Time for Solid food for Baby

My baby was 4 months old and it was time to introduce infant formula along with weaning food. I was lucky that my baby relished infant formula from the very first day. Some mothers start Infant formula from the very first day.

Along with infant formula it was time for weaning food. Initially my baby showed a lots reluctance in accepting weaning (i.e. rice, lentils, fruits etc) food. By fifth month my baby started accepting weaning food, although he did not relish it.

Sixth month was the time to introduce solids. By this time my baby had become familiar to food & fruits. I started giving him a fresh fruit in his breakfast. It is always better to give fruits with pulp for example mango, banana, rock melon, chiku etc. Generally, babies show reluctance to sour and citrus fruits. In lunch, I introduced lentil (cooked with two vegetables) & rice. To make it more interesting and nutritious I usually add one fourth table spoon of “desi ghee” for “tadka”, “haldi”, “3-4 jeera seeds” and a pinch of salt. Gradually my baby started relishing this meal. Although my baby eats very less but at least I am satisfied that he has started eating regular stuff.

Once my baby started accepting his breakfast & lunch, I introduced eveing snacks. Sometimes I offer “suji ka halwa”, “kheer” to my baby. All these are made using Infant formula.

Also as 4th meal of the day I introduced “farex” (i.e. solid baby food) in his dinner. In order to make farex more acceptable and tasty I usually server it with fresh fruits and with a table spoon of infant formula.

Along with the above said menu, I also offer milk (i.e. infant formula) to my baby at least 3 times in a day. It is not necessary that baby will drink the entire quality offered. It solely depends on baby’s appetite.

Here I would like to share some tips when you plan to introduce solids.

• Dal (Lentil) – rice or kichdi can be a good option for lunch. But make sure that it is properly cooked and mashed.
• For snacks you can serve suji (Semolina) or rava ka halwa (pudding). Fry 2tbs suji in ¼ spoon desi ghee when it turns to light brown add 1 bowl of water to it & let the water dry. Let it cool down. Then add 2tbs infant formula to it & serve it to baby.
• Fried food and Junk food is not recommended.
• Do not offer biscuits, as it only fills the stomach and does not provide
much nutritional value to the baby.
• Never leave your baby alone with food - babies can choke on food and drinks.
• Introduce foods one at a time wait a couple of days before introducing
another one so that you can isolate any adverse reactions and allergies.
• The food should be smooth, supple and runny.
• Never force your baby to eat.
• The spoon should be small, shallow and soft. Special weaning spoons can be
bought.
• Offer solids between milk feeds, when your baby is neither too hungry nor
too full.
• Hold your baby comfortably on your lap or sit her in her baby chair. It
would be better if both of you were protected against spills!
• Make sure all feeding utensils are sterilized or at least washed with hot
water.
• To avoid food poisoning, throw away any uneaten food left over from her meal
and never reheat and use again.
• Always check food temperature to prevent burning her mouth. Your baby cannot
eat hot food
• Never add solids to your baby’s bottle
• Offer drinks of cool boiled water starting from 6 months of age.
• If you are massaging in morning then it always better to give breakfast at
least one hour before massage time

Teaching a good night sleep habit

The first three Months..after the arrival of the baby.

The first three month were the most tough & crucial for me as a new mother.It was a like chaos in my life...sleepless nights...tiring days....making N nos of mistakes in handling the baby.Its very much true practical experience is the best learning class.

My entire house was a jungle of things lying all around.Sometimes I felt very helpless.But I was trying to put the best effort to learn things.My first aim was to inculcuate a habit in my baby to sleep at nights.Beacuse I knew if I start getting a proper sleep at night I can start settling things during day time.

For the first three & a half months I exclusively kept my baby on my feeds.So it was tough because my baby use to wake up 2 times at night for feeds.Many a times he started playing at mid nights.But I made it sure that I do not encourage him to play.I kept him on my lap & made him sleep.Many nights I spent hours in making the baby sleep & the baby use to take a nap
for half an hour & and some times this process use to get repeated many times during the night.

I didnt give up....& finally at 4 months my baby started taking a continous sleep for the whole nights that was around 8-9 hours at a stretch.

Some tips which I would like to share here are :

1)Keep the baby awake in evening.So that he gets tired by night.
2)If baby gets mid night,feed him & make him sleep again do not play with him.
3)Make the baby sleep at the same time daily.Also wake him up at the same time everyday in morning.This will help in regularzing his routine.
4)Sometimes you can even give a good massage before taking him to bed.That will relax & soothe the baby.
5)Make sure you give a proper feed to the baby finally taking him to bed.
6)If you are breastfeeding, caffeine can create a vicious circle,you drink coffee (or tea or cola) to give you a hit, baby gets a boost of stimulant through your milk – and becomes restless.
7)Tiny tummies need frequent refills, but soon your baby will start sleeping at least one longer stretch between feeds. If baby sleeps more than four hours between feeds during the day, it is reasonable to GENTLY unwrap him and offer a feed, then he might save his longer sleep for night – time. However, be patient if he is not ready to alter his pattern.
8)Teach baby the difference between night and day by keeping the lights low and attending to him quietly during night feeds. Save play and chatter for daytime.
9)Choose a well-lit area for your baby's naps. This will help encourage shorter naps, which in turn may help your little one sleep better at night.
10)Feed your baby in a darkened room at night if he or she wakes up hungry. Let him know that night is for sleeping.

Baby massage

After my baby's birth the biggest challenge came was "baby Care". As every mother I always wanted to do the best for him. Baby massage is one of the important aspects in child care. So here I would like to share my experience with baby massage. Once we came back from the medical center, from the very first day I started massage for my baby.

