Beware ! Kids Are Watching

I am often told that since becoming a mom, my life has turned a reverse gear. I am more of a child now than I was a few years ago  

I don't mind. I mean look at the joy and fun in this moment. 

How could I just pass it on for the sake of being 'too old' !! This little person brings out the better me who is more fun, relaxed and just like him doesn't care about who is watching. When I am with him I am not afraid of being silly or goofy. He empowers me somehow. ️️

The line between who is the parent is sometimes so thin I barely notice. We are a team. A very strong one too. 

.

.

Kids are very observant and adaptive. We can teach them a lot through books and other media but nothing compares to how much they learn by just watching us and their surroundings.  Have had your kid pick up on a swear word you said only once under breath?? Yep. You know what I mean then.

This certainly works as an auto-correct for us 🤷🏻‍♀️

A few simple things I always keep in mind and in actions, especially when my little one is around -

🏻 Smile 

     Isn't a smile contagious? Seeing the happy face of your loved one brings calmness and control over your own emotions.  And lets face it. It's hard to get angry at a happy person. I mean a genuine happy person...not the sort who sits across the park and watches you duel with parenthood with a silly grin on his face.

And smiling helps developing the social skills too.

🏻 Be Kind

    In words and in deeds. To family and to strangers. How lovely it is to see my little one greet people with a nice big 'Hi' and a broad smile. How it fills my heart when he stops for anyone who is hurt or crying and wouldn't budge before giving them a hug. Kindness again is contagious. 

When your littles watch you being kind to others, they perceive it as a way of life. It embeds not as a teaching but as a quality that stays with them for life. And kindness done always ends with kindness received. It's time tested.

🏻 Be yourself

     Like I said, when I am around him I am not afraid of anything. Of who is watching, who is judging and how stupid I may look. Unh uhhh.

Nothing should stop you from liking who you are. When your kid sees you confident enough to sing horribly in a karaoke party or dance like a goofball and still watch you enjoy yourself happily..there is no embarrassment. There is only pride.  And joy.  One day he or she would need courage to be themselves in front of a crowd. And these little memories will be more resourceful than any pep talk. 

🏻 Use your words carefully

         I believe a lot in the power of words. My mom used to say 'na marta bhalon talwaar se, mar jaata hai shabdon k waar se' . Meaning - " Strongest of the warriors are killed by hurt of words."

It may sound hard to believe but I have never called my baby as 'naughty' . I don't have anything against those who use it but I just don't . Because he is not. Even when using it fondly, the word doesn't justify its meaning. I have a little, pure soul who is constantly growing. I wouldn't use any words with negative vibes. 

When I am really mad at what he has done, he sees it on my face (not the angry contorted face but a sad, disappointed one).

Instead of saying, I am angry , I say I am upset.

Instead of saying  he is being naughty, I say 'that's not nice.' 

You get the idea. 

There are so many ways around harsh words and honestly, we only use harsh,strong words to hurt the person we are angry with. And even though we may get furious as hell, I am certain no mom would ever wanna break her little ones heart. It would break hers too.

Also, goes without saying - the above applies not just to kids but to everyone around us.

🏻 Never make promises you can't keep

        Simply put, Fake promise = Lie.

        I don't like being lied to. Why should I lie to a kid?

        Yes, there are times during those inconsolable tantrums when nothing else would work. When no other way seems to come to rescue. But when we abate a situation on a lie, it only escalates later. (Check out my previous post on tantrum dealings )

      I won't deny that I haven't ever used the " do this and we will get you new toys" mantra . But when all is well and my 2 year old asks me " go shop toys?" and I give him another excuse..it just builds up on my mom guilt too much. And also, you run out of excuses pretty soon because two year olds can be really persistent ! 

     Better than this, I *try to* get him to behave nicely for a few days and reward him with a treat ( a toy, a cake , a candy, whatever the moment calls for).

These few bits are a part of my wish-list for my kid's personality. I don't know how successful I will be, but I will keep trying without ever giving up. And that's another thing he will learn.

It was his first day at day care

and it seemed like it would never end!


