Baby-Led Weaning Gagging Vs. Choking

When I started solids with my baby I panicked a lot. Though I was well informed theoretically I was afraid of how would it go? So I pushed it to 7 months to say. I made up my mind to go with baby-led weaning so I knew the reaction that I will get from people around. I was even called a hard mom. According to them, I was torturing my daughter but the truth is I am allowing my daughter to lead a life of her choice. When we were in a trial phase we had to encounter gagging episodes which panicked the people around me. Since I knew the difference between choking and gagging I was able to overcome this scenario. These are the main concerns why people are against the baby -led weaning. I just wanted to give confidence to my fellow readers by making them understand the importance of gagging and choking and how to survive in these conditions.

It’s said by our ancestors and elders that while eating our concentration should be on food and it shouldn’t be carried away in haste. It’s the same mantra applied for baby too. Patience is the key factor and a pleasant environment is to be made such that baby has a good relationship with the food. Whenever food is taken one should understand the key concept of safe eating. Only this knowledge helped me to understand the principle behind eating comfortably.

When my baby was eating once, she happened to gag and my neighbour started to panic and she judged me as she didn’t find me as a panicked mom. I was calm because I knew the difference between gagging, choking and coughing. In shaa allah planning to cover that here so many new-moms will be able to take the finger food from the start without fear.

Gagging is often accompanied by coughing

Gagging is quite noisy and it’s going to be dramatic. The way your child deals with it will make anyone judge you. But it’s very safe. Each and every individual will face this in their life. The babies gag often when you start the solids. It’s because the gag reflex is in the front for babies and as they grow older it shifts to back when they are 12 months. That’s the reason why it is requested to start solids when they are ready.
Though it seems to be scary it’s a learning process for a baby. They get to learn the problem-solving skills. They are able to analyse the size, shape, and texture of the food to be allowed by them. It’s like they are the boss and they know how much to eat.

Choking

Choking is a silent killer. It’s a process of blocking the airway. With informative baby-led weaning, choking isn’t possible as the caregivers will know about the perfect size, shape, and texture. They won’t go wrong if they are knowledgeable in this area. Everything is with almighty’s wishes too.

Vomiting

Vomiting happens when they are learning to eat. If a child gags heavily the next stage they will land is vomiting. Vomiting doesn’t happen with all kids. It’s not like the adult technique. We associate everything with adult stage and forget the key point. Al hamdulilah they don’t become fatigue with this process just like adults.At one point they might puke and the next moment they will enjoy their meal just like nothing happened.

Tips to make it safe
While eating they should sit straight in a chair and been given their time and pace. If at all they gag it’s suggested not to put in your fingers to push the food out. It might panic them. It might even push the food in. Instead, let the gagging reflux bring the food out. To avoid choking please do go with the flow but being well learned on this topic.

Why didn’t I prefer chunky puree?
Purees are usually associated with the baby. I didn’t like the concept. Being a breastfed mom I felt my baby gets nutrition required and the food we give is an addition to the regular process so why to make them food aversion. I myself isn’t a fan of soups and purees so why to train them for it and then transition them to a family food! So our journey was straight with the finger food. To know what was our first food click here.

It’s a developmental milestone and I didn’t want to break that. I can see how the kids at the age of 7 still struggle to chew Whereas baby-led weaning kids chew like a pro. Maa shaa allah almighty has created each and everything for a purpose and we confuse with the modern life. When we go back to learn basics we can lead a healthy life. Al hamdulilah  happy to know this process and I am working on it to lead a simple easy life. LIFE is SIMPLE and Enjoy the life without complications. I enjoy the mess babyA does and follow the baby-led. Please do share this piece of message if you liked it.

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BFF-BREASTFEEDING FELLAS; BREASTFEEDING FRIENDS FOREVER

We are going to complete our 18 months in a day and l am getting to hear from people around, She is No more a baby! Stop nursing her! If not now then never will she forget. To all the people who say this I just smile back and walk off from the place as I feel, nursing is my duty and almighty has mentioned in the holy Quran to nurse till 2 years comfortably and then wean naturally. Al hamdulilah I am able to nurse my daughter till date. Nursing her I get arrested at times but I feel it’s a good bonding we get to share with joy. The sweet cuddles, the naughty moments and the curvy wavy acrobats she performs since day 1 of her birth can never be tagged even with a million dollars. Who will wish to miss such priceless asset that easily? Isn’t it good to feel that she enjoys the benefits from me as long as she wants to? So when I said I’ll nurse till she self-weans people started to laugh! Did I say wrong? I spoke and convinced her to allow me to baby-wear her. When I say this people mock at me! I don’t care and l have asked her permission till date whether its babywearing or cloth diapering or the undies now. Only since she showed discomfort with the jacket mode ON in a carseat, I was given an opportunity to do my research to learn how to keep her warm. Even now she prefers to be on Undies at home and we are nowhere near potty training. When she can decide on this she can surely decide for herself when to stop nursing too. Through this post I am giving reply to the entire mob out there who keeps on asking why do l still nurse?

