As much I find party decor packs available online gorgeous and striking, I believe nothing matches the feeling and satisfaction you get after designing something for your child yourself, right?
When I shared Boo’s birthday pictures, so many requested for free printables/PDFs.
So, here you go!
Click on the links below for FREE printable of bunting and cake topper
Click on the link below for the poster
Click below for the e-invite
If you found this tiny article helpful, please leave a comment below. I’d really appreciate that.
Love,
Elina
My All Out Campaign Experience – let’s say #MujheSabNahiPata
Guest post by Mumtaz Surani
Motherhood is a beautiful journey, but one that comes with several pressures. Our society believes that mothers have the superpower to handle anything and everything pertaining to their children single-handedly, and they are supposed to be responsible for them all the time. Due to these undue pressures and without a proper support system, motherhood can become stressful and at times depressing.
Driven by stereotypes, we have forgotten that mothers are humans too! In reality, they are experts at taking care of their children because they learn through experience, get the courage to operate endlessly due to the love for their little ones which also gives them the power to manage everything. Just because they do it all, does not mean that “they know it all” and no, they are not supposed to know everything.
Every little bad thing that happens with the kid, from falling down to throwing tantrums, from delay in milestones to weight issues, it’s the mother who is answerable for all. It is because of this attitude that mothers always blame and judge themselves and fear to admit that they didn’t know something about their child’s health and wellbeing. It is time that society accepts mothers as humans and gives them the much-needed space they deserve. At the same time, mothers should themselves understand that it’s absolutely ok to “Not know it all” and have the courage to say “MujheSabNahiPata”.
A message that touched my heart
I’m in love with this hashtag – #MujheSabNahiPata from All Out’s latest campaign that sends out the message that it takes a tough mom to admit that she didn’t know something about her child. I feel a sense of pride every time I say or type #MujheSabNahiPata. I feel relaxed and I can say it a hundred times!
I was lucky to attend an event organised by All Out for their campaign. I got a chance to listen to an insightful discussion between eminent personalities such as actor and mother Sonali Bendre, Ruchita Dhar, Founder First Moms Club (FMC), a mom community; Dr Rupal Patel, Child psychologist and pediatrician Dr Samir Dalwai. The panelists addressed the issue of societal conditioning that mothers in India have to go through. Sonali Bendre shared from her experiences that motherhood is not always the rosy picture the world paints it to be, and the constant struggle moms go through to raise happy, healthy and socially responsible children. The audience joined the discussion with a zeal. In a room full of mothers, judgement took a back seat, as each one of us shared our #MujheSabNahiPata stories without any hesitation.
The panelists during the discussion at All Out Campaign.
The discussion then steered to how in a world of constantly emerging threats mothers try their best to protect their children from all big problems but fall prey to a smaller issue like a mosquito bite, which could cause a fatal disease like Dengue. A digital short film developed for the campaign to capture the story of one such mother, who is tough enough to accept #MujheSabNahiPata was shown to us. Here’s the link of the film.
https://www.facebook.com/AllOutIN/videos/256425565275319/ which garnered more than 80 million views in the last one month since its release! It’s worth a watch! The event concluded with every mother tying a knot to their attire, just like old times, as a mark of reminder to always share their #MujheSabNahiPata stories.
On this lovely note, I would like to share a short #MujheSabNahiPata moment of my own.
Mothers posing their knots tied along with Sonali Bendre.
My #MujheSabNahiPata moment
I remember when Zaa (my daughter) was 5 months old and I was using a rocker for her, for the first time. My friend had lent the rocker to me and then decide if I needed one for us. When I put my baby in the rocker, I could see her gentle smile and the happiness in her eyes. Brimming with joy I carried the rocker to another room to see how we both would manage. However, I wasn’t aware that the rocker has a lock beneath it which is supposed to be fastened before carrying it around. If it is not locked, it keeps rocking and carrying it would flip the baby upside down. Unknowingly, I happily carried the rocker and in a fraction of second the rocker flipped and Zaa hit the ground hard, her head hitting the tiles!
She screamed and began crying. It was her first fall. I was a new mother and all alone at home (cons of being in a nuclear family). I had never seen Zara crying so hard and turning red with the screaming. Almost on impulse I picked her up and hugged her tight, my hands were shivering with fear; given the impact of the fall she was obviously not ready to calm down and I broke into a sweat.
