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I’m proud and happy being a working mom. Should I feel guilty? Hell no!!

Our life as we know it, is not a bed of roses. It has thorns or hardships too.

Waking up early is hard.

Studying is hard.

Getting good grades in hard.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is hard.

Being a responsible worker after graduation is hard.

Finding a good partner and getting married is hard.

Conceiving at the right time is hard.

Bringing up a healthy baby in the womb until delivery is hard.

Let me come to the point.

Being a mom is hard.

Being a stay at home mom is hard.

Being a working mom is hard.

Being a human is hard. Come on that doesn’t sound worse.

We can accomplish tasks that are termed hard.

I pushed a little human out of a lemon sized hole in my body. That was hard and yes I did it.

I am doing a great job. And my kid will turn out just fine despite the hours I spend away from her.

So what did I do here?

I was lucky enough that the maternity Bill here in India got passed jus few days after my delivery. So I get to enjoy six months of paid maternity leave. Perks of working in a MNC ;).

I also made a decision that I would exhaust the Maternity Lop as well since I wanted to be with my daughter in all her monthly milestones. That decision I made gave me immense pleasure that I was there when she rolled over, tried to lift her head up, sat, try to stand, try to walk, say her first words, start taking solids. Me staying back home after paid maternity leave raised eyebrows even among my close circle but to me I chose what is best for me and my daughter. Happy that I had a supporting family who were all ears when I announced I would join back after a year.

I am now a working mom which likely means leave the house every day feeling guilty about my decision to be a working mom. “Am I selfish for abandoning my child?” ” “Are all the stay at home moms right?” Wait. Wait. I stopped the second-guessing and gave a pat on my back for making a decision that I very likely know is best for my family.

Instead of being racked with senseless guilt, read along to know why I feel fantastic about being a working mom.

CAREER GROWTH AND FAMILY GO HAND IN HAND

It feels great to be working for a company that values family in conjunction with career. According to me there is no either-or when it comes to career and family. It’s both. Professional growth and parenthood are both important and I do not draw a stark line between them. I can’t be perfect at both. I learnt this quick, which gave me a peaceful mind.

BEING A PARENT MAKES ME A BETTER PERSON

There’s another side of me I hadn’t discovered if I did not have my daughter—and it’s one of the better sides. No other experience in life could have taught me that I’m capable of loving and nurturing another person to such great lengths.

SHOUT OUT FOR HELP AND SHARE RESPONSIBILITY

Mom and Manger are the same— but different teams. Handling both is a key reminder that running a house isn’t very different than managing a team. Which means the moral is that moms are supposed to be 100% in charge of the cooking, organizing, planning, feeding, everything, is not only unfair, but false. Imagine if our manager did ALL the work, or if your supervisor wanted to lead every single project. At office, we need other people to be creative, meet deadlines, and execute on strategy; remember that we are not alone. So why do we constantly think moms should?

Working full-time has been an opportunity to change the usual game and make it level for both genders. Both me and my husband have an equal share of all the work at home and that includes making the baby sleep and not to forget diaper changes.

I CAN AFFORD A LITTLE LUXURY

My idea of heaven is an hour-long massage followed by a refreshing bath. The fact that I bring money into the house makes me feel better about the occasional reward I hand down myself. Staying home is no less taxing or tiring than going to work—and probably more so—but when we earn an income, we don’t have to ask anybody’s permission to indulge ourselves now and then.

I don’t have insecurities about working full-time, and I know I’m fully present for the hours I’m with my daughter. As she grows, I want her to witness first-hand what it looks like to fully involve yourself into personal goals and a concrete family life. But if I didn’t work full-time, I would still care deeply about teaching her the importance of diligence, dedication, and heart.

So mommies get going, there is a whole new world out there just waiting for you.

