DIY - Homemade Saline Nasal Drops

As the winters are setting in, cold and congestion come in hand with this season. When we adults are not getting spared to get under the weather, these tiny little beings are more prone to catch cold as their immune system is still not completely developed.

The first and the most easy thing which can be done instantly at home, before the use of any medication is"Saline Nasal Drops"

Saline Nasal drops are an alternative which even your child's pediatrician will recommend. They are easily available in the market or can be made at home too.

The Saline Nasal drops & a bulb syringe can be used to remove mucus and reduce inflammation in your infant's nasal passages.



Easy Steps to make & use HOMEMADE SALINE NASAL DROPS are as follows:

STEP 1: Take 1 cup of distilled water or boil 1 cup of water for minimum 7-10 minutes to eliminate                  any possibilities of bacterial impurities.

STEP 2: Mix 1 teaspoon of salt in the boiled water

STEP 3: Stir continuously till the salt is completely dissolved & water comes down to room temperature

STEP 4: Store the water in a clean & sterilized vessel. This water can be stored up to 24 hours.

STEP 5: Use a sterilized bulb syringe to put a 2-3 drops of saline water into each nostril of the child

STEP 6: Wait for a few minutes before using the bulb syringe to remove the mucus from baby's nose.

                     As this is not a medicine so there are no side effects of using the same.

Precautions:

• The vessel for storage and the bulb syringe should be properly sterilized
• The water should not be warm or hot as it may cause irritation in the baby's nose
• The bulb syringe is not forced too much into the baby's nostril while putting drops or suction; it should ideally be used from the edge of the nose
• Please sanitize your hands before and after dealing with the baby

Hope this is a hands on DIY remedy you can use for your child suffering from cold or for clearing his/her nasal passages.

Image Courtesy: Corbis

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a GREAT FALL........'Your babies First Fall'

Well my Humpty Dumpty had his first BIG fall on his 11 month birthday and it shook me completely. I was standing 50 meters away from him, talking to my maid...I am sure I had an eye upon him as he was playfully standing on the sides of his cot and he just toppled over upside down.....

I remember myself shouting his name loudly & then I went all numb....I didn't even go & pick him up. My maid picked him & I took my wailing baby in my arms just for my husband to come out of the restroom & pull him away from me. I was so shocked that
when he asked me what part of his body hit the floor first I couldn't reply, as all I had in my head was I looking at him toppling off the cot bar.

It took 20 mins for my child to come back to normal & begin his toy story again but two hours for me to stop crying & figure out what happened. Finally I realized he basically walked over his big car soft-toy which was kept in the corner of the cot, gained some height & slipped over on his left arm & not his head. But it was scary.....

Well I am not a doctor but I as a first time mom made my notes upon "Babies Fall's" so sharing my pointers with you guys:

1. Do Not Panic - there isn't much I say can about it but as my mom says, "Now you are a mother so you have to manage everything, Keep calm & Raise your child."

2. Resist any temptation of banging your head on the wall or floor - its okay, if the baby fell & especially when you were around.... you did not commit any crime, breathe easy as you too are a human, you never intentionally wanted anything bad for your child.

3. Call for help - There might be a few falls & especially the first ones (like mine!!!) when you might not be able to get a hang of what has happened and what to do. Just call for help from another family member & someone who is more calm & composed (usually husbands are the best bet at this time!) who will handle the initial situation.

4. Check for any injuries - Usually babies and toddlers do not get any broken bones so easily as that's how they are into making of an adult.... But check the baby for any bruises or bumps and its severity. Also check for any other 'serious injury' like a broken bone, head/ back injury, unconsciousness, bleeding which is not getting stopped by pressure, seizure, persistent vomiting, excessive sleeping, change in eye ball size, eye movement, etc

5. Use cold compression -  As and when your kiddo starts exploring and standing with support, 'Bump Eggs' - as I call them; are the most common things that's gonna happen. Usually they are not of a big concern but cold compression is the best form to bring them down. Just wrap a few ice cubes in a cloth and press it on the bump off & on till the bump subsides a little.

