Putting an overtired baby to sleep

Em missed her late afternoon catnap today and boy was it hard to get her to settle after that! My mistake I guess was putting her down into the rocker a bit too early and she woke because she hadn't dropped off into deep sleep yet. From there, it was an uphill task of trying to get her to take her nap again before the next feed.

The Stroller didn't even work it's magic this time (noooooo! It always works!!!). And so after a quick trip out to pick up some dinner, hoping she'd fall asleep along the way (which she didn't) it was back to shushing and rocking and singing and patting to try to get her to nap before 7pm.

As time grew closer to 7, I knew all hope was lost so I decided to feed Em, hoping she'd then be full and sleep then. It worked! She fell asleep! But she wasn't in deep slumberland yet so I thought I'd hold her while I ate dinner and hope by then she would be in deep sleep. Er... Nope! Wide awake in less than 10 mins! Oh the frustration! Not just for me, but I'm sure Em wanted to sleep just as badly but just couldn't.

By now, I had gobbled down my dinner in under 3 minutes and it was almost 8pm. Em usually goes down for her nighttime sleep by 8.30! Ok, quick feed and maybe this time she'll go down for good. Not quite... So I decide to proceed with her bedtime routine which includes a bath. Finally after the bath, more feeding, a lot of shushing, rocking and singing, one failed attempt at putting her down too early, Em falls into deep slumber at about 10.30pm.

I watch her for a while to make sure and with a huge sigh of relief, finally take a shower and quickly rush to sleep because I know in a couple of hours (if I'm lucky), Em will wake and it will be time to feed again...

12 Week Milestones

Emma is 12 weeks old and achieving new milestones!

Her neck is getting really strong and she's attempting to lift it up when I lie her on my lap or when I sit her up, slightly inclined backwards. She looks as if she wants to sit up on her own already!

We've also been having good tummy times, she hasn't been crying like she used to, I think it's because she realizes she can hold her head up and have a new view of the world. I'm helping her roll over and over and over... We'll see when she masters that art on her own!

Another exciting milestone is her willingness to lie on her playmat for almost 15-20 minutes on her own! Record so far is almost half an hour! She never let me put her on the playmat before so I'm really glad she's maturing in this area. Albeit the tv has to be turned on to maintain her interest... But anything right now so my hands can be freed for a bit at least, yay!

With her fist sucking, she's almost finding that elusive thumb, but still mostly putting her whole fist in her mouth. Very cute but also makes her hands quite smelly ><

E.A.S.Y routine update!

Yay! I'm so glad to say we have a routine established! Well, sort of... It changes a little some days but it's still pretty good! I still get confused in the evenings and try to play by ear, just making sure Em goes to sleep before 9.30! So here's our EASY routine so far:

7am: (E) Feed

7.45am: (A) Give Emma a body wipe and diaper change. Talk and play with her while she lies on the change mat. She's really happy in the mornings and will laugh, smile and coo back at me when I play with her. I do this for about 10 mins then if she looks content, I quickly dash into the shower for a quick morning rinse myself. After this, I take her with me while I make breakfast and sit her on my lap facing me while I eat. All the while singing and talking to her. She loves it!

8.30am: (S) Naptime. Emma routinely gets quite sleepy about 1.5 hrs after she wakes so around now, I start rocking her and putting her to sleep. She'll usually fall asleep around 9 for about 45 mins. This is when I have "ME" time (i.e the Y for "you" in "EASY"). Sometimes I nap as well if it's been a bad night, or I quickly get some work done or do some light housekeeping.

10am: (E) Feed (Emma usually automatically wakes from her nap on cue so I rarely wake her)

10.45am: (A) Diaper change and sometimes a morning walk. This part is really hard to drag out till the next nap time because I kinda run out of songs to sing and things to say without boring myself.

11.30am: (S) Naptime. If we are out in the stroller, Emma usually will stay awake and content in her stroller until its about this time before she will fall asleep.

1pm: (E) Feed

1.45pm: (A) this is where I kinda run out of things to do with her cos by now I'm also a bit sleepy myself. Sometimes I'll wash her hair, sometimes just sing and play with her.

3pm: (S) Naptime - usually I will nap during this time too.

