Motherhood: 10 key learnings

It’s been a while since I updated, the baby rarely naps and is always curious, wants to chitchat and hangout. A serious case of FOMO. I guess life is fair because he’s very high maintenance in the day time demanding full engagement but he started sleeping 10-11 hours through the night at 9 weeks old.

I don’t have the luxury of time to do my regular things in the day and by the time I put him down to sleep and take a shower it’s already 8 pm. I typically have something to eat and then crawl into bed by 930pm to start the day at 6am, a full-on non-stop day with a baby that doesn’t nap.

He doesn’t cry much though so it’s largely my Mum guilt for not entertaining my pet human who is wide awake and raring to go and discover the world. We have pockets of time where he’s doing his independent play for 20minutes.

Looks like Chicken Scrawlings is slowly turning into a mum blog, which I was quite strongly against, trying to hold on to my old identity.

Bear with me because with Covid, there has been no travel, very little work and I have had no time or energy to hustle because I have no hired help for childcare – previously by circumstances but now it’s becoming a choice. Slim pickings and we haven’t had any luck at all finding reliable and safe help. Maybe that’s just the universe pointing me in the direction of Motherhood content which I had been so hesitant about previously.

So, here are some key learnings and great tips that I picked up along the way. We’re hitting the 16 weeks mark tomorrow. :)

  1. Double up mattress protector and bedsheet so you don’t have to change sheets in the wee hours of the morning when there’s a leak.
  2. Buy kimono onesies for 0-3 months… I still don’t understand why they still design onesies that go over the head. it’s so difficult to get the top over a wobbly neck of a newborn, so why add to the inconvenience of a quick change
  3. Footed onesies pyjamas and onesies for wintertime… we keep losing a sock or two, so thank goodness I was prepared with footed pants and PJs.
  4. Cool the boiled water to 70-80 degrees before storing in a thermos flask so you don’t have to wait for the water to cool down for formula when the baby is screaming murder. I sometimes also portion out the milk to dispense in the travel containers so we’re ready to feed when the hangry wailing starts, sometimes he goes from laughing to screaming in 5 seconds.
  5. Barrier cream not just for diaper rash. I never used it as a preventative measure, thinking it was something to treat the rash. I’ve started using hemp and bamboo inserts in the disposable diapers overnight as my baby is a heavy wetter, so the usual diaper cream won’t work as it makes the insert repel water. So I use the cloth diapering balm from Grovia. The zinc version is always sold out, so hoping to try that version next!
  6. Cleaning mouth encourages good habits for teeth brushing in the future. There are mix feelings about this and Asian confinement nannies do it but seem like the western world doesn’t. I follow my paediatrician’s logical advice, I like cultivating a good dental hygiene habit and baby loves getting his gums cleaned.
  7. Double up with cloth inserts for night time and wool covers to prevent leaks. The baby beehinds wool covers work like magic!
  8. Line bedsheets with muslin cloth tucked under the mattress/playmat so you’ll do less laundry, it’s easier to just wash a muslin cloth which dries quickly rather than sheets and the entire playmat.
  9. Bathe the baby to bring a temperature down. Amazing what a warm bath can do and calms the baby down.
  10. Create good habits from the start. You can never spoil a baby so I’m all for picking him up for a cuddle and walk when he’s upset… until sleep training! It’s a different can of worms there but Baby G has always been a good sleeper, sleeping 5-6hours in the night at 3 weeks. He was sleeping in his own room by 4 weeks. Highly recommend the books by Suzy Giordano. I read the baby sleep solution, there’s also the book 12 hours by 12 weeks. The methods are merciful in between from crying it out – you wait for 3-5mins then you go in and pat and pressure him/her you are there. It took us 10 days and we’re now at the 3-4 month Leap 4 of sleep regression that hasn’t been ideal but manageable so far, I still get to sleep 8 hours at night despite the interruption.
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