6. Visit the doctor in case - Visit or call your doctor immediately in case there are signs of any 'serious injury' (as mentioned above in point no 3) or if there are symptoms you cannot handle. 'Follow Your Instinct' as no read or another individual can tell you about what is the best for your child.

7. For the next time - Whenever Nevan has his usual falls during the day (for which now I have lost the count of falls/day) I prefer not to look at him or react for the fall with a sudden sound or jerk. This does not further surprise the kid and maximum no of times he gets up again and starts playing. In case if he does start crying and ask me to pick him up, I distract him immediately with his toys, light or whatever random thing is in front of us so that he forgets about the fall. These two are my rules for the regular falls.

Take care of your kiddo's.....Do let me know what are the others important pointers in case I have missed any.

11 Moments in these 11 Months that actually Made-me-a-MUMMA

The first smile...... :)

It's been a great journey so far and I am sure it's gonna be better on the way ahead. Nevan's 11 months birthday this week, brought with itself a glimpse of some candid moments which touched me from within and lead to some dampness in my eyes.

These months have been life-changing for me and my husband, a magic happened and along came all the happiness in our lives, with some other odd situations (Obviously!).....but then in between these Good-Better-Best times there were some awestruck moments which rang the bell and made me a Mother & my darling husband a Father.

So here I am sharing with you all some of these events which defined the New Character (MOM) within me:

1. When I took him into my arms for the first time: I still remember those trembling hands of mine, the hospital room full of people;family and relatives talking to each other and but my eyes are stuck upon my baby whom the nurse was about to handover to me. A look at my husband and a look again at him told me, "Here I am Momma.... and I said in turn You are my World".
2. Seeing him in the ICU: Less than a day with him and I was so weak and tired. Suddenly around 1am he is crying endlessly and I am told to sleep and the baby is taken out. I get up at 4am, and go to the nursery outside my room to find out my son has got admitted into the ICU due to disruptive breathing. Less than 30 hours of my delivery, at that wee hour of the day I decide to go to the ICU all by myself, walking with a hazy vision and small steps. I reached the ICU and saw him lie naked, upside down and my heart just sank. The ICU nurse held me quickly and gave me a seat and I still can't define what was happening within me. A harrowing feeling, of seeing my heart on a table with all the attachments put on his lil body. That was the moment that shook me from within and gave me a pain which I had never experienced again coz now I was a mom and my child was in pain.
3. His first co-sleep with me: Back home, when we slept together for the first time I got up after every single minute to check if he was fine, if the room temp is too cold, or if he is covered well and moreover kept on touching him to feel his breath to assure myself 'all is well'. I felt like a mad women who has become a zombie with all the sleepless nights and a weak body. 
4. When all romantic songs used to remind me of my son & not my hubby: Funny though but when I heard the song of Ashique 2, "Tum he ho" I just used to think of Nevan till the point when a friend sang it for her hubby on his birthday and I realized, 'Oh ya, it can be dedicated to Ankur(my hubby) too!' 
5. When Nevan was on my mind 24*7: So my brain started getting so strained & was functioning round the clock in thoughts like; is he hungry?, Is he wet? What should I feed him now? How much ounce of milk he had today? Why is his poop green today? What should be his next toys? Should introduction of books happen at 6 months? When is his next vaccine due?, etc etc etc etc etc.....

   

   And we became friends very soon!!!

