Squeals of Laughter

Em is 17 weeks old today and has starting squealing. Like "eeeeeeeeeeeek!" in a really high pitched voice. I think she's gonna be a little terror! That is all.

Em's First Cold

Em caught her first flu virus 2 days ago. It wasn't so bad during the day, but I noticed she woke with a bit of a dry cough (cute cough heh). And then more of a runny nose throughout the day. But it was only when it was evening time again that her nose really started to leak. So much so that it seemed to interfere with her feeding slightly. I prepared myself for a long night mentally as she had been really fussy and cranky the whole day already. What's worse is that she had just worked out sleeping on her belly was much more comfy, but with a leaking nose, it was probably not the best position to lay in as it would drip even more. So as she kept rolling over, after falling asleep, I had to keep picking her up as she wouldn't be able to settle to sleep. It was one of those nights where she really woke after every single sleep cycle. Luckily we were due to visit the PD for her 3rd vaccination the next day anyway so I wasn't too concerned.

Turns out it isn't anything to worry about, doc just gave us some saline drops to help loosen the mucus. Her tip was to then put some on a cotton bud and use that to get the dried up stuff if needed.

True enough, Em slept much better that night and we're back to 1 major feed at night! Yay! Now... to get rid of that micro feed around 5-6ish that she wakes for, which totally disrupts her 7am feed! Hopefully once the cold is really gone, we can work towards that milestone!

Babies apparently will get 8-10 colds in their first year so this is really only the beginning. At least it's only a little one and I think it's helped her work out how to do a little sniffle and suck it back in (since she can't blow it out!). Poor baby, being sick is no fun for everyone, but it's all part of growing up!

Secret to Sleeping Through The Night!

I didn't want to jinx it by writing this post earlier, but I think I've stumbled upon the secret to Em sleeping through the night! Ok, it's not completely through the night, she still wakes up for night feed(s), but the difference now is that she ONLY wakes up when she wants a feed and doesn't fuss in between.

For the third night in a row last night, Em has slept from 9-ish at night till 1/2am and then through till 6.30/7am after her feed. It's a breakthrough!!!

The secret? Sleeping on her tummy! I use the word "stumble upon" above because it was only by accident that this happened 3 nights ago. I was at my wits end, almost wanting to trial CIO and had even kicked hubby out of the room that night. I had enough of waking every single hour from 4am till 7am, it was getting ridiculous. It was like she could no longer self settle past 4am and nothing else apart from sticking a boob into her mouth would soothe her. No amount of patting or shushing or picking up with no bouncing (yeah, no bouncing because I was also trying to disassociate rocking with falling asleep) would get her back to sleep (apart from boob). At the same time, hubby was also getting disturbed (and I sense annoyed) by her incessant crying which to him seemed like an ongoing thing throughout the entire night as he drifted in and out of sleep.

I must add that there were a few things I changed:

1. Took away her headrest (initially I thought it seemed more comfy for her and she had been sleeping in it soundly till recently);

2. Put her in a dressing gown so I wouldn't have to worry about her getting cold while fusing about (because I was going to pretend to be invisible and not attend to her the minute she fussed, in the hope she learns to self settle);

3. I covered myself up and slept slightly further from her so my scent will not be so strong (like dangling hot pies in front of you but not allowing u to have any);

4. Left her to fuss to see if she would settle on her own without any patting or shushing. Both when she stirred and also when she was trying to fall asleep after a feed.

So with the above changes in place, I fed her the last bottle and put her to sleep. When she stirred after only 1 sleep cycle, I was thinking "here we go again..." But as she fussed, I realised she was on her side (as she had been doing recently in an attempt to roll over whenever she's antsy) so I gave her a little push and as soon as she flopped onto her belly, the crying stopped! It was a miracle! I was so surprised I had to sit up for a while and check on her to make sure she was really ok. And she was because then she slept till about 2am! And then after her night feed, she slept through again (on her belly) till almost 7am! I couldn't believe it and so wish we had discovered it sooner. I was just afraid of trying it because she doesn't know how to roll from tummy to back yet funnily enough.

Anyhow, I'm really glad that it was such an easy "problem" to solve. Or maybe it was a combination of factors too... With her maturing slightly with each passing day too. I guess we've made progress! Yippee!

Rolling Over!

At 15 weeks and 4 days today, Em rolled over completely on her own for the first time! She's been trying for a couple of weeks now and could always get over, but her arm would remain stuck underneath her. Today, I left her and she managed to maneuver her arm out from underneath herself! She holds her head up really high too, so proud of my little girl! ❤

Next, we will have to see when she can roll back onto her back on her own because she lays on her front and then doesn't know how to undo it! So cute when she has that frustrated "now what do I do?!?!" face haha!

