Days of Eliza & Emily: Vitamin L

I read this from Babylicious:

And below is the other study as cited from “The Complete Secrets of Happy Children“, which I thought I had better add since there is a possibility of embellishment of the above study since the reliance upon memory is always somewhat questionable (and hubby would say that mine is more so than the average person). At the end of World War II, there were a lot of orphans who needed care. A Swiss doctor travelled around to learn what were the best methods for taking care of orphaned babies. He travelled around Europe and examined all the different styles of orphan-care to determine which was the most successful style. He witnessed a large spectrum of infant care. In some places where American field hospitals had been set up, babies were snug in stainless steel cots, in hygienic wards and getting 24-hour feeds of special infant milk formula from nurses in crisply starched, white uniform. At the other end of the spectrum were the remote mountain villages where a truck would pull up and ask the villagers if they could look after half a dozen babies. These babies were raised in the arms of the village women, surrounded by children, goats and dogs. They were fed goat’s milk and eventually ate from the communal stockpot. The doctor’s method of comparing the different forms of care was by using the death rate. This was a time where dysentery and influenza took lives of many throughout Europe, yet the children raised in the villages were thriving better than those children who were cared for in the scientifically-managed hospitals. The conclusion was clear. Babies needed “love” to thrive. In other words, he said: infants need frequent skin-to-skin contact from two or three significant people infants need movement of a fairly robust kind, e.g. being carried around, bouncing on a knee, etc. infants need eye-contact, smiling, colourful and lively environment, and sounds, such as singing, talking, etc.

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Now i can't seem to remember how much i carried Eliza when she was an infant. Then again she was so light (compared to now) that i think it's not that difficult to carry her.

But i do remember relishing BF-ing her and carrying her to sleep (even though i had read books that babies need to learn to sleep on their own and not carried/rocked to sleep). The sleep part that was like a love and hate thing to do, was also filled with really warm moments.
I would gaze upon her even when she has fallen asleep.
I would enjoy cuddling her in my arms and rocking/walking her to sleep.
I would love the moments as she fell asleep on me.
I still love sleeping in the same bed as her...even though she starts off sleeping in her own bed but ends up in our bed the next morning.

Even though i didn't manage to learn how to use the sarong carrier, Beco saved us. I loved going out with her and bringing her along in Beco made it so much easier. Those were the days...now i can't carry her with Beco cos of my wound and she's also getting heavier. Ww still can carry her with it but since she's already mastering her art of walking, i would love her to walk outside more than being carried.
We brought her to T3 one evening and i let her 'loose' to walk about on her own, and you know how large an expanse of space T3 is. I could sense her 'wow-i-got-such-a-huge-space-to-explore' look on her face when i put her down.

Seems like step 1 of letting go has happened. She's gaining a bit of her independence as she learns to walk.

Still she needs just as much cuddling and carrying. I felt that in the weeks during my recuperation, my lack of carrying her has somewhat strained our r/s. It is as if she sensed some rejection when i couldn't carry her. Not that i loved her less...but carrying her was part of that love she needed. I'm glad to be on carrying terms with her again, and it felt as if we're a little closer. Geee...how fragile or sensitive is a mother-daughter r/s.

We had a good weekend last week...some of the so many photos i took...
NTUC was having offer on these diapers and Eliza was having fun with these toys.

Eliza sitting on her potty...my turn!

Saturday we did a rekke with Ww's school BB to the southern ridges walk...and Eliza did some walking, some strolling in the stroller and some sleeping.
She looks like she's leaning forward here....