4pm: (E) Feed - usually I will have to supplement this feed with a little formula as I start to dry up.

4.45pm: (A) walk around the house, play and sing with her.

5.45pm: (S) short catnap while we quickly eat dinner

6.30pm: (E) feed - this one is usually a full bottle feed plus both boobs too just to "tank her up" for the night.

7.30pm: (A) bath time - Em loves her baths!

8.30pm: (S) sleepy time for the night! I'll start rocking her and singing to her and usually she'll be asleep before 9.30pm.

These days, Em sleeps right through till about 1am when she wakes for a feed, then at 5am again. Each time I'm usually able to put her straight back into the bassinet and she will keep sleeping. This is a massive change because previously she would awaken and then cry to be picked up. As much as I love sleeping with Em on my chest, it's nice to be able to sleep on my belly without holding onto anything too!

Hopefully soon we'll be able to get rid of the night feeds or reduce them to just 1 a night. Baby steps!

To shave or not to shave...

Emma's balding!!! She started dropping her hair around the 9 week mark and there are ugly bald patches on the back of her head boooo! It's Chinese custom to shave the baby's head when they turn 1 month, theory being they will grow back a fuller head of hair. I don't know how true that is and I've always said I won't do it BUT now I'm mildly tempted just so it will grow back evenly at least! Hubby has the shaver ready as soon as I give the go ahead but I'm still um-omg and ah-ing. What if it doesn't grow back... ><

Update (11.5 weeks): Emma's hair is starting to grow back yay!!! It's still uneven because we didn't end up shaving it, but no more bald spots yippee!

10 weeks old... And very active!

Lil' Em is 10 weeks old today! The amount of energy this girl has amazes me - she can kick her legs for hours on end and even though she may be tired, her legs just keep kicking and kicking... Much like the times when she was still in my belly and I could feel (and see!) her kicking away for hours at a time. Aren't newborns supposed to live to sleep at this stage??? Anyway, I've decided to chronicle a few of her milestones to date:

- Smiling, Cooing and Laughing

Em not only smiles back when I smile at her now, but coos and laughs too when I talk to her! I love having mini conversations with her in the morning - that's when she's at her best. After her morning feed, which is usually between 7-8am, I'll lay her on her change mat for a diaper change, wipe her body down with a warm cloth, bicycle her legs (she loves this and will give a big smile everytime you move her legs) and then spend a few minutes "talking" with her. If she seems happy and content, I'll quickly have a morning wash, brush my teeth and pop my contacts in, ready for a new day. Usually that's all the time I have for before Em starts to make a little noise, which I now recognize as the "pick me up, I've had enough lying here on my own" cry.

- Stronger neck, back and leg muscles

Lil' Em is quite capable of holding her head up on her own without support for a good 20 seconds or so before she flops down again on my shoulder. Her legs are also pretty strong, I swear she can almost stand up on her own! Sometimes I think she will start walking before she crawls...

- Maturing (i.e.Louder) cries

I used to think I could differentiate Em's cries (based on the "baby whisperer" method) but now is when her cries are becoming much more distinct. It's as of she's just discovered her voice and can (and will) actually scream and pout to show displeashre. Usually this sort of cry is her way of saying "pick me up!" or if I'm already holding her, then it means she's simply tired.

- Slightly more settled

The past few days when I've tried putting Em down in the rocker, she has been content to look around and kick her legs for a while (about 10-15 mins) before she would ask to be picked up again. She loved the rocker as a newborn and would sleep for hours in it. I thought it was a godsend at the time, but unfortunately this did not last long and she was soon crying everytime I tried to put her in it. Sitting content in it for short periods again is an improvement! We have hope...

On that note, I've also taken her out twice on my own to quickly grab some takeaway and to my surprise, she is happy to sit in the stroller (as long as she's been fed) and will actually fall asleep in it! Not only so, she wasn't even falling asleep straight away, but happy to sit and look around and be slightly mesmerized by the toys hanging on the front of her stroller. Very optimistic about this because it means I can soon venture out to the shops on my own - as long as I make sure she has a full belly :)

Feeling positive! Now... waiting for that magic "turn" for the better every mummy tells me about!