Introducing Semi Solids.....Part 1... Dal ka Pani (Lentil Soup)

Exclusive breastfeed for babies until 6 months from their birth is the ideal thing as per medical sciences, health veterans, etc. I too agree to it but then every child and every mother are different, the situations are different, the requirements of each child differ and the produce of every mother varies.....so in a simple line,   "Heaven won't come down, if you do not abide by it".

I did not believe in exclusive breastfeed concept since the time of my pregnancy. I had various reasons for it (which we shall discuss some other time!) but however Nevan was on a single bottle feed (more for habit & less for the need)since his early days. Not that I did not want to feed him, coz even today after completing 9 months too he is on a few breastfeed sessions in a day and I plan to wean him only when he wants to.

However, I began semi-solids for him at 5.5 months. A little earlier than the benchmark, because he wanted some thing more, I am a working  mom and could not fulfill his complete needs, he was a big baby.....so I began with Dal ka Pani.

And out little duckling, moved on from the world of milk, milk and more milk to the new and wonderful world of food!!!

Split yellow mong dal (Mong-Dhuli) Dal ka Pani

Ingredients:
2 table spoons split yellow mong dal, washed properly
Water to wash & cook
Turmeric - a pinch
Cooker to steam
Salt - a pinch (Optional)
Ghee- a pinch (Optional)

Method:
1. Wash the dal properly with drinking water
2. Put the dal in cooker with some water.
3. Add Turmeric & ghee & salt
4. Steam the dal by giving around three-four whistles.
5. Mash the dal once its steam and cool
6. The consistency can be maintained by adding boiled water

For the first timer's, give your little one 4-5 spoons for Dal ka Pani and keep your camera's ready to capture the first reaction :)

Other pointers:

• The consistency can be a thicken-d as the baby grows
• Gradually, steamed & mashed vegetables can also be added to dal to make it more filling for the baby
• Lastly, I personally did not add Ghee & Salt till 8 months as I did not want him to develop any flavor.

Your baby's First High Fever....

Your baby's first high fever might not be as traumatic for your little one as for you as a parent. I mean, definitely the baby is the sufferer and he/she will have to bear the brunt of a high fever but the trauma with which the parent goes through is at a different level altogether.

Nevan had his share of fevers post vaccinations, during common cold, etc but he had his first high fever on Friday (4th July); I don't know if you
all will believe into it or not but when I got ready for work on Friday morning there was something stopping me to go to work that day. I just didn't feel like leaving my room, so I pinged my boss I'll be a little late and made Nevan ready, fed him and then left. May be the motherly instinct was knocking me but with a job, it mostly gets curbed instantly!!!

I called his babysitter thrice between 10am-12noon and she was also wondering if I have gone nuts. And then I got a call from her around 3pm saying that Nevan has 101 fever. Thankfully my in-laws were around and they gave him the initial Crocin-drops dose. I moved out of office as soon as possible just to reach home to a cranky baby with a hot body and a crying face. The look on his face made my heart sink but now that I am a mother I had to be strong. My hubby was busy that evening and the whole of Saturday (having his 24 hours emergency duty, he is a doc at a govt. hospital) so I knew I will have to handle it all....

So I took him to the doctor immediately, who said it most probably is an airborne viral/flu and nothing serious to worry as he was not showing any other symptom. By the time I got home and fed him and checked his fever, I panicked by seeing my digital thermometer just not stopping....finally it stopped at 102.4......like 102.4 fever, are you serious, he is not even 9 months and how is he gonna cope up with it???

Anyways, again I got myself together and took off his clothes and just gave him a quick shower. That helped in cooling him down a degree or two and then I changed him and started sponging him. The temperature didn't go down, even after couple of hours and his body has started aching with pains. We gave another dose of crocin on a four hourly interval but the temp didn't go below 100. We then called his pedia who prescribed 'Meftal - drops' (they are sepearte from Meftal-Spas drops for kids) as an add on as the temp was too high to be controlled only by Crocin-drops. The whole night passed by sponging and giving him a body massage and finally on Sat morning at 6am the the temp finally went down.

