Last night although there was quite some fussing, Jack did let me watch my weekly dose of TV, Lost. There were some moments I had to carry him standing but the viewing was pretty smooth sailing. Afterwards I changed him and fed him again. He seemed inconsolable at one point but I realised he might want to be put to bed already. And it worked like a charm. He cooed and gurgled and finally fell asleep by midnight.

He didn't wake again till 5am (back to normal!), nursed for half an hour. I took the opportunity to trim his nails while he rooted half asleep wiggling like a marionette, and changed his diaper. He slept almost instantly when he returned to his crib.

The next time he woke was 830am. He fed quickly and went to sleep within 15 minutes. I'm not sure when he woke again but he fussed, cried once (as I was getting ready to pick him up), and fell back asleep. The next time - daytime declared - was 1130am. He nursed hungrily (while crying "Gi!") and cooed when I changed him and played him his Mozart.

After a few nights of sleep deprivation, last night was a reprieve. I can only conclude that it was either something I ate or a growth spurt. Probably both.

My Dad is happily playing with him now. :D

Sleep: 5 + 3.5 (3) + 3 (2.5)
Song: Crazy by Gnarls Buckley - yesterday his Dad and I danced him to the song while he shrieked in glee. He likes it more than Be My Baby!

After some fussing and a little spit up, he slept like an angel at 1130pm. Woke at 3.30am, 6.30am, and then 9.30am. The night before must have been an aberration. His chart on Tuesday night looked like this: 2 + 2 + 2 + 2.

My Mom bought him bunny bunkins and he's been sleeping better since!

Meanwhile, he's been saying a lot of Goo and Ah Goo to me, himself, Daddy, Grandma, and Grandpa, shrieking with delight, and laughing a lot. :D

Sleep: 3 + 3 + 3
Song: Be My Baby by Vanessa Paradis
Fave Flashcards: Cat, Cow, Fox, Hare, Pig

Last night Jack woke every 2 hours, sometimes for a feed, sometimes for a burp. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had been a once-off. The previous two nights I had the hardest time putting him to bed. Monday night he didn't sleep till 2am. He kept crying and spitting up from 10pm - 2am, and then woke up again at around 5am, 7am, and 9am. The night before was the same except it was from 8pm to midnight. Hence, presenting zombie mom.

Possible causes? They may be separate as last night's 2-hourly thingy seems different from the puke fest the two nights before. Anyhoo, here's a few speculations:

* Growth spurt
* Teething
* Caffeine - been having green tea daily
* Food I ate: dairy, etc

Most likely culprit: growth spurt. It ties in with his age - 10 weeks.

Spoke too soon about feeling lucky. Heh...

Spotted at Rookie Moms:

Activity #423: Say Hola bambino

"Always wanted to polish up your Spanish or learn the basics of French? Do it! Borrow language tapes from the library, or buy them from a bookstore or at berlitz.com. Then practice them around your child. You can also find storybooks in Spanish to read aloud.

Your baby may not actually pick up any words, but research has shown that a baby’s exposure to another language can help improve her mastery of foreign languages down the road."

[Original source: Parents]

Hmm... I should turn on the Mandarin channel and let him immerse then. And maybe play my old Vanessa Paradis CD and sing-a-long with him. It's quite a fun one.

Je t'aime, mon beau bébé!

Apparently the kids had destroyed the final level their cat tree when I was away. It was a good tree. Lasted 3 years. Now we needed another.

We found this one on sale for $69 (originally $99). FiveCatsDad said it was more stable than the rest although rather low. He reckoned they'd break the top few levels anyway.

The kids went berserk over it. First Buffy and Tux swatted the attached fake mouse like crazy and when I brought it to the kitchen for Sam and Kaku, Kaku grabbed it, groomed it, and grabbed it some more. By the time I brought the cam to take some shots, she'd moved to rubbing her face against the corners and sniffing the insides. Sam took a few sniffs too.

By morning, the mouse was lying quite far from the tree...

Kaku examines the tree



Tries to use her laser eyes to zap the mouse



Sam takes a sniff



On a separate note, it is lovely to see Boy, Buffy, and Tux sharing space now. Boy and Buffy are actually sleeping on the same couch head in the living room, although in the far corners.

