Planning a baby shower

One of the most exciting events to the run up of the D-day is the Baby shower. Back in January, I planned a baby shower for one of my closest friends. Little did we know that eight months down the line she would be returning the favour by helping hubby plan a baby shower for me :)

My husband planned and executed a brilliant baby shower for me recently (obviously with some help from my girlfriends and my darling sister). I was absolutely floored by the level of detailing and how well he had planned it. The event was a great success because the brilliant event planner had looked into every little detail. So I thought it may be a good idea to put together my thoughts on what made the baby shower a success. It may give you or your hubby or friends a few ideas for planning the next baby shower :)

Here is a sneak peek into how hubby made the party a grand success

Select a Theme: Setting a theme for the baby shower is a fun way to engage your guests even before the event. Gives them something to think about before the event. Hubby decided to go for the unheard of Purple Vs. Yellow. To further add a twist to this, he incorporated the Cat woman vs. Batman twist to the purple vs. yellow. So all those who felt it would be a girl (team Cat woman), were asked to dress in yellow and those who felt it was a baby boy  (team batman) were to dress in purple. 

Theme for our baby shower: Batman Vs. Catwoman 

The theme could be anything of your choice.

- Book themed baby shower: you could request guests to be dressed as characters from    their favourite books. You could have a corner lined with storybooks where the guests   could leave a message for your bundle of joy in the book of their choice. The decor could    be done up with some of your favourite childhood books and fairytales.

- Bows vs. Moustache baby shower: you could send out props (bows and moustache)   with the invite or have props lined up at the entrance & ask them to pick a prop of their   choice depending on whether they feel its a boy or girl. 

- Pink Vs. Blue: this is the simplest to implement & you can go for this if you are short of    time and ideas as all props and decorations for this one are readily available (an    observation to the mad caps store in Mumbai). We planned a baby shower around this    theme for my friend, shall do a post on this theme next to showcase how we went about    it.

-  Colour of your choice: you could choose to do up the place in colour of choice, the     decor, invites, some cupcakes.

The list is endless, you could come up with any theme based on your creativity & the time at hand. 

Decorations: Sky is the limit when it comes to decor and doing up the venue for the occasion. Following are some of the online stores where you can find decoration items for a baby shower: 

The venue was done up with purple and yellow gas balloons with baby pictures of mommy & daddy-to-be hung at the bottom of the balloons

www.partyhunterz.com : These guys have an outlet in Bandra in Mumbai which is pretty well stocked. In fact a walk around there store could also give you a few ideas on how you could do up the Decor. The website also lists other outlets across cities & gives you the option to shop online. My suggestion, be creative and don't restrict yourself to the goodies available for baby showers. Use various props available to create something of your own.

www.onlinestore.madcapspartyshop.com 

www.party-anthem.com

If you stay in Mumbai, you may want to check out some of the party shops in Crawford market. If you can brave the crowd & have the patience to look around a bit you may find some goodies. 

But most of the readily available decor adhere to the pink Vs. blue theme. So if you have some other theme in mind, you may have to be more creative by doing up the place with Balloons, flowers and mix and matching the various props and decoration material available at the store. My suggestion, be creative and don't restrict yourself to the goodies available at the stores for baby showers. Use various props available to create something of your own.

The pictures may give you an idea of how my husband went about decorating the place in line with his chosen theme.

Props for the Mom-to-be: Since the event is all about celebrating mommy & her bundle of joy, one should make her feel special. So it may be a good idea to get her a tiara or a headgear (could be made of fresh or plastic flowers or ready made one). Your local florist or an outlet like ferns N petals could help you customise one. You could also get her a sash (like the one beauty queens wear) which reads Mommy-to-be (these are available at some of the outlets I have mentioned above & could also be ordered online).

