Nursing pillows are intelligently designed to prevent aches and pains during breastfeeding due to the posture. And how many times do you have to breastfeed a newborn? Countless!
I have already elaborated on the wondrous benefits of a nursing pillow in this post.
Let me again explain in short:
Had a C-section? No one can even imagine the pain that lasts for about 15 days post it. Using a nursing pillow will reduce the discomfort tremendously and act as a barrier between the baby and the scar. Imagine you have to breastfeed your baby on a lap or a simple pillow that can hit straight on the scar.
A nursing pillow raises the height that helps latching more easily.
Apart from breastfeeding, you can also use it during tummy time for your tiny one and when he is learning to sit, it helps a baby in prop up position.
Copyright: Aai & Baby V
You may think, “Oh! It’s such a highly-priced baby item and might be a marketing gimmick.” Take my word, breastfeeding is difficult for many and when it goes easy, you have to be ready for it as sometimes feeding can go for a half-hour or more.
Give TLC to yourself with a nursing pillow. It can also be a great gift for a new mother!
Cutting a baby’s nails is the most tricky task! Tiny nails, wiggling hands makes the task all the way more difficult. Babies have sharp nails and it is not easy to cut them with a regular nail clipper. I had tried the infant nail clipper but that too injured Baby V and oh, how guilty I felt!
Copyright: Aai & Baby V
Look at his bandaged finger! From then I decided to use a nail scissor intended for baby’s nails.
How do you or How did you cut your baby’s nails? Share your experience.
Colic is challenging. I tried, failed, survived. If you are a mama with a colicky baby or a pregnant mama reading, I would like to tell you, it’s going to be hard. It will make you feel a failure but it’s temporary which will pass. If the pain still lasts after trying your best, consult your paediatrician for other causes of colic.
My Colicky Baby. Understanding Colic
Colic is common in infants but Baby V had this frequently. We didn’t realize he must be in pain during the hospital stay. We thought it might be due to hunger and his oral thrush.
Day 5: We came home from the hospital and every day as soon as the evening commenced, my newborn started with the incessant wails, turning into intense red and ripping at the top of his lungs. His wailing lasted for about 2-3 hours. Once night hit, the same wails began again, every single night.
Watching him cry broke me. I just couldn’t find anything to help my baby with colic. I carried him, caressed him but nothing could calm him down. I tried swaddling, sleeping bag, bounced, paced, with no relief. I used to be drained and dejected with sleepless nights.
We were convinced his screaming in pain was due to colic and started changing my diet with the thought breastmilk was the culprit.
What I avoided eating during breastfeeding:
Spices, chillies, no masala, toor dal (pigeon peas)
I noticed leafy vegetables brought on intense colic.
Diary affected his bowel habits and stools.
We were so distressed because nothing was soothing Baby V and he cried day and night.
What were the methods I tried to relieve colic
I received advised to apply warm fomentation of carom seeds wrapped in a cloth, applying a paste of fennel seeds and carom seeds on Baby V’s belly. Still no relief. I couldn’t get him to burp, I tried all the position to hold a baby for a good burp or cycled his tiny legs to relieve the gas, but with no avail.
I spend hours googling “how do you know if baby has colic” and “how can I help my baby with colic”.
Finally, I had to take advice from my mommy friends. One of my friends suggested a home remedy for making a concoction. Boil a liter of water + ajwain (carom seeds) + fennel seeds + vaval hing (don’t know what’s it called in English, you’ll find in any Ayurveda products store). Drink this concoction throughout the day. I drank this on daily basis and it did its charm. I noticed Baby V passed lots of gases which relieved his tummy ache. He slept much better during the day as well as night.
Apart from the home remedy, while my research on baby colic treatment I came across Mamaearth Easy Tummy Roll On. It did soothe Baby V and it was an instant option to just roll it on the tummy around the naval every 20 minutes. It has peppermint oil which must be giving a cooling sensation.
Colicaid drops, a solution with fennel seed oil, Dil oil worked amazingly. I gave him 6 drops daily twice or thrice. I had a good experience with Colicacid and I can vouch for its efficacy.
During my google binging on colic treatment I came across the information that six weeks is the peak for colic. I noticed that after one and a half months there was no wailing in evening or night. Baby V slept through the night without pain (though putting him to sleep was an altogether a different experience, which I will share in next post).
The dark clouds of colic had lifted but occasionally there were thunderstorms of colic but not regular as before.
Baby V is 7 months now and his toothless grin makes me fall in love with him Every. Single. Time.
I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter‘s My Friend Alexa.
