2 weeks with in-laws and without Ww. We have kinda gotten the hang of things. Just that I take a long time to adjust eh? Then i need to get back on spending 'academic' time with Eliza...actually writing and reading.
We have been doing our Advent activities (which last about 5-10minutes only...u know these activities look 'grand' but we actually do them really fast, not that we wanted to do fast but it is done in like 10minutes!) We took these ideas from a ebook i bought at $2.99 on BlackFriday offer from Truth in the Tinsel. It takes the hassle of the preparation which i don't have the brain and time to do. I love it that the ornaments help us (and Eliza) remember the important parts of the birth of Jesus and it has a thinking point, which we don't go into too much depth cos Eliza's not too interested. One of the problems is that after moving here..I didn't bring all my 'rubbish' and craft materials so i've gotta get them from scratch. Although some things can be improvised...really, getting ribbons or gold strings beats having to use thread...and i realize i don't have much strings at home!
On Eliza and dresses
This girl ah...is getting to be more aware of her looks, wanting to wear dresses & skirts EVERYDAY! I wonder if it has got to do with all the girls at sunday school wearing dresses all the time! gee...so we have been getting some new skirts and dresses for her to add on to her current miserable collection. she has outgrown many and we don't usually dress her up in dresses unless it's a sunday or for special occasions. It's also cos in SG, after school it's lunch and nap and probably go out to the playground to play...not the right occasion for dresses! Still hope to get her to wear her shorts too..it needs some sun! :P
On Emily and her Eczema
Yeap..that dreadful eczema is still with Emily since mid-october. Not much i can do, but keep washing her face, keep applying the intense moisturizer, bathe her in bath oil, put the cream (which helps loads and on days when i have to give it a break, her face gets worse again!), turn on the humidifier at night (and not use so much water the room drips water!). If i'm sane enough in the middle of the night i'll try to apply the moisturizer too. The nights are worse cos we sleep, she sleeps and now that she rolls all over, she'll 'scrub' her face on the bed without me knowing so that i can stop her. As long as she doesn't cry, i continue sleeping right?
On what we do usually
Go out shopping! Yeap, my mil likes the grocery shopping and anywhere air-con. The UV here is too strong for her so going out for walks isn't quite something she wants to do. To some extent there isn't quite a routine here cos any day is a weekend feeling. :P Well in a way it's not too good cos things gets a bit haphazard and I have messed up Emily's nap training cos i haven't been consistent.
Else we'll be baking! I made 2 batches of food (peanut butter muffins & pizza muffins) for church event last week, my mil has been making her favourite rasin cake from the cake mix (& modify), and today she made cheesecake (not fluffy as she used to make though but delicious nonetheless. Gonna try a hand at cookies n cream cheesecake and some jelly stuff for saturday's sunday school party.
My fil has been a great help and is kept busy chopping and cutting food (cos he's so fast and good at it), hanging clothes at the clothes hanging area, playing with Eliza, carrying Emily when she cries (cos i'm bathing), driving, vacuuming. We're gonna miss him when he's not around! My mil has been cooking...and i do none! It is definately a relief to take a break from meal planning! And i won't get near the kitchen to cook much till she returns to SG..heheh.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
In laws are here!
It has been a tough week. A week of much adjustments. I had a good week of sleep training Emily. (she did a record breaking 1.5hr nap the time my in laws arrived. Actually she slept through all the commotion...until my fil wanted to see her and kinda woke her up. Grrr. She was obviously upset having someone else greet her from her slumber). She managed to nap at least 30minutes. Not more but it has improved from 20minutes to 30 minutes. So i do get some quiet time to read or do activities with Eliza.
It's also a tough week cos Ww and I have been doing driving practices everyday till today when i took the test. (which i failed). I'm ok with failing it, at least i know what i did not know! I probably need more practice but i do feel a little too overwhelmed and exhausted to do so now. It didn't help that today is also the day my second last molar acted up and was aching at night at the whole morning. We had to make a unscheduled trip to the dentist (which thank God there was a slot at 1pm) to get some antibiotics. The inflammation is easing out now, and i'm still a little exhausted. Actually i'm waiting for Emily to wake up from her sleep for her milk feed. I was expecting her to do so since 9pm but it's 10:50pm and she's still asleep!
It was also overwhelming because as much as we were excited about my in-laws arrival, I realized how much I enjoyed being on our own. Yes, handling two kids isn't easy + cooking + teaching + getting a baby that doesn't sleep well to sleep + washing etc. But we have settled in our nice routines, Ww & I have found our sweet spot at night to do our stuff and chat, we got Eliza to be more independent (she wears her own clothes, can go toilet on her own..it's more challenging now without the potty and the tap that's difficult to turn, she falls asleep on her own for naps and bedtimes...etc). I have also found my ways of being efficient with the cooking and washing, something that is not gonna be the same with my mil around. She does more things to wash which i do find quite a chore like soaking the white clothes in dynamo and scrub, put all the clothes in the laundry bags (if the laundry bag is full, isn't there any space for it to be spinned and washed?), take a long time to chop the veg/meat or cook (i usually finish cooking in the mornings under 45minutes)...etc. Ww & I also know what to expect to do each time when we go out and I love the being in sync with him to do stuff....like we know what to do, how to handle the kids etc.
