Know Your Stomach

We Indians have a good celebration when the baby takes its first solid food. The ceremony is called 'annaprasanam' 'mukhe bhaat' 'choroonu' etc. according to the various regions and on that great day the child is blessed and fed with rice by the gathered elders. Sometimes this inaugural function is a never-ending norm of continuing till eternity making the mothers do the annaprasannam even to their grown-up children.

It was July 20th 1969.  I was sitting on the portico of my Calcutta house in the Southern part of the city with my baby girl. That evening both of us had a good time in the Rabindra Sarobar park with her running around in toddler steps. The portico was her favourite dinner spot and on that day, I doubly made sure that we sat out. As I was feeding her, I showed her the waxing moon of the fifth day a sickle in the western sky and told her that it was a great day for us all when man had landed on the moon. Observing my elated expression, she too joined in the spirit and happily repeated moon... moon...!

Those were the days when feeding the child was a 'moon affair' irrespective of moon's presence or otherwise a cloudy or a rainy day uninterrupting the show. Feeding my daughter was a thing of joy with her eagerness in enjoying the fare!

But not all the children are like her. There are some who are disinterested in the whole process of eating.  We wonder from wherever they get the energy to play nonstop! There are some affectionate mothers who never eat till the child is fed lest they may tend to forget how it feels to be hungry and thus create a tendency to let loose the child go on its own way!

Mothers sometimes adopted uncouth ways of feeding these adamant ones.

"If you don't eat now the monster in that well will catch hold of you and push you inside."

Unlike the invisible monster a fat man passing by becomes the scapegoat in virtually terrorising the child" Do you see the man going there.... the fat one...? His next dinner will be you."  

The olden day post man is another point of threat with his big brown bag. " If you don't eat, I will put you inside the bag!"  the mother intimidates the little one. The post man too happily joins the mother in this sadistic amusement!

The early morning soothsayer, the man with colourful patch work costume and his colourfully decorated bull, the police man, also make their contribution of intimidation!   By hook or crook these worried mothers want the food into the child's digestive track.

The rare occasion of grandparents' visit is indeed a great relief to their children since the grandmother takes charge of the baby's 'feeding protocol' by narrating good old stories which were dramatically enacted by the grandfather and the enchanted one happily has the whole lot in the bowl.

But gone are the days of these old tactics since one particular technological advancement hath indeed relieved this persisting headache for the mothers. The arrival of television fondly called the 'idiot box' occupying the centre stage of the house hold has become so addictive to the child that it is glued to the machine's visuals and becomes impervious to the food thrust inside. Nowadays handing over the cell phone with the child's favorite programme has indeed become the norm.

The mothers are now happy that the child is eating double the quantity. Their job has become easier leaving them plenty of time for other things. But are they spending the 'the quality time' needed for a proper feeding?

They will be in for a shock when the child's health takes a hit with tummy upset and other related problems. The great medicine man Hippocrates' declaration 2000 years ago that 100% of our ailment emanate from the stomach holds almost good even today! Do the mothers understand that the food given to the child should never be gulped but chewed well in the mouth with saliva which contains n number of enzymes, the digestive agent?

Today I would love to share with you an astonishing experience which I witnessed recently.

The moment the doctor asked her to start off with solid food she adopted the technique called 'self-feeding'. Seating her four-month-old child in a baby chair with table she started with tiny bits of food put in a plate attached to the table. Out of curiosity the child tried to touch what was in front and took it to the mouth, a natural tendency for any baby.  As months went by, these tiny morsels of food slowly gained in size to bigger chinks.

The proteins varied every day with a mixture of rice and dhal or fish and meat followed by boiled vegetables! The baby used both her hands to eat and at times distributing it like temple prasadam to the left and the right. With a clean sheet under her seating the mother patiently picked up the food and put it back into the plate. She knew that it was a learning process and was sure that in due course the child will get into systematic eating.  But she also knew that to attain the stage she has to spend the quality time with the child which can sometimes extend to an hour. She does the thing with plenty of joy all the time speaking to the baby, talking to her about the food. She knew that her maternity leave of a year is meant for grooming up the child. Once she becomes successful the child will know it's stomach to eat what is needed.  The person whom I refer to in this passage is my niece and her dear baby!

On a particular day we were in for surprise to receive a video clip from her. We couldn't believe our eyes when the baby after finishing the food raised her plate with both the hands and in the Indian style started licking it thoroughly and crying!  What better way for a baby to know the status of it's  stomach than a great lick and a cry?!

This wonder baby is none but our niece's child living in London! This mother had taken a tremendous effort to start the ball rolling to make sure that her child becomes an expert in this important life game of "Know Your Stomach".

I wish that the young and new mothers who read this blog emulate this wonderful practice towards having a healthy and hence a joyful baby. Please choose not the easy way of the 'idiot box 'or it's hand held version. The quality time spent with the baby is never ever a wasted one but rather is a life lesson in “Know Your Stomach", a strong foundation laid for its healthy habits!

My kudos to those exceptional mothers who can happily say that from day one my child has its own food and never force fed!