Very Crafty....

Pi and I have a game he loves to play. It's called- pulling off and losing my socks. He loves it. Me, not so much.

Apparently socks aren't just for feet, but also tasty snacks- which is probably why they are dripping wet most of the time. They are also extra work for shop assistants that find baby socks in the aisles and madly dash around playing "match the sock to the baby". Thankfully, so far all lost socks have been returned, but I really don't want to trouble the workers any more.

I found a great product called "Sock Ons"






They can be bought off Ebay or Amazon, but between the shipping and the fact the Pi's socks never fit, I thought I would try and make something similar.

Feeling rather crafty (pun intended), I had some elastic around the house that I bought from daiso, and some felt that I bought from the craft store. Taking care not to make them too tight, I whipped these up... They work great.





Now I don't need to play "find the sock" any more.

$$$

Money, money, money... While I didn't get much in the way of bonuses from my work place- no maternity leave pay or anything from the government due to the "creative phrasing" my boss uses for various reasons., we do get the monthly child allowance. In my town (Ninomiya) for one child we get 15000yen a month. Which is great considering that I am breastfeeding. So that covers nappies (diapers), toys, and clothes each month that we buy. It's nice to be able to buy Pi lots of things and justify it (to an extent).

While I knew I was going to receive this money, I didn't know when though. It seems that payments are made at specific times of the year. As I missed the payment date for the first payment and so I was paid 75000yen all at once at the next one (45000yen + 30000yen for the first few months). This lead to a rather happy bonus for us when I checked my bank account one day.

 Mind you, we are being responsible parents and actually using that money for Pi, rather than going out and buying a Playstation. Who on earth has time for games now, anyway?


The payment is called the Jido Teate, and was applied for after the birth of my baby from city hall. I believe the payment is 15000yen/month for children under 3 years of age, and then 10000yen per month for children over 3 years. The first payment period will be calculated starting the month after the applicant is approved to receive benefits. Benefits are paid out 3 times a year, in February, June and October. The amount disbursed will be calculated based on the length of the most recent payment period, and will be transferred directly into the recipient’s designated bank account.

For more information, see this post:

Child Payment

Sitting like a champ

My little man, for the first time, got into a seated position all by himself. I think it was a complete fluke, but still. Yay! Go little fella!

Sleep training- Day 18

Today's naps were a bitter disappointment on the heels of yesterday's naps. Only 30mins each! When I calculated it, it was only 2 hours, or just over 2 hours between naps, so in the future I will try and keep him up a bit more, even when he is grizzly. See if that helps extend the naps...

This is how day 17 looked:

Nap 1- 3 mins to get to sleep- 30 minutes sleep.
Nap 2- 1 mins to get to sleep- 30 minutes sleep.
Nap 3- in prams- 30 minute sleep.

Bed (at 6:11pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep

During the night:

6:45pm- 6 mins to get back to sleep
11:20pm*- 19 mins to get back to sleep
3:54am*- 12 mins to get back to sleep

Awake at 5:30am

As you can see he had a really early bedtime as he was soooo tired.
The day had some crappy naps, but great night sleep! Go Pi-chan!

Sleep training- Day 17

WHEFESNVSFBJSRGIRG!!!! That is my excitement coming out over how fantastic his sleep was today.

This is how day 17 looked:

Nap 1- 1 mins to get to sleep- 1 hour and 37minutes sleep by himself.
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep - 1 hours and 40 minutes- I nursed him at the hour mark and he went back to sleep.
Nap 3- 8 minute to get to sleep- 30 minute sleep- but I woke him up as it was getting late

Bed (at 7:15pm)- 11 mins to get to sleep with one resettle pick up.

During the night:

9:08pm- 4 mins to get back to sleep
12:12am*- 17 mins to get back to sleep
5:12am*-  18 mins to get back to sleep.- only slept for 3 mins before awake for the day

*Feed

Awake at 5:33am

How good were those naps and night wakings, hey! I was so surprised. Needless to say, my boobs were quite painful as he was going about 5 hours between feeds. A bit of an early morning, but he had so much sleep at night I think he was well rested.

