I Am Just A mom, Not God

(This was published in Parentous)

When a woman becomes a mother, all she wants is to be the best mother and enjoy the phase of motherhood. To ensure everything goes fine, she gets into action much before the delivery. She spends hours researching on the internet, immerses herself in parenting books, attends hours of prenatal sessions and becomes a total sponge each time someone drops advice based on their experience.

Finally comes the phase she had been waiting for nine months – to hold her little one in her arms and bask in the joy of motherhood. But, with the bliss come many surprises that the new mommy couldn’t have imagined in her wildest dreams. To begin with, the sheer number of guests paying family sized visits to the hospital, despite knowing how susceptible a newborn is to infections carried by visitors.

While all that a mom wants is a bouquet of good moments and cooperation from people around, she is often left to deal with eyes scrutinizing her abilities from all directions – beginning from....Continue reading

Save Today For A Better Tomorrow

(This was published in Parentous)

A few days ago, as mom-in-law had just finished giving my son a bath, I noticed that she had left around 2 mugs of water in the bucket. For my 10 month old, bath time is fun time with splashing, toys and laughter. Usually, even when he’s done with the shower, we play a splashing game with the remaining amount of water. “Pour the little water left in bucket on him mom. He will enjoy!” I suggested.

What my mom-in-law said next gave me the Eureka moment of parenting…

“Using a natural resource more than we need amounts to wastage. We are lucky to be born in a place that isn’t drought affected. Only if we save water today, our son will have water tomorrow.”

Her words kept hovering in my mind for several minutes. As parents we want to provide the best to our children. We strive hard so that our children have everything in sufficient quantities. In this quest to provide the best for our kids, we often mistake abundance for sufficiency. Children too grow up thinking, “It’s OK, our parents can afford anything.” Sometimes this very notion takes them away from a basic lesson in life – Only if we use judiciously and conserve the rest, our future generations will have abundant natural resources...continue reading...

Pre-natal Camps – Help Or Hype?

This was published in Parentous

Towards the end of my second trimester, a question found its place in most conversations I had with my friends, “Which pre-natal classes have you joined?” Not that I had not heard about them. I had read articles and testimonials, but somehow I had never felt the need, thinking things would fall in place on their own once I became a mom. Call it peer pressure or the excellent convincing skills of my friends, I soon found myself looking for a pre-natal class. However, my work schedule on weekdays meant I could only attend class on weekends. By the time I managed to sneak myself into the last available vacancy of a weekend pregnancy camp, I was already into my seventh month. I still remember my mom in law’s reaction when I told her about the concept of pre natal classes – “So motherhood has now become a subject taught in classes!” All I could manage was a smile in my defence.

On the first day of the camp, I was surprised to see ladies in their first trimester in the same room. For me, the first trimester had been all about battling morning sickness, weakness and mood swings. I heaved a sigh of relief when during the introduction round I met two ladies in their eighth month. So I was not the last one catch the bus!

The two day boot camp was like a crash course to pregnancy and motherhood. From diet and exercise during pregnancy, coping with labour, relaxation and breathing techniques, hospital bag checklist to taking care of the newborn – the curriculum covered it all. They even demonstrated how to bathe a newborn with the help of a doll, which had us all dreaming of the day when we would be holding our li’l ones in our arms. The labour session saw the most attendance and had hubbies listening with rapt attention. We made notes like we hadn’t even made during college. After all, we all wanted to master the art of parenting!

With a notebook full of scribbles, a handbook on parenting, WhatsApp contacts of fellow moms-to-be and lots of good wishes from our instructors, I felt like a mom already! My mom in law was glad to see my transformation from a nervous mom-to-be to a confident lady and appreciated my decision to join the classes.

There is a saying – Man proposes and God disposes.

While hubby and I were all prepared with the relaxation and breathing techniques, the C-Section caught us unawares. My...Continue reading...

Book Review - What I Didn’t Expect When I Was Expecting

First Impressions

Being a new mom, I found familiarity in the title of the book. From the moment the little one has arrived, our life is nothing short of a roller coaster ride! When one kid is driving us crazy, imagine how happening would be a house with three kids, having their own set of demands and tantrums! The parents having a roller coaster ride then, makes for the apt cover. Looking at the cute little kids enjoying their play with the controls made me all smiles! After all, as parents our moves are directed by the whims and fancies of our little angels!

My Review

Motherhood is one of the best aspects in a woman’s life. The sheer joy those two pink lines announcing the good news bring is incomparable with any other accomplishment. The moment the parents to be realise the stork is coming, they involuntarily go into the dreaming mode – of holding their baby in their arms, singing songs, playtime and lots of cuddles! Nine months seem a long duration and eagerness to hold the little one in our arms steps up, as each week passes.

But, with motherhood comes an overdose of changes. Battling the morning sickness, weight gain and mood swings, when the mother finally clears the D day finishing line, she is welcomed by sleepless nights, cranky baby and many changes that nobody seems to understand. She wonders if this what she actually signed up for.

