A List of things to Pack in your hospital bag

Towards the 8th month of your pregnancy or in the beginning of your ninth month, you need to keep a packed bag handy for your hospital visit. You cannot be expected to pack one in a hurry once the labour begins. It is best to keep it packed beforehand and just pick it up on your way to the hospital.
1. The amount of cash deposit that the hospital asks before admitting patients. (Ask your doctor or the hospital staff / accounts department for this information.)
2. 10 to 12 sets of nappies for the newborn, around the same number of swaddling cloths and Baby's sheets, 8 to 10 sets of clothes for the new born.
3. Ask the hospital if they provide clothes for the patients. If not, pack a couple of sets for yourself. Your baby may soil your clothes as well, so have a couple of sets handy. Definitely remember to pack underclothes even if the hospital expects their patients to wear uniforms.
4. Take along all your medical prescriptions issued during your pregnancy and all the reports of all the tests, sonographies or other scans you may have undergone during your pregnancy.
5. Pack your toothbrush, toothpaste, soaps, bath towel, hand towel and a box of tissues.
6. Pack your babies bath towel, a couple of small napkins to wipe off after-feed burps and throw-ups, soap/ shower gel and shampoo for your baby. Depending on how you feel about it, you could also pack some talcum powder for the baby.
7. If your hospital does not provide the patients with food, carry a plate, a bowl, a glass and a couple of spoons.
8. In the last minute, fill a couple of bottles with water to take along. You'll need them yourself and those waiting with you will need some too.
9. Pack sanitary napkins for yourself. If you are prone to heavy bleeding, having a couple of nappy pads, helps as they are better than sanitary napkins at holding heavy flows.

Apart from this, make a list of phone numbers for your family to easily access when you are in labour.
Starting with the person who has to be contacted first to transport you to the hospital, include numbers of your hospital and your doctor. If you have decided to save the baby's stem cells, you have call your stem cell bank and inform them as well, so have their number on your list.
The list should carry clear instructions on who has to be called in what order and the message to convey to each of them.
Make many copies of this list and have them put up in areas that can be clearly seen and reached. The title should clearly state, in big bold letters, "What To Do When I go Into Labour".

It's always best to be prepared and I hope this list helps you in some way!

Trying to get pregnant

Well I tried to get pregnant and it was really hard the first time around.
My husband and I would try and try and still at the end of the month, I'd get my periods with unfailing regularity. It started getting to me and to him. I will attempt to share with you what worked for us.

First let us understand some general facts.
Women ovulate in some cycles and need not ovulate in all cycles. By "cycle" I mean the time from the the day you start your period to the day before you get your next period.

Depending on the length of your cycle, your peak fertility date varies. It is generally 14 days before the start of our next period, but if you have irregular cycles, this is difficult to arrive at.

Typically, the female egg needs to be fertilized within 24 hours of being ruptured in order for you to conceive.

That means you have to have intercourse in these 24 hours to get pregnant.

Sperms can stay active for upto five days after entering a female's vagina. According to modern science, male sperms (that make a foetus male), are active for 24 hours only while sperms which are responsible for female foetuses are active for upto five days after intercourse has taken place.

Frequent sex leads to a diminishing sperm count. This means that the more often you have sex, the less sperms are released each time.

So, for maximum chances of getting pregnant, you ideally:
a. need to know your date of ovulation
b. need to ensure that there are enough sperms to result in a pregnancy.

There are various arguments that if you have all your information correctly, you can even plan the sex of your child. There are ancient Hindu texts that recommend various days of the month depending ona woman's cycle and the phases of the moon to ensure a child of a particular sex. I won't get into that right now.

The first time I tried getting pregnant, I didn't manage in the first four or five months. My Doctor said that though she could put me on fertility treatment straight off, she wanted to see if i was ovulating naturally, so we agreed to have follicular testing done for the first month before we started fertility treatment.

Follicular testing involves a series of sonographies where the doctor checks the size of your "follicle" or "egg". When it reaches a particular size, it is said to be mature and then it must rupture.