She has also been moved to her crib - gotten too big to fit the bassinet already. But I think in her eagerness to master her new skill, it could be interfering with her sleep as we've got a couple of bad nights lately where she wakes after every sleep cycle (i.e. every hour!) and is not able to self settle. I really need to know how to teach her to self settle - both for her sake and mine! Waiting on delivery of a book called "Baby Bliss" by Jo Ryan" (recommended by Vick!), let's hope I'll be able to learn something from it before we're destroyed by this horrible sleep (or rather waking) habit!

Putting Em down for Naptimes - 15 weeks

Em is 15 weeks old today and I just put her down for her 11.30am nap - awake! I'm slowly trying to transition her so that she gets used to going into her crib (or bassinet still for now) awake and falls asleep for her naps herself. It's getting to a stage where she's getting too heavy to rock to sleep anymore. My arms just cannot hold all that weight for such a long time anymore (Em is 6.5kg as of this morning).

I've been researching on various methods of putting bubs down for naps, from Jo Ryans vs Tracy Hoggs, to Gina Ford vs Tizzie Hall, so my plan is to follow the "shush and pat" method instead of any CC or CIO methods. For now, I still have to rock her till she's drowsy, but at least I'm putting her into her crib with eyes still open. Hopefully with time (soon!), she'll be able to do without the rocking. I think I need to create some sleep associations next... Let's hope this nap lasts at least her full sleep cycle (i.e. that she won't suddenly wake after 10 mins without falling into her deep sleep!). It would be a bonus if she manages to self settle and has 2 sleep cycles!

On a sidenote, it was the second night last night that Em only had one feed at night (um, apart from one at 11.30pm that I think I could have avoided, but gave in due to my own sleepy state). I have started dreaming strangely lately, where I'll dream it's a particular time, like 2am, so when I hear Em stir, I believe it's 2am, only to realise its much earlier when I look at the time... Strange dreams I've been having!

First night of "success"!

Well, it was a sense of achievement for me last night as Em managed through the night with only 1 feed! I tried really hard not to pick her up when she stirred and made little cries and yay, we kinda made it!

I realized that Em seemed to be falling into a pattern of waking at 1am and 4am every night so my aim is to push the 1am waking a bit later and eliminate the 4am feed altogether so she only wakes once. Last night was pretty successful on that account!

So here's what happened: Em still woke at 1am and I fed her as usual (added in a bottle in the hope it would keep her fuller for longer, although she didn't take much of it so we returned to the boob). And then I put her down to sleep and as usual, she woke at 4am again, which I normally presume is for a feed, but last night, I decided to try to hold it off for as long as I could, just to see if she could let sleep overcome her instead of hunger. And she did! I managed to pat and shush her past one more sleep cycle, but come 5am, she was fidgeting again and made a little cries. I thought I might have to feed her then, was almost going to pick her up, but then realized she was dozing in and out of sleep - i.e cry and fidget then still for about 10 seconds, then fidget and cry a little again and then become still... So I decided to resist picking her up and continued shushing and patting some more. This only worked for 10 mins at a time before she would stir again so by about 5.30, I picked her up to see if she would settle without crying for a feed and she did!

So then I slept with her in my arms, all the while shushing and patting as she stirred through every sleep cycle and we made it! Until I reached for my phone to check on the time and accidentally made a loud bang that woke her. That was alright then because it was 6.45am (yay!!) and she was due for her 7am feed anyway.

I'm so happy!!!

Although she didn't self settle the last few sleep cycles and we broke all the rules - i.e me rocking her and holding her to sleep - at least I know she CAN last through without that extra feed! Let's hope I can do it again tonight!

3 Months is Magic

Em turns exactly 3 months old today and I must say, things certainly DO get better. They weren't lying when "they" said so! I'm trying to think back to the initial weeks and it's hard to remember how difficult it was. I mean, I do remember it was hard - super hard - and it still is, but things have definitely taken a turn. Partly also, I guess, is the fact that I've accepted that I will never ever enjoy sleep ins ever again, or the definition of "sleep in" may be till 8am if I'm lucky. And I'm still waiting for the day to come where I get an uninterrupted 8 hrs of sleep!

Anyway, back to how things have taken a turn - Em actually lets her Dad carry her now! Not just during the day, but even at night! Woohoo! That's one major step towards better days already. Not only so, the hubby is even able to put her to sleep for her daytime naps! Next step will be putting her down for her nighttime sleeps - then I will know for sure she's REALLY gotten better.

The Chinese believe when a baby turns 100 days old is when they stop crying (for no reason) and become "better". For Em, that will be 7th Oct so we shall see if any change happens!

A major 3-month milestone is Em's ability to hold her head up high. She's gotten really good at it and can stay up for about a minute or so - and she loves it! What a strong neck she has :)

I love my daughter!