Transitioning

We've gotten Cherise her own bed!

It's sandwiched between the wall and our bed so she can't roll off but she can climb safely onto our bed if she needs us.




We finally put those cot bumpers to good use!


Lots of padding for those wooden edges... Cherise is an active sleeper!


I resisted the idea of her moving out of our bed for the longest time. With the new baby coming, I didn't want her to feel that we were moving her out and someone else in. My initial plans were to have Cherise still sleep with us on our bed and the new baby in the cosleeper, but a few things made me change my mind:
1. Cherise is a very active sleeper. She turns perpendicular in her sleep, and when we adjust her position at night (because we cannot tahan the foot on our face/neck) she stirs in her sleep. So we figure she needs more space.
2. I imagine that nursing a newborn in the same bed where she's sleeping is risky - might wake her up with all the movement etc.
3. I won't have any space to nurse the newborn lying down.

Conclusion: we've decided to make the transition now instead of later when the baby arrives.

I'm so glad that she's taken to the new bed really well. Last night was her first night and she slept all the way from 11.30pm to 7am without stirring. I woke up a few times in the night to check on her, make sure she's not cold etc, and I found her turned perpendicular again, but since there was plenty of space in her own bed, I left her like that and just shifted her blanket so she wouldn't get cold. And this afternoon, we all took a three-hour nap - she in her bed, and us in ours.

I was expecting some crying, but it turns out my little girl's more ready for this than I am. No tears upon waking, only an eagerness to climb onto our bed to nurse and reconnect with me, it seems. No waking mid-sleep missing mommy contact. She knows it's her bed - we ask her, "Where's baby's bed?" And she responds, "There! Baby bed," pointing in the right direction. She loves clambering to and from her bed - we've taught her, "Crawl, no running," and to watch out for the wall. We bought more doh dohs to make the bed cozy, but she didn't want them - she tossed them all out the first day. Good - she gets to have a say in how she wants her bed to be.

I think we, the parents, are having more difficulty making this change than she is. I usually cuddle her when I put her down after she's nursed off to sleep, but with her in her own bed, I can't do that anymore. Adrian won't let me go onto her bed - he says I'm too heavy. So I got a bit teary last night. Missed a little warm body and a certain baby smell. Felt sorry for my poor little baby who wouldn't get cuddled. Then I felt sorry for myself because I couldn't cuddle.

But despite my emo-ness, I wasn't the one to cave first. Today, we had this conversation before our nap -
Adrian: You can put her on our bed if you want.
Me: Why? You miss her?
Adrian: A bit.
Me: A bit?
Adrian: A bit.
Me: A bit or a lot?
Adrian: A lot...

Feeling lonely and emo right now. Adrian is at work, and my little girl is in her own bed sleeping soundly. My king-sized bed is suddenly really big and empty. Oh well, I suppose I'd better try to enjoy the space while I have it - it's going to get pretty crowded again in three months' time!

Dr Jekyll and Miss Hyde

There's an old nursery rhyme that goes:

There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good
But when she was bad
She was horrid!

Ok, I'm not saying Cherise is horrid, but she was very bad today! We planned to go to Ikea this morning to pick up a bed for Cherise (more about this in another post). We thought it would be a fun outing - having a mission and all, plus Cherise likes to play with the many toys at the Children's section. But she was in some kind of weird mood today - so difficult to handle! She didn't want to sit properly in the taxi, she didn't want to sit in the high chair, she didn't want daddy to carry, she didn't want to nurse, she didn't want to play, she didn't want to eat - all she wanted was "Mammy, baobao, go go", but go go where? I don't know. We thought maybe she was cranky because she was tired and needed a nap, but her behaviour didn't improve even after she woke up from her nap. Strangers who simply looked at her would send her into a frenzy - "Nononononono!" It was so terrible that we cut our outing short. We actually planned to stay out the whole day, moving on to other places after Ikea, but I was so drained by noon that I just wanted to go home and stay home the rest of the day.

Once we got home, she morphed into another person! She played with her toys, ran from room to room (without us!), watched TV and danced along, fed herself banana, fed us banana, let daddy change and bathe and feed her while I went to poop - just a totally different little girl! And her behaviour was so much improved that we decided to venture out to United Square because I wanted her to get her hair cut.

So at 7pm we left home, reached United Square, had dinner at Jack's Place - and she was an angel! She was so friendly, waving at waiters and waitresses and strangers we met. She sat happily in her high chair and ate her porridge, fed herself (and us) porridge, played a bit with some ice, and when our food came, we took turns to eat and she was quite content with either of us, even letting go of our hands to run around the open spaces outside the restaurant. She was happy in the pram, and when we rewarded her with kiddy rides, she didn't fuss when we wanted her to come off the ride. And to top it all, when we brought her for her haircut at Junior League, she sat and watched the Barney video, and though she kept giving slightly disturbed glances at the hairdresser, she didn't cry at all! And that's a first! On the way back, she fell asleep in the taxi - she didn't ask to nurse, she didn't fuss at all, she just closed her eyes and fell asleep. And we couldn't rouse her! I didn't want her to sleep because I wanted to give her hair a rinse before bedtime, but since she was so soundly asleep, we changed her diaper and clothes and let her be.

