5 ways to reduce stress

 Stress, Stress, Stress..

We have been learning more about mental health, anxiety, and stress these days. 

What is Stress?

Stress is the body's reaction to a challenge. It can be positive like when we have to avoid some danger or accomplish any task on time. But, too much of it can negatively affect our health. Stress is the way we react to a difficult situation like anger, frustration, etc.,. 

Even when we train ourselves to be calm, it's not easy to handle all kinds of situations and maintain cool. 

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Signs of Stress:

As per the article from MedlinePlus, the following are some signs of stress:

• Diarrhea or constipation
• Forgetfulness
• Frequent aches and pains
• Headaches
• Lack of energy or focus
• Sexual problems
• Stiff jaw or neck
• Tiredness
• Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
• Upset stomach
• Use of alcohol or drugs to relax
• Weight loss or gain

In long term, stress can cause harm to the body and can be a reason for many diseases.

So, here are 5 ways that I learned from my experience which help in reducing mental stress.

5 ways to reduce stress:

1. Excercise

Exercise found to have many benefits and reducing stress is just one of them. 

Exercise need not mean hitting the gym and working for hours. It can be as simple as dancing to your favorite tune, hiking to explore nature, trying swimming/karate lessons, biking/jogging etc., 

If the activity is something you love, chances are more for you to continue the activity and even enjoy the experience.

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2. Explore Hobbies and Fun Activities

Ensure you spend time on your hobbies at least 30 mins a week to start with and increase to more days in a week slowly.

Reading books, painting, even playing simple games online like word search, candy crush, playing board games like chess / Chinese checkers with family can relax your mind.

How games have changed these days? From Tetris, Pacman to PubG, Pokemon.. There are so many games available online and even free on Plays.org. (By the way, this site has no ads, that's a relief :-)). While I liked Arcade games, my kids loved games from the Base Defence category.

Listening to music/ singing songs, learning different types of dance styles/music instruments, etc., are very helpful in reducing anxiety.

3. Enjoy the Outdoors and Nature

Our Earth is gorgeous. Traveling outdoors and discovering different places is relaxing and also a learning experience. 

Experiencing different foods, meeting people from different cultures, traveling to new places, staying near the beauty of nature like forests, mountains, and beaches are definitely mood changers and can brighten our souls. Agree?

Image by Leonardo Valente from Pixabay 

4. Spend time with people you love

Humans are social animals. Love and social interactions are essentials in our lives. It doesn't matter how much we earn, but how many good friends we earn is important. 

Due to Covid, we are not able to meet people in person. Since most of us are getting vaccinated, it's not far when we can go back to family dinners and parties with friends. 

Happiness keeps the stress away. Spending time with loved ones gives us security and satisfaction in life.

5. Practice Mindfulness and Gratitude

I came to understand the importance of mindfulness and gratitude a bit late in my life. But, these 2 are great ways to have positive thoughts in our mind which, in turn, reduce stress.

Mindfulness means appreciating the moments in the present. Gratitude is feeling thankful for what we have than worrying about what we don't have.

Image by Alfonso Cerezo from Pixabay 

Enjoying the beauty of flowers blooming in our garden, appreciating the help from a stranger, relishing the smile of our children when they are playing, gorging the delicious food made at home, enjoying a hug from a close friend, etc., - These everyday small things make our day.

Yoga and Meditation can improve mindfulness and positive thinking. When we can stop overthinking and reduce negative thoughts, the mind feels relaxed.

Thus, there are many simple ways to reduce stress in our daily lives. Always remember, for a long-term impact, we should eat a balanced diet, meditate and try to think positively. 

How do you cope up with stress? Would love to know your suggestions in the comments.

Until next time,

Happy to collaborate with Plays.org to write this article on some simple ways to reduce stress. 

The Journey to being a blogger and Social Media Influencer

 Hello, my blog followers and friends, this is a personal post about my journey to being a blogger and social media influencer.

Do you know, what's beautiful about being a blogger? Pouring your heart out and emotions flowing freely into words. I am not an introvert for sure, but I enjoy writing more than speaking. Writing comes naturally to me without much effort. I am not talking about professional writing, but just like a journal jotting down my experiences.

