Sleep Tight, my baby!

We have always been blessed with a good sleeper. Sarah takes her full naps, whether they are the 2 hour naps 2 times a day or the one 3 hour nap she's taking now.  She never gets fussy when she's tired and she goes to bed without being rocked or carried.  We plop her onto bed and then Sarah manages to fall asleep on her own by licking the crib sheet or blanket (equivalent to a pacifier or thumb, both of which she didn't pick up, thank goodness!).   She sleeps at 8:30pm at night and wakes up at 6:30am in the morning.  When we wake her up in the morning, Sarah rarely cries. She just wakes up, opens her eyes and then she is off to doing whatever we have plan for her.  I am seriously not exaggerating. Sarah never had any issues with sleeping, well, maybe until now...

For the past month or so, Sarah refuses to go to bed at night.  As in any toddler, she wants to play and don't want to stay confined inside her crib.  Even after the whole bedtime routine, she still doesn't want to sleep. She would cry a good 10 minutes before eventually going down for the night.  Sometimes we have to sternly tell her, "Sarah, go to sleep, go to sleep!" By that time, it's close to 10pm, not the time we want to go to sleep.  Just when we think we can finally rest, Sarah wakes up in the middle of the night screaming her lungs out. We've used the Cry It Out method - but sometimes she would cry so hard that she gets congested and eventually throw up.  Then it becomes a big dramatic affair to calm her, change the crib sheets, and change her clothes.  Not something I want to do at 2 am in the morning!  Sometimes she would fall back asleep but not without first having one of us get up to pat her back to sleep. We can't quite understand why she's not sleeping through the night. Perhaps she's growing her back molars that giving her pain? Perhaps she's cold at night? Don't know???  All I know is that I hope this is only a phase and I will get back my good little sleeper back!!  

Daycare Week 2

We are having a hard time with Sarah's daycare transition.  This week (Week 2) has been more difficult than the week before.  Everyday this week, Sarah cried at drop-off. She is very clingy and the minute she walks into the room, she cries.  Last week, at least she didn't cry. She went straight to the table for breakfast.  This week, even the sight of food doesn't appease her.  She wants to cling on to me. Seems like she is regressing, instead of progressing... To be honest, I thought Sarah would do better than this since she's been dropped off at a daycare before. She's used to not seeing us during the day.  But I guess the new environment and new faces are enough to throw her off and make her uncomfortable.

It also seems like Sarah is going through her separation anxiety phase right now.  She's also very clingy at home and at other familiar places.  Now she needs to have us nearby or in the same room.  She whines when she doesn't see one of us and then drops what she's doing to look for us.  Sarah has always been an easy-going baby. She rarely cries and fusses.  That's why we can bring her to restaurants, libraries, everywhere because she was so easy. We are definitely not used to this sudden change of personality.  But as my sister said, there are a lot of things that we won't be "used to." Kids change. Welcome to Parenthood!!

Feeling Happy Blue

Tomorrow is my baby Sarah's 1st birthday.  I have many thoughts in my mind today and honestly, feeling a little blue. I guess I can't come to terms that a year has so quickly gone by...! Still remember a year ago, I was laboring at home - in pain - but somehow managed to withstand all the contractions to get to 10cm dilation without any meds. A blink of the eye and it's a year later with Sarah in our lives.  A rough start for me as a mommy of a newborn, but alas, I was able to spend quality time with Sarah before I went back to work.  It was the best time ever and I still miss those days the most.  Although we took tons of pictures and recorded a lot of videos of Sarah during this past year, I always feel like it's not enough and we should have taken more...she has grown so much! Is it silly of me to sometimes wish that Sarah could stay little just a tad longer? :-)

I know that I like to make myself sad by always reminiscing about the happy times in the past. But this time around, I understand that I also have so many more happy times in the future! I can't wait for Sarah to walk (steadily) so I can bring her to the beach, the zoo, Crissy Fields so she can run in the wind.  I can't wait for Sarah to learn how to talk so I can hear her say the darnest things.  I can't wait to see her grow up (slowly, I hope)...

