Observe - Meditate - Follow Your Intuitions - Work Of A Parent - Quote By Rudolf Steiner - Waldorf

Rudolf Steiner’s advice to the first Waldorf kindergarten teacher in the early 1920s was these lines in this poster!

Observe the children.

Actively meditate.

Follow your intuitions.

Work so that all your actions are worthy of imitation.

This is a great reminder for me, that I would like to revisit every single day! Amidst all the daily routines, episodes of highs & lows, instances of handling tantrums of a toddler, if there is something superlative I can do for my toddler, it is to be mindful, and follow these beautiful lines, and then everything will fall into place in the long term.

It is okay if some day I am not able to do anything productive with my child, it is okay if some day me & my child just laze around in the bed together, it is okay if some day he is not learning anything new, it is okay be slow, kind & calm to yourself, so that you echo & reflect the same to your child. 

Because at the end of the day, we need happier & calmer individuals in the future, more than learned & intellectual ones. Learnings will automatically follow :)

Read More »

There Can Be No Perfect Mothers ... Just The Real Ones

Motherhood starts with tons and tons of advice – wanted and unwanted – right from the pregnancy stage. There are opinions about each and everything; while some are given by our family members and loved ones, others are by random people like the ones you encounter in a park while having a walk. It doesn’t stop there. We, as educated and want-to-be-aware moms, do not hesitate to look up stuff online, whether it is related to pregnancy, child birth, newborn care or toddler tantrums. So, there are loads of online and offline resources of advice that a first time mother can access.

But my question is: do these sources always make sense to us? At one point in time, I, as a mother, found myself drowned into this sea of knowledge/know-hows/dos & don’ts!

After much introspection, I realized that there is no right or wrong way to be a mom – only your way! This is exactly what the Baby Dove philosophy also says and what turned out to be my biggest support system as a new mother. I am so glad to have found this support system that advocates the philosophy I resonate with! My experience has taught me that I should trust my instincts for every decision I make. After all, as a mom, I truly know what’s best for my baby.

According to a survey conducted by Baby Dove, 2 in 3 mothers said that they were overwhelmed by the amount of information and advice there is on how to be a parent! However, what I really found reassuring was that 8 in 10 Indian women said they feel that they instinctively know what’s best for their child. In my parenting journey too, I have done a handful of things that I found instinctively right for me. It might not be applicable or feasible for every mom, but that is what makes motherhood special and unique! I am sharing some of them with all of you.

Read my complete article HERE on World Of Moms, a blog especially for moms, by the very popular FirstCry.com

Happy Parenting!

Read More »

MamaEarth Baby Products Review - Asia's 1st MadeSafe Certified Brand

Motherhood is full of questions of various sorts, very important question being which products to use for my baby. My son is almost 2 years old now & we have been choosing his products very carefully, be it a soap or shampoo or oil or toys or clothes or diapers. We as a family try to be as close to nature as we can. Our kitchen has a good share of organic stuff like organic milk, organic pulses, aata etc. We use natural products for our skin, even for we adults. We use cloth diapers instead of disposable ones.

And now, watch this TEDx video if you haven't yet!



When we were purchasing products like oil, shampoo, soap etc for our son, we were shocked to see that the so-called baby products also had so many chemicals in them. Read my full post HERE about the toxins that might exist in baby products & why we should #readthelabel before we buy anything for our children. One fine day I got to know about this new brand called MamaEarth that is Asia's first MadeSafe certified brand & claims to be 100% toxin free. I was so happy to receive this premium kit of MamaEarth's 4 awesome products (courtesy : IMC & MamaEarth). I have been using their products for the last 3 weeks now & I must say very happy with them. And now this calls for an honest review from my side! So here it goes.

MamaEarth - A Brand By A Parent

mamaearth

The best thing about MamaEarth is that it was started by parents like us! When they (Ghazal & Varun) were researching & selecting products for their little bundle of joy, they were shocked to see that so many baby products had toxins & that was when came up with the idea of developing products that are completely safe for the babies. You can read their story HERE.

MamaEarth is the ONLY toxin free, MadeSafe certified brand in India & Asia! Their products go through all the required tests and meet the safety standards. The MADE SAFE (Made with Safe Ingredients™) seal means that a product is literally made with safe ingredients that are not known or suspected to cause human health or environmental harm. It’s the first nontoxic certification to apply to products we use every day, so that for the first time, you can find things that are safe to use on your body, with your families, and in your homes.

MadeSafe

MamaEarth Product Range

They have almost the entire range of products a parent would need for 0 to 5 years - Shampoo, Massage oil, Moisturising lotion, Body wash, Diaper Rash Cream, Sunscreen lotion & insect repellant. MamaEarth products are available at Amazon & FirstCry. 

