Sleep, glorious sleep.  ….

Yes, the getting you back into sleeping through the night effort has paid off.  Your dad and I had a lovely sleep all through the night last night (and the night before would have been great except for the rowdy neighbours who decided to have a singalong to 80′s tunes at 3am until your Aunty Reeg went outside wrapped in a towel and told them to pipe down as “don’t you know there is a baby living here” – she said it was friends of theirs rather than the actual neighbours, who we get on with well but were no-where to be seen)!  Two nights in a row you’ve made it through from 7pm to 7am again without a peep.

Without a peep!!  And so, the disappointment and disillusionment I feel this morning about living in Australia with such a non-progressive population having landed us with a probably hung parliament after only one term of slightly forward-thinking policy changes (and even that is somewhat dubious) is somewhat softened.   Though there is some light in the tunnel, one of our friends got elected to the senate in Queensland.   Hip hip hooray for her!

We will watch with interest over the next few days as the politicians try to cobble together a government.  And if all else fails then as I’ve previously professed, we may consider moving countries again.   Good thing I got your passport application lodged last week.  You’ll be able to come with us.  ….

Though, as your Aunty Stav mentioned “No. That’s not how “The Somalia Solution” works. You need to stay here and maintain the rage. But, I guess someone needs to go and set up the re-education camps in Patagonia, in preparation for the revolution.”.

Love mum.

P.S.  Yes, perhaps my first overtly politically-flavoured rant post.  As you get older you’ll realise just how opinionated I am, and be amazed it took this long to come out in the blog.

P.P.S.  and when you’re old enough to vote yourself I look forward to a debate on the merits of policies in an election where some are actually stated by the running political parties.  That is at least what I’d hope to see in your future.

P.P.P.S.  In fact, having thought it through further, I hope that you haven’t slept through the night for three nights running due to your immense boredom with the election and lack of policy initiatives and all of that.  I mean, you could be a genius and have understood all that was going on and just have been sick to death of it (like me).   Which means tonight you’ll be back to normal and waking 3 times.  Let’s hope not.

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So. Last night. I was ready to go to uni and was just giving you a breastfeed before running out the door. You’re totally used to the night-time routine, so you knew what was going on. Sometimes if I’m too slow (running behind schedule), you come into the bedroom and get on the bed and tell me, “boobie, boobie, boobie” with your sign language to let me know that it is time for boobie. And then when you’re done sometimes you let me know that you’re ready for the next step (going to Daddy to say goodnight), by signing “Daddy” and saying “DaDa” then signing “Goodbye” (waving). So you’re totally on-top-of-it generally. But last night just blew me away.

As we’ve been away a lot recently, and have had a cold/flu that has mutated at least 3 distinct times over the past 3 weeks, your sleep routine at night has got a little outta whack. You’d had a few months of sleeping right through again from 7pm to 7am, but when we went to Sydney and you got sick, you started waking, and because I was by myself, at someone else’s house, tired as I was sick, wanting you to get as many antibodies through my breastmilk as possible, and finally wanting you to just put on some weight due to the whole failure to thrive thing, I started feeding you in the middle of the night again to settle you quickly. And it was cold, so snuggling in one bed with you and co-sleeping again was nice (though yes, I didn’t get that much sleep as you are a little wriggly sleeper). Anyway, you’ve continued to be sick, we’ve gone away again, and it’s been cold at night, so the thought of going through the three nights of pain it would take to train you not to wake in the night again (we’ve been through it a few times now. It works, it takes 3 nights, but it’s still a hard 3 nights) wasn’t that appealing. So we haven’t done it yet.

Last night however, I thought I’d let you know as you were finishing your bedtime feed that I wanted you to sleep right on through.

Me to you: “Come on, have a little bit more boobie.  Because tonight I want you to have a big big big sleep.  No waking up in the middle of the night.  You need to eat some more boobie now so you can sleep all the way through the night and not get up until the morning.”

You: Pull off the boob.  Look at me.  I can almost see your thought process through your big eyes.  Then, signing, “Raining, Sing”.  “Raining, Sing”.

Me: “Yes, it is raining, can you hear the rain?”

You: looking a little frustrated. Trying again, this time with more vigour.  “Raining, Sing.  Raining, Sing”.

Me: “Ah, got it!  You want me to sing the ‘It’s raining, it’s pouring’ song.  Ok.”  I sing the song.  Then get to the last line “He went to bed and bumped his head and couldn’t get up in the morning“.

Then it dawns on me, you’ve managed to put two-and-two together and find an association with the word “morning” to let me know that you understood…  You do this a lot at the moment, randomly walking up to adults talking around you when they say a word you know (maybe in passing conversation with another adult, not to you) and signing the word like mad to let them know you were listening and understood (like “Bush Turkey”. You’d be surprised how much this comes up in conversation, but it does, and you let out a big roar and make a sign every time, chasing them like your dad taught you).  But this association of a song and a word is the first big leap I’ve noticed.

