Taking a cue from the non linear screenplay in many recent blockbusters, lets take dive into those moments when Neo was only a few months old, with some build up and background of course.

Right from birth, babies sleep only on their back mostly. Unless when caretakers or parents make them sleep on their tummy. That could be one of the reasons why Neo used to love his 20 mins of oil massage. I get it. Sleeping in the same posture every day for hours together could be very numbing for the muscles. He also enjoyed his tummy time a lot. During his time of birth, the nurse mentioned that he loves sleeping on his tummy the best.

Not just Neo, the fact that I realized even I would have slept the same way for 20 to 25 weeks after my birth makes me dig deeper on the fact that as babies we mostly take a lot of time for actions we do normally now. I will dig further deep on the philosophy side of this in a few chapters forward.

One thing babies can do instantly is probably hold on to the finger of their parent. Neo was holding my index finger right from the day one. He was also trying to take my index finger towards him and put it into his mouth. His grip would be remarkable strong, one would not expect that from a months’ baby as such. During our visit to Goa, when Neo was just five months old, an airhostess experienced this too. Neo held her finger strongly and won’t let go, ha! She gave him a compliment “Oh, app bahut strong ho!”, meaning Oh, you are very strong.

Neo took 3 to 4 months to blink his eyelids in a normal pace. Babies take a while to blink their eyes in the same pace as adults. This is why we started preparing Neo before we switched on the lights in the room. His mother would say “Lights on, Neo” first and then switch on the lights ever since the first few days after his birth. And of course same thing for switching off lights. Now it has become a habit for us to prepare Neo every time he wakes up from sleep and we have to draw out the curtains during day, “Lights on, Neo.”

My wife and I attended a 12 week online Parenting course back in early 2025. Those 12 weeks would set the course for our learning and setting our expectations right too. I will speak about this course in a separate chapter but I mention it here because not everything I am saying here or every tip is my observation or my discovery alone. I learnt from the best.

For instance, that course taught us about a magical procedure called “Say & Do”, i.e. First Say what you are going to do to the child or for the child and then do it. This way the child understands what you are going to do and doesn’t get startled or afraid as such. “Neo, I am going to change your diapers now, Neo put your hands through the shirt, Neo its time to sleep now” etc. Trust me, even if the baby is inside the womb, they somehow understand. Neo we are going to the clinic to take a scan, be prepared ok and Neo did understand when he was 6 to 8 months old inside the womb! The Gynecologist herself was surprised how quick the scan got over. She mentioned that it usually takes a few hours for the scan to complete but looks like your child was ready for the scan. That’s the power of “Say & Do”!

Neo took 3 months to see colors, mostly red to begin with. Imagine, everything would be in black and white immediately after being born. This was already mentioned to us in the parenting sessions we attended. I had also noticed this change myself, because after 3 months, Neo’s stare started prolonging. He used to stare at me and his mother for minutes together. And every time he saw us, and recognized us, we could see the pleasure he exhibits through his eyes. For the first 3 months, Neo was busy sleeping, feeding, excreting and crying (he mostly used to cry only for milk or when he had done potty). After 3 months, things slowly start to get more exciting. He sees his parents better. He sees the fan, he sees the tube-light. His parents palm and fingers are his preferred toys. Every time he sees their parents fingers, facial expressions as if he is seeing them for the first time.

Babies love repetition. When parents call them by their name, they register it. We were told to talk to Neo right from the time he was in his womb. We were told that babies develop hearing sense first, that too inside the womb itself. So we started calling him Neo and started talking to him ever since he was 5 months old inside the womb, you know “Say & Do” etc. Neo started reacting to Tamil quite a lot. As parents we can notice that a baby who had hardly noticed or interacted for the first 12-14 weeks suddenly starts looking at them keenly when they hear the words that were uttered repeatedly, maybe since the time they were in the womb too. I could recognize the fact that he had started recognizing my voice, my words and what I told him repeatedly. He recognizes his mother’s words and voice too.

It was one such midnight when Neo was around 4 to 5 months old. I went into his room to switch off the AC for some time. I realized that he was awake by himself, laying on his back, but not crying. I realized that he must have just woken up but he was pleasant. This was the night that Neo saw me, felt my presence, remembered who I am and then gave me a big wide cheek to cheek SMILE! I can still remember that face. Obviously babies don’t have teeth yet, so that made him look even more cuter. The room was dimly lit, only the bed side dim light was on, but still I captured that smile and that face forever in my memory. I have a good memory, and I will take that Smile memory till the day I live and to my grave too. I promise!