Tears welling in my eyes and a wailing baby in hand, I began to wonder: What will my family say to me? How will my husband react? What do I do now? I panicked and called my elders. They panicked too. Then, someone knocked on the door and I rushed to open it. It was my masseuse (malish wali) who is old and experienced. As soon as I saw her, I heaved a sigh of relief and told her about the incident. She sensed me shivering. To my surprise, she reacted badly. She started yelling at me – Are you mad? How could you be so careless! You are a mother, you made the child fall? What if she gets mentally affected? You are insane! At this point, I couldn’t hold back my tears and I was red out of guilt. I didn’t know if my baby was ok due to the fall. What if she was hurt internally? How would I know that? All such questions started haunting me, but I had no courage to ask anyone. However, I was lucky that my husband took the incident quite calmly and didn’t overreact.
It takes a tough mom to say #MujeSabNahiPata.
I then managed to know all of the basic facts that #IDidntKnow, from my pediatrician. Here are the basic pointers she told me to keep in mind when the baby falls.
1. Always check the part of the baby’s body that was hit after the fall.
2. If it’s bleeding, try to stop the bleeding and rush to the doctor. If it’s not bleeding, then try massaging with an ice cube or cold-water bag to avoid the bump.
3. Try to soothe the baby as they cry. The sudden shock from the fall scares them. I thought Zaa cried because she was unbearable pain due to the fall! #MujheSabNahiPata.
4. The best way to check if the baby is fine and has no internal injuries is to breastfeed. If the baby denies the feed and does not stop crying, then you need to see the doctor. But if they accept the feed, then everything is fine. Also, breastfeed is the best way to calm a scared and wailing baby.
While it is okay to panic in such situations, it is time to gather confidence, look up and say #MujheSabNahiPata! when people scare and accuse the mother. I was relieved and slept peacefully that night after accepting that I didn’t know and after speaking to my pediatrician. It’s not a crime to not know everything.
Sharing our #MujheSabNahiPata stories will help other mothers learn from our experiences. I just shared mine. Hope it helps new mothers out there, even if it helps one mom, I will be more than glad to have written this. You can drop yours in the comments section below and I’ll be more than happy to read them. Afterall, it is the failure of one mother that prepares hundreds of others for a win!
Thank you!
Mumtaz Surani.
@tinysoul.zaa
My Experience with Sebamed Children’s Shampoo
Guest Post by Mumtaz Surani
Everytime I visit my mom’s place in Karnataka, I’m worried about Zaa’s hair wash. The city has “hard water” (unlike Mumbai), which means it has extra minerals and salts in it. Hence, the texture of the hair gets very rough and dry.
Currently, I had visited my mom’s place and had been there for some family function for a couple of days. I had planned to avoid giving head bath to Zaa till I return back to Mumbai. It was a tough decision, but I had no option. Nevertheless, at the same time I got to know about Sebamed shampoo from my few close friends who had good experiences.I thought this to be an opportunity to try Sebamed children’s shampoo to see the results, when used with hard water.
150ml bottle of Sebamed Children’s Shampoo.
I gave her a head bath and loved the shampoo . Sharing the details and review of the same below.
Product Details :
– Sebamed children’s shampoo is for toddlers and is to be used 2-3 times a week for promising results.
– The product is available in different sizes starting from 50 ml to 500 ml.
– It’s packaged in a lovely shaped bottle that is easy to use and carry.
– All Sebamed products are of pH 5.5 , which is apt for baby’s skin.
– It has natural moisturizing agents that protects against dryness and provides extra mild cleansing of hair and scalp.
My Experience with the product :
– The shampoo is light in weight, flows smoothly and has a mild botanical fragrance that smells awesome.
– Unlike other regular soaps, this shampoo left Zaa’s hair moisturized and super soft despite using hard water for her hair wash.
– We could notice that black shine on her hair after the first wash only. They were silky and easy to comb. Eager to use the shampoo regularly henceforth.
– I could feel the mildness and texture of shampoo while scrubbing her scalp. It’s a no tears formula and dermatologically tested product.
– I loved the fact that it’s a 100% soap and alkali free product. Her hair had that pleasant fragrance even after hours and I loved that too !
Using Sebamed Children’s shampoo .
Price :
RS 417/- for 150 ml bottle of Sebamed children’s shampoo .
Availability :
Sebamed products can be found online on first cry, Amazon, nykaa, Paytm, Big Basket and Flipkart.
I purchased mine from a firstcry store in my vicinity. You should also be able to find Sebamed at several chemists and known baby-product stores like mee Mee, Mothercare etc.
About the Brand :
Sebamed is a brand of skin care products. Sebamed products are developed by dermatologists and can be used even by people with sensitive skin. The unique feature is that all Sebamed products have a pH of 5.5, which is the pH of normal healthy skin. The products are made in Germany and are marketed in India by USV Limited.
What is pH 5.5 and Why pH 5.5 ?
