Baby/toddler SLEEP TRAINING

How my toddler learnt to sleep on her own ?

I cannot tell in words,these days when I woke up in the morning, how fresh and energetic i feel  ? YES, I am normal again. I missed these sleeps for a year.Sleep deprivation has made me mad.My baby never wanted to go to sleep. when she became cranky I had to either rock her or breastfeed her to sleep. we all are sleeping past midnight.But to add to my horrrors , she used to wake up again in one hr at 1 :00 am.......i had to again rock her or feed her .......but then again she woke up in one hr at 2:00 am ..................and this whole cycle runs for the entire night .And in the morning, i even didnt feel like coming out of bed.

MAALISHWALI........to have or not have a masseuse for ur baby?

As soon as new mother and her newborn baby comes home from hospital ,a look out for a maalishwali is started immediately.
From  a long time in our country, it has been a tradition to get the baby massage and baby bath done by the expert hands of these women called maalishwalees or dais (massage women or masseuse).

Senior family members usually have full trust on whatever they do to the little baby just out from her mother's womb, No doubt older generation believes them religiously as they had no other source to get information on childcare during their time.
Though their knowledge is often suspected by the young generation of mothers who have gained more

dishes with cereals

ALL ABOUT PORRIDGES

Rice porridge
use the normal white rice that u have at home,Rinse it or soak it in water for some hr/or u can dry it to make a powder.
grind it well in a to make a smooth paste/or powder that can kept for few days
In a  pan ,boil little water and a spoon of rice powder/paste.
stir it well.
now add water/formula/bm depending upon the consistency u want.
Its ready.
another method of making rice porridge,that we all know
boil rice/pressure cook rice in water,then mash it well enough so that baby can eat and finally add milk.

Brown rice porridge
these days brown rice is esily available in supermarkets,it is much healthier option than the polished one,Infact we shud also include it in our diet.its good for babies too
how to cook?
same as rice porridge only take more time in cooking
Grind it in powder form /or rinse it, soak it overnight and then grind to form a paste using the water in which it is soaked(it reduces the cooking time).
boil some water in pan, add a spoon of brown rice powder/paste and simmmer.
finally add milk (fm/bm) to get the desired consistency

Suji  porridge
well i everybody knows how to make it.
roast suji in pan(can add little ghee if ur doc has allowed)
boil water in separate pan and add to it.
finally add some milk(fm /bm) to get the desired consistency

Oats porridge
oats are one of the healthiest breakfast option,now it has becomequite popular these days.why not give to babies?
use simple oats not that mixed one with flavours or that are available for babies
either u can grind it before using or u can use it directly if ur baby have no problem in swallowing it.
boil water in apan ,add a spoon of oats and shimmer it for few minutes
finally add milk

When ur baby start eating fruits ,u can add fruits or fruits purees to their porridges too.
like add riped banana/riped peach/apple juice to the porridge while cooking and mash it well before serving to ur baby.


I have written this post in short will try to write in detail in coming weeks,If u have any suggestions ,u r welcome.




 

HOW TO BATH UR NEWBORN BABY? with no tears and cries ; in simple ,easy and economic way

post contd......

this is part 3 of scared of bathing ur newborn!!!

Bathing babies is fun and play
One thing that I don't like about maalishwali's(masseus for babies) bathing style or traditional Indian way is that they don't care for crying baby.

I really don't appreciate babies tears and cries during bathing. If u do not want to see tears in your baby's eyes-
1. make sure its not ur babies nap time or he is hungry.
2. babies cry whn they are held loosely (which is very obvious during bathing as they are not in ur arms),so hold them properly.and securely in ur arm
3. if they crying a lot u can give them sponge bath too on that day.
4. babies usually cry while wiping or cleaning face, so u cud start cleaning fom diaper area then legs and then going up in end.
5 use tear less shampoo and make ur soapy water donot enters baby's eyes and ears.

Scared of bathing ur newborn!! part two

post contd

.......its been months since I posted the first part and left it .......m sorry for that but now Its here


Right time for bathing babiesThere is no right time to bathe ur baby , it should be more like the time that suits u and ur baby, like u shud have no errands to do at that time and have very least chances of disturbance by anyone knocking at the door while ur bathing ur little one. Choose ur own time & take it out from ur hectic daily schedule  and enjoy it with ur baby.

