Sleeping Beauty: One Tired Parent Gets Sleep

Holy schmoly it's been three (yes 3!!) weeks since this Mumma put her child back to sleep without the helpful aid of Thelma and Louise, aka Mummy's Milk Bar, aka Mrs Funbags, aka Mole Hills formerly known as Mountains.

You read that correctly my dear readers, I haven't breastfed E back to sleep in three weeks and we are on track to achieve a solid 12 hours sleep - Teach and me that is!

You're all well aware of the trials and tribulations Teach and I have gone through in the past 12 months. Sleepless nights. Constant waking. Not to mention one attempt after another to cut the apron strings, give a little tough love and teach E to sleep without my help. Pffft! Silly me for trying, right? Why would E want to learn how to sleep when he had access to the 24hr Milk Bar with no running tab! It's every man's dream.

Oh, yeah! We were rockin' and rollin' all night long, hoppin' and boppin' and singin' a song. Only after weeks on end of rockin' every half hour, this Little Mumma and her Big Boppa needed to hang up their dancin' shoes and pack away E's party supplies.

But I was petrified. How on earth do I make the change? Can I stop feeding E at night immediately or do I wind it back slowly? How do I know he'll be OK?

I couldn't read any more books telling me what works for other Mothers. I appreciated hearing the various case studies, but I desperately need to talk to someone about my situation and gain tailored advice. So I contacted Jo Ryan from BabyBliss for a half hour telephone consultation and hung up feeling empowered, confident and committed to making a change.

Teach and I discussed what Jo recommended and both felt it was the best thing to do for all of us. Before we put it in motion, we told E.

I don't know why I felt this part of the process was important, but Teach and I agreed that we should prepare him as well as we could. He understands other topics we talk about like birds, cars and books so why wouldn't he comprehend that Mumma wasn't going to bring Thelma and Louise out at night anymore? I wrote down Jo's advice and over several nights (between the half hour wakes) he would hear that the end was nigh but everything would be OK. 

E took to the changes like Russell Brand takes to a pretty blonde girl. Very quickly and with 100% enthusiasm.

On the first night he obviously vented his anger and frustration, but we made our way through it and surprisingly had a good night sleep - at least four consecutive hours. Bliss!

From that moment we haven't looked back. But don't hate me just yet, E will still wake once or twice at random times during the evening, but who doesn't? It's almost as if he wakes to make sure we know he's there, then he rolls over and promptly returns to sleep like the amazing little man that he is.

Woo Hoo!! Three weeks and counting. I can feel a girls night coming on!

In all seriousness, our sincerest thanks to Jo for her support, guidance and encouragment. We couldn't have done it with out her.

Happy 1st Birthday Mummies!

A little over one year ago I decided to take the plunge and join a Mother's Group. You might remember the high levels of anxiety I felt before I finally signed up to a group. Convinced I'd have to suffer through hours of sipping green-tea infusions, always having to dress in my Sunday finest and wear a full face of make-up just to join the ladies at the park, I was a nervous wreck by the time I made it to our first play-date.

Ok, so I might have sipped a few Flat Whites here and there (c'mon I love my coffee!) but overall I've had a delightful time getting to know approximately 35 other Mummies, watch our children develop and revisit places in Brisbane I'd forgotten existed since the day a small child was born, promptly attached itself to my breasts and called the shots in my life henceforth. 

To celebrate our special milestone and give ourselves a little pat on the back for surviving one year, we recently got together for a BBQ lunch and drinks in the park. Despite the rain, a great afternoon was had by all.

 

 

Here's to another year! 

Swing Time

E's favourite thing to do in a park is playing on the swings with Mum (or Dad!). He will slide down the slippery dip a hundred times, play in the sand pit and crawl through tunnels, but as soon as he sits on our lap for a swing he laughs and laughs. You know that adorable chuckle toddlers have that is so contagious you can't help but laugh along too and feel all warm and fuzzy inside?

Sometimes a 5 minute visit to the playground and time on the swings can be the difference between making it through the day happy, calm and content...or not - and that's just me!

The Games We Play

Is the hand brake off?

Peekaboo is E's favourite game at the moment. He knows to sit behind the curtains in the living room and wait until Teach or I start calling out for him. We play it up of course and call out the required, "Where is he?" until you hear him giggle. He chuckles so much his little legs lift off the ground because he thinks he's the smartest little person for fooling Mummy and Daddy (well, he's right!), then as if by magic he appears again with a smile as wide as a see-saw. Gotcha!

We all know entertaining a toddler can be tiresome, but somedays there's nothing I love more than crawling under fun-size tables (my polite way of saying small), playing trucks and peekaboo 1,000 times because his heart-warming laugh and hugs of appreciation are not worth swapping for all the Tea in China. 

E's other must-play games with Mum and Dad are singing and dancing to Justine Clarke (a CD I will buy every new Mum from now on as it has saved us A LOT), climbing over cushions on the floor piled up like a mountain and rolling off, pushing his Tonka trucks across the room, spinning the wheels on said trucks, rolling a bouncy ball back and forth and generally playing with anything that makes a noise.