Gonna super miss all that in the 9 weeks he is away.
Feeling like this is a more difficult separation than the last 2 times, after having to live on our own, without having to depend on our parents for things. (yes it's great that my mil is here to cook and my fil to help out).
God give us strength in these weeks... that Ww can find what he needs to find, get what he needs to get, be safe in the freezing winter where he is going to, that I can find that peace of staying with my in-laws, and be able to survive without my FIL (our driver till i pass my driving test) after Christmas till Ww comes home.
It's also a tough week cos Ww and I have been doing driving practices everyday till today when i took the test. (which i failed). I'm ok with failing it, at least i know what i did not know! I probably need more practice but i do feel a little too overwhelmed and exhausted to do so now. It didn't help that today is also the day my second last molar acted up and was aching at night at the whole morning. We had to make a unscheduled trip to the dentist (which thank God there was a slot at 1pm) to get some antibiotics. The inflammation is easing out now, and i'm still a little exhausted. Actually i'm waiting for Emily to wake up from her sleep for her milk feed. I was expecting her to do so since 9pm but it's 10:50pm and she's still asleep!
It was also overwhelming because as much as we were excited about my in-laws arrival, I realized how much I enjoyed being on our own. Yes, handling two kids isn't easy + cooking + teaching + getting a baby that doesn't sleep well to sleep + washing etc. But we have settled in our nice routines, Ww & I have found our sweet spot at night to do our stuff and chat, we got Eliza to be more independent (she wears her own clothes, can go toilet on her own..it's more challenging now without the potty and the tap that's difficult to turn, she falls asleep on her own for naps and bedtimes...etc). I have also found my ways of being efficient with the cooking and washing, something that is not gonna be the same with my mil around. She does more things to wash which i do find quite a chore like soaking the white clothes in dynamo and scrub, put all the clothes in the laundry bags (if the laundry bag is full, isn't there any space for it to be spinned and washed?), take a long time to chop the veg/meat or cook (i usually finish cooking in the mornings under 45minutes)...etc. Ww & I also know what to expect to do each time when we go out and I love the being in sync with him to do stuff....like we know what to do, how to handle the kids etc.
Gonna super miss all that in the 9 weeks he is away.
Feeling like this is a more difficult separation than the last 2 times, after having to live on our own, without having to depend on our parents for things. (yes it's great that my mil is here to cook and my fil to help out).
God give us strength in these weeks... that Ww can find what he needs to find, get what he needs to get, be safe in the freezing winter where he is going to, that I can find that peace of staying with my in-laws, and be able to survive without my FIL (our driver till i pass my driving test) after Christmas till Ww comes home.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Finding the balance and flow
It does take time to find that fine balance for each day. I always wonder how SAHMs...with more than one kid, do it. I mean i read a lot of blogs where mums manage their homes with 3, 4, 5, or 6 and more kids! :O *screams* Ok...the kids do grow up and after having so many i guess you would have found that routine and balance to get things..and the food going.
So how am i getting on? I'm still learning..there are days where Eliza and I vegetate..ok not that bad but i let her run wild watching dvds (no more than 3 hours?) while i try to get Emily to sleep and stay asleep. She doesn't watch that long also..cos she'll get inspired by something and run off doing something else while the computer stays paused. cute. There are days when i feel like i have accomplished things like washed the rugs, baked, did some packing, did mini projects with Eliza (argh..which reminds me of what activites i have left to prepare for tomorrow). Despite Emily's short naps and having to carry her when she's short-napped..i still do get things done and Emily does sit in her walker or roll on the playmat on her own.
It's good to know what to expect and of course having a baby throws that 'expectation' off course most of the time but since she's on some 'predictable' schedule i can plan things ahead. It is usually dependent on what time she wakes up in the morning. Why are kids such early risers? If she wakes up at 6am it's still ok..but not when she wakes up at 5am! The best is when she wakes up at 7am but that's still rare.. This is beacuse i have to calculate 2 hours from the last time she wakes to send her off to sleep. So complicated.
Food:
I cook in the morning during breakfast time, most of the time. Emily's in the best of mood and Ww's still home. Most of my chopping/cutting etc is done the night before, with the exception of leafy veg when i have to do that in the morning. I can't help but cook everyday though...there are days when i pull out our frozen stash from the freezer and just heat up but it's not much so i try not to use it except for days when i can't or don't have time to cook. I don't quite like to cook at the time closer to lunch time cos that's when I'm trying to get Emily to nap/continue napping/she just woke from a nap (=cranky). Never a good time to cook then when i can't predict what will happen. Usually dinner will just be heated up and i have my whole day to do whatever i want or plan for without worrying about our meals.
