Is the antenatal class useful?

I happened to see this question in a forum so thought of writing my experience.

When I wanted to attend antenatal class my hubby first question was "Did my mom or your mom attend such class?".
It is true that neither did my mom nor grandmom attended any class regarding child birth or child care. But in olden days, people lived in joint family or community, there were chance of seeing and knowing from other pregnant women or babies. In today's nuclear and secular family, exposer to people of different age group has become less unless its your sibling. Hence there is less or no knowledge on pregnancy and child birth.

I can read books or there are hundreds of articles on internet. Why classes? The Antenatal classes teach you pregnancy exercises, information on pregnancy and labor and child care. Most books tells you about just one topic. In the classes, you can meet other pregnant women. The discussions might lead you topics that might not have crossed your mind.

Finally, Is it useful?
Yes. You learn exercises in the correct way which is very important since your ligaments are loose and any wrong positioning can cause injuries. You know about labour process what they do and what to expect. Your diet is analyzed. Your doubts are cleared. You get good tips on child care. You get information from other pregnant women. So if you can join an antenatal class, do it without fail.

When to start antenatal class? Ideally 20 weeks or after anomaly scan is the recommended period. But don't delay after that since you won't be able to sit for a long time or make use of the exercises fully. Always consult your gynec before enrolling.

What to look for?
Look for classes which allows you and your husband. Take your hubby along. Look for classes that cover both child birth and child care. Look for reviews regarding the class. Talk to the instructor, is she soft spoken and answers your queries? Look for a clean place.

Baby.. the most unpredictable

There is nothing that can go as planned when you have a baby. Just when I have put him to bed and plan to rest or write a blog, he is up. When there is so much noise he will sleep but the little sound of opening the door, will wake him up. Planning in advance or planning at the last minute nothing works out as I thought. The unpredictability is well pronounced when we want to go out especially to some function or to the doctor. He will be playing near me but in a fraction of seconds he would be trying to pull some box over his head. At these moments my heart misses a beat. 

Life indeed changes when you are with a baby. I feel I have become a did person after I had my little one. My thoughts, my plans, my life has all changed.

Hand Blender - A great appliance while introducing solid

The solids that we give our little ones should we mashed thoroughly and no chunky particles should be given since they made choke on them. Initially I was using Mixer to mash the solids but many of the mashed solid gets held behind the blade. Also, it was time consuming since opening the lid of the jar and checking the texture repeatedly was difficult.

Hand blender is a great appliance for mashing food. It is quick, mashes thoroughly, the texture can be checked then and there and there is less wastage. I blend everything from vegetables to fruits even boiled rice and dal using the hand blender. Its a good to have appliance while introducing solids for babies.

Useful apps for Pregnancy and baby development

Pregnancy apps for a smartphone is a must have. By setting your due date or LMP, you can know how your baby develops weekly. Also a number of information and tips.

There are many baby and kids app. I haven't explored much. The baby monitor app is very useful. Its similar to the physical baby monitor but you need at least 2 phone, one to test the sensitivity and trigger  call or sms to another phone.

Suggest the apps you found helpful.

Diaper or Cloth

First time mom have lot of questions. One of them is whether to use cloth or a diaper. I have used both so here are the advantage and disadvantages of both.

One of the reason for using cloth is coz its cheap. But its not really true considering the price of baby detergent, the amount of water required for rinsing and the salary for the maid to wash it. Using cloth also means more work, soaking, washing, drying and folding. Babies wet their nappies 20 -30 times initially which gradually reduces to 5-10 by end of first year.So changing so many cloth nappies is tiring. When using cloth nappies, anyone who carry the baby or anywhere the baby lies is likely to get wet. Even using cloth there are chance for rashes as the cloth is repeatedly washed it becomes rough and hence causing rashes. Potty training is the advantage of using cloth nappies.

Now coming to diapers. Babies look clean in diapers. There is no need to be scared of giving the baby to anyone or placing the baby anywhere. Diapers make your life with easier. The downfall is the unavoidable rashes. While using diapers the genitals do not get any air so there are chances for rashes and infections. Potty training is very difficult since we might not know if the baby has wet his nappy or not.

My suggestion:
If you are not having any help, then its better to go for diaper.
First few days that is till the meconium is being passed its better to use diapers since the black stool is difficult to wash and just out of labor you will require all the rest.

Grandma treatment for babies to improve digestion and get good sleep

Take 2 or 3 spoons of Breastmilk in a cup or traditional in a paaladi. Grate a few of the following nuts using breastmilk:

1. Nutmeg or Jadhikai - http://www.penmai.com/forums/nature-cure/8384-nutmeg-jathikai-its-benefits.html
2. Masikai
3. Vasumbu - http://siddham.in/vasambu-acorus-calamus#more-97
4. Kaddukai - http://www.myspicyhut.com/1841/karakkaya-haritaki

Take the paste in the index finger and rub on baby's tongue to remove the white dirt. Feed the baby the remaining paste mixed with breast milk.

Some people also grave sandalwood. Its is better to give the paste when baby is not full. So I give him first thing in the morning. I have been giving him the paste from his 10th day. My grandma suggested to continue till he rejects.

Being Mom / Amma

Finally I held my bundle of joy on November 21st, a naughty little boy.
Its been a roller coaster ride since then. There are moments when I just wanna hug him tight, and then there are times when I feel helpless. There are couple of things I have realized being a mom, every other person has a child care tip and its not easy taking care of  child alone.

I have decided to use the feeding time to post on topics related to child care.