An Art of Parenting

Posts Tagged ‘care’

Pregnancy care tips are so many. To shed a few of them, first of all, be happy. Keep your mind, body and soul light and happy. Tell that you are happy and do not bottle up your sad feelings. Educate yourself regarding the exercises that has to be followed to keep you and your baby fit and healthy.

Whenever you get the feel that something is wrong somewhere, get the advice of your doctor as soon as possible. Avoid chemicals to the core and start taking at least one vegetable in your every day diet. Drink at least eight to ten normal tumblers of water everyday, so that you always remain hydrated. Get to know what is the diet to be followed and adhere to it very strictly.

For those who are pregnant, additional care has to be shown as it is one body carrying two souls! Staying healthy during the pregnancy period is fully in your hands and apart from the regular medication, a lot of mental exercise is necessary to stay healthy. Remember, when you are healthy both physically and mentally, you are also making the little foetus within you too to be healthy and happy.

The nutrition, which you prefer to eat directly, affects it and so, always consult with your family doctor regarding the diet you have to follow. Never skip your regular checkups with the doctor and do not fail to follow the medicines assigned by them. Always keep in mind, whatever you do, has its direct influence on your kid.

The parents should be very careful while teaching their kids to speak. There is a common practice among parents, who soon after the child starts speaking the initial words like mother, father and other close relations, they tend to have fun with the kid by teaching him or her to tell unwanted words and thereby have rolls and rolls of laughter.

This might seem to be funny in the beginning, but as days go on, the kid would not understand the true meaning of such filthy words, and by matter of practice, it happens to say those words to unexpected people or in any public place that would become a black mark for you. So, be very cautious in teaching new words for your kids as they would get into the same practice!

Parenting is an indigenous process that is self-learnt by all the mothers! Naturally, they get the tactics of dealing their kids and it is not any course that they learn from out! It is a matter of issue for the fathers in the beginning but they too get to learn this art very soon. Be it mother or father, both have the ideal role of forming their kids’ character.

While the mother automatically gets to know about her child from the very tender age, she has the greater possibility of being with her children. So, this is an advantageous fact for both the mother and kid as they get the closeness that leads to better understanding. Whatever it might be, it is only after the mother’s love that the father’s care comes!

The practice of wrapping up the child was brought to us by the British. In the womb, the child remains in a curled up position and the pressure of the uterus is constantly exerted on the baby’s body. This pressure disappears once the child emerges from the womb. The new-found freedom allows the child to move its limbs about unobstructed. The post-natal environment is radically different from that in the womb.

The warm, comforting, pressure of the uterus is no longer there and the mild may not sleep peacefully. The idea behind wrapping the child up tightly is to make it feel snug and secure and induce it to sleep long. This practice prevails in hospitals and big cities. It is easier to carry a wrapped up baby. The mother to o need not fumble and flounder confusedly during breast feeding, for the bundled baby is easier to handle.

In some families, particularly those living in small towns or villages, the child is not tied up but is kept in a cradle and covered with a light quilt or sheet. After 1 ½ – 2 months the growing child breaks loose of its restrictions. The hands and legs fidget enough to free themselves of the constraining cloth whether it is tied or merely used as a cover.

It is true that consumption of sour foodstuffs such as tamarind, orange, lime and buttermilk causes the child to be born with hairy skin? The auspicious moment of birth brightens the child’s future. The hair on a newborn infant’s skin is present in varying proportion. Hairness depends on ancestry and heredity. Thus, if the mother and father have very little or no hair, it is very unlikely that their child will be born with hairy skin. This feature is often uniformly manifested within a community and even a country. Thus, all members of a particular community may have either a lot of hair or negligible hair. Perhaps,  heredity, geography and climate all play a part in determining hairiness. It is, therefore a racial feature. At times it may depend on the communities for the reason of hair growth.

The mother’s diet does not affect the extent of hair on her child’s skin. However, sour food increases acidity and can cause stomach burn. In the early stages of pregnancy, there is the urge to eat sour things to counteract nausea and tastelessness. Their consumption does relieve biliousness.

Drugs such as steroids or anti-convulsion drugs taken during pregnancy may be responsible for additional hair on the baby’s skin.

