Events Archives — FORBABYNMOMMY

A factory tour of the kids most loved Kinder Joy

Being a mom it’s always heartening to see Adya learning every day and surprising me with her new achievements. So, whenever she does something new from what I was trying to make her learn for a long time, I always make sure to make her happy with the things she loves to have and as a mother I trust. By making something she loves to eat or treating her with her favorite #KinderJoy.

When it comes to chocolates, I always want to be sure what and how much she eats. She loves to have Kinder Joy, and I am happy to give her too as it makes me reassured of the goodness of food that my kid enjoys. She loves scooping the delicious layers of milky cream made of cows milk and cocoa cream topped with 2 crispy wafer bits. Further, Kinder Joy is served in small portion sizes and comes with a buildable surprise toys. Kinder Joy follows the five Golden rules which include milk of high quality, selected raw materials and production processes with high hygiene standards. That’s not enough, it also goes through 200 quality parameters during production process before our kids consume it. From careful selection of ingredients, manufacturing the product, ensuring International packaging standards to a strict check on choking and other hazards of the toys, Kinder Joy also follows ISO certified process, confirming all the intrinsic nutritional value in every pack.

You may ask how I know so much about it? So, I visited their Ferrero India plant in Baramati last week and was glad to see the high standards they have maintained.

Being a mom I always trust what I see. So, sharing my experience on the making of Kinder Joy with you mommies!

The Kinder story started in 1968, at the heart of the small town of Alba, Italy. Available countrywide, Kinder Joy is one of the most loved brands in India! It is not only unique in its shape and high-quality cocoa-milk-wafer biscuit mix, but it has also successfully combined the joy of chocolate with that of a toy.

Ferrero India plant Baramati

Quality and Packaging

Kinder Joy follows superior quality standards on all the ingredients that goes in.

Following all standards to visit the factory.

They do a careful selection, processing and proportioning of ingredients to ensure nutritional value.

All set to visit the factory

200 quality parameters during manufacturing process of our favourite Kinder Joy before it reaches the consumers.

Inside the factory

Samples from the Baramati plant are sent to the Ferrero Quality labs at Germany and Italy for random quality checks
Strict quality checks at close to 500k retail points that ensure countrywide distribution for Kinder Joy
All the parts of Kinder Joy are packed using ultrasonic molecular packaging, which is revolutionary.

Ultrasonic molecular packing

First regional R&D Lab outside Italy in India, to research local raw materials and products for Indian taste.
Indigenized more than 90% of the raw material used products to ensure ability to withstand local weather conditions and challenges.
Food grade resin are used for making toys that comes in Kinder Joy. Further, the toys are checked and approved for their designs and colour .

The packaging is recyclable, made of polypropylene
Kinder products are individually wrapped helping parents control calories intake and is also easy for kids to open, hold and eat.

Kinder Joy

Apart from experiencing the quality and the making of Kinder Joy, there’s one more element that I would like highlight –

Social Benefits

The Ferrero Group started a CSR initiative for providing education and care to employees and community kids, Kindergarden, which is located close to its production plant in Baramati. It is one of the best CSR initiatives I have seen so far, it allows the employees to work stress free as their kids are being taken care of in the best way.

This Kindergarden is a home away from home where children of employees as well as from the nearby community are taken care of
From children’s (between 0-6 years) education, nutritional food, personal hygiene to healthcare, everything has been looked after
With an objective to make children healthy, intelligent, confident, competent learners and good citizens of India, the facility provides opportunities for holistic development of children

Kinder Joy firmly believes that a happy child will be a better adult tomorrow and their commitment to this belief really shows in their well-designed portion size product and Ferrero’s global CSR initiative – Kinder+Sport. As part of its continuing efforts to bring the joy of movement into the life of every child, Kinder+Sport has developed the ‘Joy of Moving’ methodology, an innovative educational model, based on games and dedicated to the all-round growth of children. Developed in association with Rome University “Foro Italico”, MIUR of the Piedmont Region and the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI), the method is based on games created to promote the physical, cognitive and social development of children and increase their life skills.

It’s a pleasure for me to witness such a great initiative by Kinder Joy and experience the efforts and high standards maintained for making every Kinder Joy special for kids #IsmeKuchKhaasHai.

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Probiotics for healthy gut

Nowadays we hear a lot about probiotics for healthy gut. Staying healthy is most important in today’s lifestyle. What we eat really gives impact on your health. Last week I attend Bloggers meet by Dupont on HOWARU Premium probiotics. Where I came to know how probiotics is important for our health. Their main agenda was … Continue reading “Probiotics for healthy gut”

Nowadays we hear a lot about probiotics for healthy gut. Staying healthy is most important in today’s lifestyle. What we eat really gives impact on your health.

Last week I attend Bloggers meet by Dupont on HOWARU Premium probiotics. Where I came to know how probiotics is important for our health. Their main agenda was to educate and create awareness about the goodness and health benefits of HOWARU premium probiotics to the larger population .

After attending this informative session I came to know more about it and want to share the same with all.

