The Bedtime Story

Pretty much since birth, the little man has been able to express very clearly when it’s time for him to sleep. Unfortunately, he did not come pre-equipped with the mechanisms required to make going to sleep an easy process. He was never one of those babies that drifted off peacefully while drinking a bottle. His eating and sleeping patterns don’t match up in the slightest.

When you add colic and reflux into the mix, putting him to sleep as a newborn was pretty much a nightmare. He had to be swaddled, rocked and patted just so. Eventually, he would give up the fight and fall asleep. We stopped swaddling him many months ago (when we started finding him with his swaddle wrapped around his neck), but the need for rocking and patting stuck – not as easy a feat at 17 pounds as it was at 7.

I read somewhere that you can start sleep training any time between 4 and 6 months. That seems pretty early to me because I don’t feel like babies (mine at least) understand well enough at that point that to get it. But then I started to realize that since the little man gives pretty obvious cues that it’s time for sleep - rubbing eyes, irritability, yawning - maybe it was time to start trying.

So one day, instead of battling the kicking and screaming and pinching, I thought I’d try putting him down in his crib when it became evident that he was ready for bed. I gave him his pacifier, patted his back and then backed far enough away from the crib that he couldn’t see me. He cried a bit, I waited, he cried some more, I went back and patted him again. And then, something miraculous happened. He rolled over and went to sleep. It was amazing.

At this point, the method we use really only works for us about 60% of the time. Other times, the screaming gets so loud and so intense that we just can’t take it. My husband’s success rate is a bit lower than mine because he gives in more quickly than I do, but we’re working on it. Part of me cannot wait for it to work all the time, but there’s a tiny part of me that wants to hold on to those moments when only being in my arms puts him to sleep.

There were three in the bed.....

...and the little one said : WATCH ME ROLL OVER, MUM!!!

Tinysaur has advanced to rolling! I was watching her play under her Sesame Street toy frame the other day, when she reached out, grabbed one of the legs and pulled herself right over onto her front. She then looked up at me with the most surprised look on her face. I swear she was trying to figure out how she did it.

Now she is getting really clever about it - she pushes her toyframe away so she can roll over quicker. And Daddysaur can always tell when she has rolled on her front for most of the day because of the dribble puddles on her playmat.

I am so proud of my little bubba, and she is getting so good at it.

Giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our book giveaway last week!

To celebrate the official debut of Littlesaur, we decided to give one lucky winner a copy of The Happiest Baby on the Block - every parent I know swears by this book to help their little one settle down and sleep peacefully.

To choose a winner, we visited random.org to generate a random number between 1 and 6 (since we had 6 entries)...

...and random.org gave us this winning number:


Lucky commenter #2 was Jessica J.!
Thanks Jessica! Drop us an email at littlesaur@gmail.com and we'll get your book sent out to you!

Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

Four years ago, around this time, I was getting ready for a vacation to Hawaii with some family and friends. Life was pretty good. I had a job I loved, friends I cherished and the only thing missing was a man. I was fairly convinced at the time that I wasn't interested in ever having kids, but I so badly wanted to find Mr. Right that I was looking for him everywhere (on the interwebs, in bars, at work, on vacation, whatever). Little did I know he was right there all the time, disguised as my youngest sister’s sweet friend.

Three years ago, I was wrapped up in a somewhat whirlwind relationship with the man I knew I would eventually marry. One day, it was like a light bulb went on and we went from kind of knowing each other to practically living together in a matter of weeks. I was the happiest I had ever been, even though our relationship was putting serious kinks in my previously free-as-a-bird lifestyle. Oddly, this perfect man of mine’s desire to be a father was starting to change my long held views on the subject of parenthood.

Two years ago, I was newly engaged. We had set a wedding date a year and half in the future and I couldn’t have been more excited to plan my wedding. Also, we were anxiously awaiting the birth of my sister’s baby at the end of the summer. Life was changing so quickly, I think I must have been dizzy. By this time, I knew we would have children one day, but one day still felt pretty far away.

One year ago, I was entering the second trimester of my very unexpected pregnancy. It’s always been said that the women in my family are hyper-fertile, but I never believed it. My husband likes to think it was actually his super sperm, but whatever the case, we were thrilled to be expecting. Our wedding day was rapidly approaching and the enthusiasm I once had for wedding planning had long since worn off. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted nothing more than to be married, it was the wedding I could have done without. I was too busy thinking up names for the baby girl I was convinced we were destined to have.

And that brings us to today. Our little surprise is now a babbling, rolling, teething, 6-month-old little man. Because I grew up in a house full of girls, baby boys are not a species I am extra familiar with. I had no idea that everything in his path is to be kicked, poked, pulled or prodded. I didn’t realize that a man's indescribable need to disassemble things is innate (as is the tendency to throw a fit when they are unable to put them back together exactly right). And most importantly, I never knew that baby boys could be sooooooooooo much fun.