Just like there is normal body temperature, blood pressure and heartbeat rate for the baby, there is also skin pH for babies and the pH for skin is 5.5.
The pH is measured on the pH bar 0 indicating acidic and 14 indicating alkaline. The pH of water is 7 which is neutral. Normal, healthy skin has a pH of 5.5 which is slightly acidic and Sebamed products also have a pH of 5.5.
pH 5.5 leads to soft and smooth skin, aids in skin renewal and imparts a healthy glow to the skin and guards skin from infections. Isn’t this fact satisfying enough to happily use Sebamed ? 🤔😌
In all, I had a very good experience with Sebamed and I’m loving their shampoo. I’m amazed with the softness of her hair and the quality of the product is excellent.
Now, that Zaa has stepped in her toddlerhood, I was in search of kids shampoo for Zaa. I have always used Pears soap for bathing Zaa since her birth, but wished to switch to a good shampoo sooner. My search for the same ends on Sebamed.
Thanks for stopping by and reading.
Signing off for now.
Regards,
MumtazSurani
@tinysoul.zaa
Do we know enough about Influenza?
A couple of weeks ago, I along with a few bloggers were invited to attend an incredibly interesting and informative seminar organised by MAI (Mothers against Influenza) to raise awareness on Influenza.
Albeit, I’m from a medical background, I realised that my personal awareness on this topic was lacking. Not that I didn’t know about it but honestly, I wasn’t aware how serious it is. I’m pretty sure, a lot of moms out there are not aware of the gravity of this disease too.
But yes, I remember diligently taking this vaccine during my pregnancy and in fact, recently, less than a month ago, my 12 months old girl got vaccinated too. It’s highly recommended to vaccinate kids under 2 years of age against it since they’re at a risk of getting flu.
Doctors on the panel- Dr Uday Chopra (MD, DCH- Pediatrics) and Dr Mukesh Gupta (MD, ObGyn) interacted with us and shared some valuable information on this issue. We also had Genelia Deshmukh as the guest of honour who shared her personal experience and insights on vaccination and the importance of seeing and talking to your paediatrician regularly.
Coming back to Influenza, here’s some important information for you all, so that all of you moms are also well informed beforehand.
What is Influenza and how is it different from common cold?
Flu is a highly contagious disease which commonly spreads through coughing, sneezing, touching objects that are infected with virus etc. Did you know, it affects more than 10 million people per year in India itself? The most common organs that are affected by it are- the respiratory tract including nose, lungs and throat, which leaves the person with following symptoms:
Fever
Feverish chills
Cough
Runny nose
Sore throat
Body aches
Head ache
Exhaustion
Click here to reach the website of MAI (Mothers against Influenza) which is a credible source to get more information on Influenza.
Types of Influenza Viruses:
There are 3 types of influenza viruses: A, B and C. Type A and B cause seasonal epidemics almost every year while type C causes mild respiratory diseases.
Who are the people at high risk of developing Influenza?
- Children under 5 years of age
Younger kids are more prone to being infected with the virus easily.
It’s different from common cold and is generally more severe. Fever and chills are more common in Flu unlike cold.
Children having asthma, brain disorders, diabetes etc are at an increased risk of developing serious complications
- Pregnant women
Our body goes through tremendous hormonal and physical changes during pregnancy which often affects our immune system, making us more prone to falling sick.
Pregnancy can double the complications arising out of Influenza
It not only affects the mother, but also the health of unborn baby, it’s maturity and delivery too.
What are the preventative measures we moms can take?
-Get your baby who’s over 6 months, vaccinated before the onset of an epidemic. The best time to do it is before the reopening of school after summer vacation.
-Avoid stepping out with your baby who isn’t vaccinated during an epidemic.
-Not just the baby, take a samuhik approach- get the entire family vaccinated so that our shield against the disease is strong enough.
Important do’s and don’ts:
If you have flu like symptoms, get yourself checked immediately and avoid contact with people, especially kids. Keep a distance of more than 6 ft from them.
-Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze
-Wash your hands regularly throughout the day
-Monitor your illness and see your doctor every 24hrs
-Take proper medications, drink plenty of water and eat nutritious healthy meals every 2-3 hours.
See your doctor immediately if you’re showing any of these signs along with other flu symptoms:
Adults:
Breathlessness
Chest pain
Drowsiness
Fall in blood pressure
Blood spots in cough
Bluish nails
Children:
Drowsiness
Not feeding well
High and persistent fever
Convulsions
Difficulty in breathing
Influenza vaccination:
Influenza vaccines are prepared to protect individuals from infections of flu viruses. Based on the viruses present in the environment, these vaccines are formulated twice a year. World Health Organisation recommends yearly vaccination against influenza for all people, especially those at a high risk of this disease.
