Winter in Japan is dry. Gettin' zapped every time one touches the car, dry.
Last year, in preparation for baby, we bought a humidifier and used it a lot at first when Pi came home from the hospital. Then summer hit; no humidifier needed- no, really. Then I started using it a bit but it had a funny 'moldy' smell to it, so I stopped until I had the time to investigate properly.
Today I finally did and I couldn't see any mould, however there was a bit of red discolouration. Needless to say, the whole thing got a good scrub and then I learned from the internet that it should be scrubbed after every use. My word, who has time for that.
That is my biggest problem with buying things in Japan. Most of the time I can figure out how to work them, but things like 'manufacturer's instructions' are completely ignored.
Thankfully, the smell seems to be gone. I also thought I would add a bit of tea tree oil in there now that Pi is a bit older, to help kill any germs in there, or in the air.
Now his room smells like home.
Wednesday, 10 December 2014
Monday, 8 December 2014
What do teething and glaciers have in common?
Both mover at a ridiculously slow pace....
We have our bottom teethies well and truly pushed out now. As of last week, however, the top ones are coming through. Unlike the bottom ones that cut in a few days each, the top ones are taking about a week. Much like the bottom teeth, the top teeth are pushing out one after the other with only a few days apart. Unfortunately for little Pi, we are still going.
He is one of those babies that is really bothered by teething, the poor little man. I've been trying to go easy on the Nurofen and Panadol- only giving it when he really seems to need it. The Bongela has been applied at least once daily, but I give up on it to a point at Pi knows what I am about to do and shuts his mouth and moves it away every time I get close. Which means that I am not sure exactly how much I get on the tooth part. Not very much, at a guess.
I have also bought "Hylands teething tablets" off of I-herb.com. I am not sure how much they work, and have only given him the actual tablets twice, as by the time they arrived in the mail, his discomfort seemed to be largely over.
Thankfully, one of the top ones has pushed through, and the second one is mostly there. He seems to be sleeping better and a little less grumpy. Apparently, this is the 'usual' order of when teeth come in (obviously, all babies are different and not all follow this trend).
Lower central incisors- between 4 and 7 months
Upper central incisors- between 8 and 12 months
Upper lateral incisors- between 9 and 13 months
Lower lateral incisors- between 10 and 16 months
Upper first molars- between 13 and 19 months
Lower first molars- between 14 and 18 months
Upper canines- between 16 and 22 months
Lower canines- between 17 and 23 months
Lower seconds molars- between 23 and 31 months
Upper second molars- between 25 and 33 months
and that's the set of baby teeth! Most kids will apparently have the set by 3 years.
We have our bottom teethies well and truly pushed out now. As of last week, however, the top ones are coming through. Unlike the bottom ones that cut in a few days each, the top ones are taking about a week. Much like the bottom teeth, the top teeth are pushing out one after the other with only a few days apart. Unfortunately for little Pi, we are still going.
He is one of those babies that is really bothered by teething, the poor little man. I've been trying to go easy on the Nurofen and Panadol- only giving it when he really seems to need it. The Bongela has been applied at least once daily, but I give up on it to a point at Pi knows what I am about to do and shuts his mouth and moves it away every time I get close. Which means that I am not sure exactly how much I get on the tooth part. Not very much, at a guess.
I have also bought "Hylands teething tablets" off of I-herb.com. I am not sure how much they work, and have only given him the actual tablets twice, as by the time they arrived in the mail, his discomfort seemed to be largely over.
Thankfully, one of the top ones has pushed through, and the second one is mostly there. He seems to be sleeping better and a little less grumpy. Apparently, this is the 'usual' order of when teeth come in (obviously, all babies are different and not all follow this trend).
Lower central incisors- between 4 and 7 months
Upper central incisors- between 8 and 12 months
Upper lateral incisors- between 9 and 13 months
Lower lateral incisors- between 10 and 16 months
Upper first molars- between 13 and 19 months
Lower first molars- between 14 and 18 months
Upper canines- between 16 and 22 months
Lower canines- between 17 and 23 months
Lower seconds molars- between 23 and 31 months
Upper second molars- between 25 and 33 months
and that's the set of baby teeth! Most kids will apparently have the set by 3 years.