6. When going out with friends & family meant more of rushing and missing him than enjoyment: For me, the first trip out of home was not friends or movie but a personal doctor visit in which I told the receptionist infinite no of times that I have a small baby waiting at home; but however when a friend pulled me out of the house for the first time without Nevan, I couldn't talk to her or even eat or even enjoy being away from a baby's chores....I called up home almost 6 times in 3 hours and finally my friend told me to go home as I was not doing anything else except talk about the baby or call home to ask how he is doing.....so she dropped me back & as I got off the car, she bid me good-bye & said, "U know what, you have suddenly transformed from Himani to Nevan's mom".....
7. Upon hearing the magical words from his mouth:  "Mum-ma": At almost 8 months Nevan called out the magical words 'Mumma' & 'Papa' and we became parents from mere caretakers.
8. List of most frequently visited sites changed to- Baby Centre, Parenting, etc and Magazines shifted to - Child development related books: Suddenly my starred websites were all the baby related stuff; right from the color of poop queries to why the baby is sleeping and why he isn't. It's all insane as everything around me or the house changed to Nevan. So 'Nevan sneezed today' became the biggest concern of my life and I used to read up all the possible information online & in the baby magazine's to find out ways to prevent cold in babies.
9. A visit to the mall in which I was asked, "Is that your baby?":  A spontaneous yes to the lady on the adjoining table in the restaurant, left me thinking "Really......MY BABY" and ting-tong the bell rang yet again!
10. Filling up his Passport Form in which I filled my name in place of 'Mother's Name': This was amongst the initial document which I filled for him and suddenly there is a place for Mother's Name and wow.....I have to fill in my name there....I am a MOTHER!!!
11. The first fall of my son meant more crying for me than for him: Nevan's first fall was on his 11th month bday. As we were almost through with the day, he was playing in his cot and I was right next to him and he just toppled over his cot. He was as stunned as me. But he was fine after a burst of cry but I went on for two hours. My brain went numb and I lost my senses to even evaluate the cause of the fall for those first couple of hours.

Pls share your experiences and your moments of truth's which made you a MOM.....Hope to have some other great experiences to share.

Nevan's first international vacation....Travel with babies

"Wow, it was Great" is what I can say after our first trip with Nevan....though before this one, we did go out for a weekend get away for Nevan's six month birthday but it was very different from this one.

We went to Sri Lanka and covered Colombo, Kandy & Bentota. Though we realized after going that it wasn't the best idea to travel to a destination wherein we had to do road trips to three different places in our tour; but it was manageable for us as we were travelling with our family.

So, Nevan had loads of fun....he loved the 'Stranger's more than us throughout the trip. In fact I can say that he ruined the breakfast of a neighboring table every morning during breakfast as he was more keen upon talking to them than letting them eat (But in the bargain he was distracted & used to finish his breakfast quickly too!!!).

Well, he is a water baby so apart from his love for the pools he experienced the beach for the first time & he loved every wave more than the previous one.....he was amazed initially by the waves but gradually loved them and wanted to touch them as they came & his first session ended with him kicking the waves as they were coming......oh it was so much fun to see him enjoy the beach!

And then came another aspect of our trip which were animals....before that I must confess am a big time animal lover myself & not scared of holding, touching any of them, even the scariest of the lot! So my son (& I am proud to say this) followed the tradition and was more keen to touch the elephants & the tortoise during our conservatory visits than any of us. He wanted to put the 'hatchlings' in his mouth & eat them and sit on their parents :)

Memories......

So in all there are a few pointers I would like to list for your travel with the baby:

Air Travel: 

• Put in the request for a bassinet seat (for 1yr below) kids
• Reach airport in advance to ensure you get them
• Carry baby food & drinking water; they are permitted on both national & international flights
• Carry your baby's favorite toy and one change of clothes for emergency
• Carry cotton to put in the baby's ear to avoid ear pressure
• Carry a stole/blanket as flights get colder for the baby

Travel:

• Carry basic essentials of the baby including diapers, sanitizer, baby food ,etc
• Carry a full sleeves/ jacket type of a cloth even if you going to a warm place just in case it rains or weather changes or the air conditioning is too strong.
• Carry some new toys so that the baby is more attracted to them
• Finger foods are a must to keep the baby busy for interim periods in between, which will also give you some breather
• Do not make any rigid or time constraining itinerary's; out of my personal experience he will poop as soon as we are about to step out so the whole scheduling goes for a toss
• Always carry the baby pram/stroller/baby carrier as it's very handy even if you don't use it always.

If there are other pointers which you any one can add....it would be great!

