Caring for your baby in winter

Your baby's first winter can seem daunting as you worry about keeping her warm and protecting her from seasonal colds. We have helpful tips to make this easier on you.

Find answers to some of the most common challenges new parents face when winter sets in.

Should I stop massaging my baby in winter?

If you keep your room warm, massaging your baby can be as enjoyable and beneficial for your baby in the winters as it is in the summer. Massage can warm her up too by stimulating her blood circulation. 

To make the massage comfortable, prepare everything you'll need before you undress your baby:

• Use a heater to warm the room you'll use for your baby's massage. Make sure the heater is not near your baby so that there is no chance of a burn injury.
• Prepare the bath water and bathing items like cleanser, shampoo, towel and change of clothes if you are following up the massage with a bath.
• Warm up your hands well before you begin so your baby doesn’t feel cold from your touch.
• Warm up the massage oil lightly, just enough to feel like the same temperature as your warm hands.

Your baby might cry at first if she feels cold when you undress her. But as you warm her up with warm oil, and soothe her with your strokes, she will quickly start to enjoy it. If she doesn't, don't hesitate to stop and give her a massage another time.

You can keep her partially dressed if you feel this will help. Undress her pants first and after you're done massaging the legs and feet, cover them with a towel and undress the upper half of her body.

Remember to keep her nappy on or cover her private parts in case she pees during the massage. You can also keep the massage short and quickly move her on to her bath or dress her again.

What massage oil should I use for my baby in winter?

Mustard oil has been used for generations in India for baby massage, especially in winters. It is a thick oil that is believed to have heating properties.

Some mums heat the oil with garlic, carom seeds (ajwain) or fenugreek seeds (methi dana) first. According to traditional Indian home remedies, these are heating ingredients that give additional benefits to the oil and help boost the baby's immunity. But if your baby has sensitive or dry skin, eczema, or any other form of rash, mustard oil might not suit her.

Most mums will confirm that their baby benefited from mustard oil. But research suggests that mustard oil can be aggressive on the skin's protective barrier leaving it more prone to drying or irritation.

So if your baby's skin is already sensitive, or you notice that it looks red and irritated after her massage, change to an oil that is gentler on the skin. If you do use mustard oil, make sure to wash the oil off well in her bath after the massage.

Other massage oil options for sensitive skin in the winter include sunflower oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil and unscented mineral oil. Olive oil, another popular choice for baby massage, is similar to mustard oil and can also aggress the protective skin barrier.

If you don't plan to follow the massage up with a bath, it's best to use baby lotion. This won't leave your baby sticky or slippery, or leave stains on her clothes

Top 5 Baby Skin Care Brands

Being a mother is the most difficult job in the world and especially during the initial days of a child’s birth. Mothers have to be constantly conscious about the baby’s health and therefore, they are extra careful when purchasing products like baby soaps, shampoos, oil, diapers, lotions, diaper rash cream, milk bottles, mother bags, bobby support pillow and many others. But while choosing the best one for your baby, you may get extremely confused owing to the wide number of brands available in the markets. You may initially feel that international brands may be good for your child but then you may also feel that since your baby is Indian, the domestic brands would be suitable.

To clear your ambiguity and help you decide the best brand for your child, here is a list of top baby skin care brands in India that enlists names of companies who have specially tweaked their products to suit the sensitive skin of your baby along with keeping the climatic conditions of India in mind:-

1. Johnson’s

Johnson’s has established its stance in the Indian market as the topmost preferred baby brands as it has been winning trust of millions of mothers since the last 120 years. With their mission to keep creating best baby products in the world, the American brand owned by Johnson’s & Johnson’s ensures stringent quality control measures for providing you with safe, environment friendly products that becomes your baby’s best friend forever. Through rigorous evaluation and scientific research, the brand keeps on improving its products that fits the need of every parent. Johnson’s baby soap, oils, diaper rash creams, shampoos and lotions are extremely popular in India.

2. Baby Dove

Dove is the latest entrant in the baby care segment and is already famous for its soaps and shampoos due to their supreme quality and usage of safe and eco friendly ingredients. Baby dove products are not only mild for the baby’s skin but are also aimed at restoring the moisture lost from their skin while bathing, which is why it has secured a concrete place in this list of best baby skin care brands in India. With its newest line of products, Dove has showcased its 60 years of expertise in creating cleansers enriched with its iconic moisturising cream and patented skin care technology to create a protective layer of moisture on baby’s skin. The two product ranges from Baby Dove are dermatologically tested and paediatrician approved. The products comprise of cleansers and moisturisers that are hypoallergenic and pH neutral for all baby skin types.

