Manic Weeks!

Well, things are certainly never dull around here.

In the last week -

* Both children have had the 'flu. Brad now has a sore throat too.
* Ryan has cut 4 teeth
* We are dog-sitting for my Mum, who has travelled to Brisbane to be with Nan; and
* my Nan (who is 90) is currently in hospital awaiting test results.

So sorry for the interruption to your regularly scheduled programs! I have a couple of great organising tips that are planned to blog about soon.... when I can organise the kids to both have a nap at the same time and let me do some blogging!

Hope your homes are a bit less crazy than mine, at the moment.

Sweet Dreams!

I am doing a happy dance today -- Ryan slept through from 7.30pm to 6.30am last night! That is the first time either of my children has ever achieved the 'sleeping through' goal, which I was beginning to think was just a myth!

It is totally unreasonable of me to expect that this might become a regular occurrence, or even "the norm". But I have been working towards it....

* shortening night feeds - slowly down to a 5 minute feed, quick burp and back down in the cot while he is awake.

* using a heater - because Ryan is starting to crawl, he squirms out from under the blanket and was waking up cold. A small fan heater in the corner of his room, which runs intermittently through the night has worked really well for this.

* prayer and more prayer! Actually, I have also been praying for Naomi to start to learn better sleep habits, but so far no joy there. But thank you to the Lord for His goodness!

No doubt I will be back to bleary-eyed tomorrow after getting up to Ryan several times during the night, but it sure is nice to day-dream that this might become a habit!

Tuesday Tips for Mum - avoiding tantrums

I had a couple of practical tips that I was going to write about today, and link up to Kimberly at Raising Olives. But as I was hanging out cloth nappies this afternoon, one particular thought kept running through my head, and it was about poor behaviour in young children - and mine, in particular!

It occurred to me that I have been seeing Naomi in one particular position recently - flat on her back, making whingey noises, crying. **Lightbulb moment** These are classic tantrums!

One of the best pieces of advice that I can give to mums of young children is to remember that MOST bad behaviour stems from a few basic issues. The child is usually one (or more) of:

• Tired;


• Hungry;


• Out of their usual routine; or


• Out of their comfort zone.

I find it helps me to keep my patience with the whining, crying, disobedience etc, if I remind myself to look for the cause, instead of just getting frustrated with the result.

If Naomi misses her nap, or has an early sleep, you can bet that by 3pm she would try the patience of a saint (and, as you know, patience is not a virtue that I possess in great quantities).

If she is hungry, there is the constant nagging and nagging and nagging (...) for something that she knows is a treat, or that I have already said 'no' to.... a million times.

I also found that, when we had daycare children coming into our home, Naomi needed to have regular intervals during the day when she could play by herself for 10 minutes. If she was constantly crowded, or having toys taken away, games interrupted by other children, etc, that was when she started biting (gulp. Yep, she was a biter. Thankfully, no longer an issue).

So my real tip here is to figure out the things that CAUSE the difficult behaviour in your kids, and try to avoid those situations. Do your best to encourage sufficient sleep, at the right time of day. Schedule regular meals and snacks, and try to get them to eat enough at meal times to avoid the hunger pains in between times (at least until they are old enough to open the cupboard door and get their snacks themselves!!).

With the coming of our sweet Ryan, (now 12 weeks old!), our home routine has been thrown out the window. The consequence has been a serious back-slide in Naomi's behaviour. But tomorrow is a new day - heck, the next hour is a new hour! If I try to get back to basics and have regular meals and naptime, hopefully we can pull things back together around here, too.

It's a tough life ...

but some baby has to do it, right?

Ryan fell asleep while looking at the toys hanging above his play mat, the other day. And just a few minutes ago he drifted off while having his 'tummy time'. I know about the risks of kids sleeping on their tummies, but I am right here beside him and I have a firm 'let sleeping children lie' policy.

Oh, how wonderful it would be to sleep like, well, a baby!

