Sleep and emily

Today we start sleep training.

Because I can't be carrying Emily to sleep OR rocking her at her rocker and standby there till she finally finishes her sleep (cos she sleeps like 10mins and will scream awake..of course there are times she does a cool 15-20min stretch, IF we don't make sudden noises)

Because she has been taking 3hrs to settle for the night! Which means I start her feed at 615pm and by the time she really falls asleep without waking up after 10mins is abt 9plus pm. It wasn't so bad before she had a cold and I also suspected she was teething. So did that extra carrying and TLC make her dependent on me to carry her to sleep...and continue carrying her as she slept. It is as if everytime I put her down on her cot to sleep it is like I placed her on an ice block and she will struggle to get out.

Because she hasn't been sleeping well or long enough in the day unless we Beco her when we are out. I had probably 5-6 times she EVER napped for 1hr on the rocker. But never in the cot.

Because I feel like a slave to her sleep.


Because I completely disappear in the evenings to settle Emily and don't get to do much evening stuff with Ww and Eliza, much less bedtimes for Eliza. It has happened a few times, I read a book to Eliza and Emily starts crying again..oh I should say scream? Even Eliza will know to tell Ww to go settle Emily while I finish reading the book to her.

Hello Because who takes 3hrs to get to sleep?!?!?! I don't respond to her immediately but then shouldn't she be sleeping when she has fallen asleep and not wake up at least like 30-40mins later NOT 10mins ltr??

Other than her lack of sleep and lack of being able to sleep, she has been quite perfect. Happy and chirpy.

and if this doesn't work out I'm almost gonna pay someone to help me.

I don't know any no cry solution cos the eventually still lead me to carrying her. We tried. Carry and pat her till she sleeps and hopefully a deep one and slowly put her down for fear of waking her up and she still does anyway. :( until at some point I do a final nursing and final rocking and putting her down and then she'll be sleeping relatively well for the rest of the night.

I'm followig Tizzie Hall method and praying this works out: that Emily will learn to self settle.

Eating or not

Loves it that u can make many food from simple ingredients in the pantry...if only Eliza eats most it and eats it fast.

I've been hooked on reading recipes and choosing those which I can cook, doesn't require too fancy equipments like blending (but I'm trying that out soon) and steaming (cos I don't have the equipment other than a microwave steamer). And also food that doesn't require fancy ingredients so I don't have to buy new things with my grocery budget starting to burst and it is only the mid month. I have been mystified by how my muffins never turn out right with this oven...


So far some 'adventurous' food I've tried is making bread and pizza base.

 

These which require rising has been tricky with Emily when she's awake and when I'm alone with the girls. I tried the bread when my mil is around and that worked quite well. The first time I tried the pizza base it was...so so. Last night I tried it again and it gave a nice soft base wooo! I tried avocado cream cheese dip which was tad too sour (I followed the recipe!) tried salsa, and sushi which eliza will eat with gusto. The fastest she can eat which is out of the normal.

I hate getting her to eat. We tried with the tv but at some point she would be so caught up watching that she would take 1.5hrs to eat!! I would find myself nagging at her or feeding her which i do not want. Ww's much more patient but on one night he also got quite upset at how long she took to eat....and when she did not finish, she said she's hungry and asked for snacks instead. So we switched back to eating at the table. She was eating at the table but that's another long story.

So the rule now is to eat at the table and no getting down from the chair till she finishes. And i also help by letting her choose a bit...as in letting her just have rice if all she wants is rice and not the rest of the veg/meat. Yesterday was rice and seaweed..and that WAS fast.

So far it has been good and i'm trying out more breakfast varities for her soon since she no longer has her powdered milk to drink. So her calcium intake will be through yoghurt, her chocolate milk and cheese. When she had her 'old' milk to drink, she'll be full enough such that she will juz graze the rest of the morning till lunch. Now she doesn't i've got to give her more for breakfast and a good healthy one too. It doesn't help that she's sloooow (and distracted) at eating other than sweets/chocolates/salty stuff.

We have always sparingly given her these stuff until....she started school and those food in party bags are all the junk food! potato chips, cheezels, sweets, chocolates, twisties...we'll always hide the forbidden 'foods' when we get home and give her some 'approved' ones. Of course we do let her indulge and that's as much. somehow she'll forget the rest that we have hidden.