My sister got a beautiful headgear made from ferns n petals in the colour theme of the evening

And of course a sash which I wore with pride

Engage the audience

Yes, this event is all about mommy to be and her little bundle of joy, but there is go to be something to keep the guests engaged. Now there are multiple ways to doing this

Photo booth: Hubby created a fun photo booth with a backdrop of Cat woman Vs. Batman and placed loads of props in the corner. Props ranging from fun head gear, slates & chalk for people to write message for the mom & baby, wigs, posters which read “yummy mummy” to name a few. In this age of selfies, if you give people a backdrop and the props to pose with it is surely going to keep them happy and give you loads of images as memories for years to come.

Create a fun corner with a nice backdrop which depicts the theme of your party

Add some fun props for people to come and pose with & your photo booth is ready

Games: It’s good idea to arrange for a few games that could engage the guests and create a fun element in the party. For instance at my baby shower my friends had arranged for the following games

Pin the baby: similar to pin the donkey’s tail that we played as kids, in this case it was about pinning the baby on the mother’s belly (they had created a cut out for the same).

Plan some fun games for your guests. This is pin the baby to mom's belly that we had at the party

List the maximum number of baby items: The guests were divided in 4 groups and each group was asked to list down items that would be required for a baby. The team that listed the most won.

Guess Mom’s favourites: prepare a list of questions that judge guests on how well they know mom to be. The questions could range from Mom-to-be’s favourite cuisine, favourite holiday destination. the team that answers most correctly would win.

Capture those moments: engage a good photographer to capture those fun moments. In our case, hubby clubbed the maternity shoot with the baby shower. So an hour before the party started we had the photographer capture some fun images of the baby bump. Our event was captured by Vrutika Doshi, you can check out some of her other work here
https://www.facebook.com/vrutikadoshiphotography. All the pictures in this post have been captured by Vrutika. We loved her work, her non interfering style of working and would highly recommend her.

Some fun props for the family members 

Fun foods & cake:  you have a host of options available when it comes to decorative cakes & cupcakes. Depending on your choice, budget and theme you could get a cake and cup cakes customised for the event. 

You may choose to incorporate some or all of the above elements depending on the scale of event. The idea is to have fun and create some beautiful memories. And a note to the Mommy-to-be, don’t forget to give yourself a break and prop your feet up every once in a while during the party so that you don’t exhaust yourself (all that extra weight can really tire you out). 

Eggs Benedict : After all daddy-to-be needs some pampering too

While these nine months are all about the Mommy-to-be (that is you) and the little bundle of joy, everyone wants to make you more comfortable, cook meals that you crave for and in general work towards keeping you and your soon to be born baby happy. One must not forget about the poor daddy to be, who is having to cope with a new version of his better half (may or may not be an improved version :p) & with a whole lot of new emotions himself. Daddy to be deserves some pampering and attention too. After all men are kids too (well, thats a personal opinion :))

My hubby is as much a foodie as I am & we both love a hearty breakfast. So one sure shot way to make his day is whip up some delicious breakfast. When it comes to breakfast we both love eggs, eggs in all forms- poached, boiled, fried we love them all. Eggs qualify as super foods because of the nutrients they pack and hence are recommended as a part of diet for most pregnant women (unless you suffer from some allergies). Eggs are rich in Selenium, zinc and vitamins A, D and some B Complex which are required during pregnancy. 

However during pregnancy one must exercise caution when it comes to selecting and preparing eggs. Eggs must be fresh & must be stored well. If they emit a foul smell when you break one then discard it (not worth risking it). Also when it comes to egg preparations one must avoid raw or semi cooked eggs as it may carry salmonella bacteria. So during these nine months, it is recommended you cook eggs until both the yolk and white are solid (so its bye bye to the sunny side up fried egg with a runny yolk for a while). Completely cooking the egg destroys salmonella bacteria and makes the eggs safe to eat.