Mother's Day

      On May 8, I celebrated my first Mother's Day with my sweet little baby Sarah.  We didn't do anything special in particular, but I was still super happy that day because I am Mommy to silly girl.
      Sarah, I am so proud to be your Mommy! Your presence and the endless joy you bring me is the BEST present I could ever ask for!  I have never laughed so hard and smiled so much..it's all because of you. Thank you for letting me be your Mommy! :-)

Helpless

Last week on Presidents' Day Monday, Sarah started to have diarrhea. Since then, she has been pooping 5-6 times a day.  While some babies do poop 5-6 times per day, this is not normal for Sarah. Since she was a baby, she was well-trained to poop once a day, in the morning, during her 1st feeding of the day.  After she started eating solids, she pooped one extra time during the evening hours between 5-6pm.  Yes, she was that consistent.  So when she pooped more than normal, it concerned me.  Worst was that her stool were watery.  Other than the diarrhea, she showed no other signs of discomfort.  She continued to laugh and play as normal. Her appetite did not change, no fever, and her drool were still as plentiful as before - meaning she was not dehydrated.

I brought her in to see the doctor on Friday.  There was little he could do. There is no "medicine" to treat diarrhea. He gave us a cup to collect a stool sample. Sarah's demeanor was still normal, up until Saturday night.  At that time, she started to have a runny nose.  Her eyes were glassy and watery.  She was antsy.  By Sunday, she has a full-fledge cold.  Runny nose, congestion, and cough.  No doubt she was uncomfortable.  Besides all those symptoms, she still had the diarrhea.  Poor baby!! Poor baby Sarah!! But she is still a trooper. Despite of all that, she still managed to sneak in a few smiles and even some laughs to calm her nervous-wrack mommy down.

Yesterday night at 1:30am, Sarah developed a fever of 102 degrees.  Although this is not the first time Sarah has a cold, this is the first time she has a fever.  Thank goodness I stocked up a bottle of infant Ibuprofen in my medicine cabinet "for emergencies."  Well, yesterday was the emergency.  I gave her the medicine as prescribed on the box (but not without first spilling at least 25% of the bottle onto the counter with my nervous hands).  After 20 minutes, her temp dropped to 100.2. Then another 20 minutes later, it went down to 99.2.  I was relieved that the med was working.  Sarah woke up this morning and didn't have a temperature.  SQ stayed home to take care of Sarah ~ thank goodness she was able to keep the temperature down throughout the day without the need for another dose of Ibuprofen.  She still pooped more than normal, but the last 2 times, the stool were more formed, and not watery, which is an improvement. 

It breaks my heart to see Sarah is such discomfort.  I feel so helpless.  I don't know what to do other than to hold her, but she sometimes gets antsy and don't want to be held.  She still wants to move around and play with her toys, which is a good thing.  When I hear her congested nose wheezing, I feel so bad.  And when she  coughs, it must hurt her lungs. Oh, the cons of putting your child in daycare!  I know her cold is just a phase, and soon enough she will recover from it... and that she will develop a stronger immune system.  I'll try to think positive!! I just want my baby back to normal again.  I miss her giggles and laughs.       

Baby Essentials

I seriously believe that the baby retail industry is out of control.  There are gadgets and stuff for everything baby because marketers are great at making you feel guilty for not buying the best for your baby.  But you know, the truth is that most of the products, you can totally live without.  Well, the other day, while browsing through Amazon.com, I came across a list a mom compiled, of all the baby items she actually used and liked.  Okay, I'm not dumb to know that the list was sponsored by Amazon.com, so of course, it was bias! Well,  here is MY list of items I actually used & find helpful.  (Of course, as they say, every baby is different!)  Also by the way, I'm skipping diapers, formula/breastfeeding needs, and car seat essentials.

1. Diaper Champ.  Skip the refills, you can use the plastic bags you get from Target, grocery store, etc.

2. Only 2-3 receiving blankets. The ones the hospital give you are bigger & better.  The ones you buy are usually small so your baby is going to outgrow it very soon.

3. Snap N Go stroller frame.  This is to be used with the car seat.  It's great.  It's small and compact and folds up nicely.  Skip the travel system.  It's heavy and bulky.  By the time your baby outgrows the infant car seat, you can get a simple lightweight umbrella stroller instead.    

