parked/abandoned in the middle of the freeway and debris flying off the back of the endless stream of uncovered people carriers, I spotted a street woman with her baby on the side of the road. I didn't have any food or money, but I did have some bottled water and formula. I asked the driver to pull over so I could give it to her. Guess who got the ticket?
• In anticipation of all the beautiful women (nanas & aunts & cousins & friends) waiting to get their hands on him when he arrives home, Hayden has started working out. I had asked our NICU doctor to examine Hayden's arms because I noticed that he cannot fully extend them. Fortunately, an occupational therapist was on site the same day, and she taught the nurses how to "spot" him for mandatory hourly bicep curls and arm extensions. He really hates them and screams the whole time, but he does them nonetheless, as looking good for the ladies has always been a priority for him.

• "Your credit card has been declined" is code for "Our banks are too busy to process a payment right now." First, I should explain what weekends are like here at my house. As I've mentioned before, I live in a mall. While it is busy 24/7, on the weekends it gets downright insane. Imagine an elevator packed with wall to wall people. Now imagine squeezing 3x as many additional people into it. That's what it's like. So I go to use my credit card Saturday night at one of the baby stores because Scarlett has decided to graduate to the 9 oz. bottles. The cashier tells me it is "Declined." She tries again and again and tells me, "Nope, definitely Declined." Now seeing as I am using my credit card all over India, I've been keeping close tabs on the balance online. I know it's sufficient for the purchase. Nevertheless, I go back to my room and and decide to try again the next day. I do, and again another store tells me it's "Declined." I call my credit card company, yelling, crying, explaining the situation-- single woman alone in India with two babies completely out of money and more than anything in the world needs a working credit card. While extremely sympathetic-- to the point that they actually put a $50 credit on the card-- the supervisor tells me that unfortunately, he cannot risk mailing a new card to India. Right. The company also assures me that there is absolutely no reason it shouldn't be working. Go try one more time. I go back to the first store. Wouldn't you know it? The cashier has a credit card slip printed out for the bottle purchase from the night before. Wait, how did that happen? You said my card was declined. The cashier leans forward and  let's me in on a little secret... "You see," he says, "eventhough we tell you it's declined, it's actually just that that banks are too busy on the weekends. That is why the credit cards don't work." Un-be-lievable.
• Farex formula has nuts in it. Who puts nuts in baby formula?!? Do not ever underestimate India. So yes, we have switched... again. With Duane having a fatal nut allergy, it was the first thing I thought of when Scarlett started developing a rash after we had switched back to the Farex-- she was on it in the NICU and we had switched to the Nan when India ran out of the Farex. This week, we were ready to ditch the Low Birth Weight Formula and graduate to the Big Girl Stuff. I decided to go back to the Farex, as Scarlett had done well on it, it's easy to locate at any chemist, and it's relatively inexpensive. Suffice to say, none of this matters, and we are now back on the Nan. Seeing as "groundnut" was the only differing ingredient between the two, and Scarlett's rash instantly cleared up, I'm concluding that Scarlett has inherited the nut allergy. 

Still undecided as to how she feels about bathtime. 

Sleepover at Scarlett's "crib."