The roof above was barely a few inches away. Enclosed on three sides with the opening to his back, this confined space was quite dark to his liking. A little creature, all of 78 cms was slowly crawling underneath confused about this unfamiliar setting and struggling to find the way out. There was light at the end of the tunnel - between the rods. So while letting the world know he was trapped inside with that shrill cry, he was inching towards the rods only to find that he was too big to emerge on the other side in one shape.
The creature, no doubt, is Lil General who had found his way under the cot for the first time. The dark chamber was conquered. His momma responding to his cry rescued him and he found freedom but was shocked on what happened. A sheepish smile followed a few minutes later. Its a different story that it didn't stop him from going in exactly after 10 minutes. And this time I did not rescue him. I merely lifted the bedsheet to meet his eye. He was crying..I wanted him to find his way out just as he found his way in. So I got the camera to take a shot of this moment and send to his grandparents'. Just then he quickly crawled out and didn't lose a minute to change his facial expression from crying to smiling. All the frowning and croc tears was fake as I suspected. Come what may, he knows how to pose for the camera. Nautanki No.1 - the drama queen of the house.
Milestones as these are more memorable and enjoyable for me than the mundane ones of turning, rolling over, crawling etc. Sure they are nice too but these are fun. Falling from the bed, eating one's own potty, creeping under the bed - how boring life would be without having done these :)
The dark chamber conquered
The affectionate kid-maid relationship is a ghar ghar ki kahani. Even the reserved and kaam-se-matlab maids let their guard down when it comes to infants in the houses they work at. The attraction is magical, almost instantaneous and it stays on for quite a while.
Maids are an important part of happy childhood memories in any person's life, generally. Ofcourse there are always exceptions.
LG used to respond to Amudha when he was all of 5 weeks. One call from her saying "Thambi" and he would turn his head. Similarly, at Pune, he is so fond of Aparna aunty that this has come to my rescue when The Seniol is away. He forgets momentarily that The Seniol is not around and enjoys playing with her laughing carefree just the way he would with his dad.
I have no idea what is responsible for this universally, but it is perhaps because they seem them everyday and their affection comes with no string attached. No questions asked, no judgement made and advice given that is well-intentioned. Jealousy, inquisitiveness and competitiveness are no where in the radar unlike those amongst your circle with the same age group friends. This is not to say al of them are that way but sometimes you do it unintentionally and sub consciously..anyways I'm digressing. With the great Indian joint family giving way to nuclear families, it means a lot to the kids to see a new face other than their moms or grand parents'.
Prams, strollers or buggies - what to buy in India
I spent one whole Sunday afternoon Googling for tips on what to buy - a Pram or a stroller for LG, who was then six months old. Disappointed at not finding anything useful and with a headache 4 hours later I gave up; to try one last time that night, but the exercise was futile. This is when I turned to a friend for advice. But I wish there was some good information available on the net on - what purpose each of these serve, what one should consider while buying and what kinds suit the different lifestyles of the parents. Believe me, the market is inundated with zillions of options, mainly from eBay for India and use terms such as 6-position, two-way and what not that sent my head spinning. What makes it worse is these are used interchangeably, so I had no idea in the end what to look for and what price range would serve my purpose. This is the paradox of choice. Too many of them, no good for the customer. There were prams that I found for Rs. 29,000 too.
Phew..so here are some of the points that might help you if you ever find yourself in my situation. These are collated from my personal visits to shops and advice from friends..
The difference between a pram and a stroller
Simply put, a stroller is one in which the baby can just sit. So it is ideal of babies who are atleast 5 months old. Many babies start sitting after 5 months.
On the other hand, in a pram you can make the baby sit upright, in a relaxed position or make him/her lie down on her back. So you can ideally from birth onwards until later.
A pram is convenient if you are outing for a longer time such as visits to the malls where as a stroller is easy for your walks. Generally, these fold flat.
Buggies fold like an umbrella.
