Becoming a new parent can produce a host of challenges, in your relationship and in your sex life. On top of this, many women struggle to feel sexual after pregnancy because of the physical toll that it takes on your body. Luckily, there are some ways to boost your sex life. Follow these 6 tips to keep your relationship hot after baby!

6 Sexy Ways to Keep Your Relationship Hot After Baby

Post-partum life is a time of drastic upheaval for new parents. You have a new baby to care for, a new sleepless schedule to adapt to, all while your body is recovering from the physical ordeal of giving birth. Hormone fluctuations, such as a rapid decline in estrogen, may cause women to feel a temporary loss of sexual desire after pregnancy.

On top of this, it’s common for women to experience vaginal swelling and soreness for several weeks, and even months, post-partum. With many women reluctant when it comes to post-pregnancy sex, it’s not surprising that this phase can take its toll on relationships. If you’re struggling to reignite the spark in your relationship post-partum, try these 6 romantic tips to help you feel sexual after pregnancy.

1 – Aim for Intimacy Rather Than Intercourse

Having sexual intercourse after pregnancy can feel daunting for many women. Pregnancy and birth put the body through a lot, and it’s natural to feel worried about restarting your sex life while you’re still healing. If the thought of sexual intercourse after pregnancy turns you off, remember that there are other ways for you and your partner to give each other sexual pleasure.

Maintaining intimacy with your partner during this phase can strengthen your relationship and can make things easier when it’s time to resume sexual activity after pregnancy. Don’t be afraid to turn each other on without the pressure to commit to full penetration. These sexual stimulation methods can also be less physically demanding – perfect for those first few, exhausting months of parenthood.

2 – Use Sensual Touch

Caring for a new baby can be physically draining. It’s not just about lack of sleep, some women also feel exhausted by the amount of time they spend holding and nursing their babies. While new motherhood is a wonderful experience, once the baby is in bed, many women just want to spend time by themselves without being touched.

Image Source – Pexels PIN IT!

If the pressure of being sexual after pregnancy is too much, ask your partner to give you a back rub sensual massage and then return the favor. Sensual contact is a great way to keep the connection alive between you and your partner. And, can help reawaken sexual pleasure after pregnancy. 

3 – Forget Shame and ‘Should’

Many women put pressure on themselves to quickly become sexual after pregnancy. On top of this, you may be worried about what kind of sexual activity is safe after pregnancy. If this sounds like you, remember there is no set time to resume sexual activity after pregnancy. While doctors recommend that you wait at least 4 weeks after giving birth, women may want to wait much longer than this.

Contrary to what many people believe, the absence of sexual desire post-partum is not a sign of sexual dysfunction after pregnancy. In fact, stressing about the loss of sexual desire after pregnancy can decrease your sex drive. Remember, side-effects of giving birth, like post-partum bleeding may last for several months and cause discomfort or embarrassment.

Problems like continual or sporadic bleeding can be alleviated by choosing the best tampons or pads for your needs. If you are worried about your sexual health after pregnancy. Or, feel that you have no sexual sensation after pregnancy, speak to your midwife or gynecologist.

4 – Communicate with Your Partner 

During early parenthood, it’s easy to lose touch with your partner. And fall into patterns where you snap at or bicker. This is nothing to be concerned about. You’re both tired, you’re both stressed, and you’re both super protective over your new baby. If tensions are running high, one way to recapture your spark is to learn how to communicate verbally.

This goes for calmly discussing that fight you had about bedtime feeds and for your sex life. If you’re feeling physically burnt out, why not rekindle passion by sending flirty texts to each other? This allows you to explore your fantasies without getting physical. And, also will remind you of a time when you couldn’t stop thinking about each other.

5 – Recreate Your Pre-Baby Fun

Remember, you’re still you after you’ve had a baby. And the fun, sexy times you have with your partner have not come to an end. You just might need to get a bit more creative when it comes to being sexual after pregnancy. Scheduling a date night may feel like an effort, but there’s no better way to reconnect with your partner.

Image Source – Pexels
PIN IT!

Meanwhile, a steamy session in your car is bound to help you feel sexual after pregnancy. You could even have a date night in a different part of the house. Throwing some rose petals on your bed or running yourself a bubble bath are sure-fire ways to help you feel like you’re in the honeymoon suite.

6 – Make the Most of Nap Time 

Ask any new parents and they will likely tell you that the quickie is key to reawakening sexual desire after pregnancy. Babies sleep erratic hours and it may be tempting to pass out. Or, to catch up on chores as soon as they go down. If you have any energy left by nap time though, this might be a good time for a sexy session with your partner. Having sex in different parts of your house can also work wonders for your libido. And give your relationship a new lease of life. 

I hope you find these tips in helping to keep your relationship hot after having a baby

Final Call

Are you a new mum struggling with sex post-pregnancy? Or perhaps you’ve done it all before. And have many tried and tested methods to keep the spark in your relationship? Share your concerns and questions with our readers in the comments! 

Author’s BIO:

Rachel Burns is an experienced copywriter and photographer with a design diploma. She works with startups, entrepreneurs, bloggers, and companies from around the world. In addition to writing articles and promotional materials, she enjoys hiking, reading, cooking, and spending time with her family. You can learn more about Rachel by visiting top-mom.com.

We hope you find inspiration in these tips on how to help keep your passion alive! Don’t forget to share this post.

The post 6 Ways to Keep Your Relationship Hot After Baby appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hi everyone, today I am going to talk about Preterm baby care and what parents can do to help their premature babies achieve optimal growth in the initial months.

During my last trimester pregnancy, I was really worried as I had heard many cases of preterm deaths and complicated preterm deliveries. One of our neighbors had a premature baby who came back home after spending 15 days in the NICU. When they came home with the baby, I saw how tiny that baby was, so fragile like a small flower and had tubes going inside her nose. That was a really heartbreaking sight. I didn’t see the baby for the next 3 months as she was kept inside the house to avoid any infections.

Most pregnancies normally last about 40 weeks and if a birth occurs before the 37th week of pregnancy it is termed as preterm birth.

These babies are considered premature and have an increased risk of complications. These preterm babies need special care as some of their organs are underdeveloped and there are high chances of getting an infection.

I am listing down the 3 essential tips which can help parents in preterm baby care-

1 – Understand & Manage the Nutritional Needs of your Preterm Baby

This is the most important part of preterm baby care as proper nutrition is very important for their growth. Since the preterm babies are born before time, there is a possibility that their organs are not yet fully developed. Their digestive system may not work similar to a full term baby. If the baby has underdeveloped lungs, they may be given fluids through an IV (intravenous).

Breast milk is considered best for both preterms as well as full-term babies as it provides the essential nutrients along with DHA and natural vitamin E. If you are able to produce milk, and your baby is able to suckle then doctors will recommend exclusive breastfeeding every 2 hours. In case the baby is not able to latch, you will be advised to express milk for the baby.

You may also read – 6 Successful Breastfeeding tips for new moms!

In case you are not able to produce milk, consult a lactation specialist immediately. Do not delay! Your healthcare provider may ask your permission to give formula feed to the baby until your supply is established.

Please remember, even just a few drops of breast milk at a time will do them good.

In my previous posts on #FeedIQ, I have shared how the nutrition intake of a mother during pregnancy and breastfeeding impacts the growth of the baby. To avoid any nutritional deficiencies during pregnancy, mothers can also take a supplement (after consulting their doctor) like SimMom IQ⁺ by Abbott. This is a specialized nutrition which offers an IQ⁺ blend of brain nutrients and high-quality protein that helps in the fetal brain development & healthy birthing.