The giveaway is over!

The book giveaway is officially closed! Thanks for participating, everyone - we're announcing the winners on Monday, so make sure you check back in then!

Nappy Rash - What do YOU do?

What with her cold, middle ear infection and the possibility of teething (chewing on everything, pink cheeks, loads of dribble, etc), Tinysaur now has the start of nappy rash! Wow, what a week this has been!!

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The nappy rash started from (what I suspect) her diarrhea from taking the amoxicillin for infection. Last night I didn’t change her nappy between 10pm and 4am and when I got up at 4 to give her a bottle and change her nappy I was met with a slightly pinkish bum. By this morning, though it had gotten worse. So Tinysaur has been rolling around on her play mat all day with her bum out (she absolutely loves this, though I am quite worried as she still has diarrhea....) and the heater blasting away (being winter here I didn’t want her to get cold as well). I have started to use the Herron Castor and Zinc Cream, but am cautious.

So I’m throwing a line out to all you Mums: What do YOU do to get rid of nappy rash? I am dying for any help because although it is only minor at this stage, I want to get it now before it gets worse!!

Tinysaur is Sick!!!

I am blogging quickly while Tinysaur is resting, so excuse the rushed story! Yesterday she was a bit sick with a little cough and a runny nose - by late afternoon it had progressed and she was very upset. Last night we were up every half an hour to an hour to pat her bottom and give her lots of cuddles.

Today, though, she got worse. We took her up to our local hospital around 5:30pm tonight as she was sick all today (runny nose, coughing, general crying) but got worse after the MIL kindly took her while I had a rest.

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After the quickest wait in Emergency I have ever had, the Triage nurse took us into another room and began the routine questioning. Breast or bottle fed? How many feeds today? Has she had any Panadol? Been near anyone recently with the flu? Is she usually this unsettled? (Tinysaur at this point was screaming her head off). Has she been sick lately? Just as the triage nurse asked this question, Tinysaur turned her head away from Daddysaur's shoulder and literally power-spewed all over the floor. Considering she had only had 180mLs of formula all day, it was one of the biggest spews I had ever seen her do!

We were then whisked away to another room out the back where they put the monitor on her for her pulse/oxygen levels. Her pulse and blood pressure was quite high, while the oxygen level was low enough to consider them giving her an oxygen mask. But we changed her position on Daddysaur's lap and it started to increase to a healthier level.

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After the usual temperature test, etc, the doctor then came and saw us. She looked down her throat and in her ears and soon declared that Tinysaur had a common cold coupled with a secondary bacterial infection in the middle ear. So, armed with amoxycillin we were sent home to suction out poor little Tinysaur's blocked nose with a nasal decongestant and administer Panadol (I think that's like Tylenol - for US readers).

Tinysaur is asleep now after I pestered her nose with the decongestant and gave her the amoxycillin and panadol. She is breathing so much easier, and looks so peaceful that I am sorry I did not get the decongestant earlier!! I have put her on her side, propped up with pillows (this is the only way we can get her to stay asleep for long enough) and her nightlight on. Here's hoping tonight will be a little more peaceful after last night's ordeal.

Introducing Littlesaur...plus a giveaway!

Welcome to our new site! Littlesaur is a place for parents to blog about raising their little ones (from newborns to toddlers to bigger kids), full of honesty and humor about the the joys and challenges of bringing up a family. We're always looking for new bloggers, so if you're interested in joining, send an email to littlesaur@gmail.com!

To celebrate Littlesaur's official debut, we're hosting a giveaway of our favorite book for new parents - one randomly chosen reader will win a brand spankin' new copy of The Happiest Baby on the Block:
Dr Karp's simple, practical methods help even the fussiest babies settle down and sleep peacefully, and every new parent I know swears by this book - most of them call it magic!

* * * * *

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us what you think of the new site - and don't forget to check out Pregosaur, as we're having a giveaway there as well!

The Rules...

• only one entry per person, please
• the contest will end this Friday, May 22 at midnight (Pacific Time)
  
• the winner will be announced in a new post on the following Monday - so make sure you check back in!

Crying, crying, crying

On Thursday last week, Tinysaur and I embarked on the mammoth 4 hour trip down to my Mum's for a holiday. Last time I had done this trip was when Tinysaur was only a few months old and it was great: she slept most of the way. I was expecting pretty much the same this time around.