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World book Day challenge prompt 7 : Colours or Rainbow

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”~ Dr. Seuss

T

here are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world. Love of books is the best of all.
~ Jacqueline Kennedy

Posting for #worldbookdaychallenge day 6 prompt colors/ rainbow.
Recognition of colors can provide children with essential learning tools in life. As kids learn to identify colours and use colour as a language tool to describe things, it develops and strengthens their ability to communicate effectively.
Teaching our child about colour (hurs, shades and tones) we will also be helping them to use colour as a means of creative expression in all aspects of life.
They will learn to use colour as a visual cue to identify danger (red) and distinguish hot from cold.
The books I chose for this prompt and the ones I used to teach colors to Cheeni are @ericcarl my first book of colors , @prathambooks colors of nature and look and learn colors of creative publications.
These books have beautiful illustrations for each color so that it is easier for the child to grasp.
Cheeni now identifies few colours like blue and red.
My first book of colors is a mix and match book where we could mix and match colors and the objects.
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World book day challenge day 5 prompt Vehicles

I

will defend the importance of bedtime stories to my last gasp.
~ JK Rowling

Posting for #worldbookdaychallenge day 5 prompt : Vehicles
This is the only prompt for which I had no book sadly. As told in previous post wheels on the bus could have also been a choice here but no luck yet.
But to my surprise the hosts also clarified that the prompt Vehicles could also mean a journey.
And so what book do I post here ??
I’m not sure if it was luck or coincidence here, I stumbled upon an Instagram page called @starandread, who make personalised books for kids.
I decided why not give this a try , a book on Cheeni’s name where she gets to be the main character. It sounded cool, I immediately logged on to their website and checked it out.
They give you an option of stories which you want to choose for your kid. I choose the missing painting, featuring my daughter Shrinika.
Also that they had a combo offer running that period when I ordered, the personalised hardcopy and ten ebooks were for RS.499 isn’t that a steal deal. I immediately ordered that for Shrinika. To my surprise the book got delivered yesterday when I was actually bit upset that I had no books for vehicle theme.
Let’s get to the story. It’s about princess Shrinika, who goes on a journey to get back her magical painting which was gifted to her by her parents (The King and the Queen). Ahemm. That’s actually me and my hubby.
Shrinika travels on a magical horse called hoiho which was given to her by the good witch.
Shrinika sets on a journey across the world in search of her painting which were thrown away into pieces at different parts of the world.
She travels across the pyramids, oceans, South pole, caves and finally to the bad witch’s house where she finds the final piece.
She even helps a baby penguin lost in the oceans to reunite with it’s parents in the South pole.
She shows great courage to find the painting when she had to enter caves with mysterious creatures.
The book in a way teaches the kid act of kindness , bravery, courage and forgiveness.
So what are you waiting for, order yours @starandread.
The book has book has colourful illustrations which are eye-catching.
What Cheeni loved
* Seeing the magical painting.
*The colourful places across the world beautifully illustrated.
* Her very own story with her mom and dad
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World book day challenge day 4 prompt : Nursery rhymes

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ooks are a uniquely portable magic.
~ Stephen King

Posting for world book day challenge day 4 prompt : Nursery rhymes
This is my most favorite prompt in this contest. I would have definitely gone with ‘ Wheels on the bus ‘ but I am yet to get a book for the song. I am not impressed with the ones on Amazon. Everytime I try to block when it’s posted on preloved book pages on Instagram someone else blocks before me, so I’m just waiting on this one.
But definitely next on the list is ‘ Old McDonald had a farm EIEIO ‘.
Whenever the song is been played on being sung Cheeni immediately starts singing Ee Aa Ee Aa . How sweet is that. Not only that she also runs to get this book to you to read it out for her.
The rhyme is about a farmer and the animals he keeps in his farm – the chick, the duck ,the dog ,the cat ,the sheep, the cow, the horse and the pig.
The lyrics are catchy , with the animal sounds moo, baa, bow wow ,meow , neigh ,oink, chick and quack.
We recently got few magnets of animal set from @ishvadesigns which made this rhyme learning even more easier and fun.
Cheeni brings these magnets from fridge making these animal sounds when we sing.
What Cheeni loved about this book
* The colourful pictures of animals
* It’s small and handy for her to hold it and dance.
This book was also from @sunshinebooks.
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World book day challenge day 3 prompt : Childhood