So hello cooking! I have discovered the joys of experimenting...and choosing foods that Eliza will eat. Plus cooking at the right time! (like at night) or in the morning so i don't have to cook the rest of the day, or freeze foods. 

2 months on

Today

Meals:
Made sweet and sour chicken and stir-fry veg (broccoli, cauliflower, baby corn & carrots). Eliza declared she liked all (except the broccoli) so she ate really fast.
Still trying to figure out the best time to cook...some stuff are good to cook at night but i prefer cooking before we eat. And with Emily's naps to consider oh well we'll go with the flow... Today i tried frying the chicken before Ww left...phews..emily had to scream for milk. (didn't she drink like 1.5 hrs ago?)
We have found a nice balance to having Eliza eat cooperatively. She watches her dvds and eats. Not the most perfect scenerio but oh it works for us. She is happy watching and eating..no complaints, no rolling around on the chair, no us nagging her...though she can't sit on her chair either...but that's her...my mil says her butt has needles..can't sit still.

Sleep:
Eliza is sleeping on her own in her room. It is better since my mil left cos she's not scratching as much. weird how my mil's presence seemed to encourage the scratching. But we have her crying when she wakes up in the middle of the night but as long as she doesn't call us we don't quite go to her. After 2 weeks she's doing better, though not perfect. She also falls asleep faster..partially cos she doesn't nap if we don't go out or that...hmm i dunno.
Emily seem to improve on her length of her naps...else her 15min nap was driving me nuts with her having to sleep in 2hrs b4 she gets overtired and give me more problems. We also have whispering time (with Eliza when Emily naps) so that Emily doesn't startle awake. Eliza has been really cooperative. sweet jiejie. These few nights though, Emily hasn't been able to settle well to sleep...or more like taking longer to settle to sleep. I'm wondering if it is cos i was stretching her bedtime later or she's teething(?) or what??? I have been getting her to sleep frm 6pm, with a feed (a looong one cos that's the time she's the least distracted) and then 1/2hr to settle. On good nights she sleeps till 3+am and then 6+am...on some nights she'll wake at 1+am which means she'll wake again 3hrs later and not sleep(!!)..like last night. yawnsz. Oddly she hasn't been up for her 'dream feed' and if she isn't, i don't quite want to wake her though...so even though i warm her milk in a bottle before i go to sleep...she hasn't been drinking it. I'm suspecting that she's not enjoying drinking from the bottle. :S just like how she doesn't take to the pacifier.

Others:
I have spots in the house to pack and sort...still not done...wardrobe in a mess generally (my version of mess = not sorted out yet)

I love grocery shopping :P

I love how the cherry blossoms are everywhere

Weekends are for going out too...with Ww, exploring the lake side places, some markets, etc. Sat a kids train ride last week.

Went to a family cell group and enjoyed the company (me mostly with Emily though, cos she had to nap) and the food :) Our church has mainly chinese people from all over, Sg, Msia, PRC, TW...We wanted to go there cos when my inlaws are here they can attend the church too and go to the chinese service (cos the one we go to is an English-speaking service). Enjoy the sermons there though. :)

Eliza:
Eliza has been crazily cutting paper and creating interesting stuff from it...like coins to buy things, made a dress, diapers for her Elmos & her...all from paper. She also creates her super interesting Lego cities and whatever...like a movie theatre. That's her 'work'.

We have started on some number writing without the guides.
We have started on learning sounds of S, T, A, I, N, P. I think she's still getting the hang of the alphabets coming together to make a word.
We have been reading some chinese books, just to enjoy them.
We have been singing MORE songs & nursery rhymes

Emily:
Has been rolly polly. :P
I hardly see her skin cos she's so wrapped. Recently I found super dry skin around her arms :( so gotta moisturize 3-4times a day and she has been much better.
She's the one who bathes the least often...cos she cries when i lower her to the bathtub, and cos she hardly really gets that dirty anyway. But i do wipe her down everyday in the evening or late afternoon.
Love her burst of smiles and mini dance when she opens her eyes and see me in the morning.
Love to hear her ee ee ehh ehh at me in a conversation only she knows.
Love to watch her watch Eliza play and her inquisitive eyes as she looks at things.