Picture courtesy

• It stops tantrums
• It makes their bad moment to a good one
• It prevents and shortens the illness
• A bond between mom and baby grows
• It improves their immunity
• It improves their quality of life
• It lowers cancer risk
• Peaceful sleep of the baby

This post is not to hurt anyone; it’s for those who tend to hurt me.

When a doctor said its time to stop nursing as extended breastfeeding doesn’t pass any energy to the kid I decided to change the doctor. When you get to hear this, it’s best to change the doctor. At whatever age you are nursing your kid, the kid knows to extract the energy from you and it’s the duty of a mom to eat healthy to gain and pass off the energy and make it a vicious cycle. Being in a research environment all my life; the instinct has made me to research and go with the flow.  Al hamdulilah thanks to my mom for this.  Glad that Faru supports me in all my baby decisions. It’s a real gift. During my initial struggles of breastfeeding my sisy helped me and gave me the confidence to get me to this level where I am right now. To the new moms out there, we have a post on the blog to get prepared on Breastfeeding. Please do have a look on it.

Since I have got to hear of negative stuffs on extended breastfeeding, I asked my mommy blogger friends about their views on Extended Breastfeeding. So here is a gist of what they said. Glad I am around the people who have supported my decision always! It’s good to get the positive energy always!!

Rayeesa Rayeesa

I am a mother of 19 months old boy and Alhumdulilah still breastfeesing. For me, the no.1 factor is that Allah has ordered us in Quran to breastfeed for 2 years. It is his right. The second reason being it is great for immunity and brain development.

Ayesha Yakoob Al-Yousuf 

Alhamdulillah, I have nursed all my kids till the age of 2 years because its recommended in the Qura’n “hawlain kamilain’ – two complete lunar years. I didn’t want to wean them off before it was time as it was still their right.I began to wean them ever so gradually only when the time was near. For me what motivated me was the incomparable convenience of breastfeeding. Yes, its convenience. You wont’ be bothered with washing so many bottles, you can instantly comfort them when they are hurt, it’s much easier at bedtime and through the night (although this has to be controlled towards the end) and all this comes with the innumerable benefits of breastfeeding to both mother and child including nutritional, psychological and emotional.

Zayeneesha Ayeina

Both of us sisters breastfed our kids till 2 years of age as Allah prescribed in the Qur’an (And we even nursed each other’s kids lol hence making us foster mums to them 💞) – although difficult in the start, it has been a breeze afterwards Alhamdulillah and the benefits of it all couldn’t have made us decide otherwise 💜

Madelon Basher 

 I breastfed my son until 3.5 years. After completing his Islamic birthright we continued until his need was fulfilled. Breastfeeding is so much more then just nursing. Here in Holland there are many misconceptions about breastfeeding in our ummah. One of the reasons I started writing about breastfeeding on my blog.
I am also part of the board of the (Dutch) Islamic Breastfeeding Organisation Halimah. We are there for sisters who want to fulfill the birthright of their children by giving them all the physical, mental and spiritual islamic guidence, support and knowledge they need. Breastfeeding your child is a blessing given to us and it is so wonderful seeing sisters helping and supporting eachother, spreading proper knowledge about breastfeeding all for the same goal. Completing a part of our deen. Breastfeeding is hard work and every sister deserves true support when needed. The breastfeeding period only happens once in a child’s life and it is such a special way Allah subhana wa ta’aala gave us to bond with our children. I am still amazed every time new scientific research shows new benefits of breastfeeding. Even for toddlers and preschoolers the health benefits continue what was one of my reasons to proceed after the 2 years.

Diah Dwi Arti 

I breastfed my first son for only 8 months because I got pregnant with my second son. I had a bad morning sickness at the time so I couldn’t eat well. I decided to stop breastfeed him and it broke my heart. I promised to continue the breastfeed if he asked when his brother was born but he never asked for that. I then breastfed my second son for more than 2 years, about one or two months. Now I have my third son and I’m willing to breastfeed him until he’s 2 years. Why breastfeed them? Because it’s cheaper than giving formula for them. Cheap, healthy, practical. And breastfeeding is a great process to make a bonding between mom and baby. The second reason is breastfeeding is a natural way to birth control. I myself got my menstrual periode 4 months after giving birth. But ofcourse there are many challenges in breastfeeding from the lack quantity to the quality of breast milk. Weaning is also a challenge. I wean my first and second son without any difficulties alhamdulillaah. And I hope so with this third baby. I wrote something about breastfeeding in my blog as well so you are free to check my page.

