Dealing with PPD and new mommy responsibilities

Although motherhood is the best thing ever happened to us, it is equally overwhelming. Being a new mommy is tough. Doing it all by ourselves while healing from the delivery pain is really really difficult.

PPD or postpartum depression is another hindrance in creating the precious bonding with the baby. The first 40 days postpartum are really very important. I myself struggled with few things. I'll try to share my journey as well as the solutions I found for my difficulties. 

I had opted for an elective cesarean delivery. People's judgments about my choice of delivery method was the first problem I faced. The only solution to this is ignoring. People learn their lessons when they are ignored and their judgments are not given importance. Our peace of mind is of utmost importance at that time. 

Connecting with our own baby is sometimes difficult although we love them unconditionally. My case was something similar. I was so overwhelmed with the mom responsibilities that I couldn't just look at my baby and adore her for few moments. It was tough. Doing all the mom duties while healing from a c section is tough. The sleep deprived and bleeding mom needs help. Solution to this problem is simple. Ask for help whenever you need. Do not try to do it all alone. Take family support. If you're not lucky enough to have family support then hire an external help. It is a must. 

I wasn't really in the best mindset postpartum and would often express my feelings on social media. But I was judged for that as well. Some people might not be with you when they should be. But nothing Is in your hands. All you can do is take whatever support you have and ignore the rest.

My toughest struggle was with breastfeeding

I delivered during covid second wave. It was too much pressure already. Protecting the baby and yourself from covid was tough. Isolation from my friends and family was putting too much pressure on myself. I wasn't able to breastfeed her properly. There was a latching issue initially. Not being able to feed your child after being a mom is the biggest challenge for a mom's mind. I cried 

everyday. I tried every possible remedy from a nipple shield to an inverted syringe. But nothing seemed to work. I was given perinorm tablets to increase the very poor supply i had initially. Then there was engorgement pain. It was a very bad struggle overall. What acted negatively was the tremendous pressure put by the doctors, nurses. I agree, breastfeeding is very good but let us also normalize formula feeding as well. I succumbed to the pressure and spent a fortune on a lactation consultant. But it didn't help either. So I learnt the following lessons with respect to breastfeeding. 

1. Read about breastfeeding before giving birth. 

2. Consult a good lactation expert at the right time. 

3. Invest In a good quality breast pump (preferably an electric one). Although pumping, feeding, sanitizing the bottles is very tiring. So it's best to directly breastfeed. Advantage of pumping is another family members can feed the baby and mother can get some rest. Learn about the correct feeding positions and latching techniques. Because that's what is wrong most of the times.

4. Practice utmost hygiene while bottle feeding like washing, sterilizing bottles etc. Bottle feeding if done correctly isn't bad.

5. Take rest whenever you can. Follow a good diet, take your calcium supplements timely while breastfeeding. 

6. Do mild exercises suggested by the physiotherapist to get your body back to normal routine. Body changes a lot after delivery. Take short walks after it has been advised.

7. Invest in a good feeding pillow/take support of normal pillows while feeding because feeding puts pressure on the back . Also keep nipple butter, breast pads and feeding cover ready. 

8. Keep the hospital bag ready with all the stuff you would need at 34 weeks. 

9. Invest in things that will help you in recovery like cooling pads, maternity pads and panties. 

10. For a smooth recovery post c section, take lot of rest. Keep moving. Take care of your wound. Have a good diet and rest whenever you can. Watch out for symptoms such as pain and swelling in the wound and high fever for initial few days after c section. These can be symptoms of the wound infection.

11. The back pain post c section isn't related to the spinal anesthesia. Please don't associate it with c section. Starting your daily activities and movements post c section is must for good recovery.

12. Care for your stitches as advised by the doctor post delivery. It is very important. (No personal experience with normal delivery).

13. Seek help if you think you're suffering from PPD. Watch out for symptoms such as sadness, loneliness, and depression. Seek 

professional help if needed. PPD is very common. 

14. Ignore all the unwanted advises given by relatives, and people around you. Follow only those which you feel are correct. 