You: totally excited, smiling and laughing, knowing that I got it.  You madly sign, “more, more” when I finish the song.

So we sing a few more times until I let you know that is enough, and you tell me that’s ok by signing, “Daddy, Bye”.  So we go out and say goodnight to Daddy, I put you in your cot with your muslin wrap comforter, then close the door saying goodnight.

And you sleep all the way through to 5:45 am, when you wake up for a feed before sleeping again until 7.

What a perfect child!

Let’s hope it lasts!!!!

love you

mum

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   My little signer: mumma, I want to go sleepy!

Yes, you’re having your morning nap and I’m taking the time out to write.  Because I am blissfully rested

Three days ago I was exhausted once again, from the combination of the flu and you waking up four times a night.  And I just decided and said to your Dad,

“That’s it.  Poogie slept through for months.  Right from when he was about six weeks old until about a month ago.  I’ve had it.  He hasn’t been having a growth spurt for a whole month… He is now over his flu so is sleeping and feeding perfectly well.  And he slept through for so long before that I know he can do it.  And he is eating two square solid-food meals a day.  Enough.  I need my sleep.  Tonight if he wakes we are just going to try to settle him and get him back to sleep without feeding him.”.   ..

Tentatively, your Dad, “Ok…”  Pause.. “I’m just remembering what G&J said about T learning to sleep through at six months, and how it was 3 nights of pain and no sleep while G nursed him back down each time he woke.”…

Me: “We can do it”.

Did I ever mention just how much I need my sleep??? Me: no sleep, emerge crazed automaton manic woman.  Can you imagine automaton and manic combined?  Think sci-fi-horror film character with wayward curly crazy hair.  You’ve got it.

So.  First night.  1.12 am.  Crying from your room.  I put the pillow on my head.  Ten minutes later soft crying has escalated to loud crying.  Your dad gets up.  Here we go, I think, he’ll nurse you back down.  Pillow on head.

1.13 am:  30 seconds has gone by and your dad comes into the room with you and puts you in the middle of the bed between us, you keep crying and do the automatic ‘search for boobie’ reflex thing you have going when you’re half asleep and crying.

me: thinking, “C, did you even try to settle him???  30 seconds really isn’t long. Oh well, your Dad isn’t the best in the middle of night.  He’s good early in the morning, but between 11 and 2am not so great. “  Pick you up.

your Dad: “Are you really going to not feed him? Mmm. ZZzzzz”

1:14-1:36 am: So I got you up, bounced you around for a bit until you stopped crying, tried to rock you to sleep for 15 minutes.  Got sore legs. You were awake but happy.  So I put you in your cot and went back to bed with the pillow on my head.  Without using my boobs at all!

1:36-1:48 am: resting with pillow on head.  Noises in your room escalating.

1:49-1:55 am: retrieve you from your cot where you are once again crying.  Repeat bouncing motion.  Settle you.  Hear door opening as your Aunt gets home and think, “Damn, the front door waking the baby again, this just isn’t going to work”…

1:55 – 2:10 am:  More bouncing…  Stick you back in cot.  Return to my bed.  Again, no use of the boobie at all

1:56 am: put pillow on head, think “mm, there is a lot of ‘talking’ going on in the cot, I bet I’m going to have to feed him”

1:58 am: pass out.

….

6:20 am: wake-up to baby talking in the next room…

Yippee…

Three days on…

And you’ve now slept through perfectly for four nights.  And I’m becoming more and more sane by the minute.  Scratch that.  I’m becoming more and more like my usual self by the minute.  Woot.

I think you woke on the second night, and your dad gave you a bounce and you went back to sleep.  And the third night I heard you, but you just did a little talking at around 3am and then went back to sleep.   Apparently you woke up last night and did a little crying.  But I just slept on through, and your dad said you were asleep again by the time he went to the bathroom and came back.

You seem to have adjusted your feeding accordingly too – back to your old HUGE feed, followed half and hour later by another HUGE feed, just before you go down for the count.

so, excellent work buddy.  Please keep it up.  This is a GREAT Christmas present.  Thank-you!!!

love mum

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   my baby is 4 months old!! Friday napping. And on sleep in general.

so, it was very apparent from your facial expressions yesterday evening that Farex (rice cereal for babies) mixed with breastmilk is NOT as appetising as avocado.  In fact, I think your Aunt and I can quite confidently say that you thought it tasted disgusting and weren’t at all sure why the hell we even tried to feed it to you.  Screwed up your face and pushed it out with your tongue and gave me a “what the hell do you think you are doing to me, Mum?” look.