Doctor Mukesh Gupta emphasised on getting the vaccination during pregnancy. “Go take a flu vaccine, even before you plan pregnancy. Only a healthy body can bring a healthy baby, preconception vaccine is important.” To which Genelia Deshmukh agreed and added, “All mothers must go meet your paediatricians, gynaecologist and get all questions answered about flu and staying protected with vaccination.”
Dr Uday Pai gave a very valuable piece of advice. He said, “Vaccines may take 4 to 6 weeks to build complete immunity in your body, so you must take it before any epidemic like swine flu breaks out.”
This was my key takeaways from the seminar. Although my daughter is vaccinated but me and my husband never thought of getting ourselves vaccinated too. Hope this post is equally useful to all of you as me.
Note: Doctors who vaccinate can be found in every locality with a simple search by pin-code. If you’re looking for a doctor, click here to find one in your vicinity.
Disclaimer: I attended a discussion on influenza awareness facilitated by Abbott IndiaLimited. Any opinion expressed in this blog is my personal opinion and not the opinion ofAbbott India Limited. Abbott India Limited does not assume any liability for the content of the blog. The blog post is not meant to be a replacement for a doctor consultation, nor is it a medical recommendation or prescription of treatment for babies having Influenza. Any reader of this blog or their family members suffering from Influenza should specifically consult his/her doctor for the same and follow the suggested course of treatment.”
Our Toys: The Only 10 Toys We Have (For 0-15 months)
I never really invested in toys much because I hate clutter. I only purchase those that have multiple functions, or can sharpen her skills, enhance her sensory experience or those which I know would be used for a long time.
Without wasting much of your time, let me quickly share our favorite toys from the last one year:
1.Rattles (Apt for newborns to 6 months): We didn’t really buy any. Received several as gifts and those sufficed for the first few months.
2. Ring Stacker (Apt for 6 months+): This stacker was once her favourite toy. She mastered stacking the rings when she was about 10.5 months old and after that, it never interested her much.
3. Mega Blocks (Apt for 12 months+): She is now learning to build and destroy the blocks and it’s a fun activity. A must buy for sure!
4. Shape Sorter Blocks (Apt for 10 months+): We received this amazing sorter on her first birthday as a gift and this one is by far, her favorite toy.
5. Quiet Books (Apt for 12+ months): I love these books for the fact that they are so compact and yet teach so many skills and lessons. Again, a must buy for overactive toddlers.
6. Water Wow! (Apt for 15 months+): It’s a mess free coloring book which is great for kids who like to paint and moms who hate to clean :P.
7. Finger paints (Apt for 14 months +): Or later than 14 months, depending how much your child tends to put her fingers in her mouth. But it’s an amazing activity and a great way to teach them colors.
8. Indoor Slide (Apt for 13 months +): A savior for moms of kids who love to jump around and don’t know how to exert and channelise their energy. This slide has been my favorite purchase of the year. Since we don’t have a proper play area in our society, we thought this was a great investment. And boy, was it.
9. LeapFrog AlphaPup (Apt for 12 months+): I saw a fellow blogger’s daughter love this toy and hence purchased, but my girl isn’t a big fan of it. However, she’s yet to learn to speak and I’m sure this toy will come in really handy when that happens.
10. Reusable Sticker Pad by Melissa and Doug (Apt for 18 months+): We are yet to use it in the correct way, since she’s a little young to understand how to stick. We have played/used it a couple of times and found it to be a great way to learn about animals.
And though it doesn’t qualify to be a toy, I’d highly recommend getting this open floor level book rack for your little raeder:
That’s all that we have, love and use on an everyday basis. I’m happy we haven’t purchased anything so far which has been just lying on the bottom of the toy box.
(We have a couple of toys that aren’t used much and hence didn’t make it to the list)
If you hate clutter and love minimalism, you must have probably found this article helpful. Please comment below and let me know if you did 🙂
Thanks for stopping by and reading.
Love,
Elina
Fububox: A Book Subscription For Little Readers- Thoughts and Review
“The simplest way of making sure we raise literate children is to show them that reading is a pleasurable activity. And that means, finding them books that they enjoy, giving them access to those books and letting them read them.”
– Neil Gaiman
I’ve grown up loving books. My dad was a writer and his articles used to be published in a renowned newspaper every week for almost a decade. This is one of the reasons why I still prefer spending on book over food any day. They say, children are made readers on the lap of their parents and I can’t agree more!