Baby massage is an ancient practice & is still followed across the world.A good massage soothes the baby,increases blood circulation,helps him to sleep better and gain more weight . It helps muscular development. It also helps in parents child bonding.Talking and smiling to him while massaging keeps a child happy, making the baby more secure and robust.

Initially,I started the massage with medicated oils which are available specially for babies.Although coconut oil,olive oil is also suggested.But since it was a start I started with a very light massage oil.After massage I usually give my baby a Luke warm water bath.Definitely,I can say with confidence that it helped my baby to gain weight & also it gave a very good sleep.In less than 8 days my baby started enjoying the massage.Massage time is a time when I leave all my things aside & spend quality time with my baby...we play..we sing ..we talk....its lots of fun...

My baby is prone to skin ezcema so his skin needs to be mositurzed always.From seventh month I tried olive oil for massage.It did wonders for my baby's skin.In three days his skin became smooth & soft.Here are some tips I would like to share for baby massage..

• It is a good practice to keep all things you ready before you start rubbing the oil on the baby's body. This includes, the baby massage oil , tissues.
• Baby's skin is very soft and bracelet, rings and long nails might hurt your child accidentally. So keep your fingernails short and keep aside the jewellery pieces you wear on hands when you are massaging the baby.
• If the weather is cold, turn up the heat enough to keep the baby warm.
• Spread a changing mat or a soft towel on a flat surface and undress the baby.
  
• Rub only about half-a-teaspoon of oil at a time on your palms so they glide easily on the baby's body. You can apply more oil later as needed.
• Make sure that your palms are warm.
  
• Use smooth, gentle but firm strokes with your palm or fingers. Light circular movements on chest and stomach, stroking across the shoulders, downward movement on the arms and legs and upward movements on the back are the best.
• Do not put too much pressure on the baby's fragile body.
  
• Keep the baby engaged while massaging him or her by talking or singing to the infant.This is how baby will start enjoying the massage time.
  
• Eye contact with the baby ensures him or her of your undivided attention.
• Sudden break in contact of your hands may cause alarm to the baby, take care to be gentle while stopping the massage.
• Do not oil baby's palms or fingers as these little ones tend to put them in their mouths or eyes often and this may cause them irritation.
• Do not massage the baby just before or after feeding, or when the baby is ill.
• Do not wake the baby up for a massage.
• Avoid rashes, wounds or areas where the baby has got his injections or vaccines as it may hurt.
• Give a luke warm water bath to the baby after massage.
• Massage the tiny fingers of the baby by gently pressing them between your forefinger and thumb.
• Make sure that you rub very gently on baby’s elbow and knee joints.
• Gently squeeze the muscles on baby's legs and arms but be sure that baby does not get hurt.
• Keep one hand over other hand and use them like a paddle just below the belly button of the baby to relieve any gas pains and improve her digestion.
• Don’t use baby oil on infant's face.
• Babies less than four months old need only 10 minutes of massage while older babies can be given 20 minutes of massage depending on their development.

After a good massage & bath usually baby takes a long sleep,which makes baby fresh & playful.

In case you need any advise please free to write to me.I will try to help you in best possible way.

Journey from woman to motherhood

Somewhere I read a ...'A woman is not complete till she attains motherhood '..now I feel that its very much true..

My journey towards motherhood started from from the first month of 2008.A new beginning..in a new year.When I first heard the little tingling sound of a tinny heart within me,my heart & soul was filled with millions of emotions & expectations.

All of a sudden my life style started changing in many ways.My GP told me that your first three months are going to give you the most memorable experience of your life.At that time I felt that my GP is trying to be little sarcastic but now I can certainly say she was sarcastic & true. In the first three months the most rocking activity which I have gone through was nothing but throwing up (vomiting & nausea) myself 30 times a day.No medicines... no home remedies..nothing worked...only my will power kept me going through this high tides.I counted each day,each night till end the third month dreaming that this ordeal will end after three months but like all other dreams it was false.For me this ordeal was destined to stay for 9 months.

The second tri-semester started....with some complex medical examination i.e triple marker ,malformation scan etc....we use to wait with extreme eagerness for the report.By god's grace all reports were fine & the baby was doing well.This was relatively a better phase in my pregnancy.All I can say is I ate well,slept well & attained weight.

Now comes the climax period (The Third tri-semester).During this phase I kept on adding weight & an anxiety that now I will get to touch my cutu pie very soon.But ya!time was tough, moving around and going to office was a challenge.Above all the basics challenges like finding my way through IIT Powai Traffic Jam during monsoon climbing a Everest look alike ramp of Office building. At the start of eighth month gradually a weird thing started.Gradually,I started loosing my sleeps during nights.I use to greed for a atleast a nap during day.But had No luck!

At the starting of nine month we went for a final check up.Looking at my condition GP suggested us that a normal delivery is a remote possibility hence it would be better if we opt for a voluntary c-section procedure.Since this was my first child & I was ready to take ANY chances,hence we gave our accord for C- section and fixed a suitable date.

D-day :Finally,I was ready with all my baby supplies packed everything & left for the medical centre that night.I got up early next morning (thanks goes to nurses & mid wives) as I was my procedure was scheduled at 8.30 am in the morning.After some basic preparations & morning routine I was finally taken to the OT.After that whatever happened is not that clear in my memory.Finally,I woke up after mid day & saw my little cute pie wrapped in dark green cloth lying on the baby cradle beside my cot.

That was the most beautiful sight of my life.....


Finally,I was there a woman from last so many years had become a mother....