Weekly, there's always a pasta/spaghetti dish, mostly veg or meat with rice dishes, a noodle dish, and weekend picnicable food. Sometimes we just have homemade burgers & fries on the weekends. I don't quite like to repeat the meals but i find some dishes come up quite frequently just because Eliza loves them. ie sweet and sour chicken, cauliflower (+broccoli & carrot) stir-fry, 'satay' chicken in whatever marinate, braised chicken wings, meatball pasta, ham & pineapple fried rice, spinach with ikan bilis...
Learning with Eliza:
Worship -
Every morning, even if we don't get to do any activities, we still start the day with prayer, a bible story from her children's bible and we read a verse. So far she can memorize two verses. Psalm 139:14 & Colossians 3:20 and we are working on 2-3 more. I'll read and she'll repeat after me. We'll continue as much as we can although i would want to move towards memorizing the verses the Charlotte Mason way. Gonna add some singing time to in the midst of this as well.
Writing -
We have been doing a lot of writing..learning to write the alphabets..now moving on beyond just tracing and to writing on her own. 26 alphabets is a lot to learn and we haven't even gone on to chinese words. She can write her name quite well.
Themes -
I'm starting to do more thematic stuff..so we are slowly starting on gardening & leaves and trees and flowers. There's so much resources on the web i wish i can glean through them all but doing it is more useful anyway. Eliza loves doing 'activities' and I wish i have more time to do them with her. I am amazed with mums who homeschool and manage their large household. Gosh how do they do that?
Days of the week -
Just that...we change it everyday at our fridge with the magnets :)
Reading -
As it is we read about 2 books every night and usually the same book, as per Eliza's choosing. In the day, we read sporadically and i try to read at least a Chinese book to her.
Outdoors -
We try to observe the outdoors especially now that it is spring, there are so many flowers around!
Would love to add more photos but with my 101 things to do...see my facebook then. heh.
More to update soon! my inlaws are coming on saturday and we are getting ready the place for their arrival! gotta sort Eliza's toys and her crafts cos it's all over the place!
So how am i getting on? I'm still learning..there are days where Eliza and I vegetate..ok not that bad but i let her run wild watching dvds (no more than 3 hours?) while i try to get Emily to sleep and stay asleep. She doesn't watch that long also..cos she'll get inspired by something and run off doing something else while the computer stays paused. cute. There are days when i feel like i have accomplished things like washed the rugs, baked, did some packing, did mini projects with Eliza (argh..which reminds me of what activites i have left to prepare for tomorrow). Despite Emily's short naps and having to carry her when she's short-napped..i still do get things done and Emily does sit in her walker or roll on the playmat on her own.
It's good to know what to expect and of course having a baby throws that 'expectation' off course most of the time but since she's on some 'predictable' schedule i can plan things ahead. It is usually dependent on what time she wakes up in the morning. Why are kids such early risers? If she wakes up at 6am it's still ok..but not when she wakes up at 5am! The best is when she wakes up at 7am but that's still rare.. This is beacuse i have to calculate 2 hours from the last time she wakes to send her off to sleep. So complicated.
Food:
I cook in the morning during breakfast time, most of the time. Emily's in the best of mood and Ww's still home. Most of my chopping/cutting etc is done the night before, with the exception of leafy veg when i have to do that in the morning. I can't help but cook everyday though...there are days when i pull out our frozen stash from the freezer and just heat up but it's not much so i try not to use it except for days when i can't or don't have time to cook. I don't quite like to cook at the time closer to lunch time cos that's when I'm trying to get Emily to nap/continue napping/she just woke from a nap (=cranky). Never a good time to cook then when i can't predict what will happen. Usually dinner will just be heated up and i have my whole day to do whatever i want or plan for without worrying about our meals.
Weekly, there's always a pasta/spaghetti dish, mostly veg or meat with rice dishes, a noodle dish, and weekend picnicable food. Sometimes we just have homemade burgers & fries on the weekends. I don't quite like to repeat the meals but i find some dishes come up quite frequently just because Eliza loves them. ie sweet and sour chicken, cauliflower (+broccoli & carrot) stir-fry, 'satay' chicken in whatever marinate, braised chicken wings, meatball pasta, ham & pineapple fried rice, spinach with ikan bilis...
Learning with Eliza:
Worship -
Every morning, even if we don't get to do any activities, we still start the day with prayer, a bible story from her children's bible and we read a verse. So far she can memorize two verses. Psalm 139:14 & Colossians 3:20 and we are working on 2-3 more. I'll read and she'll repeat after me. We'll continue as much as we can although i would want to move towards memorizing the verses the Charlotte Mason way. Gonna add some singing time to in the midst of this as well.
Writing -
We have been doing a lot of writing..learning to write the alphabets..now moving on beyond just tracing and to writing on her own. 26 alphabets is a lot to learn and we haven't even gone on to chinese words. She can write her name quite well.
Themes -
I'm starting to do more thematic stuff..so we are slowly starting on gardening & leaves and trees and flowers. There's so much resources on the web i wish i can glean through them all but doing it is more useful anyway. Eliza loves doing 'activities' and I wish i have more time to do them with her. I am amazed with mums who homeschool and manage their large household. Gosh how do they do that?
