Tag Archives: mum

Bring your baby to the movies

Posted on December 15, 2015 | 7 comments

As a new mum, we do everything for our bub but at times you want to do things for yourself too. For me, it is my regular massage but I have wanted to go and enjoy movies in the cinema for a while.

The problem with a little one is that you never know when they are going to cry or want to crawl. So it is impossible to go to a normal movie session. Thankfully in Sydney, all the major cinemas offer baby and mum sessions.

I wanted to watch the new James Bonds movie so AS and I decided to go and give it a shot. Neither of us were sure if we would be able to enjoy the movie. On top of that we realised that the session is nearly 3 hours long only after buying the tickets.

I was so sure that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the movie so I was determined to take Chhori out of the theatre if she started crying so at least one of us would enjoy the movie. To get her to sleep, I fed Chhori before we went inside the cinema.

The session was in a normal cinema so we were not allowed to take the pram inside but had to park the pram outside. When the session stated they didn’t turn of the light like normal but just dimmed it a bit probably so we could feed and check the baby.

The best thing about the “Bring your Baby” session is that if your little one feels the need to cry or to make some noise, all the other movie-goers will understand because they have little ones too. As we went on a weekday afternoon session, the cinema was not crowded so it was great for everyone to stay far from each other.

Once the session started, I fed Chhori and she went to sleep on my lap. I was sure she wouldn’t sleep for so long but I concentrated on the movie.

I enjoyed the movie as it had been almost a year since I had been to a movie. Almost an hour into the movie Chhori started to stir which meant that she might wake up so I dream fed her hoping she would go back to sleep and lucky for us she did.

So she slept through the whole movie and I woke her up once the movie was over. We were happy with both our Chhori and the movie too.

So if you have a baby and thinking of going for a movie, please do some research and I am sure you will find something similar around you.

Have a great day everyone.

Take care,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

7 Comments

Posted in Being Mum, General, Our daughter

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Chhori’s first time in pool

Posted on October 24, 2015 | 15 comments

As it is very hot this spring, we decided that it would be a good time for Chhori to start going swimming. Of course, she won’t swim but I wanted her to get used to water.

chhori (1)

Normally when she has her bath she loves it so we thought it was a good sign. I bought a few swim suits for her even before she was born. The excitement of having a baby girl took me shopping many times while I was pregnant and on one of those trips I bought a beautiful one piece suit.

To make it easy for her, we went and bought floaters so we don’t need to hold her all the time and she too will be free to enjoy the water.

chhori (2)

We got her ready at home with her swimming nappy and the new swimming custom. She seemed excited already.

At the pool I took her into the water so she could get used to it before getting her into the floater. She was a pro, playing and kicking with excitement. The only bad thing was she wanted to drink the water and kept taking her tongue out. 🙂

chhori (3)

After a while, we put her in her floater and we swam while she enjoyed floating around. She was thrilled to be in the water and her expression was priceless.

We plan to take her to swim classes soon but in the mean time we just want her to get used to the water so she will learn how to swim quicker when the time comes.

Just a quick question for everyone with kids; what is a good age to send kids to swimming class? And when did your bub start swimming on their own?

Take care everyone till the next post.
M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO

15 Comments

Posted in Being Mum, Our daughter

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Chhori, my best friend

Posted on August 29, 2015 | 13 comments

I am a social being, an extrovert who always wants to be in the company of others. For me nothing is worse than staying home doing nothing. I never understand how people can stay home for weeks without meeting anyone. I guess each to their own but for me contact with another human being is really important.

chhori (3)

When my parents were here, I never had to think about being alone or lonely. They were always around to help, look after Chhori and make me smile. I really miss not living with family because after more than a decade I again felt the love of living with family. I had almost forgotten how it felt to have your loved ones around who love you unconditionally.

Then the D day arrived and my parents left for Nepal. It was going to be just me and Chhori for five days a week while AS was at work. I know I am very lucky to have so much time off work to look after Chhori because in Australia, we can take up to two years unpaid maternity leave. If you are very lucky, your work will pay you for a few months and the government will also pay 18 weeks minimum pay during the maternity leave. Most women choose to take a year off as financially going without income for more is too hard. One year is a good time as the baby is then old enough to go to childcare without too many problems.

chhori (1)

Anyway so it has been only me and Chhori for almost a month now. I have to admit I was very scared initially. I wasn’t sure how I was going to take care of her. How would she react to being with me alone when she has been so used to my mum being here? What will I do if something goes wrong? I had millions of questions in my mind but after a month I have to admit I feel more confident taking care of Chhori and we are a great duo now :).

I have slowly got into a routine with her so we have meal times, play times, sleep times and rest times. She loves to go out so I try to do different activities with her and she loves it. We visit friends and family and she loves all the attention that she gets.

chhori (4)

A few days a week, we stay home and we love it. Only me and her. Slowly she has become my best friend and I don’t feel lonely or alone when staying home with her.

We talk, we sing, we dance (okay I dance for her and she loves to watch 🙂 ), we have baths and we watch TV together. She loves when I play with her and talk to her. She loves when I take her photos and these days she has started smiling a lot.

chhori (2)

I know they say  “A daughter is a mother’s best friend.” I am so close to my mum and I always wished to have the same beautiful bond with Chhori. It is amazing that the beautiful bond has already started and I am so happy for both of us.