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Well, like the baby she is, she threw me yet another curveball. I have never had a 4 hour trip go SOOO slowly! About a quarter of that trip was spent with me twisted around in my seat (thank God my big Sis came with me for the drive) trying to calm down a cranky unhappy baby. As well as Tinysaur chucking the tantrum of her life (I actually feel pretty sorry for her cos it must SUCK to be facing backwards with no scenery to look at for 4 hours), I had my Sister (mother of two) telling me my baby was 'spoilt' and that I should start doing 'controlled crying' and that I was too edgy when Tinysaur was crying.

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However, the holiday was great - I got to catch up with my Mum and my 3 year old nephew, did lots of shopping and managed to freeze my butt off (why did I choose to holiday to a destination only 40kms away from ski slopes??). But the whole time I was given advice and told that Tinysaur was spoilt, and that I shouldn't hold her constantly and that I should learn to put her down while she is screaming and upset and go back in a few minutes to pat her bottom and teach her to 'self soothe'.

Well after the 4 hour return journey (complete with Tinysaur's constant whingeing, and sobbing followed by deadly silence where she had cried herself to sleep) I dove into my latest collection of library books, including 100 Ways to Calm the Crying by Pinky McKay.

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My personal opinion is this: everyone has differing opinions on whether or not to do 'control crying'. You can find a million books for and a million books against, but in the end it's what YOU as the mother thinks you should do. And what works for others might not work for you. In the end I have decided that the times when I know she is overtired and cranky I will swaddle her tight, put her in her cot and let her cry for 1 minute at a time before going into soothe her. And the other times when I don't know why she is crying: I will give her as much love and cuddles as she needs for her to feel better. And who knows: what worked today might not work tomorrow or next week. But it's all a learning curve, and ultimately: its what you are comfortable in doing with your child - and Tinysaur won't remember when she is older that I let her cry for a few minutes in her cot when she was 4 months old.

Mother's Day

Mothers Day. What a weird and wonderful day that was. I was woken at 5:30 in the morning. Not by Daddysaur with bacon and eggs as I had hoped, but by Tinysaur singing and squealing her lungs out in her cot. Daddysaur was happily snoring away, oblivious to any noise Tinysaur was making, as usual. Funny how he can hear me whisper and ask him if he wants a backrub, yet can't hear the blob yelling at the top of her lungs.... Selective hearing?? Most probably!

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So I got up, and I swear: I was the only mother in the world up at 5:30am with a squealing baby. Well at least it felt like that. So we watched TV and played under her swinging toy gym until 9:30 when Daddysaur finally emerged from his lovely warm bed all refreshed and ready for the day. And while he energetically played with Tinysaur, I slumped on the lounge, looking a mess and wishing it was 7pm and bedtime. But I rang my Mum, wished her Happy Mothers Day and opened my present from Tinysaur and Daddysaur: a framed family photo. How cute!! I love it.

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Lunchtime we met MIL, SIL and BIL at the park for a swing and some fish'n'chips. Got some LOVELY photos of Tinysaur on the swingset... and about ten of Tinysaur with her whole fist in her mouth and dribble from her chin to her toes. Then we went home cos Tinysaur decided to throw the BIGGEST tantrum I have ever heard.

The rest of the day.... I did housework. And it got me thinking: Mothers Day wasn't really a rest for me, but it was nice to have a day just when Tinysaur and Daddysaur could say "thanks for your hard work".

And thanks, Daddysaur, for the lovely bottle of Ricadonna, too. It went down a treat!!!

And then the big brown shark came....

For those of you familiar with Eddie Murphy and Delirious, you may well have guessed where this post is going to take us.

I shall set the scene for you. Yesterday being my first day off from work I have in the week, I slept in with Tinysaur (slept in = awake and squealing at 6:30am). At about 11am we decided to have a shower. Usually I will bathe her in her changetable thingy we have but she was kinda stuffy (I think she may be getting a cold) so I decided to take her into the steamy bathroom with me.

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After quickly washing and making sure the floor wasn't too slippery, I undressed Tinysaur and carried her into the running water. Now, we BOTH love this time. It's the only real bare skin contact I have with her (as she is bottlefed), and we just stand there and cuddle with the water massaging us for a good half-hour. It is truly beautiful and a highlight of my days off.

Yesterday she was kinda windy (not out the mouth - if you get my drift). All of a sudden, all I could smell was really bad baby fart. REALLY bad. So I giggled and lifted her up so I could look in her face and poke my tongue out at her and tease her for farting. Only to discover that a little nugget had attached itself to my arm. No wonder she had been so quiet and extra cuddly.

Shock. Horror. OMG. I have been peed on, spewed on, cried on, and now POOED ON.

So where to go from here? Well - it was a fairly firm nugget (yay for Farex!!) so I'm glad it wasn't too liquid. But that left me with the method of disposal. I was NOT going to mash it down the drain. So dripping wet, juggling baby, and the aforementioned nugget I managed to put it in the bin, wrap us up warmly, and clean off poor little Tinysaurs bum. At the time, it was... unpleasant.... But now I can look back and laugh. And good news: she isn't too stuffy anymore!

