It's been a week since The Seniol left to C on a year's break to pursue his education. This is the longest period in a year we've been away from him. Touch wood, because of Lil' General this period of separation so far hasn't been too emotionally anguishing and stressful as I'd anticipated.
Weeks before The Seniol was getting ready to leave, I made a mental list of all the things I would do during this one year to cope better and not make either LG or The Seniol feel they are away from each other in whatever ways I could. On top of that list figured a promise I made to myself to blog on a daily basis citing how LG kept us on our toes. Even the smallest things like a new word he learned or his insistence in turning on the AquaGuard or brooming and mopping the house at 10:00 p.m. - everything that came to my mind at the end of the day. And every morning I would play The Seniol's pictures with LG on the laptop and make him talk before The Seniol started his day. I've kept the second part of the deal but have failed miserably in keeping up on my daily posts. It's not fair blaming the non-availability of broadband. Old habits die hard. But I resolve to start now.
One of the mind blowing and touching things LG has done this past week has been to utter the word "pa" to "pa..pa" very sweetly. He discreetly walks up behind me to say "pa..pa" so as not to disturb me while I'm engaged in a conversation with The Seniol.
LG hasn't been very expressive in his actions or has missed his routine to convey that he is missing his dad. But there are those moments when I can sense he is indeed missing him. The other day he woke up form his afternoon nap and I said , "LG..papa..he went dashing to the door and from room to room looking for his playmate." I felt stupid for disappointing the child but I did get to know he was missing him unlike what his actions conveyed.
We'll sail through..just 11 months and a few weeks to go.
Missing pa...pa
Does your kid refuse to drink milk?
Often, I find it strange hearing mothers complain their kids hate milk and refuse to sip even a bit. I hear versions of, "Oh, I have tried it in cornflakes, with a tinge of Milo/Bournvita/ Chocolate to give it a different flavor and ultimately forceful feeding but nothing works." This sounded rather strange to me for I've never had any difficulty in getting LG to drink milk.
Almost with everything else that I've had no trouble with LG be it his sleep patterns or feeding habits, the moment I acknowledged it in public I had jinxed the process. No sooner would I admit in public to another mother that LG would start acting crazy what was so natural to him until then. It was the same with his milk drinking habit too and I had myself to kick. LG's friend's mom asked me how I gt him to drink milk and I casually remarked, "Oh, that's not a problem at all. I give him his bottle and he finishes it." Within a day or two I was having nightmares as he violently pushed his bottle and would rather stay hungry than have any of it. This was also a time when I was making good progress in weaning him off the bottle to the sippy cup. I tried various flavors, porridge but to no avail. Finally, one day last week I got back the evening bottle with two teaspoons full of Bournvita and he seemed to enjoy it. I started with a lesser quantity and gradually increased it to his previous level over a week which worked great. I know too much milk/liquids at this stage can fill up their stomachs easily leaving little room for solids. I try to ensure that he gets his daily dosage of 450-500 ml though distributed in three seatings - early morning, after breakfast and evening. Until a few weeks back (18 months old), he drank a glass of milk around 11:0 p.m. but he refuses it completely now - I attribute it to a full stomach.
Days when intake of milk reduces, these are other foods which are equally rich in calcium to be supplemented with:
1. A cup of yogurt with a little sugar after lunch.
2. French Beans / broccoli.
LG is allergic to paneer and cheese of any kind, so that's off his diet now.
Photo credit:
Wikipedia
Toddler : Home remedies and tips for cold and cough
I did a post a while back on home remedies for cold and cough for a baby. The same works for a toddler. In addition, here a list of things that works for my son:
- Boil a few leaves of Tulsi in water . Filter the water and give the same two times a day.
- Hot milk with a pinch of turmeric and sugar.
- To get the phlegm out of the system, a tinge of Thalasadi churnam (available in any ayurvedic shop) with honey.
- Rub Vicks on the back and onthe chest.
- Make the kid sleep on a raised pillow which will ease breathing.
- If you start on a antibiotic like Mox, finish the course even if there is no fever.
- Have a decongestant nasal drops handy. Difficulty in breathing usually occurs in the night.
