Tag Archives: new baby

Being a good mum

I think being a mum is a really hard job as you are constantly judged. Not by your little ones as you are their world (at least when they are small) but everyone around us. Every time you have a conversation with someone, they will subtly imply that either they are doing a better job than you or that you am doing something wrong.

Chhori (3)

There are many instances like that but here are some recent examples.

  • As I mentioned previously, I normally make Chhori’s jaulo in advance. I make a batch for 3-4 days so I don’t have to cook every day. A mums have a shocked look on their face saying how baby can eat old food. They also mention that, they never even give their kids foods that were cooked in the morning for dinner. So fresh meal is prepared every meal. First of all, good job for doing that but please don’t judge me. I want to spend more time with my daughter when I come home from work every time than spend too long in the kitchen preparing food in advance helps me achieve my goal. It is good that you can manage everything so well but not everyone is the same so let it go.
  • I told someone that Chhori is sleeping in our room in a cot and end up on our bed as well. I was told we should make sure she sleeps in a separate room form around 3 months if not from birth. I guess being from Nepal, I felt it normal to have baby in our bedroom. We have made a room for her but I am not ready for her to sleep on her own yet. According to them, making them sleep on the same room as parents, we are not giving them room to be independent.
  • I am still breastfeeding (Chhori is 13 months now) as I still have plenty of supply and am thinking to continue it until she is around 18 months. People are shocked that I haven’t stopped already and that I am still thinking to go for so long. These days recommended timeframe here is at least 1 year and longer if you can so I was thinking I was following the guidelines but some mums think I am doing it all wrong.
  • I wrote a post recently about Waiting for baby to wake up when she sleeps in a car. Many mums think I am going overboard and someone even mentioned that I should get “Mother of the year” award. But for us, it is necessary as Chhori mostly has short naps like 30-45 minutes and if we wake her up, she won’t even sleep that long.
  • I love dressing Chhori up and to my surprise, some people have a problem with that too.
  • If you are on my Facebook, you will see lots of photos and videos of Chhori. I frequently update it and it is mainly for our family overseas. AS’s parents haven’t met seen Chhori yet so it is important for them to see all these photos and videos but some people think I am sharing too much.
  • When I started going to the gym, initially my mum was here so I used to leave Chhori with her but later I put her in childcare. A few people told me that she is too young to be left with strangers even for 2 hours. It was selfish of me to leave a baby just to exercise.
  • I used to take packaged food (purees) for Chhori when we are out and about when she was small. I was judged for buying her food instead of bringing home cooked meal. Now she can eat our food so I try to give whatever she can eat. So now I am judged for giving her adult food and not bringing baby food from home.

These are only a few examples. As you can see, there are so many times that people make me doubt about me being a good mum. I am trying my best and I love Chhori so much that I want the best for her.

Am I being unreasonably upset or this happens to you as well?

Hope you are having better day than I am. Take care.

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

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My parents are leaving

6 months ago I was so happy and I wrote a post that my parents are coming to stay with us for 6 months. At that time 6 months seemed like a long time but now the time has passed and my parents are leaving this weekend.

Yes, it has been six months since their arrival. After their arrival, they organised my Dahi Chiura ceremony. They were here when we welcomed Chhori into this world and they were here for every small developments with Chhori till now.

Dahi Chiura (15)chhori (4)

We did manage to visit many places around Sydney with them. My mum loved Madame Tussad as well as other attraction like Sydney Sea life, Sydney tower, Featherdale National Park, Manly Sea Life, Sealife Sydney and many other places.

Chhaithi  (6) Nwaran  (8)

We celebrated Chhori’s Chhathi, Nawaran and Pasni, my mum’s birthday, dad’s birthday, their anniversary, our anniversary , Mother’s day and my nephew’s birthday while they were here.

Aama ko Mukh herne (5) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (1) Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (12)

I have got so used to having them around. It has been the longest time we have been together since I left Nepal to come here. As I was not working after the birth of Chhori, I got to spend heaps of time with them, I feel so lucky to have them around and see them enjoying their grandchildren.

I loved my mum’s cooking, conversation with my dad and spoiling them with small things. It felt so good to buy them things and see them happy.

Wedding Ceremony

But in few a days, all of these are coming to an end for now. I am not sure how I will manage without them.

Not only I but Chhori and my nephew will also miss them badly as they are so used to seeing and playing with their grandma and granddad.

Happy 35th Anniversary Dad & Mum (11)

For me it will be a nightmare as it will be the first time I will be left with Chhori on my own for a long period. As AS will be working it will be Chhori and I alone the whole day. Chhori is growing so fast and has started to roll over which means I can’t even seem to blink my eyes or look away from her and she starts to roll over. I am sure I will cry the first few days.

If things work out as planned, they promise to come back again in 6 months’ time. I am hoping it will happen but in the meantime, it will be all alone with my little on.

I know I am extremely lucky to have them here even for a short period as not everyone is as lucky to have their parents here to help them after child birth but even imagining their not being here makes me so sad.

Wish me luck that I will not go crazy. Any tips on how to look after a baby on my own will be highly appreciated. I hope to share the happy news about their arrival again soon.

Until my next post, take care everyone,

M from nepaliaustralian

XOXO

Getting back to a healthier happier me

I am not sure if it is normal or not but I normally look at my old photos and realise that I had a better body pre-pregnancy.

myoga

During pregnancy I put on 18 kilos in total which was 3 kg more than the recommended weight. I have to admit that most of the weight was around my tummy. My weight gain was normal for the first 6 months but  I was hungry a lot during the last few months of the pregnancy and I was munching on lots of junk food too.

my pregnancy

I continued with my walking and swimming routine but still managed to put on a good amount of weight. The last month was the worst with swollen hands and legs. Summer heat of Sydney didn’t help at all.

pregnancy  (1)

Then my beautiful angle arrived on this earth; healthy and happy which made everything I did seem worth it.

chhori (4)

I thought my tummy would go down straight after the birth of Chhori but I looked like I was still 5 months pregnant when I came home from the hospital.

The weight kept dropping every day after that as I was breastfeeding. Even though  the doctor gave me an all clear to exercise after 6 weeks, I didn’t do much for the first 3 months as I was too busy looking after Chhori and catching up on sleep whenever I had any spare time.

Traditionally in Nepal new mums are given 3-4 meals of rice with jwano ko jhol, minced chicken, lots of ghee (clarified butter) and chaku (molasses). So my mum had similar ideas in her mind for me. For the first month, I was eating everything my mum cooked minus chaku (molasses) without complaining. I was eating rices 2-3 times a day and also consuming chocolate muffins and other junk food.

But after a month I reduced my intake of rice and slowly tried to go back to my normal pre-pregnancy diet but it was a bit difficult at times. I felt so hungry due to breast feeding that it was hard not to eat junk lying around.

I have lost 13 kg so far and so have 5 kg remaining. In order to help me lose the rest and regain my exercise routine, I joined a gym as soon as Chhori turned 3 months.

The first few sessions almost seemed to kill me with the pains and aches but things are getting better now. I am going twice a week these days which should get me into my normal routine slowly and I hope to lose those remaining kilos too.

exercising (1)exercising (2)

I have started to fit into most of my clothes now and hope to fit into everything soon.

exercising (3)

Wish me luck everyone, I will keep you posted on how I go.

Have a great week.

from nepaliaustralian

XOXO