Friday, October 23, 2009

Wipes

Huggies baby wipes from Costco.
Pampers.

Preferably nonscented ones for the newborns and mild scented for the infants.
Good to clean and wipe after each potty/toilet session.

I personally prefer the flushable wipes, but they are on the costlier side.

We can also use cotton balls dipped in warm water.

For people in India, better not wash the butt immediately after birth.. a soft cloth soaked in water or baby wipes.. I used pampers which felt like God-sent items initially.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Sunni Pindi Preparation

I used to use Shubra Herbal bath powder for Sreya until the time she was 6 months old, but now I have switched to the home-made herbal powder, the smell of which is really really divine and very very good to the skin too... yes, I did the patch test on myself and then her and then only started it.. if you happen to be in India and have time and energy to go for it then why not.. not just for the babies but also for the mothers who need that little bit of pampering which they are badly deprived after the baby... even if it is a 2-minute bath ritual.. believe me you will feel fresh.

So, my friend Dolly told me about it and sent the necessary ingredients..

Ingredients
Bath herbs -- Purchased at a herbal/ayurvedic store.. we need to buy ingredients for 1 kilo powder and they will pack them all about 30 to 40 varieties and it costs 100 rs/-.
Pesarapappu - green gram - 1/2 kilo
Barley - 1/2 kilo
Oatmeal powder - 1 cooker measure-cup full.
Dried and Powdered rose petals, preferably red -- 1 cupful.
Mudda Karpooram -- camphor -- 25 gms for infants -- 50 to 100 grams for adults. (strong initially but gradually the smell becomes very mild).
Pasupu -- turmeric powder (preferably from pasupu kommu) or banjara's turmeric powder (not for small babies only for moms if they intend to use).

Prep
dry the herbal ingredients under hot sun and just coarsely powder them in a mortar and pestle.. rotlo danchukondi.. then grind them to a fine powder in the mixer.




Sun dry the barley and green gram thoroughly and make them into fine powder.

Mix the oatmeal powder, the ground barley and green gram powder, herbal powder, rose powder (homemade out of red non-hybrid variety petals sun dried and powdered), and crush the camphor and add it up to the rest of them.

The final part seems so simple but the grinding a bit tedious.. In India you can get them powdered at a mill though and I must say it is one of the reasons I looooooooooooove India!!!

Simple Sunni Pindi
Green gram (pesara pappu)
Barley grains
Oatmeal Powder,
Amla Powder,
Rose Powder (same as above)
Bavanchaalu and Kacchooralu (for that heavenly smell)
Turmeric (pasupu) if it is for elders (avoid for kids)

Fine grind barley and green gram half and half say 1/2 kg each and a 100 grams each of the rest, if for elders you can also add orange peel powder (homemade) etc. which would be good.. if you body does not get dark by using neem, you can as well add a little neem powder (but in my case and a lot of my friends, they tend to get darker, so we do avoid)... and mix them all up..

Stores To Get herbs shown in the picAny vanamoolikala shop... to be specific, the place my friend gets them..
1. The lane behind ESI Darga on the road.
2. In the lane where there is Anjaneya Swamy Temple next to Green Bawarchi Hotel in Banjara Hills/Jubilee Hills area... sorry about being so vague but I havent been to that place, so cant be more precise!!

Also, these days due to the high demand the guy has cut down on the amount of stuff he used to give... sigh!!!! :(((((.

I AM NOT SURE/AWARE OF ANY STORES SELLING ANY OF THE STUFF OTHER THAN THE ONES MENTIONED ABOVE IN THE POST, SO PLEASE DO NOT WAIT ON ME FOR CHECKING THEM OUT....

Bathing Routine

It is important that the baby's cord fall off before we get into actual bathing sessions. Just use a wash cloth and some luke warm water with mild baby soap in the water. If the baby is in India, you can bathe the kid with water but no rubbing and all, just mild soap application and dirt cleaning if any, no rigorous rubbing near the navel at all.

Procedure to bathe a kid in the first few days of life
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Do not give massage to the body, just apply mild soap, clean the body and give bath once a day in tropical climate like in India or maybe alternate day or so in colder places like US. The other days just give mild soap-water sponge bath and apply moisturizer or cream suggested. It is best that the kid's body is free of anything in the first few days.

Applying oil to the baby's head
Yes, we can apply coconut oil, baby hair oil, or castor oil on baby's head mildly. If giving head bath daily, it would be good to apply a little more oil before head bath.

Headbath
If in tropical climate like India, people give head bath regularly to the kids every day in the morning up to a year.

Twice daily bath
Again, if in tropical climate like India, we can start it from 11th day if it is mid summer or from 21st day in normal days. No head bath in the evenings at all.

After bath
Pat dry the skin with a soft towel, apply cream when the skin is still moist. If applying powder or corn starch apply and dress in loose fitting clothes.

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One main aspect of baby care is bath. Back in India, it is a daily affair but might vary on the type of climate, the baby skin and all and need to take a doctor's opinion for the same.

For me, Sreya was a summer baby born in April in Krishna district in AP, so bathing her is a daily affair infact daily twice affair from day 11th day onwards.

So starting from the beginning, the first day of her life she was just wiped off with clean soft old used cotton sarees and rubbed with coconut oil by the midwife after the delivery, no water used is what they told me. So, technically her bathing session began the 2nd day of her life with the nurses giving her a mild soap and hot water rinse rather than a bath. The moment we set our feet at home, I had a lady in the village assigned specifically for her bathing sessions which I must say is a boon.

oka peeta meeda koorchuni kaalu rendo peeta meeda jaapukuni babyni padukobettukuni snanam cheyistaaru.

We used hot water, paala meeda meegada or perugu meeda meegada for the pre-bath massaging and then Subhra herbal bath powder slight massage and then washing with Johnson Baby soap, and Johnson Head to Toe/No tears Shampoo for head bath every morning. Believe me with all the massaging and stuff (I am told we did very mild massaging and the babies in the villages really get wild ones :)), the baby gets so tired and sleeps peacefully for minimum 2 hrs after the bath, so I used to feed her after her bath and let her sleep. The bath also includes exercise for the baby pulling her legs, hands, stroking her head (supposedly to keep it round after the delivery trauma) which I felt was good.

After 11th day, we started the evening bath too but not as rigorous as the morning session.. just plain soap and water wash minus the head bath.

Doctors specifically recommend no rigorous nalugu, maalish, or massage whatever for newborns as their skin is delicate.
Just mild strokes for longer time would do and even we can do away with sunni-pindi/bath powder if the baby has a rash or becomes really red at bath time. Touchwood, Sreya enjoyed her bathing sessions, so we continued with everything in mild doses.

The actual massaging and stuff started once she entered her 3rd month and her skin was not as fragile with doctor's consent, mild exercising sessions became a little rigorous and I started massaging her with baby oil. Again, doctors advised no use of any type of oil massaging in the first and preferably second months of life. I used Johnson oil to start with and now shifted to Himani Ayurvedic oil after she turned 6 months old. An exercise routine in the morning with the oil and then a little play break and bath afterwards works wonders for them. Personal experience says that she gets one-on-one time with me, her exercise, and good sleep after all tiresome activity :).



This is an Indian, AP baby routine wrt to climate and body preference.. waiting for more inputs with regards to babies in US.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Traveling With Infants

A useful link

http://www.babies1stflight.co.uk/advice.php

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Another useful link

http://ninaivugal-nijangal-kanavugal.blogspot.com/2008/02/travelling-with-baby-international.html
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1. Dont trust anyone for taking care of the baby.. Take a summer stroller so that you can take ur baby inside the rest room... that is safer than handing over the baby to someone..

2. Take tylenol, Banana boat (which will be very handy in this summer - sunscreen lotion for the baby)...

3. As u cannot take liquids, take formula box small open without opening it... once the checking is done get some normal water, mix it, give it then and there and throw the rest.. they are real strict about this liquid stuff...

4. If your baby has started taking GERBER food, do have some 6-7 bottles for the journey and probably 10-20 bottles for india.. incase initially they find difficult to adjust with our food there.. this is gonna b of real use to you.

5. I am not sure how comfortable your kid will b in diapers there.. these days u get pampers and huggies brand there.. but still it wld b better if you can carry around 60 -100 diapers for the local travel there .. u might not be sure whether he will b ok with the local diapers there and how much he will b comfortable with the underware stuff there...

6. Dont carry moisturizer with the diaper bag.. they will throw that too.. keep all those stuff in checkin bag.. just a small bottle of tylenol for the travel shld b enuf.. if your baby is cranky, just give tylenol and he might sleep thruout the journey.. dnt forget to close his ears thru takeoff and landing.. he might get ear pain too....

7. You can get some fancy dress for your baby, get some caseroles if u dont have.. coz later with your baby around, u might not b able to cook hot things and eat... whichever indian vessel comfy in your place, bring that.. but not too heavy stuff...