When my son was little..I mean littler, my husband and I would joke about never letting him go out of sight and getting him home-schooled so that I could always be near him. How naive of us.

I am not working at the moment and have the entire day to cater to my little one's needs. We spend all our days in each other's company, merrily and whole-heartedly. But I realized that my now 2 year old little guy needs more than just his mommy. He needs his own circle of friends. Well, apparently toddlers have their own social circle chemistry. Where they babble, baby-talk, laugh, cry and simply have a ball.

Sooo, off we went and enrolled him into a lovely place where all beautiful, 2 to 3 years old balls of fun can rock and roll themselves.
I couldn't sleep the entire night before his first day. Though I knew he would be OK there, it was myself I was quite nervous about. You see, it was not just his first day, it was mine too! Since the day he arrived in my arms from my belly, we haven't been separated for more than a loo-break! And now, he would be there for hours and my heart would either burst with all the nervous thumping or my eyes would swim out of my socket with all those tears. No, I am not being over dramatic. Yes, I know all kids go through this phase. But hey, I am an over emotional mess at the moment.

I cried some happy tears while I sat labeling his belongings with his name, realizing my boy will soon have stories to tell. Double checked everything he needed for the morning and then checked it again. Didn't ease me up on the nervous sighing.

The morning arrives and this boy happily runs to the room full of toys and new things at the day care. I ask him just for the sake of my melting heart - "Do you want mummy to stay, baby?" . "No , No mummy !" . Huh. So much for the bleeding heart *eye-roll* . Toddlers!
But I stayed. Silently observing him from the next room where he couldn't see me, watching him meet new people, new human beings at the eye level and explore his surroundings.

An hour gone and he realized I am not there anymore. He went over to the window overlooking the parking lot and kept asking for his mummy. He cried. Oh Gosh..and I cried! Tears just kept rolling down, knowing I couldn't rush and hold him (for their own good they tell me). One fire truck later, he was okay again and chirping with his new buddies. But now, my trigger was blown. I was drifting towards being that mom who suffers the worse end of separation anxiety. He cried again WHILE playing with his fire engine, which is like his most favorite of all toys, and it occurred to me that may be he feels I have deserted him. May be he thinks mummy is angry and gone! All I wanted to do was to hold him and tell him I am right here. I didn't. It felt terrible and I was already considering myself for the bad mom of the year award. How could I leave my little boy all by himself? How could I watch him cry? How mean of me!

Thankfully, the staff at his daycare is pretty good with toddlers, especially with those on their first days. They would distract him, read him a book, have a game of tag and he would be fine. I thought I was waiting too much to comfort him and should just go in and get him. But then came the snack time. And I saw something amazing. He sat at a table with 5 other mini-humans and actually ate his snack happily while enjoying his time at the table. He NEVER sits still at home. Watching 6 little heads around a table like a board meeting, discussing what  a cantaloupe tastes like, was so incredible. That sight was all I needed to know that I was doing the right thing. He is on his way to build his own social circle. One that doesn't involve me.  And you know what, I cried again. We moms are a volcano of emotions really.

So this crying and happy moments went on for some time and I stood there watching and living everything. Five hours. And they felt like eternity! When I went over to pick him up, he came running to me with little arms outstretched as wide as they could be and all was well in the world again! 
First thing I said to him was - "I was right here all the time ! I will never leave you alone !"
May not always be literally true but that doesn't make it a lie either. 

I know it gets better with time, but the second day comes this week and I am dreading it so very much. I suppose its much more difficult for me than him. And I thought separation anxiety was a phase in toddlers. No one warned me about how it rips apart a mom's heart.

Hopefully, I would do better this time and not cry out a swimming pool. 
Be still my heart - The Battle Has Just Begun.

Mommies get the best breaks. JUST KIDDING!!

Lately, I have been doing a lot of reading at every opportunity I get. By opportunity I mean sneaking to the bathroom with an iPad under my shirt. I have discovered that ALL women are workaholics..and hence, are exhausted, running on fumes and still giving it their all (whatever 'it' may be). When I say workaholics, I don't mean any employment. I refer to simply being occupied in one task or the other be it the job, home, family, etc.

I realize I am one of them too.

