A long tunnel

After that one night, you have not slept through again. So the light is still dim and the tunnel must be long one :) Oh well, it was a once off bonus, better than nothing.. After analyzing, it may be because you hardly nap the whole weekend and was probably too tired.

Funnily, last night, you woke at 3 (only 2 hrs after feed at 1) and did not cry but started cooing, which woke me up. I wonder if you are prepareing for the time difference in 2 weeks plus time :) Since you did not cry I was too tired to feed again and left you alone. I fell asleep while patting you until you cried at 5. I wonder how long you were awake for?

Light at the end of the tunnel

I am so excited that I had to post this immediately.. Isaac slept for 5 hours in a row from midnight till 5am!! Was I shock when he cried and I saw the time.. It has NEVER happened before and maybe this is the beginning of sleeping through?? Even if this was a once off and pure luck, at least I have had my first 5 hour uninterrupted sleep since he was born :)

How life has changed

The title sounds obvious.. Of course life changes with a baby. But, I just realised the extent of it now that I have adjusted to this lifestyle and taking stock of these changes. I wish I can put a table on this blog so that the before and after comparisons are more obvious :)

Lack of sleep is definitely NUMBER ONE. Apart from last night, I have never slept for more than 3 hours in a row. I have just got used to and learn to nap to catch up with lost sleep.

The house is now not as tidy.. and this is with a helper who comes and clean it once every 2 weeks. So it's no longer the Ikea showroom that it was before. Eventhough on maternity, there is no time at hand. Cooking has been restricted to about half an hour with VERY SIMPLE meals, but hopefully more nutritious than takeaways. Doing the laundry has also become a 'game' between Isaac and me so that I can spend more time with him, coz a lot of time is spent on breastfeeding and trying to put him to sleep. This sums up my day: Wake-up, feed, laundry, feed, eat, feed, play, feed, sleep, feed, cook, feed, bathe, feed, sleep, feed, sleep, feed......

I need adult conversations and thank God for the internet, Skype and MSN. I would probably only know how to babble otherwise. People I talk to are mostly all parents now and the topic is almost always about baby - habits, feeding, growth, development, etc..and best place to get baby offers of pampers, or wipes, no longer clothes or shoes.

If I do get out, rarely, preparations need to start about 2 hours ahead and handbags are out of the question. The 'pouch' has to fit Isaac's clothes, blanket, changing mat, nappies, toys, etc... I also hardly eat out and if we do, it needs to be baby friendly places with wide space to fit the buggy. The freezing weather has become a good excuse to stay at home :)

Finally, gone are dates or time alone with Richard, apart from the hour or so after putting you to sleep at night. It was funny how our most recent movie at home took us 3 days to finish because it was interrupted by tiredness and you waking up crying for a feed.

Life will NEVER be the same again, but it's all worth while when he smiles to greet me in the morning :)

Why food and play should not be mixed

Helping me tell the time?

I always put you on the playmat when you're awake so that I can cook. Every 10-15 minutes or so I will run out, shout your name and check on you. I always put u facing the mirror so that you can entertain yourself. A few days ago, when I checked on you, you turned about 45 degrees, sometime later, you were all the other way around. You were like the hands of a clock going around. Is this a step towards rolling over?? Or a sign that you will be very mobile when you learn how to. You're still very lazy on the tummy though.

1st winter

How I wish you were a few more months older as I would be out making snowman and snow angels with you. Since arriving in the UK I have never seen this much snow before and such a shame to not be able to play in it. If you were not here, I think I could have managed to convince Richard to go out and make a snowman despite the cold. But now, you've become a good excuse to not go out and play in the snow at all :) Hopefully there will be lots of snow next year!! We may even put you in a sleigh..

Unfortunately, being snowed in also meant missing your first baby massage session, something that we waited in queue a long time for and really looking forward to.

Good days and bad days

Motherhood is all about good and bad days. It is always remembering the good days that gets me through a bad one.
Good day - wakes up 3x at night, plays and feeds according to schedule, naps for at least 1 hour, takes some formula when given, poo, falls asleep quickly at night (all not too much to ask for right as that's what babies do?)
Bad day - none of the above.
Thank God for the internet so that I can let off steam to another mother who knows what I am going through :)