Baby Hashtag speaks | My sixth month

Do not blame me. 

This is Mumma's fault, all her fault. She was to remind me to write my monthly account. But apparently, taking care of me got in the way. EXCUSES, I tell you! Anyhoo, let me take you through my sixth month of living.

I am now 7 months old.

Mumma calls it my sixth month shenanigans, I on the other hand like to call it my adventures. A lot has gone down since the last time I wrote to you guys. I am six months old now and so that means I can officially start eating. Weeks of staring at people who gulped down food, I can happily have some of my own. So yay to that.

Turns out I am not given adult food at all. I am supposed to eat gooey mushy semi runny purees which they call baby food. No, thank you! I did enjoy the dal water (lentils soup) and aata halwa (wheat flour halwa) but mashed fruit is just uuurghh. And what is up with this monstrosity that they call Cerelac! I have never tasted anything like it before. Mumma made me eat it and I HATED it. One month in and I am still nowhere close to liking it. Mumma wants to give it another shot a few weeks later, so we'll just see how that goes. I already know I detest it and that's final.

Mumma has decided to begin Traditional weaning to feed me which means that I get to eat (?) mashed purees. It's no fun. Initially, she tried to feed me in the newborn toddler rocker chair but that was a fail so off we went shopping for a booster chair. We found one that I totally loved sitting in and meal times have been slightly more fun after that. As far as eating mashed food is concerned, I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.

One vaccination happened at the beginning of the month. I'm not going to liep, it hurt. It hurt real bad. And while I cutely cooed and smiled at the doctor, he poked me with that pesky needle. That wasn't fun. I cried but it was OK in a bit.

Oooh another major milestone was crossed. I sit upright pretty much on my own for longer duration. So much so that, when I wake up in the middle of the night because of hunger, I sit up and cry with my eyes closed. How I know this is because mumma and Papa recollect this to others saying it's cute. If they say it's cute, it sure must be.

Pillow forts are redundant now. I can climb over them and cause extreme mayhem. Not that I am trying to be trouble but exploration requires me to be mobile and I am just curious. Tough luck, mumma! I am starting to hold the side of the crib and getting the hang of standing up on my own. Unsuccessful so far but I shall be a relentless boss baby and will not give up.

But because I am always trying to trip over things and fall face first, my crib that was attached to mumma and papa's bed is going to be removed and set up separately. Mumma has been putting me down to nap in the crib while it is still attached so I get used to the idea of a smaller bed. I don't really mind it so far. But then, I am mercurial and so I will definitely decide whether I like it or not when it is fully set up.

Oh and did I tell you that I got my ears pierced? Papa wanted to wait a few more months but mumma held that the sooner we got it done, the quicker I would recover. Papa and the family was convinced and so we went to the local goldsmith's and got the piercing done in the traditional way with the gold studs. Pained like hell and it took 5 minutes of incessant weeping, sobbing and sniffing and a trip to Papa's office to calm me down. Back home, I had forgotten all about it and the studs never caught my attention again. 

My favourite rhymes now are 'Five little monkeys' and 'The wheels on the bus'. My favourite chew toy is the board book called 'My Daddy' and my favourite play toy are the curtains. My favourite game is 'eat the furniture' and I love trying to climb over the pillows and get to the other side. 

I love it when Papa comes home. I see mumma everyday at home. I am not trying to be mean but I see Papa once in the evening and the sight of him visibly excites me! If I am being put to sleep, there is no way in hell that I will sleep if I see Papa has come back from work. 

There was a time when I loved video calls, now I like to roll around the bed while Mumma follows me with the phone when anyone is on the line. I crawl full well now although I am yet to crawl on the floor. Since I sometimes fall face first while crawling, I am being encouraged to master crawling on softer surfaces first.

Apart from sitting upright confidently, crawling nonstop, trying to stand and looking mighty cute, this past month was just about ordinary. Mumma calls it a hoot and a half but her need to exaggerate simple things is exhausting. But who am I to complain! I am just a baby. Right? 
*Wink*

See you in a few days with the next month's account.

Love,
Baby Hashtag.

