A letter from a dad on Saee 9th Birthday

9 years completed by my doll. Feeling hard as she grow up. Special article by her DAD. 

मोठी झालीस  ग सया तु ..अगदी बघता बघता ..चक्क आज  10 व्या वर्षात पाऊल ठेवलंस तू  

Twin Baby Shower

Baby shower : Every pregnant woman's favorite rituals!

What is baby shower?

Baby shower is the ritual where we ask the Divine to protect the baby in mothers womb.The details post is here.

Whenever my daughter saw my baby shower pics she always asks why I am not there. She witness and enjoyed many baby showers. And ended up asking, when will be yours ? 

Are you stressed out mom?

Happy Friday, 

Earlier I think to write on a mom stress but then I thought I should write about the happy things. I hate the word "stress" and always try not to use it.  As a mom, we are struggling to do so many things in a whole day. Our TO DO list have number of work which never  ends, right? And that makes us irritating person. They say happiness is always man made 😊 if we feel happy irrespective of anything we will be always happy. What do you think? 

Tips for Healthy eating-New mom edition

As soon as we deliver a baby our diet needs to change. We moms have to eat balanced diet to fulfill the nutrition requirements. If new mom do not have a proper diet (should eat in every 2 hours) then sugar in the blood reduce and a mom get irritation. Our milk supply gets effected. If this happen on continue basis then a baby also get irritated.

PS : pixbay.com

Disclaimer : I am not professional. I am a mom of twin baby girls. I am sharing my experience. It might help you as a new mom.

When you have a nuclear family. There is no one to take care of you after your first 8 to 10 weeks, when you have to take care of cooking, baby care, home and everything then you have to do proper meal planning. Toss the idea to have everything fresh. Make some preparation with utmost usage of refrigerator so that you can have healthy meal options. Do not freedge anything more than 2 days.

The most important is to have a meal in every 2 hour. Because the little baby is fully depends on you and whenever we feed our stomach get empty and we have to refuel it😀 Don't worry about excess weight. Untill you breastfeed your calories get burned. 

Why lactating mothers get tired ?

Babies are fully depends on a mom for milk. We have to feed our baby earlier 10 to 12 times in a day. After 2 months feeding will be at least 6 to 7 times in a day or as per the baby's requirements. Because of this feeding we mom also need to have energy. We face the deficiency of vitamins. To avoid this a lactating mother need to eat vegetables, fruits, pulses, milk, and meat. 

Without a further ado let's start with the tips. These worked for me. 

1. Protein : It is the most important factor in our meal. For this we have to eat 1 egg. I used to eat 2 boiled egg in the morning with 1 glass of milk. Don't forget to add shatavari powder. Shatavari helps in milk supply. Eat paneer as much as you can. I used to shallow fry it with little bit of haldi, red chilli powder and salt. Tawa fry this paneer cubes till golden color and munch it whenever you feel to eat some snacks item.

2. Cheese : Cheese is one of the source of calcium and protein. You can make egg cheese sandwich or vegetables cheese sandwich. You can make cheese omletee too. It taste yumm.

3. Rice : Without rice our meal is incomplete. I am Maharashtrian and our main staple is rice. Instead of eating plain rice I used to make khichadi. You can make variety of khichadi like moong, masoor, vegetables khichadi. My family love to eat palak khichadi.

4. Amti /dal : Pulses are the source of protein. Have one bowl of dal in your lunch as well as dinner. If you get bored while eating a plain dal try to make variety like palak dal, vegetables sambar, (alu fadade) Maharashtrian dish, vegetables dal, etc.

5. Roti/Chapati /Bhakari : This is the most important part of meal. Try to eat Milet bhakari (BAJRA)Bhakari as much as you can. Bajra helps in milk supply. 

Add soyabean in whole wheat to make it nutritioious. I had 2 chapati/paratha with ghee in breakfast and 2 bhakari in lunch and dinner.

These are the main staples in our diet. We mothers are spending most of the time in taking care of babies. We tend to skip our meal or snacks or eat whatever is available. Or most of the time starve. This happen in nuclear family where no one is there to help you. When we unable to give proper time to cook healthy meal, use following tips. We have ready to eat food options too. No I am not talking about packet food. I am against that because each packet contains preservatives which is not good for our health. We can have nutritious food too. 