3. Himalaya Herbals

Powered by herbs, Himalaya has been bringing the best of nature in the form of various skin care and medical products for over 80 years that has made it a household name. Their understanding of herbs and years of continuous research has enabled them to create their science of baby care, where products are developed using herbal ingredients keeping in mind the specific requirements of baby’s skin. Himalaya has a wide range of baby products like Honey and Milk baby soap, Neem and Turmeric baby soap, Neem and Watermelon baby soap and even prickly heat baby powder. All these products are assured to have 100 percent pure herbal actives.

4. Sebamed

Hailing from Germany, is the baby skin care brand Sebamed that has a rich experience of more than 50 years and is among the world’s leading skin care brands. This brand is one of the preferred choice of people living in more than 85 countries and the skin care products from Sebamed provides your baby with the unique advantage of pH 5.5 to give your baby’s skin the lovely caress that it needs. All Sebamed range of products are dermatologically tested and are completely free from alkali / soap / harsh chemicals / alcohol. Made with high quality ingredients that cleanse, nourish and restores moisture to the baby’s skin, Sebamed product range includes bubble bath, diaper rash cream, sun spray, cleansing bath, lip balm, sun lotion, etc.

5. Libero

For more than 30 years, Libero, a Sweden based baby product brand has been taking motherly care of crawling, standing and walking babies. Libero is immensely popular for its diaper range that comes in different sizes and formats like the open and pant style diapers. Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, SCA, is the parent company marketing under the brand name Libero and it holds / owns a concrete position in the baby care products segment. At present, Libero is the fourth biggest brand globally in this baby care segment. In India, Libero has a wide product assortment, consisting of diapers, baby wipes, baby wash, baby oil, baby lotion, baby bar soap and baby powder.

5 Great Tips for Moms with Newborn Babies

1. Don't Hush-A-Bye-Baby
You don't have to be quiet while the baby is sleeping. The womb is loud, and newborns are used to the noise. When ours first came home, we watched television and I would vacuum, wash dishes and talk on the phone around her while she slept. She got used to sleeping with noise, and I could get stuff done. I am still able to vacuum in her room while she sleeps (she is 14 months), and she is peaceful and well rested when she wakes up.



2. Soothe Your Wailing Newborn
When my baby cries, I comfort her by patting her back in a heartbeat-like rhythm. That helps her burp more quickly, and it also helps her relax if she's crying from insecurity. If this doesn’t work, I also try one or all of Dr. Harvey Karp's five calming moves: swaddling, shushing, holding her on her side, swinging her or letting her suck. Sometimes it takes all six! 


3. Help Get Your Baby to Latch
If you are having latch-on issues while breastfeeding your baby, you can use breast shields to help the process. This was a wonderful tip that I learned from my lactation consultant. I had to use the shields for an entire month before my baby would latch onto my own nipple without them. Had it not been for the breast shields, I would not have been able to continue nursing my baby. 


4. Get Prepped
At 3 weeks, babies’ days and nights become more predictable, and you can focus on yourself in addition to your newborn. One way to do that is by reducing your stress level - and having everything ready for your hungry baby and yourself is one way to do that. Start by prepping for the next feeding as soon as the previous one is over. For example, after an 11 p.m. feeding, get ready for the 2 a.m. one by prepping whatever you need for feeding and putting out fresh drinking water for yourself so you don’t have anything to think about in the middle of the night. During the day, take advantage of the baby’s naps to work out, shower or catch up on e-mail, or take a nap too. 


5. Keeping Your Baby Awake During Feedings
When our baby was eating slowly and sleepily, my husband and I would massage her cheek to stimulate her to eat faster. A gentle stroke with a fingertip on her cheek was all it took, and on those long sleepless nights, this simple trick was a godsend! Our friends have found it works great with their infants too. When babies eat efficiently until they're full before going to sleep, they sleep for longer between feedings. And that means you’re both likely to be calmer! 