The Begining:

I started my blog around 13 years ago to document my book reviews, but then, my love for travel dominated my blog. This is my first blog post which seems too silly now. 

During this journey of 13 years, I learned a lot from other bloggers, read many beautiful blogs, watched videos, and read articles on how to manage a blog, what plugins to use, how to format it blah blah..My page views were too low as expected(500 views per month) as I didn't write anything to impress others but used my blog as a journal.

The Progress:

The next phase started when I was researching how to promote blogs on social media or whatever channels available. I started traveling more and there is a lot of content that I am publishing regularly. 

I got extra time to write posts in simple, clear sentences, proofread, and edit them in small paragraphs. I also got a knack for creating graphics with Canva which made my blog posts look better and readable. 

Of course, sharing my blog posts on social media really helped me. Also, it made me understand what it means to be a social media influencer. 

Social Media Impact :

The first platform that helped me to grow my blog is Twitter. I least expected it, but I use Twitter also to get the latest information on some trending topics and follow the topics that I am interested in. I got my first 500 followers with this platform. 

Facebook is for my close friends and family, so I get more page views from Facebook naturally. But, I don't over-promote there and restrict promoting personal content. 

My most favorite platform is Instagram. I love sharing the photos from my blog posts, adding a call to action to let the followers click the link in my bio, and increase the reach of my post by using relevant hashtags.

Doesn't seem complicated right?

- beautiful phots

- Call to action and

- Relevant hashtags

My followers gradually increased to around 700 within a few months and my traffic to my blog too saw some hits from this platform.

Pinterest Magic!

The last and most effective platform which helped my blog grew in terms of page views is Pinterest. I would have learned about its power in my earlier days of blogging.

Due to many mentors and blogging friends like Shailaja, I could quickly understand the basics of Pinterest to make it work. Here is Shailaja's page if you want to get her guidance on Pinterest. 

My Pinterest brings me the most traffic nowadays even when I don't blog regularly. My Pinterest profile gets around 50k profile views every month and my blog also reached 15 k monthly views with around 500 views every day.

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SEO:

I am still a newbie on SEO, but this really helps me in bringing some of my pages to the top place in Google search. Since I am busy these days, I couldn't focus more on it, but I follow a few tips to get some results at least.

- To use relevant keywords in my blog post title, the first paragraph, and in the search description for each post

- To research topics that are trending to write blog posts

- To rename the images with keywords and use alt text to insert keywords

- Use lengthier posts with simple, easy to understand sentences and small paragraphs

- Use high-resolution images and graphics

I think, if I spend more time on SEO, I can increase my website traffic for sure.

So, that is the journey so far to 15k page views per month. If you are a blogger, did you experience and explore the topics that I mentioned?

I would love to know your experiences and journey to being a blogger and social media influencer. 

Until next time,

I am happy to be collaborating with Intellifluence for this opportunity to talk about social media influencing. 

Top 5 Black Friday shopping tips #BlackFriday

Black Friday is the most important day for shoppers. With so many in-store promotions,  door busters and online deals, it is kind of overwhelming. So, here are some tips to get the best deals and shop peacefully.

Even though Black Friday is in the end of November,  many stores announce their promotions and deals from first to second week of November itself. So, watch out, note down and plan earlier.

Plan Early:

I know, this tip looks simple but it is very helpful. First, prepare a shopping list. Then, wait for the stores to release their first ad for Black Friday. If the items of your shopping list are present in their ads or door busters or online deals, note down all the details.

Know the timings, terms, refund policies :

Being aware of where to buy the items is not enough. If you are targeting on door busters,  know the terms and timings. Usually,  some stores open very early and give door busters only to the first 50 or 100 customers. So, going to the store early and being in queue first really matters.

Ensure you check the refund policy. If you are planning to buy gifts, remember to get gift receipts. Usually,  many stores allow to refund within a month.

Check Online Deals :

In this generation,  Black Friday shopping changed towards online shopping. Many doesn't have patience to go early and stand in queues. There are multiple sites which help in finding the best deals online.

Slickdeals is one such site which offers money saving offers and best deals. The coupons mentioned in the site will be helpful always but especially during Black Friday shopping,  ensure you check deals in this site.

Slickdeals is the best place to find Black Friday deals and sales. 

