Monday, March 17, 2008

How do I keep my baby cool in summer?

With the temperature steadily rising everyday, the heat is getting to us - more so to Lil' General. It's just the beginning of summer with 3 months to go. Loss of appetite, increasing liquid intake, sudden onset of summer and general uneasiness because of the heat has made him restless.

These are some of the things that has helped him:

Food:


  1. Lots of fruits such as Water Melon, Grapes, Musk Melon, Pomegranates, Apples, Bananas and just about everything. I don't mind his carbohydrate intake going down. It gets more than compensated with fruits.

  2. One tender coconut atleast everyday. A cup of butter milk or yoghurt and plenty of water so as not to get dehydrated.

  3. Lesser intake of carbohydrates in the form of rice and foods that are difficult to digest such as rotis. I've decreased the quantity of processed and spicy food too.

  4. Salads - small portions of whatever we have such as cucumber, carrots, radish, tomatoes etc.

  5. Lastly, the most important one that his Paed advised me - DO NOT force them to have food. They won't go to bed hungry. If they feel like eating, they will. I know this is probably the toughest one and I can never convince myself to let him sleep without eating anything. Of late, I've started doing that and it sure helps me and him for he comes back hungry later and finishes his plate in a sitting.


Clothing:

  1. Socks look good but it is uncomfortable to kids in this weather. I'm surprised seeing some kids in the park wearing those heavy duty cute looking socks. Gosh! their feet need some air. He hasn't started walking yet, so it's barefoot for LG. Looks don't figure in our list of priorities, comfort comes first.

  2. Only sleeveless or half sleeve cotton t-shirts and shorts. No long pants and full sleeve and fancy hats.

  3. At home it's a simple cotton vest.

  4. I let him play in water in intervals - it makes him happy.

  5. Bathe him before it gets too hot in the morning. I'm trying to get into a routine for bathing him twice a day. This would help them sleep better at nights.

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