These are the most precious days for the mother as well as baby. You might feel overwhelmed with the baby responsibilities, sleep deprivation and tiredness. But these days are not going to come back. Support from my family was the biggest plus point of my postpartum period. So enjoy your days as new mom with your tiny little one as far as you can. They grow up in blink of an eye.

PS - please follow your doctor's advice for any query or problems. These are just my personal experiences.

Easy snacks recipes for kids

Sharing few the easy snacks/breakfast recipes for kids.

1. Egg ragi appe/puddu/peniyaram

Ingredients:

1. Dosa batter 

2. Sprouted ragi flour 

3.2 eggs

4. Grated carrot, chopped onions, other vegetables of your choice

5. Green chillies/red chilli powder, mustard seeds, hing(asafoetida), salt.

6. Grated ginger(optional)

7.Oil for tempering and ghee for appe frying

Recipe -

1. Beat two eggs in a bowl, add 2 tbsp of sprouted ragi flour, mix well. Add this this to the dosa batter(approximately 1 big bowl of dosa batter)

2. Make a tadka of mustard seeds and hing in 1 tbsp of oil. Fry Grated carrots, onions and other veggies in the tadka

3. Add the fried veggies to the dosa batter. Add 2 chopped green chillies/half teaspoon of red chilli powder and grated ginger to it(according to your kids tolerance). Add salt as per taste. 

4. Grease the appe Pan with ghee. Pour the appe batter in the pan. Cook on medium flame with a lid. Flip the appe once they have cooked on one side

5. Serve warm with chutney of your choice.

2. Mix lentil/moong chilla with filling.

Ingredients:

1. Soaked green moong/mixed sprouts.

2. Rice

3. Grated beetroot

4. Cheese

5. Green chillies, cumin powder, coriander powder,salt as per taste.

Recipe -

1. Soak moong/mixed sprouts along with rice in 1-2 proportion for 6-8 hours.

2. Grind them along with coriander, 2 green chilles, 1 inch ginger. Add spices like cumin powder and coriander powder to the batter along with salt as per the taste.

3. Pour the batter on greased pan with ghee to make chilla. 

4. Add filling of grated beetroot with cheese to the chilla. 

5. Serve warm with chutney/ketchup.

3. Sweet potato patties

Ingredients:

2 medium sized sweet potatoes, 1 small 

bowl soaked poha, 1 bowl boiled carrot+green beans, ginger, green chilies, coriander powder, cumin powder, salt as per taste.

Recipe- 

1. Wash, peel and boil the sweet potatoes. Mash them. Add them to soaked poha.

2. Mash boiled carrots and beans and add them to mashed sweet potato. 

3. Add spices, crushed green chilies and ginger to it, add salt as per taste.

4. Make round shaped patties and pan fry them in ghee.

5. Serve with chutney or ketchup.

4. Beetroot omelette

Ingredients:

1 egg, half bowl grated beetroot, salt, green chillies, onion, 

Recipe -

1. Beat the egg, add Grated beetroot , onions, green chillies, salt to the egg. You can add mushrooms, coriander leaves, chiili flakes and freshly cracked pepper also

.2. Fry the omelette in a pan greased with oil. Flip 

once cooked from one side.

3. Serve warm with ketchup. 

That's all for today. Coming soon with part 2. Let me know if you try these recipes 😋 

6

Hypothyroidism and negative blood group in pregnancy

Motherhood is beautiful as well as equally challenging. Every lady is worried about the process of conception these days. There are a lot of myths about pregnancy with hypothyroidism and negative blood group specifically B negative blood group(as it's a very rare blood group). I'll share my experience to give some relief to the worried would be moms. These myths need to be handled very carefully to have a positive outlook during conception and pregnancy.

I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism when I was 14 years old and have B negative blood group. But I didn't face any problem during conception and throughout the pregnancy as well as delivery. If we take few precautions, these two conditions won't bother us. Lot of people think of these two factors even while matchmaking for marriage and deny alliances. That's an absolutely wrong thing to do.