2- Offer Kangaroo Mother Care

Many doctors recommend Kangaroo care since premature babies are not yet ready to live outside their mother’s womb. Kangaroo care is a technique where newborn babies are given direct skin-to-skin contact. Babies are placed on the chest of their mothers immediately after the birth. This is done for many hours a day at least 4 times a week.

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Studies have shown many benefits of this method for both baby and the mother. It is the best way to bond with your newborn and provide him the warmth and safety. Kangaroo care also helps in breastfeeding and fast weight gain in babies.

You may read more about Kangaroo Care, here!

3- Stay Positive & Stress-free

The whole birthing process and the realities of preterm birth may result in stress and anxiety in new moms. You are already coping with so much from raging hormones to the challenges of preterm baby care. But this is the time to stay strong and positive. A mother’s mental and emotional well being is essential for the well being of her baby. Your baby can sense your stress which is not good for both you and the baby.

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Just follow the instructions by your doctor for baby’s proper care and kick that stress out. Enjoy your motherhood and the time with your newborn. You won’t even realize how fast these little babies grow. Just cherish every moment spent with them!

According to WHO, every year, an estimated 15 million babies are born preterm. And preterm birth complication is the most common cause of death among children under 5 years of age (approx. 1 million deaths). More than three-quarter of preterm babies can be saved with feasible, cost-effective care.

Laerdal Global Health is a not-for-profit company dedicated to helping save lives of mothers and newborns. Their goal is to save 5,00,000 more lives every year by 2020. Abbott has collaborated with Laerdal to support their initiative of providing training workshops to nurses on ‘Essential care for every baby and Essential care for small baby’.

Reference –

www.tommys.org,

www.americanpregnancy.org,

www.nutritionnews.abbott,

www.who.int,

www.parents.com,

www.simmom.in

The post Preterm Baby Care – 3 Essential Tips for New Moms appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hello everyone, hope you liked my previous post on play-based learning. Thank you so much for all the love and following our Summer Holidays Story Series on Instagram. Today, I want to share my pregnancy experience and learnings with you hence dedicating this post to all the lovely expecting parents out there. I know how it feels when you have a little human growing inside you. The feeling that you are the sole nurturer of a new life is marvelous. But then there are endless doubts and fears pertaining to baby’s growth and development. One thing I used to do when I was expecting a baby, was read and gather up all the information related to baby growth. You must be doing the same, right? However, many times it would leave me confused and then I would take help of my gynecologist to clear up my doubts.

I remember once during my initial routine check-up, I asked my doc about baby’s brain development in the womb. And I was astonished to know that the neural tube, from which the baby’s brain and spinal cord develop, is formed by the 4th week of conception. Isn’t this amazing? That time she told me how my nutrition intake directly boosts my baby’s brain development.

Our baby’s physical as well as mental growth solely depend on what we eat and how we take care of ourselves both pre and post-pregnancy. In one of my previous posts, I talked about FeedIQ and how mothers not just pass on the genes to the growing baby but also IQ through proper nutrition and stimulation exercises.

You may read that post HERE!

A baby’s brain development is based on the environment, genetics and nourishment she/he receives in utero and via breastfeeding. This is called FeedIQ.

I am sharing the 5 best tips my gynecologist gave me to ensure proper growth & development of my baby as well as for a healthy delivery.

5 tips to have a healthy, happy and smart baby

1) Eat Nutritious Diet

This is one advice we get from almost everyone. I had never cared about nutrition until I found I was expecting a baby. And suddenly I wanted to be mindful of what I eat for my baby’s optimal growth. On every visit to my doc, she would suggest adding a variety of food groups in my daily diet. Foods like green leafy vegetables, nuts, dairy products, legumes, and grains provide essential nutrients for baby’s brain development. So, if you want a smart and intelligent baby, you should take care of what you eat as you will be directly feeding IQ to your baby.

Source – simmom.in

Did you know that 70% of the brain growth occurs during fetal life

I tried best to follow her instructions but there were some foods like spinach and dairy products which I couldn’t eat due to strong aversion during my whole term. And that is why she wanted me to take additional supplements to support fetal development.

You may also read 5 essential nutrients for a baby’s brain development!

2) Take Supplements

My hemoglobin, vitamin D, and iron levels were already low and due to severe food aversions, I was not able to include some important food items in my diet. Hence, I was advised to take additional nutritional supplements. If you are not able to meet your recommended daily intake of nutrients, then it’s really important to take supplements to fulfill body’s requirement. There are many nutritional supplements available in the market. SimMom IQ is a specialized nutrition offering with IQ+ blend of brain nutrients and high-quality protein that helps in fetal brain development and healthy birthing. However, you should always consult your doctor before taking any nutritional supplement.

3) Stay Active

Many people take advantage of pregnancy and use it as an excuse to laze around, I was the same. I had become a couch potato and somedays would not even change my place for the whole day. It was during my 3rd-trimester scan when my doctor told me that baby’s weight was lagging even though I was gaining some good kilos. I realized the importance of being fit and active quite late. But as soon as I came to know about it, I was on my feet. I wanted my baby to be healthy.

The latest research has shown that exercise during pregnancy can increase neurons in your baby’s brain by 40%.

Our body releases some hormones during physical activity which are good for the baby. Working out not only helps in strengthening baby’s brain but also helps in improving your stamina which you will need during labor.

4) Talk to your baby

Source – Pinterest
(thebump.com)

I have heard many people say that it’s good to talk to your baby in the womb since babies can hear us. It’s true! In fact, talking to your baby plays a crucial role in his brain development. This is also a great way to bond with the baby. Whenever I used to talk to my baby, I would feel his movement. It felt as if he was responding to me. You can also read good books aloud during pregnancy. Talking, singing, and reading can help in your baby’s brain development. Sometimes, it may feel funny to talk to your tummy, but you will start loving that feeling too.

5) Say No to Alcohol & Smoking

It’s hard to stay away from alcohol in today’s social life, especially if you are a party animal. Similarly, cigarette smoking is linked to our highly stressful lifestyles. However, you should immediately stop smoking and drinking as these can have adverse effects on baby’s brain health. As per a study at Wayne State University, in Detroit, women who drank occasionally during pregnancy were 3 times as likely as non-drinkers to have a child diagnosed with behavioral problems.

Smoking can increase the risk of birth defects in babies.

The damage due to higher levels of alcohol in the fetal blood can be long-lasting and severe, ranging from mental retardation to heart damage. So, quit smoking and drinking during pregnancy to have a healthy baby.

We all wish to have healthy and smart babies however we ignore the importance of right lifestyle choices which could, in turn, help in boosting baby’s brain development. I hope you find these tips useful. Don’t forget to share the post with other expecting parents. And do leave a comment below so that I know you visited this blog. Thanks!

References:

www.nature.com

www.developinghumanbrain.org

www.simmom.in/feediq

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

All content here, including advice from the doctor, should be considered as opinion only. Always seek the direct advice of your own doctor in case of any questions related to your health.

This is a sponsored post, however, all opinions are mine.

The post 5 Pregnancy Tips for a Healthy & Smart Baby appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hi friends, hope you all are enjoying the winters. I wanted to write on this topic for a long time now as I have suffered a lot with body pain after delivery. My baby was born in January 2016 which was the coldest month and it took my body around 9-10 months to completely say goodbye to postpartum body aches.

Now, what I knew or read about pains was totally different than what I was experiencing. I was expecting the pains to subside after 6-8 weeks of delivery.

But no, my body was not yet ready. I suffered from severe cervical pain to sciatica to muscle cramps and whatnot. However,  you can avoid or at least reduce the severity of these pains by following these simple tips.

