Sleep Training

Training for sleep? Why do you need training to sleep? Aren't we born be able to sleep? It doesn't require training, it is a natural ability we are born with. Believe it or not, babies can be trained to sleep at regular hours and intervals. It is actually more common than you think. You probably went through it when you were a baby. Most people use the technique called "Cry it out". There are more sophisticated methods but based on a similar concept.

How early can you start sleep training your baby? Some experts say the first three months, you really cannot spoil the baby since he is just trying to adjust from the womb to the outside world. I really would like to believe it but when baby Lucas cries at the touch of the crib and calms down being picked up, I think he is spoiled already. He is dictating his wants very clearly and I am helpless to change them.

This morning I was up from 3AM to 6AM juggling him back and forth from the crib to my arms.

Hopefully when the time comes, we can start the training...

Father's night shift

No matter how hard a father seems to try, his work pales in comparison to the regular duties of the mother. Now with the limited tasks he is assigned, can he still meet or exceed the expectations.

I definitely want to be an active father but it has always been a lifelong struggle for a guy to fight his own laziness and sleep habits. Since I am back at work, my time at home is even more limited so I should do even more when I come home.

Changing diapers every two-three hours hasn't been the problem especially during the daytime. It is waking up after just falling asleep for half an hour to change his diaper in the middle of the night. It is waking up three to five times a night to calm his crying or burp him. I have failed the night shift.

I do wake up and change his diaper but I find myself falling asleep while trying to burp him. This is very, very dangerous since I can drop him and cause serious injury therefore Paulina gets very nervous which defeats the purpose of me burping him so she can get a few more minutes of sleep. Luckily she has caught me falling asleep a few times and kept me awake during those times.

So I'll continue my fight against my laziness to wake up and against falling asleep while I take care of my baby during the night shift.

Asian Parent Complaints

I was reminded about how crazy my asian mom is while reading another person's blog about growing up with asian parents. Here is a glimpse of what we have to deal with.

My mother is strong enduring many hardships to raise four children by herself. This was not her choice because my dad was never around to help. All my brothers and sister, cousins, family and friends agree that it is an amazing feat to do what my mom has done but my mom is not shy about reminding us of her struggles. Most asian parents like to remind their children how much harder they have it in order to be appreciative and to shut up any complaints their children might be enduring currently.

Everytime I see my mother, she would reminded me of her amazing ability to take care of four children single-handedly and why we are having such a hard time with taking care of one single child, baby Lucas. Paulina's sister was here to help and my mom would comment why it takes three adults to take care of one infant. We don't even have to cook since my mom is cooking for us so it should be even more easier. This might sound like very mild commenting but when you hear it at least four times a day, you tend to lose sight of the greatness in my mom and start to see the annoying nagging of a typical asian parent.

We might not be as strong and capable as my mother but we are trying really hard to provide the best for baby Lucas. So far we haven't had the energy to respond to my mother's comments which is probably better since despite her comments she really tries to help us out and make it easier for us. So thanks mom.

Growth Spurts

Whenever Lucas' sleeping and eating patterns seem to change, we are lead to think it might be the growth spurts that some experts suggest. They say that the growth spurts usually occur around 10 days, 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months. We certainly witness these changes first hand when we can get enough sleep or can't seem to soothe his cries.

Last Monday and Tuesday, the second week, Lucas started feeding every hour during the night from 11PM to 6AM and would sleep up to three hours during the day. Such irregular patterns were repeated for the last two nights but with the addition of him being awake and alert for two hours in the morning and late at night. How do we handle this as parents? Some suggest delaying the feedings a bit longer so he'll be more hungry and eat more therefore sleep more but when his voice starts to get scratchy it becomes very painful as parents.

When the sleeping and eating patterns are so irregular with hourly feedings for half the day, awake for two hours, and sleeping for up to three hours randomly, there is no pattern for our bodies to adapt with. Should we follow the baby's need as suggested below.

http://www.parents.com/baby/development/physical/growing-baby/

Sleeping Lucas

Sleeping through the night is something we took for granted before baby Lucas was born. Paulina says I should not complain since I can't wake up for all the times he is crying at night but I am getting better at it. The first two weeks, baby Lucas would sleep for only about two hours resulting in a total of about an hour of sleep for Paulina a day. With all the little things that need to be done between the feedings, there is no time to sleep for Paulina. Now entering the third week, baby Lucas is starting to sleep for three hours now and Paulina is getting about an hour or two naps three times a day so about six hours total per day. The house is so peaceful when he is asleep or when he is feeding.

Baby Lucas... protect your voice, don't cry so hard. We keep you well fed and diapered changed at very close intervals, please save your voice for singing and not crying...

Lucas many faces...

myspace graphic at Gickr

Lucas First Week

For the first week, mommy Paulina and baby Lucas had to endure many challenges and changes. Mommy had to endure the pain of contractions from labor, the bleeding and swelling of the opening, the discomfort of not being able to go to the bathroom, the frustration of breastfeeding, the 103 degree fevers that come with milk production, and the lack of sleep in order to give her best to baby Lucas.

During the delivery, mommy was pushing so hard that she tore a bit at the bottom and top of the opening. This caused major swelling and discomfort for mommy. She could go to the bathroom until the third day after the delivery. Good thing the doctor and nurses gave her a special tube to help relieve her fluids. Some might think one good thing about pregnancy is no more period or bleeding for ten months but what they don't know is that at the end of the tenth month you have major bleeding for two - three weeks with swelling down there.

About twenty minutes after delivery, the nurses placed baby Lucas on mommy's tummy and he was able to latch and breastfeed for ten minutes on each side. This sign of joy was short lived when he started having trouble staying on the breast on the second and third day. We went home on the third day and noticed yellow pigmentation on his skin so we called the doctor that night and went to see her the next morning. It turned out to be jaundice but not high enough to require special treatment. On the other hand, the doctor examined baby Lucas and noticed he was dehydrated. She immediately placed him on the scale and found out that he lost almost a whole pound of weight. So we placed him on formula to rehydrate him. The problem turned out to be tongue-tie where the frenulum prevented his tongue from extending far enough to get a good suckle. So on the next day, we went to the ear, nose, throat doctor to get it clipped. It was quick and he was able to nurse immediately after being clipped. Yeah!

For the first seven days, mommy Paulina would get high fevers because baby Lucas was not able to empty out her milk causing her to be engorged. The fevers came as frequent as twice a night and would last for an hour or so. During the fevers, Paulina would shiver and sweat profusively. We had to have a towel placed underneath her and changed the linen every other day. Sweat would drip like NBA basketball players drip during the game. The fevers also caused Paulina to be very irritable and frustrated.

Now Paulina sleeps an average about two hours a day. Baby Lucas sleeps for about two hours between feeding but Paulina cannot sleep when he sleeps because part of his sleeping time is spent burping him, cleaning him, pumping excess milk out, eating a meal, restocking the baby materials, cleaning the bottles, and going to the bathroom. It usually takes about an hour to feed baby Lucas. It is helpful that Auntie Patty is able to help out with changing diapers, calming baby Lucas, and house chores but it still doesn't let mommy Paulina get any additional sleep time. Mommy is amazingly strong and resilient.

Here are some pictures of the first week.

The first few pictures make my head look so big but actually my head is about a quarter the size of daddy Raymond's head who already has a small head compared to most people. I am actually very small so please refrain from commenting on how big I look. The camera adds ten pounds...

6-26-08 is a special day!