33 months on World Peace Day

The Toddler was 33 months on World Peace Day yesterday. #worldpeaceday

 It is a day in recognition of a world favouring peace, and for once not a day AGAINST something! We should definitely have more of these!

Days to call Peace to the fore in the World, for our children!


I saw this cute dress with the peace sign & "Peace" written on it at A-C-Kermans yesterday, and could not resist.

To get her to stand still for a photo is not always possible...

The Teen even tried taking a picture through a window...

Peace!

33 months is all busy and talkative and major Tantrums.
The tantrums are even more forced with louder theatrics.
And to get the off button for sleep stays a major issue!

But, she cannot get cuter than this! We are sure of it! ;-)

Sleep fail

#sleepfail What a boring topic. The toddler and not sleeping.You would have thought that by two and a half years we would have cracked the code for getting a child to sleep?


Not so!

We had two sleep drives this week already, and last night Hubby proclaimed he was not going to drive around again!

What happened? (Murphy had fun, for sure!)

After the usual bed-time routine stuff of bath, Dad reading, and me getting into bed with her, Little Missy was bright-eyed and ready-for-action!

We even tried all the lights-off-and both sleeping with her in our bed…
We dozed off, off course.

In the end I just gave up and took a bath with her supervising on the side!

At half past ten we got into bed with her and told her that she could stay awake, but we are sleeping now.
The reverse psychology (or maybe finally tiredness?) finally kicked in, and she was gone.

But it was too late for a toddler of her age, and this morning she did not want to wake up…
I left her sleeping on a mattress at day care!

Total sleep fail! (Hung head in shame)



Photo: Earlier this week at day care: The Toddler loves her Dora the Explorer shoes.

Sunday evening, and we are doing a sleep drive

The Toddler had such a great weekend with lots of sun and outdoors and play with friends and helping us to water the garden...
When she announced she is going to stay awake just now, there was only one option that we know addresses a lot of frustration... For all of us!
5 minutes on a sleep drive in the car, and we are back with a little one that has passed out completely!

Hope you had a great weekend as well!


Photo: Helping to water the garden in her swimwear on Saturday.

Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

Dear Toddler: SLEEP!

Hair bow and coffee

We do not hold this against you:

When you sometimes makes us do the musical chairs on our bed and yours, we do not hold it against you!
When we keep to a strict bedtime routine, but you still do not want to settle...
When we have to drive around at night to get you to sleep...
Even though you are happy to go to sleep with Mom, and later changes your mind, and want Dad to come and sleep with you...
When you do not want to go to sleep...
When we have to switch off all the lights, and you are forced to come to bed...
When you sleep in the middle between us, and we hold onto the edge of the bed, fighting for a bit of blanket...
When you have a bad dream, and do not stop crying in the night...
When you still want to sleep in in the mornings and we have to dress you upside down...
When Dad thinks we are never going to sleep again, although we only had a little bit of upheaval before twelve at night...

When we see that cute little face early in the mornings, we do not hold the sleep issues against you!
All is instantly forgiven!

Luckily we are a team working around the clock. When I give up in despair, your dad steps in! And when he gives up, I am ready to take on the next round!

(This too will pass! This too will pass!)

Related posts:
Mornings first photo at day care #20 - Monday morning sleepy
The toddler is down at 8

Dragonflies & Astronauts: Beautiful!

The picture of a sleeping toddler was not to be on Saturday night when we went to see a show of The Parlotones…


We usually don’t have a problem and at eight (nine perhaps on a weekend) she goes down, but Saturday she was bright and breezy!
Murphy does not sleep!

But we left the Toddler with the Teen. We haven’t done that much up until now!
You would think that we have a babysitting minder in-house… But, we mostly prefer to take the Toddler with. If that’s not an option, we leave her with her grandparents!

We worry about that “what if?” something very bad happens! (Just in case…)

Anyhow, we left the Teen and Toddler with a Barbie movie! And it went well! Except for lots of bed jumping that had to be endured, apparently…
(The Teen doesn’t mind at all, because she is getting a bit of pocket money!)

We went to see the live 3D movie of The Parlotones show of Dragonflies & Astronauts! It was incredible! Some of their best music in a great post-apocalyptic (?) show! Loved it! They had some problems sorting out the technicalities in the first songs, but from there we were with them on the stage!

We were sitting with our 3D goggles, and I wanted so much to take a picture. Imagine me with the blackberry with the 3D goggles in front of it! I only got this very poor image…

I hope there is a DVD coming out? I hope they do it again?
I want some more!
In the meantime I am listening to all their songs…

Yes, it was nice! (I am officially a Parlotones groupie now!)