If possible,  buy gift cards on discounted price from raise.com. You can use them on your favorite stores on Black Friday to double the money saving.

Focus and don't get carried away :

Shopping is enticing. If you go to kohl's to buy an Instant pot, you might get stuck with other great deals before reaching to Kitchen items section. 

Yes, there is always a chance of overspending and buying unwanted things but sometimes this distraction can make your must-shop items go out of stock.

So, focus. Buy whatever you want first before browsing through other categories.

Start Early or Shop till late to avoid crowds :

Start early after having good breakfast. Leave kids at home so that they don't get irritated and spoil your shopping mood. Carry cash so that billing can be faster in case of big lines.

So, those are some tips that worked for me. What strategies work for you to save more on black Friday and shop peacefully? Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

PS: I am glad to collaborate with Slickdeals for this post and the tips mentioned are from my own experience. 

My Memories of being a #FirstTimeMom

Every Mother dreams a lot about their baby before the delivery. But, no amount of preparation is enough compared to the real experience of taking care of the baby. Moreover, the memories of being a #FirstTimeMom are always special.

I was skeptic about my ability to take care of a baby before the delivery. I was not someone who can comfort a baby or cheer an infant. I was even afraid to hold the infants before I became pregnant. Babies are so pure, fragile and lovely that they should be treated gently.

In the labor room, on that day just before 7 years ago, I was amazed by the first sight of my son who is like a cute pink bundle – peaceful, soft and lovely. There are no words to explain but the experience was more than what I dreamt before. My First expression was the happiness that I could deliver a healthy child. I was thankful to the God for my baby.

When they brought the infant near me and when the nurse tried to help me with feeding, the first touch was soft. I was afraid if the baby’s skin will be damaged by my touch. When the infant was near my chest for feed, I felt an instant connection and liking. When my baby learned to feed my milk, I felt complete and felt like I had a great purpose of my life. Now, when I write my feelings about being a #FirstTimeMom, it feels a bit exaggerated, but that was the state of mind then.

I feel happy and thankful that I have my Mom by my side at that time to teach me how to take care of this beautiful baby boy. It would have been a lot difficult without my mom’s help and support during that time to recover from childbirth, eat healthy food, have nice sleep and to feed my baby in regular intervals.

The memories of being a #FirstTimeMom are always special. I wonder, how it would have been if there were baby wipes which were as pure as our motherhood memories. We didn’t have water-based wipes 7years ago, but now, we have #FirstWaterWipes by Mother Sparsh.

At that time, I was looking for natural wipes without alcohol content and which were fragrance-free. We get a lot of baby wipes in the market which is fragrance-free and soft, but finding a wipe made with natural ingredients is tough. Diaper rash is the most common concern for newborn babies and so, choosing a wipe which doesn’t irritate their skin is a challenge.

I am happy that today’s moms have a good option with Mother Sparsh as baby’s skin is 10 times more sensitive than adult skin.

Mother Sparsh Baby wipes are chemically proven to prevent diaper rash and they are made with 100% plant-based fabric. Now, the new mothers know better what to choose for their baby’s skin. You can purchase the water-based baby wipes on Amazon/ First cry and many other famous retailers.

Until next time,

Why Mother Sparsh natural water wipes are better than any other baby wipes

When a baby enters this world from the mother’s womb, her/his skin is delicate like a flower. When I held my son immediately after the delivery, I was scared that something might happen to my baby if not properly handled. The babies’ skin is very soft and sensitive. I think every mother might have gone through this feeling when dealing with their infant for the first time/ during the first month of the baby.

 

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The baby is protected in the mother’s womb from all pollution and harmful effects of the environment. At birth, baby’s skin is very thin and can be easily damaged. The top layer of the baby’s skin called Vernix is a protective layer and acts like a moisturizer which protects them from infections. Over the first month, the skin of the baby matures and forms a protective barrier. Premature babies’ skin might be more delicate.

That is the reason, new moms must take care while choosing the baby soap, moisturizer and everything they select for the baby which is in direct contact with baby’s skin. We usually should select a mild, non-fragrance soap or wash for the bath. We should carefully choose a moisturizer which has natural contents. Due to the delicate skin, doctors advised me at that stage (after my delivery) not to wash my baby’s skin more and use natural, non-fragrant wipes to clean the bottom part during the diaper change. Doctors also suggested me to use a soft clean cloth if we cannot get natural alcohol-free wipes. The fragrance/ alcohol content in baby wipes might irritate the baby and make the infant’s skin drier.

