Routine Cont'd

Since Friday, we have tried to bathe Mia around 7 PM and then put her to sleep after a bottle. When she does sleep, the first stretch ranges from 3 to 4 hours which is remarkable considering she usually wakes up every 1.5 or 2 hours like clockwork. Afterwards, she'd wake up three to four times until 9 AM to complete her night sleep cycle. We were happy about this improvement.

Tonight after some vigorous thumb sucking, she fell asleep on her own (after I lulled her a little bit but put her down while eyes open) at 8:30 herself. I was elated. Normally she wanted me to still nurse her after the bottle. This meant it is possible for her to fall asleep on the bottle so her dad would be able to take care of her during night duties as well. I am relieved that she can fall asleep on her own . I am also relieved since I am resuming my night yoga class next Monday.

Sleep training from my research has two tried-out methods: "Cry it out" or "No tears". The first as the name suggests is to let the baby cry to sleep herself, which we would not want to do. "No tears" is to pick up the baby when she cries then put her down and repeat so until she falls asleep herself.  The second method is a lot more time consuming and exhausting but so far we are going with this one. I can't stand to see her upset. She's also too little to get a real sleep training. I am happy that she's establishing somewhat a schedule and is learning to fall asleep on her own.

Mom's Milestone

Today I resume yoga. It was a sunny day. As I drove to the studio, my heart was light with happy anticipation. At the parking lot, I saw one of the regulars. She noticed immediately that I had the baby. Yes, I unloaded! I showed her one of Mia's pictures taken at one month.  In class I showed her picture to another fellow yogi. Like any new mom, I was eager to show my baby off.

After months of protecting the belly and not touching the floor at all or over-straining my core, a simple chaturanga was tough. I felt that I lost my touch. Even though I continued to do most poses at month 8 and was able to do head stands at week 30, I felt that I had to relearn a few poses because my center of balance was completely changed! Overall it was a good practice. The fact that I was able to break away and do something for myself was satisfying on its own.

When I got home, Mia just woke up. She was fed and seemed content. I hurried to plant a kiss on her little cheek and thanked her for letting me have a little mom's time today.

Routine

For days, we leave Mia alone and follow her sleep and eating schedule since she is an infant and that's what you are supposed to do. We've figured out by now it's impossible to force a baby to eat because she will simply throw it all back up at you and it's equally difficult to get an infant to sleep since they don't know better. Sometimes they don't even know they are over-tired themselves. However there is this thing called "sleep training" and most girlfriends have tried one approach or another. After two and half hours of sleep last night and receiving a call from Vancouver around 10 PM from a girlfriend who swears on sleep training, I decide it's time to set a little routine of our own.

Initially we try to bathe her before 9 PM and then give her a bottle and put her to bed. After a few days, she's been consistently fully awake after eating whether it's one oz or four oz and would stay awake and cry endlessly even when we cradle her. I am told that's way too late and a baby's night sleep cycle should be from 7 PM to 7 AM. They need 12 hours at night and two naps during the day. My little one has been sleeping less during the day nowadays and her night starts rather late also. No wonder she's fussing. It's likely due to over-stimulation and fatigue.

Today we gave her a bath right at 7 PM and gave her a bottle at 7:30. She ate two oz and drifted off on Mike's shoulder as usual. Instead of leaving her in the crib downstairs where we would watch TV and continue our nightly business, I took her upstairs into the bedroom and placed her in the crib there. Of course she woke up as soon as her head touched the sheet and started protesting. I did not pick her up but comforted her by rubbing her hair, shoulders and arms. I pulled a chair by her crib so when she started fussing, I'd repeat speaking soothingly to her and patting her. By 8:20ish, she finally went into deep sleep. I took a shower. Mike changed and went to play basketball.

So now I am writing the blog. Tonight is the first night I had time to do something else other than holding her, feeding her, lulling her and repeating the entire cycle all over again. I plan to stick to the same steps tomorrow and hopefully establish a routine that will pave the road to eventual separation of her moving into her nursery and sleeping through the night on her own.

First Bath

Today Mia had her first bath. She enjoyed it despite the slow and panicky performance from her parents and the little shivers at the end. We will improve our skills at next time. She smells heavenly afterwards!

Sigh of Relief

Mia's stump FINALLY fell off last night! It's been five weeks and two days. She will soon be able to take a full bubble bath. My goodness!

Bottle Training

According to the pediatrcian, bottle training should start before six weeks, otherwise babies may never take it. Mia took her first bottle on Saturday. The first feeding was a measly one oz. I went to the grocery store after mike fed her. When I came home, I heard that Mike gave her another bottle. This time, she ate two oz. He also changed her twice and gave her a semi sponge bath after she had an "accident".I was quite impressed and definitely saw the potential of daddy day care.

We are planning to give her one bottle every night before she goes to bed. Hopefully she gets a good start into the night. Last night, she slept two and half hours after the bottle, which was an improvement.

First Stroller Ride

There will be many moments like this: Mia's first ...

Today I am officially done with the month. Weather forecast predicts sunny in the upper 50s. We decide to take Mia out for her first walk in the neighborhood. For someone who hates reading instruction manuals, I try my best to make sense of the stroller manual. Mom and I spend ten minutes to dress her in her hat, snow suit and pant. She protests violently since she has just woken up. We have to seize the moment before she drifts off to la la land again. We then spend another five minutes to figure out how to secure her with the safety belt. By now, she's pissed. We finally carry the stroller down the front stairs and head to the cul de sac. Shortly we realize it's a fairly windy day. Mom being overly protective, urge me to go home immediately. I turn the stroller so I don't walk against the wind. We stop for two seconds to snap a couple photos for this "historic" moment. In less than two minutes, we are back at the front door. The little one has fallen asleep during this huge production!

Mia is one month old! 终于满月了！

终于满月了！In Chinese culture, month one is an important milestone. We finally hit the date. My dad picked a Chinese name for Mia: 罗逸安 (Yi'an Luo)。 "逸" (Yi) in Chinese character can be deconstructed as the walking rabbit, which goes with the baby born in the year of the Rabbit. "安" means peace, tranquility and safety. 逸安also sounds the same as "易安居士" from the name of the famous Chinese female poet Li QingChao (李清照). He wanted the baby to have a peaceful, leisurely and smooth life.

In the morning we went to the pediatrician and Mia was weighed in at 10 pounds and 6 ounces and measured at 22 inches tall. Great job mama! For me I am almost done with "sitting the month" like a bat in the house, again according to Chinese culture, not touching cold water, eating soft and bland and no raw food, no TV, no excessive reading, no getting out of the house unless absolutely necessary. I am so excited about the prospect ahead of us. Soon we will be walking around the neighborhood in stroller.

Tough Week

Mike's been sick since he went back to work so I quarantined him. I have been taking care of Mia at night on my own for a few nights. Since she is confused about day and night, she slept well during the day and kept me up all night. Some nights I fed her on cue, burped her and lulled her forever to sleep. As soon as I turned off the light and laid my head on the pillow, she woke up and we had to do this all over again. Frustration set in and even desperation at times. The second night out of exhaustion and not being able to calm her down, I cried for a good ten minutes by the wailing little one, feeling sad and alone. It's the most rewarding feeling to see her drifting off to deep sleep, happy and content. During the day, I walk like a zombie. All I want is to sleep.