Some points to keep in mind while buying a pram:
- As always, comfort of the baby comes first. If possible, seat the baby in the pram or stroller before buying one. A lot of things you might have overlooked suddenly become apparent. It is quite natural for the baby not to feel comfortable the first time as it is a new thing but then it is upto you to judge if it is causing discomfort.
- A lot of strollers/prams in the market in the range of Rs.1100 look fine but they are not. Check for the seating area. If it is just a fabric, then sooner than later it will sag from the weight of the baby. There should be a hard base which is fitted with a cushion. This will not out any stress on the baby and he/she can sit comfortably.
- Hood - The hood offers a protection against the heat if it is summer and similarly from slight drizzle during the monsoon.
- Some prams can be used in reversible face to face direction with baby. I have one such pram and it is fun to walk face to face with the baby atleast when they are young. It comforts them that you are still visible while they enjoy the view outside. Double bonanza.
- A shopping basket was not very high on my list of priorities but usually prams that have the above features offer a small basket at the bottom that comes in handy to keep small essentials such as an umbrella.
- Weight of the pram - this is the most important one. You don't want to buy one that is heavy weight. If you live in an apartment that doesn't have a lift, then it can be painful to run downstairs to keep the pram once and then dart all the way upstairs to get the baby. So keep this in mind and do a trial if you can fold it in one hand and carry it while carrying the baby.
- Wheels - Check if there are wheel brakes (the wheels can be locked) and they are made of aluminium. Some come with moulded wheels that aren't very easy to use.
If you live in a neighborhood that doesn't have good roads, then you might want a heavy pram that can to be used in the rough roads. In this case, you will have to trade off with point 6. - Positions - number of positions is immaterial for an older child (above an year) as they prefer tos it. But for kids from birth until 7 months or so, 3 position is handy - they can either lie flat or relaxed position or sit upright.
- Check if there is footrest and if your baby is tall if he can fit in comfortably. It is generally said that a child should not be placed in a pram if he/she exceeds 96 cms.
- Lastly, depending upon your lifestyle as to if you party a lot or travel a lot, then you might want to consider an umbrella stroller that folds like an umbrella and is easy to carry.
If any of your friends's kids have outgrown them and you are comfortable using the same, then you could borrow it if you don't want to invest in a new one.
My experiments with music for LG is still on. We have moved on ..to classical stuff now. Guitar classical masterpieces is what he enjoys listening to now. Inspired by this article How music affects your child's brain, we dug out the Mozart and Beethoven cassettes from our huge collection and played it one day (note to myself : got to get CDs). The results were amazing. The concentration is so high that he doesn't get distracted by anything we do. He loves it and we love seeing him this way for a change :)
Separation anxiety : LG is missing The Seniol
With The Seniol traveling for 4 days to South Africa, LG has not been his normal self. He was very sad this evening looking constantly at the door waiting for his dad to make an appearance and play head butting with him as usual. It was 7:00 p.m., then 8:00 p.m. and still there was no sign. I couldn't take it anymore.
The evening encounters between father and son is a stress buster for me. I feel so happy looking at Lil General laugh so loudly so carefree fully enjoying himself. They play rough games and enjoy it to the fullest. As soon as The Seniol gets back from work, he changes, washes himself and is all set within 5-7 minutes ready to attack LG. He lifts him, plays cuchi-coo, headbutts, LG bites him and The Seniol bites back, rocks and rolls on his leg and they rub against each other. And they do this with all the sound effects and the show goes on until both of them are tired. It is The Seniol who gets tired the first and gives up and just at that vulnerable moment LG attacks him and pulls his hair and scratches his face.
He was crying constantly today and I didn't know what to do when an idea struck me - The Seniol and his dad have amazingly similar voices. So I called up my father-in-law and asked him to use the same words such as "Kidoo", "Juniol" that the Seniol uses while calling LG. LG was excited as he couldn't differentiate the voice but sadness set in soon as he couldn't sight the Seniol anywhere and frantically started turning and searching for his dad. He crawled aimlessly. There was sadness in his eyes..he was feeling low. You could tell it with one look. I felt miserable but sometimes you have to do things for a job, don't you. Travel is a part of today's job and atleast one of us has to do it in the family, right?. The show must go on...