In my case the problem was that though I was producing the egg, it wouldn't rupture on it's own. So I had to take an injection to rupture it and then indulge in intercourse in the next 24 hours to ensure I got pregnant.

Your doctor may recommend some tablets to boost your fertility if she feels the need.

If a couple of cycles of this treatment fails, they may ask your spouse to go in for a sperm count and recommend a course of treatment if it is not high enough.

If all this fails, there i In-Vitro-Fertilization or IVF treatment. Thankfully I never needed it.

The second time around, since I had all this information, I didn't need any assistance from a doctor and got pregnant quite happily and promptly.

In India, these are not things we discuss openly and infomration is difficult to come by. I hope this helps some of you at least a little.

Tiffin Ideas for little ones

Hi!
My baby has just started going to playschool.
She enjoys eating her tiffin with the other kids.
I am concerned about giving her the right foods that are
1. nutritious
2. appealing to a 2 year old
3. non-messy

Here are some of my ideas and I'd greatly welcome any new inputs!

1. Idlis with non-spicy chutney powder or some ghee
2. Boiled corn flavoured mildly
3. Home- made cup cakes
4. Thali peeth
5. Cutlets
6. Vegetable upma
7. Cutlets
8. Wheat pancakes
9. Boiled, mildly flavoured grains and sprouts like chana, rajma, chowli, mung, matki
10. Salads
11. Various dosais and uthappas (ragi dosai, plain dosai, pesarattu, onion uthappa, tomato uthappa)
12. Vegetarian omelette.
13. Vegetables and noodles / pasta.
14. Cut fruit (Pomogranate, apples, oranges, sweet limes, papaya, cucumber, grapes, pears, kiwi)
15. Roti sabzi rolls.

I will try to put my recipes for this list as and when possible. Meanwhile, please feel free to share your ideas and recipes!

Weaning From Breastfeeding

There comes a time in your baby's life when you have to wean them from breastfeeding!

The reasons could be
1. The baby is 2 years old
2. The baby is allergic to breast milk
3. You are on strong antibiotics that are not good for the baby.
4. The baby has started developing tooth decay because of excessive drinking
5. The baby has started showing signs of dependence by drinking throughout the night and crying when you try to disengage.
6. The baby is drinking so much milk that her appetite for solid foods is not satisfactory.
Or any other reason that makes it necessary for you to stop your baby feeding from you.

You will probably experience many conflicting feelings.
You may feel a sense of loss of a period in your baby's life. You may feel lost because your baby will no longer "need" you. You are terrified of the process of weaning and don't know how you'll go through with it. You are looking forward to getting more sleep and feeling fresh for a change! You are looking forward to being able to get into more activities since the baby doesn't need you so often for feeds!

So how do you actually go about it?
Gradually. Step by step.
There's no point rushing things. No point traumatising you and the baby any more than is necessary.

First mentally prepare yourself.
This is not going to be easy.
Expect a lot of tears - from the baby, from you and your hubby, maybe!
Expect to have take a tough stand in the face of the most heart-wrenching crying.
Take the time to mentally gear yourself up for this. Take a week if necessary.

Then start by talking to the baby. Explain in a calm firm voice why you feel it is important that the baby stops drinking breast milk. Explain that you still love your baby and that you are doing this because you are convinced that it is the best thing to do.

You will be surprised how even infants can understand a lot more than you give them credit for. Please do not skip this step. It is important that you talk this through with them.

After a couple of hours after your "talk", you may start.

In the beginning just reduce the number of feeds during the day.
Find alternate ways to put the baby to sleep and find different foods the baby can eat at feed times. (refer the posts on putting babies to sleep and colicy babies and posts on baby food.) Try singing calmly to the baby while walking around or try rocking them in a cradle or swing or try rocking them and lightly patting them in your lap.

When you have completely stopped feeding the baby during the day, stop feeding the baby before she sleeps at night. Use the same calming and soothing techniques you use during the day to put her to sleep. At this stage you will still feed her breast milk when she wakes up at night.

When your baby sleeps with only mild fretting without breast milk at night, that is when you get into the last and most difficult step - stopping the midnight feeds.

Keep some sweetened milk and water and your baby's favourite food by the bedside.

