Kums' Seventh Sense

When I hit puberty I thought love was all about kissing and having butterflies in your stomach. When I grew up a little I replaced kissing with sex and the butterflies remained. Now the definition has changed in all ways possible. I've learned that there isn't just the romantic Love there is more to it. It could be the heart swelling when you see your child do something or the smile you have when you think of your parent. This year I've decided that my daughter is my valentine. Sleepless nights and the constant anxiety are all totally worth it. The sloppy kisses that I get on rare mornings are my greatest motivator. To me love is all about the level of comfort I have with a person. You really love each other if you can fart and burp to your heart's content in each other's company. If you can have conversations about that then you are in the next level, haha! Everybody sees love differently but most would agree on the comfort part. My friend Srilakshmi and I se

I cannot believe we are a year old now! My daughter and me, as a mother. What an year it has been! Starting with self-doubts and a roller-coaster ride of hormones to somehow learning the trick of the trade, I have come a long way. I found myself a place among a group of amazing mothers here in Coimbatore. They have been my support system throughout. I will be eternally thankful to them. I do what I think is best for my baby. Babywearing, cloth diapering, breastfeeding and letting my child feed herself. All the above said concepts didnt come easy, I had to explain a thousand times and do my research to get people around me to accept what I do. Do not let the society dictate your parenting style. You are the parent and you are supposed to do the parenting not the society. The "society" will be there to tell you that you are not producing enough milk for the baby, cloth diapers are bulky, babywearing will make the baby dependent on you and a self-feeding baby does n

I decided to quit my job and stay at home after I got married. I did that and I still can't decide if that was a good decision. It is not so nice when you hear "veetla chumma thaana irukka?" (you are jobless at home, no?) because honestly staying at home is a real full time job for which you don't get paid in any form. No money no gratitude. It is very tough job. You graduate from questions like "Is the code working?" "Is the deliverable ready?" "Is the testing complete?" to questions like "What is there to eat?" "Why isn't the laundry done?" "Have you washed the utensils?". Believe me, delivering a code package seems like a piece of cake to me. May be because I am a lazy bug. I think I was spoiled by my parents. I just can't seem to get interested in domestic chores. May be because I don't get paid for what I do. I don't get thanked or appreciated. Plus, there is no holiday. Holidays a

On January 10, 2016 around 9'o clock in the morning my life changed forever. My daughter was born into this world. Being pregnant isn't a huge deal at all.. you'll know when the child is born. It is a big deal. I did not have any problem until the moment I realised that I wasn't producing much breastmilk. That's when the pink clouds cleared all of a sudden. I was dehydrated during labor, remember? What people don't realise is that it is perfectly normal for breastmilk to take some time to come in. It may take a few days even. Thats when the stress levels go up and thats just what you don't need at the moment. Stress is inversely proportional to production of breastmilk. You will get judged as a bad mommy if you are not able to breastfeed the baby. It is not going to help your already anxious self. Every other person visiting you will have an opinion. The only choice you are going to have is to learn to ignore those opinions. You are not a bad mo

The pregnancy was a surprise. We hadn't really planned on having a baby yet and suddenly there it was those most wanted "two lines" on the home pregnancy test! I was shocked at first. I wasn't ready. But, eventually the mom instinct took over and it was love. You get a variety of advice from everybody. Everybody is a well-wisher in the traditional indian society. For the same question you will get thousand different answers. None of it is right or wrong. What works for you is what is right. I never did any walking. Only a little, just running errands and stuff. I did not sit up in bed every time I needed to turn during sleep. That would have made it even worse. The hardships during pregnancy is nothing close to what happens during labor. Mine is not one of those easy peasy the baby just slipped right out stories! I know why though I did not do anything to facilitate that! I was in my 38th week. It was a thursday, I was visiting my gynec for a routine now weekly

Recently somebody asked me when do I miss my mom the most. I had an answer to that question initially. Then it got me thinking. I miss her all the time. She was my sanctuary. I was protected nourished and loved. Nobody loves anybody like how a parent loves a child. There is no judgement no hidden agenda. It takes years for children to understand but eventually they do. But losing someone who loved you so purely is tragic.