I'll talk about hypothyroidism first. Hypothyroidism and fertility are directly linked by many people. But it's a misconception. Hypothyroidism if treated properly, will not cause any problems in conception. I had been mornitoring my TSH levels 6 months before I wanted to conceive. With stable TSH levels i didn't face any problem in conception. I had also maintained stable TSH levels throughout the pregnancy. It plays an important role in overall hormonal balance, metabolism of the mother and brain development of the fetus. I was monitoring my TSH levels every 6 weeks in pregnancy as advised by the endocrinologist. TSH has different limits for each trimester. The doctor adjusted my dose in pregnancy accordingly. It is a must to get your thyroid levels tested even when you're not a hypothyroid. A thyroxine tablet in appropriate dose suggested by the doctor everyday solves all your worries in case of hypothyroidism. Also maintaining a healthy diet, moderate exercise and healthy lifestyle helps in maintaining good thyroid health.

Talking about B negative blood group and pregnancy, it is absolutely safe to go ahead with conception and pregnancy even with a B negative blood group.

If the baby's blood group comes positive or vice versa, you're administered an anti D injection and you're good to go. It'll not cause any RH incompatibility and other related complications. Women with B negative blood group face no issues in pregnancy. Their partner can have any blood group, that doesn't matter.

PS - These are just my opinions and experiences. Consult your endocrinologist and gynecologist for the right opinion.

My mommyhood tales

Those two pink lines, those tiny kicks and all the dreams about my little one, 2020 was the most magical year of my life. 2020 may be synonymous to covid and lockdown for most of the people but 2020 for me was the beginning of motherhood. The most beautiful yet challenging phase of my life. Being a doctor's daughter, i consider myself lucky that I was aware of all the things.

Being mommy isn't any easy task. Arriving on the decision to be a mother itself is very stressful for most of the women of 21st century. The increased competition in career, increasing financial burden after having a kid make the decision of becoming a mother quite difficult. We mostly decide to become a mother in our thirties now.  Same was the case with me. But nonetheless motherhood is very beautiful. 

I finally decided to try conceiving after 5 years of my marriage. I was at a good stage in my career and we were financially quite stable. It was quite easy for me but it is a difficult journey for few couples due to the stressful jobs and lifestyle diseases 

Lifestyle advice 

The journey of conceiving is quite beautiful in itself. According to my experience the most important thing here is positive attitude and stress-free environment. Me and my husband kept the environment at home stress-free although the outside world was full of stress related to the pandemic. 

-Diet and exercise

Maintaining overall good health for both the partners is equally important. A healthy lifestyle plays an important role in the journey of conception.

Eating healthy and moderate exercise helped me maintain a healthy weight. I am quite healthy with regular menstrual cycle. My diet was balanced with high quality proteins such as egg, chicken, sprouts, and lentils, fibre rich leafy green vegetables, healthy fruits, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats with Omega 3 fatty acids, antioxidant rich fruits, iron and calcium rich food and other vegetables. I avoided junk food as far as i can except few cravings. Excess use of sugar, refined flour, butter and extra fats was avoided in my diet. I avoided heavy and fadistic diet and exercise. I took evening strolls for half an hour and did yoga in the morning. Drinking 8 glasses of water and other healthy fluids is necessary to stay hydrated.

 

Stress management

I had already started imagining about my baby as told by my gynaecologist. It helped me conceive without much effort and pretty quickly. The joy of motherhood is truly amazing and I started enjoying it even before conception. I avoided stress at work around that time.

Health advice

I had started folic acid tablets beforehand. Starting multivitamins will also help . I was maintaining healthy haemoglobin and TSH levels (I'm a hypothyroid since i was 14). 

I had also taken rubella vaccine(MMR booster shot) before i decided to conceive as Rubella can be dangerous in pregnancy.

I was diagnosed with gall stones and got the gall bladder removed. Gall stones can be an obstacle in pregnancy as one might be required to get operated during the pregnancy. But I have heard of quite a few successful pregnancies even with gall stones. So in case you were detected with gall stones during pregnancy, please follow your doctor's advice strictly. It can be easily dealt with due care. 

It's also advisable to get a pelvic scan done in case of irregular menstrual cycles to check for lifestyle diseases such as PCOS.