Smelly cat, smelly cat what are they feeding you?...
The Seniol and I couldn't think of anything better after seeing the yellow green potty smeared all over the sheet. And man, was it smelling? We could have easily sprinted across the room for an exit and made a world record if it weren't for our kid who did that. Very tactically he crawled all over the place while doing what it is most natural for any human being every morning. The only issue with that was the semi solid faeces found its way through his cotton shorts that I still wonder, how? Carrots and what not..
While The Seniol was busy doing his stuff on the laptop and I was packing his lunch in the kitchen, it took all of 5 minutes to paint the big rubber sheet yellow. Thank GOD he did on that. I couldn't have imagined living through that load of laundry ...you wouldn't think it could smell so bad on a formula-cereal diet would you. To all the F.R.I.EN.D.S fans, here's Phoebe Buffay's favorite song that made me forget the smell as I wash and clean him up every morning...
Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.
Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.
They won't take you to the vet.
You're obviously not their favorite pet.
Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.
Oh no!
It may not be a bed of roses.
You're no friend to those with noses.
I promise you, before we're done
all the world will smell as one.
[Background singers:
Smelly smelly smelly
really bad smelling smelly cat]
What are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.
Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?
Smelly cat, smelly cat, it's not your fault.
I need a break from this crawling machine...
Its hardly been a week since Lil General has started crawling. And he does it all the time. Wakes up in the middle of the night to crawl ..he has got this keeda in his head that has drained me of all the energy. He takes his quick power naps, energizes himself and there he is all over the place. Putting his face underneath a stool and not knowing how to come out, switching on and off the DVD player and worst of all today he has found his way out of the room...I found him near my slippers once and next he was near the door mat. I guess I need to shut all the doors and not leave him alone for more than 5 mins...
I already feel so drained out and need a break from this insanity...I really really do. It is such a relief when he goes to sleep which he hardly ever does now for more than 10 mins. Who would have imagined raising a child would be so difficult..every month of a kid's development presents its own challenges...and today is definitely no the day when I feel like writing I totally adore my child and his smile makes my tiredness go away and you know ll that mushy mushy stuff one generally reads..Sorry, I'm human and this is totally beyond me today doing the same old stuff over and over and over again without a break for 7 months now!
Note to me: Maybe I should take down this post once I feel better. I wonder if I am the only one amongst all those nice mommies in the blogosphere who feels this way. All of them write such nice things that makes for a feel-good reading.
Very rarely do parents shop clothes for their kids in the first year until and unless it is something specific seasonal clothing they are looking for. Atleast that how it was with LG and a few other friends I know. LG's grandparents, neighbors and friends showered him with so many dresses that will last an year - in all colors, designs, textures etc.
Whenever you have to gift for a newborn, I see the same old things being repeated such as toys - rattles, soft toys, teething toys and then there's standard Johnson's gift box and clothes..
In an old issue of Femina I saw this and liked the idea of gifting something personalized such as receiving sheet with the baby's name written on it. Sure, it is expensive than your normal gifts but if it is for someone special then I'm sure it will make them feel good going that extra mile. Check this out - kidsathome.in
LG's mommy also rules!
This blog "Lil General Rules" and my other blog "reflections" has made it to Amit Agarwal's list of featured Indian blogs under the Mommy Children and General categories respectively. I don't have a mass subscriber base or readership as some other bloggers on that list and neither do I consciously market my blog in every forum so this came as a surprise and yes, I am happy.
I've said this before and I say it again, "Don't trust anyone who says a baby sleeps for around 18 -20 hours." It is not true. The first 8-12 weeks are the most toughest where sleep is concerned for they don't sleep at a stretch for more than 2 hours. And neither will you. Sometimes you will find yourself waking up even every half an hour either to change their nappy or to feed. Feeding and sleeping is very erratic in the first month.
