THE TIMES OF AMMA
       Inspiring Mothers One Day At A Time

Editor's Note : This was first posted by Sushi Targett on her blog on the occasion of World Mental Health Day. I asked her if I could publish it on the Times of Amma, as well as I had never heard anyone speak or write about it. I hope that by sharing this important post here, I will be able to amplify her message through the Times of Amma community. Today on World Mental Health day whilst all mothers talk about post natal depression let me introduce to you something new, som

I was diagnosed with a sensironeural deafness when I was 30. I was, then a mother to a 2 year old daughter. A routine ENT check-up during my annual summer vacation in Madras revealed that I had already lost 60 decibels in both ears and since it was a progressive condition there was little I could do. I could avoid oto toxic drugs, wear hearing aids, avoid stress, loud noises and carry on. It was not going to get better, I was told. The only memory I carry of that visit was

As It Happened Two Months to the Due Date Raaghavi : On the 17th February 2017 around 4 a.m, as I came out of the washroom after changing my clothes for the third time, he asked me what was wrong. I told him that I had been urinating from midnight without control. I never realised that my water bag had started leaking until he typed, ‘water-bag discharge during pregnancy’ on Google! It was only the two of us at our home and no one else to help. With no further delay, we rus

I gained 20 plus kilos - during my pregnancy, everyone around me was happy with my progress and kept telling me I would have a round munchkin. I believed them. Both me and the Mr. would dream of a bubbly ball of marshmallow smiling at us. A smile that would pierce through all the worries and bring in – inner peace. The day arrived and I naturally birthed my son - Baby Liam. He weighed 2.48 kg (decent for me). I was glad he wasn’t huge and I was least bothered about his weight

Editor's note: I met Anupama, as I meet most Indian Moms these days, on Instagram. The fact that she too was an expat mom of two like me, living in Europe made her a kindred spirit of sorts and I started following her feed. The first time we struck up a conversation, she told me that she was a Malayali from Kochi who did not speak Malayalam and that she only spoke English. Sensing my mystification she explained that she had been diagnosed with severe hearing loss at the age

I look at myself in the bathroom mirror, gently touching the stretch marks criss-crossing across the length of my belly, a belly that was never taut but never as soft and saggy, as it is today. Further down, a thin brown line made of slightly puckered skin marks where my body was split open to give safe passage to my children. Once in 2011 and once in 2016. Both times after days and hours of intense waves of painful labour, hoping and praying that I would not need medical ass

One of the ladies I met in the park at random asked me," Do you still breastfeed your child?". I replied instantly "Yes sometimes, why not?" I wish I could have clicked her reaction that was a rather scandalized one. "Don't you know there is no benfit of breastfeeding once the baby turns one". I had no intention of explaining anything to her, I left her outrageous feelings with herself. Do I need to give people a justification? No, I don't think so. Well, I'm not a crusader o

This picture (below) was otherwise meant to be a late post from a recent trip to continue documenting our nursing journey. I normally let some amount of naysaying slide and don't preach the virtues of extended breastfeeding to an immature audience. Something happened a couple of days ago that kicked in my protective instinct for a bond very close to my heart. I went to a doctor for a small infection and was prescribed some broad spectrum antibiotics. I forgot to ask earlier

If you want to know how much my life has changed after becoming a mother, go through my phone’s camera roll. You’ll find a seemingly endless stream of photos of my son, punctuated by those of that worrying deep cut on his forehead (he had banged his head on the edge of the table), red spots on his back (most likely mosquito bites), odd-coloured poo and most recently the shot of a tissue with blood soaked snot (he has the flu). These were taken for the purpose of Whatsapp diag

When your children call you dad, they do not only mean dad but they look at you with a much broader perspective. You are one of their main role models, their super hero, someone they dream to be like. Your actions are what they learn from. You are an epitome of education for them. Therefore, make sure you teach them something worthwhile each day, either with your actions or your words. Here are a few things that a father should teach his children. 1. Civic Rules Each time you