Diaper Dilemma.

Itching to Write compares Cloth diapers and Disposable diapers in a very informative post.

As parents it is left to us to decide what we wish to use without feeling guilty either way as the impact of both on environment, wallet, convenience, comfort in total is more or less the same. Depends on what is the key to one as parents, is it comfort, convenience, cost, water or landfill.

Lesson learnt: Potty trained children are good for the environment! Are you kids listening? ;)

Kids are happy little things.

A wonderul post about kids. Some articles instantly get you into a mellow mood and this is one of them.

The best part about being a kid is that you don’t have to think much. You just run around happily, bang into things, start bawling, have mommy come to you and cradle you in her arms, mollycoddle you and mutter sweet-nothings that sound like incantations to conjure a cute fluffy little elephant from Happy-goo-goo land and then you’re happy again.

Link via The Visitor.

Is child rearing boring?

Gauri asks,

Boring ??? Humdrum ??? Lackluster ??? – Are these sentiments that one would normally associate with bringing up a child ?

Maternity help.

Ceekay writes about her decision to manage alone without help from the family after her delivery.

Ever since we declared that we are expecting a baby, the one question that we get the most is "Who are you calling to come over and help you?" And then they are stunned to learn the answer - No one. Almost all desi families here do that. As soon as there is a baby on the way, one set of parents is recruited to come help them when the baby arrives. And I think that is a very good arrangement - if it works for you. That's a BIG if.

You go Girl! All our wishes are with you even if they are only virtual!

Tips to travel with a child.

Artnavy asks if you are an elephant or a bird! :)

Elephants take their young everywhere with them. Remember the elephant patrol in Jungle Book? Birds leave their young behind. My own experience as an Indian mother of a 20 month old, tells me you could enjoy being the elephant.

Outsourcing Breast Milk.

Big Zed reacts to this article in Time on Wet Nursing and Cross nursing.

Now, I'm a fierce advocate of breast feeding but if for whatever reasons, I can't breast feed my baby, I will not, for one second hesitate in giving her formula. But there is absolutely no way I would let someone else breast feed my baby.

What are your thoughts?

Virginia Tech Shooting.

The world looks a lot less safe after becoming a parent, does nt it? We start reacting to terrible events like these as a parent and personally, it scares the hell out of me. God bless the victims and their familes.

Sundar, Orchid, Fuzzy, SS and the Desimomzclub share their fears.

Birthday is on the air.

Mommyof2 celebrates a a double bonanza.

Sunita celebrates her daughters birthday. Pretty frock! :)

Moppets mom makes it a Happy Day.

SM plans a double whammy.

If I have missed any recent birthday bash, please comment with a link. I know for sure four more birthdays are coming up. March and April seems to be a busy month! ;)

Left Vs Right.

Left or right – which is right? Manchus asks the right(!) question!

There should not be a stigma attached to the left handedness. I remember my brother used to use his left hand more than his right hand and my parents corrected him and changed him to a right-handed person. And then when he was old enough, they used to complain how bad his handwriting was. Hellooo!! You were the one who changed him. I am sure he would have had a better handwriting, had he been a leftie.

That said, the World is definitely easier for Righties than Lefties. Very unfair.

Thumb sucking.

Poppin wonders why there are nt that many posts on thumb sucking at the Mom blogs. Do you have some tips?

My mom says that I should use bitter tasting juice or mittens but I'm loathe to try it. It feels wrong somehow, besides it may not work anyways. I am seriously at a loss on what to do for this one.

New Moms.

Congratulations to the two brand new mommies, Trishna and Mona. May God bless the little ones Aadya and Hana with all the good things in the world!

Noodlehead, you are next! :)

Separation anxiety.

I am dreading the day my daughter will start play school. I am finding all sorts of excuses to not let her fly the nest anytime soon. So I could relate to this touching post by Fuzzy.

There have been days and times during this one year where I have longed to get back to work and now when the time has actually come near I am feeling sad that the year is going to end.I had a wonderful time watching little baby Ina soon to turn into a toddler.I am now worried how will I stay away from her and go for work.I will surely miss her terribly,miss all those little naps we took,those leisurely walks we went for,the stories we read and games we played,the songs we heard together and danced to,I know by the end of the day I will still come home to her and she from her daycare and we will still have fun but it would still not be the same way as being around 24/7.

Hats off to all the working moms who take the tough decision to leave their babies first. I cried when starting school, college and even work. I realize I have issues!

Sleepless in Babyville.

A round up of some of the posts on the Sleeping issue.

Rohinis very informative post is here.

Mad Mommas emotional post is here.

Mine is here.

Desimomzclub has two posts here and here.

ps.
Do leave a link in the comment if you have done a post on the same subject.

To have or not to have...

Below is the mail I got from a reader. Since Im also sailing in the same boat, it would be great to hear your thoughts on this issue. Is a family incomplete without a second child?