Chainsaw in the bedroom

I am a very good sleeper. I love sleeping, and have never struggled going to sleep. There is nothing that is more satisfying than SLEEP!

That is, until I got pregnant again, and since then I was more awake than I wanted. First with the uncomfortable pregnant belly, and then the baby and the nightly sleep deprivations...

I became aware of something else as well. Something which did not bother me at all before... There is a Chainsaw in the bedroom. It is real and it is very very LOUD! It makes sleeping very difficult! To drift away in that wonderful magical world of SLEEP... Very difficult!

I am lucky that as soon as I break into the threshold of sleep, I am away for the night.

To get there is the problem.

Ways I try to deal with the Chainsaw:

• Nudge or poke or stroke of the offending noise maker.

• Trying to straighten the cushion for another sleep position.

• Putting the cushion over my own ears.

• I have on occasion gone to sleep in the Toddler’s room. (It seems the Chainsaw does not bother her at all when she lies next to it!)

• When trying to verbalize the problem, I only get back that I have my own Chainsaw melodies... “sigh”

• On occasion I have tried to record it, and strangely it has worked very well. The offender wakes up, or the sounds are not that loud anymore...

The Toddler is growing up, and our broken sleep is getting less and less. With that of course the impact of the Chainsaw will grow less and less. There is real hope here! (Smile)

Until then, what other remedies do you suggest for dealing with snoring?

Sleep adventures

I have just spent an hour with the toddler on the bed, and now Dad is trying some more. Another hour has passed already, and we are still hearing the giggle from the bedroom...

Sleep stays an “adventure” every night! Sometime she announces that she is going to bed, and we have to move to walk with her up the steps. Even when it is before her bed time. We do try to keep to the bed times! Sometimes she asks for “booby” and falls asleep on the breast. And it’s easy...

But sometimes we get nights, like tonight, where nothing helps! Especially when we have decided to drink that second glass of wine... Murphy does keep his ears wide open, you know!

Nowadays she also wakes up with a scream when she sees we are not sleeping next to her!

Sorry, have to go make a bottle... Dad has just sent me a sms from the bedroom.

Fifty minutes later, but Little Miss and Dad are finally down for the night. I had to lie down as well. Yawn!
Who says that sleeping with the toddler is not a fun adventure? (Sarcastic smile)

Now all that’s left is get myself off to bed...

Good night!

(Photo: Mieka earlier today, fast asleep on the coach!)

Related posts:
Cuddle at bedtime or cry-it-out babbies
List of tactics to get them to sleep

We don’t listen about having babies

Laura at Harassed Mom asks the question why nobody tells new parents about the bad stuff about having babies. I believe we DO know and hear it - all the warnings and jokes about having babies - but we think it can’t be as bad as they say.

And then it is much worse! The not-sleeping! The LIVE-Changing impact on your carefree lifestyle!  The impact on you budget – for at least the next twenty years. The impact on the parents’ relationship with each other... I could go on and on. We all know and experience the list...

But we don’t care at all! Because we look at this wonderful creature in our lives who have come to enrich it, and we can’t imagine our lives without her!

Look at that face while sleeping... Our Angel!

I know there are mothers who struggle with post-natal depression, and dads who feel threatened by the new intruder. I acknowledge that it could be far worse to be in that position.

Luckily with Mieka, the second time around, we did not have to face this.

The first time around I had to deal with a jealous husband (now an X, the canceled one) who demanded that I spend most of my time with him, and not our new-born daughter (now the teen). Luckily she slept through quite soon. I remember I used to think that I could deal with any baby, but it was much worse dealing with him...

But we get through these times much sooner than we think possible. I would not change having two beautiful daughters in my life! It has been the most rewarding experience and the relationships will continue to enrich our lives!

Thank you that we don’t listen to the doomsayers!

Infant dyschezia translates into not sleeping

Mieka 4 days old (photo Debbie Rogers)

I remember those early days with our baby. From the first night she did not sleep for very long, and the crying was exhausting. Especially from suicide hour and later. Watching the clock goes from 12 to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4...
Friends of ours have got a little girl keeping them up now. They were lucky with their first-born, a boy. Not so with number two. Margot at Jou Ma se Blerrie Blog also has a Richie who goes into screaming marathons. I really feel for them.  I think we still feel the aftershocks of those early not sleeping...