How?

1. Always stock up whole wheat bread or multigrain bread. Make a sandwich by using any leftover veggies, leftover chicken or even using boiled egg or egg omelette.

2. Cut onion, carrots, beet, cucumber, tomato and store in airtight container. Whenever you feel hungry just sqizee lemon, add salt, chat masala and your salad is ready. 

Tip : store it for 2, 3 days only. 

3. Have a lemon, orange, kokum juice. Always prepare it and store in fridge.

PS : pixbay.com

4. Cut the fruits like mango, chikoo, banana mix with milk, add some ice cream and your milkshake is ready. If you get bored while drinking a plain milk have this milkshake.

5. Cut the fruits of your choice and store it in airtight container. Make a fruit custard or fruit chat. 

6. Have Methiladdo, gondladdo, peanut jaggary laddo. Eat as much as you can without worrying weight. Your body does required it.

7. Cashew, Almond, dry roasted coconut, kharik (dry dates), or dates mix this and tawa fry with little bit of ghee or without oil and ghee. Eat this fistful at least twice a day.

8. Boil water and use thermas to have lukewarm water. Drink lukewarm water always.

9. Try to have kheer in your diet. Roast vermacili in ghee and prepare it. Store in a fridge. Whenever you want to eat add hot milk and boil for 5 to 10 minutes. Add dry fruits which you already prepared in tip no 7. Your vermicli kheer is ready.

Same way you can make Suji kheer, Carrot kheer and sabudana kheer. Out of this carrot kheer is very good to have milk supply. Grate carrot and fry in ghee. Add milk and jaggary and boil it. Garnish with dry fruit and ilachi powder.

Tip : Try to eat jaggary. Do not eat sugar.

10. Methi rice pancake : Fry fenugreek seed. Mix 1/4part of it with 1 part of rice and grind it from chakki. Your pancake flour is ready. 1 cup of this mixture, with jaggary as per the taste mix well with water and make small pancakes. Have it with your tea, coffee, shrikhand.

Methi (fenugreek) is very good for our waist. We have to consume as much as we can so that we will not have any deficiency.

11. Soup : Try to make a batch of vegetables soup and refrigerate it. Add maximum number of vegetables and keep it in air tight container. Have this soup daily in the evening before dinner. You can make chicken vegetables soup too. 

12. We do have sprout or leafy vegetables in our lunch or dinner. For a change spread this veggies on bread. Spread some sauce and close the bread slice. Toast it in a toaster. Your vegetables toast is ready.

13. Keep whole wheat noodles handy. These takes only 3 minutes to cook. Heat some oil and toss some veggie of your choice with noodles. Add little bit of soya sauce or tomato sauce. And have a hot Hakka noodles at home.

14. Always have chutney in your fridge. Coconut, peanut and sesame chutney. Whenever you feel hungry eat with chapati.

15. Make an egg omelette by using vegetables or cheese. This take hardly 3 to 4 minutes. Eat with whole wheat bread or chapati. Bring a bun for a change. Apply mayo and tomato sauce. Then put some onion, cucumber tomato rings and put the omelet. Your omlete burger is ready.

With these tips you must have to follow some DON'T also🙂

1. Do not have coffee or tea more than 2 cup in a day. It has caffin which is bad for a baby.

2. Do not have colddrink and choclates too. Avoid excess use of chocolates and cold drink.

3. Always pay attention to your food intake and how the baby react. If baby shows any symptoms then stop that food immediately.

4. Do not eat street food or hotel food or any  fast food. These are not healthy to your baby.

5. Do not eat any cold food like ice cream, cucumber , coconut water if your delivery is in rainy or winter season.

6. Do not drink alcohol and do not smoke while you breastfeed your baby. Both are not good for baby and mothers too.

This is it for today. 

Hope you can have variety of food in your meal. You can have healthy food option throughout the day at your home by using these tips. 😊

What is your staple food? What did you eat more in your postpartum period. I love to eat kheer and chicken. What was your favorite? 