I had conceived within 3 months fortunately. I'm really happy to share my journey of a healthy yet challenging pregnancy with you all. This is the first blog of the series. Please stay tuned to listen to my mommyhood stories😀

P.S. Consult yojr gynecologist for any advice. Im just sharing my experiences. Also please don't take advice from Dr Google😉

A Wedding To Remember :)

 The last couple of months have been difficult for the whole world. My family was eagerly looking forward to my younger brother's wedding which was planned by the end of 2020 in India. Being away from family for the last five years, it was a really special occasion for him and his fiancee. But the pandemic made them make a really difficult decision. They mutually decided to get married in the USA in presence of a few friends and the virtual presence of their families. But nevertheless, it turned out to be a very memorable day in our life. 

The beautiful ceremony took place in the naturally beautiful Silver Falls State Park, Oregon. On the pleasant morning of 6th September 2020, Neel and Asmita vowed to be together forever. It is always said that friends are the family you choose. Their beloved friends helped them arrange a warm yet cozy wedding in spite of their busy corporate jobs. Their close friend Radha was their officiant. The beautiful cake was baked by their friend Juhi. All the other arrangements and decorations were being taken care of by Surabhi, Suhrud, Aditya, Anagh, Nischala, and Grishma. The flower decorations in the dining area were done beautifully by their gang of friends. Not to forget their cute furry friend who was the ring bearer. 

The family of both the groom and the bride participated virtually. Both side families sent their blessings in the form of recorded messages and the holy mangalashtaka. The celebration in India was no less with a wedding cake and a special lunch from Hotel Shreyas. Thank you for these wonderful moments. That day was like a breath of fresh air for all of us.

The most special thing about this wedding was a noble deed by the newlywed couple. There is a custom of wedding gift registry at such weddings. Neel and Asmita appealed to the people attending the wedding to donate for a very noble cause instead of gifts. Jnana Prabodhini foundation from Pune is collecting funds for various noble causes in the pandemic era. These causes include children's education, COVID relief, women empowerment, and many more. The wedding expenses were reduced at various levels to be able to donate more towards this noble initiative. They surpassed the aim of their fundraiser by collecting much more money. The organizations they are working for helped them in contributing equal amount from the company's side.

It requires courage to think differently. I am really proud of you Neel and Asmita for your noble gesture. I hope this encourages more couples to think differently. A true inspiration indeed. :) 

Natural ways to boost immunity.. other than any drinks and kadhas

The pandemic has changed the world in all ways. People have started realising that they were taking their body for granted. I've seen lot of people making different type of kadhas and drinking different types of waters to boost immunity. But have we  really changed our lifestyle that actually helps in boosting the immunity and being healthy? The answer isn't positive for sure.

The lockdowns have given rise to different types of anxieties. Poeple have found their own ways to kill the abundantly available time. Lot of new recipes are being tried.  But almost all of them are not very healthy. 

Being a doctor's kid, I have always been taught to have a healthy lifestyle since my childhood. Simple things such as balanced diet, enough sleep, moderate exercise and overall balanced mind help in boosting the immunity. So I'm enlisting few things which would help not just in short term but long term in leading a healthy life. I'm not against any kadhas, but according to me these thing matter more.

1. Diet

Having a healthy and balanced diet. Having all the vitamins, minerals, proteins and enough fats and carbs in your diet is necessary. I'm not a very big fan of fad diets such as keto or a total no carb diet. Eating green leafy vegetables atleast once in a week is(twice in a week ideally) preferred. A fresh fruit a day keeps the doctor away. I would always prefer fruits over fruit juices 😬. A variety of fruits with different vitamins would make more sense. 

Balancing the fats and proteins in the diet is the key too. I would suggest to keep the fried items in the diet for cheat days. I myself prefer shallow fried over deep fried items. Proteins can be balanced by sprouts, lentils and eggs and meats for non vegetarians. Although I'm a non vegetarian, I eat it very occasionally. Addition of lemons, guavas, goosberries to your diet will work wonders in all senses. Curd is also a magical item for me for the natural probiotics it gives. A handful of black raisins and almonds soaked overnight can be eaten in the morning 😃.

Junk and readymade foods are to be avoided as far as possible.