Sleep training- Day 16

Well, no new teethies have popped through yet so not quite sure what is going on with the longer wake ups. He did really well for day 16 though.

This is how day 16 looked:

Nap 1- 1 mins to get to sleep- 1 hour and 12 minutes sleep by himself.
Nap 2- 11 mins to get to sleep (he was WAY overtired- over 3 hours)- 1 hours and 43 minutes- I nursed him at the hour mark and he went back to sleep.
Nap 3- 3 minute to get to sleep- 36 minute sleep.

Bed (at 7:35pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep

During the night:

11:00pm*- 15 mins to get back to sleep
2:22am*- 12 mins to get back to sleep
3:37am-  8 mins to get back to sleep.

Awake at 6:22am

I thought I should mention (if I hadn't before) that when I feed him, the time I note that it takes him to get back to sleep is more the time it takes to feed him and then get back to sleep. Most of the time when he is finished and I lay him back down, he just rolls over and goes to sleep. It takes him roughly 15 mins to feed in the night.

How great was that night sleep. Apart from the extra waking, he did so well. Three times a night is a huge improvement on 6 times. Lets hope it continues to get better. I am aiming for two, personally (and then phasing out to once, then none when he is over a year).

Sleep training- Day 15

The good news about keeping such a detailed log... I noticed that when Pi was awake for a little bit longer than the 2 hours, he slept for a longer time. We thought it worth a try to keep him up a little bit longer (even though I tested this theory ages ago) and by gee, it worked (some of the time). Some of the time is much better than none of the time.

We spend the day at the shops today, and Pi was such a great little boy. I love Terrace Mall in Tsujido. They have lots of great shops that I love, like H&M for baby clothes, and Zara, and they also have some yummy restaurants and lots of baby rooms.

This is how day 15 looked:

Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 1 hour and 9 minutes sleep by himself.
Nap 2- In the pram. Took about 10 mins to get to sleep as I tried for about 6 mins in the baby room, but that wasn't working. But then I moved to my secret dark spot in the far stairwell  that has a braille bump, and he was down in 2 mins- 1 hour sleep
Nap 3- 3 minute to get to sleep- 30 minute sleep. He may have slept longer but a screaming kid woke him.


Bed (at 7:04pm)- 4 mins to get to sleep

During the night:

8:00pm- 35 mins to get back to sleep- Possibly teething. No idea. We gave him some Nurofen, just in case.
12:00am*- 15 mins to get back to sleep
1:24am-  32 mins to get back to sleep. We think he may have been teething and gave him some more Panadol, as we don't want to overdose on one.
4:42am*- 16mins to get back to sleep.

*Feed



He had some long naps in the pram and at home, which was so great for him. We have no idea why there are a few long wake ups in there. Maybe teething issues. I wish he could tell us. We stay in the room with him at night if he needs us, and leave when he is asleep.

Sleep training- Day 14

Yes. I am still keeping a log. I figure I will keep it until 21 days (they say it takes 21 days to make a habit) and then take a log every 5 days to compare. In the "No cry sleep solution" they recommend taking a log only every 10 days, so you can see progress and don't focus on the bad nights. However I like to see it more often and like that I can go back over it every few days to see how often he is waking, etc.

This is how day 14 looked:

Nap 1- 7 mins to get to sleep- 33 minutes sleep
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep- 30 minutes sleep
Nap 3- 0 minute to get to sleep- 1 hour and 50 minute sleep- BY HIMSELF!

Bed (at 6:54pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

10:00pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
11:22pm-  1 hour and 52 mins to get back to sleep. We think he may have been teething and gave him some more Nurofen. We had no idea what was going on here. Husband started the settling, but I ended up finishing it as I felt so bad for him. He got back to sleep though, my poor little man. (We were in the room the whole time)
1:55am*- 10mins to get back to sleep.

Awake at 5:38am.

I couldn't believe that he slept the whole time for his third nap, without needing me to help resettle him. It's amazing stuff!

The long wake up during the night left us scratching our heads as to why though...

Sleep training- Day 13

Today, I tried the "out the door" trick. Being I did my usual routine and then walked out and waited outside the door to see if he needed me.... He didn't! I was so surprised. He just rolled over as normal and went to sleep. Wow! I felt a bit bad, not being in the room with him, but he didn't seem to mind.

