Headbath

Starting a baby on solids is a momentous occasion in any parent's life. Among Keralites, this is marked by a special ceremony where the baby is fed a few grains of rice with some salt and jaggery  by every overzealous member of the family . A taste of foods to come, as it were. Look at the moisture on Shobana's forehead. While we have decided to forego this 'choroonu' ceremony, we still need to introduce solids to our exclusively breastfed baby. As E approaches the 6-month milestone, I've noticed that she now looks at me hungrily when I eat something, and sometimes, even mimics my chewing action. Our relatives started inquiring about her solid intake when she was around 4-months old, which is when, traditionally, babies are fed a strained paste of ragi or millets. This was generally given to babies whose mothers had an insufficient or nonexistent milk supply  American babies were fed donkey's milk. Imagine that!  but over the years, it has now become

Since this was our first time travelling with baby E, we were quite nervous. Understandably. I had everything planned out - from the time we were to leave home to the time spent completing airport formalities to when and how many feeds E would have prior to boarding. Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL Fortunately, the extended BIAL is supremely comfortable. It's like someone with an actual brain designed it - from the tables provided at security check (to rest your bag while you pull out electronics or a baby) to the heavenly little feeding room that I visited. Yes. Those are actual dispensers of baby wash, lotion, and cream. I was beyond touched. I had, like, tears in my eyes when I saw how these feeding rooms were designed with care - two lock-able stalls each featuring a soft pleather couch, a tiny crib (pictured) and an outlet with a tiny holder to hold your phone while it charges. Common to both stalls is a sink with a surface next to it (that I'm

E took her first plane ride from Bangalore to Cochin on August 30, 2014! We visited both sets of grandparents, one set of great-grandparents, a great-grandmother and lots of grand uncles and aunties. The trip went by smoothly as far as the baby was concerned . So much so that I'm actually quite confident about our next trip.  Not if you plan for the plane. If all else fails, put a boob in it. (The baby. Not the plane.) Here are my learnings from travelling with E at the age of 5 months.  #1 - Match Nap Time with Flight Time Our flight took off from Bangalore at 9 AM, which is when E goes down for her first nap. Although we had to leave at 6:30 AM to make sure we got to the airport on time, I was counting on the car ride putting her to sleep for at least half an hour. Refreshed from a car nap, E was indoor sunshine all through check-in and security check. We even managed to grab breakfast! By the time we were in the plane, E was quite tired and dozed off just