I am back!

Sorry for the long pause. We had an unexpected pleasant surprise back home. Entering 32 weeks of pregnancy, my wife and I visited our doctor for a regular check-up. My wife had abnormally high blood pressure, and the doctors admitted her right away to monitor her health and the baby's vitals constantly. Four days later, our baby boy Atharv was born. He was 39 cm tall at birth and weighed 1.25 kg (2.75 lbs). On the growth chart published by WHO, he was well below the 3rd percentile. He was a premature baby (8 weeks early)! He spent the next six weeks in the Neo-natal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). After meeting all his developmental metrics, the doctors sent him home.

Over the last year,  I was occupied raising Atharv and couldn't write. My cousins flew in at a moment's notice to help us in our journey. My in-laws literally did all the heavy lifting regarding raising the kid. Thanks to a fantastic boss who made accommodations at work to help me navigate my situation at home. All of this meant my wife and me had a memorable year with my little one barring a few health scares.

The last year was also eventful for several other reasons on both personal and professional fronts. We raised a premature baby to good health and bought a house. I started learning music and flute, read some fantastic books, and started exciting data science projects at work. My newsletter will expand on each of them in the coming weeks. I hope you had a great year, too, and do let me know how it was for you.