5 Popular Baby Product Brands

• Mothercare: This UK-based brand is a big name when it comes to baby products, not just in India, but the world over. They have the complete range of products for babies and their mommies – starting from maternity wear to nursery furniture. Some of our favorite items among the Mothercare product ranges are their baby clothes, bath accessories, strollers and car seats and not to forget their bath and skin care range

• Johnson and Johnson: One of the popular and oldest brands trusted by mothers all across the world. It is 120 years old brand offering baby and mother care products across the globe. Their bath and skin care range include products like baby wash, soap, shampoo, hair oil, baby cream, lotion and talc. It also offers wipes, massage oils, diaper rash cream etc. Their baby care range also includes cotton ear buds and nappy pads

• Pigeon: This Japan-based brand is a household name in India. They are most famous for their nursing range – bottles, nipples and other nursing accessories. Many parents in India also swear by their cleaning and sterilizing accessories. Pigeon also has a bathing, healthcare and grooming range

• Chicco: Chicco is an Italian brand that offers a number of baby care products. Some of our favorite Chicco products are its humidifiers, dental care products and breast pump. Their baby monitors and car seats are also very popular. They are sold in exclusive showrooms and online

• Philips: That is right. Philips has a baby product range too. This Netherlands-based brand offers baby products under the brand name of Avent. They have leveraged their expertise and experience in the field of electronics to develop world class baby products such as sterilizers, bottle warmers and baby monitors. They also have an excellent feeding range consisting of plates, bowls, spoons and bottles

TOP 5 BABY PRODUCTS

1. Baby Bjorn Bouncer– Miller LOVED being in the bouncer and we could put her in there for long periods of time and she would just bounce away in it (or sleep in it when she was younger!) 100% worth the price. As soon as Miller grew out of it my best friend came over and grabbed it for her baby.

2. This Tubby Todd All Over Ointment cleared Miller’s baby acne in just two days. It is truly miracle ointment! My nephew has bad eczema and cradle cap and it cleared his cradle cap within a few days of use and treats his eczema instantly whenever he has a flare up! Definitely grab a tub of this to have around the house!

3. Gripe Water– Instantly gets rid of hiccups… every time!! We still use it for her hiccups and it still works! It is ginger water so it can also help settle their stomachs and ease their gas.

4. Owlet Smart Sock– This is probably the top baby product (besides the Doona) that I recommend to every expecting parent. I don’t know how I would have slept without it honestly and it allowed us to put Miller in her own room much faster than anticipated and that helped with her sleep training! When we traveled we had whoever watched her put it on every night and that also gave us sound of mind because we could check the app whenever we wanted.

5. Hushh Portable Sound Machine– I love the white noise options on this sound machine and the battery seems to last forever. It also has rubber on the outside for protection so Miller can throw it, chew it, etc and there isn’t a scratch on it! We used it as her main sound machine in her room too until we got the Hatch Baby Rest. Now we just use the Hushh when we travel or if we are out and about in town and want to try to get her to sleep in the stroller or carseat.

Top 5 Largest Fast Food Chains In The World

1McDonald’s

McDonald’s is the largest fast food chain in the world. This food chain has 35000 outlets in total across 119 countries. Everyday, nearly 68 million customers visit McDonald’s. That’s more than total population of Great Britain.

Hamburger is the signature product of McDonald’s. The company sells 75 hamburgers in every seconds. Chicken sandwiches, French fries, desserts and soft drinks are other major products from McDonald’s.

McDonald’s business begun in the year 1940 by Richard and Maurice McDonald’s in San Bernadino in California. Today, McDonald’s employing more than 1.7 million people. This global food chain also partnered with number of entertainment companies and became largest distributor of toys.

2KFC

KFC or Kentucky Fried Chicken is the second largest restaurant chain in the world. It was founded by Harland Sanders in 1930 in Kentucky. The image of Harland Sanders widely uses in advertisements and logo of KFC. Now KFC has 18875 stores in 118 countries. KFC gets nearly 8 million customers everyday from US alone.

The recipe of pressure fried chicken pieces, signature product of KFC still unknown to outer world. It is kept in a safe in Louisville in  Kentucky State. In order to ensure freshness, KFC discard the chicken pieces those has not been sold within 90 minute. Main products within KFC’s menu also include chicken burgers, popcorn chicken and various finger foods.