Response 2

1. Just carry diapers for the flight....crry a lot..coz babies usually need to b changed every 3 hrs during flight..so tht they feel comfortable n dont start crying..
U get these diapers in india..pampers n huggies..most of the sizes..
u also get somethign called nappy pads..they r like nappies which u can stick to hte underwear. this is more comfortable as its more airy n suited for indian humid n hot climate.
2. No, we do not get formula in india...U hav to take ur Enfamil arnd 4-5 cans of them..coz the ones u get in india(lactogen or nan) arnt of the same composition as enfamil or any other formula available here.
Reg. food jars, they r available there..but very expensice, arnd 80-90rs for a single jar.
so tak them from here..but u can mash veggies or dal there..n giv them fresh to babies. Cereals r fine..the ones u get in india r really good..u get lotf variaties there..lik dal, spinach, fruits n veggies (in cerelac)
3. in the plane, u will b given a front seat..where there will b a bassinet attached to the front wall..(a small bed lik thing) for the baby to sleep in.
But most babies lie there only to sleep....my baby dont sit there wen he was awake..so i had to keep him in my lap.:((
But to avail this facility u hav to inform the agent while booking( they charge u arnd 10% for infants) n also let them know while checking in( tell them u need a front seat too, better chk in early..coz i went late .n had a problem)..or else all the bassinets will b booked n u might b left with none..
4. there is a changing place in the lavatory...dont worry..just tak tak a diaper n a bxo of wetty wipes to the loo with u..dont carry the entire bag..as there is very little plac ein the loo..
5. things u need to tak
a. a box of wetty ones, the on-the-go ones, tht weigh less
b. a box of tissues
c. 2 bottles
d. arnd 6 gerber food jars (they r allowed)
e. do not carry any liquid..not even water or formula..not allowed..instead carry the on-the-go enfamil packets..u will need to tak as many packets as ur baby drinks for 2 days. u can get hot water in any of the cofee shops in the sirports or in the flight itself..
f. hav atleat 3-4 change of clothign for baby
g. atleast 2-3 change of tops for u...as they r bound to get dirty with constantly carrying the baby
h. tak the stroller with u...they will b useful in the transit n all places except in the flight...they r really useful..beleive me...
i. take few toys for him..

i guess thts it..
Response 3
1. Do we need to carry diapers from here or we get in India also (Similar or better)
---> I had carried diapers from here. But I had to buy a few in India towards the end of my trip. You will get diapers there. The quality is not as good as of those we buy here. They are a bit expensive too.

2.Do we need to carry formula ,food Jars or we get in India also (Similar or better)
---> Its a good idea to carry formula from here. Even though you can change to whole milk after the kid turns 1, its important that during this transition the kid gets the food which he is really used to. I had carried formula for the whole trip. After my kid turned 1 in India, I started him off on cow milk in addition to formula. I alternated between cow milk and formula. And when I came back, I alternated between formula and whole milk, gradually changing completely to whole milk.

3. Where will d baby sit/sleep in the plane?do we have to always put her inthe lap?
---> I had gone by air India and they had given me a bassinet for my kid. Even though preference will be given to a baby around 6 months of age, the airlines do give older kids a bassinet if there are extra.

4. How do we change diapers in th plane?I never saw a changing station?
---> One bathroom (located at the rear of the plane in my case) is a little bigger compared to the others and does have a changing station. Its will not be comfortable, but thats the best option available.
5. What other factors I need to consider while travelling?
---> Most important would be to ask your baby's doctor if you kid needs to get any shots specially for this trip. Also while landing and take off, give you baby something to suck on (juice, water, milk), the sucking action will help to get rid of / lower the air pressure in the kids ear.

6. What stuff do u suggest is a must while travelling wid d baby?
---> His favorite toys (special blanket or stuffed animal), favorite snack, medicines (should be handy).

Response 4
What other factors I need to consider while travelling?

1) Make sure you travel light - you dont want to regret in the middle of your journey that your backpack is too heavy.
2) Do not overload baby stuff - you do have fall back options available for diapers & formula in India, just in case what you carried is not sufficient.
3) Let your pediatrician know about your travel plans & discuss vaccination (depends on how long you are in India)

What stuff do u suggest is a must while travelling wid d baby?

1) Baby medication such as infant tylenol, motrin, diaper rash cream etc
2) Change of clothes for you and your baby
3) Some surprise toys which your baby has not played with earlier
4) Disposable feeding bottles or drop-ins
5) A foldable changing pad
6) Carry an umbrella stroller and not the regular one
7) Most of all, make sure you know whats where when you pack the bag so you can easily find it esp while your infant goes bonkers in the middle of the flight

Response 5

1. Do we need to carry diapers from here or we get in India also (Similar or better)
You do get pampers, huggies and other diapers there. If u buy Indian brand pampers, it is not nice at all. you have to look for the ones with arabic writings on it in bigger shops, they are just like the one in US. it amounts to the same price as here. may be Rs.100 more than what we spend here.
2.Do we need to carry formula ,food Jars or we get in India also (Similar or better)
It is better to carry food jars. but ofcourse you get those too over there and also u might be trying fresh veggies and fruits boiled and mashed at home. since she will be 10 months, u can even feed her nicely ground solid food.
3. Where will d baby sit/sleep in the plane?do we have to always put her inthe lap?
Make sure u ask for bassinet when u check in. it is better to go a little earlier than usual so that u can claim the bassinet before anybody else does. Preference will be given to younger children or first come basis. while take off and landing u will be asked to hold the baby in your hands. a special belt will be provided which u attach in yours and they will show u how.
4. How do we change diapers in th plane?I never saw a changing station?
there are specially marked restroom with baby changing station signs. there are atleast one on each class. so don't worry. it will also be clearly marked inside the restroom with a picture.u just pull out the tray and put it back when u are done.

5/ 6. What other factors/things I need to consider while travelling?
U could have readymade similac bottles for ur ease. some bottle foods, incase ur flight gets delayed anywhere, use ziplocs to carry medicine, bibs, extra pair of dress, baby powder and lotion.I have a check list that i use during travel. if u need it let me know, i can send it to u. A brand new toy that ur child has never seen and a most familiar toy will get past during cranky times. take a lollipop or a bottle to give the baby to suck to
ease the ear pain during take off and landing.
Courtesy: IHM

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Another response
You have to specify that you are traveling with an infant. Generally, the ticket price would be 10-25% of the adult ticket. And they would allow upto 23lb check in luggage, a diaper bag + stroller to carry on. Please mention the age of your kid and request for bassinet. They would provide it depending on the first come first serve basis and only upto certain weight/age limit.


If you are travelling alone with the kid, make sure to carry easy hand luggage, like a back pack. Also, the most important to pack is the hand luggage first. Cross check atleast 10 times, to verify if everything was with u in hand luggage. Also, carry some quick bites during the plane for u, as u guys have to be energetic enough!!

Regarding the packed luggage, it depends on each of you. I preferred the diapers we get here than the ones in india. Also, my son didn't eat rice and dal during that time, so had to rely on gerbers a lot.... I missed the humidifier a lot....wipes, bibs etc have many alternatives over there...still, its ur preference....

Also, girls better to travel during the non busy days. It will be nice to have a vacant seat beside!! Make sure you get the seats with more leg room. Book in advance.

I was carrying him on my lap all through the journey. Feeding him over the lap was little tough for me. I had to change two planes(from austin to detroit, to amsterdam, to hyd) with four hour break.. I let him play on the carpeted floor and he was very happy to crawl :) I did the diaper change, fed him, wiped his body, changed his clothes during this break. So, he slept most part of the flight journey.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Working Moms and Breast Feeding

I would be getting back to work and my 12 week old daughter would be at home with my mother in law. I plan to feed her expressed milk.

Would anyone pl give me tips on

1) How often to express while at work? I work from 8 to 5. Would 3 times be sufficient?
2) How much would I have to express (I dont exactly know how much she drinks.. probably arnd 450 - 500 ml (day + night altogether) )
3) What shd I do during the weekends.. feed her the expressed milk from friday and follow my expressing schedule or feed her directly and use the expressed milk for Monday?

(I would use a double breast electric pump)

Most of my qns might sound silly .. but then I have many such qns..

Anything else that I need to know or any other tips?

Response 1
I found this WIC link which gives points on the same- http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/breastfeeding/Documents/MO-SampleSchedule.pdf
Also it would be nice if you ask your Pediatrician to answer other questions related to this,they give really helpful points.Normally they would say to breastfeed directly on weekends and pump in between at least 2 ce to increase the supply.


Response 2
I went through the same situatiom as you. I used to express milk 3 times during the workday, aprroximately 4-6oz. each time. Try to get a little ahead of your child's intake. That way you don't have to express during the weekends.
Good luck! It's hard work, but doable. I went back to work full time 6 weeks after childbirth and my daughter took only breastmilk till she was 5 months.



These were her questions at the outset and she herself helps out others after a while.. that was really sweet of her..

Its been 2 1/2 months since I started working and as per the above tips, I've been able to manage feeding my 5 month old baby only expressed milk at her daycare. Just wanted to add this message to the thread to encourage any new moms who want to consider this option. It is DEFINITELY doable.

