Exclusive | Vatsal Sheth on celebrating his birthday with newborn daughter Veda

Vatsal Sheth turns a 45, the actor is blessed with two adorable angels Vaayu and Veda. This birthday turns special as it shall be his first being a `girl-dad`. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, Vatsal got candid about his fatherhood journey, birthday ritual with Kajol and more. 

From grand celebrations, Vatsal is set to have a house party with his family and his two little munchkins. He said, "I will be celebrating my birthday with my family at home. We have our little baby girl, Veda, and it is going to be my first birthday with her, and I am very excited. The celebrations have, of course, changed and how. I am at home right now; otherwise, I would have been partying. Going to a different city and celebrate the birthday. Yes, parenthood has changed it, but for the good, and I am enjoying each and every bit of it."

Parenting advice that Vatsal follows

Vatsal shares that he doesn`t follow any parenting advice, instead he tries to understand what his child wants, "You will get a lot of parenting advice online, and I don`t tend to follow it. I believe every child is different, and the way you approach is different. So, whatever works for your child, you must follow that. The only thing important is that they want time. They want the family time to be close to their mom and dad, so we make sure that Ishita and I are there for Vaayu and Veda. In fact, we even take turns with the diaper and dressing-up duties. I think that it is very important as parents to give them enough time. We even make Vaayu sleep with us, so yes, with parenting, a lot of things have changed. Now, we go to bed by 9:30-10 pm so that our little one sleeps in time."

Vatsal shares whether they witnessed any changes in Vaayu after Veda`s arrival, "We haven`t seen any changes in Vaayu after Veda. But we always made sure when Ishita was pregnant, we kept telling Vaayu that a chotu baby was coming, and when Veda was born, we told him that it was his sister. He had welcomed her with a big smile and kept saying `my sister`, though there are times when he gets a little insecure when we hold Veda, he would also want to be carried. But that is there in all kids." 

Vatsal`s fond childhood memories of birthdays, "Taking back, well, back in time, birthdays were very special. As a kid, I remember that used to be the only day when you didn`t wear a uniform and wore different clothes to school. The only day you would be the odd one out and everyone knows it`s your birthday, they come and wish you. It was a great feeling. I don`t know if they follow the same now. Then at home, we would have a small gathering and have the chips, samosa and cold drinks party after cutting the cake."

Vatsal follows this birthday ritual with Kajol

On how the celebrations have changed, but he still follows this ritual, "As we grow up, the celebrations are getting fewer. Now that we are parents, our whole focus is on the kids. Birthdays take a back seat. I remember when our parents` birthdays used to come, it would be a low-key celebration. We also don`t have plans anymore. But yes! One thing that we always do is that Kajol and I share the same birthdate. It has been more than 10 years since we have been celebrating and cutting cakes together. We would be celebrating it together today as well."

Vatsal`s most memorable birthday gift, "I am not a gift person. Ishita also keeps telling me that it is difficult to buy gifts for me. But yes, there is one thing that I still cherish is a flute that Ishita had gotten for me from the US. It`s a native American flute that I play, and I cherish that gift; it is very special to me."