Days of the week -
Just that...we change it everyday at our fridge with the magnets :)
Reading -
As it is we read about 2 books every night and usually the same book, as per Eliza's choosing. In the day, we read sporadically and i try to read at least a Chinese book to her.
Outdoors -
We try to observe the outdoors especially now that it is spring, there are so many flowers around!
Would love to add more photos but with my 101 things to do...see my facebook then. heh.
More to update soon! my inlaws are coming on saturday and we are getting ready the place for their arrival! gotta sort Eliza's toys and her crafts cos it's all over the place!
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Emily is 6 months!
Emily's First foods
It has been about a week since Emily started eating her first food. Bought brown rice, ground it (not very powdery enough though cos every time i start the blender Eliza runs to the far end of the house and i had to keep blending a few batches), and eventually cook it. Not too bad. On the 5th day i introduced sweet potato to her.
Somehow Emily doesn't really know how to swallow yet and everytime the spoon goes in her mouth, her tongue will intefere and push the food out. Still she managed to eat down about a 1-2 teaspoons of brown rice cereal. Most times she'll be grabbing the spoon and chewing on it...so i'm not too sure if it's the spoon or the food..hmm. Wondering how long will it be for her to know how to eat from the spoon. Gonna introduce avocado this weekend! Then apple and butternut squash.
Eliza's sleep
Eliza has been sleeping in her own room since my MIL left and it wasn't the easiest in the first few weeks but it does get better and has been better. The first few weeks had Ww in her room squeezing in her bed with her. We had some moments when i was so grouchy being woken up then i went to the room to scold her. Oh well...it's much much better now and she knows what is expected. She no longer cries when she wakes up in the morning and our little alarm clock will come to our room to cheerily find us to snuggle in or wake us up. "can you get up now..??? wake up!" Of course on days when she doesn't cry in the middle of the night (sometimes it's cos she couldn't turn her lullaby, or there's no water, or she just needs help adjusting her blanket etc), she gets a lollipop. (yes..there's a big pack of it hiding somewhere in the cupboards).
Also she has been getting on well falling asleep on her own after all the bedtime routines. I'll still stay in the room till she's drowsy and tell her i will go out and will check on her later. She'll tell me not to be too noisy when i check on her so that she won't wake up (her room door knob is creaky). It helps a lot that she doesn't fall asleep with us in the room so that there's no expectation of us there when she wakes in the middle of the night.
Wonder if it's back to square one when my in laws come...
Emily's face
Dear oh dear...this little girl's face has been ruined by her sleeping on her tummy. We have stopped putting her on her tummy to sleep cos she'll rub her face silly till her skin becomes raw..urgh! She does that when we carry her and when i Beco her but a lot worse when she's on her tummy. So we have to pur her on her back to sleep again. It wasn't the best for some nights..not any better for naps either. The past two days i'll rock her to sleep and put her down for her short short naps and continue her nap in the Beco. For nights, it's a little unpredictable but i'm seeing a pattern, as in i need to get her to the bedtime routine in 1.5hrs from when she last woke so that she isn't overtired. Just a little and i'm settling her every half to one hour till the dreamfeed.
Her face is also much better now...we put plaster on her right side of her face and i put QV moisturiser as often as i can, the prescribed cream for eczema in the mornings and nights. but as long as she rubs on our clothes or i just put her on her tummy once, and we'll be back to square one easily.
(photos soon)
It has been about a week since Emily started eating her first food. Bought brown rice, ground it (not very powdery enough though cos every time i start the blender Eliza runs to the far end of the house and i had to keep blending a few batches), and eventually cook it. Not too bad. On the 5th day i introduced sweet potato to her.
Somehow Emily doesn't really know how to swallow yet and everytime the spoon goes in her mouth, her tongue will intefere and push the food out. Still she managed to eat down about a 1-2 teaspoons of brown rice cereal. Most times she'll be grabbing the spoon and chewing on it...so i'm not too sure if it's the spoon or the food..hmm. Wondering how long will it be for her to know how to eat from the spoon. Gonna introduce avocado this weekend! Then apple and butternut squash.
Eliza's sleep
Eliza has been sleeping in her own room since my MIL left and it wasn't the easiest in the first few weeks but it does get better and has been better. The first few weeks had Ww in her room squeezing in her bed with her. We had some moments when i was so grouchy being woken up then i went to the room to scold her. Oh well...it's much much better now and she knows what is expected. She no longer cries when she wakes up in the morning and our little alarm clock will come to our room to cheerily find us to snuggle in or wake us up. "can you get up now..??? wake up!" Of course on days when she doesn't cry in the middle of the night (sometimes it's cos she couldn't turn her lullaby, or there's no water, or she just needs help adjusting her blanket etc), she gets a lollipop. (yes..there's a big pack of it hiding somewhere in the cupboards).
