Happy 4 months old Caleb!

I believe that when we have a baby, both joy and challenge will come into our lives.
I realize month by month I face different challenge to raise caleb.
But each moment, I believe, is to be treasured. Enjoy!
Because babies do GROW UP fast.
we'll miss these times - despite all the struggles we've been through
we will MISS this moment!

when you face struggles, preservere, be patient, endure with it
coz it will pass
Pray..coz it works!
Jesus is with you
so mothers, you're not alone
just enjoy your moments with your babies :)

happy 4 months old, Kay!
....mummy loves you...

four story books for caleb

I was wondering if i was wise to spend so much money on amazon.com to buy these story books for caleb. I was disappointed when I found out that the shipping cost is 100% of the total price of the 4 books!!! that means i paid double!
But once the books arrived, I fall in love with them.
So I read the first 2 books for caleb before his nap..and he LOVES it!
He keeps touching the book and say ouu..coo..etc hehehe..

Anyway, these are best sellers books in amazon.
for your recommendation:
brown bear brown bear what do you see- eric carle
the very hungry caterpillar - eric carle
goodnight moon - margareth wise
mister dog - little golden book

Happy reading, Happy bed time :)

REM and NON REM

There are two types of sleep:

REM (rapid eye movement sleep)
This is a light sleep when dreams occur and the eyes move rapidly back and forth. Although babies spend about 16 hours each day sleeping, about half of this is in REM sleep. Older children and adults sleep fewer hours and spend much less time in REM sleep.


Non-REM sleep:
Non-REM has 4 stages:


Stage 1 - drowsiness - eyes droop, may open and close, dozing


Stage 2 - light sleep - the baby moves and may startle or jump with sounds


Stage 3 - deep sleep - the baby is quiet and does not move

Stage 4 - very deep sleep - the baby is quiet and does not move

Babies may awaken as they pass from deep sleep to light sleep and may have difficulty going back to sleep in the first few months.

more information, please see:
source:http://askville.amazon.com/SimilarQuestions.do?req=newborn-cry-minutes-stop-crying

Period back!

Finally, right 1 month after I stopped breastfeeding, I got my menses back!
I realized it's exactly 1 year I never had menses..wooww..had a good time haha...but well, this coming back is a good thing too..I'll be worried if my period hasn't come back.
Anyway, with menses we can always check our ovulation period right..
remember that ovulation period is 14 days before the next month's menses (plus minus 4 days before and after the 'day') ..

til now..haven't decided what birth control I'm going to use hee..
jaga tanggal dulu dehhh...belom sempet ke gynae utk discuss..tapi dulu kata pak barnabas never use pills..as they make womb dry and bakal susah punya anak lagi..anyway pills bisa menyebabkan gemuk ato jerawatan..
IUD? people say better not use it unless we are sure enough we don't want any children anymore..
but so far, it's the safest to use??

Going to church is both a challenge and sacrifice

I am so happy with his babywise blog I found the other day! Because she has exactly the same thought as me about going to church.

You see...my church service is from 10-12..and we have to leave home by 9am and come back home the earliest by 1.30pm (mostly will reach at 2pm anyway). That means caleb will miss 2 naps! 2 naps for him is alot!!! and then with alot of people coming to see and play with caleb..that makes him become over stimulated..so when we reach home, not only he's exhausted but also over stimulated..can u imagine how cranky he is? I always have my struggle on sunday night...putting him to sleep on sunday night is always difficult.
That's why I got so pissed off with a friend who woke caleb in his sleep on last last sunday!!! Grrr....masih sebel banget kalo inget itu...gw udah nidurinnya susah..gendong slm 45 mins, eh baru gw taruh di kereta (strollernya gw tutup loh padahal!!!), pas nyampe gereja ada juga yang maen nyelonong ngagetin caleb - padahal keretanya ditutup loh!! suebeeelll buangetttt.... dan gara2 itu, caleb jd cranky...dan jadwalnya ngaco...akibatnya aku ngga bisa denger sermon..krn caleb rewel, ngantuk!! --> yakkk ini marah2 jadi pake indo deh nulisnya hahaha...

anyway..about this babywise blog..she gives many suggestions about going to church with baby.
and so I follow her...this morning, I wake caleb earlier (7am) so by 8.45 he'll be sleepy and he takes his 1st nap earlier than usual. the plan worked. he slept for 45 mins before going to church. At least he had his morning nap! It's so important not to miss the 1st nap. we took cab to church (hubby sacrificed money to save caleb's nap). so when we arrive in chruch, we enjoy the praise and worship. by 11.30 caleb was sleepy again and ready for his 2nd nap..so hubby put him to sleep outside..well, this is a sacrifice too..coz one of us has to miss half of the sermon.
the plan worked well...caleb was not as cranky as all the other sundays..coz he had his nap (Although only 45 mins of each nap). But even IF he is cranky after all the plan that we work through and finally I have to face him being cranky..that's just my sacrifice right..

so let all these sacrifice I make is for the glory of God :)

anyway, check this out for info about going to church with baby:
http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/2008/05/church-weekly-disruption.html

My greatest sacrifice

Motherhood does change you alot and often requires your biggest sacrifice (especially those without any helper to take care of your child).