I just started feeding the baby solids from yesterday as per her doc's reco. Im still going to keep feeding her more breast milk and less solids for this month (till she's 6 mos old).. and then gradually increase her solid intake.

I just blindly followed the advice (pump thrice a day 10am, 1pm and 4:15pm) and the same amt (between 4-6 oz each session) and Im able to meet my daughters demands (she drinks around 11-13oz while in her daycare) Thanks so much!
New moms .. if you have the facility/time to try expressing at work, please give it a try.


i was so confused on expressing milk issue, just wondering whome to ask....n i came across this........
my daughter is 4 month now, n its been one month since is started wrkng again.......i opted for both formula milk and expressed milk for my baby.....it was not suggested by my doc instead of tht i opted for this.........i searchd for info on diff sites n did as suggested thr.......d doc said that ths sites r all based on US n UK so they give information according to their environment which is different from india.......in foreign contries the temp is so low tht storing milk thr is managable but its tooooooo hot in india so expressing n storing milk in india is not a gud idea, as it easily n very fast get contaminated.............is ths true?
still i ve many queries regarding this can anyone help me out
i m able to express milk (it just 5 oz.) b4 gong to office, my MIL feed her twice of tht, half just thn and half after abt 1-2 hr latter. thn c is on formula feed for rest of the day
Ques:
shld i express more, or is it ok d way it is?
wht is the correct way of storing the milk?
for how long we can keep exp milk outside on room temp (this hot delhi weather +40 degree)

please respond


Im still continuing to feed my (now 9 months old) baby only expressed milk. The weather these days goes upto 30 deg celcius. Any amt of expressed milk, dont leave it outside the fridge at all. Even at work, after expressing I store the milk in a fridge in an ice pack. My commute is 1 hr one way. The ice pack keeps the milk cool. As soon as I reach home, I refrigerate it again. If you have a bottle warmer, u can warm the milk just before feeding the baby. Otherwise u can heat water and keep the bottle in hot water (never on the stove or microwave) for a few mins to bring it back to room temp. Some people also prefer holding the bottle under hot running water (Just that a lot of water is wasted this way)

I can understand that its very hot there compared to here, so Im not sure how feasible it is to express at work and bring the milk back home.

But as long as u are at home, try to nurse the baby urself. The beneifts of breast feeding outweigh feeding the baby expressed milk. So if possible, dont express at home. Nurse instead.

For the qn of if you shd express more, do it as per your baby's needs and feasibility. If your baby does not nurse during the night, you would have a lot of milk as soon as you wake up. So at that time, you can nurse the baby and express the remaining for later use. Again ef expressing at work is not feasible, when you return from work, you would again have a lot of milk, so try nursing again and express the remaining for the next day.

Storing Expressed Breast Milk
an u suggest me as wht containers to use for storing milk like glass made, plastic made, steel or do v get anythng in the mrkt............i generally use feeding bottle only........

I use medela pump in style. It comes with 4 collection/storage containers. At work, I leave the milk in the same containers. Since I send in that milk for the next day, in the evening I transfer the milk to her bottles and refrigerate.
If the milk is going to stay longer than a day or 2, I transfer them to storage bags (I used medela again) and keep the packets in the freezer. To thaw, I move them back to the fridge 24 hours before use.

I havent used frozen milk beyond 3 weeks of freezing.


Courtesy: Yamini From Indian Parenting!!

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need urgent info...

koncham urgent ga info kavali. breast milk yela store chesthunaru? meeru use chese bottle/bags ye type yo koncham chepara. nenu hospital lo vunapudu naku something like this itcharu.

http://www.medela.com/ISBD/breastfeeding/products/colostrum_container.php
1) aa bottles lo milk collect chesi, freezer bag lo petti Refrigerator freezer compartment lo peduthana..naa question, aa freezer bag lo bottles tho patu ice pack kuda petala

http://www.drugstore.com/qxp55061_332828_sespider/gerber/seal_n_go_breast_milk_storage_bags.htm
The freezer bags look something like this....

Aa bags ni oka permanent marker use chesi date chesi and time kooda mark chesi..freezer lo venakaala ki pettali..When you are carrying the bags outside which are not thawed ..you have to put ice packs in the insulated bags. But if the bag is thawed and you are going to use the milk with in the next 4 hrs, (outside or 24 hrs in the refrigerato) you dont need to put the icepacks in the insulated bag.

2) also, nenu theliyaka oka mistake chesanu ,nenu few days back save chesi milk, container lo full ga nimpesanu..can I open that container and transfer some milk to a new container? ante, container lo 3/4th ye nimpandi, to allow expansion ani vundi...what should I do?

No problem at ...malli maarchakandi...just leave it...once frozen daanni bayata ki teesi thaw chesi malli re-freeze cheyakandi......

3) and labels yekada konali? the ones we use to stick on the bottles?

Bottles lo freeze cheyadam kastam..try using the milk storage bags as shown in the above link...its easier to mark them..using a marker....


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to thaw the milk

1. keep the frozen(from the freezer) milk in refrigerator overnight
2. and then bring the milk to room temperature by keeping it a bowl of warm water

which can be used to feed the baby but how about re-storing the milk and for how long???

You can take just the amount needed in one bottle and keep it stored in the fridge but do not store the baby sucked bottle again for a feed later on.store the thawed milk in the fridge again and use it maximum up to 24 hours. The thawed milk can be used only up to 24 hrs and should not be re-freezed. If the breast milk is spoiled by any chance, you can easily figure it out with consistency and smell.

For more details on pumping, storage, freezing, thawing and all check the link below...

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/milkstorage.html
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Again back for the solution for feeding baby.I have 14 days old baby i am losing hopes of directly bf him due to latching problem..he is having milk when i keep nipple shield but i dont want to use shield regularly...so right now i am pumping milk daily and giving him...i was thinking to do the same in long term till i get milk. but i heard from my friend that completely depending on pumping without directly bf will decrease the milk production gradually..but i am pumping for very 2/3 hrs so i dont think that it will be down..pls let me know roju pumping cheste milk decrease avutunda

14 days baby kada...so paapam kodiga time ivvu. Also nipple shield long term use ki emm problem vundadu anukuntha..Couple of my friends used it and they were very comfortable as well as their babies.

Pumping long term....I dunnooo endhuku ela andaru antaru ani..even my doc told me that kaani naaku reverse ayindhi. Pumping vella I got over supply(my lactattion consultant warned that pumping would lead to over supply) and was pumping upto 40 ounces of milk a day. So dont worry....at the end of the day ur baby should drink milk and you should be happy :) so neeku edi conveinient tho adi chey...

Response 2

i am not sure about it... i have heard from mothers who started pumping from around 2-3 months that their milk production gradually reduced... maa office lo oka colleague is doing same from when baby is about 2 months old.. but she says it didn't reduce at all...

I think it depends on the person. Naaku pump chesinappudu milk production increase ayyindi.

neenu two days back pumping start chesanu....right side milk bagane pump chesthunanu kani left side asallu ravatam ledhu...naku milk raledhu ani alla ne vadilesanu....with in two days baga lumps form ayyayi.....mari bf start chesanu... adhi yento oka side pumping work avuthundhi oka side work avatam ledhu.......ee lumps form kakuda pumping yella cheyali gals?...or pump sariga pani cheyadam ledha? do i have to change my pump?....neenu medela advanced free style vaduthunanu.......

Initially..oka breast kante vunko breast lo ekkuva milk vuntaadi..But never ever stop pumping or feeding from one breast just coz milk ravatam ledhu ani...Manamu feed cheyanu cheyanu flow increase avtaadi...Monna my friend too complained of the same thing...oka breast kanthey vunko breastlo double or triple the quantity vastundhi ani...I too had the prob initially but in time...pump cheyaka cheyaka it got balanced.

Lumps form ayinappud the best and easiest way is to bf...Else..hot water bath ivvatam...I use to dab a nice hot towel and pump till the pump melts

Pumping Time
If u know..dsiregard it...u shd pump on each side..compulsary 20 mins. First 5 mins oka let down vastaadi..taravta kasepu aaginaaka oka 10 to 15 mins taravta vunko let down vastaadi...so 20 mins compulsary cheyali lekha pothey flow taggutaadi antaru...

Milk Dries Up Fast With Pumping???
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Yeah...anthey antaru but main culprit enti anthey pump chesthey twaraga badakam vachestadi...abbbaaa..enni roojulu ee sutti ani..and manam kuda long itnervals lo pump cheyatam start chestamu so automatic ga reduce aypotadi supply but breastfeed chesthey our body will continue to produce milk based on baby's demand. Andhukey breastfeeding is THE best if the baby is a good latcher! Less time sonsuming and more fulfilling kaani andhariki aa luck vundadu kada....Nenu breast feed chesedam ani ennoooo kalalu kana but I had to revert to pumping..hmmmm...

Naaku milk supply pumping start chesaka vipareethamga increase ayindhi..so as long as the baby drinks breast milk...no worries!!!

Infant Falls

My Personal Experience Taught Me..