Weronika Ozpolat

 I breastfed all 4 of my children and currently still breastfeeding the youngest. Although I experienced a lot of negativity for carrying on so long, I managed to continue until near the 2 year mark. Despite negativity, I found breastfeeding easy and the best way to give my babies the nutrition they needed. I think having a supportive husband really helped. There are so many health benefits, even for toddlers. It is also a great way to comfort them. It was a special bonding experience and I am proud I was able to do it.

These lovely mumma bloggers said I am a rockstar and I can nurse my baby until we can!! In shaa allah will nurse until she weans off naturally with almighty’s grace. As I have got support from my friends you will also get support from us all!! Say a hello to your breastfeeding friend from our gang of mommy bloggers!!

Peek-a-P(b)oo

If a person talks about poop often he probably would be a doctor or a mother. If you speak about the poop without any shy then you are a mother ofcourse.

Discussion about poop may happen anywhere and infact everywhere. It might be on a dining table, date nights or even during hangouts.

We mothers wake up thinking about shit, if the baby hasn’t pooped a day anxiety arises and then we literally will be behind the baby to check if he/she has pooped.

Here we are going to check on the role of Poop from pregnancy till the end.

During Pregnancy 
All forms starting from constipation to diarrhea will happen in this stage. Whatever it is poop topic won’t be a conversation topic here. The topic will be zipped one not even to husband or to the doctor due to hesitation fearing bully. But seriously she wouldn’t have a clue that a big list is in wait thereafter.

During Labour
It’s a default that when you push out the little human in you, you invariably push out the poop too. Its a very common embarrassment that every mother faces. Its science of nature and none can escape from this incident.

After Labour
After the baby is out, the last thing which will happen is the bowel movement. From now ON everyone will talk about the poop. Few will get constipated and the whole team will speak about the steps to stimulate  the bowel. When you get your first poop after birth that’s where you will start thinking about poop. The word poop would have become a part and parcel of your life by then.

Newborn Poop
This is where you don’t care about embarrassing moments or comments regarding poop anymore . It becomes a norm. Starting from the meconium which is black tar sticky substance to the mustard coloured one. From now bum cleaning,becomes a skill and you would wait for the baby to poop. Poop becomes a point to track the jaundice level in baby and recording how often the baby poops. I still remember noting down the poop records in a book and eventhough i kept a track digitally  i was asked to track down in a paper by my cousin who happened to be a doctor.  Then the conversion of mustard colour poop and then comes the stages of poops where they will be frothy and not frothy. If its frothy how to overcome that. Its the relation between the foremilk and hindmilk.  You will save the pictures of the poop to show to the doctor to know the reason. Thanks to the family with years of experience who will easily give thousands of poop clarifications stories. History of gas issues. Massage stories what not. I luckily had my sister who took care about the poop job where she also discussed about it to her doctor friends to find a solution and the phase definitely consists of innumerable sleepless nights. Your sleep will be lost until they don’t poop. Its very common for breastfed babies to not to poop in their initial days but luckily we were in this stage for a day or two and we were back in track but in those two days i would have gone mad.
Just like the days move out the shit stories also move out and then comes the next stage of poop.

Blowouts
This is what worried me a lot when i was conceived looking at the blowouts the other kiddos had and the face of mommies went strange looking at the condition the baby was!. Luckily i hadn’t faced this condition as babyA was either in a nappy or a cloth diaper during this stage. Where we safeguarded the cloth she wore during the poop blast. As it was cloth the blast didn’t happen like it occurs in disposables. In the meantime there will be tension about the diaper rashes. Luckily our diaper rash history was minor. Even Before her bum cheeks becomes bright red or severely erythematous on  I would apply coconut oil or diaper cream to make her feel comfortable. Mommy anxiousness right! Luckily we crossed this stage and landed into the real poop phase.

Real Poop
Once my baby reached a stage where solids entered the real poop comes into picture. Since she eats cultural food her poop is going to be like adults. Since its a cloth diaper the smell is going to be natural without any fragrance. It will be so pungent. I din’t find it awkward because most of the time it’s only me and my kiddo. I myself at times  feel nauseated due to the pungent smell but above all if i don’t sniff it a single day it becomes a matter of anxiety and stress. Luckily I am happy we don’t face this issue frequently .When speaking about it to other mommy friends i feel better as obviously the baby poops only when there is an intake. But a watch should be kept about the consistency as that conveys the status of baby’s health.

Though we are not in the process of potty training we make sure we are in cloth nappies or undies so we don’t have poop accidents soiling the floor, carpets, beds etc. Poop becomes a part of your life in your motherhood journey. You become obsessed more with the poop history where you will walk , speak, sleep with the poop. I went a step ahead and got a poopy print diaper from the Superbottoms. You will understand me only if you are a cloth diapering mom!!