In western countries, mostly babies are bathed during night or evening after or before feeding ,so that they fall asleep easily which is quite good.

but I don't know in India,we don't like this way ,in our country babies are first massaged and after sometime(abt half an hour )bathed. this is  usually done in morning(in summers) or noon(during winters). but there are some people who  prefer massaging and bathing at night too.
 
One of my neighbor who is from south(kerala) she told me that there babies are bathed in early morning before 9 or 10 am and then kept for sunbathing .(obviously south india don't have harsh winters like northern plains of india and they have plenty of sunshine in winters too).

I come from hilly regions of india , the winters are very severe here ,temp goes below minus too
and women here don't stay at home unlike women in northern plains(even if they are housewives) they have to go out of their house to work in fields ,bringing water from lake or river ,or taking care of cattles or farm animal  etc etc..........so women massage and bathe* their babies very early in the morning(between 5:00 to 8:00 am). so that babies cud sleep soundly, and are left under the supervision of grand parents while mothers go out for work.
*though babies are not bathed daily but they are massaged and cleaned regularly.

so in my view u must choose the best time for yourself whether morning,noon or evenings without considering what other people might consider as right time,
make sure ur baby must not be very hungry or sleepy that time, it must be her play time if possible. Best is feed ur baby half or one hour before bathing.
Bathing can be done before feeding but  after a feeding is when you want your child to sleep.Make sure that u don't have any chores to do at the same time while bathing ur baby ,and their is no one to ring the bell at that time (like milkman or maid) however it is impossible to stop everone from ringing the bell at that moment(like post man coming at the very moment) but still we can adjust some people's time so that u don't have to open door with dripping baby in your arms etc ) or leaving baby in bath tub alone( which shud not be done ever  ) even if u have a maid to come at that time make sure she comes first and then u can go to bathe ur baby while she does her work(if u trust her completely).

If u r really scared of bathing ur baby alone , best is to bathe ur baby whn ur husband comes from office and u can both help eachother.
bathing ur tiny baby seems really difficult and scary at first  but it is not impossible.and with time and practice it becomes more and more fun.

post contd

Scared of bathing ur newborn !!!

Bath time with my baby is the best time I spend with her.She enjoys sitting in her bath tub and playing with water in it .Looking with amazement how water falls from tap or shower and trying to feel it with her tiny hands.But our fav game is splashing water and her squealing with excitement .
bath time is easy and fun for both of us now .

But 10 months back it didn't seem so easy to me.
She was a newborn and I was a first time mom.
She couldn't  hold her head and I was scared by people around me.

Bathing newborn apt to be frightening at first to the inexperienced parent_the baby seems so helpless,limp and slippery.esp after having been soaped.Then they cry loudly if held loosely.It adds up to more frightening.

My mother in law was so scared of bathing baby or even changing babies cloth that she thought its only maalishwali's task to do all this. she discouraged me too from bathing my lo( even sponge bath).
she herselves consider it's as a difficul task that can not be done by everyone

Now I look back and laugh at me and my ignorance . How such a simple bathing thing becomes so Big Deal.

A nice old lady came to our house for doing all this.Her timings were very late(around 2:30 pm)which was my baby's nap time. she was asked to do so much by my mother in law that she did everything fast and without wasting any time.Its not her fault she used to charge so less but helped inexperienced me & my scared mother in law.

All that unbearable crying
 My baby cried so much the entire time maalishwali used to massage,bathe and changes cloth.it was unbearable.It was disturbing her nap time daily.Even the maalishwali suggested me to change my babies clothand bath on my own but my mother in law didn't want me touch the baby.She was so scared of doing all this that she herself has never bathed her babies not even changed their clothes ever(strange!!!) .............

Is bathing Newborn is so scary?
NO its not at all difficult or scary.
Bathing newborn is easy and simple.
it should involve lots of plays and be fun ur lo.And yes there must not be any tears and cries.

How I started bathing my baby on my own?
When I returned to my place ,I discovered some of my own ways to bathe my baby without even buying a separate bather or special bath tub that would be a waste after 4 months,once baby start holding  her head and sitting on support.

        I am not against buying these baby products.they are a great help to some but u can do without them too.

