Each mother receives millions of (sometimes unsolicited) advice from everyone. In fact, most new mothers have to fight with tradition, logic with superstition, and so on. However, when it comes to baby care and baby health, ancient Indian science has some gems in its kitty. The use of mustard seed pillows or rai-ke-takiye for newborn babies is one of the many procedures as part of baby care. Many of us have used them and some of us may even swear by them, but how many are really familiar with the benefits of the mustard pillow and the reasons for using them?
What Is A Mustard Seed Pillow Or Rai Ka Takiya?
Our very own traditional mustard seed pillow is a pillow designed for babies that contains mustard seeds as a filling. It is specially made with a soft and breathable fabric for newborn babies and is placed for comfort under the head of the newborn. Since newborns are lying straight for their few weeks, they come in handy to help and shape the head.
Why Is A Mustard Seed Pillow Used For Babies?
The bones of a child are very soft and easy to mold. That’s because a baby has to go through the birth canal for birth. It is not abnormal to see babies born with an elongated or oddly shaped head as a baby squeezes its way through the narrow birth canal. Even after birth, the head of a baby remains soft until about the age of 18 months when both fontanels of the baby have been closed.
Benefits Of The Mustard Pillow For Babies
The use of a mustard pillow for infants has numerous benefits.
1. Naturally Warm The Head
Mustard seeds have some vitamins and minerals, and properties that naturally warm a baby’s head. If your baby has a common cold or cough, you will find that the much-needed relief will be provided by a mustard pillow.
2. Prevents One-Sided Pressure
Another advantage of using mustard pillows is that it doesn’t allow your child to put pressure on their head while they sleep on the side they like. Babies often continue to tilt or fix their heads in a certain way, which adds additional stress to the neck and skull, deforming it. This pillow, however, prevents this by adapting to these positions and removing the pressure. Stressing the bones with a mustard pillow under their neck is impossible.
3. Gives Ergonomic Support to The Baby’s Head
A mustard pillow cushions the head of the child efficiently and provides ergonomic support. The cushioning effect is suitable for tender skulls and it reshapes the head gently in three to four weeks without adding any stress or pressure.
4. Fixes Dents And Bumps
If your baby has any post-childbirth deformities of the skull, such as dents, scratches, depressions, or any odd skull shape, a mustard pillow will remedy that. The best part is to reduce the risk of a child developing a flat head by these pillows.
These are some benefits of the mustard pillow for tour baby.
How to Prepare Mustard Pillow at Home?
As mentioned above the benefits of the mustard pillow for babies, here how you can prepare the mustard pillow at home. It’s easy, enjoyable, and it doesn’t take too much time!
- Buy around 500 grams of mustard seed. They are available in almost all grocery stores and even online.
- Clean the seeds thoroughly and put them out in the sun for a day or two to dry. No moisture should be present in the seeds so there is no risk of contamination.
- Choose the soft fabric of your choice, preferably muslin or soft cotton. You’re going to need about 1 meter of fabric.
- Wash the fabric thoroughly. Now stitch the cloth in the shape of a pillow from three sides.
- You can use a stitching machine The average pillow size should be approximately 10X15 inches
- Now, fill in the seeds of the mustard from the open side. Continue to check how much stuffing was done by pressing the pillow.
- It should be soft, so don’t keep the seeds stuffed and make it hard. From the fourth side also stitch the cushion, closing the same.
- Now, from all sides, double or triple stitch the pillow. This is very important because if they escape the cloth encasing of the cloth, mustard seeds pose a choking hazard.
- Now also make some covers for the pillow so that from time to time they can be changed.
- Washing the pillow of the mustard seeds is not an option.
- Your mustard pillow is ready for your baby!
If you use these mustard pillows, you should not massage your baby’s head forcefully The reason is that the fontanels of a baby are too sensitive and excessive pressure can harm the baby. Be sure your baby uses the mustard pillow and holds his head up often. In this way, you will find the outcomes with the least possible harm slowly but surely.
Also Read: Tips For New Born Baby Care In Winter