When my baby was born, everyone told me it will get easier in 6 months. Those sly foxes!

It never gets easier! It may seem hard and a 24 x 7 on-call duty when your little one is born but let me tell you - this is the most free and relaxed you ever will be from now. Once they start crawling...a whole new definition arrives at household chaos. All your senses will work full time and that is when you may achieve your peak potential of multitasking and not even realize it!
Since I brought this beautiful little person in this world, I have always been on the go. From 3AM wake-ups to 11PM bedtime refusals, from making breakfast for a tiny tummy to checking the diaper a 100 times a day, from tidying the house to re-tidying it again..and I always wonder where the day went! I have noticed (so has my family :D) that I continue like this for at most a couple of weeks and then my bubble bursts and I go from being 'Mary Poppins' to 'Cruella de Vil'  and all hell breaks lose.

It is bound to happen because I push myself too much. I admit it. The excuse is always 'it will take 2 mins to do' for mostly everything. The result is a super tired, cranky, nagging, no-good human being who has all her meal times mixed up and still won't be sleeping a whole night because of a wakey-wakey baby.

One thing that works wonders and is a definite solution to such emotional build-ups is taking a break. Now that's simple. Everyone takes a break, pauses down the rush-hour-life. There are a hundred different ways I can "break" myself free. How hard can it be?? Turns out - VERY.

No one in my family is against time-offs. Infact I have an absolutely wonderful husband who is always encouraging me to take some time for myself. But here's the thing - A mother is the 'Google' of the family. And "if it's something weird or not at all...Who you gonna call?!". Yup.

Husbands are hardwired to never ask for directions when outside the house and ALWAYS ask the whereabouts of something that is right in front of their face. Plus they have a certain ability to never keep anything where it was before use.

The toddler wouldn't even look at you when you are around him but the moment you step out of the room, mommy-radar starts beeping at the top of his voice.

Want the attention of the whole family? Just sit down, look comfy and reach for the TV remote. Within seconds, the baby materializes jumping on your lap, husband comes over asking for his wallet which is right on the table in front of him but is somehow invisible until pointed at and everyone is suddenly hungry!

And if by some miracle, none of this happens, it'll be my own used-to-multitasking self that will contemplate a hundred ways things might go wrong if I wasn't there. Like what if the baby cries and daddy can't soothe him, what if the stove is left on, what will they eat, what if the baby refuses to eat, what if he eats a Lego!, and the list is endless. I might sneak a few glances of my phone every minute to ensure there is no "what if" emergency and be suspicious if nothing comes up too! You see, I have gotten so used to worrying and doing things on my own AND MY WAY that a break (at times) brings on a guilt and an urge to rush back and assume the role.

I strongly recommend - Don't. Don't rush. 

It is tempting to just carry on hustling everyday because "I will do it in a few minutes" but it is also exhausting. Remember that when we are our nagger self, the most we complain about is not getting a few minutes to ourselves. Remember the airplane rule - Put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others. Only when the roots are watered, the tree would blossom.

So, take a break.

Now I don't mean go all revolutionary, ditch the chores and don't let anyone disturb you. I mean take a break from the urge of doing everything by yourself. Don't let the "it's my way or the highway" control you. Let the house be messed up today and the beds unmade.Take 5 mins longer in that shower. Of-course, there won't be any stopping the baby banging the bathroom door or the hubby asking every minute when will you come out. Take a break from coming up with a response. Order-in the dinner or let your husband show his culinary skills. Try not to chalk out a list of instructions (we do that, it's a women thing :D). And if you have one of those can't-cook-if-the-world-was-ending husbands, make him a khichdi. Resist the tadka. Spend a minute longer in front of the mirror, dress up, doll up and go out. Take a walk or hang out with your girlfriends. Choose to let any negative vibe bounce off you today. Keep that frown in check. A break doesn't have to be 5 mins, an hour, a day or a week long. Just long enough to rejuvenate and revitalize whatever makes you YOU. Just a time off from reacting to everything that happens around you, a time for just thinking about your favorite things, a time to just let everything be.

