Horror story

Oh...it's so good to be back home! We picked up Leia from my aunty's place on our way home. Before we could enter her house, we heard Leia screaming away.

As soon as she saw me, she hurriedly leaned her body forward - expecting me to hold her. Oh, what a nice feeling to hold her in my arms once again. Indeed, absence makes the heart grow fonder...

It has not been a comfortable experience for Leia. (As usual, this overly worried mom called aunty everyday from outstation to check on her.) On her first night alone there, she couldn't put herself to sleep. Though aunty tried her best to follow my advise of what to do whenever Leia show any of the 3 signs (as per my earlier post), she resisted and slept only at 11pm (way over her usual bedtime which is around 9 plus). Only to wake up again around 1 plus and kicked up a big fuss. She was wailing and struggling and kept on pointing finger towards the door. It was as if she was asking to take her home. My aunty struggled to put her back to sleep. Her incessant crying woke up my grandma too and she helped to manage her but without much success. It was almost 3 in the morning, when she stopped crying and by then, my cousin has woken up from her slumber too and chipped in to help. Out of desperation, my grandma dialled 911 for help. Eh no-lah. She dialled my parents' home number.

My mom and dad came rushing to check on her. Leia then followed them home. Luckily, after feeding her with milk, she finally dozed off on my parents' bed. So, my dad was kicked out of the room and has to make do with sleeping upright on the sofa...

Leia's second night was a bit better. Though she slept past 11pm, she didn't wake up middle of the night this time. What a great relief for my aunty and the whole family. And a great relief to me too knowing that Leia was feeling a bit better and getting enough rest.

There are many contributing factors as to why she has behaved such;
1. Changed of place
2. Separation anxiety
3. My aunty's place is hot - she's developing rashes again which lead to greater discomfort
4. Over-stimulation through play and stress

Even during the day, nothing that my aunt did pleased her. It took 4 people to feed her - my aunty held the spoon, my grandma sat at the side to make sure she sits still all the time and my little cousin brothers entertained her by playing with her.

When my aunty put her in her cot, she made a fuss. She "cried" (minus the tears). Took her out from her cot, she cried again. Gave her favourite toys, she pushed them away. My aunty almost went bonkers, I think.

I'm glad that she is now back at home now. She slept like a sleeping beauty lastnight. And that was at 9 plus. Nothing out of ordinary behaviours shown. Back to her routine....

Oh Leia, I'm so sorry that I have put you through all these. I think I better find better solutions fast!

"No, Leia... you're not going home tonight..."

Went to visit Leia at aunty's place. That was coming to 9pm. She was drinking her milk. Shhhhh.... shouldn't speak too loud. Distraction. She may not want to continue drinking.

Since she will be sleeping there for the next 3 nights, I brought her favourite "going-to-bed" toys for her - Sponge Bob and counting book.

Oh, missing her already... As soon as her papa picked her up, she started waving "bye-bye" to my aunty and grandma. "No, Leia... you're not going home tonight...", I told her. :(

We spent some time playing with her before I put her to sleep.

Sleeping time

Who usually put your baby to sleep? You or your partner? Or maid? If it's you, how do you feel about this given "honour"?

Well, in my case, most of the time it will be me. There may be 1 or 2 occasions my hubby would have to do it but I personally rather handle it myself. Why? Coz I can easily put her to sleep without having to tear the whole house down!

You see, Leia has 3 types of sleeping signs that we can identify easily -

1. The blank stares. No matter how much we want to entertain her through stimulations like play, making funny faces, sing songs, etc, she will not react as we expected her to be. She will just give you the blank stare. For this case, putting her to sleep is easy-peasy. Just put her down in her cot and plug in her "chut chut" (pacifier) and within seconds, she'll be in dreamland...

2. The screamings and strugglings (must be due to over-stimulation earlier). Hooyoh... hubby certainly wouldn't want to offer help in such situations. And I certainly wouldn't make to make a fuss out of it. Coz, if he couldn't settle her down within 15 minutes, I would have to come to rescue. So, I'd rather handle her from the beginning to avoid unnecessary, prolonged stress for all - Leia, hubby and I!

3. The "play-by-myself" act. Easy. Put her down in her cot and give her a book or her favourite toy, Sponge Bob, she will happily play on her own for a while before slowly lying on her side/back and zzzzzz......

So, guess which sign she showed tonight?

Oh, she loves interacting through the cot net. Stick my face there and she will do the same...Mom and daughter bonding

She loves lying down at the corners too

Aik! Get up again?

Playing with her hanky

Lying down at opposite corner. Meddling with her book

Yeh....sleep d...

No leh...

Finally....

So, what's your guess?

Let me know your answer in the Comments and I will let you know whether you are right or wrong..k? ;)

1001 things to do for Leia

As I continue to surf the net for more infos on parenting, the more overwhelmed I feel...!

It seems to me that I have not done enough for my girl! There are more than 1001 things that I can do for her now and later. Geez...so many wide aspects to look into urgently - her food intake (need to consider the type, texture, cooking methods, equipments used, which part of the day, etc), her play/ learning items (type of toys - development toys, bath toys, arts and supplies, puzzles, outdoor toys and the list goes on....), her sleeping routine, babyproofing.... and what else???

And all these require immediate attention, it seems! She's growing up fast and this mommy needs to catch up fast too!!

Adoi...I need system!