Some calls it colicky babies! It’s definitely got something to do with the little stomachs. Because they wiggle and squirm while screaming at the top of their lungs. And there is not much we can do about it. Gripe water and rocking and breastfeeding and and...

Our paediatrician called Mieka’s "problem" infant dyschezia. A condition to do with the passing of wind, or before the passing of a soft bowel movement. It also gets diagnosed when the infant is healthy and has passed all of their milestones. We could see that Mieka was very uncomfortable after she had her meals. Wind and crying definitely went hand in hand. We called it the “poopies” and it kept us busy until she was about eight months old.

I do not hear it getting mentioned when talking about colicky babies. It is definitely something to consider when the little one screams and you can see that it has something to do with a bowel movement. Especially when it is soft bowel movements...

After we knew what the problem was, we had more sympathy and understanding for our little one. We used to jump on an exercise ball with her, and many a times she fell asleep on her dad’s shoulder... Somehow we made it through those nights. (Big smile!) I now can make lists of sleep tactics!

“This too has passed!”

Cuddle at bedtime or cry-it-out babies

The latest research published about babies and sleep has again made me aware that we have been doing it right! Huge sigh of relief! We have not been doing the crying method with regards to sleep. When Mieka cries, we attend to her. We stay with her, and I nurse her, until she falls asleep. It feels right! It feels like the humane thing to do! But we (even ourselves who sometimes put the own barrier on our thinking) get feedback, even when she was very small, that you should let them cry, or not get used to your arms. Or you will have a spoilt baby…


That standard question that you get asked, especially when they are small little babies: “Is she a good baby?” As opposed to “Naughty”? What is that? Because they are more awake, and demand more of your attention, then the assumption is that she is naughty? And when you are sleep-deprived because of nightly wakings, then you are somehow doing something wrong?

Maybe it is something that goes into default mode. Default mode to parenting styles which was the in-thing when we were growing up. I even made the “mistake”, for the sake of peace in my previous life, to let my first-born cry after she was put down. (The teen has got ONE valid reason already when she blames her parents one day at the psychologist.) I cringe now, but at the time I had to please a jealous husband…

Penn State researcher Douglas Teti “examined the role of emotional availability on infant sleep” by putting in cameras in the bedrooms of babies between one month to 24 months.

He found:

• Regardless of a family’s night-time routine: parents who were responsive and warm had fewer night wakings and an easier time drifting off. It makes the child feel safe and secure!
• Scepticism towards sleep training: 1. it does not work! 2. It affects the parent-child relationship itself.

Now I know why it didn’t feel right to pat the baby, NOT look at her, and leave the room, and let them cry for a while before going back in. Still not making eye-contact! (It’s cruel! – my personal view!)

It gets better! Even though we had a bad night last night where Mieka just would not settle (I blame the five o’clock nap she got in the car), she mostly goes to sleep within 20 minutes when she is healthy.

All this too will pass, and we will definitely miss that small little body throwing her legs across us when lying next to us in bed…

Looking at the stars

The blocked nose of the past few days made it very difficult for the toddler to go to sleep. More than the usual! Even breastfeeding did not do the trick; because she had to come up for air more than she was able to drink! The flu is a bummer!

She was crying and putting up a fight to go to sleep last night. Out of sure desperation I drew the curtains and blinds and told her we were going to look at the stars!

In suburbia there is not much to see through the haze of lights and smog. We could distinguish a faint glimmer of some stars above the silhouettes of the nearby houses in the complex. We did see two planes going by as well...

It was five minutes at the most, and I heard the faint snore of a blocked little nose... Mieka was gone for the night! I called Dries to come and look at the sweet figure lying on the bed. Very precious!

Dries said tonight he missed her in our bed last night! (We don’t know what we want, do we?)

I have found another tactic to get her to sleep: Looking at stars! Definitely worth trying again!

Sick out

Trying to take the nappy off the teddy,
patience very far away

When the little one is sick, Every-Thing comes to a standstill! E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G! Shew-eeeh! It is rough! And we have only got one toddler...


All our plans for the weekend were cancelled because of sickness! Not because of our toddler who was sick, but because of the other parties involved. In the end it turned out to be a good thing. Toddler is “Miss Difficult” herself! Nothing seems to be pleasing or to her liking! When something falls on the floor, she goes into “Princess”-mode, and goes “Uh-uh-uh!!” until someone picks it up, or we suffer a MAJOR tantrum upheaval! (Not that we “dance” to her every whim...)