At that time, I was looking for natural wipes without alcohol content and which were fragrance-free. We get a lot of baby wipes in the market which are fragrance-free and soft, but finding a wipe made with natural ingredients is tough. Diaper rash is the most common concern for newborn babies and so, choosing a wipe which doesn’t irritate their skin is a challenge.

We didn’t have natural water-based wipes during that time. But now I am happy that moms can use  Mother Sparsh – India’s first water-based wipes brand.

Baby’s skin is 10 times more sensitive than adult skin. Moreover, we clean our baby’s delicate skin more than 10 times a day. Ordinary baby wipes used for cleaning have harsh chemicals which may deplete the top delicate layer of their skin. These harmful chemicals might be present in the fabric/ingredients of the usual baby wipes. So, the best option is to use cotton and water or the water-based wipes.

Mother Sparsh Baby wipes are chemically proven to prevent diaper rash and they are made with 100% plant-based fabric. Now, the new mothers know better what to choose for their baby’s skin. You can purchase the water-based baby wipes on Amazon/ First cry and many other famous retailers.

Now, I don’t have any infants at my home to take care, but I suggest all new moms to try these water-based wipes and see the results. When in doubt, take the flame test. What do you say?

Until next time,

PS: I am glad to be working with my sponsor Mother Sparsh to share these details with you all.

5 ways to comfort / help a new Mom

How much ever experience you have or how much ever help and support you have, Giving birth to a child is not an easy task. After waiting for 9 months and after taking the utmost self-care and diet, even though the mom eagerly waits for her child, it is impossible to prepare for postpartum 100%. That's why the help and support of family and friends are most needed after delivery. 

Here are some ways that I think will be helpful to comfort a new mom. 

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1. Helping with Food and cooking

I think any friend or family member should take care of the food and cooking needs for the new mom. An infant takes a lot of time feeding every 2 hrs, adjusting to this world, needing diaper changes often. Since the mom will be busy with the infant, the family/ friends should step up and arrange food. 

2. Giving more sleep to mom

Sleeplessness gives more stress than day-long work. If the family and friends can take care of baby sometimes with pumped breast milk, the new mom can have some sleep as she has to wake up every 2 hrs in the night. 

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3. Taking the mom outside

Taking care of a baby the whole day is very difficult and sometimes, it becomes depressing. In those stressful days, moms feel like pumping machines as feeding baby is the high priority task they have the whole day. If moms can take a stroll outside with the baby or if they can just go outside once in a while, it takes off some stress. This helps the new mom to be happy. Family/ friends should help in making sure that the mom is spending some time outside once in a while.

4. Dealing with Hormones

After delivery, hormones show their impact. Sometimes, new mothers feel like crying without any reason. Postpartum depression is real. The family has to talk to her and listen to her and understand her behavioral changes due to hormones.  While the reasons might be many for postpartum depression, a positive dialogue and support to the new mom will help her to come out of that. New moms often doubt their efficiency to take care of an infant and doubt that they may cause any harm to the baby unknowingly.  These thoughts are common and if they can discuss these thoughts freely with friends and family, they get better support. 

5. Appreciate her

When life seems mechanical with just taking care of baby selflessly, appreciation is very much needed. It gives the mom a confidence that she is doing her tasks better and is a good parent. Appreciate her. Gifts might not be necessary always, but the support and encouragement are important at this phase. Gifting her some baby essentials from Lovingly Signed is a better idea. The website has many personalized gift sets for baby boys and girls.

Super Luxury Gift set for Boys

What are your suggestions on comforting a new mom? If you are already a mom, let me know if these ways could have helped you after your delivery.

Until next time,

Ps: This sponsored post is really coming at a great time because I was just thinking to share information about Lovingly Signed website for different baby gifting options. 

5 Easy Sewing projects for Kids

I am not very good at sewing. But, I love sewing, embroidery and other creative works that we can do with fabric. 