It seems like everyone of our friends is pregnant again. After a difficult pregnancy and first year, we have decided not to have another child. Most of the time I am fine with this decision, but every now and then, it feels strange and scary. I find myself revisiting the decision every few weeks and tormenting myself over whether it is the right thing or not. I feel guilty that I may be depriving my son of a sibling and then I wonder whether that is the right motivation for another child. Should I have another one only because I am afraid that this one will be lonely ?

As Indians, we live in a society where 2 kids is the norm. It is something everyone takes for granted. It is really difficult being the exception rather than the norm. I am working on coming to terms with this tough decision and was hoping to hear some words of wisdom from parents with one child who have found peace with their decision, instead of regrets.

I would really appreciate it if you could address this issue in indianmommies.blogspot.com

Sahithis Mom has written a post on the same dilemma here. Seems like yesterday when I was going through the same dilemma for the first one. It never ends, does it?

An open letter to all Toddlers.

I am planning to frame this letter and hang it in Ashus room! Hilarious!

It's NOT yours. You seem to have adopted a mantra of "If I can see it, it's mine. If you have it, it's mine. If I think about it, it's mine." Let me tell you something, kiddos. You know when all of us leave in the morning, only to return home 8 hours later? We're at work earning a living. And while we're firm believers in the "mi casa es su casa" philosophy and don't really mind sharing our things with you, you need to ease up a little, ok?

I'm sure every parent with a toddler will relate to this one. Why don't you try writing an open letter too? Do mail me the link if you do.

Summy and the Doctor.

This post has stayed in my mind even after so many months. I totally relate to it now. Hubby and I say "And the Oscar goes to..." and laugh out loud whenever our daughter Ashu pulls a fast one on us. And I always remember this incident with Summy fondly.

Her regular doctor was out, so we saw another doctor. "So she has a stomach ache?" the doctor asked. I waved my hand and said "I don't know ..." thinking about how to put it without hurting Summy's feelings.

Belated Birthday wishes, Kiddo! :)

Having a baby in Bangalore.

Congratulations to S and N, soon to be mommas who mailed me and since both of them are in Bangalore, I thought this post will have lots of information for them. If you are planning to have a baby in Bangalore, this is a must read.

I lucked out with a very good doctor who was willing to listen to all my concerns (I talked to her about not wanting a C-section, for example; I was pretty nervous that I would be pressured into having a C-section), explain to me why something was prescribed and generally make the birth a collaborative process. This was a pleasant surprise. I had heard that doctors stood on a pedestal and told patients what needed to be done, without any explanations.

Don't forget to go through the comment section for lots of useful information on Hospitals and Doctors.

Have your say.

This website is going to be a link fest for the most part. You can send emails with links and they will be published here. It can be either your own post or any other post/article related to parenting.

Mention if you don't want to be given credit.

It would be great if you can keep this site in mind when you are reading something interesting or informative on any issue related to Parenthood and send a mail to indianmommies at gmail dot com with the link.

You can also send me an email if you need any information and I can post your query here.

Your suggestions are most welcome. indianmommies at gmail dot com is the email id to contact. Hope to see an active contribution from all of you.

Are we giving up too much?

I would like to be a working mom, yes! But I have never heard a more ridiculous reason to be one. "Oh What if my husband dies at 47? What will I do?" Please, give me a break! Have you never heard of Life Insurance? And when the father of my children "drops dead", I'm supposed to console my children by saying "Well, at least I have a job"? What Bull! And what a negative way to look at life! Chee chee chee!

Is it really worth it to be home when your second child loses his fourth tooth if something happens to your spouse and you end up losing the home entirely? Your children lose their rooms, their local area, their friends and their school. For them, the cost of having a stay-at-home mum is high indeed.

Thanks Akkare for the link.

What do we learn from our kids?

I have always wondered if mothers can be atheists. This post has made me realize its almost impossible. What do you think?

I’ve learnt that my womb has only been an instrument to bring this soul into the world and once brat is an adult my work will have been done, and what I do to bring brat up is only repaying my karmic debt to my mother for bringing me up. I believe now in the verse written by Kahlil Gibran which says your children are not yours to keep.I’ve learnt that the sky is different colours at various parts of the day and Jai Jai Bhagwanji actually sits up there with his crayon and watercolours to keep changing the look.

This reminds me to publish the post I have in my draft for a very long time on Moms and their belief in God.

Winkies Women.

As Kodis mom has written in the comments, only our dearest Mommy Blogger, Tharini, can write such a touching post on Tomato Jam!

Many days passed by in this manner. Then one day, she rolled up her sleeves, got into the kitchen and made some jam. Tomato jam. Red, ripe, juicy tomato jam. And that first batch was a killer. She offered it to him. He looked at it dubiously,and then at her with suspicion.

I always thought that I started blogging inspired by you. But today I found out you started blogging a couple of months after me. Anyways you are my inspiration Tharini! :) Heres to you.

Hello World!

Welcome to Indianmommies!

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i) if I have missed any Desi Mom blogs in the blog roll.
ii) if you want to link some interesting mommy posts here.
iii) if you have any suggestions.

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