Salmonella poisoning may not harm your baby, but it can be very unpleasant for the mommy-to-be and lead to:

• severe vomiting and diarrhoea
• abdominal pain
• headache & high temperature

See the topic again steered towards you i.e. Mommy-to-be, this post was supposed to be about showering some attention on hubby. Now coming back to the Daddy-to-be, if you were to ask hubby to pick his favourite egg preparation the clear winner would be the Eggs Benedict. So I thought why not give it a shot. I googled hollandaise sauce and referred to the first link that I came across & then I saw a video on you tube on how to to poach eggs and I was all set to whip up hubby’s favourite breakfast.

Here are the links I referred to 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/hollandaise-sauce-recipe.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIvpbSEboYI

So here is my version of the Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict ready to be devoured

Ingredients

For the Hollandaise Sauce

2 egg yolks

1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice 

a pinch of Salt & pepper

1 teaspoon of butter

Poached Eggs

2 eggs

A large vessel 

1 teaspoon of Vinegar

a pinch of salt & pepper (to taste)

Assembling the eggs Benedict

2 slices of bread (ideally it is made with English muffins, I used bread since that is what was available at home at that point)

2 slices of Salami or Bacon 

Some butter

Method

Hollandaise Sauce

• Vigorously whisk the egg yolks and lemon juice together in a stainless steel bowl and until the mixture is thickened and doubled in volume. 
• Place the bowl over a saucepan containing barely simmering water. One must ensure that the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl. Continue to whisk rapidly. Be careful not to let the eggs get too hot or they will scramble. 
• Slowly drizzle in the melted butter and continue to whisk. remove from heat once the sauce is thickened and doubled in volume.
• Add the butter and some salt and pepper to taste. Cover & keep it aside until ready to use for the Eggs Benedict.

For the Poached eggs

• Gently break the egg in a small bowl so as to avoid breaking the yolk
• Take a large bowl of water & allow the water to come to a simmer
• As the water simmers, lower the heat & add the vinegar
• Now using the back of a spoon create a whirlpool in the water
• Gently slide the egg into this whirlpool 
• Allow the egg to cook for 3-4 minutes depending on how runny you like the yolk 

Assembling the Eggs Benedict

• While the eggs cook, toast a slice of bread on the pan with some butter
• Place a slice of salami or lightly fried Bacon on top of the bread
• Once cooked, scoop the egg out of the water, allowing all water to drain and then gently place it on top of the bacon or Salami
• Now drizzle poached egg with some of that yummy Hollandaise sauce

Its quite a simple recipe but really delicious. So go ahead & whip up some yummy breakfast. Happy Cooking :)

Coping with fatigue during the third trimester

As one progresses into the third trimester one actually begins to feel pregnant, I mean really pregnant. You are getting bigger by the day & carrying all the extra weight around can really pull you down, making you feel tired constantly.

Well, at least thats been the case with me. I can feel all that extra body weight now which was not the case earlier. The third trimester can be particularly tough if you have a full time job. My day involves at least 2.5- 3 hours of commute time, to & back from work (don’t be too surprised, that’s Mumbai for you). Working hours are from 9.30 am to 6.00 pm, thus making my days pretty long. 

I am more conscious of the needs of my body these days & have incorporated a few simple changes to help tide over the constant feeling of fatigue and tiredness. Here are some things that have helped me