Also she has been getting on well falling asleep on her own after all the bedtime routines. I'll still stay in the room till she's drowsy and tell her i will go out and will check on her later. She'll tell me not to be too noisy when i check on her so that she won't wake up (her room door knob is creaky). It helps a lot that she doesn't fall asleep with us in the room so that there's no expectation of us there when she wakes in the middle of the night.
Wonder if it's back to square one when my in laws come...
Emily's face
Dear oh dear...this little girl's face has been ruined by her sleeping on her tummy. We have stopped putting her on her tummy to sleep cos she'll rub her face silly till her skin becomes raw..urgh! She does that when we carry her and when i Beco her but a lot worse when she's on her tummy. So we have to pur her on her back to sleep again. It wasn't the best for some nights..not any better for naps either. The past two days i'll rock her to sleep and put her down for her short short naps and continue her nap in the Beco. For nights, it's a little unpredictable but i'm seeing a pattern, as in i need to get her to the bedtime routine in 1.5hrs from when she last woke so that she isn't overtired. Just a little and i'm settling her every half to one hour till the dreamfeed.
Her face is also much better now...we put plaster on her right side of her face and i put QV moisturiser as often as i can, the prescribed cream for eczema in the mornings and nights. but as long as she rubs on our clothes or i just put her on her tummy once, and we'll be back to square one easily.
(photos soon)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
catching up on updates
Gosh if only i can have a record of all my facebook statuses..that would be good enough to be a blog. It can get tedious to blog sometimes cos i have so much to write about! i don't write fast enough on the iphone and i am not always at my computer.
Anyway i was looking back at my posts to help me recall what Eliza was like at 5-6months. There are times that i wished i would have written more. Now with my scant blogging of our life here in Canberra, i hope i really can remember!
On Eliza & eating
Now that we have dropped 3 milk bottles (no more 'old' milk!), we have to get her to eat her morning breakfast of weetbits/bread w ham & cheese & spread and/or yoghurt/ pancake. Usually if she has her 180ml milk..then the next food is some mid-morning tea. As you know how difficult it is to get her to sit down and eat, we insist she doesn't go play or watch vcds or eat sweets till she has had her proper breakfast (and that's also after brushing teeth).
Oh and i discovered the magic of eating off a 'satay' stick. For the first time, she ate salmon, just like that...but only because it was grilled on a satay stick!
I do try to cook food that she will eat....so as much as i love some food like capsicans, i'll make sure i leave it out for her. But greens like spinach / bok choy will be cut up and mixed up with the rice..else it's her favourite seaweed lo.
The meals take on an average of 45-60 minutes to finish..really that long but oh well...my mum said that i also took really long to finish my meals anyway...and it's in front of the tv.
On Eliza & behavioural management
Oh and we have started the happy face/sad face system which helps her to follow the 'rules'.
- No 'buts' or 'hmmm!' when called to brush teeth / bathe
- Sitting down at the dining table to have meals
- Tidying up when told
- Helping out when she can (ie. play with Emily, put her clothes to the laundry)
- Obeying mummy/daddy's instructions and not deliberately doing what she should not do. (ie. shout or make noise when Emily's sleeping..)
- going to sleep on her own (so no mummy/daddy in the room when she falls asleep)
- no crying at night and insisting that we sit beside her (usually Ww's the one who goes to her room and ends up squeezing in her bed too...if i do, i will scold her if it is not a valid reason for calling us..yes, i'm stricter..and to some extent she is afraid i will scold her)
On Emily & sleep
After we came back from our weekend at Batemans bay, we kinda had to start sleep training all over again. After all, we Beco-ed her whenever she needed to sleep. But she slept relatively well in the nights while we were there..maybe it's because i was sleeping beside her or just that she slept well. (ok she did her usual early 5-6am wake ups like her usual self but that was bearable somehow).
Anyway i just could not tahan having her scream her lungs out even with us patting her to sleep (i really don't know why she must scream so much) and i didn't want to be carrying her to sleep. I did sense that she wanted to suckle to sleep but she would wake the moment i shift her if she nursed to sleep, and the pacifier can't stay in her mouth, and she doesn't quite suck her fingers/hand either. I really didn't know what I could give her to soothe her...or is her screaming part of her way of settling? geee...how unsettling! Sometimes she gets so worked up, i really don't know how to calm her. It's like she wants to sleep but can't sleep.
Somehow we were still taking like 3 hours to get her to sleep for the night (forget the daytime..that's another nap monster). On 2 or 3 nights i faintly remember her waking almost every 1.5hrs and/or took quite a while to go back to sleep, even after i fed her.
I tried swaddling her and one of the nights she was struggling and managed to turn to her tummy while in her swaddle (Ww was helping to settle her then). Somehow he started getting her to sleep on her tummy and it was much better! She does sleep longer on her tummy! It's not that i have not tried that before but she has always struggled so much to sleep that when i put her on her tummy previously, she seemed like she hated it. Thankfully she is sleeping much better like that! So far the past 3 nights she managed to sleep till her dream feed at about 11ish-pm. I can do bedtime with Eliza, talk to Ww and prepare food for the next day. Wow...what a super relief.