What is probiotics?

Their are two types of bacteria and out body is full of bacteria both good and bad bacteria. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that is good for your body mainly for your gut/ digestive system.

Probiotics are defined as live organisms that, when administrated in adequate amounts, confer to health benefits on the host.

Why you need probiotics ?

Due to unhealthy eating and lifestyle, at times your gut becomes unbalanced with unhealthy levels of certain bacteria. Probiotics can help in restoring the balance again. They have been shown to secrete protective substances, which may turn on the system and prevent pathogens from taking hold and creating major disease.

Probiotics are commonly used to reduce gastrointestinal symptoms that are not due to acute illness, such as gas, bloating, and constipation.

The benefits of probiotics go beyond gut health. Ingesting clinically documented probiotic strain in your diet, ensures that bacteria thrive in your body and you continue to live healthy.

Some more benefits

Helps digestive system run smoothly
Keeps your immune system strong
Boost nutrient absorption.

Where can you find probiotics?

Dietary sources of probiotics were traditionally fresh dairy products and other fermented foods. Some are now available with healthier and tasty forms in market .

Yogurt, drinks and Kefir
Chocolate and ice cream
Nutrition bars
Refrigerated juices
Dietary supplements

Additional traditional sources include lactic acid bacteria, which are microbes related to probiotics.

Buttermilk
Pickles
Kimchi
Miso soup
Souerkraut
Tempeh

The HOWARU advantage with DUPONT nutrition and health

Dupont Danisco range of products popularly known as HOWARU are premium probiotics and are scientifically proven to help keep the digestive system running smoothly and support immune system.

DuPont’s probiotic dietary supplement support immune and digestive heath to meet consumer need across different age groups. These dietary supplement meet the highest quality standards with proper research.

Include probiotics in your daily life and keep your gut happy!!

MediaTek Technology Diaries – Technology Now & Future

MediaTek Technology Diaries – Technology Now & Future Fortunate enough to attend the event organised by one of the leader in chip manufacturing – MediaTek. After attending this event I came to know we have so many chips in our home and in daily use appliances like in TV, microwave, fridge, smart light etc. MediaTek’s … Continue reading “MediaTek Technology Diaries – Technology Now & Future”

MediaTek Technology Diaries – Technology Now & Future

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Fortunate enough to attend the event organised by one of the leader in chip manufacturing – MediaTek.

After attending this event I came to know we have so many chips in our home and in daily use appliances like in TV, microwave, fridge, smart light etc.

MediaTek’s Technology Diaries Series leads discussions on Cutting-Edge Technologies Impacting our Everyday Lives.

Many of you might be familiar with MediaTek, they are Taiwanese Semiconductor company who manufacture chips for many devices. Devices like smartphone, tablets, navigation systems, multimedia products etc.

This was 3rd chapter of Technology Diaries series by MediaTek, through which they want to make technology clearer & easier to understand for general public. Also to understand how technology shapes our daily life and the role and importance it has.

Third chapter in the series was led by popular radio host RJ Sriram Sullia of Fever 104 FM, along with Anku Jain, Managing Director, MediaTek India and Anuj Sidharth, Sr. Manager, Marketing and Communications, MediaTek India and Rajiv Makhni technology journalist, managing editor at NDTV and host of a show Tech Makhni on Radio Mirchi.

Anuj Sidharth Anku Jain Rajiv Makhni Sriram Sullia

Few of the topics covered are –

AI Artificial Intelligence
Self driving cars
Wearable/Fitness bands
Smart devices

AI Artificial Intelligence

At present AI is one of the most heard word on TV, Social media etc. Artificial Intelligence is a program that learns and become more smart as time passes.

AI detects the user behaviour or say how one uses a particular thing and suggests applications, top news headlines, products you ‘ll be interested in buying when you open those web pages or websites/apps.

AI is quite useful in daily life like some of the music apps will creates or suggest you a playlist as per your previous song selections. Amazon will show you products as per your browsing history.

Now a days we have apps that will learn the pattern from your shopping history and will created a shopping list accordingly.

One of the most heard place about AI now a days is mobile phone and photography. New mobiles are equipped with AI scene recognition that will change the setting and will give you near to perfect click.

It also keeps learning and add new things to it self to provide more user friendly experience. For example AI enabled phone now comes with Face Id or say face unlock. Over a period as you use face unlock system learns more about your face pattern and make it more accurate.

MediaTek has its own contribution in AI with NeuroPilot. This provides MediaTek’s products with high performance and power efficient for AI features and applications.

They have there state of the AI enabled processors which are used in different devices from smartphone, smart home to wearable and connected cars.

Self Driving Cars

Most of us have heard or read about this and how its a game changer. First thing that comes to our mind after hearing self driving car is Tesla.

Experiment on self driving cars goes way back to 1920’s, yes you read it right this was the period when it started.

There are 2 things in it i.e. self driving but there is a driver behind the wheel and driver less.

Driver less is still in development and many experiments are conducted by BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen and other major auto manufacturer.

