Swelling of the ankles and feet is normal up to a certain limit unless it is accompanied by high blood pressure and excessive weight gain. The average weight gain in pregnancy is about 10 to 12 kilograms. Part of the natural weight gain during pregnancy is due to water retention in the body. The water content, which varies from individual …
Read More »Suckling Difficulties
Most babies suckle easily and naturally. They are born with the suckling reflex. To start the suckling reflex, a stimulus has to touch the baby’s hard palate. The stimulus is provided by the nipple, which has to be offered to the baby. But, occasionally a baby has to learn to suck. Especially in cases where the mother has flat or …
Read More »Substitutes For Breastfeeding
While there is no doubt that breast milk is best for the baby, it will always be true that for one reason or another, a small minority of mothers will not be able to adequately breast feed their babies and will have to resort to feeding by bottle or a cup. Usually a four to five month old baby can …
Read More »Stretch Marks
You are planning to have a baby. But you are worried that you will get marks on your stomach. Well, stretch marks are something that may be unavoidable. Nearly every pregnant woman gets them. Actually the number of marks you will have depends entirely on the pliability of the skin on your stomach. The skin has elastic fibres underneath which …
Read More »Stay Fit During Pregnancy
When my sister was carrying my nephew, all she did was look in the mirror and complain at the amount of weight she was putting on. Although she did go for walks in the evenings, her efforts were half-hearted as she was afraid of over-doing the exercise routine. She thought it might harm the baby. After consulting her gynaecologist, she …
Read More »Spare The Rod
I remember being spanked, but I don’t remember for what. The lessons were lost. My teacher was blissfully unaware that you cannot teach any lesson by spanking. What she did manage to teach is that it is acceptable to be a bully if you are bigger. And I always fantasied about becoming big – bigger than him – and beating …
Read More »Snapshots of Memory
A green hedge encrusted with white mountain roses – the smell I carry in my nostrils to this day. Pure and heady. I was three. It’s a snapshot of memory. I put a name to the memory much later. Lansdowne, a quiet and picturesque cantonment town set in the hills of Uttar Pradesh. My father had arranged the trip. He …
Read More »Smothering
It is impossible for a child to smother himself by lying face down on a bed with no pillow or getting under the bedclothes. He will come up for air when he needs to. What you need to be worried about are thin plastics since they are both airtight and clingy. If your child puts a plastic bag or a …
Read More »Skin Peculiarities
Have you developed some dark patches on your cheeks? Don’t worry. Pigmentation is a very common symptom in pregnancy, though noone knows what causes it. But the patches usually fade away after childbirth. The skin on the abdomen and breasts stretches as the uterus grows in size. So does the skin on the arms and thighs if you have put …
Read More »Sitting Up
The day your child sits up, he has achieved something big. His horizon becomes larger and this too is not achieved in a day. You prop him up with pillows and cushions, but he is not ready for it yet. Remember, you cannot hasten his development. You will have to wait till the particular part of his brain responsible for …
Read More »