365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - tough day in the office

Charlotte has been waking up more than usual the past few nights, crying for help as she get herself stuck in awkward positions trying to roll onto her tummy in her swaddle bag. i figured she's probably ready to move out of her swaddle bag and into a sleeping bag but i was also worried giving her the full freedom to roll around in her cot would disrupt her sleep even more. last night i decided to try my luck anyway. secretly hoping she would love being in a sleeping bag and maybe sleep through the night again. boy was i wrong. it was all good at the beginning. she slept on her side for an hour and then on her tummy for another. i thought she would sleep more soundly on her tummy but that didn't happen. just as i was about to go to bed myself,  she started stirring and trying to roll onto her back. i know she needs to learn how to get herself out of the position so i left her for ten minutes before i intervene. and it went down hill from there and i lost count on the amount of time i had to resettle her. needless to say i didn't get much sleep last night.

and one would think she would be catching up on her sleep during the day but that didn't happen either. some days,  she's got the stamina of a three year old.

tonight i contemplated putting her back in her swaddle bag again but i've put her in her sleeping bag. keeping my fingers crossed for better luck.

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - we love Fridays

Friday is my favourite day because we have daddy at home with us for the next two days so we can focus on one child each. he often come home a tad early on Fridays. today is no exception. he caught an earlier train so i decided to take the kids out for a walk to meet him at the end of the street to surprise him. we saw a digger on our way home so so we stopped and let Gabriel check it out as he has never seen a real digger at such proximity. he was a bit overwhelmed by the size of it and was too scared to get too close. he would only get close to it if Jim held him.

in other news,  today is the last week day of just the four of us for awhile because the in laws are coming to visit and stay with us til the end of april from next Monday. we haven't told Gabriel his grandparents are coming but i can imagine he will be very excited when he sees them on Monday because he's been telling me how much he misses them.

oh the things he says

Gabriel is at such a talkative/chatty stage at the moment. the moment i pick him up from daycare, he would talk and talk and talk and talk. sometimes about the new things he had learnt at daycare, sometimes he'll tell me the same thing over and over again. apart from repeating what we've said to him, he can now form his own sentences quite well and some of the things he says get Jim and i in stitches. for example, during dinner time the other day, he was taking too long in between spoonful of food and it looked as though he won't be able to finish them. so i told him i'm going to be very angry with him if he doesn't finish his dinner and he'll have to go to bed hungry. as he picked up another spoonful of food, he says to me: "you not very nice girl mummy.' 

and then the next day, at the dinner table again, Charlotte was sitting on the high chair next to him playing with her toys. she picked them up and toss them on the floor. and occasionally when Gabriel puts his head too close to her, she'll grab his hair. we've been telling Gabriel that Charlotte can't control her hands very well and she's still learning. so the other day, he says to us: "Charlotte can't control Charlotte's hand by Charlotte's self."

every time we get in the car, he would point towards the driver's seat and say: "when i grow bigger, i can drive this car and i sit there'. and when he asks for Jim and i told him daddy is at work, he would say: "when i grow bigger, i go work". or when he's watching one of those youtube videos, he would say to me: "mummy, i don't have this toy, i need to buy it." and he says this to me every time i pick him up from daycare: "mummy, i good boy i didn't cry at school today, i can play with my off road lightnight queen and have special treat?"

he's grown so much since he became a big brother. Jim and i really need to be careful of what we say in front of him. 

below are some photos taken during the xmas/new year break, daycare was closed so Gabriel was home everyday. we had to come up with different activities for him and one of them was helping daddy wash the car. he took his job very seriously and after the car is all clean, he says to me: "mummy, your car all clean now, you have to keep it clean okay?" 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - starting solids this time around

Charlotte started solids two weeks ago. so far, she's had sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots and today she had pumpkin. oh, sometimes when i'm having an apple or a peach, i also let her suck on them. i should be feeding her solids once a day so she can learn but poor child she only gets to eat solids when i have time. i guess this is normal when you are not the first child?!? 

                  

Charlotte at four and a half months

i took these photos of Charlotte (and Gabriel) on xmas eve last year but haven't had a chance to sort through them. these are not the best photos but i'm hoping i'll be able to take better photos especially photos of the kids with Jim after i've attended the photography masterclass with Trish from Tealily Photography that Jim bought me for xmas. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - learning something new everyday

Charlotte is learning something new everyday. today she learnt to roll from tummy to back and she's also getting better at sitting up unaided. who knew an old stroller could come in handy for her to learn how to sit up by herself?  