For making all this a success major credit goes to the evolution in technology. How a small chip can process so many things in fraction of second and respond as per the situation.

MediaTek is one of the company that provide solutions for such technology. Like there NB – IoT i.e Narrow Band Internet of Thing and through turnkey hardware and software solutions.

IoT i.e Internet of Things is a network of smart devices, vehicles, smart home basically for all the appliances which contain electronic, software and connectivity which enables them to share data and information.

MediaTek NB-IoT platform enables NB-IoT devices to be installed in locations that cannot be served by competing IoT connectivity standards, powering device installations in remote or difficult to access locations.

Autus, MediaTek’s suite of automotive and automated driving solutions, uses AI, mmWave, machine learning and advanced visual processing solutions and technologies to deliver the latest in navigation and infotainment innovation.

Wearable/Fitness tracker

In today’s world everyone is busy in there life which ultimately affect our health.

To help us in this sector now we have fitness trackers and wearable devices. These devices are equipped with a chip that is able to process the body moment and provide us the result about our health like heart rate, sleep pattern etc.

These Smart Wearable also learn over the time and provide suggestions like time to do some activity if it found you ideal for a given period of time.

Smart devices

There are many smart devices that we use daily and most important is our mobile.

MediaTek Helio P70 is the latest addition to the Helio series of powerful and power-efficient chips for the mid-market segment.

Nowadays chips are getting more powerful and power efficient and same goes with P70. It has capabilities of AI, smart photo album, Face ID and most important depth of field for that Portrait effect for all the selfie lovers.

Other smart devices that many of us uses are tablets, smart television, smart home security and media devices that can turn any television which has HDMI connector to a smart TV like Amazon Fire TV or Google Chrome Cast.

MediaTek powers an array of Amazon consumer products, including the Amazon Fire TV, Fire HD 8 and Fire HD 10 tablets. These are the latest in a series of Amazon devices powered by MediaTek that offer consumers rich multimedia experiences with minimal power consumption.

Sometime back I have seen a video where a Guy received his package even though there was no one at home.

When the delivery guy ring his bell on his smart home security which was connected to his smartphone. He communicated with the delivery guy through his smart home security and asked him to put the package in his parked Tesla beside the main gate.

News/Video

He even open and closed the boot of his Tesla sitting remotely and could see the delivery guy keeping the package in it.

Few more benefits of technology is Alexa and Google. With the help of smart devices like Amazon Echo and Google home mini now kids can solve there queries with so much ease.

They just have to say Hey Google or Alexa Which is the tallest statue in the world and they will know the answer – Statue of Unity which is 182 meters tall located in Indian state Gujarat.

One even control other smart devices of there home with these devices.

Technology has its drawbacks as well.

All your personal information can be hacked and made public, it’s not that easy but we have instances which proves it can be done.
Applications can track all your activities like what all you visit online etc.
Applications can track your location where have you been.
All the data is shared with other companies and they make money on it.
What you type that can also be tracked and stored.
I feel people are more connected but online through apps and not personally.

One of the major drawback of technology is with our kids. Now a days kids are so use to smartphone and tablets that they are not interested in other physical activities.

Now kids are only interested in playing online games and watching videos.

No matter how safe the self driving or driver less car can be accidents do happen with those cars and we can’t rely 100% on technology.

Really I have learned so much about the chips used and current and future technology trends through this event and help me clear many doubts about technology.

Neev Literature Festival

Reading books is the best habit for all kids from any age. It’s an activity that gives you immense pleasure with great knowledge, if you have read a book you can remember it for life as it stays in your memory. Reading not only gives you knowledge, but it has many benefits attached to it. … Continue reading “Neev Literature Festival”

Reading not only gives you knowledge, but it has many benefits attached to it. Nowadays technology has a really bad effect and now book reading is replaced by phones and tabs.

I would like to share some benefits of reading books and how Neev Literature Festival is celebrating the love of reading and introducing it to children.

Children enjoying book reading at Neev literature Festival

Benefits of reading

Gives you knowledge

The most important benefit of reading is it gives you knowledge, the more you read different books of different subjects, the more you gain knowledge of the particular subject with all details.

Improves memory.

Improves memory, when you read a book it stays in your memory and you can recall all the pictures and incidents of the story.

Exercise for brain-

It’s an exercise for your brain and hence it keeps you brain healthy and active.

Stress Booster-

Is a mental stress booster, it helps in releasing stress, you can read your favorite books when you are stressed and it helps you relax.

Improves Vocabulary-

Helps in improving vocabulary, the more you read you come to know new words and phrases.

Improves Writing Skills-

It improves writing skills, when you read different books from different authors you are learning new ways of writing. It helps you write in a better way.

Helps in Sharing-

Reading helps in sharing your thoughts. When you read more you can explain more and in a better way, what you feel about any particular subject.

Better Sleep-

It’s a nice sleep activity, it helps you sleep better.

Cost Effective-

Low cost and easy to carry, books are not so costly and easy to carry with you. You don’t need active internet connection or costly devices for reading books.