So I just want to share my experiences and some easy,simple and economic ways of bathing newborn in my next post.

post contd

Cloth Diaper Brands in India.........their Products and Review

post contd. from cloth diapers in India review part 1

What are the brands available in India?
As far as I know following brands are available on online sites(there cud be some more)

EDIT:A LOTS OF NEW AND GOOD BRANDS ARE AVAILABLE NOW IN 2019, THIS POST WAS WRITTEN IN 2013.
SO i AM LINKING THEM DOWN.YOU CAN CHECK THEM OUT TOO.

Bumgenious diapers

have some really good cloth diapers in beautiful colours from bright to neutral colors, fun prints .they come in both Velcro and snap closure.velcro closure is easy with babies who don't remain still but babies can open them easily too once they learnt the method. they also have butterfly closure system to provide a comfortable, trim fit.

bumgenious diapers comes in three styles-

Bumgenious 4.0 pocket  diaper-  

Its a pocket diaper, as I have explained above, u have to stuff the pocket with insert first before diapering your baby.one of the good feature is that there diapers comes with two inserts, a newborn insert for newborns and a one-size insert for your older baby.giving a newborn insert is a great feature as inserts comes with other brands sometimes can't fit to small ,lean newborn babies.

BumGenius Freetime
Putting this diaper on your baby is as simple as putting on  disposable ones. Quite a wonder!!
this one is not a pocket diaper that means u don't have to do any stuffing before .they have "no-stuff" system with semi-attached inserts .
this diaper is great with babies in daycare and especially with grand parents who find it little difficult to understand the simple functioning of modern cloth diapers. 
BumGenius Elemental 
This one is similar to above one,with no stuffing job to do , only difference is that the inner part of diaper (that is next to your babys bottom) is made of 100% organic cotton fiber.(in other cloth diapers , inner part is made of suede lining ).
so if u r looking for all organic this one is for you.

Flip diapers comes as a diaper cover (they are not pocket diapers) diaper cover has both snap and hook and loop closure ,Inserts have to be bought separately.one of the best thing with flip is u have option to change your insert type.Even u can use normal cotton nappies or cotton prefolds  with it .diaper cover is compatible with all three type of flip inserts available.
I like this type of system too, u don't have to change diaper cover everytime , simply change the spoiled insert and wipe clean the diaper cover. that means you can use the same cover again if it is not spoiled. Quite useful with newborns.
insert is simpply tucked under the flap cover of diaper cover before diapering.
insert types available with flip are -
stay dry- for sensitive babies
organic for organic babies
disposables

Bumchum diapers are Indian cloth diapers that are available in three styles-
bumchum fitted (pocket diape and two inserts)
bumchum cowboy(diaper cover and insert)
bumchum natural (for sensitive babies)


I have already written a post on them.
see  bumchum diaper review.


Cloth diaper shop- they sell their products thru facebook page. their diapers comes in many types and prints.

UPDATE -I found some other brands that are available in India -

Charlie Banana-read a lot of good comments abt it.
Apple Cheek
BumBerry-quite effective if price is compared to other brands,read some really good reviews abt it too.

Whats the price ? and why they are so costly?
Bumgenious cost around Rs1600 (approx.)
flip diapers                       Rs   1205 (approx.)
bumchum                         Rs   700 to 1000+(approx.)
Bumberry                         Rs   780
Charlie Banana                 RS  1499
Applecheeks                     Rs    1490


Inserts either comes with diaper or bought separately
They range from Rs 150 to Rs 1000 (differ from brand to brand)

yes, I also find them little costly too.
I don't know why they are? (may be cause of fabric or else),But seriusly  1000 Rs for one diaper seems so costly,that thinking abt buying 10 of them might cost in 5 figures.
once my cousin who just wanted to buy one or two diaper for her 2 +  yr  old daughter who accidentally  do bed wetting in winters. whn I told her the price, her mouth remained open on hearing the price.so I hope its price might reduce in future.

But for a mother of newborn or who spent plenty of money on disposables, cloth diapers are a good option.A pack of 50 disposables diapers that cost around Rs500  is used with in 10 days and have to be bought again .But with cloth diapers it will cost only once and can be used for some years.sometimes, even I wonder how much money I have saved on disposables !!!!

Are they really effective?
yes. I can surely say that they are very affective Babies skin remain dry and without any leakage(accidental leakage is very rare ,only if not put on properly or not changed with in 3 to 5 hrs(depending upon type).
 
From where do I purchase them?
They are available on lot of online purchasing site,u can easily find them below