So please, oh please, we beg, we pray, go throw your TV set away, and in its place you can install, a lovely bookshelf on the wall.
~ Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

P

osting

for #worldbookdaychallenge day 3 prompt : Childhood
I’ve been brought up as an early reader myself. The first few of the books that I was given were the ones of Helen Oxenbury. She is a great illustrator and writer of Children’s picture books. I can , I hear , I see , we are going on a bear hunt , all fall down, clap hands to name a few.
But my most favorite was ‘ Tickle Tickle ‘ by her.
The book has very few pages but illustrated with cute kids on all .
The book goes about how the children play in mud, take a bath, get ready for bed and time for Tickle Tickle.
She is very well known for her soft color illustrations which definitely is a must for toddler books.
On a sad note, the books I owned couldn’t be retrieved from what was left after the December 2015 Chennai floods.
But when I came to know that @thelittlebookhub had a preloved copy of this wonderful book, I never had second thoughts and immediately blocked it so that I could hand down the same emotion I had with that book to Cheeni.
Cheeni loves looking at the kids on the book and when I say Tickle Tickle she starts giggling. So this book is definitely apt for the prompt : Childhood . I hope to pass this on to my grandchildren as well.
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World book day challenge day 2 prompt : Favorite

B

ooks are not made for furniture, but there is nothing else that so beautifully furnishes a house.
~ Henry Ward Beecher

Posting for day 2 of #worldbookdaychallenge
Prompt : Favorite
Cheeni’s most favorite currently of all the books she owns now is ” Is this my nose?” Smile into the mirror By Georgie Birkett.
This wonderful book could be your toddlers very first book.
Yes it was for Cheeni. The book has colourful pictures of kids showing various parts like eyes, nose, mouth, ears and chin.
Not only that the book also has a flap mirror on the last page for the baby to look at themselves.
Each page of the has an animal and a kid on the other page pointing out the various parts.
The last page just shows all of them put together just like a summary of what of shown in the book entirely.
The book is written in a style that the toddler is being asked is this your nose/eyes/ears/mouth/chin ? And answered yes.
The mirror definitely is a surprise element here. But the only concern here being it’s a flap mirror it was sadly ripped off in one or two days we received the book.
Georgie Birketts books are known for simple writing style and casual illustrations.
Made me find out that there were more of his works that needed to be included in Cheeni’s library.
Some of them are A for Apple, 123 count with me, grow it, fix it, cook it, clean it and the big night book.
What Cheeni loved
*The cute kids showing their parts
*The flap mirror that was pulled out sooner
What Cheeni learnt
*The various parts illustrated in the book
Cheeni now brings this book from her reading corner when you say ” nose book”. Cheeni now is able to point out to parts when called out just like the kids in the book.
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World book day challenge day 1 prompt : Earth

A book is a garden, an orchard, a storehouse, a party, a company by the way,

a counselor, a multitude of counselorrs.

~ Charles Baudelaire

Posting for the prompt #1 of #worldbookdaychallenge Earth.

What more describes the life on Earth than our very own Eric Carl’s The very hungry caterpillar.

This beautiful book depicts the life of a caterpillar evolving into a butterfly. Cheeni learnt the days of the week, numbers, colors and what not.

Here is what was the inspriation for this book in his words: “One day I was punching holes with a hole puncher into a stack of paper, and I thought of a bookworm and so I created a story called A Week with Willi the Worm. Then later my editor, who didn’t like the idea of a worm, suggested a caterpillar and I said “Butterfly!” And the rest is history.”

The life cycle is beautifully written down and illustrated the egg , the caterpillar, the cocoon and the big butterfly.