The most important benefit is reading has a lot more benefits, from gaining knowledge to health.

I am glad to attend this Literature Festival organized by Neev Academy. Would like to share more about the event with you all, so that you can pin it for next year and make sure to attend this Festival.

Finally when I entered the campus, it was such a delightful experience and most noteworthy is to see the enthusiasm of all the kids attending the fest. The campus was full of colours and books, with the beautiful art exhibition.

Beautiful Art exhibition at Neev Literature Festival

The most interesting of all activities, that I enjoyed with my daughter was Book talk – reading session by Paro Anand. She was the keynote speaker at the Fest, her fearless and honest writings are inspired by her close association with kids and adults. Her stories have empowering effects on kids.

Her unique way of storytelling with songs and actions was making it a fun-filled learning. All the kids and parents enjoyed the reading and interactive session.

Another interesting book reading session by Shabnam Minwalla reminded me the days of my childhood, when our Mom and Granny read us stories and we all sit around her hours lost in them.

Conversation between Children, Authors and adults .

This year they launched “Neev Children Book Awards” at Neev Literature Festival to recognize the outstanding writing in children’s literature. A wonderful series of conversation between children, authors and adults. The goal behind it was to recognize great children’s literature of all ages, growing readers for life and making reading part of every home.

These awards aim to promote and encourage high quality children’s literature from all over India.

The awards have three categories,

Picture book.
Young reader’s book.
Young adults book.

Awards nomination were open to all children’s titles, published in India or written by authors of Indian origin.

Beside that we had a chance to visit the big library from Neev Academy for all kids and parents. Where they can choose and read the books of their choice and interest.

Children and parents selecting books from library.

Neev literature Festival happens every year, if you have missed this year don’t forget to mark your dates for next year and celebrate your love for reading with them.

When to start reading to your baby?

When you become a mom, you have so many questions for your baby and one of the big questions is when should we start reading for your baby? Reading books to your little one is a good habit and it should be started as early as possible, if you remember everyone saying us during pregnancy … Continue reading “When to start reading to your baby?”

When you become a mom, you have so many questions for your baby and one of the big questions is when should we start reading for your baby?

Reading books to your little one is a good habit and it should be started as early as possible, if you remember everyone saying us during pregnancy we should start reading good books and listening nice music and shlokas. This was because your baby starts listening you from the womb.

Sharing few tips for reading to your child as per her age:

0-3 months your baby is small, not able to sit. You can hold your baby and read and talk to her, sing her rhymes.

3-6 months babies start looking at objects and can see & understand different shapes as well as pictures. They tend to touch different surfaces in order to explore and so you can use nice picture books with varying textures.

6-12 months babies start sitting alone and love to explore more. They will try to hold the book and most probably try to eat it too. Try getting colorful hardbound books with small words and pictures during this time.

1-2 year baby is now big enough to hold books and choose his/her favorite book from their mini library. They can now flip papers of her book and ask you to read. They would love to ask questions to you from the book and start recognizing the books’ pictures with objects and living beings around them and often would let you know what they saw in the book.

You can always try doing small activities with them, asking to bring the items shown in picture from objects around them. Match fruits and vegetables, animals and toys & so on.

3+ babies can ask you to tell a story that is there in the books and ask you many questions related to the story. You can start with numbers and letters recognizing and counting objects in the books. You can start with good habits books and books related to the school and family/ friends, as they would love to hear about the activities happening around them and enjoy creating their own stories.

How reading helps your baby

Reading books helps your baby recognize sounds and rhythm.

Reading is a fun activity that creates a bond with the baby and comforts him/her..

You can make a schedule for reading books at night or during the day.

Reading regularly to babies helps in improving language skills and they show interest in reading when they start preschool.

Reading with actions and singing attract them and they learn to show and let you know, how they feel, what they see and so on. It helps babies communicate better.

What kind of books to choose?

For babies you can choose cloth books and touch & feel books.

For toddler’s you can try books with different sounds and fold-outs, when they can see different surprises as they open the folds or press the object.

Toddlers start learning from their surrounding and show interest in the objects around them, so you can get them body parts books, fruits-vegetables books, animal story books.

Preschool kids love listening to rhymes and doing small activities while reading books. So you can get books of small stories with pictures.

Kids later start showing their interest in long stories and learning numbers and the alphabet so you can get story books and learning books.

I have a toddler and she loves reading books, and while I was searching for new books, I found about Neev academy and their Literature festival.

Neev academy is organizing a literature festival, which is happening in Bangalore on 28th and 29th of September. It is a children’s literature festival with the intention to celebrate books and the love of reading. The second day is open to all parents, students or anyone who loves to read.

Distinguished authors and speakers are coming in for various reading, writing, storytelling workshops and panel discussions. It would be great to be part of this festival and learn more from the authors and speakers.

I have one more good news for all of you, they are organizing Neev Book Awards 2018 for distinguished children’s literature.

They aim to recognize outstanding writing that leads to a fuller understanding of India, Indian lives and Indian stories. The nominated entries can be viewed at http://neevliteraturefestival.org/awards.