Do you want to introduce young kids to sewing? Are you looking for some super simple projects for your kids? Then, read this. 

I suggest 5 easy and fun sewing projects especially for kids below 7-year-old.

Buttons on socks :

Sewing buttons with the hand is the most basic project that we can introduce to kids. What do you say? 

We can take some old socks, take some buttons, color them to suit the socks and let them sew them with needle and thread. We can teach a simple cross stitch to make between the holes and tell them to repeat until they get it properly.

Stuffed Animals:

We can fill the socks with rice/ sand and tell them to stitch around to make a lovely stuffed animal. Explore different colors and choose a cute and bright colored sock for it. This can be used as a sensory play toy also. 

check this cute project if you want to go further and enhance it.

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Pillowcases:

This is simple, right? Try sewing a pillowcase for a square pillow, which is easier. Take 2 cloths, measure them with pillow size, cut into 2 squares and just use a simple stitch to sew around. Voila! Kids are happy with this simple project and they get to use it too. What say?

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Placemats :

It's not that tough to prepare a nice placemat for your dinner table. 

You just need oilcloth and a lining fabric with vibrant patterns. You can also sew a pocket to insert paper napkins. Follow this detailed tutorial from Jen to try.

Reversible headbands :

Fancy and simple headbands are very useful and easy to sew. Follow this tutorial from Jessica to try the headband. 

You need a good fabric and elastic to prepare this one. This headband works in reverse direction as well, which is cool.

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Not sure on how to start sewing and which sewing machine is good? Here is a beginner's guide.

So, how do you like these projects? Do let me know in comments.

Until next time,

PS: This post is sponsored. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about sewing projects for kids.

Can your Baby wipes pass the Flame Test ?

Baby wet wipes are a very important product in baby care as we use them in direct contact with baby's skin. So, of course, all moms are very cautious while choosing the right baby wipes which are gentle on the skin. But, Unfortunately, baby wipes are toxic and not easily degradable. Most of the wet wipes are made with plastic resins like polyester. Thus, they are not like normal paper tissue that can be flushed into the toilet.

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Why are the toxic chemicals added to wet wipes?

The Baby wipes should smell good/ pleasing and they should stop spreading of bacteria, right? Chemicals are added to take care of these qualities. The major ingredient in the fabric of wet wipes is 'Polyester', which is used in the manufacturing of pipes and wires. 

Some baby wipes might have a high amount of Polyester in the fabric whereas, a few might have less. More or less, but the impact is not ignorable. When the fabric has a good amount of Polyester / plastic resins in it, it is harsh to the baby's delicate skin and might lead to allergies.

How do we know if the wet wipes have plastic in it? Here comes the "Flame test" into the picture.

I know, the concerned mothers would love to try this simple experiment on the baby wipes that they regularly use. 

Flame Test:

Ingredients we need:

• A Candle
• Matchbox
• Wet wipe to try

Procedure to test:

1. Light the candle with a matchbox.

2. Dry the wet wipe slightly so that it can burn easily.
3. Hold one edge of the wipe near the flame.

Observations:

1. If the smell of the fabric while burning is similar to the smell of burning plastic, it means the baby wipes have more percentage of 'Polyester' in it.

2. If the smell of fabric is like the burning of a tissue or paper, then the wipe might be made with natural fabric and it might not have 'polyester' in it.

3. Another factor to consider is the fabric after it's burnt. If we can see hard lump/ hard black residue after burning instead of ash, it means that the wipe contains 'polyester' in it.

4. If the fabric burns to ash powder, it is 100% natural fabric without polyester in it.

The Flame test is very simple, right? So, go ahead moms to check how safe the baby wipes are that you use to your infants.

As mentioned in my earlier post, Mother Sparsh baby wipes can be a good alternative. Mother Sparsh wipes are 98% water wipes which are made with natural plant fabric. I am sure they pass the Flame test successfully. They are as good as cotton and water. If you want to try them, Buy on Firstcry or Amazon. 

Hop onto this link to learn more about Mother Sparsh Baby Wipes. 

So, do try the Flame test on your wipes and let me know what you found out. Better be safe now than never. What do you say, moms?


Until next time,

PS: I am really happy to work with this sponsor Mother Sparsh today, to share you all the details of Flame test for baby wipes.