"My baby isn't gaining weight"....Top weight gaining foods for babies

Have you guys faced a situation, when you are spending some happy time with your baby on the swings in the park & a neighbors comments, "Your child looks so weak, he has lost weight?".....Oh I wish I could tell her to mind her own business but life isn't so easy always.

Well, not getting affected by the crap about what people think about our babies, I have written this post for a list of weight-gaining foods which could be increased in the diet of the baby to maintain a good weight. My pediatrician always suggests that if the baby is active & healthy, you should not count the numbers.

I once read in a Pediatric book the following about the Weight gain according to Age (For your ref):

Doubles the birth weight by 5 months
Triples the birth weight by 1 year
Five times the birth weight by 3 years

For all babies less than 6 months or who have not begin with semi-solids; formula could assist in gaining weight. This does not mean we should replace breast milk with formula but it refers to adding formula milk to babies diet once or twice a day. Along with it, the mother should have a calorie rich diet to in turn help the baby gain weight through breast milk.

For babies more than 6 months there are a bunch of options which could be added to a child's diet for a healthy weight gain. But don't forget to follow the Four-Day Rule for the same. Also go slow upon the food as it will help in a gradual increase in weight & not Magic!

1. Banana: Banana is a energy dense food; rich in carbs, potassium, Vit C & B6. It's a great source of dietary fiber & can be given to the babies in a mashed form.
2. Chikoo: It is a Sugar Fruit; so the name explains it all. It is another no-cook fruit and can be given to the baby as a hand blended puree or even as a milk shake.
3. Avocado: Avocado is low in saturated fats & also good in the dietary fiber. It can be mashed and served, fed as a milk shake and even added with jaggery flavor for sweetness or a lil spices for the savory version.
4. Potato: Potatoes are excellent first foods & also a great way to increase weight. Though they are amongst the least allergenic food but may lead to gas in a few babies. It is rich in minerals, vitamins, a host of phytochemicals along with a high carbohydrate content in them. They can be boiled, peeled & mashed. I personally started by adding a little milk in the boiled potatoes for easy gulping down. They ca be mixed in the khichadi or served with egg yolk in potato soup, potato mash with grated cheese also gives a great flavor.
5. Sweet Potato: They are again a great first food and a sugar food too. Being rich in magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6, vitamin A, vitamin C,dietary fiber along with beta carotene. It can be served in similar way as potato (Various options given in the above point no.4)
6. Oats: Oats are high in fibre, calcium, protein along with traits of Vit B, B6, magnesium & phosphorus, It is one of the least allergenic food reducing chances of constipation. A detailed post on Oats & various recipes is a part of my blog.
7. Ragi: Ragi or finger millet is also a very good source of food for weight gain. However a word of caution here is that it might not suit all babies. Otherwise, Ragi is rich in dietary fiber, protein, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2 & Vitamin B6. Ragi can be served as Ragi Kheer, Ragi Dosa, Ragi Porridge, etc
8. Ghee: I am a Punjabi & there is a saying in Punjabi's, "Jo kare na Ma na Pyo, au kare Desi Ghee" for translation Desi Ghee does the wonders which even parents cant do for their children!!!               Though Ghee is the best weight gain source but it also contains 62% of Saturated Fats; thus it shall be used in moderation. It becomes very heave for the baby to digest it so begin with a few drops of ghee in baby's food like khichadi, to roast suji or ragi or oats and then increase it to around 1 spoon of ghee in a day. I personally started ghee only at 7.5 months.
9. Butter: The above rule of Ghee also applies for butter too. It is 95% saturated fat.
10. Egg: Eggs are protein packed. Egg yolk should be started at 8 months & the whole egg including egg white to 1yr+ A detailed post on Eggs was done by me which one can look at for all the Egg Yolk related recipes. 
11. Chicken: Chicken was introduced to Nevan when he was 8 months old."Punjabi's = Butter Chicken" Well I had to start training my kid to be one......Chicken is rich in phosphorous, magnesium, Vit B6, Vitamin B12. It is on the higher side on cholestrol hence should be avoided as an everyday serving. Only fresh & cleaned chicken should be used for babies; It ca be boiled & served as soup, stew, mixed with pre cooked rice or even as chicken khichadi with some veggies. Nevan's fav are chicken & peas; I am yet to try Chicken with sweet potato & apple mash which was recommended by a fellow mom.
12. Cheese: High on phosphorous, calcium & selenium it promotes weight gain. It can be either given as a finger food or mixed with egg yolk for a cheese omelette or grated & mixed with some fruits & boiled veggies. Nevan was served cheese at 10 months.
13. Dry Fruits: Mixed nuts are enriched with Vitamin E, proteins and fat. You can add a small teaspoon of the mixture to milkshakes, porridge, etc to your 8m+ baby. DO make sure that the nuts are grounded well to avoid and possibility of choking. Dry fruits could include almond, pistachio, fig, cashew - which are energy dense. Please take an initial extra precaution while starting dry fruits as they are high allergic elements. 
14. Full (Whole) Cream Milk - Whole creme milk can be given to baby in various forms like milk shakes, in porridge, kheer, curd, smoothies, fruit yogurts, etc It is power packed with calcium & calories. Well, I am following my pedia and recommend starting whole creme milk only for 1 year + babies.