The best part is that it’s completely free. One can view the program schedule on their website: http://neevliteraturefestival.org/

So, what are you waiting for? It’s a great way to introduce your child to the world of books and enjoy learning with fun.

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Cochlear-Hear Your Way!

#MyFriendAlexa This is in continuation with my blog Importantance of hearing screening for newborns. As I have already introduce Cochlear implants to you, let me share some more details for Cochlear implants. Before we start this in detail we need to understand How hearing works? Our Ears have three sections Outer Ear that catches sound … Continue reading “Cochlear-Hear Your Way!”

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This is in continuation with my blog Importantance of hearing screening for newborns. As I have already introduce Cochlear implants to you, let me share some more details for Cochlear implants.

Before we start this in detail we need to understand

How hearing works?

Our Ears have three sections

Outer Ear that catches sound waves and send to middler ear.
Middle Ear transfers the sound waves in the air to mechanical pressure waves that are transfer to fluid in the inner ear.
Inner ear ( Cochlea ) then converts the pressure waves into sound signals that our brain understands.

So basically what happens is

Sound waves enters the ear canal and strikes the eardrum.

With effects of these sound waves the ear drum and the three bones know as ossicles with the middle ear vibrate.
With the effect of vibration moving in the inner ear fluid, the tiny hait cells present in the cochlea detects the movement and change them into chemical signal that can be taken by hearing nerve.
Then these hearing nerves transfer the signals to brain with electrical impulses and their these signals are interpreted as sounds.
Sharing a quick video of this for better understanding.

Now the question is what is Cochlear Implant?

Cochlear implant is an electronical medical device that replace the function of damaged iner ear cochlea and send sound signals to the brain.

How Cochlear Implants works?

Their is two parts of Cochlear Implant.

Sound processor worn outside the ear and it contains microphone, batteries and this can be attached with cloths for small babies.
Implant this is actual implant and is placed inside ear through small surgery.

Coming to how implant works..

Sound processor that is worn behind ear captures sound and turns it into digital codes.
Then the sound processor transfer the digital codes to the coil on the outside of the head to the implant.
Then the cochlear implant converts the digitally coded sounds into electrical impulses and send them along the electrode erray placed in the inner ear.
Here the implant electrodes stimulate the Cochlea hearing nerve, which send the impulses to the brain and then they are interpreted as sounds.
Here is a small video for easy understanding.

What age a child can get a Cochlear Implant?

How early you get to know about the baby hear loss ,you can cinscon your doctor and with proper test and cinfconfirmat of level of hearing loss, Cochlear implants can be done with 12 months of age.

How long is the Cochlear Implant surgery?

Surgery takes three to four hours. During the operation a small incision is made behind the ear and internal device know as receiver stimulator is places under the skin and is secured to the child’s skull.

Why one should have Cochlear Implant?

It is better then a normal hearing aid- Hearing aid amplify sounds and cochlear implant channel sound to bypass the damaged part of the cochlea and directly stimulate the auditory nerves. The implant generates signals and send to auditory nerve and then it is send to brain, where they are recognized as sounds .
Understanding of full sentences is better with cochlear implants the hearing aids.
They can hear better in table meetings, crowded places and restaurants.
Talk and hear on phones and can enjoy music.
They feel more safe with cochlear implants as now they can hear alarms, approaching vehicles and traffic.
Newborns start normal development and start connecting with their family members and other people as now they can hear them and respond back.

Points to take care

Cost- yes this is really important point as these implants are bit costly so one can choose from the different model and contact them for better price.
Taking care the device should not get hit by any hard object.
Protection from water- but now they are coming up with new device which can be worn for swimming too.
Maintenance – changing batteries and wires.
Takes times and proper training to get used to with sound through device, as sounds are translated through device first and may sound unnatural, but for newborns its good as they start hearing through this and learn this way.

Cochlear has come up with new Nucleus 7 which can be connected and control directly from your smartphones.

How Nucleus 7 is helpful for parents?

With new smart phone app now parents are able to monitor important aspects of child’s sound processor usage.
Parents can monitor the battery life of sound processor and current status of device,feeling confident about functioning of device.
Parents can now track the time in speech and coils off with the hearing tracker.
They can locate the missing processor with find my processor feature in app.
They can minimize any time child spend without sounds.

My words

I feel cochlear implant is such a nice way to bring your baby back to her normal development as without sound they are not able to connect with surroundings. Yes main concern is for surgery and costing as getting this implant is costlier and not everyone can afford. Hoping government comes up with better easy schemes that anyone can afford getting this implant. Do share your views on this.

Here are some words from happy family of Cochlear implants.

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Importance of hearing screening by Cochlear

#MyFriendAlexa Hearing screening yes this is as important as any vaccination provided to your newborn baby. We are not so aware about this as it is not a compulsory test in Indian hospitals. But I am happy to see now private hospitals are taking initiative in new-born screening. This test is now included in compulsory test … Continue reading “Importance of hearing screening by Cochlear”

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Hearing screening yes this is as important as any vaccination provided to your newborn baby. We are not so aware about this as it is not a compulsory test in Indian hospitals. But I am happy to see now private hospitals are taking initiative in new-born screening. This test is now included in compulsory test for newborns.

