Until a few days back, Payal Bhattacharya thought her biggest challenge would be to labour in a mask and deliver a baby in the middle of a lockdown. And then, the baby arrived and the real challenges began. Just a few generations ago, breastfeeding was the norm, the most natural way to feed a newborn. … Continue reading Breastfeeding Stories: It Takes A Village
Doctors - The selfless, unsung heroes of the moment who are out there, everyday, battling the worst pandemic we have ever seen. Doctors, who have left their own families behind as they rush out to save ours. As cases rise, and Covid-19 continues taking a staggering toll on the entire world, all our hopes have been pinned on our doctors. But what of the toll the pandemic is taking on them and their families? Dr. Salma Chaudhary, a New York based Cardiologist and mother to a 3-year-old sent us this after months of dealing with Covid patients in one of the hotspots of the pandemic.
As we take tentative steps to opening up and resuming 'normal' life again, the foremost question on every parent's mind is about schools. Will schools even reopen this academic year? If so, how are we going to send our children back to their classrooms like before? Maybe the answers lie to our East.
Schools in Hong Kong, that had been shut since January, have recently reopened.
Aarti Mehrotra Mataney writes about her 6-year-old's first day back to school in the 'New Normal'
On the face of it, we are busy baking and cooking, working from home even as we homeschool, and generally holding it all together through the lockdown. But scratch the surface, and there is one deep fear that binds all us mothers together - the dreaded Coronavirus entering our homes. What if, despite our best efforts, one of our children falls ill? Afshan Anjum shares her story
The first pregnancy is always extra special. It's a roller coaster 9 months of unbridled joy, expectations, anticipation, mood swings, fear, and unadulterated joy again. But what if you were expecting, or had to deliver, right in the middle of the world's biggest pandemic and lockdown?
First time mum-to-be Payal Bhattacharya writes
A swaddle is a piece of cloth, usually square-shaped, that is used to tightly wrap newborns and infants. When you swaddle a baby, you are recreating the warm, cosy environment of the mother's womb, helping the baby feel safe and calm.
From that incredulous moment you see two lines on a pregnancy test, right until the emotional experience of counting ten little fingers and toes on your newborn, she (or he) has been your constant companion. The gynaecologist plays such an integral role through our pregnancies that it is crucial to choose the absolutely correct one. Here are Afshan Anjum's tips on finding yourself the perfect gynaec.
Left handed, right handed, ambidextrous!!!
It is 2017 and it really doesn't matter what hand your child writes with. Science has been telling us for decades that a child chooses to write with either left or right hand depending on the dominant side of their brain. However, it's only when you're a 'lefty' yourself or raising a left handed child do you realise how the world is overwhelmingly stacked up in favour of right handed people. when Shweta Singh faced this dilemma with her young daughter, she also found an unexpected ally. Here is her story.
The simplicity and innocence of my childhood Deepavalis imbued happiness in a way taash parties or alcohol never can. My only grouse if it all is the fact that I was only ever a spectator, never a participant in my grandmother’s culinary rituals and I think she preferred it that way. It was indeed her territory. Though someday, when I become a mother, I think I would want to involve my child in whatever little way I can, in my kitchen endeavours. What are we without memories suffused with a little bit of mess and playfulness?
While I always dreamed of motherhood, the more I delayed, the more it opened a world of apprehensions and fears I never previously had. The moment you start planning, you’re bombarded with advice, often dire pronouncements that you’re not really ready to hear.
Tura Turi 