A Nightout
It feels like it was years back when we stayed up all night tending to Lil' General. That was when he was barely 8 weeks old. I can't recollect a single night after that when I've woken up so many times because he was sick. Viral is in the air - the kids downstairs had a nasty infection that went around in round-robin fashion in their family relapsing time and again for over 2 weeks. Then, The Seniol caught it Saturday.; he was down and out with a running nose, temperature and called in sick at work Monday. Just when he was back on his feet, his mother caught the bug. I was crossing my fingers that LG has been fine and should just come out unscathed.
By evening, he was coughing and had vomited once. I gave him tulsi water soon after, took him for his evening walk and played with him a bit, fed him dinner, played a bit more and tucked him in bed with a dose of cough syrup. Within an hour he was wide awake finding it difficult to breathe and congestion in the nose. It just got worse by the hour. The neighbours came calling when he didn't stop S.C.R.E.A.M.I.N.G even after an hour. Nothing worked and he threw up more. Amidst all the screaming and suggestions from everyone, it totally skipped my mind that I had a decongestant handy all the time - Nasivion nasal drops (basically a sline solution) works wonders for a baby. I'm ultracool in such situations and never get hassled how much ever he cries. I know I can handle him come what may. My family on the contrary just go over the top - it's a cold and we all go through it. Sure, there will be a little discomfort if you've got one. And, LG still can't talk yet. The only way he knows to express his discomfort is by crying and screaming. He is surprisingly very sportive and doesn't let out so much as a cry for any of his vaccinations. He doesn't out cry uncontrollably unless something's bothering him truly. Last night was one such case when he was NOT Ok. So, The Seniol called up The Paed and he prescribed a decongestant.
LG exchanged hands, went on a walk downstairs, met his buddies, saw some stray dogs on the road, got some fresh air but nothing worked until I pulled up the sofa under the fan and switched on the TV. Some crappy song starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukherjee with crazy lyrics was playing on E!. This of all things worked. He found comfort in my arms and I found comfort in the silence. Lying still watching more crappy songs play, I held him in my arms walking down the hallway that never seemed to end to the bedroom and put him to sleep. He woke up many times intermittently through the night. After one more dose of Nasivion early morning followed by formula an hour later, we slept in till 8:00 a.m. He's still running temperature but the day hasn't been as crazy as last night.
As I think back at the past seven months, I think the flu vaccine did help a lot. He has not been under the weather all these months even when someone in the family had a viral infection.
Don't waste hours trying to put your baby to sleep
A 19-month-old is a toddler, not a baby right? But who cares. I still care for him as much as I did when he was born. Some habits die hard for a stay-at-home non-working mother - call it the luxury of not having to catch a bus at 8:00 a.m. to work or dying to sleep by 11:00 p.m. I've come to understand that a newborn's sleep needs vary from that of a baby's and drastically reduce when they grow bigger to a toddler. Sticking to the clock doesn't help; if anything it adds to the frustration.
Many a times, I drag him to bed in the afternoons because I am too tired to play anymore or prevent him from rioting the kitchen. When I try to take a quick nap, it is usually a futile attempt for he is all over me either pulling my hair or jumping on top of my tummy. Growing tired after 2 hours of this non-stop activity, he will put himself to sleep and it's too late for me to catch a nap as the chores take over. It's been a struggle to establish a nap routine ever since he turned 17 months old. It's the daytime nap which is the problem. Night sleep goes by the clock and happens quite naturally around 9:00 p.m.
Days when he gets up by 6:30 a.m., it's been relatively easy for he takes two naps - one at 9:30 a.m. and another around 2:30 p.m. One nap days are usually the toughest for he gets cranky by early evening. But, I've also come to understand that it's not helping either LG or me trying to get him to sleep if he is not. I go by the signs these days - rubbing his eyes or carrying a pillow and then put him in bed. He usually falls asleep within 10 minutes or less under such circumstances. Otherwise, it takes two hours which is rather frustrating for him and me. The sleep time environment - dimmed lights, curtains drawn, clean bed and pillows in place - works wonders only until a certain age.