'This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

Ohh, twin girls !

I have one daughter and after that, we decided not to have more kids. But after 4 years my soul is wishing to have a baby. We both are ready to have a baby and I conceived too. But unfortunately, I had a miscarriage. After that, we tried and tried and after a gap of say 3 years finally, I conceived again. And this time with twins😳😳 we both are surprised and happy too!

After having a smooth (yep, I can say Smooth pregnancy) finally I delivered my twins. Sister asked me to identify the gender. The first gender was a girl and I was praying to have a boy. But we are blessed to have a doll again. We both are happy.

I am getting a little bit vulnerable though I am a strong Mumma (mentally and physically) this constantly hurting me, Mr. Hubby, and my daughter too. That statement -

"Ohhh. Twins girls. The first one is a girl too."

India is in 2022 but still having a second girl child is taboo. People think a family is incomplete without a boy. Why?

The day we got to know about having twins in my belly my excitement level was too high. With every kick, every moment we all three fell in love with these twins. Have a constant conversation on how both are active, how they stay in such a small place, and how do you ( mom) identify them. We had the best period of our life.

During this pregnancy, journey received spiteful comments. Some are-

"Don't worry this time you will have a boy."

"Your belly size shows the symptoms of a baby boy."

And I happily nodded. I can't revert back because I have matured enough to let go of this comment. 

But they were not stopped.

After delivery, everyone liked pity on me. And this time it hurts me a lot.

Arree, three girls, how will you manage?

One boy should be there. 

and many more.😐

From hospital to every stop, home, shops, malls, and schools, everyone sympathizes me. Starting with the hospital, sister," first girl child and these two are girls, don't worry! Both will be best for you.

And I replied yeah, I am happy about that.

Then hospital workers, attending workers, everyone was like telling me, never mind. Girls are the best kids these days. Boys are not going to look after you. Then at home, relatives, neighbors, office co-workers, friends everyone!!  

Why we don't have an only girl child?

Why does the family behaves strangely when you have a girl baby?

Why does everyone want a boy?

Why?

To complete a family it is not necessary to have a baby boy only. Due to the twin's pregnancy, I also wished to have one boy and one girl. Because I also wish my baby girl have one brother like me. Mr. Hubby always wishes to have a girl. He was sure enough that I will deliver a girl. And so he constantly asks me 'Are you happy? 

Yes, I am happy. Like him and Saee. (my daughter)  This time we are blessed to have two girls. GIRLS mine and Nitin's daughters. Unique and amazing baby. One is a twin copy of Mr. Hubby and another one is a copy of mine. We are blessed to raise these twin girls. What a challenge and adventure!

We are ready to raise these two tiny baby girls into independent and confident human beings. 

Over time I  have learned that every pregnant woman wants others should be happy for her. My body is going through this twin pregnancy, hormones have changed, and now my life has changed. We have settled life with one girl but yes we are very well handling this challenge without any elders🙂. And so I am able to handle these comments like how many kids you have? Why do you take this chance? What is gender ? How will you manage with three girls?

Grateful to some loving people who constantly encourage us, advise us on how to do it and what to do, and help us. It gives me warmth. And what else does a mother require😊.

I am hesitate to write this post. But after writing the stress goes off my chest.  There are lots of mothers who face this issue. I just want to ask WHY?

Put your valuable comments. 

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.' -

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup for Breastfeeding Mother

Once you deliver a baby and start to feed this tiny human being you have to take care of your diet. At least for the first 8 to 10 weeks after delivery, you must take a lot of liquid diets. Means eat everything in liquid form - Chapati, halva, dal, fenugreek vegetable, kheer, milkshakes, and Chicken and vegetable soup. Basically, you have to drink water and water. Water is the most important factor in our breast milk. The doctor advised having 2 glasses of water before breastfeeding and after breastfeeding. Even if you feel you drink enough water there is always a requirement to consume more. 

Doctors and elders in my family also suggested having chicken in your diet. Yes, chicken. If you want to have a speedy recovery from your c- section or normal delivery, you have to consume nutritious food that should be high in protein. 

PS : Pixabay.com

Why chicken is necessary for breastfeeding moms?