  • Never to leave the kid alone, even with the pillows around her/him even for a minute at this dangerous age where he/she is flipping over and trying out new things every single waking moment.. the busy bodies they are they just dont/cant stay at one place..
  • If the kid falls, immediately hold the kid, do not rush the baby... check for the eyes and comfort the baby as much as possible.
  • See if both the pupils are equally dilated.
  • Hug her closely, console the kid, speak slowly and clearly and do not rush the kid with your own insecurities.. DO NOT CRY WITH THEM... just relax yourself before you attend the kid... even if they are not hurt, they are shocked by the intensity of it, the jolt they receive and all..
  • Check for any redness, bumps immediately, then press the body slowly to see if the kid is wincing or crying out in pain when any particular place is touched... If yes, keep checking once in a while to see if it is the same reaction which was initially when yelling loudly or has it subdued a bit.
  • Check if there is a swelling after an hour or so, check every hour just like above and keep checking the whole day.
  • Just in case.. if the kid is in pain, give some Calpol (Fever/pain drops).. just a safety measure..
  • See if the baby is dazed for a long time...
  • Do not let the baby sleep immediately after the fall above a feet or so especially when you doubt the head has hit the floor..
  • See if there are any vomitings and if any, rush to the doctor immediately.
  • See if the baby is reacting normally after half-hour or so.. is she smiling, frowing, crying normally or is there any change.
  • Check the baby through out the night and throughout the next day, checking the whole body... if there is any little sign of change in behavior or bodily change, just rush to the doctor or ER.
For those who believe in Drushti, nazar, jinx, etc., like me.. oka tumbler/chembu nindaa neellu teesukuni, 3 saarlu tippesi padda chotlo paareyyandi.. if you cant for whatever reason throw at the exact place, throw it out on the earth/mud and aa neellu paaresina chotininchi matti kaani, water kaani teesi babyki bottu typelo chinna pettandi...

Some might laugh at this, but for crazy moms like me.. anything and everything if they say it benefits the baby and there is no harm to the baby or anyone.. just go ahead and do it..

anytime a kid falls from a height or bumped onto something real hard or hit somewhere, we have to observe for these changes in them :


1. BLEEDING - If the kid is bleeding too much and its not stopping
2. CHANGE IN THE SIZE OF PUPILS - If any of the pupils size changes(big or small.. mostly it changes to small)
3. NON-RESPONSIVE/NON-ALERT - If he/she is not responding properly..
4. TOO MUCH CRYING/NOT TOO MUCH CRYING
5. SLEEPING IMMEDIATELY - baby should not goto sleep imm'ly. When the kid is hurt seriously, try to pacify them... less than 2yr olds, try latching them or giving them a bottle/sippy with milk or water and observe how they are drinking/latching.... there should not be much change in the rhythm and MOST IMPORTANTLY DON'T LET THE CHILD GOTO SLEEP SOON... HE SHOULD BE AWAKE ATLEAST FOR 30MINS AFTER THE ACCIDENT
6.BLEEDING FROM NOSE/EARS/EYES/MOUTH - Since the organs are connected thru the same pipe in infants n toddlers, any bleeding from the mentioned organs - CALL THE DOCTOR/EMERGENCY/RUSH TO HOSPITAL ASAP


http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T086400.asp

A very helpful link... data copy-pasted from that site

Infants and toddlers are prone to rolling off beds or couches, falling out of high chairs, strollers, car seats or swings, and getting bumps and bruises from all kinds of things. The first thing to do when your child falls is to relax. Most falls are NOT serious. Kids are very resilient. Most falls seem worse than they really are, and usually do not require a call to your doctor or a trip to the ER.

What type of falls to worry about:

The most common falls are babies rolling off the bed or couch or falling out of an infant seat or stroller. These falls are usually only 1 to 2 feet high, and almost never result in any significant injury, even if onto a hard floor.

Sometimes an object will fall off of a table or furniture onto baby. This rarely results in any significant injury.

Many babies trip and fall while running and hit their head on an object or the floor. Unless there is a large cut that needs stitches (click here to help decide if stitches are needed), you probably don’t need emergency attention or a call to your doctor.

Another common fall is while being carried by an adult and the adult trips and falls onto a baby. If the adult was running, this can result in injury. If the adult was walking, however, then baby usually will not suffer any significant injury.

Falls from a height greater than 3 feet, such as a counter top, high chair, changing table, or table can result in injury, especially if onto a hard floor.

What to do if your child falls:


  1. Console your child. Stay calm and don’t panic. This will help your child calm down so you can better assess your child’s condition.
  2. Don’t rush to page your doctor or call 911 just yet.
  3. Check your child’s limbs, head and body for any bumps, bruises, redness, swelling, or deformity. Undress your child to do this. IF YOU DON’T SEE ANY SWELLING OR LARGE BUMPS ON THE HEAD OR BODY, THERE IS PROBABLY NO SIGNIFICANT INJURY.
  4. If you see any obvious swelling or deformity in the extremities, or you child is limping for more than a few hours, you should go to the ER or your doctor’s office.
  5. Assess your child for head injury. Click here to help you decide if your child has any head injury and what to watch for.

Paging your doctor:
  • If your child shows no signs of serious head injury (according to our head injury guidelines) and there is no sign of broken bones, then you probably don’t need to page your doctor. Observe your child for any signs of worsening.
  • Even if your child has a bump on the head, you usually don’t need to page the doctor. Just treat your child according to our head injury guidelines.
  • However, if your child fell from a high place such as a highchair, tabletop, countertop, or changing table onto a hard floor, AND you know baby hit head first, you should probably go straight to an ER without even paging your doctor. If your baby has such a fall onto carpet, however, then you should look for signs of head or body injury and page your doctor if your baby shows any of the warning signs mentioned above.

Ask yourself..
1. is there a cut or bruise,? unte how deep? if very deep , rush to doc
2. is he vomiting after that? if vomitimg is there rush to doc..
3. is he active or appearing drowsy? drowsy unte rush to doc...

these are signs of internal injury...

if there is a bump, then the cells there have externally become hard and that is the natural defence mechanism of body ...so dont worry...

do take care... these are common growing up pains.

Appetite Issues


loss of appetite because of indigestion


this rainy season is usually the time for such a complaint with kids.try this remedy:

fry half a teaspoon of ajwain in 1 teaspoon of desi ghee.add a pinch of salt and mix it in a handful of cooked rice.start their meal with this.later proceed as usual.
can be used for all the children who are able to eat rice.

Mouth Sores/Ulcers/Chaalas (Hindi)

First and Foremost, if the baby is bottle-feeding, see if it is time to change the nipples, see if the cleansing/sterilizing is being done properly, or if it is time to change the bottle altogether.

It might be oral thrush as well, so please do not neglect if the problem persists or worsens even with ensuring absolute sterilization.

Also, of note, please see to it that the temperature of the bilk is optimum, just about the right, lukewarm, not really hot, so that the tongue is not burnt.

When Sreya first got affected by this, I was scared, because the mouth was suddenly so red and with her sucking it all the time, the situation was getting worse. For once, I was scarde



Responses from Others
************************


Notlo Bobbalu… chaala (Hindi), nooru pooyadam, mouth sores

Chala in mouth is due to indigetion or inner heat. Give mishri + sounf powder mixed in water or dry as the patiant like. Useful for childs /adults

Chalas: Give coconut to the child...Raw coconut has to be chewed properly...It works very well


  • Apply butter in the area where there are chalas...
  • For chalas...mix a drop of honey with turmeric...and apply on it..it works wonders...also keep b complex and folic acid drops handy...my son's ped prescribed b-folcin...and it healed in just 1 day...
  • I guess, "Chala" here means the sores that we get at the angles of our mouth or ulcer tongue! Right!?

:-/

And someone said that a vitamin supplement did the trick.

Actually, these ulcers are a result of vitamin deficiency that pops-up sometimes. Though there are many other reason too.

So, a good nutrient or preferably a supplement for few days should be enough.

Cough and Cold Home Remedies

For Cough n Cold-of babies
Use Ajwaing leaves....Warm it on tava(roti maker) just 2 min...
Then press it with hands and extract juice of it. Give this to your kid once a day for 3 days. Not more than three days.
This will relieve your kid immensily.
Ajwain leaves are natural and safe. I give the same for my baby.
Also ajwain leaves are use for pakodas. They taste good.

Dry Cough :
My m-i-l says give grated ginger's juice mixed with honey 2 - 3 times a day...and on a regular basis to give honey every morning...may be you can try that..

Have you tried feeding warm water from time to time ? It might soothe the throat.

giving water boiled with tulsi, pepper corns n some jeera is good.. it eases throat infection as well as keeps the stomach clear.

FOR SORE THROAT.....
jaggery 2tbsp,black pepper powdered-2tsp,ginger grated-1 tbsp,water-1 cup.boil all the ingredients to a thick consistency.store it in an air tight jar.when having sore throat add one tspn of concoction to 1 cup of warm milk bfore going to bed.


dry cough
Does anyone know any home remedy for dry cough for a 3 yr old


Give him Ghee/butter with food. Extra Ghee/butter will smooth the throat.

