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Sleep Training Progress

It has now been exactly one week since we started sleep-training Claire. Although we haven't made any miraculous changes to her sleeping habits, her sleeping has certainly gotten better. Starting Friday, she has started to take at least 1+ hour nap per day and only protests napping in her crib about 20% of the time. This is a remarkable improvement from only napping 30 minutes at a time and flat-out refusing to sleep in the crib during the day (she would only nap in her swing). Her nighttime sleep continues to stay consistent with about 3 wakings per night. Since she is almost 5 months old (21 weeks this Thursday), I have been told that we can start to try for 2...

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My Turn to Fart Rainbows

I didn't mean to offend anyone with my last post. I think I may have made a mistake by choosing to title the post "Keepin' it Real," because it was not my intention to imply that my blog is more "real" or better than any other blogs out there. Yes, this blog is real because the writings come from my heart and I do not censor my feelings. But other blogs that are full of sunshine and smiles may be just as real, because they all have REAL people behind them. Additionally, I completely understand that we all have different outlooks on life — some people are more positive and optimistic, while others, like me, are more world-weary and pessimistic. And...

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Motherhood for the Introvert

Just in case you weren't aware, today marks an important holiday for the Asian community: lunar new year. This year is the year of the rabbit, and while I hardly pay attention to astrology (western or eastern), I can't help but share this awesomely cute picture with you: (image source) Because today is such an important day in the Chinese culture, J took the day off from work. And he gave me the best new year's day present — He took the baby out with him to dim sum and left me all by myself. For three, GLORIOUS hours. (Well, the dog was home too but let's just pretend he wasn't there for the sake of the story.) You guys, I can't tell you how...

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Sleep Regression

Ever since Claire hit 15 weeks of age (she is now 17 weeks old), she has been becoming increasingly difficult to deal with each passing day. I had read about the dreaded 4-month sleep regression and realized that our child was a classic case: instead of waking up only once or twice in the night, she was suddenly screaming awake 4-6 times a night! What most non-parents don't realize is that (good) sleep begets more sleep. In other words, an overtired baby will have more difficulty going to sleep and staying asleep. So with a baby who is getting less sleep through the night, we were bound to have trouble with naps also. We must've hit our low point yesterday. The omfg the baby...

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