You name it - or hear it - and we've got it but cars, trucks and trains are his never-fail pick of the bunch everytime. He even makes a Brrrrrrrrrrrrrroom noise like a car engine when he flips the pages of his books about cars and trucks...he loves them that much! :)

But we're now slowly coming to a stage where he's seeking more. So I'd love to know, what games do you like playing with your little one? Got any tips for home-made games for that 1 to 2 year old age group?

I'm very keen to hear how other Mums and Dads play, learn and grow with their Bubbas.

Buddhism for Mothers and Me

Confession: Allowing myself time out from being 'Mum' is something I struggle with.

This realisation delightfully hit me up side the head recently when I tried to enjoy lunch with two of my closest friends. We only had one hour to summarise and share news from the previous month over toasted sandwiches and flat whites, but I felt like I couldn't even achieve that. 

While I fed myself with one hand, I cleaned up spilled drinks, picked up toy cars and generally juggled E with the other. No matter how hard I tried to concentrate on the conversation and spend time with my friends I couldn't relax.

E learns to play the drums

Entertaining our sick little monkey

E has been suffering from a cough and cold for the past week or two. If his nose isn't pouring like a tap, he barks up a cough loud enough to scare our neighbour's dog. Either way, there has been a never ending cycle of snot and saliva running from our little monkey at some stage during the day...and night for some time.

Despite his flu like symptoms I know in my heart of hearts that he isn't sick enough to warrant a visit to the doctor but he's too sick to risk picking up more bugs from the park or daycare, so Teach and I have been coming up with ways to keep him (and ourselves) entertained in the house.

The other day we decided to teach him how to play the drums. Homemade drums to be precise. His new instrument consisted of three stainless steel mixing bowls from the kitchen cupboard, a wooden spoon, a whisk, a saucepan lid for a symbol and a tupperware container full of rice for extra sound effects.

He had a ball discovering the many different sounds he could create. He found out which items make loud noises, which ones make really loud noises and the unbearable noise Mum makes when they are all dropped on the kitchen tiles at the same time....I'd compare the latter to a cat screaming as she gives birth to a cow. Neither pleasant nor pretty.

Following our success with the drums (and after a cup of tea to calm my nerves), Teach and I decided to slow down on the toy buying bonanza for his first birthday (just around the corner) and create a new instrument from kitchen utensils each week. I'm not sure if this decision was made more for E's enjoyment or ours, but it beats the singing the flu blues!

What have you created for your little ones to play with at home?

Well, Hark the Herald Angels! What a Week...

This week has been one of many firsts for our little family. From shopping for E's first Christmas Tree, to swims at South Bank and playing in the sprinkler, to crawling from one end of the house to the other (yes, all of us at some stage), this week has been one of great significance in our young family's life.

It started off like many others - very early and filled with endless cups of coffee from the cafe recently opened in our neighbourhood.

We decided to use this time before Christmas to do all the chores I didn't manage to get done while Teach was at work (read: forgot because lazybones here watched to many re-runs of Grey's Anatomy).

First stop: Christmas Tree! I really wanted to get into the spirit of our family Christmas, which to me means, a fabulous tree (if budget allows for it) and decorations to deck the halls.

Teach always had a real tree growing up and wanted to continue the same tradition for E, so we made our way to Hawkins to select one of their finest. Ok, maybe it wasn't their finest (how do you say 'Ka-Ching' in Tree?) but it's fine enough for our place. 

It's not the size but what you do with it that matters.

The decorations are sadly lacking, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?

You might have noticed summer really stepped up to the plate after several days of faux winter weather this week. To celebrate (and escape our hot box) we packed the beach bag and took E to South Bank for a splash in Streets Beach. It's one of my favourite spots in Brisbane because it's close to the city, shops, cafes, galleries and other attractions, but most importantly, it's free.

E had a ball! It was one big bath tub to him. Splashing, kicking and playing. He would've stayed there for hours if the rain clouds didn't loom large and threaten to destroy our lovely afternoon.

Loving the water at Streets Beach

Inspired by his obvious love of the water, we decided to set up a sprinkler in the back garden and play under the hose like we did as kids. E was a bit shocked at this cold wet stuff splashing him in the face at first, but loved it eventually. The blow-up ball Teach was given as a Secret Santa gift came in very handy for our "pool party."

A boy always needs a ball.

Then yesterday, our little man, who has been trying to crawl for several weeks finally took off on all fours. Slowly but surely, he let one knee follow the other and crawled from Teach to me along the hallway (maybe 2m long) without looking back. It was the proudest moment of our lives!

Not wanting to finish there, a few hours later with a belly full of Mum's brilliant super-charged Boob Juice, he attempted the stairs. With Teach behind him, he went from one step to the next and climbed all the way to the top. We cheered and cheered. Once at the top, his little eyes smiled at me as if to say, 'Ta Dah! Look at me Mum,'. We couldn't stop laughing and applauding his little adventure. That reminds me, I really must buy child-proof gates for the stairs.


