Post Delivery Diet

I believe that every house has their own customs it is beneficial to take good things from other customs too.

1.Greens are definitely good 'coz it helps you to get back 'lost iron'.
2.Use ghee with caution 'coz post pregnancy weight shoots up just 'coz of this!!!!
3.Take a very light breakfast like a long cup of Oats+Dry fruits+milk. These days you get muesli with dry fruits. I usually cook oats in water and let it cool. Then add milk and grind it to make a milk shake! Works very well. If you are pregnant add a fruit of your choice. Banana, Mango, apple+ honey etc suits very best. My husband has it with coffee decoction . 2 slices of brown bread with milk also works good.
4.Avoid buttermilk, yogurt, cheese, butter for your own good. Go on low fat milk.
5.Avoiding root vegetables (carrot, potatoes, yams etc) keeps you away from carb rich food and hence you keep away from weight gain
5.For first 15-20 days of delivery take congee/Ganji, soups esp those who have undergone normal delivery as it helps you to pass stools easily. Squating is such a painful process or even forcing that feces out of the body
6.Do not snack on oily food. Eat 2 times a day only if possible. All these things not only gets you back in shape but also ensures that your baby is in best of her/his health. You can avoid gripe water for your baby and I can guarantee on that!!
7.Drink warm water. Warm water not helps you to wash away excess fat in body it also has many benefits. Add one or two green tea leaves to reap more benefits.
8.Take lots of rest for 45 days at least. Your spine needs that after it had taken extra load for 9 months.

All the views above are mine and I am not any nutritionist. The above advises are followed as part of family tradition and I could see some scientific reason behind them so followed them for my first one and will do the same after my delivery of my second one.

Courtesy: Lakshmi.

Rice Recipes??

Pour in any ideas for rice recipes for midday meal to the kiddo.

It is almost always rasam (tomato, water, onion, carrot, coriander, etc.) along with dal rice with some green veggie, peas, potatoes, french beans etc.

Anything exciting for the 1 yr. old palate?? On the lookout.. if you happen to know, please do drop in some ideas...

What is up??

I do see a lot of traffic to this blog and I am at loss to understand if it is of absolute no use or so taken for granted that absolutely no one offers anything new to be added on.

To me, it is like I might as well go personal again and gather my points and keep it just for myself or to the close circle of friends who really need it.

I do get a lot of appreciation for the efforts in person but I am yet to see even a little effort in the direction of value addition!!! Believe me, it is a tough task working, managing a kid, and putting it all over here and some times it does seem like such a waste of effort with so little or next to nothing motivation.

Thanks a ton to those who took time to commend the efforts, it does take a lot to be regular with so little to motivate and for the mom's who do come in with queries, please do post if it has been useful to you as well.

Water For Infants

Like I always say, every doctor has a different approach and same about use of water.

My kid was a summer baby, both breast and formula-fed. I was told that breast-fed babies get enough water from mom, so no need to give additional water in early days of life.. but when the kid was getting constipated with formula use I was advised to give a little very little say 10 to 15 mL of lukewarm water to aid in easy passage of stool which did help.

So, contact your doctor before you start the kid on water. I went with boiled and cooled water and still go with it. But use of water was very little when solids were not started. Juices, formula, milk whatever I fed was sufficient but once intro to solids start, the need for water begins I guess.

Do not fill the baby's belly with water while eating, maybe a sip or two or a spoon or two in between the mealtime but ensure that the baby drinks enough water later on in the day, say 30 to 60 mL to begin with.

The simple way to know if the baby is hydrated enough is check the color of urine, if the urine is yellow or has a tinge of yellow to it, make sure the eyes are not yellow and if all is well, give more water.. the very slight change in color of urine is an indication that the kid needs a little more water is what my doctor told me.

Feeding with a spoon or a bottle/glass/sipper should be fine.

Oral Hygiene

The mouth cleaner, handy and helpful.

One of the most important things for health is oral hygiene because it is through the mouth that everything enters into our tummy. Washing our teeth twice a day, swish and spit after every meal are the real key factors to god health and hygiene. Simple yet most neglected aspect of care even to the elders, isnt it. I know it, I preach it I can count on fingers the number of times I do my second brushing session, I know I am bad :(.. but before I preach the kid I want to put it in practice, so moms out there like me, get your act right first okay :).