Tuesday, 2 December 2014
Sleep training Day 19, 20 and 21
So, I had taken my log, but not written it up on here. These are the last three days of sleep training. I have slacked off with the 'training' part a lot because Pi keeps teething, or learning how to crawl, or started with separation anxiety, so I want to be there for him as much as possible. Things that remained the same is he still goes to sleep, in his crib without me there. But I do come in a lot or talk to him at intervals. He seems to go to sleep better when I am not in the room (If I stay and rub his back, he gets angry), but I give him my verbal reassurance, and obviously pick him up or rub his back if he is getting distressed.
The other thing that has changed, is I feed him closer to three times a night, instead of two. It sucks, but I figure if he is teething he wants the extra comfort, and that way he is still getting plenty of milk.
So this is how Day 19 looked:
Nap 1- 1 mins to get to sleep- 26 minutes sleep.
Nap 2- in car- 1 hr and 9 minutes sleep.- slept with engine off
Nap 3- 6 mins to get to sleep- 29 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:52pm)- 3 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:17pm-* 10 mins to get back to sleep
1:59am-* 10 mins to get back to sleep
Awake at 5:53am
*fed
How amazing was that night sleep!
This is how Day 20 looked
Nap 1- 4 mins to get to sleep- 14 minutes sleep. (possibly teething)
Nap 2- in pram- 27 minutes sleep.
Nap 3- 5 mins to get to sleep- 20 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:40pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:50pm*- 16 mins to get back to sleep
12:46pm - 8 mins to get back to sleep
1:20am - 10 mins to get back to sleep
3:25am*- 12 mins to get back to sleep
Awake at 6:43am
*fed
He might have been teething today. Not so great naps and a few night wakings.
This is how day 21 looked:
Nap 1- 3 mins to get to sleep- 26 minutes sleep.
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep- 1 hr and 20 minutes sleep. By himself!
Nap 3- 2 mins to get to sleep- 34 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:43pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:43pm- 7 mins to get back to sleep
*dream fed him at 1am
Awake at 6am
Wow!
From what I have learnt, while he still only catnaps, he will occasionally go longer by himself. I din't think there is a pattern. I have tried all the combinations (eg, food, no food, freshest nappy, long time awake, short time awake) and nothing seems to be consistent. If I were to deny him milk at night, I am sure he would sleep through. I am not ready to do that though. I figure I can do another 5 months of feeding through the night before I cut it out. That opinion might change though. I definitely do not want to feed any more than 3 times a night though- otherwise 4 times soon turns into 5, and then we are back to 10 night wakings.
We are about to go on holidays back to Australia for almost a month, so after we return we will reassess the night wakings and see if we can get it down to 1 or 2 consistently. I wish we could do a consistent bed time- (it's always between 6 and 7ish), but until he naps start extending, he can be super tired so I wouldn't want to keep him up until 7 if he needs to sleep.
The other thing that has changed, is I feed him closer to three times a night, instead of two. It sucks, but I figure if he is teething he wants the extra comfort, and that way he is still getting plenty of milk.
So this is how Day 19 looked:
Nap 1- 1 mins to get to sleep- 26 minutes sleep.
Nap 2- in car- 1 hr and 9 minutes sleep.- slept with engine off
Nap 3- 6 mins to get to sleep- 29 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:52pm)- 3 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:17pm-* 10 mins to get back to sleep
1:59am-* 10 mins to get back to sleep
Awake at 5:53am
*fed
How amazing was that night sleep!
This is how Day 20 looked
Nap 1- 4 mins to get to sleep- 14 minutes sleep. (possibly teething)
Nap 2- in pram- 27 minutes sleep.
Nap 3- 5 mins to get to sleep- 20 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:40pm)- 0 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:50pm*- 16 mins to get back to sleep
12:46pm - 8 mins to get back to sleep
1:20am - 10 mins to get back to sleep
3:25am*- 12 mins to get back to sleep
Awake at 6:43am
*fed
He might have been teething today. Not so great naps and a few night wakings.