My IVF journey began on 1 Jan 2018 (Yes, the start of the new year and the beginning of an adventure. IVF is not less than an adventure, you never know the turns, ups and downs like a roller coaster)
I weighed 58 kg before I was put on the hormonal pills; estrogen 4mg daily in the beginning to regularise my cycle which was not due to #POF primary ovarian failure.
My lining was poor and to make it optimum for embryo transfer I was put on 6mg of estrogen. I gained 6 kg during my infertility treatment.
My second Frozen embryo transfer (FET) was in June 2019 which gave me my Baby V. I gained 9 kg during my pregnancy 🤰 = 73 kg. Most of the weight gain was due to swelling/water retention.
Being pregnant after 6 years of TTC (Trying to conceive) I was made to rest by my parents to keep this pregnancy safe.
I failed my Glucose Tolerance Test done at 26 weeks of pregnancy. I was diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and it was a wake-up call for me to kick myself up to engage in physical activity and proper diet. Enough of the rest.
Glucose Tolerance Test
First GTT was done on 17 Dec’19.
There were 3 ‘+’ in my urine for glucose levels
Knowing the consequences of diabetes on not only my body but also on the baby I set a goal of walking after every meal.
My Eating and Walking schedule from 7 to 9 months
8:00 am – Walk for half an hour
8: 30 am – Breakfast
8:45 am – Walk for 15 minutes
11:00 am – Mid-morning snack
11:15 am – Walk for 15 minutes
Lunch between 1-2 pm
Walk for 15 minutes after lunch
Evening snack 4-5 pm followed by 30 minutes walk
Dinner between 7:30 – 8:30 pm followed by 20 minutes walk
Thus I made an effort to walk to walk at least 2 hours in a day.
Physical activity is essential in the last trimester.
Along with physical activity, your diet plays an important role too. If you are diagnosed with Gestational DM start knowing the Glycemic Index (GI) of the food you eat. Every single of it. Let me be honest it will control your diabetes quicker. Experience talk. There are various apps based on Glycemic Index, typically they do not contain staple foods of Indian diet but they help in finding out GI of fruits.
GI is nothing but an indicator about how quickly a food consumed raises blood sugar level. High the GI = Rapid increase in blood sugar.
Fruits – Apple, 1 small katori pomegranate, pear, oranges, sweet limes. No watermelon due to high GI.
Curd – with lunch and dinner
Flax seeds
Oats
Broccoli
I had totally avoided rice for 2 months in last trimester. But you can eat one small bowl of rice
Coconut water (Its sweet but did not raise my blood sugar)
Meal plan for the entire week and note down the blood sugar levels for that day. This helps in tracking whether your diet is optimum to control the gestational diabetes. Check out this Meal Planner.
Result of daily walking and conscious eating
17 Dec 2019 = First GTT
Within 10 days of eating right and walking, and then following the routine
My Glucose Levels
Diabetologist confirmed that there was no need to put me on medicines, as my glucose levels were under control.
Tip to control Gestational Diabetes: Eat right. Be persistent. Recite: I can do it!
There will be too many pricks after delivery to ensure the blood sugar haven’t spiked. My blood sugar results were within normal limits. Remember you won’t be discharged until the sugar levels are normal.
Tip to control gestational diabetes – Mindful eating and daily physical activity. Let the sugar be in sweets and not in your blood.
I immediately lost the baby weight post-delivery. In fact, I even lost the weight gained during fertility treatment.
I guess breastfeeding did help in losing weight. It has been said breastfeeding burns about 500-700 calories extra per day. Factors such as pre-pregnancy weight, physical activity and diet also plays an important role in post-partum weight loss.
What I ate Post-delivery
Initial months post-delivery I had to cut down all the carbs, in short eat nutritious food with no masala, spices. This has been brought down by generation to generation in India. Like “Dadima ke nuskhe”. It helps a woman to recover faster post delivery.
I ate jowar bhakri, steamed vegetable soup kind of sabzi for first 2 months. I skipped jowar bhakri as I noticed Baby V always had colic when I ate it, so I switched to chapati.
Dinka che laddoo – It is a mixture of dinka / edible gum resin, dry fruits, jaggery, desiccated coconut, poppy seeds.
All of this did help me stay on my ideal weight. I can say even lockdown has an helping hand. No outside food. Once or twice a week eating Indian chaats, snacks had stopped. No cheese filled sandwich or burger.
Takeaway: Do follow our older generations instructions with regards to eating post delivery.
Physical activity during post-partum
You should not do any strenuous activities for 6 weeks postpartum. This does not mean we have to be a couch potato. 10 to 15 minutes walk post meal is sufficient to break down the calories.
Always consult a doctor about the exercises permissible after 6 weeks. Do not straight away follow any challenges going around YouTube or Social media to reduce weight.