Babies are very delicate creations of god, their mouth when they are just born is so tiny that even our index finger in the mouth would seem like something really really big, so let them be for the first 3 to 4 months of life when they are just milk-fed. The white layer that forms on their tiny tongues day after day should be cleaned with the finger at the time of giving their bath, just open their month, bend your index finger and bring it from top to bottom, no application of force, it is just like wiping the inside with your finger and that should be more than enough. Isnt that baby breath with milk smell the most beautiful smell in the whole wide world... well, for me it is. :).

Some time around the end of 3rd month or so, when the frequency of feeds came down to once or twice a night, I began to wipe the gums with a clean cloth in luke warm water so that there is no germ activity overnight when the baby is fast asleep.

However, by 4th month or so, the layer formation kind of becomes more rapid. At that point I found something called like a finger glove with very very soft bristles by Hello Baby (price not sure, may be in or around 100 rs/-) which is awesome, you just fit it to your index finger, kind of brush the gums, the tongue and everything inside is clean :). I found out from the doc and he says it is absolutely fine, just ensure the plastic in the product you are using is good and clean.

I am advised by my doctor not to wake up the kid at nighttime to feed and it is perfectly alright if they are not getting up even once.. Just ensure they have a large quantity around 10 or 11 p.m. and then again only when they wake up or say around 4 or 5 a.m. This is a good practice in two ways, you and the baby get uninterrupted whole night sleep which is must for their growth as well as your rest and most importantly, it will prevent cavity formation with milk feeds at night.

However, I had a tough time getting the kid to stop from feeding at nights, she used to wake up around 2 a.m. for one feed no matter what drinking only little at 11 p.m. So, the best alternate I could think of was feed the baby milk and also feed a little amount of water so that there is no residual milk left over in the mouth :).. (pat on the back).. good idea na.

Now, after a few initial hiccups we have fallen into a routine.. 10 and 4 it is :) with a cloth wipe after the feed at night and a sip of water in the morning and let the baby sleep again until she is completely charged up for yet another day.

The gel-filled nibbler with buds for teething times, freeze and give to chew on.

With teething starts the itching sensation I am told, forget the diarrhea and fever attacks in the process of eruption but there is this very severe urge to chew on everything, so it is good to go for soothers/teethers, again I emphasize the need for good plastic used, check out the contents used and only go for BPA free ones. There are some soothers with vibrating and all and very fancy features, I just wanted to check out if my daughter likes this or not in the first place. Soothers are best when they are placed in a freezer for a while, some soothers are not meant to be frozen, just cooled so check out the instructions before use.

Hello Baby also offers soothers which are water filled, no hazard even if ingested as it is plain sterile water but with no handles to hold on, it is too cold and the kids tend to put it down unable to hold the cold. With the one in the above picture, the gel is in the ring area and the kid can hold on to the plastic which gets to normal temperature very soon. Again, a pasool vasool item for somewhere between (250 to 450 rs/-).

When teething and after teething is a different point of post as to what my pains/discoveries at that time are...

Newborn check list

So, after the big day and coming back home there are a lot of things other than the gold/silver that we need to keep stock of on a day to day basis...

let me try and put what I remember...

***Ample of clothes for a lot of changes and also if we go without wash for whatever reason.
***Ample of soft towels, hooded towels to pat the baby dry after bath.
***Bathing essentials like a clean bucket/baby tub/mug/soap.
***Soap or liquid/powder or corn starch/tilakam or kaatuka.
***Rubber sheets baby skin friendly to keep the surroundings clean, keep a few of them in reserve, especially if you are using nappies and not diapers.
***Lots of cloth nappies or diapers of correct size.
*** Baby pillows, pillow covers, blankets, plush throws.
***Saambrani and a plate/utensil to light it regularly.
***Black molataadu for dishti.
***Bibs to wipe the drool.
***Burp clothes.
***Keep a handwash handy to come with clean hands near the baby.
***Baby Doma Tera (mesh) if you are in India.
***Earbuds.
***First aid kit as mentioned in the blog.
***Diaper rash cream.
***Cotton and cotton clothes.
***gripe water.
***clean bowls/containers to keep baby items.

If someone is coming down from India, include a couple of baby pillows with covers stitched to keep the baby head elevated.. you get the newborn pillows, very soft and fluffy ones to keep the head in one position and not move to just one side.

Introducing Solids.. My Way.

Introducing solids, when, what, how much are the vital questions for a first time mom..

To begin with
My tryst with solid feeds started at the age of 5 months or in fact the day the kid finished 4 months and entered 5th.. a pinch of mashed banana it was, and strained dal water, especially moong dal as it is easier to digest.