This is how day 13 looked:

Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 30 minutes sleep
Nap 2- 4 mins to get to sleep- 35 minutes sleep
Nap 3- 3 minutes to get to sleep- 25 minute sleep
Nap 4- 7 mins to get to sleep- 22 minute sleep


Bed (at 6:55pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

11:20pm*- 15 mins to get back to sleep
2:30am*- 14 mins to get back to sleep
2:52pm- 2 mins to get back to sleep - I didn't go in but sang over the baby monitor (we have a two way)
5:00am- 12 mins to get back to sleep- Sang over monitor but it didn't work, so he came into my bed at 5:13 and I nursed him to sleep. Naughty me!

*Feed

For the last nap he cried for a bit. But every time I went to go in, he started calming himself down. I felt really bad, but he got there by himself, and I was standing outside of the door the whole time, waiting for it to escalate to the point where he needed me. 

I nursed him back to sleep in my bed for the last wake up of the night. It is not a habit I should get into, but I loved it so much, and missed it so much! 

Pi slept in my arms until 7:35. So much longer that way!

Sleep training- Day 12

I think we are failing in a way (but in other ways, WINNING). I feel that we are failing as we are still in his room, and pick him up when he cries. So in the night he might still need us to provide the initial reassurance. I say might as we won't know if he needs it until we stop giving it. But I am not ready to not give it though. This sleep training thing for me, I believe, it all about balance. Finding the right amount of comfort but not dependence. I still feel, at my core that he should be attached to me 24hours a day. Husband feels differently, and while he would be okay if I put my foot down and said I needed to do it he definitely prefers having his room,and his wife back a bit more. At the end of the day it was a safety concern as much as anything, and we want to put Pi's safety first.

Thankfully, Pi is adjusting well, and I just try to give him lots of love and cuddles while he is awake to make up for the lack while he sleeps.

This is how day 12 looked:

Nap 1- 4 mins to get to sleep- 47 minutes sleep
Nap 2- Sleep in car- 20 minute sleep
Nap 3- 1 minute to get to sleep- 25 minute sleep
Nap 4- Fussed for 15 mins and then was too late for a nap.


Bed (at 6:22pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

6:54pm- 9 mins to get back to sleep
8:30pm- 5 mins to get back to sleep (Husband did this one)
10:30pm*- 16 mins to get back to sleep
12:00am- 10mins to get back to sleep.
2:02am*- 16 mins to get back to sleep

Awake at 5:35


I get really frustrated when he doesn't have a long nap- and so does he. He gets super cranky now, or maybe I just notice it more. I tried to put him down for a fourth nap (as the first three were so short) but he cried, and next thing you know it was too late for a nap, else it would have messed with his bedtime.

I wonder if he was up so early due to the earlier bed time. I tried resettling, but wasn't having any of it.

Sleep training- Day 11

Wow, past the day 10 mark. The day 10 mark is significant for us, as we decided that at day 10, we would assess the progress (if any) and work out if it is affecting Pi positively, or poorly. We believe that Pi has been affected positively. He goes down without a fuss, mostly, and every time he cries in the night we are straight there to give him a quick cuddle and reassurance (while this might need to change in a week or two). In turn, Pi has been sleeping a little bit better (both night time and naps), and is quicker to fall asleep- which is good for me, obviously, but also good for him, as he is not getting distressed about being over tired and unable to switch his brain off.

This is how Day 11 looked:



Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 47 minute sleep
Nap 2- 6 mins to get to sleep- 28 minute sleep
Nap 3- 1 min to get to sleep- 1hour and 20 mins by himself + extra 40 minutes after feeding and resettle.

Bed (at 6:43pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

*He woke briefly at about 8pm by us, so I am not counting that.
10:25pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
10:45pm- 10 minutes to get back to sleep
1:54am*- 20 mins to get back to sleep
5:02am*- 40 mins to get back to sleep- he was woken by Husband and wouldn't resettle. After trying for 40mins, including nursing him, I took him into our bed to have a cuddle and comfort nurse. He fell asleep for another hour after that.