I remember there was no routine established for LG in the first 4 weeks and it was highly erratic. After putting him to sleep I wouldn't know if he would wake up in 10 mins or would sleep for an hour. The sleep pattern establishes itself after 8-9 weeks in some babies, I've heard. With LG, he slept undisturbed for 6 hours the first time at 12 weeks and I rejoiced that day. Long afternoon naps (1:00 - 4:00 p.m.) also set in after 6 weeks.
Feed your baby till he is satisfied if you want him to sleep at a stretch for 3 hours. This has worked for me. His sleep routine from 12-24 weeks:
Tucked in to bed at 9:00 p.m. Sleeps anytime between 9:15 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Wakes up anytime between 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m.
Power naps at 10:00 a.m. 11:30 a.m. and one shortly after bath.
Afternoon nap between 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m./5:00 p.m.
Power nap between 6:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
As LG grew, the duration and frequency of the power naps decreased especially during the teething and crawling phase. At 7 months, now his afty nap has also gone down from 3 hours to 1.5-2 hours. And he does this in 2 rounds.
LG gets irritated /cranky when you keep him awake or distract when he is sleepy and wouldn't sleep for quite sometime later on. So I try my best not to do that. One thing he struggles is to get into that right position to sleep and hasn't learnt in these 7 months :)
Some sleep habits that I I have inculcated from when he was 10 weeks that helps him and everyone in the family too:
- I put him to bed at the same time everyday which is anywhere between 8:45 p.m. - 9: 00 p.m.
- I let him know it is bed time by switching off the bright lights and switching on the dim ones. After a while he realized it was time to sleep.
- All distractions are removed during bedtime such as his toys, rattles etc.
- His favorite pillows take their place.
- I have consciously tried not to use any sleeping technique such as rocking him or putting him on my shoulder and walking him. He sleeps by himself. almost always, I am lying next to him until he is asleep. Days when he gets too excited by my presence and wants to play even when his eyes are droopy I leave him alone and he goes to sleep in a min.
I believe in early to bed and early to rise. So sometimes it comes as a shock when someone says their kids keep them awake until 3:00 a.m. and that they are out until 11:00 p.m. Its a personal choice after all and I have absolutely nothing to comment on that. Its just a night's sleep can never be compensated with the sleep you get during a day.
Going out with your infant? List of things you don't want to forgetGoing out with your infant? List of things you don't want to forget
Eating on the edge from my other blog reflections is the history behind this post. Some kids are very cooperative like Lil General when we are out but then they turn fussy if you don't time your outing right or if you as a parent forget to take some of the kids' essentials that will keep them engaged while you do your stuff.
Always keep the essentials ready in your baby's bag ..it comes in handy during an emergency when you have to leave in a very short notice.So here's a list of what you need to pack in your baby's bag before stepping out of the house:
- Clothing : Cotton shorts / one set of clothes / 2 diapers/2 nappy pads with a nappy liner, depending on how long you will be gone. A receiving sheet, socks, mittens and cap based on how the weather is.
- Toys: It makes good sense to carry your infants's favorite toy/teether if you are going to a restaurant.
- Food : Always feed the baby before you step out. If the baby is asleep when you leave, ensure you carry his/her next feed handy to be prepared easily. If the baby is bottle fed then carry hot water in the bottle and the formula separately, so that you can just add the formula when the baby wakes up, shake it and feed. It is going to be a little cumbersome if it is some other solid food, so until your baby is an year old you might want to time when you go out so that it doesn't clash with your baby's routine. Always carry an extra set of sipper or bottle.
- If both of you have mobiles, carry both of them. Do not leave one behind.
- I always do this - I carry some extra cash in the baby's bag itself. I might forget everything but very rarely do I forget LG's bag.