4. Changing pad

5. Onesies - haha, this is funny. For a whole week or so, Sarah didn't wear any clothes. She just got wrapped up in blankets.  Eventually, you'll need them - skip newborn sizes!

6.  Infant bath tub

7. Baby nail clipper - baby's nails grow so fast! It's nail-clipping time every 3 days! 

8. Play gym - not a 100% necessity. Baby can lie on a bed or a carpeted floor.  The Play gym offered some sort of stimulation, but I question its claim.


Things I didn't (or rarely) use -

1.  Baby wipes.  I wash the baby's bottom with water & pat dry with a towel instead.
2.  Diaper Rash cream
3.  Humidifier
4.  Baby bouncer
5.  Baby bottle stertilizer
6. Pacifier (Sarah never liked it or learned how to suck it)
7. Baby hooded towels (you can totally use regular towels)

Parents Magazine "magic window"

I subscribe to Parents Magazine and found this month's issue interesting to share. The article is about finding the right magic window timeframe to transition your baby...

Here's some rough guidelines the article highlighted (roughly paraphrased):

2-4 weeks: give a bottle to a breadtfed baby

4-6 months : get baby to sleep through the night ie., sleep train baby to fall asleep in his own

7-9 months : use a sippy cup

Around 6 months : start solids

12-18 months : introduce a lovey ie a soft blanket, stuffed animal to help with separation anxiety

12-23 months : take away the pacifier

2-1/2 to 3 years: move from crib to a bed

2-1/2 to 3 years : potty train

3 to 5 years : end naptime

5 to 7 years : take off the training wheels from bicycle

6 to 7 years : bathe by herself

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Separation Anxiety

Separation anxiety - not Sarah but me.  Sarah will be going to daycare starting next week. A wave of emotions is hitting me and hitting me hard. I never knew that I would actually enjoy staying home and being with Sarah full time.  If you ask me a few months ago, I was so sure that I would rather go to to work. I could never be a stay-at-home mom...so I thought. But these couple of months drastically changed my mentality. Now I understand why mothers leave their jobs to stay home to take care of their kids. I would do it too if I could.  It's special. Spending time with Sarah is absolutely precious and I enjoy every second of it!!   

When I go back to work, I will surely miss our daily walks and outings. We had our routine down to the tee. I could read her like a book. I know when she's hungry, when she's full, when she's sleepy, and when she needs a diaper change... So sad just thinking about how Sarah and I will be separated during the day starting next week.  I spent this week preparing her bag for daycare - diapers, wipes, extra clothes, etc. And each time I add something to the bag, I pause to think about how she will do in daycare. Will the caregivers know all her little quirks and habits?  Will they know that Sarah speaks through her eyes when she needs to poo?  Will they know that she babbles for a good 5 minutes before she falls asleep?  Will they know that she loves looking out the window?  That she loves to hear mommy sing?  *sniff* *sniff* (Uncontrollable waterworks!!)

I bet it's those darn hormones taking the best out of me right now.  I know that I will still see her in the morning and at night, and during the weekends - so I will still get to spend lots of time with her - for the rest of my life! Don't grow up too fast my sweet baby. Wait for mommy!

Sloppy mom

I'm walking through the aisle of The Children's Place. A tall beautiful woman in a sleeveless flowery blouse, skinny jeans, and 3 inch heels, holding a Louis Vuitton satchel, stands near a nesting table. She has straight long brown hair; her make-up nicely done. She was pushing an infant stroller with a baby boy sleeping inside while looking at the baby clothes. Dang, she looks fabulous.  And there I was with my crappy, thinning hair, no make up, loose jeans, cheapo crossbody bag, tennis shoes. Gross. We are both moms, yet we look night and day.  I wonder how some moms can get themselves so quickly back to their pre-pregnancy figure and their pre-pregnancy look?!  And how they find time to make themselves look so good before stepping out the door?

Before Sarah, I mentally told myself that I can not get sloppy when I become a mom.  Yes to matching jewelry, to heels, to fashionable clothes, to make-up. Well, that didn't last every long.  Comfort and convenience became the rule of the game. It has became the only rule in my book.  Yes I am a sloppy mom.  Forget all the fancy things - now I considered it a success whenever I can get Sarah and myself out the door without a sudden spit-up and the baby bag adequently stocked!