I'm so amazed at the two different Cherises I saw today. What made the difference? Maybe it was the time spent with us at home. Maybe she just needed to be somewhere familiar where she could hang loose and play a bit, connect with her parents, snuggle a bit... And even though none of us slept during the afternoon hours at home, we all felt rejuvenated in that short time. That's great, I think - exactly what home should be. A place to rest, relax and recharge. And the fact that Cherise feels the same way means that we have, in some measure, succeeded in creating a home for her.

I Need To Solve This Mystery...

3 a.m. and I'm too keyed up to sleep. A bit awake because I've just completed a tough task - changed Cherise's poopy diapers. At night. While she's asleep. Without her waking. And all by myself because hubby's pulling a night shift.

It's amazing how attuned I've become to Cherise's bodily functions, i.e. she poops at night and I manage to wake up, mid-dream, because my nose recognises Cherise-poop-smell. (By the way, this goes for Cherise-pee-smell as well.)

And my nose has certainly been put to the test this week.

***

Tuesday, 1 a.m.: Adrian and I are horrified to discover our little girl has pooped in her sleep. We put a screaming Cherise (who was angry at being awakened) onto the changing table, and I change her while Adrian tries to soothe her (without success) and halfway through it all she poops some more, and then tearfully announces, "All done, all done!" I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

Tuesday, 8 a.m.: I wake up to Cherise-poop-smell - she's asleep but she's pooped again. We change her, with a lot less crying this time, and then conclude that something's not right. So off to the doc we go.

Tuesday, 10 a.m.: At the doctor's. We've just seen the doc the day before for Cherise's pneumococcal jab, so I'm thinking, maybe this pooping is a side effect from the vaccine. The stools are a little loose - not really watery, just a little slushier than usual. Doc gives us loperamide for diarrhoea and abdominal pain, and some probiotics. But Cherise doesn't poo for the rest of the day - appears totally normal actually, so we hold the medication and conclude it was a one-off thing and we overreacted.

Wednesday, 1 a.m.: We are watching a movie in bed when we hear little grunting noises from Cherise's corner. We look at each other helplessly, and put away the movie with a sigh. More screaming as we change her and I have to nurse her back to sleep.

Wednesday, 8 a.m.: Poop while asleep again. Why am I not surprised anymore...

***

And so it's been like that the past week. She's been having slushy stools, 3 to 5 times a day since Tuesday. And she will do a night time poop while asleep. This is strange because prior to this, Cherise was really regular - she'd do a nice big one once a day and that would be it. We've tried the loperamide. No change in the consistency of stools, nor improvement in frequency. Probiotics and yogurt aren't helping. Dietary changes are useless. I have no idea what's going on.

She's not sick. She's not in pain, and there's no fever or vomiting. Plus, 3 times a day doesn't quite constitute diarrhoea, does it?

Is it the jab? Diarrhoea is one of the side effects listed for the pneumococcal vaccine. But then, it's been so many days already - and it doesn't explain the night poop!

My helper thinks it could be teething - I'm quite inclined to agree. Cherise's bottom molars are coming out - they're huge! The right side's almost completely out, and the left looks really bumpy - I can practically see the white tips beneath the gums. Dr. Sears calls it drool diarrhoea, I think. But again, why the night poop? Why doesn't she go more during the day???!!

It's like, out of 3 poops a day, she'll do 2 asleep and 1 awake. Hm.

I can deal with slushy day time poops, but the night time ones are really stressing me. I'm afraid to go to sleep, because I'm scared I'll miss it and not wake up and she'll sleep through the night with the dirty diaper. Thankfully my nose hasn't failed me so far. I'm afraid of touching her in her sleep - afraid if I do, then she'll get roused from deep sleep and do a poop. I wake up many, many times at night to reassure myself that her diaper is still poop-free. And I was really stressed when Adrian went off to work this evening, because if it happened (and it did), I would have to deal with it alone.

Thank God He gives me the strength (and ability!) to get through this night. How wonderful - she didn't even wake up when I changed her! No screaming baby this time! But really, I hope this stops soon. I tell you - there will be much rejoicing in this household the day we see a nice big solid poop in her diaper again. Until then, I'm just going to have to try harder to solve this mystery...

Preggie Diary: Crossing Over and Other Random Thoughts

Just the other day, a friend asked me if I was in my third trimester yet. I replied that I didn't know because I couldn't remember when the third trimester actually started. But it hardly makes any difference whether the last leg starts at 26 weeks, or 27 weeks, or 28 weeks, because to me, my body's already left the blissful second trimester and crossed over.

It all started on new year's eve. While most of my friends were busy ushering in the new year (including hubby who was at watchnight service), I was stuck at home. It was a bit depressing not to be able to attend watchnight with hubby, but I had to stay home because it was a logistical nightmare to take Cherise along. And as I went about the usual routine of feeding her, playing with her, changing her diaper, bathing her etc, for the first time since I got pregnant, I found it hard. Suddenly, my belly was in the way of everything. Bending to pick up toys was difficult. I caught my reflection in the kitchen door and realised I was no longer walking, but waddling. My belly put me further away from the changing table than I was comfortable with. And while bathing her, I suddenly found my shower stall way, way too small.