Next to tackle is the daytime naps and the nighttime sleep (after i sleep)!
Daytime naps are really tough..i have resorted to Beco-ing her so that she can really have a good nap..and i'm not sure if it's cos she manages to sleep about 1-1.5hrs on the Beco in the mid-day that she's sleeping much better at night. I have also been trying to put her down for naps in her cot, and on her tummy. Finally today she managed a 20min morning and afternoon nap...and with about 10-15min struggle though. After that i usually have to get her up and then Beco her to get her to finish the nap else she'll be just too tired. The late afternoon nap is the hardest, even in the car where she'll fuss and fuss and find it difficult to sleep. I also find that getting her to wind down 1hr 45mins after she woke up, instead of 2hrs, is better to help her sleep without becoming overtired. phews!
Even Eliza knows Emily's pattern...thankfully Eliza, when I'm getting Emily to nap in the room, i'll get Eliza to play on her own or watch a video.
On being with Eliza and Emily
So with cooking to be done and Emily's sleep to be settled, baths to be done...the rest of the time is up to our imagination. Eliza loves to play...whatever inspires her. Recently, it has been the confetti which we find it quite a mess and it is difficult to pick up. While she plays on her own, she also loves our company and I also love to be able to play with her, just that i can't do so like i used to when it was her alone. Then, i didn't even have to do any cooking or housework so i would spend a lot of my daytime freetime with her. It is so different now, even trying to squeeze 'school' time must be well planned (when Emily's just fed and happily playing on her own).
Then i also want to spend time singing and reading to Emily, even though i do carry her a lot and spend a lot of time trying to get her to sleep! but that is sooo different from playing with her. I love Emily's burst of smile and laughter when I play with her. Our little 'monster'!
So it is with the 2nd one, getting a lot less attention than the first..then again with Eliza went back to work when she was 2months old (for 3 days a week) so I did see her less somehow. But when i was home i was quite with her as much as i can. Plus she was lucky to have the attention of her grandparents. Emily's lucky to have the attention of mummy then...well at least when i'm not doing stuff with Eliza or cooking or housework or whatever.
Eliza's not the sister who is dying to have a younger sibling to play with and Emily's so young, it takes a lot of explaining how babies are so that she understands that what Emily does (the crying!), and the kicking and flinging of arms which may accidently touch her is not deliberate. Cos Eliza can be oh-so-sensitive so we need to be patient and to explain to her. It helps her a lot when we explain to her and it does take her time to get used to or understand it. Like the christmas giftbox our church is preparing, she was so upset that it isn't for her but after some explaining to her, she is eager to put stuff inside to send to the less fortunate kids.
Off cooking today cos food for tomorrow is more or less prepared. I really should plan for the week instead of almost day by day...this really does take getting used to! And estimating how much we can eat, sometimes i don't think i cook enough cos I underestimate Ww's appetite!
Nice to have my nights back...:)
More to add on soon, i wish i can write more but it's 1030pm and I'm a little sleepy. Just gave Emily's dreamfeed...which is a little early, i felt. Hopefully she doesn't wake up too soon and sleep well for the night and not wake at 5+am!
Anyway i was looking back at my posts to help me recall what Eliza was like at 5-6months. There are times that i wished i would have written more. Now with my scant blogging of our life here in Canberra, i hope i really can remember!
On Eliza & eating
Now that we have dropped 3 milk bottles (no more 'old' milk!), we have to get her to eat her morning breakfast of weetbits/bread w ham & cheese & spread and/or yoghurt/ pancake. Usually if she has her 180ml milk..then the next food is some mid-morning tea. As you know how difficult it is to get her to sit down and eat, we insist she doesn't go play or watch vcds or eat sweets till she has had her proper breakfast (and that's also after brushing teeth).
Oh and i discovered the magic of eating off a 'satay' stick. For the first time, she ate salmon, just like that...but only because it was grilled on a satay stick!
I do try to cook food that she will eat....so as much as i love some food like capsicans, i'll make sure i leave it out for her. But greens like spinach / bok choy will be cut up and mixed up with the rice..else it's her favourite seaweed lo.
The meals take on an average of 45-60 minutes to finish..really that long but oh well...my mum said that i also took really long to finish my meals anyway...and it's in front of the tv.
On Eliza & behavioural management
Oh and we have started the happy face/sad face system which helps her to follow the 'rules'.
- No 'buts' or 'hmmm!' when called to brush teeth / bathe
- Sitting down at the dining table to have meals
- Tidying up when told
- Helping out when she can (ie. play with Emily, put her clothes to the laundry)
- Obeying mummy/daddy's instructions and not deliberately doing what she should not do. (ie. shout or make noise when Emily's sleeping..)
