Oil Change ?!!

Winters have arrived in Delhi in full swing.  A foggy view of the park can be seen from my balcony.

 

 

What was my favourite flowery view in October (above), has now changed to a bare tree (below) looking so cold, I would knit a shawl for it!

 

Woollens and heaters have started their chores, teacups are doing extra rounds as knitting needles are out on duty.

 

Feeling adventurous, Coco's great granny not only suggested using mustard oil for baby's massage for winters, she gave her recipe of mustard massage oil too. Cooked with garlic, ajwain and heeng, the oil smells awful and is a lot greasy than coconut oil too. I feel like changing his clothes and cleaning the folds of his thighs and neck more often, which is a pain in chilly Dilli winter. However, the baby looks a lot more relaxed and warm with this massage.

We first rubbed the oil on his left leg as a test and left it overnight to see if it was okay. And it was okay! There are no allergies too! Old wisdom is good wisdom.

After using this for a couple of days, we shunned garlic and heeng, and stuck to ajwain only. As it turned out, garlic is good for painful joints and maybe done away with in regular massage. The oil is less smelly now.

Oil has changed, but I am not changing his name from Coco to Musto anytime soon or ever!

My tender COCOnut

About 8-9 months ago, my husband and I walked into a Naturals ice cream parlour and discovered amazing tender coconut ice cream. We would often order tub loads of ice cream after that evening and would simply enjoy the coconutty sweet coolness. If only we knew how important a role coconut is going to play in our near future!

When we were bringing him home from hospital, doctors clearly advised us to use coconut oil for massages. At home, we could not find any and an over enthusiastic great granny of Coco could not wait, so we took out a branded baby oil and Coco was given his first massage with everyone looking on, their mouths and eyes wide open, his father clicking snaps from various angles. Next morning, Mr. Coco was found covered with angry red spots all over his little body, ears so swollen, they were hanging. My first guess was the baby oil caused it. We  took him to the doctor and he scolded us for using any other oil. He said: no fancy oils, no powders, no lotions, only baby soap is permissible, and coconut oil.

After he was massaged with coconut oil, he smelled like ... well, coconuts. His father called him tender coconut first, but thankfully later settled to a more human like Coco! Then it just clicked and got kind of approved as his pet name till we got a better name for him. The name search is still on.

Coconuts are involved in many other ways too in Coco's case, but that story later.

Moral of the story:
1. Doctor's advice is better than TV ads, especially in case of premature babies.
2. Vegetable oils are good for massages, coconut oil being the best.
3. Not all babies respond to popular products in the same manner.

Stealing moments

 

Coco keeps me so busy, as any mom of a newborn will be familiar with, that despite imagining all sorts of topics to post, and writing them mentally, I have not even been able to see how my postless blog looks. Endless sessions of nappy changing hardly allow me time to eat or take a bath, catching forty winks is a luxury and being seen with a laptop….ooo! blasphemy!! But this lady here is determined to share with you a few moments of stolen time.

Anyways, the 6 week old has been visiting the hospital for his vaccinations as well as to keep his appointment with the pediatrician (or pedestrian, as Coco’s dad would say; another famous story in my household). It is really heartening to find out that he has put on a kg in less than a month, which is really important  since he was born a mere 2.4 kg. But it takes a very strong person to see the injection piercing their baby and not feeling queasy. Now I know why the bond between a mother and a child is so special. Each day I notice something about my baby that reminds me of my mother and I realize how she feels about me. Now I know my mom better. I love her even more. And I must say, every child needs a mother, even the old ones.