ORS

Yog used to love drinking milk. He used to so look forward to his night time routine which ended with a milk sipper and a warm blanket. Milk was also the first thing that he liked to have after he woke up in the morning.  The ritual was so deep in our home that any deviation from it could cause pure havoc.

Given this context, imagine my worry, when doctor forbade milk completely for Yog due to a very bad stomach infection.  As night time approached I debated in my mind what substitute I could use in place of milk so that Yog didn’t throw a fit.  Given his upset stomach and a cold, the options were very limited.

The one liquid that doctors heavily suggested during this time was ORS ( in our days it was called namak aur chini ka ghol. Now it comes in fancy tetra packs and multiple flavours.) Given that it was the healthiest option available for the circumstances,  I poured the ORS in his sipper and told him, “Yog, no milk today. Only Apple juice!” Yog looked excitedly at the sipper thinking that Tetra packs and the word juice would mean something nice for sure. I had very little hope that this trick would succeed. Afterall who can possibly compare the taste of ORS to milk.

Yog in memory of his bed time routine, got his sipper to the bed, pulled his blanket towards him and gulped the whole portion down. Contented he lay down to sleep. My first reaction was shock, which soon transformed to immense relief. Atleast he had replenished some of the lost electrolytes of the day.

As soon as he woke up in the morning,  he pointed to his empty sipper from the night and said, “Juish!” I poured him another pack in a clean sipper and he downed it happily again. The weakness from the infection was persisting so he hugged his blanket again and went to sleep. We have been following the same ritual of Juish now for the past three days, so much so that Toyna got envious and demanded to drink Juish too, before sleeping.

Thanks to the Juish and multiple other factors, Yog has recovered now. I am planning to introduce milk for him starting tomorrow morning.  As you can imagine, now my worry is whether he will like to drink milk again or not.

Although  I am still shocked at how he could hook onto ORS (apple flavour) so easily, I must admit that I am really thankful to Trinity Fructa Ltd. for creating something so useful.

Wondering about the ease with which Yog transitioned from milk to ORS has also made me wonder – Is it the milk or the ORS which completes Yogs routine, or is it the bottle? If it is the latter, then I am more worried now. I wonder what contents he will replace in the bottle as he grows older!!!

This just proves that a mothers mind can never rest in peace!!!