If coughing, give jaggery.

Response 2
heat some cloves and grind them to fine powder.add a pinch of it into 1tsp of honey and give to your child.it gives good relief.

response 3
some honey in warm water.

response 4
Give some karakkaaya with milk... karakkaaya ani aragadeesi paallallo kalipi chinna spoonlo pattinchaali.


grind the nut, mix it with a spoonful of milk and give it to the kid.

Home Remedies

This is a thread for home remedies for common ailments in children.Each one of us inherit different tips from our elders which work wonderfully.Do share them here so that others also can follow them and avoid unnecessary medication.

Let me start with one from my grandmother:

when your child complaints of common stomach ache,
give them a teaspoonful of undisturbed fresh curds with 10-12 fenugrik (menthi) seeds on top... the same for motions too in adults though... works wonders

FOR SORE THROAT.....

jaggery 2tbsp,black pepper powdered-2tsp,ginger grated-1 tbsp,water-1 cup.boil all the ingredients to a thick consistency.store it in an air tight jar.when having sore throat add one tspn of concoction to 1 cup of warm milk bfore going to bed.

COLD REMEDY FOR BABIES...

for babies who r suffering from cold may not have a comfortable sleep at night,to bring in comfort apply nilgiri oil in a napkin n place it bside the baby's"pillow".the baby will b inhaling the oil thru the night n will b comfortable.

For Colic-Stomach pain

Heat a little milk , a spoonful and add Hing ,one pinch, in it.

Put this paste 2 drops in belly and apply this hot paste on tummy.

Helps releasing gas and relieves tummy pain

To know if infant is suffering from tummy pain

If baby is crying a lot, try pressing her tummy if she folds her leg then its tummy pain.

dry cough

Does anyone know any home remedy for dry cough for a 3 yr old

Give him Ghee/butter with food. Extra Ghee/butter will smooth the throat.

If coughing, give jaggery.

Response 2
heat some cloves and grind them to fine powder.add a pinch of it into 1tsp of honey and give to your child.it gives good relief.

response 3
some honey in warm water.

Diarrohea

My Ped told to give, less milk and more ghee. She said Ghee will control motion.

Other than that , Sabudane ki kheer. Sabudana will stop motion , not only for kids but for adult too

More of it will cause constipation .

Just take 1 cup milk, very little sugar and 2-3 spoon of sabudana. You need to continuously stir it till 'kheer' is done or sabudana is soft.

Real good!

response 2


Nutmeg paste helps with diarrhea

response 3

raw banana ..
just steam cooked raw banana with a pinch of salt is a very good stool binder .it was prescribed to me by doc when shreeniketh had loose stools ..


response 4
Loose motions

one or two tea spoons of onion juice[ grated and pressed] works like magic....and avoid giving it to very sall babies...but on older kids and adults it works like magic.

response 5
eat at least half cup of pomegranate seeds along with the white tails...if using for kids give them juice....if the child accepts give plain juice or else add a tsp of sugar. It not only controls motions but also regains taste(which is usually lost during dysentery).

FOR CONSTIPATION

Response 1
I give my 1.5 yr old daughte a tbsp of jeera powder mixed with little honey everday morning....this is a very good remedy for constipation and also helps in digestion...
Response 2
For constipation, try giving fresh fruit - BANANA or ORANGE. It works wonders !!

Also apply some CASTOR OIL on the baby's belly button and the anus.
Response 3
orange-constipation
yes orange works wonders...both for adult and child
not reccomended for child below 8 months of age..
for children-remove the thin film and give small chunks only..

Response 4
constipation
prune juice is the best...work for all without any doubt...
half spoon mixed in even infant's milk...and 100-200ml for adults...tummy clear in an hour.
sugar can be mixed in infant's milk to cure constipation.

Courtesy: Indian Parenting.

Burping

Newborns and infants need to be burped after breast feed and bottle-feeding so as to bring up the unwanted gas bubble formation as they gulp air. Sreya has always been really lazy to burp and hated it soo much that it would some times take a lot of times to keep her awake.. she just used to sleep in whatever posture I was trying to burp her.

The doctor's suggestion was to never bottle-feed the newborn sleeping flat, always hold her in the arms, close to the body and feed her. Keep the head of the baby raised.

Never ever neglect burping the baby no matter how long it takes initially..

I luckily used Ventaire bottles by Playtex the shape of which vastly reduced the gas bubble formation and touchwood she has never had the gas problem.. would highly recommend the same to mom's. The ease of use with two ends cleanable is something which I liked the best... I dont have to really worry if the bottom is cleaned well or not and all that...

The date below is pasted from How Stuff Works..

Babies generally swallow some air as they feed, although breast-fed babies tend to swallow less air than bottle-fed babies. To minimize the amount a bottle-fed baby swallows, try to always keep the nipple full of formula as you feed. Regardless of the method of feeding, an air bubble may accumulate and make your baby uncomfortable. To prevent that distress, you should burp her at the conclusion of each feeding; you may also want to burp her at the midpoint of the feeding to prevent the buildup of too large a bubble.

There are a number of common positions to burp a baby, and no one of them is the right one. You will eventually find the one that is most effective for your baby, although on some occasions, you may have to run through the whole repertoire of burping positions until you get results.

These positions generally have in common putting some slight pressure on the baby's abdomen -- by placing her against your shoulder so she faces backward; by sitting her on your lap, resting her midsection on your forearm or hand; or by laying her face down across your lap and then gently rubbing or patting the middle of her back. Remember to protect the area beneath her mouth with a cloth because she is quite likely to bring up some milk with the gas bubble; this is usually only a small amount and does not indicate a feeding problem.

Some babies don't accumulate a large bubble or aren't made uncomfortable by one, so if your baby doesn't burp after several minutes of concerted effort, there is no point in exhausting both of you in a marathon burping session.

Of course, you want to spare your baby any discomfort that might result from an air bubble, but if your burping efforts aren't successful, the worst that may happen is your baby noisily lets you know when the bubble is making her uncomfortable, at which point you can renew your burping efforts.

So far our discussion around feeding and feeding option has focused on the mother. In the next section, we will explore how fathers can contribute.

Link is
http://health.howstuffworks.com/how-breast-feeding-works5.htm

*****

nenu pettina ee kinda link lo 1 min daggara aame chesina padathi nenu explain chesindi...ila cheyandi burp baaga vastundi...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8yvnhWdyAs

Friday, October 9, 2009

ISP - No To Yes

The essence of the joy of parenting is to become a YES parent. it is one of the simplest processes in the world.

ur child wants to play in rain( he has running nose)
ur child wants to play( he still left with loads of homework)
ur child wants icecream( he didnt eat solid food from 2 days)

what would most of u do?

Many would say " NO". might be some exceptional parents who will say carry on.

Imagine yourself wanting to do a particular thing and when you ask ur spouse/parents n they say NO. how would u feel?

The whole enthusiasm goes down.

similarly if a child says to his father" I will be a businessman when i growup" with lots of excitement n enthusiasm, but the father puts him down by saying" how will u be a a businessman? I have not been able to be one till today, i had been a govt servant for yrs. anyway i want u to be a gud doctor"


how will the child feel?

his whole enthusiasm goes down. whole excitement drains away

This results in a loss of the childs self esteem, which is very important for a childs upbringing. The self esteem of the child should be so high that he should feel like that anything is possible in this world.

Hope u all agree till here

The more u say NO to the child, the more selfesteem drops, the more enthusiasm drops, the more love for life drops, the more love for learning drops and the child goes into a shell. Now the child becomes the slave to the parents, listening to whatever they say and thus becomes a so called good and disciplined child, but with no freedom, no expression and no beauty for life.

So the whole attitude of saying "YES" is very important to inculcate in everyone. but it doesnot happen in onc\e reading. Itis ur experience which u apply on ur child, succeeding and failingin some aspects n then again applying and so on.Thus this requires a few yrs of nurturing. let us now know how one can go through and understand the trmendous power of saying YES.

This can be applied not only on ur child, but also on ur spouse

After joining the class .. what i have seen in the camp was mostly were parents who had kids of 2-6 yrs age. this age the kids are naughty n dont listen to us ..they test our patience levels. most of the parenmts admitted that they were NO parents untill the class started. I mean they refuse or say No to their children forseveral things, several times a day. if u ask ur parents around you, you will be amazed to hear nearly everyone admitting that they negate the child every single day or even single hour that they spend with thm.

eg. varun dont tear those newspapers.
varun dont play in dust,
varun dont touch it....,
so on......

The enlightened parent is one who always say YES to the child and the YES is a 100% YES. Now the question is how to tell YES to the child for everything?

For eg: If a child is sick and he wants an icecream thn how is it possible to say YES?Well it is POSSIBLE. this is what the art of parenting is about?.The challenge here is even after saying YES to the child, how do u DISCIPLINE him/her?How do u make the child to listen to everything you say? we know that the more we say NO to the child,the more adamant the child becomes to do that particular thing. since we know, that the methodhas failed, we may consider trying This YES parenting method.