It's moments like these when you realise that for all the late nights, crying tantrums and pooy bums (mine and E's), you wouldn't change being a parent for anything in the world.


Merry Christmas to all.
x Sian

Our little Crawler

He's up on all fours then crash! He'll get up on his knees then fall forward on to his face. Splat! He'll use his arms to push himself around in circles and backwards across the floor.

But yesterday, E put it together and moved his little knee forward under his belly as if to move forward then... Boom! Belly dive straight into the carpet. Yes our little man is learning how to crawl and we're very excited. (Though I'm somewhat nervous because our house is a jungle gym waiting to be explored.)

E is nine months old today, so Happy (sort of) Birthday to our beautiful boy.

How Waz Ya Weekend?

Hello. How was your weekend?

Excellent! Sounds delightful.

Mine? Well, E is starting to get up on his haunches in an attempt to start crawling. By the look of his technique I think it'll still be a few weeks away yet, but it won't be long before we'll have to baby-proof the house, re-arrange furniture, books, magazines, kitchen appliances etc... to make it more child friendly. Eeek!

We've also got internal stairs in our place, so the task of setting up child-proof gates at each end will not yield favourable results. I can NEVER work those useless things!

Yes, I'm a fun-size adult, but an adult nonetheless. You'd think I'd learn after the second or third attempt to open the wretched gate (friends of mine have them and I HATE, yes HATE, the sight of them), I could just climb over it instead of standing there fidgeting with the awful, never-bloody-works latch, making a complete fool of myself. Knowing my luck, E will catch me trying to open it one day, pull himself up and flick it open with his tiny little fingers just like he's learnt to turn the television on an off.  Grrrr...

Unfortunately my baby boy has had a bad fever for the past few days and taken the opportunity to live each day in a wonderful I-Only-Want-To-Be-Held-By-Mother mood. So I'm afraid this post comes to you with a serving of deep fried Energy Levels, a super sized cup of Can I Give a Damn and a delicious side order of Get What You're Given and Like It - a meal Teach is not fond of at all...I wonder why?!

To make it up to you, please enjoy this visual feast I have lovingly...cough...prepared.

Tea cup in a frame...Adorable.

Clever framing.

Yummy

This would make great wallpaper for E's room.

It's no longer Winter, but I could really go a hug mug of goodness right now!

In Other News: Anyone who previously subscribed to receive emails when this blog was titled 'Be Lost in Thought' will need to resubscribe to 'This Beautiful Life'. My apologies for any inconvenience.

Best,
Sian x

Presents for Baby

A close friend of mine is expecting her first child in January. I'm soooooooooooo excited for her because I can completely relate to where she's at during this magical time....besides that, I know her and her husband will adore being parents.

Since we discovered she had a bun in the oven, I've been racking my brain trying to decide on the perfect gift to welcome Baby to the world, but I'd also like to acknowledge this beautiful time for the new parents. Dilemma. Do I get something personal for my friend, a gift for Mum and Dad or a trinket for the new bub? Perhaps all of the above?

Sleep Training: One Tired Parent's Diary - Part Two

Well it seems our endeavour to teach E how to self-settle during the night has ended before it really began...

I'm not sure if it was my initial resistance (covered by cocky confidence), levels of anxiety or desire to sleep and 'deal with it later' that overcame me, but I woke up today vowing to find another solution. Anything must be better than hearing my darling boy cry. In short, I gave up.

Sleep Training: One Tired Parent's Diary

After more than four months of E's constant night waking - ranging from every 4 hours to every hour - Teach and I have decided to try and teach E to self-settle during the night.

Self-settling is also referred to as Controlled Crying (CC), Crying it Out (CIO), Sleep Training (ST) and Controlled Comforting (again CC). No matter what you want to call it, it's a controversial subject. Many wise women before me *cough* have prepared papers on the pros and cons of CC, some declaring it causes psychological harm on the child and instils a sense of abandonment. Others say allowing a baby to cry and fall asleep on their own (without being fed, rocked, nursed etc...) will not harm them in and infact could teach children resilience.

Shopping aint what she use to be!

Shopping has always been enjoyable for me. Ever since I earnt my first pay packet, the first thing I do is decide which clothes I have to have then race out and get 'em. It seems money burns a massive hole in my pocket and if I don't spend it immediately it'll vanish. Because of this, clothing became my drug. The more I had, the more I wanted. It was mine, mine, ALL MINE (insert evil laugh here)!

A Baby's Point Of View

Mamamia is a fantastic website featuring stories/columns on everything from relationships, careers, gossip, news, travel, food, parenting and general wellbeing. I love receiving the Daily Update in my Inbox - sometimes more than once - and reading what Mia Freedman and her contributors have to say. 

Today, I found this fantastic story by Richard Glover highlighting several rebuttals to the very popular book Go the _____ to sleep! Richard sheds light on why some tiny tots across Oz can't sleep.