When I was expecting, I made sure to read a lot and I also researched on which books to buy for my little one. I purchased my daughter’s first set of books when she was a month and half old and I did make some good choices- except, I got all paperbacks. Little did I know that this little squish of mine will grow up too soon to tear the pages down. The first set was in pieces within 4-5 months. I learnt the hard way that it is board books that’s advisable for kids under 2. Similarly, it took me a while and a lot of trial and error to understand what author and category I should consider for my little reader.
I’m often asked by parents regarding which books to buy for their kids and honestly, answering that question in one sentence is difficult. There are a ton of factors based on which books can be purchased- like for example, age of the child, language preferences, topic of interest, budget and reading level.
I always wondered, why don’t we have Indian subscription service of books for babies like they have in several developed countries.
Well, I was wrong because there already existed one- FubuBox! 😊
One day, I was browsing through my Instagram feed and I bumped into one of their posts. I instantly got in touch with them and got one box customised for my girl. It reached my doorstep in a couple of days and we were pleasantly surprised.
Here’s what we received:
- A board book titled ‘Here Comes the Dinosaur’
- A slide and pull book titled ‘Busy Vet’ by Rod Campbell
- And a paperback titled ’The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water’
- A pack of play-doh
What I love about FubuBox?
- They ask you to fill a form to know the age and also understand the interest of the child
- The books are then chosen by an expert panel based on your answers
- They select only those books which are written by well known authors across the globe
- They pick books from various genres to add variety to your child’s reading experience
- They not just send books, but also a surprise gift along with the package 🙂
- They’re extremely approachable and genuinely helpful.
Services:
- They currently cater to 0-6 year olds
- They have three plans- 3 months, 6 months and 12 months
- They also design one time birthday box and gift boxes
- They make customized return boxes too
Click here to directly reach their website and here to check their Instagram page.
Thanks for stopping by and reading!
Regards,
Elina
P.S. This is a sponsored post. All the images used are mine and the opinions are genuine by all means
My Child is Lean And I’m Not Worried!
There’s a reason why a child is lean. But first, let me take you through my journey and share my experience.
—–
“Get her admitted immediately. I’m coming to the hospital in an hour to see her.” My Gynaeceologist told my husband and he, along with my mom quickly arranged for all the said medicines. I was quietly lying on a bed in one corner of the hospital room, wondering if I will ever deliver this baby.
It had just been four months since I got pregnant, but it looked like ages. Continuous vomits had drained me completely. I didn’t just have morning sickness, my misery continued all day and night. Especially night! I had to sleep near the bathroom because the urge to vomit woke me up every half an hour or so. My BP had dropped drastically, I was severely dehydrated and at times, I used to have black outs which once resulted in fainting too.
Basically, I was suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum- a rare condition few pregnant women suffer from. After being on just medicines and NBM, I finally got better and returned back home 3 days later. Needless to say, I had to quit my job and take good rest. Such was the beginning of my pregnancy.
Later, at around 6 months, I was detected with Intra-Uterine Growth Restriction, a condition wherein the baby doesn’t grow to an optimum level and has extremely low weight. Such babies are at a high risk of developing diseases since they’re very fragile.
Finally, at 37 weeks, after taking several protein injections, we delivered my little one via LSCS. Yes, we took opinions from several experts and doctors and realised that it was the safest option for our child.
When she was born, she weighed 2.3kgs and by the time we came back home, she was down to 2.1kgs. Textbooks may classify her as LBW i.e. Low Birth Weight or SGA i.e. Small for Gestational Age baby. But she was a perfectly healthy child. Unlike most LBW babies, she didn’t suffer from Jaundice and wasn’t even kept in the NICU for observation. I can’t thank the Almighty enough for this grace. (To see World Health organisation’s Growth Chart for babies 0-2y, click here)
You may ask, why am I sharing about my pregnancy ?
Because there are reasons why lean babies are lean. Not all pregnancies are easy. Also, not all babies who weigh more are healthy and not all lean babies, weak!
We live in a very strange society. It surprises me, how quick are people to judge both the child and the mother. In fact, it’s a shame that we look at newborns with judgmental eyes and even have the audacity to pass comments.
I’ve often seen people comment on the weight of the baby- both less and more, complexion of the baby, method of delivery- vaginal or LSCS, if the mother is breastfeeding or has opted to formula feed, if she’s working or has decided to stay at home- basically everything!
I too was one of the victims. I still am. Even today, people pass sarcastic comments on her weight (She’s 1 year old and weighs 7.5kgs). Since I’m a nutritionist myself, I get the worst ones. “Has your mom put you on a diet?” they tell her; and then there are comments on the quality of my milk too-“Your milk must be thin like you”, and of course, speculations on if I even feed her- “She is so weak, don’t you give her food?”etc.