This is how day 21 looked:
Nap 1- 3 mins to get to sleep- 26 minutes sleep.
Nap 2- 2 mins to get to sleep- 1 hr and 20 minutes sleep. By himself!
Nap 3- 2 mins to get to sleep- 34 minute sleep.
Bed (at 6:43pm)- 1 mins to get to sleep
During the night:
10:43pm- 7 mins to get back to sleep
*dream fed him at 1am
Awake at 6am
Wow!
From what I have learnt, while he still only catnaps, he will occasionally go longer by himself. I din't think there is a pattern. I have tried all the combinations (eg, food, no food, freshest nappy, long time awake, short time awake) and nothing seems to be consistent. If I were to deny him milk at night, I am sure he would sleep through. I am not ready to do that though. I figure I can do another 5 months of feeding through the night before I cut it out. That opinion might change though. I definitely do not want to feed any more than 3 times a night though- otherwise 4 times soon turns into 5, and then we are back to 10 night wakings.
We are about to go on holidays back to Australia for almost a month, so after we return we will reassess the night wakings and see if we can get it down to 1 or 2 consistently. I wish we could do a consistent bed time- (it's always between 6 and 7ish), but until he naps start extending, he can be super tired so I wouldn't want to keep him up until 7 if he needs to sleep.
Washing
I never would have thought that I would look forward to doing the washing.
Pi, it seems, gets bored so quickly. When we go out he is a little angel (mostly), but when we are at home he gets so fussy because he is bored. I can't blame him either. I never have the TV on, and it's not like he has facebook or emails to check. Our house is (while sizeable for Japan), small with only a few rooms (2LDK), which can all be toured and explored in about 15 mins. Which means that after he has played with his toys, he is bored.
I try to take him for walks and all, though it is getting colder these days and worry about him freezing as he likes to kick his blanket off of him.
Though, when Mummy does her chores- doing the dishes, and especially washing the clothes- he loves to watch and keeps him entertained for a while. He used to love watching me cook, but not so much these days. It does mean that the clothes are washed more like how Japanese people wash their clothes (once a day, or two), whereas we used to wait until the weekend and do a megaload.
Too bad he really hates the vacuum cleaner these days, otherwise the house would be spick and span.
Pi, it seems, gets bored so quickly. When we go out he is a little angel (mostly), but when we are at home he gets so fussy because he is bored. I can't blame him either. I never have the TV on, and it's not like he has facebook or emails to check. Our house is (while sizeable for Japan), small with only a few rooms (2LDK), which can all be toured and explored in about 15 mins. Which means that after he has played with his toys, he is bored.
I try to take him for walks and all, though it is getting colder these days and worry about him freezing as he likes to kick his blanket off of him.
Though, when Mummy does her chores- doing the dishes, and especially washing the clothes- he loves to watch and keeps him entertained for a while. He used to love watching me cook, but not so much these days. It does mean that the clothes are washed more like how Japanese people wash their clothes (once a day, or two), whereas we used to wait until the weekend and do a megaload.
Too bad he really hates the vacuum cleaner these days, otherwise the house would be spick and span.
Monday, 1 December 2014
And we're off!
As of Sunday, Pi started army crawling. We discovered he could do it while I was giving him tummy time on the carpet at Husband's school (he had an event on Sunday). He started motoring. forward, pulling himself along and pushing with his leg. Later that night during 'nudie' time (I give him nudie time every night to help prevent nappy rash and air out the 'bits') he could pull himself along. Now he can even do it fully clothed and on the hardwood floors.
It looks super awkward, and not 'proper' crawling, but he can get around... Which means he can get into things and I need to keep the house cleaner.... yay, and *sigh* for cleaning...
I wonder if real crawling comes soon, or if he will just army crawl until he walks.
It looks super awkward, and not 'proper' crawling, but he can get around... Which means he can get into things and I need to keep the house cleaner.... yay, and *sigh* for cleaning...
I wonder if real crawling comes soon, or if he will just army crawl until he walks.
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