1. The best advise I got from my Mom was to listen to my body. Your body gives you the signs, listen to them, don’t ignore and keep pushing at it. Work can wait and so can chores. Nothing, absolutely nothing is worth risking the baby. If you are not feeling up to it, take the day off or exercise the option to work from home (if you have one)
2. I usually begin my day with a few gentle stretches in bed that helps mobilise the joints. Simple stretches like straighten the legs and rotate your feet clockwise and anti clockwise a few time. Rotate your neck clockwise and anti clockwise. Stretch your arms forward and rotate your hands clock wise and anti clock wise a few times
3. Then I try and do some simple breathing exercises. Both stretches and breathing exercises take me a total of 10 minutes in the morning
4. I try and begin my day with a breakfast that incorporates protein along with carbohydrates. It could mean eggs with toast or stuffed Paranthas (with paneer stuffing & very little oil). Something simple, filling but not very heavy so that I don't feel lethargic
5. At work I try and take frequent breaks and walk around a bit every one hour to keep myself going
6. I usually try and catch a small nap of 10-15 minutes at my desk post lunch
7. I try and catch up on my sleep during my long commute to and from work place 
8. I also try and keep my date with exercise on most days. That's because unlike what most people believe exercise gives you that extra boost of energy and makes you feel fresh. There are days when i just don’t feel like exercising that's when I allow myself a cheat workout of 20 minutes of slow paced walking. But I always go back to rule number 1 in case of any confusion, that is listen to the signals your body gives you. 
9. ALWAYS wear sports shoes when you go for a walk. I would strongly recommend you invest in good walking shoes because your ankles and feet have to carry around all that extra weight and they could really do with some support from good sports shoes.
10. I have also managed to get some extra help around the house because I don’t have as much energy for household chores. See if you can get a family member to help or if you could hire some additional domestic help to assist you with chores during this time period

I would love to hear from you on on how you coped in the third trimester. Are you experiencing the same or have experienced the same in the past?  Do you have any helpful tips that helped you tide over that constanly tired feeling? Till the next time, keep smiling and stay positive

Chicken Dum Biryani- to brighten up an otherwise dull weekend

The weekend that went by was a nice loooong one. Most of the people I know be it family or friends made the most of it by heading out for a small getaway or a refreshing minication or Mini Vacation :) My health didn't permit me to travel so I didn't have much of an option. I knew motherhood would change a lot of things for me but didn't anticipate the changes to step in so soon (even before the baby arrives).  

Under regular circumstances I would have sulked through the long weekend with an equally long face but these days I find myself a little more happy & cheerful than usual. I guess just the mere thought of the little one brings a smile to my face and makes it all worth it. So honestly I didn't mind chilling at home with hubby dear. 

In fact I decided to make the most of it by continuing with some of my cooking experiments. Now Hubby and I spent the first year of our careers in Andhra Pradesh. And a lot of that time was spent eating out, I would be busy gorging on the awesome Hyderabadi Biryani and hubby was busy wooing me :) So just the thought of Biryani transports us back in time. I thought why not try my hand at it.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you may have noticed that I like cooking stuff that is quick to prep and easy to make. Hence the thought of making Biryani never really crossed my mind earlier because it felt like too tedious a process. But given the long weekend, I had a lot of time on my hands so Biryani it was.

Now here is the link that I referred to for my inspiration.

http://www.manusmenu.com/hyderabadi-chicken-biryani

As always, I did make a few tweaks to the Biryani I cooked. And I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that cooking Biryani wasn't all that difficult. Time consuming- YES, Difficult- NO. In fact its only the preparation which is a little time consuming so if you prep for it a day in advance the next day its only half an hour’s job.

So here’s my version of the Chicken Dum Biryani

Chicken Dum Biryani served with Raita and a salad of finely chopped onions & tomatoes on the side

Ingredients

Marinade 1

800 gms – chicken (I used the Zorabian Pre cut Skinless chicken with Bones)

1 small raw Papaya 

Marinade 2

1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1 bunch mint, roughly chopped

1 cinnamon stick

2-3 cloves

2-3 green cardamoms

1 black cardamom

1 bay leaf

1 ½ tsp cumin powder

1 ½ tsp coriander powder

2 tbsp ginger paste

2 tbsp garlic paste

2-3  green chilli (you can use more if you like your food more spicy)

1 tsp red chilli powder (you can use more if you like your food more spicy)

2 tbsp garam masala

2 tbsp lemon juice

4 onions chopped fine & long and then fried golden brown

2 tbsp vegetable oil

3-4 pepper corns

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 ½ cup yoghurt

Salt to taste

For the Biryani

300 gms – 2 ½ cup basmati rice (make sure you get the best rice because this can really change the whole dish)

Salt to taste

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Layers

3 fried onions (preparation similar to the marinade)

1 bunch coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1 bunch mint, roughly chopped

2 pinch saffron, dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

2-3 tsp of ghee

Instructions

Marinade 1

The first marinade is simply to tenderise the meat. Cut the raw papaya and puree it. Now add the pureed papaya to the chicken pieces and set aside for 30-45 minutes. 