She’s not feeling well! We KNOW THAT! We FEEL THAT!

My Mom looked after her on Friday, and said that she kept them very busy. When she traced the outline of her hand on a paper, she had to do it again. And again. And again... Uh, uh, uh!

The fever has finally broken! We are only struggling with the blocked and runny nose. It had us up until 12 last night, because she could not drink or sleep properly. Hopefully she will sleep in her bed again tonight, because my back is broken, and Hubby’s back is broken. She sleeps on 90%of our bed, and we hang on to dear life! The double bed is way too small!

We went to the movies yesterday, and at one stage I thought that we did not fully think it through. The toddler was saying “Klaar!” (Finish) when the previews were showing already. She was walking around in the isle, and moving from my lap to her sister’s lap to Dad’s lap! Shrek is a very very very long movie! Luckily the storyline was not bad! We made it to the end! Huge achievement!

We have also been collecting a variety of containers with food. We try different kinds of food/snacks/tit-bits to get her to eat, but when Little Missy is sick, nothing seems to her liking! We actually got excited when she ate her first spoonful of lasagne!

We survived the last four days! Well done to us! (Huge smile of relief!)

Tiny Tumbles:
exercises with teddies (going to the Teddy Bear Clinic)
(Mieka was not her happy self this Saturday)

Related posts:

Our little toddler is sick

List of tactics to get them to sleep

List of tactics to get them to sleep

Hubby is sick! Toddler is sick! THE FLU! They are a sorry bunch here! I am ignoring that irritating scratch in my throat. I was lying next to the toddler last night; on the ground (Take Note!), when I was thinking how many tactics we use to get them to sleep. ANY-THING, even something as sleeping on the floor, will sound a bit crazy when someone tells you about it. But not when you are into desperate measures for sleep.

I was reading Maxabella’s post at Real Bloggers United about her sleep deprived years and that she found that Patience was her partner. I was feeling very smug. It seems they had a much harder time than we are having...

Just for interest sake. I was sleeping on the floor in Mieka’s room, because Dries has BAD BAD flu and he was in our bed. Mieka did not want me to put her down in her cot. So I made us a bed on the floor, and spent the night there. Not very comfortable! I was cold the whole night, while she was burning up with fever... The things you do for sleep!

The tactics we use to get them to sleep (tactics that work):

• Breastfeeding (one of my favourites);
• Bottle;
• Rocking them in your arms (although it is not one of Mieka’ favourites);
• Sitting on an exercise ball while rocking them (used when Mieka was smaller.);
• Walking with her on your shoulder while busy in the house (tactic of Dries);
• Driving around in the car;
• Wearing them in a pouch;
• Pushing them in a pram. Back and forth, or going for a walk;
• Lying next to them on the bed until they fall asleep;
• Looking at stars. (added on 2-10-2010)

Any other suggestions?

(Notice that we don’t do the cry out method.)

Symptoms of toddlerhood: The whistle and not sleeping

One of the symptoms of knowing that you have a toddler in the house: the tantrum! The shriek which comes with the tantrum has turned into the whistle with tantrum. Pitch-high! I’ve had a couple of “What de heck?”s. What is that? It is a steam pot! No, it is somebody whistling! NOOO, it is the toddler showing her displeasure.


Margot taught me about the shriek. Her Felix is a month older than Mieka and I was prepared. The whistle? Maybe it is because we are trying to ignore the tantrums as best as the situation allows. Not always possible when you are not at home... Luckily the divisive technique is a good one to follow! (Thumbs crossed!)

Another one of the symptoms of toddlerhood (babyhood) is of course the sleep disturbances. Friends announced tonight that they are pregnant, and I was thinking of them after we came back from another late night trip to get the toddler to sleep. When all else fails the most fail-proof method of getting our little one to bed is the car-driving technique. It works within ten minutes at the most!

We did the whole routine of bath, reading, and breastfeeding. I gave up after Mieka was still playing all over me and the bed. After that we called in Dad with the bottle! He also came walking down with her in the arms... Maybe it was the Pentaxim immunisation that she got this evening? Who knows? Parenting is all about guess work. Sometimes we get it right, and sometimes we are just plain lucky! Also of course those little angels working overtime...

Congratulations, Stefan and Irene, we know you are going to enjoy it! Yes, we do!
Even while we are complaining, we love them to bits! (Big smile!)

Sleep woes continue

I have been reading Tasneem at MumDrum's sleep woes. I was patting myself on the back, saying that we have it a little bit easier. Not so!