The extra chubby babies might seem cute but they might not be healthy, as they tend to be less active & have a tendency of being obese in future so please refrain yourself from over feeding your child.

Hope this one is useful and helps your baby gain some good weight!

"Egg-licious"

I started Egg for Nevan as per everyone's advise post his 9-month-Measles vaccine. But I have begun only with Egg Yolk & not the Egg Whites & will start Egg White only when he is 1+. 

As a reminder, please follow the Four-Day rule for your baby when you introduce egg yolks.

Before the recipes, Benefits of Yolk are as follows:

Egg yolk supplies essential nutrients for the brain development, it has all of an egg's Vitamin A, D, E, B3 and B12; along with Choline, Good Cholestrol & Iron & Folic Acid

After a look out over the internet, advise from experienced moms & personal experiments I hereby present to all you mommies some recipes for EGG YOLK for your babies. As one of my old posts said, I love giving variety to Nevan so giving only a boiled egg to him seemed killing to me so I found my way out...

So let's come to some Egg Yolk recipes:

1. BOILED EGG: Boil one or two eggs (Hard-Boiled) & simply separate the egg yolk from white after de-shelling. Mix it with some formula milk or normal milk you use to make it of a lil sticky consistency & give your lil one to relish it. Personally, haven't added any flavor or seasonings in it as I wanted Nevan to get the actual flavor of egg & relish it.

2. SCRAMBLED EGG with MILK: Separate one or two egg yolk from white. Mix 2 spoons of Milk to the yolks & blend. Heat a non-stick pan & put a spoon of ghee/butter. Put the blended mixture on the pan & mash it to cook completely. Serve the yummy scrambled egg to your baby. It will be soft & easy to eat

P.S.: Pls ensure that the yolk is fully cooked.

3. BANANA SCRAMBLE: Mash half a banana with a fork. Mix the mashed banana to two egg yolks & blend. Heat a non-stick pan & add a teaspoon of ghee. Cook the mixture until completely cooked. Serve the fluffy  egg to your baby. It will be soft & easy to eat

4. OATMEAL SCRAMBLE: Heat one teaspoon of ghee/butter in a frying pan. Add roasted oatmeal along with some (mashed or pureed) vegetable & fruits of your child's choice of flavor. Whisk two egg yellow's in a bowl separately. As the oatmeal+veegie/fruit mixture is stirred, add the whisked egg yolks & keep cooking till the yolk is fully cooked. It can be made in any consistency according to your baby's eating habits. The cooked scramble can also be served with some fruit/veggie dip to make it a more softer.

5. CHEESE OMELETTE: Mix two egg yolks with a small piece of cheese & make a fluffy omelette out of it on a non-stick frying pan. Serve with some boiled vegetables as finger food to complete the meal.