- Cardinal Rule: There is nothing like round the corner form home for a baby. If you are away from home and have plans of being gone for more than 60 minutes, then it is an outing and a good idea to always carry the baby's bag, so that you don't have to change your plans and run back home for that diaper/shorts.
- Always carry an umbrella in the monsoon even if you are driving an have a pram with a hood. In a place like Pune, it makes good sense.
I got slapped
We were sitting on the couch watching the British Grand Prix. I had Lil General on my lap. This is the only TV he gets to see and that too for a short while.
"Thudddddd...."
"Ouchhhhhhhhhhh..."
A giggle follows..
The Seniol : "What sound was that?"
I : "I got slapped.."
The Seniol :"Whattt ?"
I " Seriously...hey, see Kimi made it to 1 after the second pit stop."
I can't remember the last time I was slapped by someone. I must have been really young. And here my son thinks he is grown enough to slap me.
The giant leap
A few friends from the place I worked at last dropped in today to see LG. This is the first time I'm meeting all of them since we returned to Pune and it was a good change for LG to see so many people other than The Seniol and me. Yes, he doesn't get intimidated seeing strangers and reserves his best smile for people he doesn't know, that does sound strange doesn't it. As usual, he got nice gifts - a Fisher Price doggy whom I would call "Snoopy" and a dress of my favorite color - floru green.
So , he is just roughly 2 weeks away from completing seven months and he hasn't started crawling. Though I'm not a sucker for milestones and expect him to do everything per the baby calendar, I have to agree that it does bother me a little when every other person on earth who sees him asks him, "He hasn't sat up yet? He hasn't started crawling?". As a result, on a recent visit to the Paed, I voiced my concern casually to which the Doc replied, "Don't worry. You can expect a month's delay in his sitting/crawling milestones. He requires enough strength on his hands to lift himself up.". In short, Lil General had 'weighty' issues. I wouldn't go into the details of what that meant but lets just assume he was doing quite well for an average Indian baby at 1 year.
After my friends left, we got him inside and placed him on his bed. In about 10 minutes, he lifted himself up and pushed 2 steps ahead. The Seniol called in excitedly, "Here, he has moved." It made us happy. It was one small step for LG, a giant leap for his parents.
Top ten things no one tells you about post-delivery, childbirth or recovery
Almost seven months after the birth of my son, as I sit down today and think, by think I mean "think sanely" in a proper frame of mind without getting emotional or yelling at every other person, I am amazed at the number of things that have happened which no one ever tells you before the baby is born.
Disclaimer: Men and women who have not been pregnant before, you would not want to read this.
- No bladder control : For some weird reason, this tops my list. I can't blame LG for doing susu in his shorts because for a few weeks even his mamma didn't have one. It was hard to hold on for more than 5 minutes. Who the hell knew about Kegel exercises. it took quite a few Google searches to find out what it meant. There I was looking for step 1 - lie on your back, step 2 - lift your leg sort of thing until I figured out its an internal exercise for the muscles with no steps -10.
- Post-labor pain : That post pregnancy pain is worse than labor. Despite having a normal delivery, my back and b* ached for days. To this day, when I sit down for more than an hour and get up, I find my muscles crying out of pain.
- Weight loss : That it will take a good deal of exercise on one's apart and diet control to get back into shape. I look a little slimmer than when I was at 9 months but can still easily pass off for being called 5 months pregnant.
- The color to hate will be red: That you will bleed for a month and sometimes more post delivery.
- Change of taste in food: I find this a little weird and I don't know if it is just me. I never had a huge craving for anything particular while I was pregnant. But now I like the foods that I never liked before and for some like chocolates I've developed a huge liking.
- That your bones get weak: Now again, I don't know if all the women experience this. But excessive physical work or lifting LG for 30 mins takes its toll on my back and my wrists ache like I have carpel tunnel syndrome.