The journey from NO to YES parent can be fulfilled in 5 steps:

1) Diversion of attention.
2) Allow the child to experience.
3)Postponing the desire.
4) listening to the child attentively and discussing his desires with him creatively.
5) Handling a tantrum.

Now we will see each step in detail

Diversion of attention

Ur child asked for an icecream, you can divert his attention to something else.

Ok varun we will buy icecream, but tell me is that ur friend in that corner vijay..../ did u say about this poster to me yesterday..../ hey u wanted to eat puri , did u ask ur mom for that...... n so on......................... TO BE CONTINUED...

ISP - Magical Words

wondering what is this?

before starting ...both of u partners( wife n husband) sit together n on a sheet of paper write down waht are the magical words used for children. Magical words means, these are the words which will definitely work on children no matter wht ever it is, it will work. for example SURPRISE. whn a child listens this word his/ her eyes sparkle and will listen to u for almost n anything. just brainstorm the words. for my knowledge n the words which we stormed during our session were:
SURPRISE, Lets have some fun,I will tell u a story( story makes the child senses alert), hmm lets have some magic/lets do some magic, do you want something new,Picnic, Idea( i got an idea), lets go and eat the curd from katori( they do always eat but whn u change the tone n say they will get charged), secret,Game, "Dont tell ".


Ihave few more but dont remember, i had written it somewhere.

now u have few words ...now let us see its application.

Secret:

now i will write a discussion between a child n both parents

child- namah
mother
father

situation: the mother is too upset as the child is not having medicine. she just gets irritated whenevr its time for medicine.

namah.its ur medicine time. now i dont want ur alltime stories. come fast n just have it. u are a bad girl if u wont have. want to be gud thn come n have n go ur medicine.
namah screaming to her voice" no mamma . i dont want..its yukkkkkkkkkkk"

father watches all this n calls namah

Namah come here i will tell u a secret.

SECRETTTTTTTTTTTT...oh papa tell me

see mama wants u to have medicine. lets fool her . take ur medicine in ur hand n tell " mom i will not have medicine. let today papa have it. n before mom i will act as if iam having it..but when mama turns back angrily u drink it off n say ...see i did not have medicine. thn mama will get more angry n we will kiss mama together. she will be happy."

OH nice secret papa

n the process repeats n namah really has her medicine n she forgets....

n the process repeats n namah really has her medicine n she forgets ith secret word she forgot n had her medicine.

n to say practically i have seen on my son . when he doesnt drink milk .. i say see mom is drinking secretly ur milk from ur sipper. he just sees for a while n snathes the snipper from me starts drinking.


so when ever u need to have something done..u can tell secrettime now n ............

but it so happens that the child gets bugged up n say ..i dont want ur stupi d secrets.. u tell all these n get the things done.. thn waht will u do?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


so here comes the next magical word

I HAVE AN IDEA

I GOT AN IDEA

sonu i got an idea..do u want to listen?

see u dont want to have curd..ok dont have. what we will do is.. u go n close mamas eyes. i will bring curd from kitchen n keep in ur room . we will go n eat in ur room n mom will not know. when we both eat we will go and tell mom tht we did not eat..n make mom angry...she doesnt know that we ate curd...we will have a gud time making mom angry...hahaha.

This all shuld be in a playway method n talk to the child with lots of love n emotions.

basically its like a game we play with a child . both partners shuld take the active roles.

SURPRISE

chalo sonu today we will make papa surprise. what we will do is we will eat food early . and when dad comes we will tell papa Iam lots hungry...we will eat ..come soon. and when we sit near food we will keep food only for dad n say SURPRISE.


ONE...TWO...THREE


This particular mother had problem with her child. the child always used to pull hair of the girls n girls would scream Anand leave leave.... even teachers used to tell same.

anand felt he gets lots of attention like this n wouldnt leave. so the teacher felt..ok ANand we will play a game. when i say 123 u will leave their hair. n it worked.

this can be implemented even at food, geting him do his homework etc.

GAME

If ur child is not finishing reading...

Anu we will play a game now. bring ur textbook. we both will read. what ever words u knowu tell me the meaning n which u dont know i will tell. n we will give points. whoso ever wins will have a glass of milk. n we will write on our whiteboard .

u will see lots of difference whn we do this act.

Using ANIMAL Names/ new characters( hanuman/ spiderman/ barbie)

this particular child doesnt want to get her hair combed as she feels that it pains a lot
. so the mother said ok which hairstyle do u want..rabbit/ tiger. lion.....so on

so the girl got intrested n started getting her hair combed.

even we can use the Hanuman, spiderman to get the things done from the child.
but to remember ..it shuld involve fun. if u seriously say..i have a secret..they may tell keep ur secret to urself.. its all is how u make them Joy/enthusiastic/ fun/ excitement.
U can use all this words to get them ready to school, making thm get up early, making thm eat food.
PICNIC
u want to take ur child to a marriage but the child is reluctant to come. u can tell see we will go to picinc where u can see..so n so...u will see this food .... or shuld we take our lunch ..u want roti/ dosa....n so on.
when we do keep on trying all this things the intimacy will increase with the child.Be a child when u are with ur child
like chalo we will do masti/ gammat etc.... see ur child will surely listen to U
we will have some drama....
NOW I WANT U TO JOT DOWN WHAT ARE THE ITENARY U NEED TO FINISH BEFORE COMING TO SCHOOL
sleeping,brushing, potty,bath,schooldress,breakfast, combing,school bag, sending thm to the bus
HOw do u manage....like what are the methods/ solutions u apply, manage to get this things done.
1) face him the consequence.....
if ur child misses his/her Bus/ rickshaw/taxi take him /her to school by the public transport where u knowthe rush hours make the child feel its gud to go by my rickshaw/taxi/bus.
next time when they start getting late just announce..ok if u miss bus we are going by RTC bus.
2) make him understand the consequence
see all will get late n get punishment because of u..will it be gud?
3) brushing...
hey today is friday then we shall be using pink / blue colour brush?( keep 7 brushes at home)
4) bathing
which bath we will have? bubble bath/ just bath/ hair wash?
5) making them get up early
U tell to ur child
when u go to sleep birds too sleep early. but nobody wakes them up? so why shuld i wake u up?
hmm papa ok from tomorrow u tell me see birds woke up n are going i will wake up.
its different thing that if they say papa let it go n let me sleep

Courtesy: Rekha Satish

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

TODDLER NUTRITION

Which foods should I offer my toddler?

Each day, offer a variety of foods from the four nutritious food groups:

1. Starchy Foods (carbohydrates)
Offer these at every meal and some snack times. They include breakfast cereals, pasta, rice, suji or semolina preparations, potatoes, sweet potatoes, colocasia (arvi), yam, plantain and any foods made from flour such as chapattis, parathas, dosas.

2. Fruits and Vegetables
Toddlers may take some time to learn to eat a wide variety of these, particularly vegetables. Keep offering them at each meal so that your toddler learns that they are always part of a normal meal. Include greens like spinach in dry curries, dals, soups and stuffed into chapattis. Apart from vegetables like cauliflower, carrots, pumpkin, beans and peas, introduce local vegetables like bottlegourd , ash gourd , ridgegourd , chayote squash,snake gourd,okra,eggplant and other beans like broad beans and cluster beans, Fruits are often more popular -- cut them into finger foods to make them easier to eat.

3. High Iron And High Protein Foods
Offer these at one or two meals each day. They include meat, fish, eggs, nuts and pulses. Pulses like kidney beans(rajma),chickpeaskabuli chana),hummus ,dals,soya bean products like tofu and nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds.

Vegetarians who are not eating meat should have some pulses, eggs, nuts or beans at two or three meals each day inorder to get enough iron. Introduce different kinds of like toor dal and moong dal, masoor dal, urad dal, Bengal gram ,kala chana. Parathas can also be made with stuffed dal, which has been cooked dry or use left over dal to knead flour and make delicious parathas.

4. Milk, Cheese,Paneer And Yogurt
Dairy products provide plenty of calcium for growing bones but they are extremely low in iron. Toddlers need less milk than they did during their first year of life -- Offer
about 120ml of milk in a cup as a drink rather than a full bottle and aim for about 350ml/12oz a day. Large amounts of milk will reduce your toddler's appetite for other foods, especially those higher in iron.

All toddlers should drink whole (full fat) milk until they are two years old. After two you can change to 2% or skimmed milk(but do so only after consulting a pediatrician).You can continue using formula if ur toddler is a picky or poor eater as the formula is fortified with iron.Check with your pediatrician,they may recommend iron supplements if necessary.

What should my toddler drink?

Offer a drink with each meal and snack.It can be milk,water or diluted fresh juice10 parts water to 1 part juice).Toddlers need more fluids in very hot weather or if they are very active as they can become dehydrated quite quickly.

Try to refrain from giving colas and other fizzy drinks as they cause tooth decay.Donot five milk or water just before mealtimes as they may fill up your
toddler with no appetite left for food.