Awake at 6:42am.

I feel like we are kind of making progress at night. He is taking a long time to nurse at night. He is usually finished in 10 minutes or so in the day. I think I notice it more as I am sleepy and uncomfortable, and though I used to nurse him ALL night (Or it seemed that way), at least I was nursing while I was snuggled in bed with my little boy, so it wasn't as much of a chore (in fact, I kind of miss it...sometimes)

Sleep training- Day 10

After two lovely nights of sleep, he had another really bad night. When I checked on his tooth progress the next day, the tooth next to his recently cut tooth is bulging. No wonder- poor little man. Not sure when this one will cut through, but it looks to be two teeth in the space of a week...


Here is how Day 10 looked.

Nap 1- 3 mins to get to sleep- 1 hr and 32 mins sleep. He did it all himself. No resettle by me!!! :D
Nap 2- 5 mins to get to sleep- 1 hr and 25 mins sleep- He was resettled by me after 25 mins.


Bed (at 6:46pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

10:20pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
11:50pm- 10 mins to get back to sleep (Husband did this one)
1:10am- 27 mins to get back to sleep (I did this one)- I also gave some Nurofen, just in case as he was constantly waking.
2:00am*- dreamfed while he was asleep
3:30am- 30 mins to get back to sleep (husband did this one)
5:58am- 4 mins to get back to sleep.  Then slept for a few minutes before I went in and got him for the day.

As you can see, lots of night wakings. Maybe it wasn't just the teething and because he only had two long naps. I really wanted him to have three and even planned for him to have three, but as we were going back in the house at nap time one of the Obachans (granny) from the neighbourhood had a chat for a while, and then there was a sales man and next time I knew it was way too late to put him down. Because he had two long naps (more sleep in two, than he usually has in four) he was able to stay awake without being to cranky, but I wonder if it affected his night sleep... It might be a bit of discomfort due to the bulging tooth. He didn't have a pained cry though. See how the next few nights go...

Sleep training- Day 9

Pi finally seems to have stopped teething. Or, at least isn't in discomfort anymore. He is back to his usual happy self, and I am very happy to report was sleeping like a champ!

Here is how Day 9 looked:

Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 29 mins sleep-
Nap 2- 7 mins to get to sleep (in pram at shops)- 25 mins sleep
Nap 3 - 13 mins to get to sleep- I nursed him because he was approaching 4 hours and might have been hungry- 29 min sleep + 40 min sleep with nursing resettle.


Bed (at 6:37pm)- 6 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

9:46pm- 16 mins to get back to sleep (took a few pick ups/put downs as he was a bit upset)
1:16am*- Dreamfeed- I don't think he woke up. I can't remember as I am so tired, but I am pretty sure I woke up without him crying, looked at the time and then fed him.
4:55am*- He woke up to Husband's alarm. I nursed him back to sleep as he was due for a feed.


Awake at 6:07- due to neighbour's alarm.

Can you believe that sleep! Go Pi!!!

Sleep training- Day 8

Day 8 caused a re-write of the rules. Little Pi seemed to be in pain, and there is no way that I was going to withhold comfort when he really needed it. Thankfully, Mum also brought over Nurofen, as well as Panadol for Pi, which meant that he could be without pain at night. I read that Nurofen is better for teething (if your baby is old enough) as it is a pain killer (like Panadol) but also reduces inflammation of the gums.

I figure that I would rather plateau or take a step back from sleep training, than push him to settle on his own when he needs me. I want to be gentle regardless, and it is one thing to give a gentle nudge towards better sleep, and another (I feel) to withhold comfort when it is needed.

This is how day 8 looked:


Nap 1- 4 mins to get to sleep- 1 hour and 2 mins sleep- Pi woke up at 6:13, and didn't go back to sleep, so I think that is why he had a longer nap. He might have had even longer 'twere not for Husband and his lack of stealth...
Nap 2- 0 mins to get to sleep- 12 mins sleep- fell asleep in the car.
Nap 3 - 2 mins to get to sleep- 40 min sleep
Nap 4 - 7 mins to get to sleep- 20 min sleep.

Bed (at 6:35pm)- 2 mins to get to sleep!!!

