Thinking about weaning baby?

If your baby is lesser than six months old, dear mom, go ahead and breast feed.No hurry to wean him right now.

Weaning your baby for the first time can be confusing.All this time your baby was on breastmilk.That means no sterilization,no storage ,no preparations and no fear of contamination!! Its just easy!

From my own experience with my two children, babies who are exclusively breastfed for first 6 months ( no water too.Breast milk is watery in the beginning, then gets thicker) hardly get any stomach disorders like indigestion and loose stools.The baby's digestive system is mature by about 6 months of age and added to that, you must have supplied your bub all the antibodies in form of Brest milk.

So do not fear and go ahead with solids.

The general rules for any food is as below. 

1. Start with simple starchy foods that are easy to digest.

2. Give one type of food for a couple of days to check if it suits your child.For instance if you have given dal and potato on the same day and your child has gastric issues, then you won't be able to make out which one caused the issue.

3.Avoid cow's milk until the baby is one year old.Cow's milk has fat and protein suitable for calves and not human babies! Mother's milk is best for your baby.

4.Avoid packaged food even if it says no preservatives and additives. One common sense fact is that no food can exist in store shelf for so long without processing

5.Do not use mixie to puree foods as it will destroy the taste,texture and nutritive value of food .Use a Blancher instead.Or even your fingers.

Fruits

 I have fed my kids all kinds of raw indian fruits except very fiberous and sour fruits.Prefer sweet and fleshy fruits.They can be given raw.

Bananas are excellent source of potassium and carbohydrate for your baby.Choose sweet varieties.

Vegetables

All vegetables as soup.

Mashed sweet potato , potato ( be very careful with sweet potatoes and potatoes.As they might contain a greenish tinge on their skin.Will create severe stomach ailments when consumed.Yes, I did that mistake of accidentally feeding it to my kid.)

Mashed carrots,sweet pumpkin, blended greens.

Lentis

All lentis without skin until the baby is a year old.Example, giving green gram or urad dhal with skin might cause loose stools in some babies that might last for even two weeks.

Try to add some tomatoes, hing  or garlic,turmeric powder while you Cook lentils for easy digestion.Avoid Rajma as this is very hard on stomach for babies

Kanji's or porridges

Multigrain kanji is prepared by roasting and grinding creals,nuts,spices .It is ready available in store. I buy organic multi grain porridge mix.

You can feed you child just plain ragi porridge too.It is one of the trusted and well know health food for babies.ragi can be finely ground with skin and must be cooked well for at least ten minutes.Ragi does take time to cook.

Water

Feed you baby with jeera water everyday.This improves digestion and keeps baby healthy.

Why you should tell stories to your kids everyday

Remember the stories which your mum and grandmother told you?

The stories that were full of magic and surprises, the stories which were full of awe and inspiration, the stories that provoked your thoughts and stories that pulled you into a world of imagination.
Do we tell stories to our kids?
If your answer is yes, then thumbs up to you.
If not,then why don't you begin today?

Here's why?

You can kindle creativity and curiosity in you kids

Television presents everything in an 'as is' form. There's no room for imagination.When your child sees a flower on television, he sees its colour and form as it is captured.
But when you tell a story you describe a flower like this 'The rose flower that the princess adored on her locks was a beautiful red rose.It has tiny petals in the middle and a bud in its centre,The outer petals had bloomed and were much bigger.
The rose flower was soft and smelled great.It has a green stem and nice big green leaves.The princess liked it a lot'

Imagine, this could take you the kid to a visual tour. He imagines how the rose looks like.The image of the rose he creates is a product of her brain's capacity to imagine and create things rather than presenting a ready-made picture of the rose.

You can cut screen time

Whenever you child is bored and asks the regular question 'What next?', instead of switching on the TV for them, try telling them a story.
This way you can both benefit from a wonderful bonding time together.
Eventually, there's a greater chance you kid loses interest in Tv/gadgets and would like to listen to stories instead.

