Blogging journey
If baby is a picky eater blame yourself:Healthy eating habits in children (part 1)
You can’t make your child eat healthy!Your child likes only junk food.
You are worried about childhood obesity.What your child eats will not only help in developing their physical and mental health ,but also influence their health as adults.This is a problem which is more complex than just tempting him/ her with new recipes.
Did you know it’s not just what your child eats now, that’s to blame.It’s also your diet, during pregnancy,breastfeeding
and afterwards.
In this case, moms have all the power, to change the baby’s food choices.
When I was pregnant I wouldn’t eat chicken for the entire 9 months. I had nausea throughout my pregnancy and hated cooking.The smell of jeera ,garam masala made me want to puke.
But I still enjoyed fish ,eggs and mutton .As long as I didn’t cook them.
Veggies and fruits were always a large part of my diet .So was milk.
When I ate to keep healthy, I always remembered that these nutrients were building my baby one cell at a time.
Most of the child’s health and Immunity depends on food.But there was one more important reason to eat healthy.
What exactly does the mother’s diet do?
It does 3 important things
#Builds the flesh and blood baby
#Builds the immunity of the baby
#Builds the baby’s food choices.
Most attention is paid to the first two.Because they are unquestionably important .
What’s not discussed is the 3rd one.
Mommy’s complain of baby’s being picky eaters.But you have to recap ,what you loved having ,when you were pregnant.That’s how you can handle the picky eater baby now!
Sounds weird right?
How can a mother build a baby’s healthy taste in food ?
You have 2 full-proof tools, in your mommy tool box.Both are free .
#1 Choose healthy eating options during pregnancy
Your child develops her palate or food preferences in the womb.
Food odours are due to certain chemical components.
These compounds specially those with strong distinctive smell and taste ,are detected in the amniotic fluid.Garlic, cumin,other spices have distinctive chemicals which brand the amniotic fluids.
The developing baby swallows amniotic fluids in the womb.
Sense of taste and smell is functional during fetal life
Helps develop the food preferences after birth.
The mother’s diet is an interesting way of, building up food tastes in the unborn baby.
It’s one of the most important way to prepare the infant’s solid food choices later in life.
#2 Your breast milk and your food choices
After birth of baby ,what you eat as a mommy ,flavours the breast milk.
If you want your baby to have healthy eating habits,you must eat healthy .Include a variety of nutritious food in your diet.It is the best way to make your baby learn healthy eating ,even when breastfeeding
Prenatal and early postnatal flavor exposure helps baby develop his/her food preferences.
The child enjoys the different flavors in solid food more enthusiastically ,when complementary feed is started.
So mommy eat well.Before during and after pregnancy.
What did you eat most often when you were pregnant?
Did you eat junk food ?
Feeding your preschooler:Ultimate guide
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Biz focus :Mayuri ,sirimiri,blogger and tarot card reader
Mayuri a professional Tarot card reader, freelance writer, and a blogger.
She is a Punjabi married to a Telugu.Chats a lot reads a lot and writes even more.Blogging since 2004(her first post is dated May 2004).A time when I hadn’t even heard of the word blogging (I lived under my own mountain of books)!Mayuri was a blogger.Her parents refused to feature her as a baby in a Pears campaign.
A Gemini and loves all things word.Her blog, sirimiri is as gentle as she is.I met her during Blogchatter’s #MyfriendAlexa campaign.
She doesn’t like giving directions. She likes following them even less.
That’s why while doing a Google analytics set up for her blog, she was the one with whom I spent the most time.
But I forgot to tell her not to change her theme(totally my mistake).
Guess what?The code was nowhere to be found next day. Mayuri was panicking.I was surprised.
I opened her blog to check. Voila, it had changed.
GA code in theme header disappears with a change in the parent theme.Forgot to tell her!This problem could be handled with a child theme or a plugin.
Now Mayuri is revamping her blog.
I haven’t stopped bugging her about Google analytics though.I think she is waiting for me to lose patience.
It’s going to be tough.She has written for 12 years.Her patience and persistence is award-winning.
Can I make her do it?Time will tell.Now the woman behind the blog.
Tell us Mayuri what made you start blogging?
I used to jot down my thoughts in varied forms, like quotes, verses, poetry and small notes. And as I did so I realized that I loved writing.In 2004 I discovered a digital diary called a Blog and signed up to get one of my own. I have been writing ever since, though not everything I write is shared online.
