Go Potty!

This is going to be one of my favorite pictures of all time!

Men being men, DH and my dad both asked why I needed to get another potty for DD - can't she just share DS's potty? Well, THIS is why! DS still loves his potty very much and uses it all the time for pees and poops (although we've been trying to wean him onto the big toilet for poops, but we're now wondering if that's the right thing to do because DS ends up playing with stuff in the toilet and I end up having to clean up the mess and wash his hands afterwards. Oh, not forgetting the wads of clean toilet paper gone to waste because DS wants to "wipe" himself after the deed - regardless of whether he has done it or not!). Anyhow, there have been countless times DS and DD have to go potty at the same time. So thankfully, we have TWO potties! :)

Cranky Baby

DD, who is just the sweetest and sleepiest baby ever, has been really cranky at night ever since we arrived in Denver. It's so unlike her. The first night we were here, we couldn't put her down at all. She was just so fussy and so unhappy. She would sleep while someone was carrying her, after being pacified from all the crying. But put her down on the bed and she would start wailing all over again. Well, that night, DH and I took turns to carry her. The next night, she was almost the same, just a little bit better, but I didn't get to really sleep until 8.30am the next day, when DD was willing to be put down to sleep. I've never felt more tired in my whole life!

Well, last night, she was definitely better. She slept by herself most of the time, only being fussy from 12 midnight till 4am. At 4am, I decided to swaddle her (well, in the words of my DH, "Just try it out! What's there to lose?") and she slept for 3 hours straight. I felt wonderful this morning, after 3 solid hours of sleep!

So, we think there might be many reasons for her crankiness:

1. Stress. Everyone's just a little stressed from the move.

2. New environment

3. Cold. She hates the cold. Even in sunny Singapore, she's all wrapped up.

4. Dry air. Here in Denver, where the humidity is almost non-existant, our throats were parched when we first arrived, even though we were drinking lots of water. I can't imagine how bad DD must have been feeling.

5. Blocked nose. I think due to the low humidity, DD's nose has been having lots of crusting. We've had to drop in normal saline and aspirate her nose on an average of once a day.

6. Missing her nanny. My confinement nanny looked after her for 7 1/2 weeks before we left for Denver.

7. Missing her cloth diapers. In Singapore, DD was mainly cloth-diapered. We used prefolds or traditional cloth nappies (muslin cloths) on her and always changed her immediately when she's wet or soiled. We also practice Elimination Communication (EC) and always pee-ed or poo-ed her in the sink when we felt she needed to go. She might just be fussing because she's not used to being in disposables and being ignored when she has eliminated. When wearing disposables, it's difficult to tell if she's "wet" or "dry".

To find out more about EC:
www.whatisec.com
www.pottywhisperer.com

8. Reflux. We think she has reflux because she spits up a lot. Being born early at 37 weeks, it is also likely that she has an immature gut, causing her to have reflux and spit ups. During the nights here in Denver, she spits up more and looks uncomfortable generally.

Anyhow, her night time behavious has been improving. I guess hope all will be back to normal before my parents leave in 2 weeks' time and I have to care for DD and DS during the day by myself.