Reason to Start
Continuing the baby too long on just bottle/breast feed results in iron deficiency was the one sentence which got me running to solids prior to which I was a little averse to starting. Oficially in AP, we start solids on 6th month 6th day with a ceremony called Anna prasana and until then we don't give rice to the kid and from the day we initiate the kid on it, not a single day should go without at least a rice grain in the baby's mouth :).

For the Starters
So, starting with dal water along with the milk feeds, then introducing mashed ripe banana taking out the seeds, and cereal (store-brought). I personally started with Farex available in India, wheat because I am told that it is easy to digest. We get Wheat, Rice, Wheat/Apple, Ragi/Rice for Stage 1 that is starters in this particular brand. I began with wheat, 1 scoop a day only in the mornings and then continuing with normal feeding throughout the day. After 15 days of introducing the cereal, increased the quantity and went on to 2 times a day 2-3 scoops and gradually introducing one flavor after the other.

Alternating Cereal Flavors
All the while we need to look at the baby's cues on what and how much she wants to. Also, if you have started on multiple flavors, it is recommended that you alternate between the flavors so that the kid doesnt get bored, like say ragi/rice in the morning, 'cos it is a little heavy, rice in the evening or wheat apple in the morning and wheat in the evening or maybe we can go to 3 feeds of cereal also, just depends on you and the baby.

Fruits and Veggies
Then gradually introduced mashed banana, cooked apple, ripe papaya, cooked carrot, cooked beetroot, etc. for solids and fruit juices just less than an ounce to begin with like carrot juice, beetroot juice, pomegranate juice. There was resistance but we just need to keep altering between solids/liquids/milk and keep their interest that is it :(. It is advised to start veggies first and then the fruits..

First Meal
Then when the official meal is started I began with frying Toor Dal and Moong Dal in equal measures and rice like say 1 cup both toor dal and moong daal and 1 cup rice and grind it to a course consistency of rava and then cook it in a small pressure cooker 1 spoon:4 spoons ratio of mix and water, leaving for about 5 to 6 whistles, adding carrots/green leafy veggies/beets/bottle gourd etc.

Indian Breakfast
After we start the rice items in about 6th month we can give all Indian Breakfasts like Idly dipped in ghee, chapati cooked with ghee, chapati dipped in milk/formula, rava kesari, upma, etc. Also, khichdi, saggu jaava, raagi recipes. The portions they take will be small but gradually they should be introduced to all consistencies and textures of foods. It is ideal that we start with veggies first and then move on to fruits.

Avoid Maggie, etc. in the first year of life due to MSG content.

Milk and Solids
The big question is... how do we adjust between milk and solids... there will be a change in the milk intake with introduction of wide variety of foods and also a change in the color/consistency/smell/frequency of the stool which is pretty much normal. However, give some gap of a week or so before introducing new foods or new combination to figure out if the kid is allergic to anything that is started and let them get used to the new changes.

Coming to the milk part, there will be a gradual cut down in the intake but ensure that the kid is having at least 15 to 20 oz of milk throughout the entire day. Give small quantities of milk in frequent intervals if the intake has gone down drastically instead of trying to give the usual 5-7 oz per feed.

Water
Introduce water too with the solid feeds with a spoon or a bottle, very little to begin with and a little more as the kid grows up. Ensure that the kid is fed both solids and liquids in equal portions and has a well-balanced serving of fruits and veggies along with milk and water on any given day.

Cookies and Biscuits
We can also give multigrain biscuits, Threptin biscuits (in India), sugar-less cookies, bread soaked in milk/formula as mid-meal snacks once the kid is about 7 months old.

small portions in frequent intervals is the best way is what I am told.

Do not force the kid to the point of aversion on any particular feed, if the kid is totally averse or has a dislike to something give it a break for a while and begin your attempts but by and large force just works the other way round and tends to make the kids adamant.

Nibbler

Also for the beginners, like at the age of 5 months when I started the solids, I found this very useful item called a Nibbler in the baby store, a mesh with a handle where in we can cut fruits like apple or even chapati and put it in the nibbler and give it to the kid to chew on, make sure you get 2 in case one falls down.

The one I got is of brand Nuby with non-toxic BPA free plastic and costs around 400 rs/- from Brooks, Mogalraja puram, Vijayawada. Sunbaby ones cost around 135/- and are good too. Must say, it is a boon to begin with so that the kids do not choke on the solids, it also acts as a soother and satisfies the kids urge to chew on something while sending in some fruit juice/pulp into the mouth which kind of teaches the coordination of biting, sucking, chewing and gulping it down. Absolute paisa-vasool item I must say for the beginners.