Chicken is the best protein source and it helps us in our body recovery. We, moms, know how our every muscle and bone tears up while pushing our baby. Chicken helps in tissue repairing and muscle reconstruction. My doctors also suggested me to have chicken in my daily meal, in boiled or soup form.

Does the breastfeeding mother have fry chicken?

No, not at all. You can have chicken in a very mild form without any spices. It should be made in less oil or butter. A breastfeeding mom should have her all food cooked in butter. But when you are lactating you are not supposed to eat any spices which are harmful to the babies. This is as per our elders and yes, I geneually follow that. Because it really helps to have a less gassy and cranky baby. 

So please follow your granny, mummy's, an elder's instructions ONLY (apart from doctors). They know better what is good for you and your baby. - As per my personal experience.

I am sharing a nutritious chicken soup. By consuming this soup you will get protein, vitamins, and fiber. I had it during my first child too. This is not my recipe. My bua (my Father's sister's recipe) is suitable for breastfeeding mothers. My mother also had this soup when she was lactating.

Without a further do let's jump into the recipe.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup   Author: Neeta Kadam 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes 🕒 Cook Time: 25 minutes 🕒 Total Time: 40 minutes   Ingredients   2 cups boiled and finely chopped chicken. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 cup steamed sweet corn. 1 cup finely chopped vegetables (carrot, beans, mushroom) ½ cup green part of spring onion. 1 cup finely chopped onion. 2tsp cornflour. 2 tsp oil/ghee. 1 tsp black paper powder. Salt as per taste.   Instructions   Heat a large pan and pour 2 tsp ghee/oil. Add finely chopped onion and fry till it turns to pink color. Do not turn it in brownish.   Now add chicken stock. Then add all vegetables to the stock and boil at least for  10 minutes.   Add the sweetcorn and give it a nice stir.   Make a slurry of cornflour (optional) but it thickens the soup. Add this slurry and let it boil for 5 minutes.   It is time to add chicken, salt, and black pepper powder. Mix very well and let it boil for 10 minutes.   Chicken and vegetable soup is ready. Garnish with the green part of spring onion.

Did you make this soup then tag me on Instagram @neetapawarkadam (memory flies)

 You may also like the recipe:

Badam Milk shake

Cold Relief Chicken Soup 

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.' 

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.

15 Must Have Baby Products With Money Saving Tips

Most of the parents are living in a nuclear family, say about 60% are having a small family. Those who are living with their parents are the luckiest ones. It may have some pros and cons but having family and elder ones around is always helpful. Pregnancy and delivering a baby require lots of money, especially in India. It is always better to save money wherever you can.

PS : Pixababy

When you are in the last trimester and if you are living in a nuclear family then you have to prepare many things for the baby. Although in India our elders tell us not to bring any baby-related things in advance. If you are alone means without elders or family members nearby you, then you have to prepare in advance. Because once you deliver the baby, you will be stuck to the bed and baby. There is always a new requirement and maybe your husband is unable to bring it. To avoid any trouble you have to have these 15 must-have baby products at home in advance.

Now coming back to the point why our elders do not allow us to buy any new things for babies because they believe let baby arrive in this world safely. The earliest, in their era baby mortality rates, are high. But now medicine has cures for everything. So keep positive vibes and if you are the only person in the family then began in advance.

So what actually does the baby need?

I am a second-time mommy so have personal experience. During my first child, I bought a lot of stuff that was not used by us. This time I swap many things with friends and siblings. Actually, our baby doesn't need too many things. 

We are fully captured by social media. 24 hrs scrolling gives tons of products and we are tempted to buy them, as they are available with a single click. 😀 New parents are overexcited and want to give everything to the baby. so they are easily trapped by these advertisements. I don't say every ad is wrong. Yes, there are many companies which give a good product. 

These tips are for minimalist families/budgeted families or those who want to save money. I am not against any other baby-related products. 

Okay. Before buying any new product think twice, yes think twice is it really necessary? Does it really helpful to my baby? Will it go in the long run? 

