Starting Solids

Hi All,

Hope my previous posts were helpful. Today i'd be discussing some good ideas about starting solids.

As soon as my princess turned Four months I started giving her solids and semi solids despite the pediatrician's warnings against starting before Sixth month :)

So here is a list of things babies can eat when they start solids

1. First and foremost the most easiest and quickest to prepare is Cerelac :) There are a lot of interesting fruity flavors available, check out at you local stores and always check for suitable flavor according to your baby's age.
   
   
2. Ready made baby food is also available (for example from Gerber) but i don't prefer them, thats my personal choice though if you want, you can try.
   
   
3. Oreo Banana
   This is my very own recent invention :D One day when Ifrah was not eating anything i had to invent this. Take one oreo dissolve it in some milk and also add a mashed banana. It will look like a brown and yellowy paste but my princess enjoyed it :P
   But also note that bananas can be included in diet preferably after 6 months, not before.
   
   
4. Sooper biscuit in Milk (just make a paste). This is a quick eatable meal (in evenings). I used fresh milk always but you can use formula milk which your baby takes.
   
   
5. Khichree
   Take some rice and yellow moong ki daal. Boil them till rice and daal become very soft, add a little salt. Blend in the food processor.
   Also note, one should not put salt in food for little babies but i used to give her khichree with salt and a little black pepper so that she is used to eating a bit spice ;) But always add a little pepper first and check ur child's reaction.
   In this khichree i used to add a little boiled chicken too when my baby grew up till 7 months.
   
   
6. Suji
   First bhuno the suji a little and then add in some milk and sugar. The suji ki kheer should be light in consistency for the baby to swallow easily. But my Iffi likes the conventional suji ka halwa better than her own version of suji ki kheer now :P
   
   
7. Quaker Oats
   Just follow the packet instructions and you have a delicious and nutritious breakfast for the whole family :)
   
   
8. Custards and puddings. Yes young ones love to eat sweet things like custards and puddings. I used to make a stock of it for the grown-ups to eat too :P
   
   
9. Mashed Potatoes
   Boil a potato mash and add a little salt and pepper. I also used to add a little cheese or butter to make a paste.
   
   
10. Boiled Eggs
    Boil an egg, mash it and add a little salt and pepper. Since now my Ifrah is really grown up MashaAllah, I spread her mashed boiled eggs on a bread and also add cheese, for breakfast :) But sometimes she doesn't like it :(
    
    
11. Fruits juices is a good option, specially orange juice. Apples can be pureed a bit.
    
    
12. Also veggies can be boiled or pureed before feeding.
    
    
13. Finger foods. When Ifrah learned how to pick things up from the floor I used to give her her own cartoon bowl full of cereal, or biscuits (broken in 5 to 6 pieces). She loves to eat with her own hands :) and this makes meal times very messy :)
    

The above list is just a reference to start. There can be really many other possible things u can feed your baby with. There is no hard and fast rule. But always beware of any allergies your baby can have. Always try a new fruit or vegetable in small quantity in the morning so that you can monitor your baby's health throughout the day. Some babies are allergic to eggs, nuts and meat.

If any sign of allergy develops (fever, rashes) then consult your child's doctor.

I started giving even table food in small morsels to my Iffi at the tender age of 6-7 months and she used to love it more than her own baby food. You can also try but always in small quantity and check if no stomach problems arise.

Bon Apetit!

I will in Due Time....

Hi there all.

Since this blog is about raising children, so I would be discussing many common issues here.

Today I have picked up an issue which really beats me. Potty Training of toddlers.

Speaking from my personal experience, this task is not easy, you can expect too many accidents (mostly because i forgot the timing :) ) and too much mess as well.

The issues starts nagging us or should I say the people around us start nagging us with this issue right from the birth. Yes, you are right, I know that is so early, but what to say about that distant uncle's sister's cousin's aunt's miraculous baby who was practically born potty trained!!! People will simply state examples one after the other of those people whose children were either aliens or i dunno what type of angels who got potty trained with little effort in no time. So it becomes our duty to train our child too as soon as possible. Other wise she would be left behind in this competitive world...sigh.