You can give value education to you kids

Remember moral stories from Pancha-tantra,Jataka tales and Vikram aur Bethaal or any other regional stories you might have listened to as kids?
They are all infused with basic morals that are building blocks of our children's character.
Giving value education through moral stories is the best way to get your child's attention to good values in life.

Spiritual time for Kids

If you are a person who is religiously inclined, then you may wish to tell  them stories from  scriptures  that could cultivate spiritual thoughts on your kids

You can have a special time together

If you are a working parent and are on a constant guilt that you are not spending enough time with your kid, then this is a fun and easy way to bond with you  child.A beautiful story at bedtime can make up for the entire day you have missed with your child

It can benefit you too

It's hard to sanctify a child's growing curiosity and you make have to come up with new stories or even cook up you own story.This will positively benefit your mood and may help you become more creative and relaxed.

Let's begin storytelling today!

How to tie a Jhoola for your baby

The Indian cradle/Jhoola/thooli in Tamil is one of the ancient ways to put the baby to sleep.Indian mothers and grandmas swear by it and are still widely used as the only means of a cradle for the baby.

What is a Jhoola cradle?
It's a piece of cloth tied in a particular fashion and hung mostly from the ceiling to put the baby to rest or to sleep.
What equipment do I need for the Jhoola?

• A hook in the ceiling
• A nice piece of cotton cloth of about 5 to 6 foot in length 
• A Spring
• A nylon rope
• A rod made of wood or steel with a hole on either ends that allows the rope to pass through

In the above list, 1 and 2 are absolutely necessary and 3,4,5 are optional but useful There are two methods of making the Jhoola with all 5 things and another method with just a cloth and the hook. 

Method one:

Fix the spring onto the ceiling hook
Put the rope onto the bottom end of the hook
Thread the rod through one end of the rope and do the same with the other end of the rod and make a knot below the rod so that the rod does not move.
Gather one end of the cloth and tie it to one loose end of the rope
Gather the other  end of the cloth and tie it to the other end of the rope.
Meanwhile, adjust the length of rope and cloth so that the whole setup is not too high.
If your baby tends to get down from the Jhoola, then tying it lower so that it's not far from the floor is the safest option.
Your Jhoola for the baby is ready.

 Method two:
This is a simpler method which just needs a long piece of cloth like a saree and no other special  equipment.
This can be very useful in case you are travelling or in someone else's  home.
Gather one end of the cloth and insert the same through the ceiling hook.
This can be done standing on a tall stool or with the help of a stick.
Pull down the cloth and gather the other end.
Tie them both together.
Pull up the knot so that you make a nice cradle for your baby.
Things to remember
The Jhoola tends to drop further lower with the weight of the baby.Adjust the length keeping this in mind.

Make sure the Jhoola is closer to the floor.This is in case your baby is old enough to get down from it.

Why do we need a Jhoola while there are cribs, cots, and bassinets and why not Co-sleeping  with the baby? Read more on Jhoola

What's so special about the Indian Cradle

Why is Jhoola the best for your baby?

Cribs, cots, bassinets  and what more.There are plenty of options available to put the baby to sleep. But why do we need the less glamorous Jhoola? Read on.

What are the advantages of Jhoola for the baby?

• A Jhoola needs no big investment.
• A Jhoola is hung from the ceiling, that means no pests or insects can touch the baby.The baby is safe and away from the floor.
• A Jhoola is the cleanest bed for your baby to sleep since it's a cloth and can be washed very frequently.
• A Jhoola is very suitable for hot and arid temperatures since it allows a free flow of air on all sides including the bottom.
• A Jhoola can be rocked, which is loved by a baby and calms him instantly.
• Reduced risk of SIDS since baby's bed has air flow on all sides. It's not dangerous, even if your baby has a habit of sleeping face down.
• Even a novice can rock a baby to sleep.That will be of great help to the mum.

Do I need to buy one?

No. All you need to make a Jhoola is a hook on the ceiling of your room.
It's not necessary that the hook must be fixed while the house is built.
If you don't have one, you can always get it fixed wherever you want.

Can I Use a mosquito net with the Jhoola?

Yes, you can tie a mosquito net that specially available to fix in Jhoolas.