15 Must-have baby products with money-saving tips.

1. Swaddle : 

We all swaddled our babies tightly so that we can hold them properly. In the market, there are new types of a swaddle, and sleep bags are available.  I prefer to have an old cotton sari which is long enough and we can cut according to our requirements and swaddle our baby.  The baby feels so much more comfortable and sleeps well for at least 3 hours.

2. Godhadi - small baby bed :  

A small baby bed which is made of soft cotton fabric can spread on our mattress. I prefer to have homemade. My Attya (bua) made it from cotton sarees. I think in India everyone has it. Grandma's favorite. Still, if you do not have then get it stitched by your local tailor. Give them some old cotton bedsheets and an old cotton sari or dupatta. Else you can buy it. They are not that much costly. But it depends on where you are buying.

3. Baby Clothes :  

We have rituals to wear only used soft clothes. I have my elder daughter's baby clothes. I do not buy any clothes.😊

Even if you are purchasing try to take cotton and simple clothes. Because a baby is going to sleep most of the time and above that, you are going to swaddle them. So choose soft cotton Zabala only.

You can save tons of money. You can use your sister's or brother's baby clothes. 

4. Cap, socks, and mittens : 

If your baby is born in the winter or rainy season you have to buy it. Try to buy as per season. Do not buy any fancy items which trouble the baby's soft skin. 

5. Nail clipper : 

In the market, there are so many fancy clippers available. Once I purchased but I was not comfortable with that. So try to buy the thing which you are aware of. Newborn's nails grow so quickly and we have to trim them regularly. This is a must-have product. 

6. Soft blanket :

If your baby is a winter baby then purchase a soft blanket. I have one so I used that. You can buy it or prefer to have your siblings one.

7. Cradle : 

Try to take the used one. Because the cradle is going to use from 1months to 7,8 months. I prefer the traditional one. The electric cradle is also useful. But if you want to save money then try to take a used one. I took it from my friend. 

8. Toiletries : 

Baby oil, baby soap, and baby moistures are the only products that are useful. Babies don't need powder and kajal. But I know in India people used it. It is everyone's preference. The money-saving tip does not purchase it.  Whoever coming to see your baby they are going to bring this kit. 😊 

9. Baby Towels : 

In my opinion, you don't need this baby towel. Use old cotton soft fabric. Because though baby towels are new and soft but cotton fabric absorbed water very well.

10. Baby Books : 

There is no need for any toys for babies. They are not that big enough to play with it. Don't waste your money on buying toys. Instead of that buy baby books. 

11. Dry sheets : 

You must have it. These are available in every size and pocket friendly too.

12. Milk Bottle : 

Only if you are unable to breastfeed your child. And off-course as per your requirement.

13. Diapers: 

If you are okay with cotton langot then keep diapers for travel purposes or use them at night time. This is also as per your preference.

14. Mosquito Net: 

This is the most important product you must-have for babies. 

15. Baby wipes: 

Always use cotton and plain water to wipe the baby bump. Keep baby wipes for traveling. Try to use soft fabric pieces or cotton balls and lukewarm water to wipe. It is always safe for babies.

This is the must-have list for your newborn with tips. Some people prefer to have everything new. Some people are ready to have used products, like me😀. Different people and different choices. But all these are the required items only. Apart from this, there are many products which are not going to use. The above-mentioned products also required lots of money.  You can save money by using above mentioned tips. 

Bonus Tip: We have siblings and each one has kids. We used to swap up almost most of the things including clothes (if they are in good condition). This is the best option to save money. 

If you are in a nuclear family then try to have all these 15 must-have products in advance. So that you and your partner are ready to welcome a newborn without worrying. It will save your time, and money and bring a lot of mental peace.

You may like to read 

मी आणि माझी सई.........(From dad's corner)

Hope this post is useful to new parents and budgeted families. Share it with needy ones. 

Do you have any tips to save money while buying a baby product?  Please comment down.  Do you swap things with your siblings?

This blog post is part of the blog challenge ‘Blogaberry Dazzle’ hosted by Cindy D’Silva and Noor Anand Chawla.' 

©Neeta Kadam. This article and image are the property of Memory Flies. Any unauthorized use or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author is strictly prohibited.