During the night:

8:35pm- 15 mins to get back to sleep
9:10pm- 30 mins to get back to sleep (he only slept for 10 minutes after the last wake up. We gave him some Panadol, and Bonjela again. Poor little man.
12:50am*- ***HE HADN'T WOKEN UP YET*** I woke up and dreamfed him, as he hadn't been fed since 6:15pm and wanted him to have a nice belly full of warm milk and comfy Mummy cuddles. I gave him a dose of Nurofen too, just in case.
4:00am*- 4 mins to get back to sleep. It had only been just over 3 hours, but I figured it was close enough to morning to give him a top up, and wanted him to have the comfort due to teething.


Awake at 6:07.

I was so surprised that he slept- really- until 4am (if you don't count the dreamfeed). I am calling it a fluke for now, but we will see...

Brand new toys!

Today, we went to 'ToysRus' and spent way too much money in one visit. Now that Little Pi is over 6 months, we are finding his toys are getting a little bit boring for him. 'ToysRus' happened to be having a sale, so we bought lots of things. It came to just over 8000yen, but we bought:


 Imaginarium Learning Board Books
 Imaginarium Learning Chunky Alphabet Board Books

 Imaginarium Learning Chunky Number Board Books

Leap frog animal adventure activity centre
 Bruin Inflatable Roller
Yookidoo Musical Snail

Unfortunately, Pi hated ALL of them except the books. The snail, in particular, made him really scared. It is battery operated and plays a really creepy tune as it rolls along.

Still, at least we have some toys for when he is ready for them.

Sleep training- Day 7

The teething has finally begun....!

Which meant that he had his cranky pants on ALL day, and his night sleep was a little messed up. We still stuck with our new plan and it worked so well!!! If Pichan ever got too upset then we still picked him up and comforted him when he needed it. I made sure to give him lots of cuddles in the day and still at night so he felt as comforted as possible, while still allowing him to develop the ability to self soothe.


Here is how Day 7 looked:

Nap 1- 1 mins to get to sleep- 39 mins sleep
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep- 36 mins sleep + 38 minutes after patting and shh-ing back to sleep.
Nap 3 - 4 mins to get to sleep- 25 min sleep

Never did I do more than the initial "twinkle twinkle/good night" speech. Present, but boring.

Bed (at 6:42pm)- 3 mins to get to sleep!!! Only cried for 60 seconds.


During the night:

7:25pm- 3 mins to get back to sleep
10:20pm*- 15 mins to get back to sleep
12:00am- 14 mins to get back to sleep
2:25am*- 33 mins to get back to sleep- maybe teething pain so I gave him some "Bonjela" than Mum brought over from Australia.
4:53am  - 51 mins to get back to sleep. He cried a bit, so after 4 times of the plan, we gave him some more Bonjela and some baby Panadol (also brought from Australia) just in case it was teething pain.



*Nursed at night

He woke up at 6:13, which was only 29 minutes sleep since he last went down. Husband ended up getting up with him, instead of trying to resettle him.

During the night, it was a bit of a rough one. We think it is because of the teeth coming through. Hopefully after it has finished we will see an improvement in the amount of times he wakes up at night.

Sleep training- Day 6

Today, I left the house. Yay! Sounds like such a small thing, but for me it was so nice to get to the shops (even if it is the boring, local ones) and have a coffee and not look at my walls for a day. Little Pi enjoyed it too, and I figured that he had been doing so many of his naps in his crib that it would probably be okay to get out for a bit. I think we both needed it.

Here is how Day 6 looked:

Nap 1- 3 mins to get to sleep- 23 mins sleep
Nap 2- 17 mins to get to sleep- 32 mins sleep
Nap 3 - 4 mins to get to sleep- 25 mins sleep and then another hour and 25 minutes while/after nursing.

Nap two was done in the pram at the shops. I deliberately didn't put on the white noise to see if he would drop off. It took a while of just wheeling him around and sang "twinkle twinkle" twice, but eventually he went to sleep. For nap 3 I didn't do anything though. Just sat in the chair to be present, but boring. It worked much better.