But Sat again was tough as the temp was coming every 5 hourly and Nevan had zero energy and was lethargic to even sit. I made him sit in between to give him water and as I turned to get the bottle he fell on his side on the bed....it was so painful to see that my lil pumpkin couldn't even manage sitting by himself.

The fever went down by Sunday morning but Sunday morning he developed loosies coz of medicine. Ufff..... then started home remedies for that and till evening they got under control.

All in all, it was a very tough weekend and I thank God that it just passed!!!

Three things I learnt during this fever trauma were:

• The armpit temperature measuring thermometers are better than all others devices including the forehead & ear thermometer.
  
• Sponging is an instant help in case baby has high fever.
• Make your child drink as much liquids as possible to flush out the effects of medicines.

(Pictures Courtesy: Google Images/Corbis)

King of the fruits.....MANGO

MANGO........

For me, the love for this fruit is like AAM-SUTRA (and I am sure there are many who are already imagining it with the read)

(Source: Watsapp)

And I wanted Nevan too, to be equally passionate and maddened about Mango as I am. But unfortunately babies do not run around our whims & fancies....when Nevan was served the mashed Mango Puree for the first time he rejected it out-rightly & I was super sad!!!

But then I remembered the little spider's story from my childhood & followed his learning's "Try, Try & Try till you Succeed" so I kept on giving him mangoes to play rather than to eat till one fine day he started liking it & EUREKA EUREKA EUREKA......

                   

"Mumma....I will take a Mango Spa, Eat my bowl but not your favorite fruit"

The above pictures are of one of the trial sessions, which finally led to him liking the king of the fruits. And now he has Mango Shake/Smoothie in the evenings on a few days.

But now I follow this for all New Foods, I do not get defeated by his initial rejection but give it at attempt till he likes it....well that doesn't mean I always win...as I am still trying to make him like 'Watermelon' and he is continuously rejecting it trial after trial.

What about your little ones & their liking for new fruits???

Is your baby Teething???

Babies can start teething anywhere from 3-4 months to some cases where the first teeth show their glimpses only after the first birthday celebration. But there are some signs which assure that they are on their way.

When Nevan started teething, he changed from a good-boy baby to an all-time troublesome chap. It took us (me & my hubby) five days to understand why is he behaving in this weird manner and then bingo...another couple of days and we had our 'New Comers'. Well there are some kids who are brave enough to take this in their stride and show no different behavior and you suddenly discover a white tiny thing in their mouth.

Teething overall is a very painful process, imagine as an adult something cutting through the skin and coming out; it would be maddening. And I really applaud how our lil champs take this law of nature and grow on.

Out of my experience, I have listed down Ten symptoms showcasing the presence of teething process:

1. Drools all over: When your baby starts drooling more than he/she usually was, that means teething is getting triggered from within......I sometimes wonder, where does Nevan store so much of drool inside his little body!!!
2. 'Crankiness' on my mind: When your good baby turns into a lil monster who wants things his way, wants to be carried around always, is ready to shout and cry for every small thing and has suddenly developed the biggest attitude problem.....you need to 'Just keep calm and check his mouth for some whites'.
   
3. Am hot hot hot.....Fever: With all the pain and crankiness also sets in some low grade fever. It might differ for all babies but you can feel the body temperature of the baby soaring upside. To add on to it, my grandma says, that if you feel that the baby's head is emitting some heat that's a sure shot indication of teething. ( Old mamma's belief.....after all we can't ignore them all)
4. I wanna eat it all up: When teeth start making their way out everything starts making it's way in (inside baby's mouth). Just anything the baby can lay his hands on, ends up straight into his mouth. So Nevan is happy to chew on all the things....including his toe's thumb!!! Give cooled teethers to your baby for immediate relief.
   