Meanwhile, Jack slept at 1130pm, woke at 3.30am, 7am, and 10am a happy smiling baby. Even his Aunt Leng whom we had a lovely lunch with today commented how contented he is. :)

I'll bitch-slap anyone else who asks me when I am getting rid of my cats or tells me that my cats will sleep on my baby's face, or any other long-debunked claim. Get your facts straight and then talk to me.

Cats and Babies Can Co-exist
Murderous Moggies

As a new mom of a 2 month old baby, I learnt very quickly that being a mom means having to learn how to multitask very quickly or else you'll be sitting in bed on a donut cushion breastfeeding all day staring into space. This means:

* Doing laundry and carrying baby
* Making a meal and carrying baby
* Eating while carrying baby
* Pouring a glass of water while carrying baby
* Typing with one hand while carrying baby
* Surfing while feeding baby
* Drinking water while washing dishes
* Reading while feeding baby
* Reading while carrying baby

In either case, you'll need to build strong biceps and triceps or suffer the agonising pain of muscle tear for 2 days. I've gotten over that, thankfully.

I've also learnt to do things very quickly, in the time frame it takes for baby to not scream to scream, which could be anything from 1 minute to 4 hours. It's hard to tell sometimes, but depends where he is put.

* Hanging up laundry in 2 minutes
* Showering in 5 minutes
* Peeing in 1 minute
* Cooking in 5 minutes
* Changing in 1/2 minute
* Changing baby's diaper in 1/2 minute

Even sleeping in sessions ranging from 45 minutes to 4 hours (the latter, only 3 blessed times) will become second nature, and people will get used to your zombie-like state.

Technorati: multitask, baby, daily routine, daily schedule

... and she meowed at me this morning from the perimeter of her new domain (the storage section). I'd wondered where the meowing was coming from and I turned.

She sat there daintily meowing at me. I blinked at her and say hey. She looked at me, and leaped down and ran to the kitchen.

Boy is sitting beside Jack's stroller. :) Perhaps waiting for his Dad to finish putting the cushion cover back on his couch head.

[Source: BBC News]

Exposure to certain animals may prevent rather than trigger asthma and allergies, experts believe.

Lab workers who frequently handled research rodents had fewer allergic reactions to the animals as a result, an Imperial College London team found.

The researchers believe it is the type of exposure that is important.

A recent study found early childhood exposure to cats increased eczema risk, whilst early exposure to dogs appeared to be protective.

Exposure

The latest work, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, supports the "hygiene hypothesis" of asthma and allergic diseases.

According to the hygiene hypothesis, exposure to naturally occurring infections and microbes might essentially immunise against the development of asthma and allergies.

Dr Meinir Jones and her team suggest that the laboratory workers were experiencing a natural form of immunotherapy via exposure to animals through their occupation.

Dr Jones said: "Interestingly, this does not seem to be the case for other groups at risk of occupational asthma such as bakers and detergent manufacturers."

Natural immunity

She believes the difference lies in the fact that lab workers get exposure not only through inhalation but also through the skin if they are bitten or scratched.

Among the 689 lab workers they studied, those who had antibodies in their blood that were specifically produced in response to the rodent allergens had a two-fold reduced risk of developing work-related chest symptoms than those who had only non-specific antibodies in their blood.

Furthermore, the ratios of rodent-specific antibodies were highest in those lab workers who had handled the greatest number of rodents.

Another possibility is that workers handling a larger number of animals might have been exposed to greater levels of dirt and other microbes which may protect against allergic disease, as suggested by the hygiene hypothesis, said the authors.

Commenting on the research Dr Karen Pacheco of the National Jewish Medical and Research Centre in Denver, the US, said: "This approach suggests that peak exposures are more important for the development of immune responses to laboratory animals than average exposures."

A spokeswoman from Asthma UK said although the work was helpful, more research was still needed.

"This research helps us understand the risks people may face when working with animals. However, we still have much to learn about allergen exposure and and the risk of developing asthma."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/health/5132674.stm

Published: 2006/07/03 00:12:38 GMT

© BBC MMVI