- going to sleep on her own (so no mummy/daddy in the room when she falls asleep)
- no crying at night and insisting that we sit beside her (usually Ww's the one who goes to her room and ends up squeezing in her bed too...if i do, i will scold her if it is not a valid reason for calling us..yes, i'm stricter..and to some extent she is afraid i will scold her)
On Emily & sleep
After we came back from our weekend at Batemans bay, we kinda had to start sleep training all over again. After all, we Beco-ed her whenever she needed to sleep. But she slept relatively well in the nights while we were there..maybe it's because i was sleeping beside her or just that she slept well. (ok she did her usual early 5-6am wake ups like her usual self but that was bearable somehow).
Anyway i just could not tahan having her scream her lungs out even with us patting her to sleep (i really don't know why she must scream so much) and i didn't want to be carrying her to sleep. I did sense that she wanted to suckle to sleep but she would wake the moment i shift her if she nursed to sleep, and the pacifier can't stay in her mouth, and she doesn't quite suck her fingers/hand either. I really didn't know what I could give her to soothe her...or is her screaming part of her way of settling? geee...how unsettling! Sometimes she gets so worked up, i really don't know how to calm her. It's like she wants to sleep but can't sleep.
Somehow we were still taking like 3 hours to get her to sleep for the night (forget the daytime..that's another nap monster). On 2 or 3 nights i faintly remember her waking almost every 1.5hrs and/or took quite a while to go back to sleep, even after i fed her.
Next to tackle is the daytime naps and the nighttime sleep (after i sleep)!
Daytime naps are really tough..i have resorted to Beco-ing her so that she can really have a good nap..and i'm not sure if it's cos she manages to sleep about 1-1.5hrs on the Beco in the mid-day that she's sleeping much better at night. I have also been trying to put her down for naps in her cot, and on her tummy. Finally today she managed a 20min morning and afternoon nap...and with about 10-15min struggle though. After that i usually have to get her up and then Beco her to get her to finish the nap else she'll be just too tired. The late afternoon nap is the hardest, even in the car where she'll fuss and fuss and find it difficult to sleep. I also find that getting her to wind down 1hr 45mins after she woke up, instead of 2hrs, is better to help her sleep without becoming overtired. phews!
Even Eliza knows Emily's pattern...thankfully Eliza, when I'm getting Emily to nap in the room, i'll get Eliza to play on her own or watch a video.
On being with Eliza and Emily
So with cooking to be done and Emily's sleep to be settled, baths to be done...the rest of the time is up to our imagination. Eliza loves to play...whatever inspires her. Recently, it has been the confetti which we find it quite a mess and it is difficult to pick up. While she plays on her own, she also loves our company and I also love to be able to play with her, just that i can't do so like i used to when it was her alone. Then, i didn't even have to do any cooking or housework so i would spend a lot of my daytime freetime with her. It is so different now, even trying to squeeze 'school' time must be well planned (when Emily's just fed and happily playing on her own).Then i also want to spend time singing and reading to Emily, even though i do carry her a lot and spend a lot of time trying to get her to sleep! but that is sooo different from playing with her. I love Emily's burst of smile and laughter when I play with her. Our little 'monster'!
So it is with the 2nd one, getting a lot less attention than the first..then again with Eliza went back to work when she was 2months old (for 3 days a week) so I did see her less somehow. But when i was home i was quite with her as much as i can. Plus she was lucky to have the attention of her grandparents. Emily's lucky to have the attention of mummy then...well at least when i'm not doing stuff with Eliza or cooking or housework or whatever.
Eliza's not the sister who is dying to have a younger sibling to play with and Emily's so young, it takes a lot of explaining how babies are so that she understands that what Emily does (the crying!), and the kicking and flinging of arms which may accidently touch her is not deliberate. Cos Eliza can be oh-so-sensitive so we need to be patient and to explain to her. It helps her a lot when we explain to her and it does take her time to get used to or understand it. Like the christmas giftbox our church is preparing, she was so upset that it isn't for her but after some explaining to her, she is eager to put stuff inside to send to the less fortunate kids.
Off cooking today cos food for tomorrow is more or less prepared. I really should plan for the week instead of almost day by day...this really does take getting used to! And estimating how much we can eat, sometimes i don't think i cook enough cos I underestimate Ww's appetite!
Nice to have my nights back...:)
More to add on soon, i wish i can write more but it's 1030pm and I'm a little sleepy. Just gave Emily's dreamfeed...which is a little early, i felt. Hopefully she doesn't wake up too soon and sleep well for the night and not wake at 5+am!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
When will you sleep, emily?
I'm so torn and yet frustrated. It has been 4 days trying to let Emily cry to sleep for nights. It was still ok the first two days. Actually it was great on day 2. But not good after that. Except for day2. It still took Emily 2-3hrs to go to sleep, ending with a feed and not cos she managed to settle herself to sleep! What IS wrong??
