Qatar
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Cloth diapering resources in Doha (Qatar)
(An earlier fun post on cloth diapers) I have been hooked onto cloth diapers even before my baby was born. My initial attraction towards them was because of their beautiful prints and hence another accessory to match with my baby’s frocks. Let’s say, I went a wee bit overboard with my addiction which has been successfully curbed now. 😀 It made me explore all the cloth diapering options here in Qatar and find online websites that ship to Doha. I thought about writing this blog post to help others and myself in the future inshaAllah (before I forget everything I have read and researched about this topic) Different types of…
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Review – Meissa Ring Sling
Ring slings are long fabrics with two rings on one end through which the fabrics from the tail end are threaded in. They are becoming increasingly popular in the baby-wearing world due to the ease of use and maintenance. They really do not take any space and can be a permanent inhabitant of your diaper bag. They are designed for use until baby is 3 years old or 35lbs. Review – Meissa Silk Ring Sling Fabric – Single layer of 100% Dupioni silk. Length – 77 inch Width – 26 inch Ring – Aluminium ring, certified by International Baby Carrier Safety Regulations and Standards Name – Sadaf, meaning ‘seashells’. Features : The Meissa…
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Expat Childhood in the Middle East
For a few weeks now, I have been helping my parents pack up from our home in Mesaieed. To be precise, bits and pieces of my childhood are either thrown away, given to charity, sent for recycling or in a cardboard box waiting to be flown back to our home country. A silent sense of sadness permeates through me. I as an adult 20 something suddenly feel like ‘the place of my childhood’ has ceased to exist. First things first, I consider my host country – Doha – more home than my home country – India. I find comfort in the sense of familiarity of friends I know since my…
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Facebook Parenting Groups (Qatar & India based)
As a new mother, one of the wonderful things I discovered was the highly happening place called Facebook Groups. I learnt about attachment parenting and natural parenting there. I learnt kitchen hacks and Montessori activities for infants. Also I made friends with new mothers who had the same ideals as I do. With the low organic reach of Facebook pages, FB group are the place to go now ( FB will probably change it soon with adverts or a new algorithm or paid promotions!) I shall list out a few Qatar based and India based parenting groups that has helped me. Do add to the list if you know of any drama…
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Minimalist guide to new born baby essentials shopping + FREE printable
In the summer of 2015, when I was heavily pregnant and waddling through Gulf Mall, unsure and confused of what to buy for the newborn from all the checklist I had come across, I had decided I will make a minimalist guide for newborn baby shopping. (Yeah, this post have been gathering dust in the drafts section of over a year now! :D) We really do not need everything as advertised. Most of the baby gears and products are marketing ploys. The reason for going the minimalist route are many : – Being on a budget. – No extra room to use as a nursery. – Small apartment. – General minimalist lifestyle. I shall…
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New IKEA Children’s Products – 2016
I love IKEA. Living in the near vicinity of IKEA Qatar, many a weekend night-time strolls are in this home furnishing centre. I was quite excited to see their new catalogue release advertisement all over the place and went to look out for all the new kids stuff. I was not disappointed ! Here are some of the new products I could find. FLITIG Cot (Qr. 149) – I love the travel cot we have. It is our play pen and is solely what encouraged independent play in our baby. It is the only place where I can leave my toddler safely when I want…
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Ramadan of my childhood
Ramadan 16, 1437. June 21,2016 Ramadan of the past. Growing up in Doha, Ramadan has always been a ‘festival’. The entire place has a transformation. There is really an aura of peace and tranquillity. In our household of six, Ramadan is always the favourite month of the year. There is an extra vigour for prayer and Qur’an recitation. Suhoor is as in every household – a funny drama. 4 almost sleeping kids trying to munch food at the wee hours while dad helping us recite the “Niyyah” and trying to entertain us with his childhood stories of Ramadan. Mom always encouraged us to finish reciting the Holy Qur’an at…
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Caesarean Awareness Month
April is International Caesarean Awareness month. Just hours after my Csection, I heard one of the first demeaning comments about ‘ladies who have C section’. And so it increased from there. Amongst the Indian mindset, it makes a girl less of a woman if she had a C section. She is not brave, they say. She cannot bear the pain they say. ( When did bearing pain become a virtue?) But that is far from reality. Do you know the intensity of the excruciating pain when you get up from the hospital bed after having your body cut at the exact point where you will bent. (For a miniscule version…
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Tourist spots and activities in Qatar
Now that our baby is 7 months old and I am out of the pregnancy craziness/initial sleep deprived days and all the roller-coaster confusion days of newborn, we look forward to weekends on either having a road trip or exploring any part of Qatar we haven’t been to. I have been compiling my list of tourist spots in Qatar for a few weeks now and it has stayed in my drafts folder until now when I saw the link-up on Follow Your Sunshine blog on the favourite tourist spots of Qatar. If I could choose one, it would surely be the Doha Corniche purely for sentimental reasons. It is the place…
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Pediatric emergency centres – Qatar
Your baby spikes up a fever of 39°C at 1 AM in the night. What do you do? Voila! Pediatric emergencies to the rescue. Qatar is well endowed with Pediatric Emergency Centres in almost all the corners. The main Pediatric Emergency is located at Al-Sadd. Quite busy but well equipped. Easily accessible for people in Doha area. For people in Mesaieed and Wakrah, there is Wakrah PEC located in the Wakrah Hospital. Go to the Emergency Gate, and go up the bridge. The first door is adult emergency and go a little further, there is the pediatric emergency door. Procedure at Wakrah PEC – Go to the receptionist for token.…
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Qatar.
Qatar is the place where… I spent my childhood. My brother was born. I did my schooling. I made forever friends. I had opportunities to fine tune my public speaking skills. I got my first works published in a newspaper as a child(Peninsula/Gulf times). I spent every vacation during college days. I struggled through my severe quarter life crisised year. I learnt to drive. I got my first job (and the second job). My niece was born. I met my better half. We set up our first house after marriage. We had our tiny mini-honeymoon. Our daughter was born. Qatar is home. Participating in the…
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Silence of my home
Growing up, my house did not know the meaning of silence. 2 studious girls who did their daily lessons by reading loudly. 2 hyperactive boys who always had to play football or watch cartoon. Not to forget, the cat and dog fights for everything from the TV remote to the Nutella bottle. However hard my mom tried, it was dearly impossible to wind up for the day before 11 PM. There was one or the other chatter – Crying sessions because the home work assignment was not completed (this was usually me!) or screaming at the other for breaking a favourite toy (usually the boys) or being on the telephone…
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A city and a village.
Place where I grew up : Doha, Qatar Class gradation and caste differences was something I was not aware of during my childhood days. Everyone had the same Staedtler Pencil and Faber Castell Colour Pencils. It was assumed everyone was from reasonably well-to-do families. Some of our neighbours were from Syria, Egypt or Palestine (besides Indians!) and though we wished each other on New Years and Eid, we were not much in contact otherwise. Outings, community get-together at the local club, Eid meet at the Park – every community mostly socialized with its own kind. Though a cosmopolitan city, cohesive nature and intermingling among st the expatriates and natives are…