Righto.  So I adjusted.  And mixed some avocado in with the disgusting-smelling mixture.  There was no way I was going to taste it myself (which doesn’t vouch for me feeding it to you does it? Maybe I should have a rule that if I wouldn’t eat it then I won’t feed it to you? Sounds fair – though at some point I will feed you meat that your dad has made, but I won’t eat).  Anyway, you did decide to eat the mixture of rice cereal, breastmilk and avocado.  Not as voraciously as you attacked the plain avocado.   But you got a substantial amount down.  In fact, at least a quarter of an avocado and maybe two tablespoons of rice cereal and boobie milk mixture.

you're not as keen on this foul mixture. not surprisingly!

We’ve also been experimenting with sippy cups.   C told me that you are supposed to try to drink 30ml of water with each ‘solid’ foods meal.  First cup was insulated and you have to suck on it pretty hard to get the water to flow out.  It will be fantastic when you’re a bit older and used to a sippy cup, but for now it was a bit too big of a learning curve.  Next cup was just a tip and the water flows out the three little holes without having to suck at all.   Your bumbo ended up with a pool of water in the bottom of it.  Good thing you were naked.   Third cup was a winner – a soft rubbery part for your mouth, that you have to suck on a little to get the water to flow out, but not too much.  Still a lot of water spillage, but less choking-action (cup two) and more drinking-attempt-action.   So you managed to get some water down too.  You preferred it when the water was warm.

getting food with mum

Otherwise?  Well, I haven’t been to mum’s group for weeks due to the lack of ability to walk/drive, but have kept up with the emails.  It seems a few of the four-month-old babies are going through a whingey, unsettled phase.   You are a little.  Trying to get you to sleep at night has become a battle where you scream for a good half to full hour each night.  So two nights ago your Dad and I instigated renewed effort to settle you into a night-time get-ready-for-bed routine.   I’m not the best at routines, so it’s not 100% the same each day, but better than before.  New tip, back to swaddling you and having lots of quiet, ‘chill-out’ time in the hour leading up to 7pm.  So far, SUCCESS!  A little grizling but not the screaming tantrums of the past week.  I think we were just letting you get too tired before putting you down.

righto. Must run. you have awoken and need to eat some food.

love mum

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sleeping or not sleeping – it all happens in our house

after an atrocious day of not sleeping so well yesterday, you’re now sleeping.  Well, I lie.  You just woke up.  But I’m good here on the couch as your stellar Aunt Reegs has just gone in to get you.  And in tow is your friend G.  She’s two and is very keen to get to know you better after meeting you a few weeks ago.  So I suspect that I may be ok lying here on the couch and tap-tap-tapping away while I have the opportunity.  Full kudos again to your Aunt Reegs, who is looking surprisingly refreshed for a woman who crept in the door after 4am after a night of dinner, drinks and gay-star talent competition-watching and then manic dancing at Brisbane’s best and brightest gay venues with friends.  She is now up and looking after you, after getting me food, hanging out the laundry, and all the other sundry domestic tasks that I just can’t do with a broken ankle.

cackles

The trick you seem to be working on at the moment involves your voice. Specifically the modulation of your voice’s volume. We have been greeted with squeals of glee when you’re laughing – much like a cackling wizard. And howls of, well just howls of noise. And varying degrees of growls. Usually you growl when you’re hungry. But not anymore. Growls are ok whenever. And at whatever volume. Its all good fun.

cankles

I hate my ankle boot. It is not comfortable and when my foot is elevated causes me to lose feeling in my toes. Not great. And it woke me up about 58 times last night from the lack of toe feeling-pain. Have rung doctor. They suggest it’s too tight. Too tight. I’m not an idiot. Of course I’ve checked that. …… Grump grump. I shouldn’t have bothered ringing them. I guess the boots aren’t designed for comfort. ….Bah.

baby sign language and excitement

I’ve decided after speaking to a few mums about it at the Australian Breastfeeding Association meetings, and hearing various anecdotes from friends and family who’ve seen it in practice, that Baby Sign Language has a bunch of benefits and that you should try to learn it. Your dad and I both think it will be fun trying, even if it takes a while! And so I went on to the most wonderful library service of any city I’ve ever lived in: The Brisbane City Council library, and found four books on it. Clicked on them to reserve to my local library. And Voila! A few days and $1.50 or so later, they have arrived. Your dad got them for me yesterday and I’ve been reading the introductions in them and comparing. More posts to come… But Poogie, get prepared, I’m thinking about which signs to start with and you’re going to be subjected to my and your dad’s attempts at signing. I know that you don’t have full control of your hands yet, and have only just started to notice your feet, but I think if we start now then you’ll get there at some point, and by then your dad and I should know a fair few signs. I’ll keep you updated

the sign for baby

Love and kisses (you love kisses and do the standard baby open-mouth version)
mum

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