Tuesday Tips for Mum - Baby sleep tip

Kimberly at Raising Olives is hosting a new blog carnival, called Tuesday Tips for Mum. It is all about passing on those hard-learned gems of inspiration, ideas or tried and true tips that may help all (or even one!) of us mums make it through the day (or night) that little bit more easily.

My tip is about helping a sweet little baby sleep better. Ryan is treating me wonderfully, and usually sleeps through until around 1am, when he wakes for a quick feed. I then want him to go back to sleep quickly too. But after having been warmly snuggled in my arms and nursing on warm milk, I was then putting him back on sheets and blankets that had gone cold in the chilly night air -- and expecting him to sleep!

I know that I hate getting into cold sheets - so why expect the baby to be any different?? My solution is to keep a hot water bottle wrapped in a blanket, beside the bassinet / crib. When I pick him up to feed, I slip the hot water bottle in where he was, and tuck the blanket back down over it. Just like they have seat-filler people at the Oscars, Ryan has a stand-in (or would that be lie-in?) baby, as it were!

When I put him back in, I take the hot water bottle out and he is snug and warm in his cocoon again.

Head on over to Raising Olives for more great parenting tips.

Bliss is...

a long nap, on a warm afternoon.

A friend mentioned to me that she had read that children may sleep better when they are in the same room. I was a bit sceptical but the proof is in the pudding (or the snoring, in this case!). My cat-napper Naomi has been asleep for nearly 1 1/2 hours, without me lying on the bed with her (totally unheard of). Maybe the little snuffles and squeaks that Ryan makes are just enough to make her subconsciously believe I am there?

Whatever the reason, I am enjoying the peace and quiet!

Seventeen in the bed....

And the little one said... "Roll over, roll over"

So they all rolled over and one fell out...

Is it any wonder she sleeps so badly when there is hardly room for Naomi in the bed?!?! Ha ha ha... only kidding, this photo was taken straight after we made her bed up with clean linen, and she decided to take all her dolls and animals off the shelves and tuck them in. It was too cute to pass up on the photo opportunity!

Sleep negotiations

Conversation held in Naomi's bedroom last night:

Mummy (as tucking in and giving hugs and kisses) - "Naomi, if you sleep all night in your bed, and don't come in to wake Mummy up, in the morning I will give you sticker. OK?"

Naomi (nestling under blanket) - "Mmm?"

Mummy - "So stay in your bed, and don't wake up Mummy, for a sticker tomorrow."

Naomi (clearly thinking about this concept) - "OK.... wake Daddy".


For the record, she came in and woke me up 3 times, needing to be put back into her bed. No sticker was given this morning.

Does anyone have any ideas for getting a toddler to sleep through? She doesn't wake up crying - she just wakes up, and requires me to be lying on the floor next to her bed, before she will go back to sleep. She has a nightlight, soft music playing, her drink bottle available, etc etc....... I am exhausted, and very worried about what we will do when the new baby comes in 2 months time.

The Terrible Transitions

Terrible two's?? Ha ha ha.... I laugh in the face of such things.... because we are stuck deep in the middle of what I have now termed the "Terrible Transition".

Naomi has never been the best sleeper. I used to call her the "39 minute wonder". But now we are stuck in a terrible groove that I can't se ehow to break her out of. The dilemma is... 1 nap or 2 per day??

She usually wakes sometime between 3.30am and 4.30am, for a feed, or if I don't feed her, for a cry. Then wake up for the day between 5.30 and 6am (depending on outcome of 3.30 wake up). Ready to crash again between 9 and 9.30 (latest). But only naps for maybe an hour, at the most. And then, she is ready for action. Mostly refuses an afternoon nap and by 4pm is collapsing with fatigue. Then she quite often has 30 - 40 minutes nap around 4.30pm, and wakes up sooooo grumpy that I have to carry her on my hip until dinner is ready, then quick bath and bed by 6.45pm.

