Mum Sonal Katyal Says Weaning A Baby Requires Teamwork

Weaning is an important milestone for a child and when done right also helps with the feeding issues that kids tend to commonly have. In a candid interview with BabyChakra, mum Sonal Katyal shares her weaning tips and how parenting as a team has really helped bring a balance. She also shares her content creation journey and pregnancy experience. 

Mum Sonal Katyal On Her Parenting Journey

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself.

I was born and brought up in Delhi. I love to share my parenting journey through my Instagram handle with the intention to help as many mums as I can. I am a mum of two lovely daughters Cheryl who is nine years old, and Shaivya who is one and a half years old. We call them Cherry and Berry!

2. Please tell us about your profession/full-time content creation journey. What motivated you to do what you’re doing and how did it start?

I started content creation when Berry was just 3 months old. I had the thought of documenting my experiences and since then there is no looking back. I post more about baby and toddler food because I know what a struggle it is to feed children. I have been there and I don’t want any mum to use ways like distracting feeding or force-feeding their children.

3. Would you recommend being an online content creator as a career option, especially for young moms? What’s your advice to those who might be considering it? 

Yes, I would surely recommend content creation as a career option, especially when your content is helping others. I feel so blessed when I see some mom in some part of the world sending me ‘Thankyou’ messages every day. There is no better job in the world than the one which makes you feel blessed and at the same time, you can earn a decent income through it.

4. How was your pregnancy journey? Did you face any challenges? 

Every pregnancy is unique and has its own challenges. My recent pregnancy with Berry was during the COVID lockdown and I hardly stepped outside but I kept myself active with household chores and prenatal yoga. There was so much fear all around and we took the best possible precautions as a family.

5. Husbands play a crucial role in bringing up a child, what are your views on equal parenting? How has your hubby helped you co-parent?

If you work as a team in the parenting journey, it helps in strengthening your bond as well. With time, you get to know more about each other, tackle difficult situations together and sail through them with a smile. My husband has always been there and both our daughters are actually ‘Daddy’s girls’ I would say!

6. How has your relationship changed with your husband after becoming a parent?

Of course, we do not get much of ‘we-time’ as a couple but we totally enjoy our ‘we-time’ as a family. We feel so complete in this. We work as a team, talk about every little thing and take each parenting decision together.

7. What future do you see for your children?

My daughters see both parents working hard every day. I am sure they are going to observe and learn so much. I can’t say what profession they would choose but I am sure they would always be kind and considerate human beings.

Baby Led Weaning and Toddler Recipes

8. How do you come up with infant and toddler recipes?

I messed up totally with my elder daughter’s solid foods. Nine years back, I was not a prepared mum and there were not so many education resources I was aware of. I had this guilt all these years so with my second one, I knew I have to be fully prepared even before I start her solid foods. That’s when I educated myself in baby-led-weaning and was happy to share my knowledge and experiences with fellow mums.

9. How do you limit your little one’s intake of junk food?

Kids follow what they see, right? We limit bringing junk at home so they follow whatever we eat as a family.

10. What are your top five recipes?

My mini paneer parathas, wheat cookies, pumpkin pasta, ragi idlis and chiwda snack recipe was tried and loved by many mums and their little ones.

11. What do you talk about in your workshops on baby-led weaning and how often do you conduct them?

The aim of my workshop is to impart confidence in parents for baby-led weaning and educate them to avoid common mistakes that we do as parents or caregivers while feeding children. I learnt it the hard way with my elder one and I feel glad when other moms get to learn from my mistakes. 

Mum Sonal Katyal has been helping many parents with her content through her personal experiences and learnings. She sets a perfect example for her kids to follow good habits by leading which makes her an inspiring mum.

Image credits – Sonal Katyal