Did you know the book was first published in 1969, that’s when our parents were studying. And it is still selling over 49 million copies worldwide and is being translated over many world languages.

The book also has bright pictures of sun, moon ,leaves ,food which makes it even more interesting for kids .

This made me discover a lot more of Eric Carl’s book to introduce to her.

Cheeni loves it when I read it out loud to her. She recognizes sun and the moon now.

What Cheeni loved

* The big pictures

* The colours

* The way it’s illustrated.

She now knows numbers, colors, sun, moon.

Kids these days are more interested, given the choice of books they have and their types.

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Feeding babies with silverware

Its a general tradition across customs to feed the child in silver utensils once solid food intake is started. They are given as gifts during baby shower or naming ceremony Are there any specific reason for it ?A big YES.

1. Anti bacterial and anti fungal Silver by nature kills bacterial and fungal growth hence it’s good to feed in utensils made it.

2. Boosts immunity Whenever food is served hot or warm in silver vessels, some of it gets infused with the food, which boosts immunity.

3. Non toxic Since it is anti bacterial and anti fungal it is non toxic , silver reacts when food contains poisonous substance like sulphur. ( do not feed egg in silver)

4. Retains freshness Food stored in silver utensils are said to be fresh for longer periods.

5. Easy maintenance Can be washed easily, and used for longer duration. Sometimes passed on from previous generations.

Medicines are generally fed using a ‘paladai’ or ‘sangu’.

 

POINTS TO NOTE: 1.Make sure utensils don’t have sharp edges which can hurt the baby.

2.Do not buy vessels with intricate carvings, this makes the cleaning process tedious.

Hence it is better than feeding in plastic .

SILVER AND DIGESTION

Silver-charged water was specifically known to do wonders to people who were having digestion and related problems. The anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties of silver eases problems in tummy, digestive tract and intestines. This water was also known to keep urinary problems away. Even in temples, the holy water was always stored in silver containers for the same reason

VESSELS GENERALLY USED FOR BABY:

  1. A spoon
  2. A bowl
  3. A pan
  4. A saucepan
  5. A tumbler
  6. A feeder for medicine

MAINTENANCE OF VESSEL

  1. Always wash in warm water.
  2. Use mild soaps.
  3. Wipe clean so that the vessel is not wet.
  4. Do not let the vessel dry after feeding.
  5. Keep the vessel clean from bacterial or microbial breeding.
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Review of when opposites meet

This is my first read of a book by Sachin Garg. A simple plot intertwined with six characters around whom the story evolves.
Going by the genuine fact that opposites attract, the plot revolves around how the three pairs fall in love when each of them is a complementing personality of the other. The cover of the book is of the kind that makes you want to pick it up on the first glance. I really loved the way the story revolved around Ritwika and Chetan. The author has made complete Justice by bringing out what happens when two emotionally, socially, physically opposite people come across and fall in love.
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Home remedies for babies

Before resorting to check with the doctor for any ailments in little ones, I make sure that the home remedies have already been done for the ailment.
With the help of my mom, aunt and mother in law, I learnt a lot of home remedies to cure ailments for babies with ingredients readily available at home.
I used to keep jotting down the tips so that it would be useful for other moms who stay far off from parents or elders.
COLD AND COUGH
1. Boil beetle/ ajwain (omavalli or karpooravalli)/ tulsi leaves in water and reduce to half. Mix with honey and feed two spoons twice a day.
2. Heat ajwain seeds and tie them in a cloth as potli, rub on the chest to relieve chest congestion.
3. The above bundle can be placed near the cradle.
4. A cloth can be dipped in Eucalyptus oil and placed in the room where the baby is.
5. Feed warm milk and keep baby hydrated.
CONCOCTION FOR COLD AND COUGH
Ingredients:
-ajwain 3 tbsp
-powdered jaggery or palm sugar -half tbsp
-pepper – 2 or 3
Cumin. 2 tbsp
Curry leaves 2-3
ajwain leaves 1
beetle leaf – small piece
honey – 1 tbsp
turmeric powder -1 tbsp
Tulsi leaves -2
water – 150 ml
METHOD
Mix all the ingredients in the water
Boil till reduces to half level

Cool and feed it to the little one at regular intervals.

