Himalaya Baby Care held a powerful session for new mothers speaking everything about baby & you. Jaipur Women Blog, as promised, was a part of the campaign to bring you all the useful tips. Below are the excerpts that will give you the glimpse of the event.

Experts such as Gynecologist Dr. Saileja Jain and Dr. C.P. Shukla (Manager Pharmaceutical Div. of the Himalaya Drug Co.) along with other company experts interacted with the eager mothers who had come to attend the event with their tiny toddlers. The programme began with a presentation which was divided into few categories: baby massage, daily care, well-being, food and sleep, and travel. With examples of Himalaya’s own products from the baby care category, the experts helped mothers understand few basics.

Baby Massage

 

The doctors told how crucial the baby massage was. Apart from stretching of the muscles, healthy skin and helping the bones grow properly, the massage also helps mother bond emotionally with her baby. The Himalaya Baby Oil has winter cherry, country mallow, Indian Aloe Vera, Khus grass and olive oil mixed in a proportion that helps baby in epiphysis growth plate cartilage development and trabecular bone formation. Moreover, it also improves weight, length, mid-arm and mid-leg circumferences in babies as compared to infants without massage.

Dr. Vivek gave few ways to do the baby massage perfectly, read below:

• Start the massage from baby’s head and slowly moving towards the rest of the body. Use your finger tips and smoothly press them against the baby’s body. Hand pressure must be very light because all the bones in head are still not connected strongly and the joints are weak especially those bones that connect face and head.

• Massage baby’s nose, ears, chin and cheeks with light hand in circular motion.

• For hands, there are two kinds of movements – one is by moving the baby’s hand in circular motion and twisting it softly, and another when you move baby’s hands upside down. Also, you can move hands towards and away from the chest – it’s like making the baby do Namaste.

• For chest, do the massage in upward motion by moving your hand from baby’s lower abdomen towards neck area. This can be done by moving your hands in outward direction.

• For abdomen, move your fingers in clockwise circular motion. This helps in building strong digestive system and avoids constipation.

• For baby’s legs, do the massage by moving your hands from upper part of the leg and then going back. Repeat this for quite some time.

• Please note that the massage must be done when baby is active and not sleepy or feeding. It’s not mandatory to do at noon time or before bath, you can do it any time.

Bathing a Baby

Bathing a baby can be tricky. The soft skin and still forming muscles can get harmed by the harsh soap that we’re using for the baby. The doctors said how the harsh pigments in the bathing soap could make the baby’s skin dry and wrinkled, especially in winter. The Himalaya Gentle Baby Bath is made up of natural ingredients like Fenugreek, chick pea, green gram, almond and olive oil that help the baby’s skin get nourished deeply with lots of moisture, even if your water supply is of hard water!

With hibiscus, paddy extracts and khus grass, you can expect absolutely healthful hair wash for your little one. The Himalaya Baby Shampoo was favored by city based gynecologist Dr. Saileja when she said: ‘I am sure the mothers sitting here don’t want to see their babies crying of pain in eyes while being shampooed. This mixture will help grow healthy hair and scalp of the baby while enjoying no-tear bathing sessions. This is like a gift.”

After-Bathing Time

But what after you bathe the baby? The body lotion must be applied on the skin within 3 minutes of the bath. To immediately regain the lost moisture, the experts suggested mothers to apply the natural skin-friendly lotion that will remain for longer hours on baby’s body. The Himalaya Baby Lotion constitutes of natural elements like country mallow, licorice, guduchi, Indian madder, chaste tree extracts, and Aloe Vera. Use it and see the difference!

We were amazed to listen to mindful questions of the audience-moms. One of them asked about how can new mothers become a pro in traveling. At that the experts suggested them to pack only the essentials of the things and not load oneself with a heavy bag when you are supposed to carry the baby! The lady doctor also suggested mothers to only plan long vacations after the baby turns 6 months old. The focus was on telling how important it becomes for a nursing mother to decide and maintain the daily feeding schedule of the baby if traveling.  She also asked them to keep the pediatrician’s contact number handy.

Another query was raised asking the details of a healthy diet for the baby. The experts explained this in following points:

•  Breast feed for the first 6 months. Weaning food can be started from then onward. The weaning food should be semisolid and then made more solid as time goes. Semisolids, such as porridge made out of homemade cereal and sprouted legumes, can be started from 6 months on wards. You could use ragi, wheat, etc., as per your family’s practices and local availability.

• Along with usual milk, the baby can start to have other drinks. Give your child cooled, boiled water from a tumbler with a soft sprout.

• Give diluted juice to your baby in a tumbler or feeding cup, rather than a bottle. Dilution of 1:2, which is one part juice and two parts of boiled and cooled water. Gradually, the ratio can be changed to 1:1.

•  Keep fruit juices for mealtimes only.  This helps your baby absorb the iron in his/her meals and is kinder to his emerging teeth.

 

Other useful questions popped up by the parents during the interactive session were:

Parent – My 4 year old son stammer and cannot speak fluently. What can be done?

Doctor C.P. Shukla – Go for a speech therapy. At home, indulge him in regular speaking activities like – reading a book in a set time period.

Parent – My daughter doesn’t eat complete meal. What special yet healthy food I must serve that she becomes interested in eating?

Doctor: Lots of green vegetables presented in a creative way can help. Children don’t like to eat solid veggies, so you can serve those nutrients in the form of soup or cartoon-face shaped sandwiches.

Parent – Recommend something to increase kid’s height.

Dr. Vivek: A healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables will help. Also, let your child play outdoor games where he/she gets to sweat out toxins. Exercise and good food together help in increasing height.

Parent – My baby was pre-mature and now is 2 years old. But she doesn’t speak clearly. The words she utters do not sound clear. What can I do?

Dr. Vivek: First of all, this speaking condition is not because of the baby’s pre-mature birth. Every child is different from another. She might take some extra time to speak clearly like other kids. But still, you can go for speech therapy and also consult an ENT doctor.

Dr. Saileja – I want to share few tips that a woman should know and follow during and after pregnancy. She must take healthy diet and must focus on fresh fruits and green vegetables because the food she will intake is going to define the health of her baby. Problems like this majorly arise due to malnourishment in infants. Please note that while you are pregnant:

• Drink 8-15 glass of water each day.
• Avoid oily and fatty food like fast food.
• On consultation with gynecologist, if not recommended complete bed rest then she must do little exercise each day to keep the body fit and healthy.
• Avoid staying hungry, eat little in small span of time.

 After delivery:

Breastfeeding is important and it’s irreplaceable. On first day, the amount and flow of milk might be less but a woman must not stop feeding. Milk quantity starts increasing after 2-3 days, if she keeps feeding from day 1. 

For the next 1 and half months, you must eat food rich in iron and minerals for your body’s recovery.

Must do stress free home work. Avoid hard physical activity.

Take sound sleep.

Also, let the baby lie next to you always. This helps keep the new baby warm in the mother’s arms. It’s called kangaroo technique.

Jaipur Women Blog got to know many such helpful facts about baby-management. Is this article useful for you? Let us know!