Punyajanam (Punya means purifying and janam means birth) is a function held on the 11th day after a baby is born. It is a commonly followed ritual in Tamilians. O the day of the punyajanam, a sastrigal (pandit) is called who performs a small puja and the sprays omathanner(ajwain water) throughout the house as though to cleanse it. No homam (havan) is performed as smoke is not good for the newborn. It is mainly the after who sits through the 30 minute odd pooja reciting shlokas. After the pooja, the mother and the newborn are called. The official and other names that they have decided for the kid is said 3 times in the new born's year and it is also written 3 times in Sanskrit (Devanagiri script) over rice chaff. If the mother is good health wise, then she can wear a 9 yard sari, else it is not a must these days.This is followed by showering of gifts o the newborn and the maternal uncle repeating the process of writing the name under a cradle in which the newborn s put.
Our son's punyajanam was performed today and he was named "Pranav". The other names were Nishit and Anubhav.
Updated on 30 june 2007
Related article : Found another good article on Namkaran Tradition in India
Punyajanam / namakaranam - naming the baby
Post delivery, when will I get discharged from the hospital?
A day after the delivery, after the new mother has recuperated from the anxiety and pain of delivery, there is a sense of relief ad the event she looks forward to most is going back home with the newborn. After all who likes the environs of a hospital. The same was the case with me. It is generally a relief if delivery is normal instead of Cesarean.
The normal practice in India is to discharge the mother and newborn on the third day from the day of delivery, if both of them are doing good. If the mother is weak or if the newborns contracted some infection or jaundice then discharge can get delayed. I the case of Cesarean, both are discharged usually on the 9th or 10th day after the stitches heal. I both cases, there has to be a bowel movement for the mother before she ca get discharged. If it doesn't happen naturally then a tablet is given.
These are under normal circumstances. If there is a complication or emergency it might vary o a case to case basis. Like I got discharged only on the 8th day despite having normal delivery as Pranav was in ICU. Even if the mother is normal they will not discharge her as both the kid and mother will be observed for regular feeding and such for at least 24 hours. A lot of this is also a psychic game and how you conduct yourself. If you complain of too much pain or do not walk or behave normal, the hospital tends to delay your discharge is what I have seen. Good hospitals do not mint moey but there are a lot of them out there who are commercial and one additional day means more income. My only advice is do not panic. If you feel comfortable ad think everything is normal after the stipulated duration, talk to your doctor about your discharge. Cases where there is no inclination or initiative by patients, they tend to lax too.
We're home
There's nothing more thrilling than homecoming after childbirth - coming back to the comforts of your own home takes away all the pains of delivery and exhaustion from the mind and body.
Everyone in the family was excited when I gave birth to LG through a normal delivery instead of Cesarean section just as I wanted. But our stay at the hospital stretched with no end in sight because of LG's medical condition. What was annoying is that no one gave the same story and told what was exactly going on. With the Doctors taking turns in going on vacation and being incommunicado just worsened matters and the nurses acted like they ran the show. The drama is all over now.
We're back home. Lil' General and I left the hospital this afternoon ten minutes past noon and were home in a few minutes to be welcomed the traditional way with a aarthi. We are excited and LG is all confused looking at his new surroundings as if he cares :) But it's nice to be home!
You're back!
There has been a steady flow of guests - relatives, friends, neighbors and acquaintances. Those not familiar with our story yet look at the empty cradle and ask, "Where is the baby?" I feel like saying, "He is attending to Nature's call". But this is not the time to joke. So, i patiently narrate the entire episode. They ask if we have decided a name for you yet. i say, "Name can wait. Let the baby come home first."
No one around here tells us when you will come to me. The Seniol and your uncle have been whiling away time at the other hospital where you are kept by playing UNO cards. They have been asked to standby 24 hours at the Child Jesus Hospital just in case they might need something - medicines etc. No such emergency has ever come in the past 48 hours. We assume they are feeding you well; they caught a glimpse of you this morning.
All I do here is wait for you to arrive. I am fit to go home but you are not. So I wait and wait. It's pretty boring and I am not in the mood to watch any TV. The nurses are no good company either. Every time I see them all I get is instruction to do this and that; to walk, to exercise; to bathe at 7 a.m.; to plait by hair and look presentable at 9 a.m. for the Doctor. what the heck! I think. I just went through a delivery and I am allowed to not look OK for a day, am I not?
I am waiting for that phone call from The Seniol after the Paed has seen you; waiting to hear that you can come back to us so that we don't have to manage the logistics of two hospitals.
The phone rings. Yay! You are allowed to be discharged. Your calcium deficiency condition has been taken care of. You have shown signs of improvement. But they will have to keep you under observation for 2 more days. So, here we are confined to the hospital environs of 2 more days - until the 25th. And then, we go home! Welcome back, for now.
It's a boy
Our kid - Lil' General was born today at 8:13 p.m. It's a boy - 3.2 Kg in weight and a normal delivery.
