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.

Summer, appetite loss and sluggishness

This past week has been exhausting with the sudden onset of summer. The heat is getting to us and LG has been behaving weird ever since. The number of time he naps during the day has been swinging from 1 to 3. Some days he sleeps 2 times for 2 hours each and some days just for an hour through the day consequently being cranky all day. His appetite has also gone down drastically and he went with little food and milk for 2 days in a row. Usually a active child, we often found him sitting in one place or crawling back to his bed and lying with his pillow - we suspected a lack of energy which was kinda obvious. I finally took him to the Paediatrician to rule out any side effects of his falling off the bed. The Doc reassured it was just the heat and that I should keep him in the company of kids and not force him to eat anything.

I took him to the park this evening; it's hard to believe but that worked wonders. He found many kids his age and was happy to bond with a little older girl. He came back home happy, had his bowl of cereal and went to sleep soon after cheerfully.

Manna : A healthy porridge / kanji for babies

For those of us who don't have the resources, energy and enthusiasm to prepare a home-made porridge for our babies, products like Manna come to our rescue. I've been using this porridge ever since Lil' General was 6 months old and I totally vouch for it. It's filling, nutritious and has all the contents that are good for a baby's all-round development. There are a number of off the shelf products available but none that I found in Pune. So I just buy six month's worth stock of Manna on my visits to Trichy.

If you would like to do it yourself, here are the ingredients in Manna - I'm not sure of the quantity of each.

Ragi
Bajra
Maize
Jower
Wheat
Fried Gram
Rice
Green Gram
Soya Bean
Sago (Sabu dana)
Cashew nut
Badam (Almonds)
Cardamom

It tastes yummy and 240 ml of this porridge can easily last for 2 hours. This comes in 2 forms - either you can buy the powdered version or just buy the roasted one and then grind it yourself as and when needed. I prefer the powdered version.

Diet for a 15th month old

At this age, according to Dr. Spock diet changes so rapidly that it is hard to figure what toddlers like and dislike. This week they maybe feasting on a dish which could be a complete turn off the next. I've had enough experience of this and it couldn't have been better put. I'm constantly experimenting with LG's diet and routine as to what he is most likely to eat and what would upset the entire day. Sometimes it's a struggle and sometimes it's a breeze. It's hard to tell but what I've figured is it's alright if he doesn't eat his due share one day or for even two consecutive days. It all gets accounted for over a few days. And one rule of thumb : if he is hungry he'll eat. There are exceptions however : sometimes he's hungry but something else needs his attention and he cant afford to waste those moments tied up in a chair eating his food, can he? These are times when I have to put him down and force him to finish.

Diet for this month - so far:

6:00 a.m. - 150 ml for formula
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - Banana milk shake or apple juice, sabudana khichdi
11:00 a.m. - 125 ml of Tender coconut
12:30 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. - Lunch - rice dal with vegetables, curd, roti
4:30 p.m. - Porridge
7:00 p.m. - a small serving of fruit
8:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. - cereal, cheese slice or just fruits
11:00 p.m. - 150 ml of milk

On a shopping trail to find a diaper bag that doesn't look like one

What's the one thing that changes for a woman when she gets pregnant? No second guess!
The damn wardrobe and her accessories with the baby's arrival.

My son is almost 15 months old and my wardrobe still comprises of clothes that are either too big for me or ones that require me to stand on my head to fit in with little luck. That's for another post. The thing that bothers me now is the cutesy flowery baby bag that I carry along on all my outings : to the mall, restaurant, friend's place and just about everywhere. I became increasingly conscious of it at a few days back at the airport by the stares I got. For one, Lil' General has grown up from his newborn days and doesn't require me to carry dozens of diapers, tens of bottles and spare dresses. The young man is quite capable of handling himself well for a 3 hour journey. That's when it dawned that the problem lies with me, I did not grow up while he was; I still see him as that newborn who had not bladder control and met Winnie Aunty (potty) ten times a day.

That's not to say I don't need to carry any of his stuff during long travel or short outings: I do. But I can give up on the baby stuff and diaper bags and carry something that's more adult-like, woman-like with the same compartments that can hold a bottle, a diaper or two, one or two food containers, a spare dress, wet wipes for emergency, my purse and a pack of tissues. All I need is a smart diaper bag that doesn't look like one. And guess what I've been hunting for one with no success for the past month or so. Meanwhile, the stares continue! If only the one that Angelina Jolie flaunts were affordable....