My screaming night banshee

I have yet to see the end of the tunnel where night-waking is concerned. some babies manage it at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months...mine is 10 months and counting. i've got all sorts of theories why maeve is still waking up.
a)sleeping is kinda boring
b)she hasn't learnt to sleep through and i have to teach her (which means prolonged crying with a chance it wouldn't fly)
c) it is all part of God's plan..i am being put through some trial by fire for some reason...and i obviously am not learning the lesson, so the lesson got extended.
reason A is lame and when she cries with her eyes closed, it means she WANTS to sleep. reason B is probable, but i tried cuddling, rocking etc for more than 2 hrs and she outlasted me. still had to surrender and nurse her to sleep. Reason C? well, reason C has me stumped as i have no idea what i need training in. patience perhaps? as for now, i can only beg God every night, "please let her sleep, because i so need to sleep..i haven't slept more than 3 continuous hours in 10 months and i'm beat". now to think positive thoughts and appreciate the fact that she's an absolute angel in the day!

musings upon a crib

1. Despite what Big Important Scientific Researchers say, i believe babies do dream. if not, why does Maeve smile to herself and chuckle while sound asleep in the dead of the night? And if she does dream, what does she dream about to plant that beautiful smile? My guess is fountains and fountains of milk all around her!
2. Why are nursery rhymes so perverse? i mean, think of the poor blind mice who got their tales chopped off, the baby that fell off the tree top, cradle and all, humpty dumpty that got more than his fair share of broken bones, the 24 black birds that got baked alive! it is enough to send any baby to the funny farm. after all, which perverse mother would sing such acts of atrocity to them every day?!
3. Why would we put our most precious ones in a place with bars all around? will they think, "what crime have i committed?"

she's all grown up

it wasn't very long ago i held a 3.2 kg maeve in my arms and stared at her in wonderment. now, 3.2 has become 8.2 and flabby mommy arms have become muscular arms. they grow up so fast. maeve is super clingy, but it is also because she is so mobile now, crawling, standing, cruising..and it is so easy to lose mommy when you're playing. of course, with all that mobility, the number of bruises, grazes, cuts, bumps also goes up. what to do? i am already mourning her babyhood as it is fast coming to an end. toddlerhood looms large and i must prepare myself for the new phase.

my ragdoll

when one falls ill, one feels a tad irritated, perhaps with bits of self-pity thrown in. when a spouse falls ill, you feel helpless and a little sad. When your child falls ill, your heart just breaks into a million pieces. because you can't make her feel better. because you can't take the fever away. because all the kisses and squeezes won't put a smile on her face. because she looks like a little rag doll in your arms with the life gone out of her eyes. maeve ran a fever of 39.5 and i just freaked out, carrying my little rag doll to the nearest clinic at 10pm. thank God for late night clinics. thank God for Brufen. Panadol doesn't work over 39 degrees. fever broke at 2am and my pumpkin was a brand new baby, all smiles and claps and babbles. although it was 2 am, both bern and i sat up to entertain her. we were so glad to have our little imp back!

How many incy-wincy spiders does it take...

..from home to grandma's? 6. from home to ah ma's? about 20, and 10 skimmer-re-rinky's, 11 i-hear-thunders and lots of star biscuits and countless games of peek-a-boo. now our car journeys are calculated that way, so no trips to the zoo yet, until mommmy masters more nursery rhymes. peek-a-boos are great for the journey, especially when maevie is in charge of the "a-boo" bit with her hat. of course when all else fails and she is way way bored, turn on the radio loud and try not to hear the screaming. for now, short trips around home are good. we'll train her in due time to venture further.

am i bootiful?

bumped into an old friend yesterday...and she was gorgeous! as in ravishingly gorgeous! and all of a sudden, feelings of insecurity came smacking at my door. the thing is, i'm so thick-skinned and blase about looks usually (as in i don't even know how to use eye-liner or mascara without doing serious injury to myself) it actually came as a surprise that i would feel, well, not so good. i guess it is because we're the same age, but she had toned arms, no tummy, silky hair and an angel's smile. In comparison, i looked like something the cat dragged in, with tangled curly hair destroyed by the drizzle, and enough tummy fats for maeve to trampoline on. and that is why it is good to marry someone myopic (literally). he thinks i'm gorgeous still...he may be lying through his teeth, no matter. that's all that the shallow me wanted to hear last night!

Miss Hardworking

a couple of nights ago, we were woken at 2am by a jill-in-the-box who popped up from bed and started practising her clapping. so in the dead of the night, clap-clap-clap-clap, ba-ba-ba-ba, cough-cough, louder cough-cough, finally a smack in the face as jill-in-the-box falls on my face in an attempt to wake me. funny how babies conscientiously and judiciously practise new skills at all hours..and adults don't. i can't imagine waking at 2am to practise some new yoga move. her whole recital (including fancy backward moves) lasted one hour after which she flopped forward and fell asleep.thankfully her daddy is on holiday or else he probably won't find it too amusing!