I now understand her different types of cry and act quickly to keep her happy. We talk baby talk even though the words have no meaning. I know it sounds silly but anyone who has kids know how cute these talks are :). Also it is a big part of their development.

chhori

Now I no longer feel the need to meet someone every day as I feel Chhori is always here for me and she keeps me happy, my life feels complete by her presence.

I am no longer scared to be alone with her as she is my best friend and we are lucky to spend so much time together. We love each other and know how to make each other laugh. She has so many tricks up her sleeves to keep me amused that no days feel the same and I look forward to each new day.

cchori (2)

These days, she tries to grab whatever she can get hold of and put it in her mouth. So I giver her my cheeks and she kisses them. That definitely melts my heart every time. I guess I could write about our beautiful bond forever but I need to stop here for this post.

chhori (5)

I am sure, every child has a beautiful bond with their parents and being a first time mum I’m discovering that slowly. Please share the  early memories of your child and you which brings a smile to your lips even now. I hope to read heaps of heart warming events from all of you.

Take care everyone and have a great weekend.
M form nepaliaustralian
XOXO

13 Comments

Posted in Being Mum, Our daughter

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Thank you solid food

Posted on August 25, 2015 | 1 comment

Anyone with kids knows that sleep is a luxury for  the first year of being a new mum. I am sure only a few are lucky enough to be able to say that their baby sleeps through the night from the very first week.

I am not any different either. Before Chhori came into my world I loved my sleep and tried to sleep 8 hours every night. I was always fresh and rested when I woke up every morning. But for the past 6 months, 8 hours of sleep seem like a distant dream. Like every new mum, I am juggling my new baby, home and everything else with little sleep. The sad thing is that I have so many things to do when Chhori sleeps that I cannot even catch up on my lost sleeps when she naps.

Chhori

For the first month, I had to wake up every two hours to feed Chhori. She didn’t know the difference between night and day so I had to follow her routine. Also she was exclusively breastfed so my husband couldn’t help me either even when he wanted to. Slowly she started to get better but until she was only breastfeeding, she used to wake up at least twice or more during the night.

I still remember the first time she slept through for more than 3 hours at night and I was super happy to get even that brief a rest.

chhori (3)

As I mentioned on my previous posts, I have started Chhori on solid food. I started slowly with purée and she now eats more solid. I will share more recipe on the foods I am making at home for her soon.

These days she has solid food 3-4 times a day. And I tell you she loves it too. I feel so good when she opens her mouth when I bring the spoon close to her. I am giving her a mix of home made and store bought purees. She is a good girl as she also eats pumpkins, carrots, sweet potatoes, parsnips and broccoli puree too. Of course her favorite ones are mango and banana pure and sweet custards.

apple puree (3)

The best benefit the solid food has bought apart from helping Chhori with required nutrition is that it is helping her sleep longer.

Chhori used to take 20 – 30 minutes nap 4 – 5 times a day and at night still woke up 3 – 4 times to feed. The longest she went without feeding was 4 hours and that on good nights. But since she started eating solids, she sleeps for 6 hours straight and I need to feed her only 1 – 2 times during the night. Also during the day, she has longer naps which sometimes has lasted up to 2 hours.

Chhori (2)

The first night she slept for 6 hours, I woke up just to check if she was OK. I was so glad that she slept for 6 hours straight for the whole week this week. And I know, things will get better from here on so big thanks to solid food.

To all the new mums out there, things do get better as they grow older in terms of sleeping. So hang in there and do what you are doing. There is no rule and no right and wrong. Just do what you think is right and eventually you will get there. Never forget happy mum is happy baby and a happy baby makes a happy mum too.

Now my next goal will be getting Chhori to sleep through the night which should hopefully happen in the next couple of months. I will definitely keep you posted with the progress.

All the parents who have been through all these situations please do share your tips and tricks to make a new mum’s life easier. I am sure I am missing some amazing tricks. Hope to hear from you all.

Take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian
XOXO

1 Comment

Posted in Being Mum, Our daughter

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Is a bassinet necessary?

Posted on August 16, 2015 | 14 comments

When you are pregnant for the first time, there are millions of questions in your mind. It was the same for us as well.

One of the questions we had was whether we really needed a bassinet or if we should just buy a cot. In Nepal, a cot or bassinet is a luxury and we as kids used to co-sleep with our mums.

But I strongly believe in not co-sleeping for so many reasons. I don’t trust myself not to roll over on to Chhori while I am deep in sleep.

When we went for our antenatal class, the midwife also discussed about the benefits of having a bassinet if cost is not a problem.

Lucky for us one of our friends gave us a bassinet as a baby shower gift. Normally a bassinet is used for maximum of 6 months. We started with Chhori sleeping in our room in the bassinet and then we plan to transition her into her cot later.

bassinet

As most of the initial months of Chhori’s life were cold winter months, we really thought that the bassinet was great. It was cosy and warm for her. The bassinet we have has wheels so it was very easy for us to take her any where in the house during the day as well.

At night, I was able to feed her when she started to stir, rather than a full on cry as she was next to me in her bassinet. It was so much easier to settle her straight away.

So in my opinion, a bassinet is good to have but not necessary. When using a cot, just make sure that the baby is at the bottom of the cot and that the cot is completely empty.

What are you thoughts? Please do share.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

14 Comments

Posted in Being Mum, Our daughter

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