The up side is that she then usually sleeps through till that 3.30am wake, because she is so exhausted.

The poor little mite is tired all the time, she is cranky, clingy and fussy. But if I try putting her down for a nap, she screams and screams and screams (you get the idea).

I have been trying to push the morning nap back towards lunch time, and hoping it will get a bit longer, but she just can't make it past about 9.30am, and the whole cycle starts again!

Does anyone have any ideas for transitioning from 2 sleeps to 1?? I am calling on all you experienced mummies out there.... HELP!!

Do you have a nap routine?

I used to be a very organised person... at work. I have never really been organised at home, despite my best efforts. But today I noticed that I have a little routine thing going.

When Blossom's little eyelids drift closed, the first thing I do is go to the loo. Is there any other job in the world where your "co-workers" not only follow you to the toilet, but want to come in with you, and cry if you shut the door?? So I grab a pee in peace.

Next thing is to put the kettle on, and prepare the cup for tea (aaahhhh... the elixir of the Gods). While the kettle is heating up, I do a quick whip around, generally picking up stray blocks, putting the books back on the shelf and even a very brief sweep of the kitchen floor. Once that kettle boils, though, it is relax time for me. I either read, or blog, or just surf and check my emails, while sipping my reviving Earl Grey blend. I figure that a de-stressed mummy / carer is a better mummy / carer, and the rest of the toys can be picked up at any time.

If there is a miracle and the nap lasts longer than my cup of tea, I do try to get a few other things done, but not until I can count the leaves on the bottom of my pretty china cup.

What do you do when your darlings are asleep? Do you have any routines that are essential for preserving your sanity?

Do you like...

how you treat other people in your worst moments?? I have discovered that I do not like it at all.

As background, you should know that I am not a morning person - never have been, never will be. Just ask my dear family. So one of the hardest parts of motherhood, for me, has been sleep deprivation and early morning starts. Naomi has developed this habit of waking at around 5am, having a feed and not going back to sleep. She does it a couple of times a week. And I hate it.

On days that start at 5am, I am the worst grouch in the world, to the people I love the most. Snappy, grumpy, and prickly. And that's how I describe myself - I hate to think what B & N think of me!!!

My current management strategy has been to put Naomi in bed between us, turn my back and try to pretend that she isn't pulling my hair, chattering and climbing all over us. Needless to say, this isn't working. So, I've made a small resolution with myself, to make an effort to at least pretend to smile, on such days. I need to face the reality that I should get up, make a cup of tea and try to face the day, rather than being grouchy and snapping at anyone who comes near my side of the bed -- while knowing that I can't go back to sleep, anyway.

At least then, I may like myself better, even if I am still propping my eyelids open with matchsticks!!

Does anyone have any other tips, for coping with little sleep??

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Have you noticed how, when 4 wakes per night is just how it is every night, it is ok and you can keep getting on with life? But when the miracle occurs and Naomi has 2 nights of only 1 wake up, in a row, and then goes back to 4 the next night, it is so much harder to accept?

I find myself asking - what was different about those nights? Did I do anything differently? Was she more tired than usual? Did she eat a larger dinner? Have her teeth started moving around again last night? My hopes were raised that a new pattern was emerging -- only to be dashed with a return to the reality of night feeds.

And frankly, my level of functioning is slim to nil this morning... and yet I have been doing 4 wakes per night for months!

However, I did come close to another bout of mastitis because of those 2 good nights' sleep -- so perhaps I should be grateful for small mercies and the silver lining of regular wake ups?!? LOL.... there has to be a bright side in here somewhere!! And I am left with the comforting knowledge that she CAN sleep longer - and one day, no doubt, she will.