My only question to them is- “which mom won’t feed her child?!”
These remarks often leave me speechless. I never respond to such comments, but I lose my cool when they say- she’s weak. She’s lean, not weak! Don’t you know the difference?! 😒
Anyway, now that you have patiently read my rant 🙈 and you also know the background, let’s move on to the main issue:
Is being underweight a matter of concern?
Let me ask you a question. Does your weight match the standards set by the health organisations? No, right? Similarly, it’s perfectly normal for the child to not match those standards too. As long as he is eating optimum nutritious food, achieving his developmental milestones on time, is playful and energetic, doesn’t fall sick, has a good immune system, he’s a healthy baby. Don’t let the numbers worry you. Don’t give him additional formula milk or bottles of vitamins and minerals just so that he gains weight. He doesn’t need that. He just needs healthy, nutritious meals and your love!
Why is my child underweight?
There can be several reasons. Some are:
- Pregnancy complications- like it was in my case
- Genetics- When my daughter’s paediatrician first came to see her in the hospital, I asked her- why is my girl underweight? She turned to my mom and asked her about my birth weight. I was 2.5kgs when born and my husband was a fairly lean baby too. I got my answer.
- Exclusive breastfeeding: EBF children are often leaner as compared to formula fed children. And by lean, I just mean their weight is less. That being said, they are more active and fall ill less often because their immune system is very strong.
- Hyperactivity: Lean babies are extremely active and thus they don’t easily gain weight too. It’s a vicious cycle.
When should I be worried?
- If your child is inactive and isn’t playful
- If he isn’t eating well or spits out all his food
- If he’s falling ill often
- If he has frequent bouts of diarrhoea
- His pee/poop frequency has reduced.
What should I feed my child with?
You would be tempted to (and often advised to) give your child not-so-healthy fattening foods. But trust me, your child needs healthy, nutritious meals more than anything else. Add colour and variety to his plate. Give him combinations of food and try to add all possible food groups. You’ll find some interesting ideas here.
Also, there are a few good high carbohydrates, proteins and fat foods that can be a part of your child’s meals, like:
- Avocados
- Butter/ghee
- Sweet potatoes
- Chickpeas
- Peanut butter
- Potatoes
- Paneer etc.
Avoid adding a lot of sugar, ghee and butter to his meals. Childhood obesity is another pressing issue and we don’t want to jump from this puddle to that one in the future.
Does my child require multivitamins or formula feed?
Formula milk will only make him bulky, not healthier. So, if that’s your aim, go ahead. Your milk is absolutely perfect and he doesn’t need anything over and above it. Also, if he’s on breast-milk, he requires no additional supplement to gain weight.
What if my child has a poor appetite?
If your child isn’t eating well, that’s an added concern. I’ll try to jot down an article on how to deal with fussy eaters, but here’s one tip for now- add ARF to his food. By doing so, you increase the nutrients in his meal without adding bulk to it. Basically, he will derive more energy and nutrients from the same amount of food.
How to prepare ARF?
1. Soak grains and/or pulses of your choice for 12 hours.
2. Germinate it for another 12 hours.
3. Dry roast or sun dry it.
4. Grind it into a powder and store in an airtight container.
5. Add one to two teaspoons to his preparations.
I hope you found this article helpful. Please feel free to ask if you have any questions. Comment down below and I’ll definitely try to answer them.
Have a great day and don’t worry, your child is healthy! 🙂
You’re doing a good job, mama ❤
Love,
Elina
5 Products That Will Help You Keep Your Home Clean and Make Your Life Easy!
Unlike always, this time my article doesn’t essentially revolve around children. Rather, it is a topic I never thought I’ll write on. But these 5 items- that I recently discovered and I have a feeling that they’re not so widely used in Indian homes- have come in really handy for me in the last few months.
Hence, I thought of sharing my experience with you all too so that you’ll can also make informed choices.
Also, none of these items are sponsored. In fact, these brands don’t even know that I exist 🙈 Not that it affects my opinion anyway but still thought of putting it out there.
So yes, coming back to my favorites of this month:
1. CIF Power and Shine Kitchen Cleaner
I may not be categorized under the section of people who have OCD, but I just can’t function if my kitchen table-top is cluttered and messy. I hate when the walls get sticky due to oil splatter and it’s even more irritating when they build over time and leave a residue on the wall. If you’re someone like me, then this thing is for you. At first, I was hesitant to try it since I wasn’t aware of its performance, but now, there’s not a single night I sleep without cleaning my kitchen with this liquid. It just not removes the oil from the walls efficiently but also cleans the sticky switchboards with just one swipe. (Note: You’ll have to use it religiously to see the desired results)
2. Ariel Matic Liquid Detergent
I won’t lie, I first tried this detergent in one of their campaigns but I instantly fell in love with this product. What I like about it is-
1. It doesn’t leave white spots on dark clothes, which most powder detergents do.
2. It smells amazing. Even after the clothes are folded and kept in the wardrobe, they continue to release the fragrance.