5 reasons you need to switch to Cloth Diapers

The first time I heard about Cloth Diapers was when I was in my third trimester and a friend asked me to use them instead of the disposable ones. I assumed, the reasons would be obvious. CDs are the more eco-friendly choice. But since traditionally we use a cloth nappy for the first few weeks of the baby's life, I pushed the idea of a CD (read Cloth Diaper) at the back of my head for quite some time. Baby Hashtag was born in winter and it would be crazy to not the change the nappy as soon as she wet it. And mind you, it was nearly 20 times in a day. So out of sheer exhaustion, I switched to the disposable diapers within a week. 

When the baby was around 3 months old, I got contacted by the lovely folks at Superbottoms. They offered to send a CD to me so that I could try it out and share the experience with my readers and followers. 

Not only am I convinced that I am more of a CD person now, I tend to convince a lot of mothers to take the same route. For those, who need a list of good reasons to make the switch, I can list about five. And this is just the top of my head, there can a hundred more reasons but these should do the trick.

1. Environment friendly

Goes without saying that CDs have very little impact on the environment when compared to their disposable counterparts. I do not see how people do not find this an incentive. Instead, they counter me with questions like "You are wasting water to wash the CDs and the inserts no, how is that eco friendly?" Well by that logic then, you must stop washing yourself and all your clothes too. Because, water shortage. True, the CDs need to be washed but they can all be accumulated in a wet bag and washed in one cycle when you do the laundry. That is one extra bucket of water compared to tonnes of plastic you are filling in the landfills in the form of disposable diapers. How about that! By the way, a wet bag is a bag that you can use to store all your soiled and to-be-washed CDs and inserts. They come in cute prints and are completely odour free so you can carry them with you anywhere and use it when the baby needs a diaper change. 

2. Super cute prints

I have seen SO many brands of CDs online and they come in both prints and solid colours. Since, I have been using Superbottoms, I will shamelessly plug their designs only because I absolutely love them. They have everything from Harry potter themed print to a cricket themed one. Lullabies, Superheroes, Cute babies, EVERYTHING! Imagine your baby's bum wrapped in this cute goodness. It is LOVE! 

3. Less money spent

Another illogical counter I've heard is "Arey, CDs are so costly yaar. Disposable hi best hain!" If you are so worried about finances, then CDs are the way to go. The initial cost of a CD may feel a little exaggerated but since they are reusable, they are super economical. The amount you would spend on diapers for one month will buy you one CD with inserts and that can comfortably last you more than 8 months. Isn't that a win-win!

4. Baby bodies 

Don't you love how squishy soft and tender the bodies of out babies are. Why would you want to give them things like rashes and irritation. Agreed that not all babies get rashes from disposables but when you have a diaper that is completely rash and irritation free, it would make more sense to choose that in the first place. If you worries about the elastic marks that the CD leaves on your babies skin, I challenge you to find me a disposable diaper that does not leave these very same elastic marks. They will disappear in minutes but not rashes. Also, don't you have that bracket of fifteen minutes between diaper changes when your baby feels extremely happy and free? Take the hint now, he probably hates being trapped in a full disposable diaper. On the other hand, a CD feels light and is not at all reactive on the baby skin. 

5. Saving on add-on products

Let us make a list of products you need if you are a disposable diaper baby. Rash cream, plastic bags (lots of them) and uncomfortable baby underpants. First, you would not need a rash cream because CDs do not give babies any kind of rashes. Second, a Wet Bag that I talked about earlier will do all the disposing and carrying job for you and they look good to carry too compared to the scrunchy noisy plastic bag. Third, there would be no need to buy horribly uncomfortable underpants to wear on disposable diapers as CDs come in gorgeous prints that you will want to show off. 

Here are pictures of Baby Hashtag wearing the cutest print from Superbottoms.

If you are still not convinced, ping me. I have finer detailed reasons to get you to make the switch. While you are at it, do check the great range at Superbottoms here.

Cheers,

D

P.S. This is not a sponsored post. I genuinely believe we need to make the switch for a more sustainable future of our babies.