Postpartum aches

Before sharing the tips, let’s first understand why does our body aches after delivery.

1 – The most important reason could be body adjusting to being non-pregnant after delivering the baby.

Our body gets used to specific postures while we are pregnant due to uneven and excess weight landing on certain muscles. Soon after delivery when we try to get back to our normal posture, the body considers it as a lot of work and starts aching.

2 – Body not getting ample sleep.

With the new baby comes the responsibility to breastfeed, night and day at least every 2 hours and that means getting almost no sleep till the baby sets into a feed and sleep routine.

While the truth is muscles repair themselves when we are asleep.

3 – Pregnancy hormones – especially Relaxin which plays a major role in relaxing the joint muscles.

During pregnancy, it helps our joints to carry all the extra weight and at the time of delivery, it provides the flexibility to our pelvic bones so that we can deliver the baby easily. But it doesn’t settle down immediately after the birth, which means we are not in full control of our muscles and joints which is quite painful sometimes.

4 – Ignoring ourselves postpartum

After delivery, the new baby becomes the center of attraction for everyone. From feeding the baby to cleaning him to making him sleep becomes our priority task. And in between whatever time we get is also spent on thinking about the baby, you all will agree with me. We don’t get even 30 mins of time for ourselves to start a daily activity as simple as walking.

Alright, these are some of the reasons which keep us in pain even after delivery but as soon as our body starts adjusting to the new changes, the pain starts to subside and by 8 weeks we should start feeling like our old self with just some extra weight hanging here and there.

Now, this is common but what happened to me comes under a special category where the pains got too friendly with the body and refused to leave even after 6 months.

> When elders say you need to rest for 40 days postpartum, they have a reason for it.

> When people suggest maintaining a warm temperature for your body, they have a reason for it.

> And when others say wait for few months before experimenting with your body to lose weight, they do have a reason for it.

YES! And I ignored all these bits of advice coming from well-wishers.

Now, when I look back to those painful memories, I realize the reason was not pregnancy or delivery. But it was my mind playing games with the correct functioning of my body and a few mistakes which I did during the initial winter days.

Here are my tips to take full control of your body and say goodbye to all the postpartum aches and other problems.

1. Don’t let your mind take control of your senses.

Much of the work is done by the hormones which go haywire after delivery. Progesterone (mood uplifting hormone) drops drastically and estrogen starts dominating all other hormones. This is the most common cause of postpartum issues like fatigue, pain, weight gain, hypothyroidism, anxiety, and depression.

TIP – Be aware of what is going on inside your body and accept it. At the same time, share your emotions with family members especially with your spouse so that they can bring a change in their behavior as well as expectations. Whatever time you get in between feed times or the time when the baby takes nap, try to catch up on your sleep. Don’t indulge in useless thoughts, don’t overthink, just relax and remember it’s just a matter of 4-5 weeks.

I have written my experience of Postpartum Depression which is a very common yet least spoken topic. You can read it >> Here <<

2. Don’t over-exert yourself. 

Being a new mother, full of raging hormones and a quest to prove yourself as the best, don’t try to take all the responsibility. Just to prove to others that you can manage everything on your own, you actually put your health at risk.

TIP – Go slow and be considerate of yourself. Start delegating baby duties to whosoever is around, take help whenever offered and shamelessly ask for help or support when needed. Take a nap, a long hot water bath or a good massage. Just relax and take the much-needed break from mommy duties. You will thank me later for this!

3. Keep moving, you are not sick! 

Yes, the body takes its own time to heal completely and doctors recommend exercising only after completing 6 months postpartum. But that doesn’t mean you stay locked inside a room and focus only on the newborn. With all the sleeplessness and fatigue; you may not feel like stepping outside. But the doctors also suggest taking small walks as soon as you feel comfortable.

TIP – After a month of getting rejuvenated, go out and walk, leave the baby with someone trustworthy and try to connect with your inner self. You can start with just 5 mins of slow walking and can indulge in 5-10 mins of meditation too. And gradually increase the time and intensity of walks, 30 mins of daily slow walking will do wonders for you. Don’t let the winters stop you from moving about, exercising helps in lubricating the joints which further reduces the pain.

4. Take a healthy diet and keep your body warm. 

During my postpartum period, I used to sweat a lot even if it was the coldest month. Our lose joints are prone to pain in the cold weather. So, it’s important to cover the parts of the body which are affected easily due to cold. Another easy way to produce heat in the body is eating superfoods, in a limit of course.

TIP – Keep your joints covered especially neck, back, hips and knees. Use the heating pad to keep your joints warm and take regular body massage with hot oil.

Take plenty of liquids, eat whole grains, nuts, green vegetables, and fruits to replenish lost nutrients. A balanced diet helps in reducing the inflammation and produces enough body heat to keep the joints healthy.

5. Get your tests done & take supplements on time

After about 6 weeks of delivery, get a complete checkup and blood tests done for yourself to rule out any deficiency. New moms are usually advised to take Calcium, Vitamin D, and Folic Acid for at least 6 months (or until the time they breastfeed). Delivering a baby drains out a lot of minerals from the body. Hence to replenish the lost deposits as well as to provide adequate nutrients to the baby it’s important to take these supplements on time without fail.

TIP – Use a reminder on your mobile so that you don’t miss taking your medicines or give this responsibility to someone who can remind you to take supplements on time. You can also use the pill organizer for storing your scheduled medicines for the week.

Lastly, take care of your posture. Focus on maintaining a good posture while walking or sitting or even while breastfeeding. Not taking care of posture during winters can put a lot of strain on weak muscles and joints. Always be aware of your body posture.

I hope you find this post helpful and these tips will help in reducing the postpartum body aches. Don’t forget to share this post with to-be-moms and new moms in your circle.

Want to share what worked best for you during your postpartum period, write it down in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

The post Winter Care for Postpartum Body Aches- Women Health Post Delivery appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hi friends, let’s welcome December with this lovely story of a mother who has found her source of joy and learning in motherhood. This post is special as it is written by the person who actually gave me the idea of doing The Mom Series. Well, and the best part is she herself has no idea about it. Time to reveal!

So, one day we were having a normal chat and she appreciated me for my work, then she said something which made me think about it over the next 2 days. She said whatever I am writing on my blog, she can write that too but couldn’t as she herself doesn’t get such ideas.

It made me ponder on her comment and I realized that she was right. I am no one special, just a mother who loves to share her experience, in the hope that someone reading it could get benefitted or someone going through the similar situations can feel relieved that she’s not the only one. And if we look at the bigger picture, don’t you think we all mothers have some or the other kind of experiences which if shared with others can help, motivate and inspire other mothers too.

Hence the credit goes to Gunjan Bhatla, for giving me this brilliant idea of calling out the mothers and letting them share their motherhood experience with the world. Thanks a lot, dear!

Now, it’s time to read her story in her own words.

Motherhood – My Source of Joy and Learning 

– By Gunjan Bhatla

Someone has rightly said – “Motherhood is an experiment that how long your body can function without adequate sleep or nourishment and fuelled only by caffeine and baby smiles.”

The joy of motherhood comes in moments. There would certainly be hard and frustrating times but amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and love. As soon as my hubby and I came to know that a new family member is on its way, we were overjoyed; even my in-laws and my maternal side were really happy.

But I was not aware that soon I would be getting experienced teachings from everyone in the family and to my surprise from few of my friends too. All sort of suggestions started flooding in.

Give me a break, at least wait for my Motherhood to begin. Typical Punjabi family, if you can imagine.