My Review

This is what I got in the MamaEarth premium kit. Each of the products is dermatologically tested and contains the MadeSafe seal.- 

• A beautiful carry bag - Once I opened their parcel, I was super impressed by their packaging & this beautiful bag! It is so lively in color & quality is great. It can easily accommodate some quick baby items when you are on the move. 

• 1 bottle of Massage Oil - A blend of sesame, coconut, olive, almond, jojoba & lavender oil, it is very light on the skin, spread nicely, absorbs well & works great for my son's dry skin. The bottle has a press pump nozzle which ensures there are no accidental spills even when your toddler grabs it from your hand to play around ;) yes my son does that! I love the heavenly (natural) smell of the oil, it forces me to hug & hold my son for longer & keep kissing him, haha!

• 1 bottle of Moisturising daily lotion - It contains Shea butter & Jojoba oil & is again very light on the skin, gets absorbed very easily & yet very moisturizing. My son has a very dry skin & a combination of massage oil before bath & this lotion after bath works great for him, even in this winter season where the air is very very dry here in Pune. 

• 1 bottle of Insect repellant - It has a natural blend of essential repellent oils like Citronella, Peppermint and Lemon eucalyptus with a base of Soya and Castrol oil, 100% natural & Deet free. It can be sprayed & applied to the skin & your child is free to venture out in the park with mosquitos around!

• 1 bottle of Shampoo - A gentle, tear free shampoo with a ph suited for baby's skin. It contains coconut based cleansers and Jojoba oil to nourish the scalp. I liked the touch & feel of the shampoo. It leaves my son's hair soft & smooth.

In general, this is what I loved about MamaEarth products

• Safe & certified by an international authority so we can be assured we are giving the best to our babies
• Excellent quality products
• Very natural, mild & sometimes no smell in the products. I loved this fact because that actually means there are no perfume additives that might be harmful for the baby. And I love natural smells! Ah, not to miss, all this helps retain the smell of your baby, which is heavenly, especially with newborns :)
• Very competitive pricing - their products are priced at 299 INR each, which is not at all high for the quality & certification it comes along with.
• Lovely packaging as I mentioned above. And different animal cartoon pictures on the products make it interesting for toddlers too ;) 

If you still have more questions or doubts about their products, HERE is a big list of FAQs.

Conclusion

It is finally such a relief to have a 100% natural & safe brand around for our little ones & I cannot thank enough to Ghazal & Varun from MamaEarth for this venture. We loved the products & would surely recommend these to the fellow parents. Go ahead & give safe & 100% natural products to your children :)

Read More »

10 Toxic Chemicals That You Did Not Know Might Exist In Baby Products

Pregnancy is the time we take utmost care of ourselves. We eat right, we breathe right, we sleep right. We know how tender & vulnerable our little one is inside.

And, after the baby is born, we rush to the chemists & buy those baby products like soap, shampoo, powder, cream, oils, wipes, lotions etc, the best brand that we can. 

In all this madness, we forget, Infants and their skin are so tender! In fact, the first three years of a child’s life are very crucial as far as health is concerned. The immune system and central nervous system are still immature and developing. We should be wary of what chemicals we expose to the child for obvious reasons.

It is sad to see that some baby products which claim to be natural or organic or baby friendly are not really good for the babies. They contain harmful chemicals. We see the brand name of the product on the front, flip the bottle/box to see the price but, do we check the product for its chemical composition! Rarely do we #ReadTheLabel!

Click HERE to read my complete article on Indian Moms Connect that lists 10 toxic chemicals (best avoided) that one should check especially while buying baby products! 

I bet you would want to keep this very important information handy while buying products for your baby next!

Read More »

5 Scary Realities Every SAHM (Stay At Home Mom) Should Know

[Guest Post at +Indian Moms Connect ]

I used to be a working woman till a few years back, pretty ambitious & a workaholic. I was used to hefty paychecks, regular outings, movies every weekend, a great social circle, shopping sprees and what not!

Then things changed when I was trying to conceive. It was a much longer than a normal process for us to finally cherish the arrival of our baby. A couple of years! I had to quit my job in this process. And that was when I went through a lot, read, learnt, internalized & changed a lot, a metamorphosis happened.

Now I’m a SAHM to my 18 months old son. It was a conscious decision to be there for my son & not go out for a day long job. The reality of a SAHM did not take long to hit me. There are many moms out there who echo these feelings. Needless to say, after these harsh realities, at the end of the day, the satisfaction of nurturing our tiny soul(s) is immense.

Hop on HERE to +Indian Moms Connect, who picked up my article to feature on their popular website!

Read More »