This was about my experience with Gestational Diabetes and Post-partum weight loss. If you have any question or want to share a little bit about your own journey, please leave a comment below. Let’s held our hands and support each other because all the phases – Pre-pregnancy, Pregnancy and Post-pregnancy is hard and we need all need a virtual hug.
I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter‘s My Friend Alexa.
The beginning of my breastfeeding was a struggle. IT WAS HARD! The pain post-cesarean made it more difficult.
I was angry and the guilt was hovering that I couldn’t feed my baby.
I had heard about breastfeeding struggles but never imagined I had to go through it too. There was no problem with the production of colostrum. The first-day post-cesarean is a resting day. No movement. No getting up. Sadly the hospital staff didn’t help me in feeding my baby. There was no guidance at all. Baby V used to have a sucking reflex but there was no latching.
To make it harder, he acquired Oral thrush on Day 3. It must have been painful for him to latch.
No one guided me to express milk and feed him by spoon. He cried due to hunger and our nights in the hospital were sleepless. Baby V slept through hunger and tired due to crying. It was so painful to watch him in that state.
The pediatrician prescribed Clotrimazole mouth paint which is bitter and Baby V had to bear it instead of sweet breast milk.
My milk ducts were beginning to clot and I was on the verge of mastitis. PAINFUL! Breast milk aka the gold was going to waste instead in the belly of my baby.
Difficult days don’t last forever, do they? Night of Day 4, nothing was soothing for Baby V. I decided to be on my feet because it was unbearable to see him crying. I carried him in my arms close to my chest, swayed him lightly, sang a lullaby, he kept watching me through his tiny eyes, and slept. I held him for about 4 hours in my arms. My back was giving up but I couldn’t put him down because he needed the golden sleep.
On Day 5, Baby V though with a bit of struggle was able to latch and for the very first time, I knew his tummy was full as he slept like a happy baby throughout the journey back home.
Lessons learned –
#1 Reading about breastfeeding isn’t enough. Take the help of a lactation consultant.
#2 Make sure the one staying over with you in the hospital knows about breastfeeding.
#3 Baby recognizes you, the connection was built even before the birth!
#4 Guilt won’t solve problems.
#5 You as a mother knows what’s best for your baby.
I am grateful I have been breastfeeding Baby V for 7 months. I introduced him to solid foods at age of 5 months. I still breastfeed him alternating with solid food.
There are 3 – 4 night feeds now. I have noticed he wakes up around the same time each night.
Breastfeeding products for New Moms
Let me clear it beforehand, I am not suggesting a breast pump here because I myself have never used it. So I can’t share any experience regarding it. Sometimes I do feel I should have used it at the beginning during the poor latch phase. Anyway, let us move ahead. The following product reviews are my personal and not sponsored or paid for.
Breastfeeding Pillow
A must buy! Invest in a good nursing pillow. I use Baybee Nursing Pillow. It supports your back, positions your baby perfectly to reach the nipple. Remember you need it during the countless sleepless nights.
The lockdown restricted going outdoors so I haven’t used it often. But I had bought Feather Hug nursing cover = a good breathable cotton nursing cover. The belt is adjustable according to your preference, you can tie it from behind. It also has a small pouch at the one end. It is super soft and doesn’t heat up while breastfeeding.
The right breast was on the verge of developing severe mastitis. I had to manually drain it as the milk supply was more. So due to continuous left-sided breastfeeding, the nipple had gone sore. I can’t even express the pain in words. I immediately had to buy a nipple cream. After browsing through reviews I bought Mother Sparsh Nipple Butter Cream for Breastfeeding Moms, Virgin Coconut Oil and Organic Shea Butter. And it saved me from the sore nipple. It is organic so I had no worry in case if I forgot to wipe it off before breastfeeding.
As I mentioned earlier, I am grateful for my milk supply. I take a diet with foods that are known to increase the milk supply. The following are the food products suggested by the older generation.
Dinkache ladoo (Gond / Edible Gum resin): It is a mixture of edible gum resin, desiccated coconut, jaggery, dry fruits, poppy seeds. Read the recipe here.
I can’t stress enough about the benefits of Shatavari. It is an ayurvedic ingredient used since ancient to improve breast milk production. From the beginning, I have been taking Shatavari supplements from Himalaya. I have tried their syrup and tablets. I prefer Shatavari tablets and have been taking it twice a day.
This is my experience with the breastfeeding struggle and the breastfeeding products that have been helping me. Have you experienced the same? If yes, what helped you ease the breastfeeding. Do leave them in the comments.
I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s My Friend Alexa.
Adventures of A Stay-at-home Mumma 