Then came the day – 4th March 2016 and I was a mother of a handsome baby boy after having more than 10 hours of labor pain and still getting a C- Section at the end. When I came out of the Operation Theatre, my mom shook me and asked, “what happened?” I was obviously clueless at that time, as I was still regaining consciousness. I remember a voice came in my ears, “Babu Hua Hai”. I was so happy, as my hubby always used to tell me if there would be a girl, then we would find a “Ghar Jamai”. I would not send her away from me, LOL.

Our family was filled with joy and all the good things were happening.

I would like to mention, at that time my Father-in-law (FIL) & Mother-in-law (MIL) were in their 80’s. And apart from me and my MIL, there was no other lady in the house. And I was literally forced by the very same situation to spend my first three months post delivery at my mother’s place. And for those three months, my hubby was not with me. He used to come and meet us on weekends.

Obviously, I was overjoyed with the arrival of my baby but could also see the hardships I would be facing while upbringing my child. And the worst part was, I became very emotional. But I had no idea what was happening with me. And as my hubby was not with me, it was very difficult for him to understand the situation.

Here the Learning phase started. After some days I read an article, which literally shocked me. It was all about the Post Partum Depression. After reading that I recalled all the incidents that happened to me. And believe me guys, it was really easy to correlate the things. Now I am aware that I was trapped in PPD. I forwarded the same article to my hubby to make him understand the situation I was in. However, things on his side were even more complex. I realized being alone for 3 months, he had gone into a kind of depression himself. This further broke me and later the situation got worse and we started having arguments and misunderstandings between us. And that was the last thing that I wanted in my life.

But thankfully, because of my mother and sister, things between us gradually improved. They used to counsel us regularly and calm us down. Thanks a ton MOM and SIS!

After 3 months, I was back to my hubby’s home. I would like to mention that my MIL used to try and help me, but could not do most of the activities due to her age. All of a sudden God gave me another dose of shock; my MIL was diagnosed with Dementia when my baby was just four months old. After that, regular visits to the hospital started. Sometimes it used to stretch for more than two weeks and I had to manage all the things at home and outside on my own.

Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person’s daily functioning. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which makes up 50% to 70% of cases.

Source – Wikipedia

She was in bed for more than six months and later in Dec 2016 the worst thing happened; she expired. And I was left all alone. Now, the situation was, I had a 9-month-old baby in my lap with all the responsibilities of the house; as I was the only lady left. The situation was really tough!

And believe me guys, I am still learning to cope up with many things, managing all the household activities and taking care of three kids…my own baby, my hubby and my FIL (after losing his better half, he had become a kid whom we have to take care of very consciously).

Now I can say that I perfectly understand the meaning of “Learning is a never-ending process“. With my three babies of different generations, I have learned so many things:

1. Wake up with lots of energy, even after sleepless nights.
2. Have patience even if the baby is crying without any reason.
3. Handle baby’s tantrums.
4. Taking care of all the day to day needs of my hubby.
5. Taking care of an 84 years old baby.

The list is never-ending.

I pray to GOD that he gives me the required strength and blessings that I become a responsible Daughter-in-law, a loving and caring Wife and a successful Mother.

Thanks for sharing your story Gunjan, Motherhood indeed brings unlimited joy as well as lots of teaching on its way. Only after going through such myriad emotions and situations, mothers become even stronger.

This is the last post of The Mom Series and I want to thank all the awesome mothers who shared their stories to be featured on my blog. It was exciting as well as inspiring to read the stories of real moms, it made us look for hope, courage, determination, faith, and joy in our own motherhood journeys. Much power and love to all the mothers! And big thanks to all my lovely readers for making it successful, people coming back to read these stories proved they loved it as much as we loved bringing these to you.

Having said that, though I am not continuing the series for December but will definitely bring some more stories of strong mothers to end our year with lots of positiveness and inspiration in our hearts. And we will call these as the Bonus Posts.

Those of you who have missed reading the previous stories, you can read them all by clicking on the below links-

>> Stories of Hope & Courage – By Rajavee Gupta and Srishti Singh <<

>> Stories of Determination & Strong Will – By Rupal Agarwal, Rashmi Datta and Neetika Soam <<

>> Stories of Faith & Perseverance – By Richa Kaushik and Arushi Arora <<

Hope you like these stories. Do comment and share if you liked!

The post Motherhood – Source of Joy and Learning appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

“Successful mothers are not the ones who have never struggled. They are the ones who never give up, despite the struggles” – Sharon Jaynes

Hello to all my lovely readers and friends, I am sure you will agree with the above statement. I haven’t met a mother whose motherhood journey had been a smooth road, there are difficulties, challenges as well as lots of struggles that we face every day starting from Day 1 of our pregnancy, the day when a new life takes its place inside us and connects with our soul.

And today in our MAA – The Mom Series, I am bringing to you the stories of mothers who despite having many roadblocks in their journey did not give up and are getting strong and positive with each coming day. They are the true inspiration to many in the world who think that their motherhood journey is most difficult and are struggling to find their way through it.

A Survival Story

– By Richa Kaushik

Those two pink lines brought us immense pleasure as it would have to any other couple planning to bring those two little hands and two little feet and a cute smile in their lives. We were on cloud nine and wanted to hold our baby in our arms.

This good news was followed by a series of tests, ultrasounds, diet plans and lots of wishes & advises from friends and family members. Everything was fine until 14^th week (I was getting accustomed to needles, the sight of which once used to faint me!!) when I got my reports for the double marker test.

It was a normal day, I went to the school (by the way am a teacher), came home, finished my house chores and then I got a call from my gynecologist about my reports. She wanted to meet us immediately which was unusual on her part. We went there just to realize that our world was going to fall apart. The reports were bad.

It showed a high risk of Trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome). I was asked to make a choice. A choice?  A mom was told to either keep the child or abort it. I had no words. I cried my heart out and I was asking the God…Why me? I wanted to run away from there as my heart sunk and mind stopped working.

Down syndrome (DS or DNS), also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder which is typically associated with physical growth delays, characteristic facial features and mild to moderate intellectual disability. The average IQ of a young adult with Down syndrome is 50, equivalent to the mental ability of an 8- or 9-year-old child, but this can vary widely.

Source – Wikipedia

Finally, I made a tough choice to go for “Amniocentesis”. We went for a counseling first and came to know that there were 1% chances of miscarriage as the baby could attack the needle or the needle might hurt the baby.

I felt as if I was the most unfortunate woman who had done so many sins. Was I going to pay off like this? But the mother inside me decided to stay strong and I was there for the process the very next day.

A needle was inserted into my uterus through my tummy. Throughout the whole procedure, I was talking to my baby as I could see her on the ultrasound screen, I was telling her to stay calm and not to attack the needle while this unwanted invasion was going on. Everything was done and I was advised to take a week’s bed rest.

Amniocentesis (also referred to as amniotic fluid test) is a medical procedure used in prenatal diagnosis of genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome and fetal infections in which a small amount of amniotic fluid, is sampled from the amniotic sac surrounding a developing fetus, and then the fetal DNA is examined for genetic abnormalities.

Source – Wikipedia

Two weeks till the reports came were the most difficult days for me as I went into depression, my appetite, thirst, sleep everything was gone. I lost 2 kg weight and I just couldn’t express my feelings to anyone. My hubby was equally tensed but I wanted to show him that I was strong.

After 2 weeks, when we got the reports, we were the happiest to-be parents as by God’s grace reports came out to be fine. I just could not thank God enough from my heart and soul. All the wishes and blessings I had ever got were bestowed on me.