I say this like I do all of it. Of course not- as much as I'd like to, it is in no way easy. I may pull one or at most two of the above said in one day and I feel good!  If you are anything like me, a break would look like sporting my most comfy pajamas (practically my fashion statement for the past year), being couch-installed and trying to get past the prologue of a book I have been trying to read for the past 2 months. If I get past 15 mins of this without the toddler snatching the said book and ripping it apart, or throwing the remote in my face or his daddy asking (for the 10th time) where is the coffee mug that he bought and kept on the top shelf *eye roll* ...I will gladly, and somewhat suspiciously, consider it a break.

And while I try my luck at this, I am aware soon my little one would be a preschooler and his dad busy at work and my afternoons might be a bit too quiet for my liking. We mommies are a weird specimen of contradictory human emotions :D

PS.- Don't ever confuse a family vacation with a break. I did. Big Mistake. :D

The Dinosaur Drink - For your little Picky Eater

There are lots of chores and tasks we do everyday for our family, but as a mother, I feel the most rewarding is when a meal is successful with your kids. And I know it's not as often as we would like !

It takes quite a maneuver to get a picky toddler to eat without fussing and sometimes even the bribes don't work. It is exhausting, time consuming and also, discouraging when a lovely meal prepared with loads of love goes uneaten or frowned at. Now, we may blame the kids (because of-course whatever we make is for their health and growth and is also yummy !) but they are evolving and so are their taste buds. They may sometimes surprise you completely by loving something you assumed they would never eat in a million years.

My almost two-year old little guy has been a hard work when it comes to food. He had only four teeth at about 15 months so there was not much chewy food he could eat and a long way down the road he only preferred soft, mushy meals. Quite a hard work and limited choices.On top of it he wouldn't drink milk as is. It was during this time I introduced him to the world of smoothies and he has not looked back since !

Smoothies are a super delicious, full of health, easy blend of fruits and vegetables which packs all the goodness in one drink. There are many choices of flavor to play around with and not a lot of effort ! Whats more - they are the easiest way to get your kids to like the greens and there is absolutely no added sugar required !

Here, I am sharing a basic smoothie which is ALWAYS a hit with my little one. I call it the 'Dinosaur Drink' :-)

Dinosaur Drink -

1 Cup of fresh baby spinach (raw)

Half of a big banana

A couple of strawberries

Half cup of yogurt ( you can use flavored yogurt of your choice)

That's it ! Just blend it in a mixture and pour it in a glass. Do not strain it. It will be smooth and sweet without any added sugar. You can serve it in a glass, or pour it in a bowl and top it with sliced bananas, strawberries or any sliced dry fruit of your choice ! As for me, I sprinkle the smoothies with chia seeds.

There are a lot of other ways you can tweak the above with what's available with you. For example -

A cup of fresh spinach (raw)

A slice of mango

Half a kiwi

Half cup of coconut water

One banana

A little squeeze of lemon

Blend and ready !

Another one is -

The Very Berry Blend :-)

A banana

Handful each of blueberries, strawberries and blackberries

Half a cup of yogurt

2TBSP coconut water

Blend and yummy !!

Basically, spinach goes very well in all smoothies and you can flavor the drink with fruits at hand like kiwis, bananas, berries , apples , mangoes and use coconut water, yogurt, almond milk and any healthy flavor substitute your kid likes. Top them with sliced almonds, cashews, chia seeds, tutti fruities or just grate a little chocolate on top!

I make a glass of smoothie as a mid-morning snack or a post-nap energiser and hand it to my toddler while he is watching TV or playing or simple running around. He loves it and with each sip growls to show me how 'powerful' he is getting with the dinosaur drink :D

It was and continues to be a big hit with my toddler and also the rest of the family. And so, I wanted to share it with all you lovely people. It does take a lot of stress away to know your baby has had a good potion of veggies and fruits in one drink and makes all that food-fussiness a bit more tolerable.

Hope you guys try these and your little one (and you !) enjoy them too !

Author Note : Please do leave your feedback and experience in the comments below. I blog my baby's meals most of the time to keep a track of his eating habits and also to learn and help other mammas with different ideas to will their little picky eaters into eating! Do follow my page and you can visit my profile for the further details. Thank you.

