The nappy scene – and the 'Art of War'

My mother, who is the mainstay of Vira’s care (apart from the feeding and night care) is gone to attend  a wedding. The baby is 47 days old … and just figuring out that the world ‘out there’ , away from the crib , is a very interesting one. And she sure does not want to miss the action . So everytime we rock her to sleep, she wakes up as soon as  she is put down into her crib J . This is one out and outer baby. And as all of know, if the baby is awake, the frequency of feeding, burping, peeing and doing potty goes up two fold. So in the afternoon the cotton cloth nappy is replaced with Pampers Active Baby diaper to let me rest for 40 minutes (yes .. 20 minutes to hand her over to the maid , all dry and happy, prepare myself for a nap and a 40 minute nap before the maid brings her for a feed) .

About the Late morning / afternoon nap :- This nap is a huge life saver – it helps me stay cheerful till the end of the day .And absolutely helps beat depression (which can creep up so very easily when you feel tired and it feels like the baby has overtaken your life)

 And then by the evening we (maid and I) are all too tired to want her to wake up during her fits of sleep . So out comes the diaper again. The trick I’ve learnt ,to avoid nappy rash, is to put a lotion everytime we change the diaper. And to change the diaper rather frequently (not wait for her to pee into it 6 times – as written on the pack) . I find that nappy rash is mostly  due to over drying the skin (the diaper absorbs all oil etc. from the skin and adding in a dose of baby powder just makes it drier and more itchy and red) or letting the soiled diaper stay on for longish periods of time .

Combat techniques from the art of war –

a.       take short naps

b.      use technology (diapers with extra aloe vera)  to increase your effectiveness – but take precautions not to be upset by the enemy (nappy rash)

c.       thank god for surviving everyday - love your mother  and maid and husband and whoever makes this survival possible

The mystery of the rattle – why kids love it from day 1

So your child is crying .. and yelling in protest when you take her for a bath / try and change her clothes? Vira does this so often, thinking she can browbeat me or her granny into surrender. The best way to tackle this has been the rattle – the louder the better. She stops crying and gets distracted and we can slip her clothes on and off without a problem!! .

Combat techniques from the art of war – distract the enemy (baby) and accomplish your task.

PS - love the rattles at http://hoopos.com/h?q=rattle 

Baby week 2 and lentil soup - indian style

Week 2:- I’m back from the hospital . The baby is looking a bit larger and I am more confident of holding her.  Her redness has disappeared and she now looks ‘normal’ . Such tiny hands and legs. And she seems to have a small but sharp nose. Just like my mother ! and very unlike my first baby – Reet. Reet’s nose was very flat and so much time and energy was spent massaging it to make it ‘sharp’ and beautiful .. not that any of it helped J

The umbilical cord dropped off on day 11 . So the Indian ritual of a daily massage has started . Want to more about managing a baby the ‘Indian’ way ? Do read up ‘Gentle first year’ by Dr Gowri Motha and Kareen Swan Macleod. This was lent to me by a friend and has  practical advise on how to manage the baby.The things you can look up include how to massage the baby .

We have started off with Olive oil (virgin). It suited Reet (my older kid) and we see no reason to doubt it being the best choice for the second one .

A word about baby Johnson’s oil.. it did not suit our older baby Reet a bit . She developed rashes and the doctor told us how about 30-40% children in his experience do not react favourably to Johnson’s baby oil. So a 100% natural vegetable oil is a better bet.

 And we have also discovered that Vira sleeps in the day and likes being awake in the night .. just sort of looks around and exercised her lungs. So we need to sleep with a night light on !! A baby being awake means lots of wet and soiled diapers .

We notice a yellow discharge from her right eye .It is giving her discomfort as the eye lids get stuck together. A run to the doctor and he prescribes some eye drops – and says its conjunctivitis. How scary !!

In India the new born baby and mother are kept under ‘house arrest’ for 40 days. This gives the mother ample time to recover and the baby to adjust to the outside world. I need to drink only warm water, eat a lot of ghee rich , dry fruit rich food , dal (especially red dal or massoor dal- red lentils) – cooked quite like soup so that I could have a couple of bowls of it .

 How to cook dal (red / black lentils) – soup style

1.       Wash 2 tablespoons of raw dal

2.       Put this into the pressure cooker and add 2 glasses of water

3.       Add a tomato (diced), a sliver of ginger and a bit of garlic , a pinch of turmeric , some black pepper and salt

4.       Let the pressure cooker cook for 2 whistles(approx.. 10 minutes)

5.       Soup is ready

Note:- Strain the mixture thru a sieve if you like it thin

All lentils / peas etc. are rich in protein and great for a new mum – low on fats and carbs . So hopefully I will reduce some weight fast. They help improve the quality and quantity of milk – so it helps my baby too . A truly win – win situation J

Growing Vira – lessons in parenting- Indian style

Vira was born on 18^th Oct 2012. At 3:14 am – after the labour started at 12:15 am. About 5 days before time . And then started this journey – of ‘growing Vira’.

Week 1 – The baby is red and wrinkled initially and the vision is near zero.  Suckling means having to guide her else she spends time just trying to locate the source of milk by opening her mouth and turning her head with small jerks in all directions !! talk about helplessness. The best way to keep her warm is to take a very small cotton cloth 100 cm by 100 cm , and make a triangle by folding it into two. Place the baby with her head above the cloth (in the centre of the diagonal) and wrap from 3 directions. Tuck .. Tuck … tuck .

You have a baby wrapped up like the kid in ice age J

The baby is happy in her cocoon and sleeps for about 22 hours a day . Leaving ample time for me to recover from the birth. Her umbilical cord is still attached to her navel . No massage for her till the cord does not ‘shed’ by itself. Just a gentle application of oil (any natural vegetable oil) and a bath (with plain water) and she is ready for her day. We keep her in diapers (Pambers) all the time .This is against the concept of fine cotton (cloth) diapers but it is a god sent in the cooler climate of Bangalore. Caution – do remember to apply a small quantity of oil / lotion every time you change the diaper. This assures that her skin is moist and does not dry off and redden.

Learning :-

1. Keep the baby in a cocoon. She feels she is still in the womb and is happy.

2. Apply oil / lotion everytime you change diapers. She will not develop redness / nappy rash

3. Avoid massage / vigorous bathing (with soap) till her umbilical cord does not shed