My baby is a strong girl as she had to go a lot while inside my womb, which is a long story to tell some other time. But this survival story might inspire those who are going through a similar situation. I regained my health and my smiles.

She is a brave child. My strong survivor!

Dealing with Tantrums

– By Arushi Arora

Ahh!! My kid is having a tantrum and I want to scream…

Yessss I really want to scream when I find that my 20 months old baby becomes very fussy for each and everything. And I guess most parents experience it, those moments when their kids have a full-blown temper tantrum, which may involve screaming, crying, stomping feet, dropping to the ground or all of the above.

Same thing happened to me last month when we were out for a visit to the mall and suddenly my baby became fussy and stubborn and he lied down on the floor for no reason. Seriously this was too stressful for me, no matter where it happens but when it’s in a public place you feel as if everyone is looking at you and judging “what kind of a mother she is, can’t even control her kid”. And at that time you just want to curl up in a ball and scream.

Well, NO, I didn’t scream neither did I run somewhere to hide, in fact, I handled the whole situation patiently and without panicking, I asked my little one in the softest possible voice to cool down and promised him to buy his favorite cake and took him for rides to distract his mind. Because I knew, if I started yelling or screaming at him, the situation would have got even worse.

“THINK IN THE FUTURE, ACT IN THE PRESENT”

It may sound hard to do but we need to forget about other people who may be watching us during those cringe-inducing moments when our children are in the throes of a tantrum.

SHOUTING back to the child is not helpful for anyone because that’s more sensory information that is going to make them go into a NUCLEUS.

When little people are overwhelmed by big emotions, it’s our job to share our calm, not to join their chaos – L.R Knost

Think of yourself as a “TUNING FORK”, the calmer and clearer you can be, the better things will become”

We can not avoid or guess when a tantrum will hit but we can surely take beforehand measures to handle them on the spot. Here are few tips that help me in such a situation –

• Always carry their favorite toys or food while going out.
• Give them choices while in the middle of a tantrum.
• Give lots of cuddly hugs to calm them down.
• Get down to their level of understanding to control the situation.

I must say remember that strangers are just the strangers, they don’t really matter. Anyone who actually has kids would be saying a silent prayer in such a situation, that it’s you in the hot seat today. And the judgemental ones? Who needs them? Put them out of your mind and concentrate only on your kid.

These two stories will always remain close to my heart as I could connect with both on a personal level, Richa’s story is somewhat a reflection of what I had gone through, similar situations, same fears and then the moments of happiness and feeling blessed. Similarly, I can understand what Arushi wants to say through her story, my son has also entered that phase where sometimes his emotions take control of his mind.

There is so much positiveness in both the stories, how these mothers approached the difficult situations, fought the struggles and finally were able to win the battle with their faith and perseverance. Thanks, Richa and Arushi for sharing your inspirational stories with us!

This post was supposed to be the last post for The Mom Series but as we are getting so much love and huge response from you all, I may share some bonus posts in December as well though will not be able to continue the weekly motherhood stories. Why?

To know that, you will have to visit my Instagram page by clicking on this link – Growing with Nemit and check the latest post where I have mentioned my reasons. Do check that out!

And if you liked this post then don’t forget to share it! I would really appreciate that.

The post Motherhood Struggles Are Real – Success Stories of Strong Mothers appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hey guys, it’s Monday and I am back with another set of power packed stories written by two strong mommies for our MAA – The Mom Series. Well, we all mothers know how pregnancy and delivery takes a toll on our health if not taken care of properly. We go through a lot many dilemmas when our life takes a totally new path and sometimes we are left with choices which are in fact the most difficult ones to make. Read the stories of moms who fought depression and weight gain with their strong will and determination.

Postpartum Depression “TEARS TO CHEERS”

– By Rupal Agarwal

It’s not at all easy for me to write this. I wanted to share my story written with my heart. No one had ever told me about postpartum depression during my whole pregnancy time. You can’t guess that the new mom is suffering from PPD just by looking at her.

The problem is that people have many expectations from a new mother and they think that those first days or weeks or even months after child’s birth should be the happiest days of a mother’s life. Yes, I was overwhelmed with love for ‘Prisha’ no doubt but at the same time, I didn’t want to see anyone during those initial days as I knew they would expect me to be the happiest glowing new mom, who’s ready to face the world but no, the reality was far from that.

Postpartum depression (PPD), also called postnatal depression, is a type of mood disorder associated with childbirth. Symptoms may include extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns. Onset is typically between one week and one month following childbirth. PPD can also negatively affect the person’s child.

Source – Wikipedia

PPD occurred when I delivered my baby girl after 9 years of marriage, no it’s not because I delivered a girl child, but because of the pressure, I received from family members to feed the baby, which I couldn’t even after trying really hard. I wished someone could understand the emotions I was going through. I went into the black hole of depression that I stopped feeling my worth and just couldn’t connect with the baby.

I remember a visit from my sister and papa and that time I just wanted to run and hide somewhere, had an emotional breakdown for no obvious reason. There was a time when I had cried for days, every other relative visiting us to bless the baby just wanted to know whether I was feeding the baby or not and that would make me so sad as well as mad. I didn’t understand why everyone has to offer an advice. I am a mother and I know what my baby needs. If I am not able to breastfeed my baby, I will bottle feed but why every other person has to come and ask the same thing over and again.

I tell you this is a crazy world. But I have just one thing to say to them.

My baby – My choice. 

I was telling myself this is just the PPD and it will pass soon. But it was not that soon for us, I had a difficult time dealing with what I was going through. Looking at my baby gave me strength and confidence that every mother does the best for her baby and so was I. Maybe I am not a perfect mother, but I am trying to do my best for her. For the world, she may be 20 months old but for me, she is 29 months old, I know her since she was in my womb.

I hit the rock bottom, I wanted to feel better for my family, my husband and most importantly for my baby. I was telling myself daily that I am a strong lady and a good mother. I fed her with the bottle and loved her every day despite my anxiety.

I didn’t expect new motherhood to be such a wild wave of emotion, that is why I wanted to share my story here. I wish I gave myself a little more grace and didn’t put so much pressure on myself. It took me almost 1.5 years to share this very personal struggle with you all. I finally decided to open up in hope that I too can help at least one person who may be dealing with this disorder that is not often recognized.

There will be so many times you feel like you have failed but in the eyes, heart and mind of your child you are SUPER MOM!

Deliver the baby but not your health 

– By Rashmi Datta

It’s been 20months since I gave birth to a sweet little girl and time is passing like anything. My baby has turned into a beautiful angel, but am I as beautiful as I was pre-delivery?

It was 4th of July 2015, when I saw the two pink lines and trust me it was the happiest day of my life, my husband and I were on cloud nine. I had to leave my job in the first trimester due to official policies and then started the weight gain. I used to be at home all day resting and taking in high-calorie food which was full of tallow.

In our Indian culture, we are supposed to eat ghee, oil and dry fruits for normal delivery and also the intake go double as the elders keep saying “you have to eat for two now”. And the problem is you can’t even say no to them.

Now when the delivery goes normal, you are again forced to eat the same dishes full of ghee and loaded with sugar. My veggies and dal always used to have extra butter added to them, even my tea was made with full cream milk. When I saw myself in the mirror almost a week after my delivery, I realized how much weight I have gained and trust me that was disheartening because I myself didn’t like to see that fat over my body.

It was the moment when I decided what I want to do. On the 25th day after delivery, I stood up and started performing the household chores. I was too firm to get back into the shape, while most women aren’t bothered about it but for me, it was an alarming call. What I gathered was that there was just a need for some extra efforts from our end.