Besides Sirimiri, I also have a food blog and a Travel Blog, which I’ve sadly neglected.
Who is your audience ?
Anyone who loves to read!
What makes your day?
Feedback from my readers makes my day! And when someone tells me that reading a certain post make some difference I am truly elated!
What inspires you?
The will to write, the love for it and the ability to evolve with it over time. And yes, I consider Stephen King my Guru. He is the best. Period.
Give us your favorite quote
” I am enough. I have enough. I do enough.”
Give us a few tips for struggling Bloggers
(I’m a struggling blogger myself!:)
But I’m learning new things every day and here are some to share.
1)In the blogging world, I follow only 1 rule: Do unto others as you would have others to do unto you.
2)Make a blogging schedule.Maybe something like posting 2 posts a week. Then stick to it.
3)Please check your post for typos and other errors, before you post it.
4)Explore different forms of writing.
5)Join a Blogging community that could encourage you.
6)Visit other blogs, read them and always leave a comment on a post you enjoyed reading. P:S: Nice post, is not a comment.
7)Read a lot. The more you read, the better you write.
What’s your vision for this venture?
I just want to write. And to be read. I used to be a regular columnist for various magazines, writing a Humor Column for one and Monthly Tarot Predictions for the others. I would like to get back to writing columns and features, professionally. And like most others, writing a book is part of the plan.
Mayuri bio:
I am a professional Tarot Card Reader for the last 12 years and conduct Tarot Readings. Both personal, and Online.
A writer by design. Since I am already aware of what the future holds, I enjoy unwrapping the present.
My blog: http://sirimiri.in/
Fb page:
https://www.facebook.com/mayuri.sharrmanidigallu
Do visit Mayuri’s blog.
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Mompreneur biz focus:Mayura Amarkant the soothsayer
Mompreneur’s biz focus series on my blog is always great fun .Hearing the stories behind the beautiful blogs, makes me feel blessed.I realize how lucky I am to be a part of the wonderful blogchatter #MyFriendAlexa team.
Today on my blog we will hear the story behind Mayura Amarkant ,”the insane writer”.
She is not insane.She writes like time has stood still.And writes and writes .Every day without fail.
Like SEO,Traffic, Alexa ,sponsorship Monetization nothing matters.What matters is pouring your heart and soul on being your best person ,so that your writing shines.
Mayura’s writing shines .A storyteller at heart ,she writes fiction and nonfiction,poetry and prose as easily as a child laughs.
Unpretentious and innocent.Truth and sincerity ,it’s all there.
At present, she is managing a biz ,home and her blog.Mother of two smart children , Abhimanyu & Sanskriti,she is a hands on parent .
Lead Connector with www.AGENCY09.in
Her husband ,Amarkant Jain, has been her support and guiding light for the last 17 years. At present, he is Methodiser, AGENCY09.
What made Mayura the super woman ?What’s the story ?
I belong to the Stone Age (so does my blog)
Hmm…Stone Age – the era when black and white, buffalo back televisions played only one channel, Doordarshan and later another channel was added to the list – DD Metro. We waited all week for the Sunday special treat, a movie that the family huddled together and watched.
Family outings, weekend picnics, long walks and holidays with grandparents was a normal way of life. We grew in a safe and secure world where our heroes were our parents and relatives.
Neighbours were part of the family and camaraderie was second nature. We didn’t need Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp or any technology to remind us about birthdays, anniversaries and important occasions. We kept up with each other’s lives and stood by each other in times of crisis without expecting anything in return.
No mixer-grinder, microwave, mobile phone, dishwasher or washing machine. Mothers and grandmothers lovingly cooked all the meals and life was one big joint family. Evenings were full of loud squeals of kids who played with their mates till their moms dragged them home. The concept of tuitions was attached to ‘dumb’ kids. Schools took up the responsibility of coaching us for competitions and most of us ended up winning envious positions.
Life was simple and totally awesome. There was always time for everything. We caught up with our friends over a leisurely cup of chai. The highlight of this era is the amount of time we devoted to reading and discussion. Books landed up in our hands without any promotions. A recommendation from a friend or elder was enough for us to grab the book and read it from cover to cover.