5. Red is the color in vogue (in my mouth): I believe, red & inflamed gums are the actual certain signs of baby teething. The area of teething is usually red, swollen or seems bruised. It can further be associated with faded white lines which ensures that a tooth is on its way. But it may still take a few more days for it to actually erupt.
6. Oh these Sleepless nights!!!: The teething fairy not only works all day but also all night, hence the pain and the discomfort might affect the night sleep of your lil one (even if he slept well at night previously). Try and soothe the baby back to sleep as much as possible.
7. Before mamma starts pulling my ears, let me try it on my own: Our gums, ears & cheeks share a same nerve pathway, so when the gums are in pain the baby feels the irritation in his ears & cheeks too. Hence you will notice a teething baby will keep on pulling his ears and also rub his face (cheeks, chin, etc) trying to soothe himself.
   Ear pulling & crankiness are also symptoms of ear infection, pls consult your pediatrician in case of any doubts.
8. Potty Potty Baby.....: Diarrhea is a very common symptom in teething. Again the impact may vary from child to child so much so that some may not have it at all...but diarrhea must be catered to very cautiously with consultation of pediatrician.
   
9. Rash: The prodigious amount of drools from your baby's mouth usually leads to a rash. The rash develops due to contact of saliva with the skin around cheeks, chin and neck. Patting the drool may avoid it to an extent, moisturize the area in case of excessive dryness.
10. Am on hunger strike: The simplest and quickest way to sooth a crying & cranky baby is by feeding him either through bottle or breast-feed. however the sore gums make sucking a difficult process. Even for a semi-solid baby, eating or swallowing becomes a concern with all the discomfort in their cheeks. Hence, the child is unable to sooth itself completely by feed and the not so full tummy's instigates it further.

The baby goes through a very painful process while teething, so just take it all with lots of patience and love (not that we won't but being new parents sometimes takes a toll on us....so hang it on Mumma & Papa, there are still many things to come!!!)

If there is any other point which I may have skipped out, pls keep me posted about your suggestion.

Pictures: Courtesy - Google Images

My baby didn't poo from so many days.....CONSTIPATION!!!

Well let's begin by saying this that it is VERY VERY NORMAL for your baby to have Constipation/ Hard Stools. So DO NOT PANIC!!!

Nevan was a regular poo-er (definition: a baby who poop's minimum 2-3 times a day) and we had gone to stay at nani house. Well in my excitement of being at my mom's place I payed less attention to his every small habit and easily missed upon noticing that he hasn't poop-ed since two days. Suddenly when I realized it, I was in a panic state like every first time mom.

I immediately called his Pediac just to hear; 

          " It's normal if your breast-fed baby is poo-ing Seven times in a day to Once in seven days"

And it's true as breast milk is used up fast due to the high metabolic rate and results in urine only, no poop; so raise an alarm only if the constipation persists for more than a week.

Let's now come to Home Remedies to tackle the constipation in babies (especially babies who have started with some solids):

1. Give adequate amount of water to the baby, preferably luke warm water at regular intervals.
2. Boil / Soak overnight a few raisins in water and strain them out. This water can either be given directly or mixed in baby food for consumption
3. Prunes can be given by mashing them in a little boiled & cooled water 
4. Papaya assists in easing out the stools (only to 6m+ babies)
5. Other fruits like Pear, Peach, Plums are also helpful in constipation/hard stools; they can be used on a regular basis too. Can be served to the baby either in puree form (preferred) or as diluted fruit juices.
6. Adding fiber rich cereals like Oats as a part of baby meal
7. While another thing which I have never tried but heard from a friend's experience is: Add a little sugar or mishri (crystalized sugar lumps) to your baby's boiled & cooled water.

Foods to avoid during Constipation / Hard Stools (The following should be avoided unless suitable to the baby after following the Four-Day Rule):

1. Banana
2. Apple
3. Potato 
4. Ragi

Also avoid giving the baby oils like Castor Oil, Aloe Vera, etc in any form or amount to aid hem/her during constipation.

