Pleasures and Pains..

It's been a while since I last posted, so I thought I'd do an update on Mademoiselle...

 

Firstly, we have entered the crazy stage of teething about a few weeks ago, and I can finally see the whiteness beneath her gums which I'm assuming must be the monsters that are putting her through her painful misery. I must admit, I havent found her to be unbearable but it has definitely been bugging her to a point where she will wake up crying (yes, she has become quite aware of the fact that she is able to cry and as a result has been engaging in crying episodes more often). Teejel has become her best friend during these instances, which relieves her in addition to chewing on my finger as she is not comforted by teething toys yet. She often fails to finish her whole feed because of the discomfort, and will eventually need me to soothe her off to sleep. Accompanying the screams and moans, are the runny poop nappies LOL. Teething does not cause SIGNIFICANT diarrhoea; babies are just more likely to have looser, semi-formed stools more frequently. (Diarrhoea is caused by infection, so be wary if your baby has diarrhoea as it could be a symptom of illness/sickness). So because they tend to put a variety of objects in their mouths (including hands) which may carry germs, their sensitive tummies react through excreting looser stool. Also, they produce excess saliva (causing them to drool more) which is thought to irritate the stomach. We got her an Amber Baltic teething necklace but whether it works or not, I wouldn't know (mind over matter, perhaps?). Some mothers swear by these necklaces, so I'll see how it goes and maybe give my take on it once we I've deciphered its effectiveness.

 

Family and friends tend to ask me quite often how I am coping with "sleepless nights" and, well, I really can't complain. The perks of having a formula-fed 4-month old (almost 5-months old) is that she sleeps really well, and for relatively longer periods at night. The older they become, the longer becomes their periods of sleep. So more often than not, she will sleep from about 10.00pm until around 6.00am the following morning, allowing us a good few hours of uninterrupted sleep. However, the opposite is also true; she is awake for longer periods during the day aswell, particularly in the mornings before her bath-time. Which means that the days of being able to have a quick shower during her nap-time and trying to find time to fit in a short nap myself are slowly fading..

 

Within the past month or so, she has also begun smiling and making coo noises more often. And yes, you could just fall in love with her all over again when she smiles at you. She has come to learn that when my phone camera is pointed in her direction, she must smile :) ofcourse I realise that she doesn't understand what a camera is, but it is truly fascinating that she responds with a smile at the sight of the camera. She has also started finding the musical mobile very intriguing. When the music plays, she is dead quiet, but as soon as it stops, she gazes at the mobile characters with a beaming smile and starts cooing at them to entertain her again (which is where I have established that the idea of a remote-controlled musical mobile will be relatively profitable in the baby industry lol). She can throw quite a tantrum when she is in the mood, and when nobody is taking note of her she will ensure that her voice is heard loud and clear.

 

Her hypotonic condition has resulted in some delays in reaching some milestones, of which laughing and squealing is one. Although she smiles and talks to us and coo's to her teddy bears, she is not laughing or making high-pitched squealing sounds yet, as many babies her age are doing. But she is constantly receiving physiotherapy which is helping her develop her strength very nicely alhamdulillah. Her neck is still a bit floppy, but she is getting stronger everyday, which is most evident when she performs during her feeds (she is not shy of throwing a bit of a bitch-fit especially when it comes down to food) She has improved so much and has come such a long way.

 

 

 

 

Recommendation: Dunstan Baby Language

 

Dunstan Baby Language by Priscilla Dunstan

 

Throughout my pregnancy, I was paranoid as to whether my baby would suffer from colic, or whether she would just simply be a cry-baby (thankfully she’s not). So I came across a DVD compiled by a former mezzo-soprano (a female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices) Priscilla Dunstan who claims that infants’ cries can be categorized into 5 groups according to the sound of each cry. By recognizing the meaning of each cry, this approach aims at helping you as the caregiver to respond to the cry correctly before the infant reaches the stage of crying hysterically. Her claims are based on the idea that humans have reflexes (e.g. sneezing and hiccups) which creates a pre-emptive cry once sound is added to that reflex, thereby indicating what the baby requires (sleep, food, comfort, burp etc.).  She then shows the different ways of addressing the crying baby’s needs. Below are the five different baby cries and what they mean:

                “Eh” – baby wants to be burped

                “Neh” – baby wants to drink

                “Eairh” – baby has lower gas (flatulence or upset tummy)

                “Heh” – baby is experiencing discomfort (eg. hot or cold; need a nappy change)

                “Owh” – baby is tired

After watching the DVD and making notes in my “baby diary” (yes, I kept a journal of everything during my pregnancy from cravings to endless and unnecessary shopping lists of items that I would ‘need’ once baby is born lol) on the different cries to listen out for, I felt prepared for the worst. I must admit that when I read about the Dunstan Baby Language at first, the concept made no sense to me until I watched it and realised that there actually was a distinction between the different sounds of babies’ cries. Although Dunstan’s theory is not scientifically validated, thousands of moms have found the DVD to be useful on application especially during the early days of infanthood. Most first-time mothers find it difficult to determine whether their baby is crying because he/she has a wind or whether he/she was simply just tired, which is where we thank Priscilla Dunstan for making our lives that much easier. Even for a mother like me whose baby doesn’t feel the need to scream my ears off when she is hungry and/or tired, I learnt the different techniques for winding my baby. So in other words, I found it to be a good source of preparation before the little one arrives.

It is available on DVD and in paperback form. I see on the official website (http://www.dunstanbaby.com/) that it can now be downloaded as an application on your phone as well. I don’t celebrate Christmas (I am Muslim) but I thought for those who do, it can serve as a wonderful gift for somebody who is expecting. If there are any moms reading this who have tried the DBL, feel free to post a comment on how useful you found it and whether you recommend it. I, for one, most certainly do.