I got it on a massive discount online, and so purchased a few for the future too. Yes, that’s how much I like it.
3. Odonil gel room freshener
I have tried several room fresheners in the past but nothing works like this one. Actually, I never read reviews or even saw a TV ad for this specific variant, it was more of an an impulse buy during one of my mall visits and I’m very happy with my purchase. Especially because I’m using cloth diapers for my daughter and often the soiled ones remain the bathroom for a few hours (*facepalm*) until I get free to wash them. Which is why, my bathroom smells unpleasant. Since I have been using this freshener, that fouls smell has curbed to a great extent.
This particular fragrance- passion fruit, is my favourite. And oh yes, you can turn the bottle to increase or decrease the intensity too.
4. Wonderchef Bullet Grinder
I know this is not like the other items FMCG items mentioned above, but I couldn’t resist from sharing this particular product that I love with you all. It’s such an incredible machine that I even gifted it to so many people.
It’s a major space saver and is also ultra convenient to use and store. I’ve been using for over 6 months and it’s working perfectly for us. It not just grinds efficiently but also makes quick juices and smoothies.
If you’re looking to buy one, I’d totally recommend this!
5.Comfort Pure – Baby Variant
Again, a random purchase I can’t thank myself enough for. This conditioner makes baby clothes ultra smooth and soft. I couldn’t believe my hands when I touched her clothes after the first wash! If you purchase good quality clothes for your little one, using this will ensure they remain soft like new always.
That’s all, folks!
Hope you enjoyed the article.
Thanks for stopping by and happy parenting.
Love,
Elina
P.S. This article may contain affiliate links. If you choose to purchase anything using those links, a little percentage of it will be given to me. However, you won’t be charged additionally.
Disciplining Babies- When to Start, How to Teach, Simple Effective Tricks and more
Whenever as a young girl, I saw a kid behave inappropriately in public, I would subconsciously blame the parents for the morals they’ve instilled and the way they’ve disciplined their child (of course in my head :p), and I’m pretty sure most of you did too. (Please say yes! 🙈)
Now, after I’ve become a mother myself, I realise how wrong I was. Kids are kids, and beyond a point, things are not totally in our control. That being said, disciplining them is extremely crucial. Not only so that they obey you in important matters, but also so that they grow up to be well-behaved and well-spoken members of the society.
Contrary to the common belief of training them once they’ve reached a certain age, it’s now being found that the early you start, the more well-behaved the baby becomes.
The real question is: “How to discipline them without hindering their natural instinct of exploring?”
The primary rule that each parent needs to remember here is: “Use your ‘NO’s’ judiciously”. We often say ’no’ to things which actually don’t require to be stopped immediately. For instance, if your child puts a toy in a bucket of water, don’t say no. Let him throw and see how the water splashes or if he throws food from the plate on the floor, don’t scold him. He’s just curious to see how things fall. Say ‘NO’ only when it’s harmful to him or when he’s learning to do something that he shouldn’t.
Coming back to our topic, that is, age-appropriate disciplining. Here are a few things you can do to raise a well-behaved child:
0-6 months
Since babies have no comprehension at this age, nor do they understand our language much, the best thing to do here is prevent undesirable occurrences. Like, if you feel that he’s begun to put things in his mouth, keep hazardous objects away from his sight. Or, he has learnt to pull your hair and you don’t find it desirable, gently move his hand from your hair and quickly give him a toy instead.
Moreover, this is an age when most habits are formed, so if you don’t want your kid to be habituated to something you don’t intend to use/follow for a long duration, it’s better to get rid of those habits at this time. Some of those things can be- use of a cradle, pacifier or preference of sucking to sleep etc. Though sucking to sleep is a great way of ensuring that babies sleep while feeling secure, some mothers have to continue with their jobs or have other issues and don’t find it very practical to follow. If you’re one of those, I’d advise you to gradually reduce the use of those items/habits since this is the only age you can control it to a great extent.
6-12 months
At around this time, most babies learn to crawl and with the help of this newly learnt skill, the desire to touch things and explore increases. During this phase, their understanding of what’s good and what’s not, what’s is safe and what shouldn’t be touched is zilch. So, saying a plain ‘No’ doesn’t help much. That being said, their safety is important and it’s something which we parents can’t compromise on.