A Year Ago Today...

It’s hard to believe that a year ago, I was creeping around work hiding a bump under my jacket (thank God it was winter). On the 30th May 2008, I got the BFP at 11 weeks pregnant. Except mine wasn’t big. It was very faint, and Daddysaur was rather convinced that a FAINT line meant NEGATIVE. Umm... No, darling, it doesn’t. But that didn’t stop me from doing 3 other tests and then going to the doctors for a blood test.

My phone had been on silent all through the doctors appointment, and when I got out of the surgery and checked it I found Daddysaur had tried ringing 36 times. Either he was really scared about the whole deal or really excited. So I rang him with the news, and we both agreed to keep it a secret until the ‘safe’ time – around 12 weeks. This pregnancy was NOT planned, and I think I can pinpoint it to one very drunken night, but we were still uber excited and could not wait.

The next 9 months or so passed quickly – well except for the last 2 months. My due date was set as the 31st December 08, so we were praying I wasn’t going to go into labour at our friends’ New Years Eve BBQ. But the 31st of December came and went, as did the 7th January. Finally, at 42 weeks pregnant, and dying of heat, largeness (my end weight was around 110kgs – and I am normally 75kgs!) and utter impatience, I begged my doc to induce me. After quite a few arguments (a new study came out that very month on how a pregnancy actually naturally lasts 42 weeks, and that we shouldn’t induce) he eventually agreed. Please note that I do not take inducement lightly, but I was running out of maternity leave, being mid-summer it was VERY uncomfortable, and I had horrific swelling of my feet and hands.

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On the 15th January at 5:55am my little angel was born. We had always wanted to find out what she was, but I got the surprise of my life when they pulled her out and she was a perfect little girl. Daddysaur was absolutely smitten, and to this day remains wrapped around her little finger. The birth was not easy, I had such high hopes for a drug-free birth but getting induced sped the labour up from around 22 hours (average labour for first-time Mum) to 5 hours. In the end, I had an episiotomy, and she had no heartrate when she was pulled out as she was very stressed. But I only had gas and a pethidine shot, so I was quite pleased that I had managed with that! Although, I must say: next time I’m seriously thinking about an epidural.

So that's about me. I am back at work, even though Tinysaur is only 3 months old and we are learning constantly about each other. I sit here tonight after struggling for 2 hours to put her to sleep. And I am learning that she likes to be wrapped up tightly like a little fat worm. Whereas when she was born, she hated it. I guess I'm learning that you just have to keep trying different things!

I look back now and realize how naive I was about parenthood. I researched like crazy (working in a library kinda turns you into a nerd) but I was still quite naive about just how physically and emotionally exhausting it all is. But in the same instance, when I am up at 3am trying to put 4 month old Tinysaur back to sleep for the 6th time I really appreciate just how little sleep the human body can function with! And I would not change it for the world. Because although she is really testing me at the moment, every smile, every laugh, every gurgle, every coo makes my heart melt. And when I see her with Daddysaur, it reminds me how important love is to everyone. And there is nothing quite like the love a parent has for their child.

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Great parenting resources

BabyCenter
Parenting advice and tips from baby to big kid.

The Bump
Helpful resources and online forums from conception to 6+ months.

Mayo Clinic
Medical advice on infant and toddler health, plus tips on feeding, vaccines, getting your baby to sleep through the night, and more.

Parenting.com
Full of resources for parents with children of all ages.

Today's Parent
The online version of Today's Parent Magazine.

Know of any great resources you'd like to share? Comment below!

About the blogs

We're always looking for new 'saurs to join the blog and share their journey! You'll need to be:

• A parent of a baby or toddler
  
• Willing to share the details of your journey (even the TMI ones!)
  
• Committed to posting a couple of times per week
• Able to write for an audience (if you currently blog, include a link so we can take a look - it's OK if you don't, you just need the ability to compose a compelling post and keep a reader's attention - include a draft post or two so we can check out your writing style)

If that sounds like you, send an email telling us a bit about yourself to littlesaur@gmail.com - we can't wait to hear from you!

Trying to conceive? Already pregnant? Adopting? Want to blog about it? Get in touch with us at pregosaur@gmail.com

Contact us

Want to get in touch? Send us an email!

littlesaur
littlesaur@gmail.com

pregosaur
pregosaur@gmail.com

What did you say?

Confused by all the acronyms? Here's a short guide to the most common:


BC - Birth Control

BF or BF'ing - Breastfeeding

DC - Dear Child (of either sex)

DD - Dear Daughter

DH - Dear Husband

DS - Dear Son

OB/OBGYN- Obstetrician or gynecologist

PG - Pregnant