3Subway

Subway fastfood service operates in 107 countries, has 42174 restaurants in total. Submarine sandwiches and salads are main products of subway. There are 38 million subway sandwich options available for the customers. It serves 7.6 million sandwiches on daily basis. In fact, subway makes enough sandwiches in an year that could cover the Earth for 14 times. 

Submarine sandwich is the signature product of subway. But products from service varies in accordance with the location. Roasted chicken, tuna, subway club, subway melt, chicken teriyaki are other popular products from subway.

4Pizza Hut

 Pizza hut is the largest pizza delivering service in the world. It has 6000 restaurants in US itself and 5139 stores in other 93 countries. It was founded in 1958 by Dan and Frank Carney, in Kansas city.

In 2001, Pizza hut became first ever company to deliver pizza to international space station, launched on Soyuz spacecraft. Every year Pizza hut uses 300 million pounds of cheese from 360 million gallons of milk.

5Starbucks

The Seattle based, Starbucks is the largest coffee company in the world. Starbucks has 23187 stores across 64 countries. Upon them, 12973 located in US. Starbucks serves cold & hot beverages, wines, beer and snacks. Starbucks offers 87000 drink combination for the customers.Starbucks founded in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Siegl. Interestingly, Since 1987, Starbucks has been adding minimum 2 new stores on daily basis. They also uses 93 million gallons of milk and 2.3 billion paper cups per year for the service.

Smartphone Buying Guide: 5 Tips for Finding the Right Phone

 

5 Quick Tips

• iOS is easier to use; Android gives you more choice. If you're torn between iOS and Android, opt for an iPhone if you want something that's easy to use and gets both the hottest apps first and the timeliest software updates. Android is better if you want more hardware choices and more affordable options.

• Don't pay more than you need to for a phone. While the iPhone 8, Galaxy S8 and premium Android phones start at around $700 and cost upward of $1,000, there are great cheap unlocked-phone options below $500 and even some solid choices for less than $300.

• Get the right size screen. Buy a phone with a screen smaller than 5.5 inches if one-hand use is important to you or if you have smaller hands. (See Best Small Phones for more.) Get a bigger-screen phone if you like to watch a lot of videos, play games or want to take advantage of the multiwindow mode in Android. Still, phone-makers are now making big-screen phones, such as the 5.8-inch Galaxy S8, that fit comfortably in one hand thanks to larger 18:9 aspect ratios.

• For a phone's display, color quality and brightness matter more than resolution. A 4K screen on a phone is nice to have but kind of overkill. Pay more attention to how bright the display is, so it will be easy to see outdoors, and how colorful the panel is (AMOLED panels are better than LCD in this regard). The very latest phones offer high dynamic range (HDR) for displaying even more colors.

• Ignore camera megapixels. Along with battery life, the camera has become the most important smartphone feature. Pay attention to specs such as aperture (lower numbers are better) and special features such as dual lenses and optical image stabilization. Ignore the megapixels. See the Best Camera Phones for our top picks.

4 Easy Ways to Cook Chicken

One of the most versatile foods on the planet, chicken can be roasted, baked, grilled, sautéed, braised, or fried. Whether you've never cooked a chicken before, or you're looking for a new twist on the same old bird, here's the ultimate guide on how to cook chicken.

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  Roasted Chicken

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  Roasted chicken is one of the tastiest, most satisfying dishes you can make. Not only that but roasting a chicken is also one of the easiest ways to prepare a delicious family dinner. Here's a tutorial on how to roast a chicken.
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  Baked Chicken

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  

  
  

  Baked chicken is different from roasted chicken in two ways. First, baked chicken is prepared with chicken parts (i.e., individual drumsticks, thighs, breasts, and wings) whereas roasted chicken is cooked whole. Second, baked chicken is dredged in seasoned flour before we cook it, which we don't do when roasting a whole bird.
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    Braised Chicken

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    

    
    

    Braising is a great technique for when we want to cook cheaper or less tender cuts of meat, but it's also a wonderful way to cook chicken. Braised chicken is a warming, soulful dish, and the meat will almost fall off the bone.
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    Poached Chicken

    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    

    
    

    Whether you're just poaching chicken breasts or you're poaching a whole chicken, poaching is an easy and delicious method for cooking chicken. Poached chicken is naturally low in fat and always comes out moist and juicy. And as an added bonus, when you're done poaching the chicken, you're left with a delicious, savory chicken broth that you can use for making sauces, soups and all kinds of other recipes.