What I Didn’t Expect When I Was Expecting is such a heartfelt account of Tina’s sweet and sour experiences with motherhood. Tina beautifully captures the major milestones in a mother’s life step by step, which makes it easy for the readers to go with the flow. Right from discovering the good news, to the challenges of each trimester; from the anxieties and excitement during a scan, to the preparation for the baby’s arrival; from the day you first hold your baby, to handling a toddler, the book has it all. Reading about Tina’s experiences as a new mom, I ...Continue reading

Can We Bubble Wrap Their Childhood?

This was published in Parentous

The other day, Mr. Hubby & I were having a small tiff on the safety features of S’s pram. I had carefully scrutinized and chosen a pram which seemed safe enough with its sidebars cushioned. However, little S’s enhanced sense of mischief had found a bar on the back side to bang his head against. Before I knew it, Mr. Hubby had bubble wrapped all possible open metallic surfaces of the pram. It now looked like a new pram straight out of the showroom, all bubble wrapped.

That’s when the thought struck my mind, “Can we bubble wrap their childhood?”

Parenting is a situation nothing can prepare one for, except parenting itself! During my pregnancy, we used to visit the children’s park every evening and spend some time looking at the kids playing. As we looked at the kids joyously playing with sand, we made tall claims of not pampering our child with unnecessary luxuries and trying to keep him/her close to the nature. We had spent a childhood climbing and falling from trees, playing outdoors in extreme weather and we wanted our child to be as rough and tough as us.

Ironically, the very claims we made with much confidence, vanished into thin air as soon as I delivered little S! Continue reading...

Of Needles And Overcoming Fears

(This was published in Parentous)

Throughout my growing years, I teased my mom for one thing – whenever I would fall sick or be in pain, she would start crying. I remember once when a dog had bit me, on our way to the hospital, mom was crying more than me. She had heard how painful anti rabies injection was and she was scared about how I would tolerate the pain. As I joked that she looked more like the patient than me, she said, “You will understand my pain when you become a mother.”

Mom left me few years ago, but her words have echoed in my mind several times ever since I became a mother…

After my delivery, when my intravenous cannula was removed, I rejoiced thinking, “The pain is over!” Little did I know a new challenge awaited me – of witnessing my baby in pain during vaccination!

As the date for the next monthly vaccination drew near, anxiety gripped me...

The initial mandatory vaccines were administered by the pediatrician while I was still bed ridden. But, as the date for the next monthly vaccination drew near, anxiety gripped me. The mere thought of the needle pricking my baby’s soft skin and the imaginary sight of my little angel wincing in pain gave me goose bumps.

Continue Reading…

5 lessons only motherhood could have taught me

(This was published in Parentous )

The inspiration for this post came few days ago after a telephonic conversation with my mom in law. As I was discussing my daily challenges faced while managing the baby and the hacks I have developed, she chuckled and said, “I am very impressed with you and your little one. I am glad he has been able to teach you overnight, what I had been trying for 6 years!”

My initial reaction was a mix of shock, anger and confusion, for I didn’t know whether to take it as a mere compliment or a backhanded compliment. Since I have a great rapport with her, I dismissed the latter option however, it was too thought provoking a remark to be forgotten.

And so, I began to think what is it that motherhood teaches us, that nobody else can –

Priorities and altruism

Being the youngest of four children in my family, altruism was always a distant concept. My wishes would literally get fulfilled before I even completed the sentence and the whole family doted on me. Since I was the first daughter in law of the family, the trend continued after wedding as well, as everyone showered me with gifts and attention. There are things I could never have compromised on – sleep, my blogging time, that favourite TV show and even my favourite dish. Many people close to me have been victims of my ire the few times they mistakenly disturbed me in the middle of writing a post.

However, the baby changed it all overnight!...Continue Reading

How I made travel fun and safe during pregnancy

There’s a famous quote “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” True to these words, my hubby and I are passionate about travelling. Be it a long weekend or festive offs, we are off the beaten road, exploring new destinations. Road trips give us that adrenaline rush, Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Kedarnath base camp being some of our memorable road trips.

But what happens when an avid traveller is kept away from her passion? Well, she feels like a sick person. Exactly that’s how I felt when I became pregnant. We had recently relocated from Delhi to Mumbai and had not spared even a single long weekend to explore the lovely getaways around Mumbai. However, the moment I made that call to my parents and in laws to give the good news, the first advice, rather order from them was, “Now apply brakes on your travel and relax at home for nine months.” Relax at home! But setting out off the beaten path was our way of relaxing, away from the maddening rush of the city!

Did pregnancy stop me from enjoying travel? The answer is a big NO! Pregnancy is not a disease. I did two solo air travels during pregnancy – first, shortly after I discovered I had conceived, and the second in 7^th month.

Like a good girl, I obeyed my doctor and elders and avoided road trips till I completed the first trimester. The severe morning sickness was also a big factor keeping me away from travel. However, the situation improved by the time I hit the second trimester. Morning sickness was gone and I regained my energy levels. Hubby and I were craving to travel. We knew once the third trimester would begin, we wouldn’t be able to hit the road for a long time, and then we wouldn’t be able to travel with an infant that comfortably. So, towards the end of my second trimester, we cashed on a long weekend and went for a memorable Babymoon! Not for a second did pregnancy come in the way of enjoying my trip, thanks to few basic rules I followed. I am sure these tips will come handy to all my expecting friends who love to travel!...Continue Reading