“Health is your biggest asset, if you stay fit and healthy you live long and happy”

Getting married at the age of 26 and delivering a baby at the age of 29 made me think that getting back to my beautiful self, was a far fledged dream now. But this trauma didn’t last for long. All the credit goes to my husband who is tall, lean, has abs and is diet conscious. He is my biggest motivation. I too wanted to look healthy and pretty hence I decided to dedicate some time to the workout. Henceforth I joined aerobics and yoga classes but it wasn’t that easy to leave the baby at home and go out especially when the baby is still on breastfeed and is always looking for you, this time support came in from my Mother-in-law who supported me by taking care of the baby when I went out. Moreover, she took my side by answering back the neighbors as well who would mock me for leaving the baby at home to go to the gym.

I was delighted when my gym trainer, a week ago, appreciated me for being a mother to a 20-months-old angel. His words that you don’t seem to be rearing a child since you look so fit and in shape, made me reach the seventh heaven. So all this has been keeping me motivated and at the end, I want to say “love yourself and people will love you back”.

Health is not about the weight you lose, but about the life you gain.

This week, we also have one fun contribution from a super lady who aspires to write fiction stories someday, she is not yet a mother but understands a lot about motherhood.

Mommy and Time Machines

– By Neetika Soam

Whenever a woman becomes a mother, she automatically becomes super-talented and comes under the super-goddess species. They know everything and they can do anything. Even the super-fast “BOLT” can’t beat them the way they have the power to smell, watch, hear, and numerous other things they can do in just a frame of time.

Though I am not a mother yet still I carry a handful of experience in my belly and all the credit goes to my super-mom-friends who are the source of my crunchy, utterly-buttery flavors of motherhood.

Usually, mothers get emotional while revisiting their kid’s childhood memories. But during those days, they also wanted to get rid of sleepless nights and edgy days. This is the reason why I think that TIME MACHINES are just perfect for our super-moms so that they can ditch those edgy moments and re-live the cutest & happiest ones.

Statements like, “O God I am tired of these mood swings”. And after 9 months, “O god I love my little monster”.

And like these, “Can someone take this little one away for a while so that I can take my power nap”. And the very next moment, “where are they, where are my kids?”.

Now imagine if we give them a “Time Machine” to relive the best memories. Scenario would be like – “Aji sunte ho mujhe gudiya ki bahut yaad aa rahi hai, mein kuch waqt time machine me hoke aati hun” (I am missing my girl a lot, oh I should go in the time machine for some time and will be back soon)

I hope one day this would be possible and we all can re-visit our sweetest moments spent with our kids.

I totally loved reading these stories and once again I have got inspired by these moms to keep going in life, to stay positive and think about our health too for the sake of our kids and family.

Thanks a lot, Rupal, Rashmi and Neetika for taking out time and sharing your write-ups with me. Means a lot!

Mothers can not give from a depleted source. Every mother needs emotional, mental, physical and spiritual validation, nourishment and support. When a mother is respected and well cared for, she and her whole family will benefit. 

I hope you are liking this series and getting inspired by the beautiful stories shared by the lovely mommies. Do leave a comment below to show your love and support. And do come back next Monday to read the last set of stories for this month!

The post Mother’s health after childbirth – Stories of strong will and determination appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

Hello everyone, as promised I am bringing to you ‘MAA – The Mom Series‘ starting from today where you can read the crude awe-inspiring stories of motherhood and parenting shared by wonderful moms who are not any big writers or famous names but simply next door moms just like you and me. They chose to come out of their comfort zone and share their life’s part with us in the form of articles and that makes them so amazing as this itself requires a lot of courage!

The journey towards Motherhood: ‘Two lines’ to ‘Two smiles’ (Twin Pregnancy) – By Rajavee Gupta

Seeing my two active toddlers playing around makes me feel blessed and happy like all you mums. However, bringing them into this world was not easy and this was all like a distant dream. Though it’s very emotional for me to re-live my whole pregnancy (as some of the instances still give me Goosebumps), I really feel my journey to motherhood could give hope and positivity to many expecting mums out there. Also, I want to highlight we were in Belfast, UK far away from our family during this roller-coaster ride.

Our pregnancy started with the magical moment when we saw those 2 pink lines. On our 1st scan, we both were on cloud nine when we saw those 2 heartbeats (Baby 1 & Baby 2, Yay!). A week later, sickness and acid reflux became my best friends and did not leave me until my labor (Believe me, its worst with the twins). As we were about to enter the 2nd trimester, we met our first nightmare- Subchorionic hemorrhage/hematoma.

Subchorionic hemorrhage- is the pooling of blood (hematoma) between the chorion, a membrane surrounding the embryo (developing baby), and the uterine wall. It occurs in about 3.1% of all pregnancies, it is the most common sonographic abnormality and the most common cause of first trimester bleeding.

Source – Wikipedia

I started bleeding heavily and my husband had to call 999 (the emergency). In the hospital, we both tried to stay positive but deep down we both were dead scared. My husband, he was and is my pillar. There was nothing that doctors could have done to stop the bleeding. However, my tiny bubs were strong and their beating hearts on the scan was our only hope during those darkest hours. I got discharged when the bleeding stopped but spotting continued for a month.

Since then, the hospital became my 2nd home. From a brush with the decision of emergency C-section (2nd nightmare, that’s another story for some other time!) to regular hospital visits, we finally entered into our 3rd trimester. It was a big relief! We really thought we had made through the scary part but at 30th week, I was diagnosed with diabetes (even though I did not touch sugar) and obstetric cholestasis.

Obstetric Cholestasis (OC) is a liver disorder that occurs in around one in 140 pregnancies in the UK, where the normal flow of bile out of the liver is reduced. Chemicals in the bile called bile salts can then build up and ‘leak’ into the bloodstream. This causes affected women to have increased levels of bile salts in their blood.

Source – British Liver Trust

I managed to control diabetes by diet alone (big thanks to my dietician and my ‘masterchef’ hubby) however had to take tablets for cholestasis for rest of the pregnancy.

Now as further weeks passed by, we eventually got relaxed especially my hubby as my parents joined us in Belfast and he could get rid of cooking and other house chores. After entering into 36th week, I was happy to finally get booked for C-section as the weight of my bump, acid reflux and sleeplessness was driving me crazy. My doctors were unhappy with my decision of C-section as they preferred normal (vaginal) delivery for singleton and twin pregnancies.

However, Rishaan (baby 1) decided to come early (36+5). My water broke in the morning (12 Aug. –The D Day) and by evening I decided to go for normal delivery (ha-ha labor had taken over my mind, all thanks to busy OT). The medical team then gave me epidural (NO PAIN now) and Rishaan arrived around midnight, while Samaira (baby 2- breech baby) came after 11 minutes. The delivery went smooth but I must say it was nothing like a movie (I was blessed to have my hubby by my side whole time).

Post-Delivery in the recovery room, when I was exhausted and couldn’t attend to Rishaan’s cries; I witnessed the most beautiful moment of my life, my hubby cuddling Rishaan & singing his first-ever lullaby and that very moment my life felt complete and meaningful (Yes, we did it! Our lovebugs were here!)

From emotional turmoil of Samaira’s short stay in NICU to breastfeeding/bottle-feeding we all came back home after a week (Happy Family!) Many times I think what made us come this far; is undoubtedly my hubby’s love, our positive approach, family (love you all) and friend’s support, dedicated doctors & midwives, AND our LOVEBUGS!

I really want to thank God for our two bundles of joy, Rishaan & Samaira!