We had this test for our baby girl at Apollo Cradle, in starting few days. I was really tensed when the doctor said they are not getting response so they need to do test again. After one month, thankfully she started responding soon and we were happy as no such test happened again.

But as I was unaware of these test and all details, I decided to learn more about this and share with all new moms. Let’s discuss more about hearing screening and related details.

What is newborn hearing screening?

New born hearing screening focus on identifying hearing loss at early stage. As we all know knowing the problem at early stage is better so that we can get proper solution as soon as possible. Hearing screening can be done as early as starting few days and if any hearing loss is detected further test can be done. We can get confirmation for the level of hearing loss and can start the treatment and early intervention as soon as possible.

Sharing a small video to know how hearing works in my next blog.

Early Intervention refers to therapy and other services provided to babies and family that may help with hearing loss and learning important communication skills.

Now the question is what is hearing loss?

A person who is not able to hear as well as someone with normal hearing is said to have hearing loss. It can vary in severity. A peep with mild hearing loss may find it difficult to understand conversations in noisy places such as restaurant. Someone with moderate hearing loss has difficulty understanding regular conversation unless voices are raised. Others who have severe hearing loss are unable to hear even very loud sounds close to there ears.

What causes hearing loss among newborns?

Family history
Infection suffered by the mother during pregnancy
Premature birth
Lack of oxygen at the time of birth
Severe jaundice soon after birth.

How is newborn hearing screening done?

We need to do it as soon as possible,as early the hearing loss is discovered, treatment can begin and baby can get back to normal language and development.

There are two types of screening test that may be used for newborns.

Automated Auditory Brainstem Response (AABR) – This test measures how the hearing nerves respond to the sounds. Some tones and clicks are played through soft earphones into baby’s ears and three electrodes are placed on baby’s head measures the hearing nerves response.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) – This test measures sound waves produced in the inner ear. A tiny probe is placed just inside the baby’s ear canal. It measures the response when the clicks or tones are played into baby ears.

What is the next step if the baby not pass the hearing test?

It is possible at time baby not pass the hearing screening at birth as in my case too. But that does not necessarily mean that baby had hearing loss. In fact most of the babies do not pass the hearing test and have normal hearing afterwards, their can be many reason like baby might get fluids inside ear at the time of delivery.

So to be sure, we need to take proper further testing and hearing evaluation with a medical evaluation. Make sure these test are done before baby is three months old, so that if their is any hear loss, treatment can be started as soon as possible and baby can meet all round development at time.

What to be done, when hearing loss is confirmed?

Now when you get confirmation with hearing loss,it is important to know the type and level of hearing loss the baby has. You need to consult good and experienced Audiologist, Otolaryngologist (ear/nose/and throat doctor) and pediatrician. As some babies with hearing loss and have some effects on vision also,so proper test is important.

Audiologist will help you with special hearing test and therapy needed and if the hearing loss is permanent, hearing aid and therapy might be recommended for your baby.

Mom’s with Brett Lee – Global Hearing Ambassador of Cochlear’s

I was really happy to attend this informative session by Cochlear India knowing the importance of new born hearing screening. As most of us are unaware of the fact that out of 1000 babies 1 to 3 are born with some degree of hearing loss. So as earlier we can detect the problem we can start treatment with early intervention.

It feel so good to see Brett Lee Cochlear first Global hearing ambassador . He has been spearheading ‘Sound of cricket’ campaign to raise awareness about the various impacts hearing loss can have on individual life and family. He is actively participating and spreading awareness and giving his personal time and attention, going and attending all government hospitals and meeting all patients.

Covering full details for Cochlear implant in my next blog.?

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Baking with Academy of Pastry Arts

It was a great pleasure meeting Chef Kimberly Rozario at Academy of Baking Arts and learning some really important tips and tricks that are must for baking a good cake. Chef Kimberly RozarioWe had nice time learning Berry Vanilla Gateaux with a special culinary class conducted by Chef for all the bloggers. This full pastry is … Continue reading “Baking with Academy of Pastry Arts”

It was a great pleasure meeting Chef Kimberly Rozario at Academy of Baking Arts and learning some really important tips and tricks that are must for baking a good cake.

Chef Kimberly RozarioWe had nice time learning Berry Vanilla Gateaux with a special culinary class conducted by Chef for all the bloggers.

This full pastry is made in 4 step. Sharing the full receipe.

☑️ Chocolate almond sponge

Ingredients – Quantity (gram)

Almond paste/marzipan – 150
Whole egg – 62.5
Egg yolk – 37.5
Egg whites – 137.5
Sugar – 50
Cake flour – 40
Callebaut cocoa powder – 20
Dark chocolate Callebaut madagaMada 67percent – 75

Procedure

Mix almond paste with paddle. Add in egg and egg yolk slowly until smooth paste.
Change to whisk attachment and whip mixture above until fluffy.
Make a medium peak meringue with egg whites and sugar.
Fold in meringue into 2nd mixture.
Fold the sifted cocoa powder and flour and then continue with melted chocolate.
Bake in 6″ ring for approximately 25 minutes at 165 degree C.

