Swathy

Should I go for a baby or not? {Women Stuff}

Swathy · October 14, 2012 · 30 Comments

The reason why I am writing this post is because of a comment by one of the readers Nidhi. She wrote this –

hi Swati
i do not know whether my comment(question) would be apt here or not..but i would like to know ..is becoming a mother a good thing ?
i mean..i feel scared with all the responsibilities,pain,stretch marks,no time for self..and the list goes on.
my family is pressurising me and i do not know what is right ?
i love kids..may be am just scared of the responsibilities..but i want to know what good things happen after you become a mother (so that i can convince myself 🙂

First of all, any question or doubt you might have you can always speak of it so feel free to comment 🙂 And, yes, thank you for putting up such a major issue. In fact, one of my colleagues is also going through the same phase.

She has been married for three years and now, the pressure from both sides of her family is impossible for hear to bear, in fact so much that she thinks it better to get a baby and relieved of the burden. But, the real wish was known when she suddenly started having her periods after a long spell and she shared with me how relieved she felt after that. Clearly, she is not mentally ready for it.

Now, to answer your question, I would ask another question. Do you think you are afraid of the responsibilities which come up with motherhood? Or, is it that you think its too soon and you would like to spend more time with your husband?

If its the first, the answer is obvious that you will never be “READY” for it. So, go ahead, plan a baby and with time, you will feel you have made the right decision. It will also help you to know many women do that and they never regret their decision 🙂

Now, the second alternative is a bit more complicated. It depends on how well you know your husband, how much of a relationship you share, how long you have been married, what were your aspirations and expectations with regards to your marriage.

Essentially, if you have been married just for a year or your age is around 25 or less (not that I mean you should be pregnant if you hit 26!) or are a person who likes to take her own time to do everything in life, I would say wait for the right moment. In these cases, the intuition or the gut instinct of a person really helps. If you are that kinds, I would say it might do you good to wait.

So, Nidhi, the answer is that go to a gynaecologist and take a proper session with her about motherhood – the physical changes it demands from you, talk with your friends who might have kids (if you are first, I know how tough is that decision), talk to your husband, discuss all your fears and everything with him, know his mind and what he wants.

Take time to decide but first know your own mind as to exactly what you want because ultimately its you who is going to bear the baby. I have also asked Punam to write something about it and incidentally she has the same story like yours so probably, you might be able to relate to her. The post should be coming in some days 🙂

And, to all your mothers and married ladies, what do you think about the most important decision in your life? Don’t forget to comment and help out Nidhi 🙂

Other Women Issues:
How do you feel when you are down?
Heart and Cardiovascular Diseases in Women?

What do you think is an ideal gift for Dad on his 60th birthday?

Swathy · October 13, 2012 · 17 Comments

Ok, rule out gadgets of any kind, watches, clothes, shoes, belts, ties and any other accessories, what do you think would be great for dads? I am so totally confused!! Oh btw, any ideas on photo restorations? I was planning to get some restored and put in collage frames, a little bigger size so that they would be easily visible. I have got so many of my infancy which I totally love (yup, I am self-obsessed of my infancy photographs, I was THE cutest kid ever) 😀 Hehe, ok, that was probably too much for you to digest. Anyways, I would love feedback if you have ever got photo restorations done, especially somewhere in Hyderabad.

Just gossiping, I watched so many movies back to back today after a very long time!!! It started with bits of Mere Jeevan Saathi right in the morning (starring late Rajesh Khanna), Beauty and the Beast, Adventures of Tintin, some movie starring Julia Roberts (didn’t catch the name), Spiderman 3, Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire (I am not exactly a fan but its nostalgic), Ice Age (which again is very nostalgic and I totally love Manny), Mission Impossible 2 (which is my fav of series, Tom looks hawt in it, I was once a huge fan of Tom, even my parents knew about my craze :D, totally like the girl as well in the movie) and coming up in some time is Basic Instinct. Ok, don’t take me as a pervert but honestly, I love the story line and execution of the movie and seriously, Sharon Stone looks amazing!! And, loving Micheal Douglas in it. He is the second oldie I like after the sexy Richard Gere 😀 And, Clooney is probably third or it might be a tie!! What about you? How did you spend your Saturday?

Hair Care during and after Pregnancy {Pregnancy}

Swathy · October 12, 2012 · 14 Comments

A normal, healthy person sheds about 50 to 100 (or up to 200 because of the lifestyle choices) strands of hair every day, and most of these hairs grow back. A healthy hair has a life cycle of about three to six years, depending on your termination length. Hair loss becomes a problem when the hair do not grow back or when hair sheds at an abnormally rapid rate (several hundreds hairs per day), the latter case generally seen during pregnancy.

A hair’s life has three phases – growing phase, maturing phase (in which it stops growing and follicles prepare for resting phase) and resting phase. Thus, even the actively growing hair may go into the resting phase. This occurs because of an increased amount of estrogen (called happy hormones) in the body. Increased number of hairs enter the resting phase, disturbing the normal hair growth and loss process and causing more hair than usual to fall out.

During pregnancy, the body’s resources are more necessary for the foetus development so the external functions of the body which are not directly related to the regulation of body functions are temporarily suspended. My experience was really weird during pregnancy. Even when I got my hands waxed, I couldn’t see any growth for many months which was great but I also noticed hairs on my scalp were comparatively thinner.

So, I asked my husband for advice and I am sharing all of them with you.

Improve intake of vitamin C : Vitamin C is required for the synthesis of collagen which in turn supports hair follicles and keeps blood vessels in the scalp healthy.

Improve intake of Protein : Hair is 95 percent protein and a diet too low in protein may cause hair loss.

Step up your Silica intake : An adequate intake of silica is thought to prevent baldness and stimulate hair growth. Silica is present in substantial amounts in a wide range of foods, including strawberries, green and red peppers, miller, barley, wheat, cucumbers, oats, rice, bean sprouts, potatoes.

Iron : Hemoglobin is needed for transporting oxygen from the lungs to the other tissues in the body, including hair. An undisrupted supply of oxygen is necessary for healthy hair. So eat more spinach & beet root which will improve your iron intake as well.

Since he is a doctor, his main focus is always a better diet to fulfil all the nutritional deficiencies. Hope this helps you all 🙂 Do let me know how you like the post.

Thanks a lot, Punam, for this helpful post. Isn’t having a doctor at disposal amazing? I do think so but she says its quite overwhelming sometimes because of the amount of obsession they have towards hygiene and health!! Well, that’s also probably true. Do check out her review on Auravedic skin polish.