- Night outs: Why doesn't anyone tell it as it is? I was always told that babies sleep for 18 hours. This was SO misleading. No, they don't. They keep you awake and at times for 20 hours because you can't sleep when they sleep as they can sleep even at 10:00 a.m. but your body clock wouldn't cooperate. LG slept only 9 hours a day until he was 9 weeks old. Sleep patterns establish well somewhere between the 2nd and 3rd month of a baby.
- Mommy-baby bonding : It did not happen the moment I saw my baby. To tel he truth, I started loving LG maybe only after 5 weeks or so. Sure, I cared for him and all but the affection that is there for him now was definitely not there then. Call me a uncaring mom or whatever, but being sleep deprived and in pain doesn't do one good.
- Goodbye blues: your mood swings of good ole regnant days don't disappear the moment the package is delivered. They haunt you in different forms. Who would have known what post partum depression meant until I went through? Yes, I did but I will save it for another post.
- Relationship with your partner: There is a lot of hype around this one. But no it doesn't change drastically. It is natural. There is a new person in your house so you just become sensitive to his existence. He can't take care of himself, not just yet. So as caring human beings who is a part of you, you work around your lifestyles and your schedules to devote time, effort and energy to bringing up this little one. His happiness and well being makes you happy. what changes is even if you both did not have energy for each other earlier, you will be amazed at how much you have now, all for the baby
Shopping : Baby stores in Pune
Here's a list of some of the stores in Pune where you can shop for your newborn/toddler:
Bonsaii - Aundh
Mum n Me - Nucleus Mall
Liliput outlets in Chinchwad and city for clothes
Mothercare products in Shopper's stop
Fisher-price toys available in --
Crossword
Toy world
Greetwell
Maitrik
The world of Toys
Millennium
And then ofcourse, there are the neighborhood shops where you can clinch the best deal.
Last evening, I was out for walk with LG on my baby carrier. This was our first walk in over a week, thanks to the monsoon. A friend (M) who has a 18 month old daughter stays nearby and I usually call her for the walk. Bonding time :)
Anyways, so it was all a a hushed up affair yesterday as I gazed out the window with no drizzle or shower in sight, I called her up and asked me to meet at the corner of our avenue in 5 mins. I hastily dressed, put on a onesy for LG. Man, the cranky baby had suddenly become a happy baby seeing me change and get him a new dress and diaper. It meant we were going out and he was excited at the fact and started making babbling sounds and beating his hands and legs up in the air. I put him in the carrier across my shoulder and we were off.
After a good 45 mins walk, my back bone started creaking or at least that's what I always imagine lifting LG, we were doing the customary bye-bye for over 10 mins. Just then, one from a group of college girls returning home suddenly approached me and caught me totally unawares. She felt LG's cheeks and remarked "such a cute baby." I was surprised by the way LG reacted. He smiled sheepishly , looked at me as though for approval and then turned the other way - the happy kangaroo child as he is known in our neighbourhood.
>Absolutely, no doubt about it. The most memorable moments in the early weeks of LG has been my evening walks with him. He would hang like a kangaroo turning his head from left to right - back and forth - eager to see everything.
In the early weeks, I was too confused as to if I can place him in the carrier or not and would mostly take him for a short walk on my shoulders. The hesitation was because he couldn't hold his head straight. However, with a little practice I started placing him in the carrier by 8 weeks --the baby enjoys it as he loves to be cuddled and feel close. Unlike prams, carriers give this feeling while your hands are free. The weight of the baby isn't a lot until 4-5 months and you can easily walk around with a carrier.
The difference between the two is while a carrier is positioned upright with the baby's legs coming out of the leg holes, it doesn't give any room for nursing. With some slings, you can nurse the baby as well. In a carrier, a baby can be placed facing towards you or outside. I've noticed, LG enjoys it when he faces me.
From my experience, certain things you will need to take care of while buying one:
- Remember you won't be able to carry your baby in a carrier or sling for too long as he grows old. LG is nearly 7 months old and with his weight, I get acute back pain if I carry him for 5 minutes. So after 5 months, pram or a stroller will be useful for walks. Between 2-5/6 months, carrier is the best.