Common concerns when joining a kid in day care

It is very much important to choose a good day care when leaving our kid with them for a very long time. While choosing a day care the important things you should consider are:

1. Choose a day care which is near to your work place (it will be easier for you to drop/pick the kid). If u dont find any, near to ur work place then search for the day cares near to your home
2. Talk to friends if they had any reviews
3. Visit the centers that u have short listed. And This is the criteria u have to look for:
a. look for their daily schedule, overall neatness, teachers friendliness, cost of the program, lunch and snack menu
b. If yours is a hot area, make sure that outside play area is covered
c. Nap time must be definitely followed so that kids doesn't get tired by evening
d. If u r a vegetarian, check if they have vegetarian menu otherwise make sure they should allow you to send home made food
e. If there are any friends kids in that center, its a major PLUS
4. If possible try to send him/her for few hours (2 to 3 hrs) for the first few days and then join in regular hours
5. If u both r working try to adjust work hours so that the kid would be 6-7hrs in the day care so that they dont get too tired
(composed from the reply of our TIA member Lakshmi Kalyani for poornima's query)

Response 1

When i did some research on this Day Care issue, I found an interesting article dealing with all the day care issues. I thought it would be helpful to everyone who wanted to join their kid in day care and sharing it here:

With the number of children in day care, it should be very reassuring to parents that recent studies have shown that if in a good day care environment, children can thrive and continue to grow and develop appropriately. It is therefore very important to choose a day care that provides your child with a healthy and safe environment. The following advice will help you to find the right children's day care.

Types of Day Care

There are a variety of options available if you require someone to help care for your children. You may choose in-home care, in which the care giver comes to your home. This offers the benefit of your child having individual attention and remaining in the comfort of your home, but keep in mind that in-home caregivers are unlicensed, are unsupervised for much of the day and may be expensive. Check references very carefully when choosing someone to care for your child in your home.

Another type of child care has a caregiver watching your child in their home. Family child care providers should be licensed, usually only care for a small number of children and are usually cheaper than formal day care centers. The quality of family child care providers varies greatly, so be sure to check references carefully and talk with the parents of other children that are in this person's care and who have recently left.

Day care centers are a popular alternative to home care. These are formal care centers that also must be licensed and may be for-profit or nonprofit and associated with a church or other organization. The disadvantage of day care centers is that they usually have higher group sizes and higher child to care giver ratios, so your child will be exposed to more illnesses and will not receive individualized attention.

Choosing a Day Care

Once you have decided which type of day care environment to place your child in, you will have to decide which day care to place him in. Remember that the different types of day care all have their own advantages and disadvantages and you should choose the one that you feel the most comfortable with. Some things you should look for include:

* Choose a day care that is licensed.
* Check the references of day care providers. For in home care providers, check their references from the past five years and talk with previous employers. If choosing a day care center or family child care provider, talk with other parents who have previously been or are currently under their care.
* What are the day care centers hiring qualifications for day care providers? Do they require any child development experience?
* What is the turnover rate of caregivers? Frequent turnover is not good for your child and may indicate that there is a problem with the day care center.
* Only choose a day care that allows you to make unscheduled visits.
* Make sure that group sizes (how many children are in your child's room) and child to staff ratios (how many children does each caregiver look after) aren't too large. Your child should also be grouped with children of similar ages. Optimal sizes depend on your child's age and include:

<2yrs:>

* The day care should have policies in place on infection control, exclusion criteria for sick children, and strict immunization requirements for children and day care providers. Is a policy in place to notify parents if your child is exposed to someone with a contagious illness?
* Visit the day care and make sure that it is childproof (look for smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, covers on electrical outlets, locks on cabinets, temperature of hot water, etc.), clean, has separate areas for changing diapers and preparing food, and that the children are always closely supervised. Do day care providers encourage frequent hand washing and have a strict environmental sanitation program (routine cleaning of toys and disinfecting of kitchen and bathroom surfaces)?
* Is your child provided with age appropriate toys?
* Ask about the day care center's goals (will they help your child to grow and develop at their own pace) and daily schedule for a typical day. Is this schedule consistent each day (better) or are children not given a regular routine (more difficult for most children)?
* Does the day care have a plan in place for emergencies and do all providers know basic first aid?
* How do they deal with common behavior problems, such as hitting or biting?
* Do they follow the Back To Sleep recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, or do they allow infants to sleep on their stomachs?
* Is a strict no smoking policy in place?
* Also make sure that the day care providers position on behavior management and discipline agree with your own.
* Are day care providers able to apply care if your child has any special needs (giving medication, etc)?
* Does the day care provide feedback each day about your child's behavior, diet and sleep patterns?
* Once you choose a day care, continue to closely monitor how your child is adapting to being in another persons care.


Making the Transition to Day Care

Making the transition from caring for your child full time to moving him into a day care can be very difficult, both for you and your child. It is also difficult to know the optimal age at which to make the transition. Older children have stronger immune systems and are better able to handle being exposed to infections, but have more problems with separation anxiety. Younger children make the transition easier, but are more likely to catch upper respiratory infections and other illnesses.
Whenever you choose to start day care, you should try and make the transition gradually. It is especially important that younger children be slowly introduced to a new caregiver. If possible, visit the day care with your child for an hour or two at a time before you have to leave him alone there for the day.

Sick Child Care

You should prepare in advance for alternative care providers if your child is ill or if your child care provider becomes ill. A backup plan to have your child stay with a friend or family member, or in a specialized day care that cares for children with mild illnesses, will be important if you can not miss work.
(courtesy: keepkidshealthy.com)

Monday, October 5, 2009

Baby Tickets/Travel Tips

Baby tickets funda ento cheppandi plz. I want to buy my tickets today or tomorrow.
6 month old ki ticket teesukovala and luggage enta teesukovachu
Response 1
You have to specify that you are travelling with an infant. Generally, the ticket price would be 10-25% of the adult ticket. And they would allow upto 23lb check in luggage, a diaper bag + stroller to carry on. Please mention the age of your kid and request for bassinet. They would provide it depending on the first come first serve basis and only upto certain weight/age limit.
If you are travelling alone with the kid, make sure to carry easy hand luggage, like a back pack. Also, the most important to pack is the hand luggage first. Cross check atleast 10 times, to verify if everything was with u in hand luggage. Also, carry some quick bites during the plane for u, as u guys have to be energetic enough!!

Regarding the packed luggage, it depends on each of you. I preferred the diapers we get here than the ones in india. Also, my son didn't eat rice and dal during that time, so had to rely on gerbers a lot.... I missed the humidifier a lot....wipes, bibs etc have many alternatives over there...still, its ur preference....

also, be prepared to hear lots of unwanted advice/comments from family, relatives and friends. Be strong, you know what's good for your child.

Have a nice trip :) Let it be a memorable for both of u:)

India Packing List

Formula
Diapers (Indialo day time cloth diapers use chedham anukuntuna...what say?)
clothes - bodysuits, rompers
Food- Cereal, Stage 2 food (shd i take stage 3 too??? )
Bottles
Dropins Bottles with dropins
Spare nipples
Wash cloths
Bibs
Disposable bibs
Disposable changing pads
Wipes
Wet ones
Diaper rash
Mylicon
Tylenol
Infant's Motrin
Nasal Spray
Aspirator
Thermometer
Few toys/rattles
Bedtime lullaby CD
Blankets
Kudirithey Nursery water (for travel outside Chennai)

Courtesy: Visa.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

ISP - Orange Juice Of Your Child

MAKING ORANGE JUICE OF THE CHILD

before i go into the topic.....i have a small homework for the parents...(wife n husband)

both take a white paper...n complete the statement...as far as ur spouse goes

I feel very happy n loved when.........

if its u who is writing

I feel very happy n loved when he........

if its ur husband

I feel very happy n loved when she.........

be truthful n straighforward
dont hold any simple things..for eg whn he.caress my hair. he cooks, wh he hugs, he takes to a movie,whn he cleans the house, whn he gifts, go to sea beach/ surfing romantic things,holding hands without spking much..ila the list goes on..write how many u/he can

there are some children who are open..highly energetic...n some closed..low energetic n some with highself esteem n some with low esteem. whn the children have high self esteem their energy levels are more..thy become automatically lovable..n whn they have low self esteem they become irritated at home as well as outside

wht is happening in their case?

there are five areas/ different ways to express love....if u understand which is ur primary love language u/ spouse have..thn it will be easy to give it to ur children