6. EGG FRIED RICE: Warm a pan with some ghee or olive oil. Mix egg yolks with milk & prepare as in point 2 above. Mix some pre cooked rice & pureed or diced soft cooked veggies to the above egg scramble. Cook untill the yolks are fully done.
P.S: All the veggies can be used as per babies flavor & liking. If needed puree or mash the veggies to baby's preferred texture or consistency.  

7. EGG & VEGETABLE SOUP: Make vegetable soup by boiling blending and straining all veggies that your child takes. Do add some salt for flavor. Boil two eggs and mix the egg yolk (post de-shelling) in the soup. Ensure that your soup initially is not very thick as the yolk makes the dish more thickened.

8. FRENCH TOAST: Break two egg yolks and mix it with some milk. Take some soft & fresh brown bread and cut the corners further making small four squares out of each piece. Dip the bread in the egg & milk mixture and cook over a shallow pan from both sides. 
This should be served to your baby who chews well, else can be served with a vegetable soup or vegetable/fruit puree as dip.

If there are any other innovative recipes which I have missed......pls do leave your comments!!!

Oats as First Foods for babies....

Oatmeal or Oats makes a yummy & nutritious food for babies. Infact, its goodness makes it amongst the better first food (grains) too.Oats are high in fiber, calcium, protein & even traits of Vitamin B, B6, magnesium & phosphorus reducing an chances of constipation and is also one of the least allergic foods. However never to forget the Four-Day Rule before serving anything new to our lil angels.

I usually use instant Quaker Oats for our house and do not get into other details of another hundred type of oats available in the market.

For Nevan, he is a man of variety so I have to innovate myself and make his food with different flavors for him to eat them on a daily basis.Oats to babies 6m+, personally I started with them when he was around  6 1/2 months.


Oatmeal for Babies (Basic Preparations):

1. Dry roast oats in a small quantity over the gas. ( However you can roast them in 3-4 drops of ghee once your baby is 8m+).
2. Grind them to make 'Oats Powder'
3. Make this powder once a week and keep it handy for quick recipes (Extremely important for working moms).

Oatmeal for Babies in Formula Milk:

1. Add oats powder & water and cook over the gas for a couple of minutes.
2. You can make the oats as per the desired consistency by adding water.
3. Remove from fire & add formula powder.

Oatmeal for Babies in Regular Toned Milk:

1. Add oats & milk and cook for a couple of minutes.
2. Attain desired consistency by adding milk.

Oats with Fruits: Nevan loved banana's & pear's; and I did not want to take the risk of rejection of oats from him so I cleverly introduced oats to him with his favorite fruits for good 10 days before he developed a flavor for them. Additionally this also helped me give him a fruit per day along with oats.

So you can add Oats with Mashed fruits like banana, chickoo, avocado or with Pureed fruits like Apple Puree, Pear Puree, or with other fruits like Blueberry's, Peach, Apricot, etc.

Oats & Prunes: On days when Nevan is constipated, I add mashed Prunes to his oats too (do read the post on Constipation).

Oats Vegetable Upma: Add boiled vegetables to oats and cook over gas. Add coriander leaves, roasted jeera, salt for taste. Vegetable like Bottle Gaurd, Ridge Gaurd, Potato, Sweet Pumpkin, Carrot should be started with; then tomato, brocalli, beans, peas, etc should be followed as the latter are difficult to digest.

Oats Kheer: Cook Oats in milk or water as desired and add little cardamom & cinnamon for flavor. Keep consistency in check.

Oats with Egg (for 9m+): Heat a little oil in pan, add oats along with veggies or fruits of your desire. Then add two egg yolks (whisked separately in a bowl). Gently scramble & fry the mixture until the yolks are fully cooked. The Scramble can either be cut into small pieces for the baby to have it easily, you can even serve it with a fruit puree as a dip. Else can be made in a pureed form for easy gulp down.

Hope this helps you guys to feed oats to your lil one's !!!