2. Moderate exercise is the second thing which I feel is absolutely necessary. A brisk walk for 30-45 mins a day or some floor exercises for 25-30 minutes will help in keeping the body fit. I'm again not a fan of too heavy exercises. I believe in balance for all aspects of my life.

3. Getting enough and sound sleep is very important. Reducing the screen time in the night is very important for this. 

4. Mental peace and well being is equally important for a healthy body. Everyone has their own way of achieving mental peace. Meditation, pooja or even a call with a loved one can bring the much needed peace sometimes. Spending time with your family and friends always helps.😃

5. Spending half an hour per day for yourself doing the activity you love is extremely important. It can be anything, from watching your favourite series to reading your favourite book. It can add a happy half an hour to your day full of work otherwise 😃.

I hope these tips will help everyone in these difficult times 🙏

Survival of the fittest... How fit are the Indian unicorns?

When the world is trying to come in terms with the unexpected pandemic, another quite expected challenge awaits all of us, the economic crisis! Nobody knows the depth of this crisis but everyone is trying to ready themselves to face this crisis! 

All the new statistics and future predictions about the economic crisis are confusing and scary at the same time! The most affected businesses would be the MSMEs and startups who are yet to establish a strong base! 

From what I have studied about the investments perspective of Indian startups, they are mostly dependent upon the cash flow from VC firms, PE funds and to some extent angel networks! The huge investment coming from a South Asian giant is critical for almost all the Indian unicorns. But lately that particular South Asian enterprise has landed in trouble with its few investments. 

It would be really interesting to know how these unicorns keep themselves floating amid this crisis. It's being said that, survival is all the more important than anything else. The cash left with most of these unicorns is only sufficient for a couple of months. They have to plan their strategy quickly yet effectively to stay in the business.

When we try to think logically, what alternatives do we think of? The usual answers would be, business diversification, a possible pivot or effective marketing gimmics which won't cost the company much but would fetch more customer base. But don't you think all these are extremely risky especially in the time of this severe crisis? It would be extremely critical for a startup to decide their business strategy for the near future. It's a do or die game! 

Talking about some of the best unicorns, who were an integral part of the lives of people in most of the Indian metros are now diversifying into totally new lines of business. Food delivery giants like Swiggy and Zomato have ventured into online grocery delivery. Swiggy particularly has been preparing itself to be a last mile delivery game changer. It recently acquired Suprdaily, for the daily delivery of milk, bakery and other essentials. But Dunzo is giving a tough competition to Swiggy already. The fittest of them would survive and eventually win this last mile delivery war. 

Swiggy is few steps ahead, trying to venture into online alcohol delivery. On the other hand, it has closed its cloud kitchen business recently with the aim of saving on the expenses. A diversification along with a closure, what does their startegy really indicate? Would it be purely demand based in future?

Amazon is currently piloting food delivery in India, it would be a huge competition for the food delivery unicorns if Amazon is successful. And one of them might want to get acquired by Amazon, let's see what future has in store for these last mile delivery companies.

Zomato on the other hand has recently acquired UberEats, India. Without much of diversification, what would be Zomato's change of startegy? Would significant changes be coming up in their subscriptions and memberships in future? It is being predicted that, dining in restaurants is going to pick up pace very slowly in the post Covid 19 era. Where do Zomato subscriptions stand in then in post Covid 19 era? 

On the other hand, ride sharing services such as Ola and Uber offered their services for emergency and essential travel during the first few phases of the lockdown. That temporary pivot helped them in atleast keeping the moral of their drivers high. It would be really commendable of them if they decide some employee centric business model to sustain this crisis.

When all the other startups were struggling for survival, the grocery ecommerce companies have struck gold. Apart from struggles of manpower management, companies like bigbasket and grofers have been doing extremely well. Does this mean, that essential service companies would definitely survive the crisis? Customer panic buying is definitely responsible for this sudden surge in demand. 

Consumer behaviour and psychology need to be very carefully studied before formulating any critical business decisions and strategies in the coming times. Taking calculated risks might be the success mantra. Time can only answer which startups would survive this crisis and how? But till then, it would be fun to see and analyse their new business strategies...

P.S. A unicorn is a startup with a valuation more than  or equal to $1B.