☑️Berry Jelly

Ingredients – Quantity (gram)

Ravifruit blackberry puree – 200
Ravifruit raspberry puree – 100
Ravifruit strawberry puree – 130
Sugar – 15
Cold water – 40
Gelatin – 8

Procedure

Dissolve gelatin with cold water.
Warm all purees with sugar until the sugar is just enough to dissolve.
Melt gelatin and mix with the puree mixture.
Pour into mould and freeze it.

☑️Red Glaze

Ingredients -Quantity (gram)

Water – 75
Sugar – 150
Glucose -150
Condensed milk – 100
Gelatin – 12
Milk chocolate Callebaut 823NV 33.6percent – 150
Red colorant

Procedure

Bring sugar, water and glucose to boil.
Add in bloomed gelatin and condensed milk.
Pour the mixture over the milk chocolate and add in colouring to emulsify.
Finishing- Glaze with raspberry glaze and garnish with chocolate decor and chopped raisins with gold dust.

☑️ Vanilla mouse

Ingredients – Quantity (gram)

Milk – 150
Whipping cream – 120
Vanilla pod – 1/2 stick
Egg yolk – 120
Sugar – 90
Gelatin – 8
Italian meringue – 120
Cold water – 40
Whipping cream – 135

Procedure

Dissolve gelatin with cold water.
Bring cream,milk and vanilla pod to boil.
Mix egg yolk and sugar and gradually add into hot mixture.
Continue to bain-marie until 83 degree centigrade with spatula. Add in gelatin, wait until slightly cool down ,strain and fold in Italian meringue.
Lastly fold in whipped cream.

It was a long process and we learned so many nice tips from chef as.
☑️ Importance of right heating temperature.
☑️ Moisture control while you microwave food item ( This one really good tips as I often get my food items dry while microwaving ). So you need to use cling wrap while you microwave.
☑️ To avoid air bubbles in glaze or any medium you need to use whisker at the bottom only and still if you get some bubbles you can use cling wraps to remove from top.
☑️ If you are planning for long term baking you should invest in a good quality silicone moulds that’s maintain shape in regular use and good quality food colour and cocoa powder really make a difference in the final product in terms of taste and colour.
☑️ For getting a good glaze and shine to your cake you need to keep insure the right temperature and time of glaze and cake.

Chef is full of knowledge so the full session was a good learning one and just wished I can get some basic cakes class to get more of this pro version ?.

Would like to tell you more about Academy of Pastry Arts

Academy of Pastry Arts is an esteemed group of Professional Culinary & Pastry Schools with Pan Asia presence like Malaysia, Philippines, Delhi NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore. There journey started in 2010 with the flagship school in Malaysia and now, the company is growing exponentially with plans to be in Dubai and Indonesia soon.

Their infrastructure speaks volumes with a cumulative area of about 80,000 Sq ft consisting of 46 kitchens and other facilities like amphitheatre, cafeteria etc. With such amenities, it can be safely said that they are the biggest brand in Asia.

The academy uses cutting edge technology, mixed with ingenious techniques, specifically designed to teach the art, science and techniques of creating good food and methods needed to excel in the food industry.

Their are many course available at the Academy and you can choose the one you want, few listed below –

CULINARY DIPLOMA PROGRAM

Duration: 6 Months

CULINARY ADVANCED DIPLOMA PROGRAM

Duration: 9 Months

CULINARY PART TIME PROGRAM

Duration: 12 Week session

PASTRY DIPLOMA PROGRAM

Duration: 6 Months

PASTRY ADVANCED DIPLOMA PROGRAM

Duration: 9 Months

PASTRY PART TIME PROGRAM

Duration: 12 Week session

Upcoming intakes:

FULL TIME PASTRY & BAKERY: 27th AUGUST

FULL TIME CULINARY: 22nd OCTOBER

PART TIME PASTRY & BAKERY: 17th NOVEMBER

PART TIME CULINARY: 17th NOVEMBER

Breast-Milk- The Liquid Gold

When you become a mom you had a beautiful bonding with your baby from the womb , as the little one takes her first breath outside your womb the first thing your baby wants is the liquid gold from her mom. Yes those few drops of breast milk from her mom is precious, it’s the … Continue reading “Breast-Milk- The Liquid Gold”

When you become a mom you had a beautiful bonding with your baby from the womb , as the little one takes her first breath outside your womb the first thing your baby wants is the liquid gold from her mom.

Yes those few drops of breast milk from her mom is precious, it’s the liquid gold!

Breastfeeding is so important for every mom and baby and creating awareness for importance of breastfeeding is much-needed today.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August all over the globe to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

Apollo Cradle taking initiative by creating awareness and educating people about the importance of breastfeeding.