It's been deceptively easy, till now. I thought I was stronger this time round - thought maybe looking after Cherise had conditioned my body to be tougher. Sure, I experienced a few aches and pains, but hey - I could walk longer, carry more, do more things this time round. But that's over, for sure,

As we all left 2008 behind and crossed over into 2009, I've crossed over into whale-land as well.

Of course I wasn't that naive to think it would be easy all the way. But what my mind can't really accept is how suddenly it all happened. Like, everything was fine and usual one day, and then the next, so different and difficult. What happened to gradual changes?

Suddenly,
all my comfy spaghetti-strapped tops decide to start revealing a tantalising belly swatch below.
amorous activities are no longer fun because my belly makes it hard to breathe.
clapping and moving on stage at church threatens to create an embarrassing scene because I get thrown off-balance.
all the doorways in my home are too narrow.

And to top everything off, my darling princess is teething her molars. So everything familiar and comfortable gets thrown out the window. She doesn't want to drink her milk - any milk. She wants to nurse five times a day. She doesn't want to nurse to sleep, only before she tosses and turns for 45 minutes to sleep. She wakes up at 6am asking to drink water - but I think it's to play with the straw because rubbing it against her gums provides some comfort. She wants me to baobao all the time - even at home, even when there's no one else at home but me. She cries out at night, "No, no, mommy, mommy", leaving me in distress, but her eyes aren't even open and she can't be soothed, so I stay awake while she tosses and turns for the better part of an hour till she falls asleep again.

So, my prayer for this new year is for strength. Strength to infuse aching and tired arms and legs. Strength for the long nights alone. Strength to stay patient instead of losing my temper in frustration and fatigue. Strength to stay smiley and positive through physical and mental weariness. Strength to get out of bed in the morning when I would much rather snuggle up and continue sleeping. Strength to continue doing my best to mother my baby and baby-to-come.

Blessed New Year!

Jasmine was in a "let's-get-out-of-the-house-and-stay-out-the-whole-day" mood on New Year's Day, so like any smart husband, I gave in despite the fact that I really didn't want to fight through the crowd on a public holiday. We made our way to Marina Square and to our pleasant surprise, it was not as bad as I thought it would be.

We didn't know what we wanted to do, it was really a go with the flow thing. So we ended up eating...eating...and eating! How so? Here's what happened:

When we arrived at MS at about 11am, Cherise was due for her pre-lunch snack. She was also getting a little cranky because it was time for her nap. We decided to make ourselves comfortable at Gloria Jeans where Cherise can have her babycino and quiche while Jas and I can have our much needed cuppa. However, it turned out that her royal highness was a little too cranky to eat so we had to let her have her nap first and hope that she'll sleep for at least 2 hours before she wakes up for lunch. While she was sleeping, Jas and I got hungry so we ate some sandwiches and the quiche that was originally meant for Cherise.

Cherise was actually sleeping pretty well for about 45 mins or so till this bunch of inconsiderate ladies started screaming and laughing at the top of their voices (knowing full well that there were a couple of sleeping babies nearby). They made no effort to tone down their voices and soon enough, Cherise woke up much earlier than expected - and hungry... So we had no choice but to find a place for lunch. We decided on Pasta de Waraku because every child gets a free toy - to distract them while their parents eat! I think the restaurant is really smart, the toys are inexpensive, and it works! The service is also excellent no matter how busy it is. It's no wonder they are almost always crowded. Anyway, Jas was too full to eat so I ordered a meal for myself while she fed Cherise.

After lunch we decided to do some baby shopping for David and then get some Pigeon baby food from John Little for Cherise, just in case we intended to have dinner out. They were having a members' sale there so the queue to the cashier was ridiculously long. As expected, the queen mother got hungry and left me to pay for our purchases while she went around hunting for a place to eat. She finally decided to satisfy her burger cravings and settled for Burger King. By the time I got there, she was almost done but Cherise was hungry after seeing her mommy munching on her burger so it was time to feed her some grapes. She finished the entire container of grapes but was visibly still hungry for more, so we decided to get her some red bean pancake and soy milk from Jollibean.

After buying the stuff from Jollibean, we needed a place to rest our legs but there were no empty benches in sight, so I suggested that we should just head over to the Ritz Carlton for tea instead. Wah...you should have seen how I kena left right center from the Queen Mother because now she had no more room for tea (especially after she saw the buffet spread)! We went ahead anyway because the spread was too good for me to resist. We paid for 2 even though Jas didn't eat much...next time must go back and wack big time to make up for it. The iced tea there is really good...the ice cubes they put into the tea is actually frozen iced erm...tea, so you don't end up with some overly diluted iced tea over time. Sorry I forgot to take pictures of the food, but here's Cherise enjoying her waffles...



Yum Yum...

There goes my New Year's resolution of losing weight... better start buying new pants! Anyway, I bet I'll make up for it when David comes ha ha! Have a Blessed 2009 Everyone!