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Tummy time for babies: What can it possibly teach? A lot more than one can imagine! A mother recounts her lessons.
One of the things that you hear from your new born’s pediatrician most probably during your first visit is to give the baby some tummy time daily. To elaborate, tummy time refers to placing the baby on its tummy for some time and has numerous benefits. It gives the baby a new view. In fact, to make it more effective, you can lie down beside the little one with your face pressed against the bed so that the baby can see your face in proximity. This also helps bonding.
Apart from this, it helps strengthens the baby’s muscles at the back which will help the baby roll over, crawl and sit at a later stage. Of course, this entire activity has to be done under adult supervision at all times.
My daughter Angel enjoyed her tummy time but got restless in a few minutes and had to be turned over. One day, out of the blue she turned on her tummy and lifted her head. Oh, what a beauty! The most wonderful mommy moments lie in these little milestones that our babies achieve. That euphoric feeling just can’t be expressed in words. As I lay beside her and saw her lift her head slowly and look around taking in so many interesting sights, it made me nostalgic.
I recalled how anxious she was when we placed her on her tummy for the first time. It was something new for her, the view she was so used to, lying on her back was now different. She looked a bit scared and confused but slowly got used to it and then started enjoying it for short periods at least. Finally, she mustered enough energy to turn herself on her tummy one fine day. And lo and behold! Wasn’t she thrilled about it?
Now that she had emerged victorious in the first lap, she became confident to try something new, let’s raise our head and get a better view of what’s around us. She did that too after some struggling and now she coolly lifts her head and amuses herself with different sights each day. I’m certain she’ll try out the next stage of sitting/crawling very soon. It is said that all these are milestones which all babies naturally progress through. It set me thinking, what about us adults?
Isn’t our story so similar to baby’s tummy time? We become so comfortable in our little cocoon that we hesitate to get out of it. Be it our job, our set of friends, family life, hobbies or anything else; over time, we get so complacent that we do not want to step out of this comfort zone. Just like the baby was happy lying on its back, remember!
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How willing are we to take risks which may dynamically alter our life’s course?
An avid reader, a shopaholic, head over heels in love with my little bundle of joy" Angel" ,God's most precious gift bestowed upon me, not so long ago.Professionally I am a Chartered Accountant read more...
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I huffed, puffed and panted up the hill, taking many rest breaks along the way. My calf muscles pained, my heart protested, and my breathing became heavy at one stage.
“Let’s turn back,” my husband remarked. We stood at the foot of Shravanbelagola – one of the most revered Jain pilgrimage centres. “We will not climb the hill,” he continued.
My husband and I were vacationing in Karnataka. It was the month of May, and even at the early hour of 8 am in the morning, the sun scorched our backs. After visiting Bangalore and Mysore, we had made a planned stop at this holy site in the Southern part of the state en route to Hosur. Even while planning our vacation, my husband was very excited at the prospect of visiting this place and the 18 m high statue of Lord Gometeshwara, considered one of the world’s tallest free-standing monolithic statues.
What we hadn’t bargained for was there would be 1001 granite steps that needed to be climbed to have a close-up view of this colossal magic three thousand feet above sea level on a hilltop. It would be an understatement to term it as an arduous climb.
Every daughter, no matter how old, yearns to come home to her parents' place - ‘Home’ to us is where we were brought up with great care till marriage served us an eviction notice.
Every year Dugga comes home with her children and stays with her parents for ten days. These ten days are filled with fun and festivity. On the tenth day, everyone gathers to feed her sweets and bids her a teary-eyed adieu. ‘Dugga’ is no one but our Goddess Durga whose annual trip to Earth is scheduled in Autumn. She might be a Goddess to all. But to us, she is the next-door girl who returns home to stay with her parents.
When I was a child, I would cry on the day of Dashami (immersion) and ask Ma, “Why can’t she come again?” My mother would always smile back.
I mouthed the same dialogue as a 23-year-old, who was home for Durga Puja. This time, my mother graced me with a reply. “Durga is fortunate to come home at least once. But many have never been home after marriage.”
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