(that was written 2-3days ago. So far the last two nights Emily has slept relatively well. That is she had fallen asleep at 7ish and lasted till 12ish am! Actually one of the nights she slept till 4ish am from 8ish pm)
I wished someone can really help me here without having to pay like $100+ to get an expert. I wish someone can tell me exactly what to do when she had managed to settle and yet wake up 5-15mins later screaming again. we did the cry 12mins thing for like 4 times! Cos everytime I went in to settle her and it's not pick her up, she will eventually sleep after like 5-10mins and then wake up again 5-15mins later! That is as long as her sleep cycle is. That is how long she sleeps
each time I put her down for a nap.
On Wednesday I started to tackle the naps. she slept 30mins for morning nap (miracle!) but i wondered if it's cos I put her down in my bed. Mid day nap was 15mins only. I tried putting her in my bed but no success this time. Afternoon at 345pm she managed to sleep another 15mins soothing herself with sucking the pillow but woke up crying and that pillow sucking no longer soothed her. In the end in my desperation to get her to sleep more and longer so she can make it to bedtime I rocked her to sleep and carried her till I had together dinner ready at 445pm.
Why? I asked God why? Why won't she sleep? Last time Eliza will not fight sleep as badly as Emily. Aka scream when she wants to sleep. As much as I enjoy carrying Emily, I can't carry her ALL the time to get her to sleep and when she is sleeping! I guess it is also in her temperament that she is like that.
From day 1 her crying when she resist bathing will send Eliza running out of the room as far as she can. My mil who bathed the crying Emily said that her ears were ringing after that. I don't remember Eliza crying to be that loud! Haha.
So even as we endure this sleep training, I am also learning to be consistent. There are many times when I really do not know what to do next. Do I pick her up or settle her on her cot or let her continue her nap or what? I really want to pick her up many a times but I also soon came to realize that I am giving her mixed signals. I read somewhere that we are teaching them to form good sleep habits. I can't say Eliza was a fantastic sleeper but she was, in comparison, an easier one. But then she also had her pacifier to soothe her to sleep which doesn't work for Emily. And Eliza had the itchy problem which wakes her and me up frequently at night. Sooo every baby is really different.
The naps are hard to tackle but we'll get there. The first few days is really tough cos I couldn't do much when I left her to protest. I would be outside with Eliza and there's once Eliza probably noticing my *i dunno what to do now* state, hugged me and said "it's ok mummy. It's ok" *melts*!
We continue to pray that Emily will learn to settle on her own to sleep and sleep longer. Ie not just 20mins only. I know it is not enough for her cos she gets tired really fast if I get her up.
To better sleep days ahead!
(that was written 2-3days ago. So far the last two nights Emily has slept relatively well. That is she had fallen asleep at 7ish and lasted till 12ish am! Actually one of the nights she slept till 4ish am from 8ish pm)
I wished someone can really help me here without having to pay like $100+ to get an expert. I wish someone can tell me exactly what to do when she had managed to settle and yet wake up 5-15mins later screaming again. we did the cry 12mins thing for like 4 times! Cos everytime I went in to settle her and it's not pick her up, she will eventually sleep after like 5-10mins and then wake up again 5-15mins later! That is as long as her sleep cycle is. That is how long she sleeps
each time I put her down for a nap.
On Wednesday I started to tackle the naps. she slept 30mins for morning nap (miracle!) but i wondered if it's cos I put her down in my bed. Mid day nap was 15mins only. I tried putting her in my bed but no success this time. Afternoon at 345pm she managed to sleep another 15mins soothing herself with sucking the pillow but woke up crying and that pillow sucking no longer soothed her. In the end in my desperation to get her to sleep more and longer so she can make it to bedtime I rocked her to sleep and carried her till I had together dinner ready at 445pm.
Why? I asked God why? Why won't she sleep? Last time Eliza will not fight sleep as badly as Emily. Aka scream when she wants to sleep. As much as I enjoy carrying Emily, I can't carry her ALL the time to get her to sleep and when she is sleeping! I guess it is also in her temperament that she is like that.
From day 1 her crying when she resist bathing will send Eliza running out of the room as far as she can. My mil who bathed the crying Emily said that her ears were ringing after that. I don't remember Eliza crying to be that loud! Haha.
So even as we endure this sleep training, I am also learning to be consistent. There are many times when I really do not know what to do next. Do I pick her up or settle her on her cot or let her continue her nap or what? I really want to pick her up many a times but I also soon came to realize that I am giving her mixed signals. I read somewhere that we are teaching them to form good sleep habits. I can't say Eliza was a fantastic sleeper but she was, in comparison, an easier one. But then she also had her pacifier to soothe her to sleep which doesn't work for Emily. And Eliza had the itchy problem which wakes her and me up frequently at night. Sooo every baby is really different.
The naps are hard to tackle but we'll get there. The first few days is really tough cos I couldn't do much when I left her to protest. I would be outside with Eliza and there's once Eliza probably noticing my *i dunno what to do now* state, hugged me and said "it's ok mummy. It's ok" *melts*!
We continue to pray that Emily will learn to settle on her own to sleep and sleep longer. Ie not just 20mins only. I know it is not enough for her cos she gets tired really fast if I get her up.
To better sleep days ahead!
Saturday, September 24, 2011
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.
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.
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