Now, are you all set to give a peaceful sleep to your baby?

DIY cloth diaper for new born with no stitching

Things you need

• Cloth nappies with a semipermeable cover. Remember membranes, which allow water to pass through are also considerably breathable and best for your baby's skin.
• Cotton and similar highly absorbent cloths
• Diaper liner.

Lay a cloth nappy

Place absorbent material over the nappy.The absorbent material can be any old cotton or such soft material that can absorb a baby's urine pretty well. Prefer white cloth to coloured ones and if using coloured make sure the cloth is used and washed multiple times to prevent colour bleeding from the cloth onto the baby's bottom.

Place nappy liner over the absorbent material. Nappy liners are soft tissue-like sheets which allow water in only one direction. It allows the urine to pass through it inside the absorbent layer but does not let it seep back. This prevents the baby's bottom from getting in contact with wetness.

You can bundle this up onto your baby.This diaper is free of chemicals and toxins that may potentially enter your baby's skin.Plus a satisfaction hat you made it for your baby with minimal effort.

This nappy works well with babies up to 7 months of age.Best suited for newborns and with older babies if they don't roll over much during sleep time.
If you are confident that your baby can't undo this you can try it on older babies too.

I was able to use this nappy with my children, especially when they are asleep and do not move much.

Cloth diapering basics for new moms

What is a cloth diaper?
Cloth Diaper is a modern solution for moms who do not want to use disposable diapers for their children.
It consists of an outer cover with an inner layer of absorbent material.

What are the Types of cloth diaper?
There are may type of cloth diapers in the market and the choices can be overwhelming.

For enthusiastic new mothers who want to try new diapers and are confused, here is a quick idea on what to choose.

Pocket diapers are diapers with an outer layer of waterproof material and an inner pocket where an insert can be used The insert can be bought ready made or any household fabric can be used.

Pros:
- Greater absorbency as an insert including home made inserts can be used.
- Nappy pads can also be used inside the pockets if you are unable to wash the inserts.
- If using disposable nappy pads inside the pocket,  an advantage is that your baby's bottom will not come in contact with the pad.



Diapers with inserts/reusable pads that can be snapped onto the outer cover
You can easily check if the liner is wet and keep changing the inserts, provided the outer cover does not get wet.

Even otherwise the outer covers can be wiped clean with a cloth.

You can buy a dozen of these diapers online or at any baby store and  most of them give one to two inserts with the pack.
That way you will be able to manage if you do laundry with a washing machine every day.


You can make your own diapers at home for your newborn.No stitching skills required! Click here to read more

Do you use disposable Diapers?

Disposable diapers are a boon to new age mothers who are busy and can't change their baby's diapers too frequently.
Our moms and grand moms never used diapers probably and we can't imagine a life without them.

Why Do we need Diapers?
Obviously, we don't expect little babies to walk to the toilet and finish the job !
We have a busy lifestyle and we don't want to spend the entire day checking to see if the baby has wet his diaper.
We may also be concerned about rashes that might develop in baby's sensitive skin.
Happy and convinced about enough reasons?
Here's more on diapers.

If you are a mom who uses disposable diapers on babies most of the time day and night here are things for you to consider.

Disposable diapers are a bag of  chemicals that may harm your baby.you might have already read enough of the list of chemicals used in diapers for absorbency (Dioxins and Sodium Polyacrylate are the most common ones).

Researches have been conducted on their negative effects on your baby's health.
If you are too skeptical to believe this, you may consider the below points,

- Not enough real time evidence is available to prove that diapers do not cause long-term health benefits on individuals who have used them as children because the diaper is a relatively new invention.
R ember our moms and grandmoms relied on cloth nappies.

- Imagine wearing a sanitary napkin 24/7 for 3 years!

We may not want to test the products on our child.
The safest bet is to use diapers wisely and only when absolutely necessary.

The scenarios might be when your child is unwell, or the child's caregiver is unwell and cannot check the nappies for wetness regularly.
-When you are traveling and cannot wash or store soiled nappies.

After all, kids are precious and spending time for their wellness is worth it.