It was a great experience where Dr. Aparna Jha cleared our doubts and helps us understand more about the benefits of breastfeeding and Dr. Srividya and Dr. Mohanieshwari help us with proper knowledge of nutrition during Lactation and best position for feeding baby while C-section.

Speakers:
Dr. Aparna Jha, Sr. Consultant Gynecologist and Obstetrician.
Dr. Srividya, Nutritionist and lactation expert.
Dr. Mohanieshwari, physiotherapist , Child birth

Some really good points doctors take in the discussion and would love to get them pinned here for all.

Stages and types of Breast milk

colostrum yellow colour milk which secretes in the first three days after delivery.

It is rich in IGA antibodies which has anti-infective actions.
Lactoferrin,which is immunomodulator, also has tropic action on intestinal growth.
Casein having anti-adhesive property.
Oligosaccharides- prevents bacterial attachment.
Cytokines- Anti-inflammatory.

Foremilk and Hindmilk- milk which starts secreting after three days of delivery.

Rich in carbohydrates, fats, proteins, growth factors, enzymes and nucleotide.

Benefits of breast milk to the infant:

Best possible nutrition to infant.
Reduces the chances of chronic disorders like insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, childhood cancer , obesity and overweight, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease.
Reduces the chance of acute infection like diarrhea, otitis media, urinary tract infection, necrotizing enterocolitis, septicemia, infant botulism.
Exclusive breastfeeding for more than six months is an independent predictor of better medical health through childhood and adolescence.
It also improves the cognitive development of the baby, studies have shown Breast fed babies have better IQ then non-breast fed babies.

Benefits of Breast milk to the Mother during Lactation:

Skin to skin contact of the mother and the baby increases the bonding.
Breastfeeding releases oxytocin hormones, which helps in reducing the size of uterus faster and thus reduce bleeding post-delivery.
Breastfeeding also releases prolactin hormones which keeps the mother relaxed and helps her to sleep better.
Breastfeeding enhances the weight loss post delivery.

Long term health benefits for mother:

Reduces the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and endometrial cancer
Also reduces the risk of coronary heart disease.
Reduces the severity of diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis.

Contra-Indication of breastfeeding :

There is no absolute contra-indication of breastfeeding.
Relative contra-indication are – HIV positive status of the mother, full-blown active tuberculosis and herpes infection of the nipples site.

Now as we all know now days there are lot of people who are ready to give free advice to a new mom, and their comes lots of myths too. Let’s know what doctor have to say about the myths.

Myths about breastfeeding:

colostrum should be discarded well it the power House of immunity and should definitely be provided to baby.
Even after breastfeeding baby cries because it is not getting enough milk -baby cries does not always mean hungry baby, it generally cries for warmth of mother
Baby needs water apart from breast milk – mother foremilk contains enough water and so baby does not need any kind of external fluid for its healthy survival.
Mother cannot breastfeed when she is sick – mother may breast-feed even when she is sick.
Mother has to stop breastfeeding if she conceives mother can continue breastfeed just taking care of her nutrition.

This discussion is endless with lot more points to be cleared and I was feeling really good to got this chance to learn more about breastfeeding and spreading a word through my blog.

Would love to share details about breastfeeding position and nutrition diet that should be given to every mother after delivery.

Stay tuned for my next blog?

Luminous Power Technologies- New Launch

Luminous Power Technologies launched augmented reality view of interiors with their first kind mobile application, for this they have organised a blogger’s meet on 12th July 2018 at The Oberoi Bangalore. They have come up with new innovative ideas keeping in mind the comfort of customers and focusing on Indian home electrical industry. Their application … Continue reading “Luminous Power Technologies- New Launch”

They have come up with new innovative ideas keeping in mind the comfort of customers and focusing on Indian home electrical industry. Their application uses augmented reality to help customers select the best fan and modular switches for their home without leaving the comfort of their home. Luminous home is available on Google play and Apple store for download.

The picture overlay is displayed one the smartphone’s or tablet screen showing how the new signature fan/modular switches would fit in their homes with the added benefit of background and colour options on the application. With the help of these options, customers can visualize and select the best match with their home decor. With this application you can also locate dealers of your areas, if you wish to purchase.

About Luminous Power Technology

Luminous Power Technologies is the leading electrical specialist in India having a vast portfolio comprising of power back up solutions such as home UPS, batteries, stabilizers and solar solutions to home electrical offerings such as fans, LED lighting, wires and switches. Luminous has been in business for 30 years now. It has 7 manufacturing units, more than 28 sales offices in India and presence over 36 countries.

Company’s motto has always been customer delight through innovation and passion with focus on execution and team work.

Luminous PowerTechnologies

My view

As a mom I am really happy and looking forward to try their new products with home application comfort. It would be really helpful for all moms to choose right intensity and colour as per baby and mom needs and with additional features as to on/off with set alarm blinking lights . I am looking forward to try more innovative products from Luminous Power Technologies. Stay tuned for their products reviews as per a mom views.