The bottle and teat will be found in most of homes where a new born baby is present. Cleanliness is the first thing that should be followed by the mother who wants their baby to live a hygienic life. The equipments or products which they use for their children should be clean and tidy. Soaps or detergents which are of best quality should be used to clean the bottle and teat. In the teat, the milk curd will be present and salt has the tendency to remove it. After the cleaning process is done, the mother should boil water in a large pan and place the bottle and teat inside it. This is the most excellent way to kill germs that is available in the bottle and teat. In fact, bottle boiling kits are also sold in the market which will be beneficial for the mothers. The mother should try to purchase four or five bottles in order to avoiding the bottle from boiling at all times.

Sodium hypochlorite is also a solution for cleaning the bottle. Just by mixing a tablespoon of the sodium hypochlorite in one liter of water and by immersing the bottle in it, the bottle becomes dirt free. Make sure that the bottle is immersed for about four hours so that the mother gets confidence that the bottle is crystal clear and germ free. Another solution that can be used for the bottle cleaning is Lugols iodine. Many mothers think that feeding with a bottle saves time for them but their duty is to sterilize the bottle and then use it for feeding their baby. The brand of milk should not be changed always as it may lead to the illness of the baby.

It’s advisable to go shopping before your baby’s birth, while you’re still unfettered. You’ll be faced with a seemingly countless of equipments, all of which will be labeled “essential” by the manufacturers. Don’t get cheated by clear advertising. Shop around for the equipments that are necessary for your child and make sure that it is in relation to your standard of living.

For example, mothers wash their baby in sink because they find it comfortable. Similarly, if you really like the idea of a large carriage pram and if you have an adequately large hall, if you have an easy route to any shops or parks without too many steps or other obstructions and if you have the cash, then you should go ahead and buy it. Some people it is unlucky to buy too much before the birth. Check to see if you can choose what you need but not pick it up.

It isn’t essential to buy all-new equipment. Babies grow so quickly that some items, which are essential at one stage, are useless within a couple of months. Many families are quite happy to lend or sell such items, so keep an eye open in local papers and clinics as well as at house. The only stipulation I’d make when buying secondhand, apart from checking for general wear and tear, is that the surfaces are smooth and rust-free and that, where applicable, they still comply with the latest safety regulations.

In spite of all the difficulties mother faces, she should feed her child for as long as possible. Do not be in a hurry, to start top milk. It is the practice that most offices to grant 3 months maternity leave. A minimum of 40 days is always granted. This period allows the mother to breast feed her child. Even after resuming work the mother should feed her child whenever she is at home (early morning, late evening and at night. Instead of weaning the child from the breast, experimenting with spoon honeyed water or water boiled with sugar and capparis trifolia or even breast milk extracted should be given with a spoon. Following this, if the mother is going to be away at work for long periods of time, it becomes necessary to start on top milk (cow, buffalo or powdered milk). Even so, breast feeds should be continued every morning and every night.

It is not right to deny the child mother’s milk merely on the basis of imagined difficulties. The importance of mother’s milk lies not only in its nutritive goodness but also in its immunizing potential. It is well armed with white blood cells to keep away allergy and disease and consequently, dreaded diseases like diarrhea, fever, cold, polio. Even a few drops of breast milk are beneficial to the baby.

A mother should not be bathed on first day of delivery but simply sponged with Luke warm or natural cold water (not iced but she can herself take bath after 2^nd or 3^rd day of delivery). Following safeguard and cautions are imperatively essential for general maintenance of health of the mother in post-delivery period. Remember mother’s good health is a launching pad for the new born baby’s care and health.

• She should take complete rest-in-bed for, at least 5-6 hours after delivery.
• She should pass urine, stool in bed during first 24 hours but she can sleep or turn in bed as per her convenience.
• From 2^nd to 7^th day she should not exert bur spend most of her time in bed. She may use an easy chair and relax.
• She should adjust her sleeping time with her child’s sleeping/awakening times.
• It takes about 6-8 weeks for her to return to preconception stage, hence she must take reasonable rest, but keep up with moderate activities like visit to closet, taking bath, looking after and feeding her child, nursing the child.
• After period of 6-8 weeks she can attend to normal house work, attend to her office.
• In order to ensure free movement of bowels and urinary flow she should consume plenty of fresh water and other fluids but avoid taking all types of spices, fats, condiments, alcohol and smoking.
• She should resume her normal physical activity by way of morning and evening walk, cooking, doing domestic work.
• Her diet should contain high protein, milk, curd, fruits and vegetables, calcium and iron etc.