1) quality time(physically n mentally present)..eg iam talking to u..u are listening totally involved..n suddenly ur phone rings..u tend to hear on phone as well asa me...so are u giving quality time? are we spending the same way with ur child/ spouse? are we spending 100% with child or spouse?
2) words of appreciation eg.i love the way u cook, u are looking ver nice, whn i back home n see u ..i feel happy, appreciate whn u really had hard day n ur husband appreciate u( u really maintained the party well)
3)Recieving/giving gifts..eg. surprise gifts..even asmall rose.. a card... apen
4)Acts of service(errands)..eg. if he helps in cooking, cleaning the house, washing the car,
5) physical touch....like u like physically to be close/near..it can be from holding hands..lying on the lap/hug.......to sex

these are the 5 areas of love expression..... now wht ever u had written in the paper...exchange the papers.....now mark against it which love expression was it

for eg.
whn he caress me---Physical touch(P)
whn he cooks food on weekend---acts of service(A)
whn he gives me a surprise on normal days(R)
whn he n i go for along walk--- quality time(Q)
whn he says u are beautiful...words of appreciation(W)

so In simple n Short Mark Q/W/R/A/P

DONT SHOW WHT U ARE WRITTING TILL U BOTH FINISH

once u mark u will come to know wht love lang he has/she has..n thn count which one is more..like Q is more or W is more , A is more.....
this helps u to know wht is is his/ur Primary lang.....suppose out of 50 points u wrote..25 is W, 10 is A, 5 is P..so on..thn it means the primary love lang is Quality time

inside every child there is an emotional parent to be filled..tht emotional part has to filled with love.... but unfortunately wht happens is u are speaking in english n iam speaking in chinese..do u understand..NOOOOOOOOOOO.... so these love languages..help u to find out wht is ur n ur husband primary lang

this may change over a period of time...suppose whn u are maried Physical touch would be the primary love lang..th n later it would have become "W"..so if u do this execrcise u will find out wht lang u or he is in....once u understand..apply it conciously as u know wht he /she is expecting...this brings more happiness n understanding between both of u...once u know start applying this for one week n u will find lots of change

like suppose his primary lang is "A' n urs is "Q"..u have a clash..u want quality time n his is acts of service...so insted u spending quality time try giving him acts of service..n he giving u Quality time.....so dicover amongst ur selves...n start expressing u will change ur married life into much more beautiful way thn wht it is now

Wht is the best gift u can give to ur child?(write down in 3 mins)
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eg...silence, independence, love, confidence, quality time, happiness, happy parents, knowledge,unconditional love, child like, seva,enthusiasm, communication, selfesteem,education, values.....the list goes on isnt it?

if u want to conclude one thing which one would u give.....?
u can give UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.......but wht does it mean?

no expectations, no setting standards, be afriend, being child like.......

whn we say unconditional love between mother n father..wht does it mean?(child is seeing wht his/her mother n father is)
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ideal like partner,QWARP

it takes a while for u to develop tht unconditional love with each other..so wht are u going to do till thn ......attempt to communicate, TALK TALK TALK..dont expect other to talk......
elders do all this....but children cannot express in words....
so whn we say express the love to child how do u express....how?

a small HUg..child is happy..but child is not a very buubly child...so how do we have a bubbly child?

this is where our topic of making orange juice of ur child...u would be doing this..some wouldnt..but once u know start playing this game with ur child everyday in the night

papa n mommy hugging with child in between....child in centre n parents on both side..n before sleeping tell him/hger tht we are making orange juice of u/or let us make orange juice of daddy/ orange jiuce of mummy.......so sueeze the person in centre.....u will have alot of laughter, happiness,fun....the child feels happy..funfilled, family security. love of parents

this u can call as sandwich game..tickling...

try to play this game every day...( the child must see mummy n daddy hugging..if not they will start withdrawing)
u will find energy switching in ur child.

u will see the child very happy n lively....make sure u are also child like whn u play.....

like if ur child is not brushing in the night..u can always use this game..ok iam brushing now n we will make sandwich of u...this will alert thm n thy look forward for this game..u can play this in the mornings..the child will feel a happy family...now u can spend some quality time playing instead of watching telvision..or doing some other thgings...like u toppling on each other...hugging..laughing....u need not talk anythingbeyond except play.......doing this put ur child to sleep for 10 mins..the child gets up next day with full energy.....U can see the result on SPOT

Courtesy: Rekha Satish

ISP - Self Esteem

SELF ESTEEM OF UR CHILD

we are talking about enhancing selfesteem of the child..before tht
wht do u understand by self esteem?

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self respect.....confidence...accepting urself.......taking pride in wht ever u do.......loving ur own self......being secure within oneself.......complete participation...

to say a fact..90% indians suffer from low selfesteem..whn u have such low selfesteem..wht are u transfering to ur child?.......

children grow n carry on same thing..right..so are thy building selfesteem?

how is it formed..or whn does it start building?

it is formed right from the birth....its the foundation...

just now analyse whts the reason for u having low selfesteem?

if u analyse u will find tht either people around u..give comments..u get affected/not affected or other factors..school/home/society/other environment..u have grown n started.. telling internal dialogues.

the foundation of developing self esteem is a combination of
1) who u are..
2) how u feel abt urself..
3) wht do u think abt ur future potential

how do we express ourselves..through the navarasas isn't...so how were the navarasas come out in ur child..how did u attend..this starts building the selfesteem...

As parents u are the most important people in ur babys world..u provide him with his first defination of himself..u tell him through ur every word, gesture n actions just how important he is n how is he percieved in the outside world

wht is the vision u had for urself..write only in five lines..wht ever u had?( in 4 mins

now write wht is the vision u have for ur child?( 5 mins..in five lines)
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for eg..i have written for my baby..tht he shuld be enthusiastic,strong, honest, lovable,wise,peaceful,visionary, n happy( this is wht i spoke in the first posts abut VISION)
this vison shuld be very clear for u to develop self esteem in ur child

now how do we build or break the self esteem in our child? list thm out separately in two different columns

how do we break?

saying NO....saying Don't.......comparing with others.....do's n dont's..not being honest..giving negative criticism..labelling the child(u are lazy)...telling lies......u cant do this, its difficult.....telling him at situations..u are old/young( setting standards)....
contradictions(eg.eat slow..n sometimes eat fast)..shouting.....hiding things( like habits..like smoking..drinking etc)..bribing(selfishness comes out....they dont take risk which is inborn talent...thy will do whn thy know thy they will achieve the bribe)...fear( if u dont do this u instill fear..tht if u wont eat lion will come....etc)

wht do u do whn u are irritated because of child?

u tell thm MUmmy is irritated..but dont blame thm..u express ur feelings but dont blame thm..so child gets signalled tht if i do this mom gets irritated..n thn he will not be made scape goat...

how do we build?
encouraging/inspiring....letting thm experience....allowing thm to perform( again we bring all the break points here..we compare.tell thm no..do like this etc.....see he did so well)...giving thm total trust......let thm fall, thy will learn

as said in earlier posts the child shuld be developed physically, emotionally, spiriytually, mentaly n socially...so how do we develop their self seteem in all these

Physical----sports, dance, exercise(let thm do as thy like..no dos n donts..let thm fail..thy will feel responsible, dont compare..boost their energies)

mentally-----chess, reading( read to thnm casually..thy will catch up), maths( every where u can develop..market...park..pick up pebbles..substraction ..additions etc easily taught), encyclopedia, computer, skills

socially---- natural discipline

emotionally--dram, music, art( whn ever ur child is disturbed ask him to draw it up..it lightens his heart/ make a white board n write grt news/something grt/spl today on it..whn ur child comes home ask him to write wht was something spl he did today..in this way positive qualites are developed..n thn whn day is over transfer it to some book n in aweek read all of thm ..it will feel him gud..even at home if he did gud thing write it..ask him to write himself..his conciousness will be aroused)

spiritually---teach thm to be responsible( wht does responsible mean....?stop the buck..stop blaming people for ur life or for ur child life including the school..once u stop balming ur child starts improving..u will allievate ur child from here whn u stop blaming)

Courtesy: Rekha Satish

ISP - Recommended Music

Music recommended are as follows

category 1

-- sacred chants of shiva
-- chants of india

Category 2(devotional vocal)

--asha prahaar(music for the eight prahars)
--maa( jagjit singh) just wonderful idi naaku aithe baaga navvhesindi
-- meera soor kabeera(latha hridayanath mangeshkar)
-- chala vaahi des( meera bhajans, lata n hridayanath mangeshkar)

Category 3

-- vata(relaxation music for morning , evening- deepak chopra)
-- L.subramaniam(conversations -A fusion album with Stepehem grapheti)
-- Ganapati satchinanda( music for healing n meditation)
-- nothing but wind( illayaraja n Pt. Hari pradsad chaurasia)

Category 4(wester classical)

--mozart(greatest hits)
-- beethoven (greatest hits)
-- tchaikovsky(ballet music)

Category 5 (indian classical vocal)

-- Ustad bade ghulam ali khan
-- pt. bhimsen joshi
-- sanjeev abhayankar
--pt. jasraj
--pt. mani prasdaji

Category 6(indian classical instrumental)

-- morning dew(pt. hari prasad chaurasia- flute)
-- live at the carnegie hall( pt ravi shankar -sitar)
--ustad sultan khan(sarangi)
--classical encounters (pt. shiv kumar sharma-santoor)

play the music as if u are in watching a movie

best time for classical is morning n night n western in the evening n afternoon

Courtesy: Rekha Satish