Bed (at 6:39pm)- 25 mins to get to sleep (see below)

During the night:

11:20pm*- 8 mins to get back to sleep
1:26pm- 3 mins to get back to sleep (I actually did this one instead of Husband, as I was so sleepy I thought it was just after the feeding)
3:12am*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
4:12am  - 22 mins to get back to sleep (It took a while, but he was happy, not crying)
4:38am- 17 mins to get back to sleep


At bedtime, I actually let him cry for again. This time it took a while, and it seemed that me talking to him and trying to comfort him with my voice was actually messing with him. He would almost go to sleep, and then I would say "good boy" or something, and then he would start up again.

During the night, Husbands method of settling has been a little too gentle (would pat until almost asleep). We decided we needed consistency and because our voice tended to mess him up a bit we decided on a new plan for all naps/night wakings/bedtime.

****THE PLAN****

We pick him up and cuddle him, sing "twinkle twinkle" once, and say something like "It's time for sleep now. We love you very much and hope you have big sleeps. We'll be here when you wake up. Sweet dreams, little man, nigh nighs". And then lay him down and go sit in the chair silently- so he can still see us, but we are as boring a possible and he knows he must go to sleep by himself. We watch the clock and if he is settling down after 5 minutes then we don't do anything, if he is still crying then we get up after 5 mins and do the exact same thing. Repeat every 5 mins.

*****

It worked spectacularly! He gets a lot less frustrated and after that decision he was often asleep in 5 minutes- even at night. Sometimes he tossed and turned for a bit longer, but no crying.  I don't know if this new plan would have worked if we did it straight away as it is a little like controlled crying but with us in the room, though now that we have been gently pushing him to a point, we are just fading away our presence gradually. We realise that we will also need to stop picking him up (which we will fade out to a pat, and then voice, and then nothing).

We'll try the plan for all of tomorrow and see how he goes.

Sleep Training- Day 5

Pi needed four naps today, as he was so sleepy but refused to go over the 30 min mark. He is getting really bored being at home (I have tried to keep him home to make sure all sleep is in his crib). We go for walks, and out to the park for a bit sometimes, but mostly we rotate between the three rooms in our little house (2 LDK), which needless to say- is hellaboring.

Here is how Day 5 looked:

Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 34 mins sleep
Nap 2- 4 mins to get to sleep- 30 mins sleep
Nap 3- 6 mins to get to sleep- 30 min sleep
Nap 4- 4 mins to get to sleep- 20 min sleep and then another 30 minutes while/after nursing. He would have slept longer than 30 minutes, but it was 5:10pm and I didn't want it to interfere with his bed time.

I didn't need to pat him at all again. I just soothed with my voice and sang "twinkle twinkle".

Bed (at 6:48pm)- 8 mins to get to sleep (see below)

During the night:

10:38pm*- 20 mins to get back to sleep
1:50am- 50 mins to get back to sleep
3:40am* - 20 mins to get back to sleep
5:15am- 5 mins to get back to sleep


At bedtime, I actually let him cry for 5 minutes. After I laid him down for bed he went a little crazy. I sang "twinkle twinkle" as usual and soothed with my voice, but I wanted to see what would happen if I didn't pat him. I set a timer for 5 minutes, with the expectation that if he didn't calm down on his own within 5 minutes then I would help him. But I needed to give him a chance first. I figured I was in the room and soothing him with my voice, so he would know he is not alone.

It worked. By about 4 minutes (though, it seemed much longer) he was settling down, and at 6 minutes, he fell asleep. I felt a bit bad, but figured it's better for him to do it while I am in the room, than in a few days when I am out of the room.

Sleep training- Day 4

Going to sleep for today's naps was amazingly quick! I was surprised at how little he fussed. At night, he only woke up four times (mind you, I am aiming for two). Here is how it looked:

Nap 1- 2 mins to get to sleep- 20 mins sleep and managed to nurse him back to sleep for another 40 mins.
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep- 40 mins sleep
Nap 3- 2 mins to get to sleep- 32 min sleep

I didn't need to pat him at all again. I just soothed with my voice and sang "twinkle twinkle".