Then rinse the papaya off the chicken.

Marinade 2

To make the marinade, mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl, add the chicken pieces to it, mix well and marinate in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours (or overnight).

Note: For the fried onions, simply chop the onions fine and long. Heat 2-3  tsp of oil in a wok and fry the onions till golden brown. Then drain them on a tissue paper to absorb the excess oil. 

Assembling the Biryani

When you are ready to cook your biryani, prepare the rice. Wash it and soak it in cool water for 30 minutes. Fill a big pot with water (take more than the required quantity of water like in the case of pasta),  add salt and oil and bring it to a boil. Cook the rice in it for 4 or 5 minutes. The rice should be about 3/4th Cooked. Now drain the excess water and set aside the rice.

Now take a heavy bottomed pot (a heavy bottomed pot prevents the chicken from burning), spray it with some oil and add the chicken and its marinade to the bottom. Make sure to spread it all around. Now spread the rice on top of the chicken.

Add the chopped mint and coriander leaves, the fried onions and the saffron water. Now pour the ghee over the rice.

Put a tight lid on & seal it with the help of some atta (wheat flour dough). Then put the pot on the fire, on top of a tawa or flat pan (this will help the heat to spread uniformly).

I cooked the Biryani in two batches since I wasn't too sure of the cooking time and was afraid to spoil the whole thing. So in case you are an amateur like me, I suggest you do the same.

Put the fire on high for the 3-4 minutes, then keep cooking the biryani on a medium fire for 15 minutes and on low for the remaining 5 minutes (it did not take more than 25 minutes for my Biryani to cook).

Serve warm with some raita & a salad of finely chopped onions and tomatoes on the side!

All cooked and ready to be devoured

These days I avoid heavily spiced food to avoid acidity & heartburn. The above recipe as it is would give you a mildly spiced, well flavoured Biryani.  In case you are one of those who love their spices you may want to increase the green chilli and red chill powder content in the Biryani. Happy cooking :)

Aah! the aromas of freshly cooked Biryani
( I had to hold my hubby back to get this shot because he couldn't wait to dig into the Biryani ) 

Preparing your pet cats for the Baby

As soon as I broke the happy news to my family & friends, I was quite surprised and amused when almost all of them asked me about what I intend to do with my cats now that I was expecting. 

The question sounded silly & absurd to me. Do you ask existing family members to leave to make way for new members? No, you accomodate and learn to live with each other. Then why should it be any different for pets be it cats or dogs.

And as always ADVISE & SUGGESTIONS poured in

Cats are jealous creatures they may harm the baby, leave the cats at your parents place for sometime

Put the cats up for adoption, you won’t be able to manage the cats with the baby

Babies need a clean environment & Pets are messy hence I should give up on my cats

Every second day one comes across posts of abandoned animals on facebook. People choose to abandon their pets because they believe that pets and babies can’t co- exist. My simple request to everyone, please do your research before you take such a drastic step. You mean the world to your pet and they are absolutely lost without you.

Babies and pets can get along beautifully, it is only a matter of time and effort we choose to invest in that relationship. 

I am a pet parent to two cats, both with very different personalities. Maya is the lady of the house, all prim and proper, she absolutely loves to socialise. She loves to be in the company of humans.

Chintoo on the other hand is more of a recluse and very skittish, easy startled by new sounds and chooses to hide in a corner till our guests are gone.

I think it would be quite evident from my description that the one on top is the social Ms Maya and the gentlemen below is Chintoo :)

So how have I started preparing my cats for the baby?