The above mentioned remedies are only home-remedies; pls contact your Pediatrician in case the above is not effective or the baby persists to have Constipation for more than a week.

Looking forward for any other remedies used by you momma's which I do not know!!!

Applying for the Passport of your new born

Nevan will soon be having a passport now; so his first official document, after his Birth Certificate.... It's not that we are flying out next month but thought it would be better to get the documents ready to have it handy in case of need.


Well to my surprise government has now made everything easy & smooth by putting it online. So no long ques to get the form or getting hold of touts to assist you for a hassle free procedure. It was so simple & hitch-free that I still have my fingers crossed till we receive the passport. ;)

This post is specifically to assist all the new parents with the simple steps to get a passport for their lil ones. Pls read the below carefully

Step 1: Log on to http://www.passportindia.gov.in/

Step 2: Download the e-form for a Fresh Passport from: http://www.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/online/downloadEFormStatic

Step 3: Fill the form & in the end click on 'Validate & Save' option. You will automatically generate the saved form an xml file which would have to be uploaded.

Step 4: Register on the Home Page of the website by clicking on 'Register' under the 'Apply' section.

https://portal2.passportindia.gov.in/AppOnlineProject/user/RegistrationBaseAction?request_locale=en

Step 5: Login with the newly generated Login Id

Step 6: Upload the file generated in Step 3 above (xml format & not pdf format) through 'Upload e-Form' along with other supporting documents through the link provided which in case of minors passport are: an address proof, parents passport and annexure H (pdf format with file size not more than 1MB).

Step 7: Re-check your final documents & click on 'Pay & Schedule Appointment' on 'View Saved / Submitted Applications' screen

Online Payment is to be made for getting an appointment. Fees for normal passport is 1000 INR and for tatkal is 3000 INR, We opted for tatkal for which we had to pay 1000 INR online and the balance 2000 INR in cash at passport seva kendra. The online payment can be made through:

• Debit/Credit Card of both Visa & Mastercard
• Internet Banking is avaiable only for State Bank of India, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala & State Bank of Travancore.
• SBI Bank Challan

Step 8:  As you make the payment you will be asked for your choice of location  & an automated date-time of appointment would be scheduled for your visit.

Step 9: Click on 'Print Application Receipt' link to print the receipt with the Application Reference Number (ARN) / Appointment Number

Step 10: Visit the Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) where the appointment has been booked on the dedicated time.

Important documents to carry for the appointment:

• Application Receipt
• Photo (Do carry a passport size photo of your lil one in white background )
• All the documents uploaded in Step 7 along with their self attested photocopies.
• Only one parent is compulsory to accompany with the baby

Hope this post is helpful for obtaining your lil one's passport!!!

Nevan's First BABY SHOW

Sunday was Nevan's first Baby Show.....though we came to know about it the last minute and were a lil upset with the fact that we couldn't do much about the preparation but it was all okay as the Mother's Pride Baby Show is in all just a marketing gimmick with zero preparation at the school for the event.


Nevertheless in the process we learnt about four fancy dress stores in South Delhi  for future reference though none of them had costumes for a child less than one year. It was a great experience all together and was fun to take Nevan in between so many kids. He liked the event and was excited to see so many kids around running, shouting, playing, dancing, etc etc etc. Well we did not win any prize as we did not enroll our child in the Mother's Pride fee structure but the couple of hours were quite amusing for all three of us.

My lil Dumpling!!!

I believe it is very important to make your child 'Social' & the more the child interacts with outsider
s (not family - nuclear or joint) the more skills he develops to open up and independent. I have decided to take him out for more such events & play dates so that he becomes more comfortable with everyone.

As of now he gets very excited by going out, meeting new people and specially kids of all age group, he would even be friendly with adults but the moment someone will pick him up he would start crying and looking around for familiar faces. Hope this improves over time as for me it's a social stigma to have a cry baby......