Apply some bitter tasting edible fluid on your areola and nipples. I heard people used Mother Tincture of Nux Vomica, Bitter gourd (Karela) juice or Neem oil.

Mother Tincture of Nux Vomica is available in Homeopathic outlets. Bitter gourd juice can be made at home by grating bitter gourd and straining it or by grinding it to a paste in the mixie and straining it. Neem Oil is available in ayurvedic stores and some medical shops.

When your baby wakes up at night, apply your bitter fluid and then offer it to the child. When confronted with a bitter nipple, the baby will probably not drink milk. She will howl and cry.

Offer her the milk you have at your bedside table. Offer her the other food you have kept aside for this time. Make sure you keep your calm during this time.

Hand her over to your spouse and take a few calming breaths if necessary before you take her back.

Hug and cuddle her. It is important for her not to feel "rejected".

Carry her in a comfortable position and sing to her while you walk at a steady pace around the room.

Make sure the lights are dimmed.

Sing her a lullaby.

If she cries beyond thirty minutes by the clock, this isn't working. Feed her and change tactics.

The next time, try offering her a silicon nipple while covering your breast up underneath. When she does not get milk, and when she feels the alien silicon nipple instead of her usual comfort nipple, she may get the message that there is no milk and she will cry. Again try to offer her alternate nourishment and try to put her to sleep by singing, walking, rocking her gently etc.

If even this does not work, then change tactics again.

During the day, (when she anyway doesn't drink your milk any more) show her that your nipples have been bandaged. Say that this is because you have got hurt because she has been drinking too much at night. Talk to her about this at intervals two or three times before she goes to bed at night. Then when she wakes up, present her with the bandaged nipple. She can't drink. She will cry but you have to be firm.

Do not remove the bandages, come what may. Stay calm and walk around with the baby making comforting sounds. Distract her with a toy or anything else she likes and offer her something to eat or drink. Keep her distracted and ensure her stomach is full and then attempt to put her to sleep in the same way she falls asleep during the day and at night without milk.

Keep this up steadily for a month or so.

Your baby is weaned! Congratulations!

More on Colic

Hi!
Srushtee is now 18 months old and I feel I am a little better equipped to deal with babies now than I was when she was first born.
When Srushtee was just a few days old, I realized that she followed a pattern and became cranky and difficult during the evenings. In just a couple of days, I'd start getting all anxious and would pretty high strung by evening.
Babies can sense their mother's anxieties. Srushtee would take her cues from me and bawl her head off and between the two of us, it was pretty bad.
Having my Mum or sis or Srushtee's Dad handle her at such times worked well because they were much calmer and she would calm down considerably when in their arms.
As Srushtee grew odler, I started taking her out for walks in the evenings. This would distract her and evenings became calmer and even pleasant!
In hindsight, I wonder if these tips may have worked. I'm definitely going to try them when I have my second baby. You could try them out just now!

1. Take a Break! Hand the baby over to someone else. Leave the room. Consciously calm down. Take deep breaths, read a book, take a shower or something along those lines. When you are feeling good about yourself, go back to your baby.

2. Distract the baby: Go for a walk, play with a toy, dance with your baby. Involve your baby in some activity so both of you are distracted from the immediate crying.

3.Try putting the baby to sleep: Breastfeed and cuddle your baby in a darkened room. Maybe she's just tired and wants to sleep.

Hope these work for you!

How to quit smoking during pregnancy

I remember reading a post a couple of days ago from someone who wanted to stop smoking during a pregnancy.

I read an article on that and wanted to share what I read.

The article said that drinking a glass of milk or eating dairy products or eating fresh fruits and raw vegetables or drinking fresh fruit juice made the cigarettes taste bad and would help deter people from smoking.


I think if you made it a point to drink or eat some of these just before you smoke, it might help you make up your mind not to smoke at all.

Here's a recipe for a decoction that could help also. Take two teaspoons of coriander seeds in a glass or water. Boil the water with the seeds till it is reduced to half the quantity. strain it and drink this decoction when you crave a smoke, before you smoke. You could also use Ajwain seeds along with the coriander seeds.