My icons where Agatha Christie, Jane Austen, Carolyn Keene, Ruskin Bond, Enid Blyton, Anita Desai and Robin Cook, among others. Women’s magazines like Femina and Woman’s Era influenced our ideas on womanhood. Still other magazines like Stardust and Filmfare dished out filmy gossip. Our parents encouraged us to read the Times of India and Indian Express. Later, Mid-day became the afternoon paper where Marjorie Orr was a friend we met almost every day.
Quality content thus ruled our lives and we were open to healthy discussions over issues. Life was not about proving a point; it was about moving forward – together. We read almost everything – news, biographies, autobiographies, stories and poems. For us, genuine causes deserved to be spoken about and life hacks were passed down from the elder to our generation.
If you smiled or nodded at any or all the above, then my blog, diaryofaninsanewriter ,is for you.
In promotional terminology, if you are looking for quality content that you can consume leisurely, this blog is for you. There is something in it for every one – interviews, parenting articles, tips and tricks, social causes, inspirational meetings, stories and poems.
At present, I have kept technology, health and sports for later as I would need expert contributors for the same.
What inspires you Mayura?
I am inspired by almost everything around me – people, incidents, the doorbell, the fan, my kids, colleagues, husband, parents, in-laws, neighbours – just everyone. There is something that each person has to offer. It depends on whether we want to receive or not.
My life is extremely busy and nothing dramatic happening. I draw inspiration from my daily routine as I firmly believe that life’s joy is in the little things. No point in waiting for something big to happen. Finding joy and motivation in life’s little things make us happier individuals.
Give us your favourite quote
‘Ugta rog aur ugta dushman jadd mein hi kaato’
What it means:
Arrest disease, sadness, enmity before they grow into unmanageable monsters. Anticipate the future and face issues, challenges and problems bravely with a plan to move forward. Life is simple, we can make it simpler by solving problems before they become too big.
Give our mompreneurs 3 super tips for inspiration
- It is easy to give up. Don’t.
- Give your kids an inspirational mother to look up to.
- Add mompreneurship to your daily task list.
What’s your vision with this blog?
I aim to put out quality content for my readers. I want to build a community of people who love reading and appreciate good writing. My blog should be the first thing they open every morning, just to check whether there is something that will touch their heart. Chai-time conversations around something they read on my blog is what I am looking at. Real sharing of thoughts, experiences and beliefs is what will keep this community growing.
Many ask me why this blog doesn’t carry my name. That is because there are many insane writers out there and each one has a fantastic view to put forth. Over time, I plan to invite guest bloggers and columnists who will give their valuable thoughts to the blogazine.
What charities are you a part of?
I am always around to support charitable causes. Whether it is Gift A Meal in Mumbai or Ek Umeed in Pune. I have delivered sessions to deaf and mute children and support several orphanages. I plan to own an NGO someday and work on mental health and rehabilitation of people. Fingers crossed.
Short bio
Brand Catalyst | Strategic Planner & Executor | Crisis Manager | IMC Professional
Institution builder with 16 years of experience
Marketing & Communications expert
Soothsayer who can predict a brand’s future and customize solutions
Inspirational leader with a contagious positive attitude
An analytical problem-solver with excellent research, networking & writing skills
An articulate thinker with a 360-degree view to issues
A social media catalyst and influencer
A contemporary woman who teaches and practices work-life balance
A doctoral student whose research interest lies in women & leadership
Blogger at: diaryofaninsanewriter
So that was Mayura Amarkant blogger and writer extraordinaire ,enthusiastic friend,inspiring mompreneur and a tough act to follow.Even with her busy schedule her blog posts are never later than your morning cup of tea.
Do visit her blog and website and encourage her brilliant writing.
RELATED:
My message to a child-woman on International Women’s day
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Mompreneur’s blogging journey :Keyword hacks when you don’t have time(part 7)
Are you busy .Can’t get a grip of Google keywords.
I was in the same boat.When I started blogging my baby was 2 and a half year old and I was working full time.I read keywords are important.
I had used Google keywords for a few of my posts.
But the problem was ,could I do it before every post?
For a mompreneur that’s impossible.
But the truth was I needed to learn about keywords.
I wanted my readers to find me.
That’s when I researched and found out the hacks.
Read quicksprouts.com for details about all topics related to SEO and keywords.
It’s a favourite.
Now what worked for me.
Blogging is writing in vaccum
You need to give signals.
That’s your keywords.
Where do you give signal?
At traffic lights .Right?