In the loving memory of Sleep..

And using the bathroom alone..

And showering on time or showering at all !

And the day-offs, nightlife, hangovers, and just the usual sanity of life..

And many other daily activities that I took for granted before I had a baby. You can read a thousand books and attend a hundred classes but nothing can prepare you for what comes with a baby than the baby itself.
I went from sleeping 12 -15 hours a day (peak pregnancy bliss rest-hours) to 12-15 min naps every two hours or so. If anything contributed to my postpartum moodiness, that did. Clearly my baby wasn't the one to abide by "sleep like a baby" saying. Sleep like a Baby. WHAT A JOKE !

They are the worst sleepers awake on a creak of the door, or sound of retreating tired feet on a carpeted floor or even a slight whisper not louder than a breathe! Infact I have a suspicious inkling that the one who invented the said saying never had a baby or was referring to someone named "Baby" who had lost it on sleeping pills.

There is also an advice that is passed around a lot - Sleep when the baby sleeps.
I would if I had magical house elves around the house. I don't. Brushing teeth, showering, using the loo, cleaning the house, sorting the laundry, cooking and then eating breakfast, lunch or dinner (time loses meaning when you are on snooze mode for baby alarm)..things one would usually spend an entire day doing would now require to be done in 30 mins. And when you would actually sit down, put your feet up to follow on that advice..poof ! Time's up.

Now, it wasn't always like this, There were some rare occasions when I would successfully tuck in the baby for a nap and sneak out to the bathroom for a long awaited shower/bath. Run the water, 10 seconds in, I could hear the baby crying. Rush upto him and ofcourse, he is still calmly sleeping all snuggled up. Restart the cleansing and I could swear I hear him again! I would stand still concentrating, making sure that is exactly what I hear. 2 seconds later, halfway through my shampoo, I would again be running to my still peacefully asleep baby. This happened EVERY SINGLE TIME I went to use the bathroom. I called them 'phantom' baby cries. The irony is you can't ignore them because the one you ignore, mostly turned out to be the actual baby war-cry.

This paranoia is not of my making because now, 22 months down the line, not just me but everyone else who knows us admits that my little one is a real bad sleeper. I mean even now if he has been sleeping for four hours on a stretch, I get nervous and rush over to check on him. Once I overcome my initial shock of him actually sleeping soundly, I make a mental note of what is working for me - the ambiance, the temp ,white noise, etc. Ofcourse the same thing never works twice.

You know what, it's easier to make plans and create ideas around what kinda parent you would become, but its only when it actually happens that the complete significance of 'desperate time desperate measures' is understood. Like that time when you have been holding your pee in the anticipation that your cluster-feeding baby would let go of you for one tiny moment but he hasn't in the past couple of hours. And you then rush to the loo with that baby still latched onto you hanging for his dear life. YUP, sat on that seat with a nursing baby. Quite a few times.
Or dragging the entire crib to the bathroom to ensure the phantom cries don't bother you or also sometimes so the baby can see you. I tell you, these little human beings make the best trackers. Won't let you out of their sight.
Or when the baby won't sleep anywhere but on you. So they get used as tiny tables for lunch plates or books. Desperate time desperate measures.
The sacred-sanctum-me-zone that used to be the washroom, is now a forced-shared utility space where you always have a little person as an audience. It's either that or discovering how a fully baby-proofed house can be brought down to pieces by a 10-months old in about 30secs.

To be honest, I am not proud about the aforementioned, but it did give me a reality check.  It is not always easy or organised or ideal being a parent, but it has shown me what I am capable of achieving while functioning on a 4 hour sleep and meals that are mostly baby-food leftovers!
I am often told that this will not last forever and am certain it is true. Our little ones grow so fast and the time just slips by. But us..parents? Once a parent, always a parent. No matter how grown up my boy gets, I know I will never stop caring about him, losing sleep over him or making sure he still has a good night's sleep. There are and will be countless sleepless nights, meaningless tantrums and just the general whining. Nothing that the unconditional love that comes with it (and a glass of wine!) can't overcome.

Being a parent is the hardest and the happiest part of my life.