Bed (at 6:39pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep- Yep- 0. But that wasn't a good thing. The little man fell asleep on my shoulder as I was cuddling and singing "twinkle twinkle" to him (only twice). The reason this was bad, as naturally when he woke up he was wondering where I was. I have read babies falling asleep in one place, and waking up in another is really disorienting to them. Like us going to sleep in our bed and waking up on the front lawn...

During the night:

8:13pm- 22 mins to get back to sleep- including one pick up.
11:48pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
3:14am - 9 mins to get back to sleep
4:25am*- 35 mins to get back to sleep

The last waking took him a little while to get back to sleep as I remembered that I needed to change him AFTER I nursed him. And his nappy soaked through too- which meant a full change of 3 layers of clothes (Singlet, pj's and sleep sack). He was wide awake after, but after I laid him down in his bed, he just 'cooed' to himself for a bit before going back to sleep on his own... Yay! Go Pi-chan!

Sleep training- Day 3

The little man is doing so well. He going to sleep with hardly any fuss for naps, so no touching needed.

I do feel really horrible to withhold my touch. Day 3 night I was crying again as all I want to do is have my little man next to me for as long as he wants, whether that is 15 months or 15 years... I do feel like I am ignoring my instincts by sleep training him, but I read again and again how between 5 1/2 months  and 7 1/2 months is the best time- which Pi is bang in the middle of. I honestly don't think I could do it when he is older and looking at me and can call out "mummy".

Here is how day 3 measured up-



Nap 1- 4 mins to get to sleep- 25 mins sleep
Nap 2- 5 mins to get to sleep- 1hr and 5 min sleep!!!
Nap 3- 4 mins to get to sleep- 25 min sleep

I didn't need to pat him at all. I just soothed with my voice and sang "twinkle twinkle".

Bed (at 6:42pm)- 3 mins to get to sleep and went down sooooo easily. Not even a fussy cry.

During the night:

9:57pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
12:25am- 31 mins to get back to sleep
2:07am *- 1 hour and 23 mins to get back to sleep
6:06am- 3 mins to get back to sleep

*nursed him to sleep. 

You can see a big 1 hr and 23 mins to get back to sleep. Tonight was hard on Husband, and we (somehow) had a miscommunication. I told him to only pat him if Pi really needs it. Husband thought I meant, "don't pat him at all". So I ended up having to go in at 3am, as Husband had his fingers plugging his ears and was just singing twinkle twinkle over and over and over- while poor little Pi was going hysterical. I know it might mess up the training a bit to have me go in, pick him up and then ultimately feed him (as so much time had past that he was due)- but I think Pi's comfort and sense of security is the most important, even if it sets us back a little bit.

We also think Pi is woken up by next door's alarm at 6:05am, which vibrates through the floor boards. It always woke us up when we have slept in that room. We also think some of his night wakings may be because of the neighbour going to bed (as he is a typical Japanese night owl), so we are going to try and play music tonight and see if that helps at all.

Sleep training- Day 2

We are into day two and feeling very sleepy. My husband said to me today "Wow, it is really tiring when your sleep is broken".... Yeah, it is. Try six months of it.

As you can tell by the above comment, my husband is now on sleep duty, and is resettling Pi every time he wakes up but it hasn't been 4 hours since his last feed- if it is, then Boobie McGee (aka, Me) is on call. I am awake the whole time though, as I am a crappy sleeper, but at least Husband sleeps through the times I get up to feed him.

The good news is that while Pi can't get back to sleep on his own, yet, he is trying! Yay!

Here is how Day 2 looked:

Nap 1- 7 mins to get to sleep- 30 min sleep
Nap 2- 12 mins to get to sleep- 1hr and 12 min sleep!!! (Took a bit longer to fall asleep as he had a 3 min sleep in the car)
Nap 2-  5 mins to get to sleep- 34 min sleep

Bed (at 6:37pm)- 23 mins to get to sleep but went down fairly easily.

During the night:

10:10pm*- 15 mins to get back to sleep
12:17am- 23 mins to get back to sleep
2:07am- 10 mins to get back to sleep
3:28am*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
6:05am- 3 mins to get back to sleep

*nursed him to sleep. All other times were either singing/soothing with voice, shhing and patting. Sometimes instead of patting him, patting the mattress works much better. No pick ups due to him getting more upset when we put him back down.