Since I become a mother, I have given up alot of things that I like to do..
For example, just because I want to make sure caleb has enough sleep, I would give up any outings that will take alot of his nap times. If he misses one nap, it's okay but not 2 naps in a day or else he'll become cranky. Anyway, to me caleb's sleep is very important as we all know that when they sleep well, they grow well too. And also when it comes to bedtime, I really want him to sleep in his room, not in a crowded place like malls...imagine yourself sleeping on the street where people walk by..I bet you won't have a good sleep too, right? maybe, when caleb is older and ready for a longer outing, I may take him..but not now..
For this reason, I am really sorry for not being able to come to erinna's and daniel's farewell dinner.
I really want to come..but I have caleb now..and he's my priority. This is what a mother has to sacrifice.

Before caleb was born, I loved going out and just hanging out with friends and be home by midnight. Sometimes I really miss those times. And even to just go out to the mall for 1-2 hours, just to have time for myself..it could not be possible this time. Sometimes I have planned it well but I may have to cancel because my hubby has to work late, or the timing just unfit caleb's schedule. There were once..I really don't know why but I just burst my tears just because I can't go to the mall to buy some things..I know it's not important..but I felt so dissapointed that I couldn't go..desperate enough to have some private time for myself. Again, a sacrifice I've to make. and the next day, I finally could go to the nearest mall to buy some presents for friends..and I have to rush coz I only have 1.5hour to do it and had to be home for caleb's bedtime.

I didn't call friends anymore to chit chat. Friends don't call me too. my sacrifice.
(lucky, got FB..so still updated for their latest news ^^)

I give up my singer duty in chuch music ministry. another sacrifice.

My first commission this year, I spend to buy caleb's stuffs. forget about buying clothes for myself. somehow I just loose the will to buy for myself. For me, I'm happy I can buy nice things for caleb :)

But today I am so relieved to hear pastor preached about whatever we do, we do for the glory of God, including what you do for your family, raising your child, etc.
I so agree with pastor! this mummy job actually takes more sacrifices than any kind of ministries I ever did in church. and truthfully, this is the kind of sacrifice that makes your spirit grows stronger as you kill more of your flesh. This is when you put others first than yourself. This is when you say NO to the things that you want for yourself. it's not easy, but I thank God I am a mother now and that I serve Him now in my true calling as a mother.

take one step back

Just found a wonderful blog which explains my questions- well, at least I think this could be my answer!!! yayyy^^

So..I send message to the blogger and told her about caleb case. and she replied me sooner than I thought. she said that it seems that caleb is not ready for a 4 hourly routine (she's also a tracy hogg's reader). I should go back to 3 or 3.5 hourly routine. well, that makes sense!! I think somewhere between last week and this week I misread caleb's sign. when he refused to finish his milk on 3 hourly routine, i thought that he he should be moved to 4 hourly routine. and after i read this blog, she mentioned that some babies in this 3-4months period may not be so hungry in the morning, so feed him on 4 hour duration in the morning but continue with 3 hourly for the rest of the day! well, bener bangettttt caleb pas pagi bangun tidur yang gak mau minum susu...kaya belom laper gitu...dan aku lgs buat kesimpulan..wah caleb skrg uda masuk ke 4 hourly schedule nehhh..

well. the blogger says..not all babies at 4 month old ready for 4 hourly routine..her own baby starts at 7 months old!! hmm yahh maklum lahh saya 1st time mother yg sangat tidak pengalaman dan belajarnya cuma dari buku..yah ngikutin textbook persis deehh hehehe...

anyway, this is what she says on her blog:
So how do you know if your baby is ready?

1. My first answer to that is, you will just know when your baby is ready. With both of my kids, they moved to 4 hours themselves, I didn't move them. I had to let them, but that is a different post.
2. Item 2. Baby should be STTN (sleeping through the night). By STTN I mean 12 hours with no feedings. The book, however, says 9-10 hours before moving to a 3.5 hour schedule. Watch your child and do what you think is best.
3. Item 3. Your baby will likely be taking 5 feedings a day between 7 AM and 7 PM (or 7:30-7:30, depending on your waketime) before you are ready for the 4 hour schedule. 4 hours means 4 feedings. You want to be sure your baby is physically ready. That is why I say don't push. Some women need to do 5 feedings if they are BF (breastfeeding). Watch yourself.
4. Your baby is always asleep when it is time to eat. This is the biggest sign. Items 2 and 3 are taken care of, and now you watch for item 4. By always I mean most of the time. Some babies (like my Brayden) will be able to have longer wake times and therefore will sleep later. Others (like my Kaitlyn) will have the same waketime length, but just sleep longer for naps. I just wouldn't move to a four hour schedule if the child wasn't sleeping well. If you are entertaining them before mealtime on a 3 hour schedule, imagine what it will be like if you extend it to four hours.
5. Baby isn't that hungry for each meal eating every three hours. They don't show interest in it.

Let's say your baby can go longer in the morning but not all day, what do you do? I say this is a sign that 4 hours is coming soon. Until then, let baby go 3.5 hours in the morning, then do 3 hours the rest of the day. You can do a combination 3-3.5 or even 3-4 hour schedule.
Don't feel pressured to move to a 4 hour schedule. Don't measure your success by it. Kaitlyn didn't move to 4 hours until she was almost 7 months old, and Brayden was older. They may have gone sooner with pushing, but I let them set the pace and we all were peaceful, happy and relaxed. Don't thrown one more thing into the mix to stress you and and cause you frustration.
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after reading this, I feel like there's a light of hope that this can be the solution..so tomorrow I'll take one step back! pray for my success!

source- http://babywisemom.blogspot.com/2007/12/when-to-move-to-4-hour-schedule.html