MommyJoyCorner

Among the many lactogenic food items that help increase your milk supply, lactation cookies with oatmeal and flaxseed are quite popular. Towards the end of my maternity leave, I was doing everything possible around the house to help calm my restlessness.  So one fine day, it was 'cookie baking' day!  This was my first time making cookies and so did not really know if all the sugar in recipe is really necessary. But loved the end result anyways. I found this awesome pumpkin lactation cookie recipe  here  and modified just a little bit to my liking. Try it out and hope you like it. Though I should warn you that it is not entirely healthy with the amount of sugar and oil in it. One suggestion would be to try it with agave nectar instead of sugar. Ingredients: 2 tbsp Flaxseed Meal 4 tbsp Water 1 cup olive oil  1/2 cup sugar 1.5 cup brown sugar (packed) 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup pumpkin puree 2 cups flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda ...

My first self-realization happened two weeks after delivery at my daughters very first pediatrician appointment. My husband drove us to the hospital and as it was a busy hour, he had to park our car quite far from pediatrician's building. We started walking towards our doctors building with my husband carrying our daughter in her car seat. But as he started speeding to avoid the sun from falling on my little one's face, I found myself trying real hard to catch up with him! As I saw people walking past me wondering why I was walking so far away from my husband and baby, I felt a weakness I had never felt before! It was that I had any kind of body ache but just physically incapable to move any faster. Obviously that got me feeling low and I was visibly upset after catching up with my waiting husband at the hospital entrance. To top that, we had an old lady walk up to my husband asking 'Is your wife upset because she is already pregnant with second baby?'. Yep, I still h...

As you get closer to your due date, you will have to prepare your hospital bag. I would suggest having it ready by week 38 at the latest if you are a FTM and sooner if otherwise. Most of the hospitals in Northern California lets you stay at the hospital for 1-2 days for a normal delivery and 2-3 days for a cesarean delivery unless your doctor recommends a longer stay. Hospitals mostly provide all the essential things for mommy and baby but there may be a few things you want to carry in addition to be more comfortable. If daddy or anyone else is staying overnight with you at the hospital, you will need to carry a few essentials for them as well. You will come across many blogs and articles listing a whole range of items to carry in your hospital bag. Mommy will most likely be in the gowns given at the hospital unless you brought in your own gown or are expecting visitors. Based on my experience, it is good to carry just the essentials unless you are very particular about thing...

Breastfeeding is highly recommended for the many benefits it brings to you and your baby post delivery.  Prepping for Breastfeeding  Attend a breastfeeding class and understand how baby is supposed to latch. Buy a nipple cream for nipple soreness.  Lansinoh Breast Cream is a good one. You will be pumping at some point unless you are a full time stay at home home. Most of the hospitals offer a hospital grade breast pump for renting and they are very good. Otherwise, Medela is the highly recommended electric double pump. Following are some of the good to have items. Milk storage bags: You will want to start storing milk early so you can use them either when you get back to work or when your milk production reduces. Ziplock or storage rack: I used the ziplock and a freezer safe plastic box to store the milk bags. But there are some storage racks available too if you prefer that. Refer the following medela guideline for storage and use of breast milk. Nur...

Alright ladies, labor as the name suggests is definitely hard work. Every person, who has been through labor has a story of their own. Based on the stories I have heard so far, a lot of deliveries do not go as planned. Nevertheless, it is worth preparing your body and mind for delivery. Prepping for Labor Stay active throughout pregnancy by exercising and/or walking for atleast 30 minutes 4-5 days a week unless specifically advised by your doctor to rest.  Attend the labor/delivery class conducted at your hospital or elsewhere. They briefly go through the various pain management techniques, pros and cons of different pain medications such as anesthetics and epidural and also show you some not too graphic videos of labor. This helps you in deciding how you hope(you can only hope at this point) to manage your pain during labor.  Attend your hospital tour. They generally take you around to show delivery rooms, registration process and vending machines. Read throug...

Based on my experience so far(my dd, Aryaana turned 1 month recently), below are some of the newborn care essentials I would recommend having in your baby registry. Diaper Essentials Diaper is very first among the things you will need right after getting home from the hospital. You will mostly be using 6-12 diapers a day for atleast the initial couple of months. There are many choices one can make when it comes to choosing diapers ranging from disposable, organic to cloth diapers with all available in various brands. You can research on the pros and cons before making your choice. I chose pampers diapers and it worked out fine for us. Below are the essential things you will need for easy diaper sessions. Diapers: You will need some swaddlers with size N at least for the first few months. Make sure you have at least one big pack of this stocked at home before your due date. Diaper Pail and essentials: Not sure if it is manageable using an air tight trash can but I preferre...

Now that you have confirmed your pregnancy either via a home pregnancy kit or a urine test at the hospital, many congratulations!  I know it is very exciting to find yourself pregnant but trust me when I say it will take a few months to realize the full meaning if it is your first time. After I had my pregnancy confirmed, I started reading up online about things to look out for in the first trimester. Though I never ended up having the very expected nausea during my pregnancy, following are a few tips I found online and followed anyways to help prevent nausea. Eat healthy food in smaller portions and do not overeat. Get some fresh air if you feel nausea as soon as you wake up. It is common to feel it in the early mornings because of empty stomach. So have a light snack like baby carrots or nuts handy next to your bed side. Stay hydrated. Other things to start or continue doing throughout pregnancy are the following. Take prenatal vitamins everyday. Take a...

I am a FTM meaning First Time Mother. (Don't worry if you don't know the acronyms yet! Once you get pregnant and start reading related articles/forums online, you will get used to many more like DH, DD and others.) Honestly, pregnancy was one of the most beautiful phases of my life. No, I am not lying and neither is my intention to encourage more women to get pregnant here! Maybe, I was comparatively lucky or expected the worst? I have shared a few of the things that helped me have a beautiful and memorable pregnancy at  maternity gyan post . After 5 years of marital bliss, I was ready to get promoted to parenthood. I would also suggest one to get pregnant only when they are mentally ready and not because of social or peer pressure. As a first step, I spoke to my gynecologist to know if there is anything I need to get tested for before beginning to try. Like most doctors, her suggestion was to 'do the do' for a year and come back for tests if things don't ...