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - sleep regression continues

Charlotte hasn't sleep through the night for three weeks now. she's going through a sleep regression. experts say her sleep regression is actually caused by her progression in her development. i hate to agree with them but i have noticed great progression in her overall development.  lately, she's discovered her feet and her toes,  she can roll from back to tummy and is learning to roll from tummy to back,  she can bring objects to her mouth and into her mouth, she's so much more interactive. all these new skills she's learnt are fun to watch but it also means her brain is often too busy. like today,  i was doing everything i can to put her down for an afternoon nap but her little brain was just too busy processing all the new information that it was impossible for her to close her eyes and relax. i gave up after an hour so she was up from 2pm till her bedtime. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - she knows

we normally have play dates with different friends on Monday morning. sometimes our friends come over,  sometimes we visit them. Zoe was meant to come today but she was not well so we were home without a play date. all morning i became the play date for Gabriel. we played play dough, painting and racing cars on the train table. to make up for the lack of play date,  i promised Gabriel we would go to target in the afternoon to check out toys once Charlotte is up from her nap. of course she had other ideas and decided to sleep for 2.5 hours. by the time she got up, it was 4:30 and she was due for a feed in 30 mins. we still went to target though as i've promised Gabriel. lucky there are arm chairs in the books section. so i fed Charlotte there while Gabriel grab some books for me to read to him. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - good or bad parenting?

daycare drop offs have not been easy since daycare started this year. partly because of the end of year break we had and also most of his friends have moved up to the next room. i don't blame him because 80% of the kids in his room are new to the room and they are all younger than him. 

when we got to daycare this morning, his mood changed and when i said goodbye to him, he told me he wants to go home, he doesn't wanna go to school and he broke into tears. i spent ten minutes trying to persuade him that he needs to stay in school but he won't stop crying. so i succumb to my last resort. i promised him a new toy of his choice if he stops crying. within seconds, he stopped crying and was waving goodbye to me. 

so when i picked him up from school at 4:30, the first thing he said to me was "mummy, i good boy, we go buy new toy?" of course we went straight to Target and he chose this Lightning McQueen car he's been eyeing since before Christmas. i'm not sure if this is good or bad parenting but bribery always seem to do the trick. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - a Sunday to be repeated

so Charlotte's first night in her own room went better than expected. even though she did end up in our room, she did sleep through the night and she also slept in till 9:45. which means i got to sleep in till 9. the three of us were able to enjoy our pancakes for breakfast without any interruptions. morning like this should be on repeat every Sunday.

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - a milestone for me

after sharing a room with us for the past 5 months, Charlotte finally moved into her own room tonight. in the middle of a sleep regression no less. i figured if she'd be waking to get used to her own room, i may as well kill two bird with one stone and deal with it along with her sleep regression. i have been putting it off  since she turned 4 months because that was how old Gabriel was when he moved out of our room. Jim has been asking me when i'm going to move her. i set a date at the beginning of the week and at the time she was still sleeping through the night. for the past 5 months,  the light is out by 8 and noise level was kept to the minimum so as not to wake her. as i sit here in my own room with the lights on, i miss her. i would co sleep with her if i had my own way. i know it will be good for everyone. for her to be independent and for Jim and i to have our own space back. here's hoping i'll get used to not having her so close to me in no time.

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - roll baby roll

at 5 months and 1 day, my little chubster can finally do a full rollover from her back to her tummy. Gabriel did not rollover until he learnt to sit and crawl so i've always thought she would be the same. being able to rollover is a huge milestone so i've been incorporating some exercise like leaving her in a half roll into our play time as much as i can. for the past few days, looks like it's paying off.  hopefully she'll enjoy floor time a bit more with this new skill she's learnt.

on a sad note,  tonight will be the last night of her rooming in with us. while she can still fit in the bassinet and she's has not slept through the night for the past 4 nights,  we have decided to move her to her own room before she becomes too aware and refuse to sleep in her own room. i wish she could sleep in our room forever. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - blogged too soon

after my last blog post about what a good day we had, things went down hill slightly. Charlotte stopped sleeping through the night and hasn't slept more than three hours at night since my last post. argghh...it's so frustrating. i hope the answer is as simple as teething and nothing else. it doesn't feel like a growth spurt because she hasn't been extra cranky and her day naps has been alright. perfect days like the one we had on Tuesday are hard to come by and if parenthood has taught me anything, babies are highly unpredictable and are very random. just when you think you've got it figured out, they'll do something new to keep you on your toes. 

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - a good day all round

daycare resumes today for Gabriel. after the xmas new year break,  i was really worried he would refuse to go and he would cry when we get to the green room. plus his best friend Frankie and most of his room buddies from last year has moved up to the red room. surprisingly,  he was absolutely fine. and when i picked him up at the end of the day,  the educator told me he's had a good day and because he's now one of the older kids in the room,  he's helping her show the younger kids where things go and he also helped her set up crafts activities for everyone. i'm so proud of him.

as for Charlotte, after almost 5 months,  i finally managed to have a day like today where she feeds and napped at the right time. if only everyday is like today. it's something i'm working towards. hopefully,  things will continue to improve and get better.

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - toothy pegs

Charlotte is 4 months and 27 days today (according to the baby daybook app) and i noticed this afternoon that she's got 2 toothy pegs cutting through her lower gum. this explains all the drooling, fussiness and why she's so unsettled a couple of days ago. i remember Gabriel's first tooth didn't cut through till he was close to 6 months old and i was very excited for him.  i'm going to cherish all the gummy toothless grins while i can.  

in other news,  Jim is going back to work tomorrow after being at home for the past 11 days. we're resuming regular programming tomorrow. i'm not sure about the kids but i'm gonna miss having him around during business hours.

365 days of Gabriel and Charlotte - hello 2014

a new year is worth celebrating so we decided to spend the first morning of 2015 at Balmoral beach. Gabriel had a ball chasing waves, building sand castles and checking out rock pools while Charlotte 'chill out' in the beach tent. when it was time to go home, Gabriel didn't wanna leave so we promised him we'll be back again soon.