Physical exertion

I was a fan of Naomi having swimming lessons - now I am the world's BIGGEST fan of baby swimming lessons. We went along at 9.00am, as usual, for her class. This is normally Naomi's morning nap time, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by having her lesson instead. But after half an hour of splashing, kicking, ducking under and watching mummy blow bubbles, a girl is pretty tired out. Soooooo tired out that when we got home, I gave her a feed and she slept for ..... 3 hours!!!! **GASP**

This is totally unheard - Naomi is the Queen of Catnapping. A 39-minute wonder. Her timing is generally immaculate - I have just long enough to do a bit of housework, boil the kettle, make a cup of tea and sit down ... and then she cries.

But not today. I was actually beginning to worry about her, so was checking her breathing every 15 minutes!! LOL --- just couldn't accept that such a dream could possibly be reality! But never fear -- I did not run out of things to be doing while she slept - including finishing my cup of tea (such luxury) and some stitching.

It must have been a very restorative sleep, because this afternoon Naomi has inched her way across the lounge floor (chasing a toy truck that just kept rolling out of reach), and is currently blowing bubbles at me from under the dining table. This is her longest solo expedition to date -- and a reminder that I must 'baby proof' the house ASAP.

A rose by any other name

Because I haven't yet posted about my crafting, here is a little something I finished a couple of weeks ago. My sister Emma is the proficient cross-stitcher, but I managed to get this done within my 1 year time limit for craft projects! Now I am not sure whether to just get it framed and hang in my boudoir (well, the bedroom that I dream of being a 'boudoir'!), or whether to try to incorporate it into something else. I think the framing sounds easiest, and then I have it for posterity, as they say!

On a positive note, after a full day of me feeling like a jersey cow (doing everything I can to increase milk supply), and Naomi feeling like she is being fattened up for Christmas turkey dinner, we had a much better night's sleep - only 3 wakes last night. I gave her a full feed at each (tickling feet, rubbing back, moving arm, coughing -- anything to keep her awake long enough for the second side!), and she slept nearly 4 hours between each wake up. As much as I was determined that the nasty nurse who told me I am not feeding her enough and she is waking up hungry was NOT going to be right, I am afraid the proof is in the pudding ... or the sleeping, in this case. I will not be convinced until it is a definite pattern, but I do feel refreshed and full of energy this morning!

Has anyone else had a small baby that is just hungry all the time???

2 crying-free naps today!! It remains to be seen how long this afternoon nap lasts, but the morning one went for over an hour -- a near miracle for my catnapper extraordinaire! I have been feeding her right before a nap, which all the "experts" say is the wrong thing to do as it creates a feed/sleep association - but frankly, I am a great believer in "whatever works for you and your baby".

Brad and I are in the process of buying an investment house to rent out - quite an undertaking for us, on one income. But it is something we have thought about for a while, and this opportunity came up, so we have taken it. I tell Naomi that we have joined the SKIN Club (Spending Kids Inheritance Now Club) early, but hopefully it will be the start of some firm base for something for the future. We have all our fingers and toes crossed.

I am hoping to sell some handmade baby and childrens clothing on Ebay, to make a little bit of spending money - but so far no hits on the baby dress I posted for auction. It is hard to know whether to post more items and keep trying, or whether to just let it slide as a pipe dream. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right??

A fresh start to my blogging! The past few months have just flown by, and I am only just starting to feel like I may have my head above water again --- well, at least, I may not be in immediate danger of drowning!

Nap time has become the bane of my life - some days its great, she nods off during a feed, and sleeps for an hour. MOST days, though, I struggle for ages to get her to sleep, and then its a 35-minute catnap, at best! Grrrr.... not even enough time to really enjoy a cup of tea and read a chapter of my book. But today she has gone down easily, this morning, so I am hoping for a good sleep. Any nap time tips for a 6-month old would be greatly appreciated!!

Our September wedding is galloping closer and I have to confirm the order of the bridesmaid dresses today - I have been trying to contact the shop for a week, but get ring-outs, or leave messages. Starting to get a bit worried that we will run out of time - but if so, I guess we just shop for something the day before! (Trying to be relaxed about this!)