It will relieve from cough and cold.
HICCUPS
Hiccups are caused due to sudden contraction of diaphragm and closing of the vocal chords. It usually happens when the child gets overexcited.

Some remedies are given below

1. Try to divert the baby.
2. Give them water to sip.
3. Make the baby lie down and pat their back.

4. Lift the baby , place on the shoulder and make him/her burp.
TEETHING PAIN
1. Pacifier can be freezed with breastmilk or formula milk in ice cube tray. Baby can suck this to soothe the gums.
2. Apply chamomile tea bags.
3. Teething rings can be given for chewing.
4 . Coconut oil or almond oil can be applied over the gums.
5. Cold towel can be given to be chewed.
DIAPER RASH
Diaper rash is common in babies especially when they wear them for longer periods.
This can range from moderate to severe.
HOME REMEDIES
Apply a paste of sandalwood powder(from sandalwood stick and not sandalwood tablets sold over the counter)on the affected area.
This provides a cooling effect and also is soothing for the skin irritation.

We can also apply coconut oil whenever we wear the diaper on the little one.
Most important point to be kept in mind is each time we change diaper wipe with a clean cloth dipped in lukewarm water , air dry the area of five minutes, apply coconut oil generously.

It is even more better if we leave them diaper free for few hours during the day.

OVERALL HEALTH
Urai marundhu is an ancient set of six items which are rubbed on a stone, mixed with water or breastmilk and given to the child.

This is generally given immediately after a bath.

The six items and their benefits are listed below.

*SWEET FLAG (VASAMBU)- Increases immunity and hunger.

*INK NUT (KADUKAI)- Increases bowel movement.

*MAASIKAI (GALL NUT/OAK NUT)- Prevents the white layer on tongue.

*INDIAN GINGER/SNAP GINGER (SITHARATHAI)- remedy from cold & cough.

*NUTMEG (JATHIKAI)- Induces good sleep.

*DRY GINGER (SUKKU)- remedy from cold & cough.

*TURMERIC (MANJAL/ HALDI) (OPTIONAL)- Antiseptic

The above list of items, the rubbing stone, the feeding spoon is available as kit online.
RELIEVING GAS
1. Mix Hing or asafoetida in water, make a paste. Apply from the navel on the tummy in anticlockwise direction.

2. Give two spoons of ajwain water or jeera water after each feed.

3. Include garlic in veggie puree.

4. Do bicycle excercise or peddling movement.

5.I LOVE YOU exercise
Rub the left side of baby tummy( your right side).
Rub in shape of inverted L and then and inverted U.

WONDER OIL AT HOME (CASTOR OIL)
Castor oil is very beneficial, especially when having a new born baby at home.
Castor oil is known to reduce body heat and have clean bowels.
Apply little castor oil on top of the head at the centre once your little one wake up.
Apply on the feet and tummy( naval and area around)
This will reduce body heat of the baby.
Especially during summer.
MIRACLE HERB
Calamus known as vasambu in Tamil is a wonder herb.
Best sought home remedy for almost any health ailments in new borns.
The vasambu stick is usually made as small beads and tied as bracelet in both hands. The babies lick it which cures almost all stomach ailments and gas troubles.It can also be put in a potli and kept near the cradle or bed.
The vasambu stick is kept handy at home.
It is burnt in fire and the charred pieces is made into powder, mixed with castor oil and applied on tummy.Right from day one.
This powder can also be given orally mixed with honey.
This can be done once a week.
The vasambu stick is also available in powder form in shops.

Given common names below

vasambu – Tamil
vasa Bach – Hindi
baje- Kannada
vasa/vadacha- Telugu

vayambu- malayalam