Every time you feel like smoking, consciously take up another activity that occupies you physically and mentally like a craft or crochet or origami or knitting a complex pattern. Maybe if you get involved in doing something else, you won't need the cigarette.

I don't smoke, and didn't at any point in time, so I won't be able to give you first hand tips on what will help. But try all of this (its mostly from de-addiction articles) and tell me if anything works!


Good Luck!
Sonali.

Care For A Baby With A Cold.

It’s enough to drive any Mum up the wall. Baby is sniffling, her nose is running, she isn’t sleeping well because her nose keeps getting blocked and she is irritable. She doesn’t want to eat much food and is feeling mighty uncomfortable. As a result, you are exhausted and wish there was something to help her calm down.

Of course you need to take her to her doctor and follow what he prescribes, but there are a whole lot of other things you can do to help your baby when she has a cold.

Steam Inhalation:

Boil water in a dish with a lid. When the water is boiling vigorously, pour this into a steam inhaler or a bottle with a narrow mouth. Add a few drops of

Euclayptus oil OR

Zinda Tilismath OR

Vicks Vaporub OR

Inhalade Plus OR

Karvol / Karvol Plus Capsule.

Sit under a blanket with your baby and the bottle. You will slowly be able to smell the vapours from the bottle. Remain under the blanket with your baby inhaling the steam for as long as your baby is comfortable.

Take Care to ensure that your baby does not tip the bottle over. Since the water is very hot, you have to be very careful that your baby does not get burnt.

It is possible that your baby may feel a lack of oxygen or feel choked if the fumes under your blanket are too heavy. If your baby shows signs of distress, take her out of the blanket and allow her to breathe in fresh air.

Steam inhalation helps to release blocked noses and relieves cold related headaches.

Vapour inahalation:

Heat a pan / tava on your stove till it is very hot. If you pour a drop of water on it, the drop should sizzle and evaporate immediately. Keep the tava on the stove for a minute more.

On the hot tava, sprinkle a little

Ajwain / Ova / Omam seeds Or

Turmeric / Haldi powder

Bajra Flour

These will let off vapours.

With the assistance of someone else, hold your baby close to the vapours so she can smell them.

Never hold your baby directly over the tava.

Keep your baby’s arms and legs restrained so she does not touch the hot tava by accident.

Vapor inhalation helps to release blocked noses and relieves cold related headaches.

Saffron:

Take a couple of strands of saffron in a teaspoon. Add a few drops of milk. Rub the saffron against the teaspoon with your fingers. The saffron will slowly dissolve and the milk will take on its colour. When the saffron strands have fully dissolved, apply the milk on your baby’s nose, forehead and chest.

This provides temporary relief from colds.

Kashaayam:

To make a kashaayam, you add the herbs to a glass of water. Boil the herbs in the water till the water is reduced to half.

Herbs you can use in your kashaayam:

Tulasi

Ajwain ( Ova / Omam ) Leaves / Seeds

Dhania (Coriander) seeds

Ginger

Garlic

Haldi / Turmeric

Honey / Jaggery

All these herbs are good for colds.

You could also make a kashaayam of Aleev & Shepa seeds with jaggery.

Feed your baby the kashaayam when it is lukewarm. Always test the temperature of any liquid on your lips before giving it to your baby.

Garlic Milk

Take 6 medium garlic slivers and pound them.

Take a glass of milk.

Add 1 tsp haldi to the milk. Add the garlic.

Add 1 tsp honey to the milk.

Boil the milk. Take off the stove and cool it.

When it is luke warm, give it to your baby. Always test the temperature of any liquid on your lips before giving it to your baby.

Loss Of Appetite

Your baby may lose her appetite when she is having a cold. Try enhancing the taste of her food by adding a bit of lemon juice to it or use some amchur powder. If you feel your baby is old enough, you may even add a pinch of pepper.

Vitamin C:

Vitamin C is said to help build up body immunity and particularly helps the body to fight colds. Giving your baby Cecon Drops may help. Vitamin C is water soluble and excess vitamin C is generally passed out of the system through urine, so it won’t harm your baby.