Your posts in your blog,social media specially Pinterest works great with keywords.
When someone searches for those or related keywords google sends them to you.
But google keywords takes time to get a hang of. Especially for busy moms
Don’t worry you will get it soon. Just keep at it.
Till then I will tell you 5 hacks to make keywords quicker.
#Hack 1
First 3 Qs
- Who are you writing for?
The audience persona.
Have an image in your head.
That makes your blog human.
- Now what are your interests?
What do you write about?
Your blog should have around 10 to 15 quality posts which are your pillar contents. Write what you love otherwise it’s boring.
Make it valuable to your reader by
Making them happy: Fiction
Making them take action: nonfiction writers.
Then you start aiming for keywords 1 post at a time.
# Hack 2
Think of the topic you are writing about Write it.
Now think of a long sentence which a reader may search for the topic
Type that in the Google search box.
Don’t press enter .See what google is showing.These are gold.
Now Press enter.
Do it on your laptop.
Look at the top left corner.
It shows you the no.of search results.
Aim for 50000 to 50 lakh.
That’s a good number. You want this to be a popular enough topic without being difficult to rank for. Now, look at the bottom of the search result.
A box shows you a few, readers also searched for topics.
Write these down.
Use it mixed in your primary keyword.
Google ranks you higher when you use related terms.
#Hack 3
Does the page show ads?
That means it’s a popular topic.
#Hack 4
Check their Alexa rank.
That will give you an idea about how easy will it be to outrank it.
#Hack 5
Use Quora to see what readers are looking for.
Really useful for nonfiction.
Bonus tip
Use the Yoast SEO PLUGIN. But don’t cry if it’s not always green. You write for your audience and search engines will find you.
What are your keyword hacks?
Comment below to let me know.
Read also
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Mompreneur’s blogging journey:Why I love Stumbleupon (part 6
StumbleUpon is the greatest source of my site traffic just next to facebook.But facebook is erratic and changes rules whenever they want.They can because they are the boss.
But stumbleupon is nice.It plays fair.
If you want your blog traffic from Stumble, you can’t stumble only your pages.You have to Stumble and like others.
Otherwise Stumbleupon penalizes.
For inspiring you my traffic pic from Stumble.
My account is quite new from March.
The numbers are not very high but good.But they are good if you consider the value -effort curve.
You can’t stumble and like more than once.Have a good selection of your interests.
Your interests are important, as stumbleupon will try to show more options to your liking.
It’s a great site for organic social traffic.
How to find your friends on Stumbleupon?
Guide for app users:
Click on stumblers
Human icon on right upper corner
Find your friends by @stumble handle, Twitter or facebook
You can’t stumble your pages?
Check these criteria before adding a page to StumbleUpon:
- Your account must be over 24 hours
Profile picture - Do you have a minimum amount of Stumbles? (Exact limit not known)
- Have you liked,disliked,commented on various of your interests?
If not stumbleupon will not let you add pages.
Can you use StumbleUpon to promote your web page?
It’s fine to post your pages on Stumble ,but don’t do it all at once.Follow 1 of your post ,10 of other rules.Otherwise stumble is angry????
StumbleUpon helps people share and discover interesting actionable content.
You are allowed to add your best content to StumbleUpon. But there are limits in place.You can’t like and Stumble more than once.
There are rules about how many times you can add a page from a single domain (it’s a secret which they are not sharing) .
If you approach or reach that limit, you will be identified as spammer and they will put you in stumble jail.No clue about bail.
Forum links show they don’t answer!
If you have a commercial web page , you may only use StumbleUpon to drive traffic if you are using their Paid Discovery service.
Please know that if your account shows unauthorized promotional activity.Its again stumble jail.
It may be suspended or terminated.Indefinitely!
The posting limit will remain in place until you use the Stumble more to Like, Dislike, comment and add a wider variety of web pages.Show variety.
How does stumble help?
The best is if you get people to Stumble from your blog pages.
That tells Stumble that it’s organic.
What can cause problems in stumble?
- Not useful content
- Non original content
- Too many ads in your web page
- Slow site speed
Stumble wants your site to load within 3 seconds
Have I covered everything?
Comment below to let me know if you have awesome stumbling tips.
I am taking my alexa rank to the next level withBlogchatter
#MyFriendAlexa
I am also linking my post to the Blogger’s pit stop linky party