Sleep training- Day 1

It has begun...

The thing that I have been undecided over for the last 6 months- we have decided to do. Sleep training....

I actually started on the Friday night, but am calling Saturday "Day 1", as he did all his naps and bedtime in his crib in his room.

The first thing you need when you sleep train isn't to buy books, or look up websites, but to harden ones bollocks to be of steel. We didn't do cry it out, or controlled crying, but at the end of the first night I couldn't stop crying. It is really draining and emotional (see here for post).

I have many reasons for sleep training. Pi's safety topped that list, and wanting to teach him the important skill (even though the other half of my brain was crying out that I can teach him that skill at 4 years old). Husband was very pro sleep training (I think he is worried about how little sleep I get every day).

Our method was to take the middle ground. No Cry It Out, or Controlled crying. I wanted to be in the room with him the whole time. I have been training-training him to sleep for the last month or so by gradually training him using pickup/put down and shh- patting him, and so for training I wanted to do that as little as possible, so he does most of the work by himself.

Here is how "Day 1" looked-

Nap 1- 5 mins to get to sleep- 30 min sleep
Nap 2- 5 mins to get to sleep- 30 min sleep
Nap 2- 5 mins to get to sleep- 1 hour sleep!!!!

Bed (at 6:30pm)- 11 mins to get to sleep and went down fairly easily.

During the night:

7:20pm- 17 mins to get back to sleep
10:50pm*- 10 mins to get back to sleep
12:00am- 15 mins to get back to sleep
2:30am- 35mins to get back to sleep
4:10am*- 12 mins to get back to sleep
6:07am- 1 mins to get back to sleep

*nursed him to sleep. I have the aim of getting him down to 2 feeds per night so he is not relying on milk to help him to sleep.
All other times were either singing/soothing with voice, shhing and patting, or the occasional pick up.

We both fared much better at bedtime tonight. No crying from me, and very little fussy-cries from Pi. I am calling it a successful day

Extending cat naps

Elizabeth Pantley's "No cry sleep solution" is probably one of my favourite sleep books that I have read. I have also read "Healthy sleep habits, happy baby"- which is CRAP and not Weissbluth's book "Healthy sleep habits, happy child" (as I was expecting), "Save our sleep" by Tizzie Hall ( is quite regimented and I find her advice dubious due to lack of qualifications and her saying to do things that is against regular SIDS advice) and I am halfway through "The secrets of the baby whisperer" by Tracy Hogg (It's really long, anecdotal and most of the book is for parents to be to learn all about breastfeeding etc). Not to mention the countless internet articles and sites I have read.

She has a way of "extending naps" which means to do ANYTHING you need to when they wake up after 30 mins (or how ever long your baby naps for) and eventually they will learn to go back to sleep themselves. For Pichan, sometimes I could pat him back to sleep but ONLY if I was in the room the whole time he slept so I could jump on him straight away and soothe him before he got too worked up. Most of the time though, he would need to be nursed back to sleep. With that, I had about a 75% success rate, and very, very sore nipples; he liked to nurse for the whole hour.

So, up I would go with a book and after 30 mins, I would nurse him and usually get at least an hour and a half. Sometimes, I would get almost 2 hours (providing I didn't move, or turn any book pages). Once I even got 3 hours. It might not be ideal, but certainly a nice way to force myself to rest for a few hours each day.

The idea is that if he can get past the 30 mins then eventually he will like it so much that he'll keep wanting to do it on his own. Whether or not it is permanent, I am not sure. The day before yesterday he did two, hour and 10 minute naps by HIMSELF!!! But then he went back to only 30 mins yesterday (and only got past the 30 minute mark with nursing, once out of the three times).

Now that he is in his own room, and napping on his own today (with just a shush pat), he woke up at the 30 minute mark the first two naps, his third nap though.... an hour and three minutes on his own! Then I nursed him while sleepy and then he did another 20 mins (including nursing time). I am not sure if I am messing him up with sleep training by nursing him back to sleep during the day. I really hope not, as I really want him to get all the sleep that his growing little body needs.