Good (Long) Night Aqui! (and some random tips)

Aqui is sleeping so I'm taking the opportunity to blog...

I'm so proud that Aqui has joined the ranks of sleeping-thru-the-night babies (like her classmate Riley). Last night, I gave in to the advice of the other mums here (PIN group and facebookie mum Lisa) to leave Aqui alone and just let her sleep through the night. In the past, I wake her up at around 2 or 4 for a feed whenever I hear her suck her thumb noisily. I've done this as I'm worried that she might get ulcer or something from hunger (I really believe that hunger can burn holes in your tummy!). But since most of the babies around us seem to start sleeping through the night at this age, I gave in as well. I was advised that if Aqui was hungry, she would definitely let me know with a cry. The result - Aqui having slept through from 10pm to 6am and me- having no sleep at all! I was so worried that I won't hear her cry so I watched her sleep. In the morning, both of us had eyebags-- her, from having her first long sleep and me from having no sleep at all. I hope this is the first of her many sleep-thru-nights. Soon, we may even be moving her into her own room. I guess I'm glad that I meet other mummies (&bubs) to hear their opinions and share tips and advices.

It is truly a relief to know that Aqui and I are not the only ones going through these stages. I wish there was something like this for friends in the Phils and Malaysia who are first time mums as well. Sure, they have the luxury of receiving advice from their families and relatives nearby but getting advice from people who are going through the same things at exactly the same time sure beats the heck out of "historical" advices. In a way, I am blogging for them as well. They might not leave written comments on my blog but we email and chat sometimes and I feel warm all over whenever they tell me that they've read my blog and picked up something that will help them caring for their newborn. So friends, don't fret - we might be miles away but I assure you, whatever you're going through with your little one, I have gone through it as well (well, most of it) and so have other mums here. And I'll do my best to document it and share them with you.

Let me leave you with some of these handy tips:

1) Breastmilk is best for babies. Yup- not only for eating but for any skin rash! I spray breastmilk after the night feed on Aqui's face whenever she has those red blotchy rashes and they're gone in the morning!

2) Babies do smell. Aside from their poop smell, the creases when left alone will smell. Aqui is growing fast and storing a lot of fat too! It's getting harder to clean the "hidden" areas like her neck, the back of her knees, her armpits etc. If left alone, rash can form and it'll be red and smelly! Aqui had that for a few days in the neck and at first, I decided to just wash it and pat it dry but it got worse so I put on some baby powder. But then I found out the powder can cause lung problems if inhaled so I switched to a cornstarch based powder especially designed for heat rash. I'm now looking for this Huggies Liquid Powder which is the best for these baby rashes as it's in liquid form so there is no risk of inhalation at all.

3) Barrier creams are great but airing baby's bum is best. Although they say that your baby's bum will tell you what it needs, it really doesn't do that, right? My pedia prescribed a zinc-castor oil paste to use on Aqui's bum and I use this on every nappy change. I've also used another brand, Bum Balm, which is made from essential oils and beeswax and found that we liked this more -- but is quite expensive so we use this only at night and when going out. Apart from this, we take every opportunity to air her bum and even expose it to the morning sun. I'm proud to say that her bum is as smooth and silky as can be!

4) Don't wait for baby to develop on her own - Help her reach her full potential. I think that's the gist of all the Plunket DVD's I've seen so far. All the baby movements, exercises and activities point to one thing - help your baby develop as early as possible. Yesterday, we were taught how to stretch baby's legs to help her learn how to roll over when the time comes. Tummy time is for baby to learn to crawl early and exercise the neck. Some mums even give solids to their babies as early as 4 months - it all depends on how your baby adapts.

5) Any language spoken with bubs 3 years and below will never be forgotten. That's what one of the PIN group mums told me yesterday when I posed the question on what should bilingual parents use with their babies. The advice is to use the native tongue when speaking with your little one otherwise your child will pick up your accent and that won't go well when it's time to go to school. So speak the native tongue since your child will easily pick up the local language at school or around the neighborhood anyway.

So that's it for now. Hope you find these useful.

Sa uulitin!