I am thankful for my Kids! – By Srishti Singh

I am Srishti Singh, mother of two kids who are not twins but are the same date born. Being a mother is never an easy job but the toughest one when you are a single parent. My daughter was born on 7 Feb 2006, and son on 7 Feb 2009, I worked a lot with them to turn them into a good human being, to educate them and to teach them how to respect.

We moved to the USA to give the best possible life to our kids in 2015. We were a happy family (I think the happiest one) but suddenly on May 11, 2017, my husband passed away in a tragic accident. For me, it was not him who was gone it was me who died. My kids knew the situation and they slept with me holding my hands in the night as they had the idea that mummy is not well.

The day when the accident took place I wanted to end my life, when kids were asleep I tried to sneak out of the room, but suddenly my daughter woke up and asked in her most innocent way, “Mumma aap kaha jaa rahe ho” (where are you going, mom?). I turned towards her and in that moment realized what was I about to do, I came back to my senses and replied back to her, “nowhere, dear”.

My kids saved me from falling into the dark. Today I am doing everything for my little buddies…they are more like friends to me now. It gets tough sometimes to manage everything but yes my kids are very supportive, non-demanding and caring. After their dad passed away, I realized that we gave good values to our kids, they are my strength and not my weakness. I am a proud mother and now a father too.

I realized that being a mother is not about taking care of the kids but to be cared for too. Today when they smile, I feel satisfied from within. We are a family bonded with love and emotions, strong enough to fight all the odds with a smile on our face. Yes, we do break down sometimes as we miss the most important member…but its ok to cry one’s heart out instead of keeping the pain in the heart forever.

Being a Mother is discovering STRENGTHS you did not know you had and dealing with FEARS you never knew existed.

Hope their stories give some strength and hope to mothers who think they are lost. We all face hardships in life but we always find ways to overcome that, we gain experience which if shared with others in need can help them come out of it with just a little effort. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength!

Thanks Rajavee and Srishti for agreeing to do this for me. I really appreciate the time and effort you have put into this!

I will be bringing more such stories from mothers, wait till next Monday. And any of you who wants to share your motherhood experience with others, leave me a message on ‘Growing With Nemit‘ Facebook Page and you could be featured in the December Series.

Also, I will be revealing a ‘Big Surprise‘ in the next Monday’s post. So, stay tuned!

Do leave a comment below and show some love to these moms.

The post Motherhood stories of Hope, Support, Strength and Courage! appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

The prompt for today’s post is ‘The First Year of My Baby’ and this is my favorite among all the prompts till now as it was the time that changed me completely for good of course. The eventful year made me understand what exactly motherhood is all about. They say you need to be in the shoes of the mother to actually experience what she goes through and that’s what happened with me.

It brings me immense pleasure to share that I, along with 24 other bloggers are celebrating #9daysofwomanhood throughout Navratri. I thank Gagandeep Kochar for introducing me. Her blog is named as My Diaries and I loved reading her blog on the prompt for today ‘First year of my baby‘.

So, I am done with 9 months of pregnancy and 16 hours of delivery and now is the time to do some Bhangra, yay, my baby is out and in my arms and everything will go smoothly as I had wished for, poor mommy brain thinking like all the work is over and now the time is to be back to your old self.

How wrong I was, those long feeding hours started taking a toll on my health, I was sleep deprived to the extent that I fell off the bed twice because I refused to lie down and wanted to keep sitting for the next feeding session, those endless peeing, pooping, cleaning and washing made me felt as if these were going to be my best skills to be stated to others in future.

I describe my baby’s first year as 4 trimesters outside the tummy, into the real world – 1 to 3 months, 4 to 6 months, 7 to 9 months and 10 to 12 months! And today I will share some snippets from each, maybe you (expecting ladies and new mothers) can take some hints and prepare yourself accordingly. Rest others can enjoy reading it!

Trimester – 1

(0-3 months old)

I describe these 3 months as Depressive, I suffered Post Partum Depression from Day 1 we stepped inside the house. It was already the baby’s third day and I was longing for my 8 hrs of sleep but realized that no one could help me in that now. I was given many instructions to be followed for my baby’s health and that included remaining inside the room for 40 days. Then after a week, I felt like a useless machine which was done with its job of producing the baby and now no one needed it. All the attention was showered on the new member. At one moment, I hated my baby for coming into our lives and I blamed him for everything that was happening to me.

Thankfully, Sumit, my husband, noticed the change in my behavior and decided to find out the reason. He asked me, ‘Are you ok, want to talk to me?’ I cried hysterically, the baby started competing with my howls and he cried even louder. And, I told my hubby, how I was feeling neglected, no one was interested to talk to me, to ask me if I needed anything, they were just giving me instructions to get me complete my motherly duties. I expressed my hatred towards that little being and how I was planning to run away leaving the newborn behind.

Are you a new mother? Do you feel the same as I felt? Please talk to someone. Don’t keep things in your mind and don’t assume anything. There are people around you who are your family and they love you. It’s just the faulty hormones that are playing weird And once you discuss your feelings and express your emotions, you will start loving yourself back!

Sometimes, these emotions are nothing but ‘baby blues‘ which typically go away after a week or two. But if that still persist, then you may want to know more about PPD. The depression is very common among new mothers, and its effects can be felt during the first 3 weeks after childbirth. There are treatments available to bring you back to your normal self, but I would suggest talking to someone close and whom you trust the most before considering treatment.

Speaking with my husband worked for me, can work for you too. But, if there is no one who is able to understand you, please take the help of a specialist. Again counseling is what I would suggest before directly starting with medications, so you can consider meeting a Therapist too. By the 2nd month, you will start loving yourself and your baby. And by that time baby will also start babbling, cooing and responding to sounds, which make the experience a lot more fun.

We followed a trend of celebrating our marriage anniversary every month by cutting a cake or having something sweet to eat. Hence, we decided to follow the same for our baby’s monthly birthdays.

I spent the 2nd month in online shopping, buying everything which I thought our baby might need, I bought a cot, a rocker, a pram, a baby carrier, lots of toys, a baby gym, diaper bags, different types of diapers and cloth nappies, every new style of clothes and shoes, bathing tub, fancy quilts and blankets, nursery items and what not. It was my wrong decision and I accept that. My baby made his first ever road trip from Delhi to Amritsar during his 2nd month which was a total fun outing.

You may want to read this article, Must have items for your baby, where I have prepared a list of things which we found really helpful and useful for our baby.

Now came the 3rd month, the baby started looking bigger and acting smart, all the clothes bought in the previous month were not fitting him well and the toys were not as exciting for him the way we expected. He was responding to our facial expressions, would smile and babble as if responding back to us. He started liking his massage time, bath time and tummy time. But, what followed in between all these were the Growth Spurts.

During a growth spurt, your baby will put on weight, reach developmental milestones, feed more, and sleep more or less than usual. Please note, this period can range from few days to few weeks. While we were struggling to understand the pee poo session and colic bombardments, we were hit by these growth spurts.

I have written this article, Do you know what Growth Spurts are? where I have mentioned how you can tell that baby is going through one of these episodes.

Trimester – 2

(3-6 months old)

This is my favorite trimester, the baby finally got a nickname, Noyi, as suggested by his Papa, earlier he had as many names as there were members of the family, everyone had their own favorite name. From this month, Noyi developed a sleep pattern during the day, he would take 3 naps which meant a lot of time for myself.

He started holding his neck for few seconds which was a milestone, he started using his whatever power he had to try to roll over which was again a milestone, his teething phase started as he would drool a lot and most of the times spent hours chewing on his frozen teethers. He loved to shake his rattles and smiling to their sound. There was so much to capture during this month and I loved every minute spent with my baby.