It becomes a bit difficult to avoid these discussions every now and then, so I finally gave up at my daughter's Fifth month. When she was able to sit without support, I was not able to stand all the pressure and started to potty train her. Bought a nice little potty on which she could sit and make everyone happy.

Yeah, it meant too many rushes to the bathroom with little or no success. And yes, whenever i had an important haandi on my choola, she used to mess her clothes : ( :( :( The runs to the bathroom were getting on my nerves, imagine having to rush every 15 to 20 minutes.

But this had a plus point on my pocket, she started using less diapers :), and every body was relieved to see me concerned about the training.

But as soon as she learned to crawl, the accidents started to get messier, as she would no longer sit on her special absorbent mat. She would crawl and mess up on carpet, bedsheets, sofa, etc. And all the time the bathroom trips were giving me back aches, leg aches, headaches and what not.

And one day I put my foot down, and told everyone my daughter is a normal human being who cannot be trained until she learns to talk and tell me she is feeling the urge of che che, and I am tired of all this fuss to no avail.

And now my baby is back in diapers. But she is still trained to do che che in her potty, and since she has fixed timings, its quite handy to make her sit on it atleast thrice a day. In this way she is also habitual of sitting on it ( I know children can be fearful of their potty seats). And I am sure one day she will be fully trained and I wont be using diapers. Till then everyone will have to bear with my untrained child and I will have to put up with all the unwanted advices and examples of extra genius children.

Oh, time to rush my little princess to the bathroom. See you next time, Tata.

And Happy Training :)

Sugar and Spice......

Sugar and Spice
And Everything Nice
Thats what girls are made of.....

Oh yeah, its high time our society realizes this, that girls are really sweet and worth all the love in this world. But alas...its not so simple for an expecting mom to explain this to others around.

I remember the time when the news broke that we were expecting a child, we got mixed reactions. Some were thrilled, some were happy, some were stunned that its too early to have a child (Heck do I care!! ). But the unanimous opinion of every lady I met was I ought to borne a male child (as if i could control that). Every lady who met me prayed for me to have a healthy bouncing son!! Some even handed me chits of paper (behind my in-law's back) with Quranic verses meant to help me in having a son. I didn't understand one bit the notion behind this stupid attitude.

Coming from an educated and liberal family we as children had never experienced any favoritism in our home among siblings on gender basis. And even my in-laws never hinted about me providing them a male heir ( to their esteemed lineage :P ).

But the status quo was driving me mad :) seriously.

Days went by and my anticipation grew but the attitudes of people never changed in fact it grew more outrageous.. The ladies started guessing gender by looking at the shape of my face, my hands, my feet and even my tummy. And the answer was always ...yeah u guessed it right... lol lol lol.

When finally one day I decided to ask my gynecologist about the gender, she thought I'm another one of those ladies who wants to hear that shes got a son bubbling inside, so obviously she avoided a direct answer. After many weeks I was finally able to convince her that I'm just asking for curiosity and nothing else....then she told me I had a Girl :) and believe it or not i was on Cloud#9 :) :) :)

But still I did all my shopping in neutral colors, the greens, oranges and purples :) So as to give everyone a surprise :)

When my hubby got to see the first glimpse of our new born he got an overwhelming rush of oxytocin (the love hormone) and he never even thought for a second that its a girl!!! (Against the wishes of all the aunties )

It's not uncommon to read in newspapers about women kidnapping other's sons and also at times replacing their daughters. Our society pressures a woman to the point of actually giving away their female babies in exchange of male babies!! Think!!! And it's not because of any male chauvinist villains (whom we all love to hate and blame), but because of our very own related aunties, who have not a single concern with our well-being other than that we give birth to boys. One advice to all such aunties out there is to keep remember, you were also a baby Girl!!!!!

As far as my family is concerned, they all congratulated me whole heartedly for having a baby girl and they all love and adore her dearly :)

Really i never missed the son everyone was praying for me to have...lol lol lol.