Here are a few things you can do:
1. Babyproof your apartment and keep potentially dangerous items out of your baby’s reach.
2. You don’t have to necessarily say no. Just make a peculiar sound that signifies danger. Use your words correctly. That sound/ word should not be said in a strict or unpleasant manner to scare the baby, and at the same time, it shouldn’t be encouraging too. We need the baby to learn to stop the action he’s performing. Saying a simple “ah ah” or “uh oh” while calling him towards you with your arms stretched works like magic.
3. Another trick that I liked was suggested by a friend and fellow blogger, Mumtaz. She practises “show to teach” method with her baby. For this, she asks her husband to pick something in the baby’s presence. She then says “no” to her husband and he keeps that thing down. This is how the baby learns that when “no” is said, the action has to stop or the held item has to be kept down. While, in my opinion, it’s a great trick, the only care one has to take is in the number of times you say ’no’. Like mentioned before, don’t say no unless you sense danger.
12-24 months
Once babies learn to walk, they become unstoppable. This is also the time when a major mental leap occurs, due to which, they become mini-bosses of their own world. At this age, they sense a great deal of independence and thus love to throw and destruct items or simply do things like the way they like and not how they are instructed to. You’ll also notice a huge difference in their eating behaviour. Even those kids who once ate their meals without a fuss, won’t open their mouth to eat food or spit out it out once fed.
How to disciple these young independent humans?
1. The above-mentioned tricks won’t work at this stage, because when you tell them not to do something or even scold them when they do something inappropriate, they get thrilled and will repeat that action even more.
2. What we can do is- work in accordance to their milestone. You’ll notice that babies above 12 months of age love to hit other babies or pull their noses. This is so, not because they want to hurt them or inflict pain, it’s only because they love to see the reaction. Similarly, most of the actions they perform are result-oriented or in simple words, are a result of their curiosity to know the other person responds. What worked for us was- not reacting! So when my girl learnt that she could pull my hair or hit me on my face, I didn’t say anything and simply ignored. She did that for a day or two and when she observed no reaction from me, she completely stopped doing it. This may not be the most correct way of disciplining the child, but it’s way better than saying no, which actually augmented her misbehaviour.
3. The art of distraction: This trick is something most moms swear by. All you have to do is when a child does something inappropriate or misbehaves, you quickly direct his attention towards something else. Since kids of this age have a short attention span, they usually forget what they were previously up to and get involved in the new activity.
4. Channelise their energy: Most of the unpleasant behaviour of kids is due to rush of energy they have and they don’t know how to exert themselves. It is found that kids who are involved in more constructive activities and play are better behaved than other kids.
Before I end, let me share an important message: These are some tricks only to prevent dangerous occurrences and for them to learn to follow important instructions.
You don’t have to always police your child.
Let him jump, let him throw;
Let him fall, that’s how he’ll grow!
Thanks for stopping by and reading! Please leave a comment if you liked what you read.
Love,
Elina
Style your hair in minutes with ‘Black Hairspray’
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post but all opinions are purely mine.
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How often are we mothers stuck when it comes to quickly styling our hair before leaving for a party or an outing? I’m often in a fix and end up wearing a bun because my little one leaves me with no time to play and experiment with my hair. Even at my brothers wedding, I had to opt for a messy ponytail because my girl got cranky and didn’t let me style my hair.
In moments like these, ready wigs come to our rescue! The problem with most wigs available in the market is that they’re synthetic and hence don’t blend well with our hair. They’re not just too thick and difficult to style but also can’t be dukes of coloured to match our hair.
When I read about ‘Black Hairspray’ and their collection, I had my heart for several reasons:
1. It’s one of the largest e-commerce website for braids, wigs and all hair care products.
2. The brand is immensely passionate about all things hair and make a variety of things in top notch quality!
3. All their wigs are made of human hair which is why they’re easy to style, blend well and can also be coloured!
4. They’re available in a variety of textures and colours so that even those who have super straight hair or extremely curly hair find their perfect match.
Pros:
1. Made with 100% natural human hair
2. They’ve no hassle 30 days return policy and an extremely supportive customer care team
3. They offer same day delivery in several states of the continental US.
4. Easy and convenient to shop.
5. They have a section of clearance sale items. Those on a hunt for affordable pieces might find something at a steal price there.
Cons:
1. Indians might have to pay additional customs to get it shipped to our country.
To purchase outre wigs for yourself, click here- ‘Outre‘
Thank you for stopping by and reading!
Have a great day
Love,
Elina
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