As every phase goes on this phase will also move on. It’s afterall a small experience and every Mom would definitely go through this atleast once in their life !! After all life is all about finding happiness and cheer in every minute things happening dawn to dusk !! Happy peek-a-p(b)oo mommies !! 😉

Growing up as A MOM- Reasons to climb a Slide.

We went to a mall nearby where they have a small playarea. They had a small slide over there and babyA being small i didn’t think she could climb the slide. When she did everyone gave me a strange look but i loved her spirit and started to film it and enjoyed the spirit in her with pride. Later when I came back home and sat back and analyzed why did I enjoy it, i came up with a list. So now I am going to share why a child should be allowed to climb the slide.

1. A child can climb the slide only when they put in their complete strength and energy. Its a form of being active and a form of exercise. And a person cannot climb to the top just like that. It needs complete determination and energy and self motivation ofcourse.

2. As i said climbing the top cannot happen without will power and self motivation. To reach the top the child will analyse and find out a way to reach the top. Hence creativity is kindled in the child. The gross motor skills also play a keyrole.

3. A child cannot reach the top in the first attempt so here the kid is able to learn the concepts of failure and success. The kid is able to learn how to accept failures positively and pile up the confidence within to transfer the failures as stepping stones to grab success finally.

4. The child is able to learn how to achieve the goal and what are ways necessary to achieve the goal.

5. The child is able to trust him/her. And also learns how to solve a problem.

These are the ways which i figured out. If you agree with me please do share with us why do you feel its necessary for a child to climb a slide or any other sport or game that looks apparently large for the age!! Do share if you like this article.

Does my baby need all the toys in the world??

It’s the month of November and we are going to complete 17 months soon in shaa Allah! Earlier Shopping was a difficult task as we will have to go to a shop research about the product and then analyse if we need them and then buy it but now the scenario is completely different. Sitting in front of a gadget shopping is just a click away ! With the social media mode ON we get lot of choices and we tend to forget if we have that particular product in our home and buy them again?? So this post is about people who z think our babies need to be given the best and buy stuffs without understanding if the child is interested in that particular product or not. In this era, parents feel that they shouldn’t compare and fall in the trap. If a particular mom sees a product even without analysing they get it for their kid.

I am just saying before buying stuffs for the kids please do think if it’s really needed? Not every single product in the market is necessary for our baby.

Before thinking about a product answer these simple questions

1. Is it just a toy? Does it have any value?

2. Is it age appropriate?

3.Is it for me or my child?

4. Is it relating to my child’s interest?

5. Do I have any stuff similar to this kind at home?

6. Will my child really understand the importance of money?

If the answer is satisfying then go for it else we will skip it.

For e.g. One of my friends got a magnatile for her kid from xyz vendor and she got the same product from the another vendor too. So here the product is replica. Is it really necessary for the kiddo?? I don’t think so it’s important. Let’s encourage mompreuners but within our limits too as we need loads of money for the future ventures.

With the Thanks giving offers going on I was tempted to get the indoor slide for my daughter. I even convinced my husband to make the payment as he strongly believes that I won’t spend money in useless stuff but before hitting the Pay NOW button I stopped and asked Is it a luxury one?? Yes it’s a Luxury stuff for sure. If we own the Slide at home then for sure going to park will be a question mark in the future! If we don’t go out how will she make friends? How will she  socialize? So made up our mind to not get it. If a ball pit, slide, swing, etc is accessible at home for them then when and how will they explore nature?

Being a mommy of a One year Old I really feel it’s not necessary to spend in toys. It’s with my experience. We got her rattles and rattles that’s it as that’s the main thing she would like in that age. Anything with music is what they like in that age. I invested in few books too as I  was brought up in that way.

Even too much of books is a kind of pressure i would say. Let kids be taken to the library and let them use the public library for usage of books.

Please don’t fall for the peer mommy pressure and get the stuff for your kid. Analyse and do a research if your kid will be happy with the particular product or learn with it.

A one year old will like to play with empty boxes, bottles, shoes, broom and dustpan than the costly stuffs you get for your kid. When they like to use them allow them so that they will be happy. If you feel it’s wrong use positive statements and chance the habit.

Experience and time is important for the kid than the money you spend on the product. More than indoors take them outdoors and let them enjoy the nature in their own way. Let them get dirty as it’s good. The West is researching and now says Attachment parenting is best, cosleeping is best, carrying the baby is best which our forefathers said years ago. So instead of following the Western culture let’s chin up with pride our own old traditional ways to  make the kids enjoy the nature and get them maximum joy with just minimal toys.

If you feel if I am right share the message happily!! Happy thanksgiving