Apsara Pandey is a parent blogger, a full-time homemaker, and a passionate cook. She is interested in cooking and making kid-friendly meals and recipes. Apsara has pursued a course in child nutrition from Stanford University. She is certified in child nutrition.

Apsara Pandey is a geologist by profession and has worked in the oil and gas industry back in India. As her husband was in the same sector, she moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Apsara has an Instagram page entitled ‘bubsandmommy‘ where she frequently posts kid-friendly recipes, tips, and tricks about baby food, DIY projects, and BLW tips. She thinks good parenting at the early stage of the growth of the baby makes a kid more independent and smarter too.

In conversation with Icy Tales, Apsara Pandey gives insights about her journey from a working professional to a full-time parent blogger.

Q. Tell us something more about yourself, your journey, and what made you choose parent blogging.

Apsara Pandey: I am a Geologist and worked in the Indian Oil and gas Upstream sector before we relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a few years ago. Blogging happened by chance. I have always loved cooking for my family and find it therapeutic. When my son started solids, I began documenting our daily meals on Instagram and received plenty of requests for recipes, feeding schedules, and other related topics.

I began experimenting and tried to come up with nutrient-dense recipes for babies and toddlers. I completed a few online courses on Child nutrition to offer my son nutritious meals. Apart from recipes, I started sharing small snippets of our daily life to document our journey.

Q. Your Instagram page ‘bubsandmommy’ is a very interesting username. Since you are a mother, What Advice Can You Give Our Mommy Readers?

Apsara Pandey: My only advice for new Mothers is to ask for help and not overwhelm yourself by doing everything on your own. You don’t need to be a ‘superwoman’ at the cost of your mental and physical health. Being a parent who is present and more functional is much better than one who is struggling to accomplish everything alone and is burnt out.

It is also important that you do not compare your kids to others and let them achieve milestones at their own sweet pace.

Q. You have mentioned ‘easy baby and kid-friendly meals.’ Can you explain why it is important to give kids different varieties of meals every day?

Apsara Pandey: Nutritious food is important for all. To grow to their full potential, it is important to offer a nutritious and balanced diet to little ones. Different food groups offer a different set of nutrients. Eating habits, patterns, and preferences are mostly established in the first few years of their life, and thus as a parents, we need to focus on offering a variety of meals to our children to develop a positive relationship with food.

It can sometimes take more than 10+ exposures to a particular food for the kid to taste it or form an opinion about it. It’s all about exposure.

There must be a journey full of ups and downs. Would you like to tell us something about your journey and what kept you going in the face of challenges?

Apsara Pandey: It has truly been a roller coaster ride for us. We had a complicated birth, and Aahaan was born during the peak pandemic period in 2020. Our families/friends couldn’t travel due to the COVID restrictions, and it was heartbreaking. As first-time parents, we read a lot of books/articles on babies/newborn care, watched videos on YouTube, and tried to educate ourselves.

Even after all the knowledge, we struggled with anxiety and had plenty of sleepless nights worried about our little boy. With time, we were able to trust ourselves and enjoy parenthood. Our families were finally able to meet Aahaan when the restrictions were lifted, and he was around 20 months old by then.

Q. Being a mother, tell us about the hardest part of being a mom and what kind of challenges you face.

Apsara Pandey: Being a Mom is beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Having a child is like having your heart walk around outside your body. The hardest part is watching them suffer during sickness and controlling the anxiety that comes with it.

Q. What did you have as a child that kids today don’t have?

Apsara Pandey: It’s quite simple – Freedom.

We, as parents, want the best for our kids. We want to keep them safe and raise them to be successful. We have involved parents, but sometimes, we cross that boundary and become too involved and intrusive. This can hamper our children’s decision-making abilities and confidence, and they may have undeveloped coping skills, anxiety, etc. Disappointment, failure, and loss are a part of life, and kids need to be more resilient and be able to regulate their feelings and thrive.

Q. What is something that you have learned and cherished from Aahaan?

Apsara Pandey: Kids are amazing. They live a life without filters and are not afraid to speak their mind. They are honest about their feelings and don’t lie. They are fearless, curious, risk-takers, and not afraid to ask for help or hugs. There is so much to learn from these little ones.

Adulting is hard; we often don’t speak our minds and restrict ourselves. I am a very sensitive person and often struggle to say no to avoid disappointing others. I’ve learned to be more vocal about my feelings, and I’ve learned to say ‘NO’ without making any excuses.

Children are very honest about their emotions; they don’t lie. I think the major takeaway I’m learning from Aahan is to be honest about our emotions and to say no.

Apsara Pandey is a mom blogger and influencer on Instagram. She creates meaningful and informative content on parenting for her audience. Bub’s and Mommy’s only focus is to help mothers raise a kid through their experience and helpful content. Apsara believes that the mother is not a superhuman; she also needs help.