But, the month also brought unwanted advice from elders in the family’ to start the bottle feed as per them the baby was growing and not getting his daily requirements from my milk. That made me furious and mad and I would fight and reason with them but to no use. I had to go invisible for a couple of months just for the sake of my own sanity.

Noyi started crawling during his 5th month.

Although he was still not able to sit on his own, he liked crawling backward and tried to stand just like we elders do. This was the time when we prepared a separate room for him, completely baby proofed, we placed the mattress on the ground and ditched the bed just to avoid any falls, also this was necessary to avoid getting him near to Caesar as Caesar had still not accepted Noyi as part of his pack.

Next month was special. We arranged a family get-together to celebrate our baby’s first 6 months. That day Noyi surprised us by sitting on his own, unassisted. New milestone reached.

Trimester – 3

(6-9 months old)

Next 3 months were beautiful, Noyi had started recognizing me and he was expressing different emotions. It was fun to watch him grow and learn. He developed a liking for songs. His favorite one was ‘If you are happy and you know it‘ and we would play peek-a-boo a lot. The first day after his 6th month birthday, we introduced solid food. And to our surprise, he loved having something that tasted different from breastmilk. It was pure bliss watching him slurp his 1st meal, which was just 3 spoonful of mashed dal!

This was my Birthday month and we planned a trip to Goa, which happened to be Noyi’s first flight, first beach visit, first drenching in rain, first pool dip, first tasting outside food and sprouting first set of teeth. We soon realized Noyi is just like his parents and grandparents who love to travel to new places and meeting new people.

Next 2 months involved lots of new activities which I used to search over the net to make the growing process fun and exciting. These months were also the bonding months for Caesar and Noyi, gradually Caesar developed a liking for Noyi.

You may find this post interesting as I have shared a few tips on Let your baby explore!

Trimester – 4

(9-12 months old)

The past 9 months passed really fast. The next 3 months were for me like I was on a watcher’s duty. The baby was quite mobile and there was no way to stop him from moving around the house. And explore any and every new thing that came in his reach.

Noyi wanted to stand and walk unassisted but he was clearly not ready. And we had to witness a lot of falls. He liked climbing up the sofa, chasing Caesar, pulling his ears. And sometimes would try to chew his tail too.

I want to mention here, we never followed any rituals or practices in the name of tradition. Neither had any other so-called beliefs, we did not know what is Nazar utarna, never did that. We did not believe in the power of black tika and black threads, never used them.

We never used anything to assist easy teething. Luckily, we had a smooth teething phase without using any Tilsmi moti or giving any calcium tablets. And Noyi turned out just fine. He did not fell sick even once during his first 11 months.

It was just before his first birthday, he caught a cold for the first time. As per our pediatrician, getting common cold is actually good for improving baby’s immunity. We followed her advice and didn’t give any medicine to treat it. And to our surprise, he was back to normal within a week. That day we decided to keep the use of medicines as limited as possible. We only used the saline nasal drops and gave steam to provide relief from blockage.

Next month, Noyi was going to complete his 1st year outside the tummy, and that called for A Celebration. And for that, we planned a trip to Malaysia to make his birthday a memorable one. On his D-day, we spent the whole day at an Amusement cum Water Park. And, yet again Noyi surprised us by walking for the first time. Yes, Noyi walked for the first time unassisted on his 1st birthday on some other country’s land. And since then, there is no stopping him!!!

To read the story of 9 months, My Pregnancy, Click here!

To read further about the Pain that brought a Smile, My Delivery, Click here!

And if you liked reading this post, do drop a few words in the comments section below. And feel free to Share this post with your friends and family!

Now, I would like you to meet Sumira Bhatia, my friend, and co-blogger who blogs at The Cuckoo’s Nest. Read her blog on today’s prompt, The Beginning of a Journey! to know about Uday’s first 5 months and read some awesome tips from mommy.

The post Four Trimesters Outside the Tummy – My Baby’s First Year appeared first on Growing With Nemit.

The prompt for today’s post is ‘My Delivery & My Baby’. Whenever I take a walk down the memory lane to the day I was admitted to the hospital for the final verdict, I get a twinge in my heart, those 16 hours and that hospital bed, witnessed me in the worst of agony and distress. But, today, I am going to laugh away that pain and look for some humor in that.

It brings me immense pleasure to share that I, along with 24 other bloggers are celebrating #9daysofwomanhood throughout Navratri. I thank Gagandeep Kochar for introducing me. Her blog is named as My Diaries and I loved reading her blog on the prompt for today ‘My Delivery & My Baby’.

When I delivered a baby in January 2016, I was already a mother to a 9-month-old pup, Caesar, but I did not bring him into this world, he is my baby born from another mother.

So, when I got admitted to the hospital, I already had a little idea what being a mom is all about but what I did not know was, what is it like to give birth to a baby who had rented a place in my tummy for 9-long-months. Though I had read a lot about childbirth and seen numerous videos of live deliveries both natural as well as cesarean but nothing could prepare me for the climax.

Your mind says, if others can do this, you can do it too, whereas your body shouts back at you, “Shut the f*** up mind, we are going to die any moment“. And your poor heart has no idea what emotions to exhibit.

Yes, I felt like I was going to die any minute, I was shouting at the doctors and the sisters for not listening to me, as I wanted them to go-ahead with the surgery and bring the pumpkin out through C-sec, I didn’t care about the pros and cons of anything at that time, actually it didn’t matter at that stage.

It was 6 a.m. when I was almost drained out of energy, words had lost their way, and I hated everyone present near me including my mom. I asked my hubby to bring me something to eat, I was hungry. He went off and suddenly, I felt the urge to poop, (yes, poop and the urge was quite strong), thankfully the doctor was around.

But within a few secs, she started calling the sisters and giving them instructions to prepare the delivery room, while I could sense the panic in her voice, I was smiling because I knew the climax was near.

And, then, I heard her saying, ‘we are not yet prepared and the baby’s head is already showing up’. Oh my God, what did she mean by that? Weren’t they supposed to be prepared all the time? She turned to me and said, “Just hold on for few minutes, and don’t push”. Wow, I always thought one was supposed to push as hard as she can but there the scene was different.

It was 6.30 am when the doctor looked at me, smiled and asked me to push. And I was excited to do that, many delivery scenes from the movies flashed in front of my eyes. (Push, Push, Push harder). But, for me, it was just the second push and the naughty one popped out.

My hubby was back with the packet of chips when I heard the baby cry for the first time. What a timing!!!

There is something which I remember from that day, once the baby was out, I was anxiously waiting to have a glimpse, when doctor brought the baby near, she whispered, “It’s a Boy” and for a second I thought how? I finalized Tisya as the name, and my instincts told me it will be a Girl! Snapped back from the thought train, I kissed my baby and exclaimed, ” And he looks like his Papa!”

So, guys, don’t depend too much on your instincts, they can deceive you. My baby was niether a girl nor looked like me!!!

Hope you liked reading my delivery story and didn’t feel any pain. Do share your experience of childbirth with me in the comments below. I LOVE IT WHEN YOU SHARE!!!

You can also read My Pregnancy Story here- The Roller Coaster Ride.

Now, I would like you to meet Sumira Bhatia, my friend and co-blogger who blogs at The Cuckoo’s Nest. Read her touching and full of life Blog on today’s prompt, Hello Baby! Welcome on the Outside! Check out her blog now!!!

The post PAIN that left a SMILE – My Delivery appeared first on Growing With Nemit.