- Comfort comes first and cost while buying this one as any other baby item. Else you could end up spraining your back and that of the baby's. Check for proper cushioning for head and back for the baby.
- The straps should be sturdy and well adjustable and not come in the way of baby's face.
- My suggestion is try it out in the shop first. You should be able to put in and take out the baby yourself. I couldn't do that so I went to the shop again and asked the gentleman to demonstrate and adjust it so that I feel comfortable. Don't worry too much about it if you don't get it right the first time. It take a few practice sessions before you will be perfect. My suggestion is always put the baby and take the baby out of the carrier near a mattress so that if even by some chance the baby slipped out, he/she would do so on the bed.
- The hands of the baby would go inside the strap..that's the way his body will come close to you.
A good baby carrier starts anywhere from Rs. 450. Mayawrap is cool.
Let the kid be happy with nappy this monsoon : all about Nappy pads, Diapers, cloth nappies.
With the rains wreaking havoc in Pune for the last 10 days, managing Lil General's laundry has been a nightmare for me. His comfort has been my primary concern throughout, so it was cloth nappies all the way with diapers and nappy pads meant exclusively for traveling, visits to the Doctor and our outings. Even for evening walks, I used to put on only cotton shorts as he had a good control of his urine/susu sessions then.
Once the monsoon set in and the weather got a little chill, on some days I was using close 25 cotton shorts a day and it was getting totally unmanageable with the clothes not drying in this weather. He had an erratic sleep too because of the wetness.
There are a lot of them available in the market. Most of them are the velcro type which is easy to put on and wash. I have seen that most of the times the nappy liner gets wet even if you use a nappy pad. So you have to wash after using it every time. There is an exception however.
There are plastic nappy liners and cloth based ones. I recommend the cloth based ones. Though the plastic ones are economical, it doesn't fit right and is highly uncomfortable for the baby with the susu leaking out from everywhere.
Cloth based ones are good but you need to be careful while buying. Some of them are thin and the velcro doesn't stick well after using a few times. One such is from Hello Baby. I recommend not buying this one.
The nappy liners from Mothercare are great. They are thick and fit well.
I advised having about 5 of them. The Hello Baby ones are priced at Rs. 50 a piece. I bought the Mothercare ones outside India, so not sure how it is priced here. Mothercare ones should be available in the Shopper's Stop stores in India.
Nappy pads - which one is good?
Again one has a lot of choices when it comes to disposable nappy pads. These are rectangular pads that can be stuck onto the nappy liners. The absorbing capacity of these pads are much lesser as compared to a diaper. You can feel the wetness after 2 urinating sessions.
Some of them that I have tried are:
- Actifit - by far the best. It is thick and lengthy. Comes in packs of 6. Costs about Rs. 31 per pack.
- Johnsons' Nappy Pads - not as great as Actifit. Shorter and thinner. Comes in packs of 20. Priced at Rs. 115
- Huggies Nappy Pads - Better than Johnson. Comes in pack of 6 (5+1 free). Priced at Rs. 31.
The lock in system and adhesive of all the above are good.
Diapers
Don't have much experience on this one as I've been using only PAMPERS since his birth. First it was the newborn one and now it is the 9-14 Kg one. It is priced at Rs. 128. Packs of 52 are available outside India and it works out a little cheaper.
Diaper rash cream
Palmer's Diaper Rash cream with a cocoa flavor is my favorite. I don't use this much as LG doesn't get a lot of rashes. Sometimes when he does, its either this or Vaseline.
The economics of using Nappy Pads/Diapers:
If you are using only during the night, then you would need a pack consisting of 6 nappy pads will see you through 2 days. Which makes it to 15 packs a month at Rs. 450.
Finally, if you have a rough estimate of how much you would consume in a month, it makes sense to stock up for a month rather than buying every week.
Related Resources : Reusable and eco-disposable nappies on test