Cats love consistency and detest change. Anything new needs to be introduced to them gradually. You cant thrust a baby in their face and expect them to love it from day one. Keeping this fact in mind, I made a few changes already and intend to make a few in the future

• I intend to keep my babies crib in my room next to the bed. Currently my cat, Maya’s sleeping bed was also kept in the same room. The first thing I did was to move my cat’s bed to the second bedroom and gradually got her in the habit of sleeping in the other room. Any changes in habit need to be introduced gradually and before the baby comes. Too many new things and too many changes for the pet are likely stress them out and also add to your stress in turn.
• Now for all those who claim that pets are not clean, all I can say is pets are as clean or as dirty as you choose to keep them. Its the habit you inculcate. I have got my cats in the routine of having a bath every 7-10 days and also clip their nails often so that they don’t scratch us and the furniture. This habit would ensure cleanliness and protect the baby from any scratches in the future. I have also installed a scratching post in my house which allows them to indulge in their natural instinct without harming us or the house.
• One things I read in almost all articles is that the biggest mistake pet parents make is to shower their cats with a lot of attention before the baby arrives. Thats because they are aware of the fact that the attention would shift to the toddler once he/ she arrives. Thats the worst thing one can do. Schedule your playtime with your cats and avoid giving them excessive attention now because thats not something you will be able to continue in the future.
• Also as I mentioned, cats are creatures of habit so be it there playtime, food or litter clean up time, have a fixed schedule that you will be able to follow even once the baby arrives. The last thing you want is a cranky cat while you are still trying to adjust to the baby
• I would highly recommend you spay/ neuter your cats a few months before the baby arrives. Cats tend to be noisy & more aggressive when on heat and that could disturb your baby. 
• Now babies can be loud & cranky and such loud noises could startle or make your cats uncomfortable. I have begun to play baby noises for a few minutes every day before my cats to get them used to the idea of those sounds
• Another thing I intend to do is get them comfortable with the smell of the baby, use the baby powder & cream on myself a little before the baby arrives so that baby smell seems familiar to them later
• I also intend to ask a family member to bring home a piece of baby’s clothing to the house a day before I actually bring the baby so that the cats can be comfortable with the smell
• Now one thing that most parents are concerned about is what if the cat accidentally jumps and hurts the baby. I intend to keep the baby crib off limits for the cat. I shall keep a few cans with coins around the crib to startle the cat in case they do choose to play around the crib. That should be enough to drive them away. I also intend to do some more research about the crib tent like the one shown in the picture. If I find it suitable I may invest in one to keep my cats away from the baby initially.

Still exploring the idea of getting a crib tent

• When the cat attempts to sniff and meet the baby please be calm. Be mindful thats animals can sense tension. Hence we need to work towards making the first interaction as pleasant as possible. Praise the cat if it gently sniffs the baby in your presence, making all associations with the baby positive for you cats

Now thats preparing your cats. One precaution that I have taken is to stay clear of the cat litter. I have domestic help who helps clean it regularly. The reason for the same being risk to the foetus from toxoplasmosis. While cats may be carriers of toxoplasmosis, you could also get this from handling raw meat and not washing your hands properly or using the same chopping board to cut raw meats & vegetables or from eating undercooked beef or pork. So throwing your cat out is not a solution, you just have to be careful. You may request a family member to help with this in case you don't have domestic help or simply wear gloves and wash your hands well after handling the litter. Also be more regular with cleaning the litter because oocysts are shed in the feces of the cat. The oocysts take 1-3 days before becoming infective once they are shed. 

So just as you start gearing up to welcome your tiny tot, make a few changes to make the transition easy for your pets also. I’ll be honest I am quite anxious about how my pets would react to the baby and hence am making all possible efforts to make this transition easy and smooth for all parties involved. I have done my research and am trying. Hope everything falls in place.

By the way on a lighter note, you guys have to watch tho video of cats with babies. Its hilarious :) Happy watching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDd35Jxxzs

Image source: http://www.balancingmotherhood.com/2007/11/19/crib-tent/