As soon as we start to think that the toddler has a sleeping routine and that she is sleeping right through, everything changes! Murphy’s Toddler’s Law?

Most recent sleep stories:

- I sit with little Missy Toddler in her room, reading a book, and then breastfeeding her until she falls asleep.

- I try to put her in her bed.

- The legs start kicking, and she arches her back. (Swear-worthy moments!)

- In the end she ends up in our bed – for the whole night!

- I am much smarter now. I start the bedtime routine in our bed, and as soon as she is asleep, I carry her to her bed. (I think I have a 10% success rate at the moment. Sigh!)

- Hubby usually takes over at nine when I struggle to get her to sleep (from half past seven or eight at night). I miss him terribly tonight – he is not here, and I was not able to do anything else! (How do the single moms cope? I know, I ask this on a regular basis. You rock, single moms!)

- I do not have a problem with our toddler sleeping with us. But it is extremely uncomfortable hanging for dear life on the side of the bed, usually with only half or a fraction of the blankets covering us. The rest she kicks off as soon as we place it over her!

- Last night was extremely taxing. At one in the morning we were taking her temperature. Yes, she had a bit of a fever, and we had to put in a suppository. The tenth day flu/fever after the MMR injection?

- My most favourite wish at the moment – to sleep, and sleep, and SLEEEEEP!

- I know we will experience this most wonderful, precious gift of sleep somewhere in the future! Hang in there, Powerwoman!

(Photo: Mieka at the hockey game on Saturday where the teen played at her school.)

Our little Princess at 16 months; an update

(The detour at the hospital yesterday, with the abscess, got us a little bit side-tracked.)

What she is doing now at 16 months :

- I am a little bit worried about the language development. A friend said she should be speaking 10 words by now. Let me count: Mamma, Pappa (daddy), tatta, hello, Arnia... She is even calling every other object “pappa” now? And the rest is mermaid-speak. Should I be getting worried?

- The finger still points and she now comes to fetch us to walk with her. Not that it is always clear what she wants. It seems she is happy to go in any direction, as long as we are going with her.

- The new class at day care has definitely “turned on a few more lights”. She seems to be more interested in drawing, building puzzles and reading. It was a good thing to have moved her from the baby class. They also don’t have any problems with her going to sleep on the mat. She spends two hours sleeping in the early afternoon, a bit longer than the rest of her friends. (But she used to sleep twice during the day in the baby section).

- I am still breastfeeding. The two year goal is within reach! I think it is a comfort thing during the night. She loves to sleep while being latched on. I am treasuring these wonderful bonding moments. After I have seen the Avatar movie, I think of breastfeeding in the same context as the species on Pandora who latches on to the Tree and the animals with their “hair”.

- I am struggling to get her 100% healthy. She has missed the MMR vaccine at 15 months. It seems that she has an allergic type of sinus problem. I think milk is number one suspect, but I have looked on the shelves, and don’t think that soya is a good alternative. I feel a bit unsure to cut it from her diet at this stage? (Which a friend suggested.)

- She is sleeping much better. The problem is getting her to fall asleep. I feel that 8-9 is a bit late, but that is usually the time she goes “down”. She wakes up once or twice, and sometimes she goes right through until 6. I hate it every day I have to wake her for day care. Powerwoman is allowed to say it, and to keep on hating it! Not nice to be a working mother when you leave a sleepy baby in somebody else’s arms...

- She loves shoes! She has no problem in the mornings to sit down for us to put on her shoes. And she doesn’t take it off until she goes to bed at night. It was a struggle yesterday to take it off in hospital. She was trying to put it on again the whole time. She is a girl, for sure! (Smile)

When all else fails...

It has been a rainy LOOONG weekend! Wonderful weather and wonderful to have had a long weekend! (Sigh!)


It is very strange for this time of the year to have this kind of weather. Overcast drizzling weather. It feels like we are living somewhere near the coast.

This weather is not doing any good with regards sickness! The toddler is still struggling with her upper respiratory tract infection, but it seems we are beginning to beat it. She is not getting fever anymore! We are lending a nebulizer, and it seems to help a little. The first time that we are trying it! Dries put out his back picking her up, and sleeping next to her in our bed. Because she is not feeling well, she wants to be in our arms the whole time!

I was struggling to put her to bed, again, tonight! My parents are always very successful pushing a pram to get her to sleep. I tried it, and it took me less than five minutes and she was snoring! When all else fails, do the tried and tested! (I have learnt my lesson!)

(Photo: Mieka at Founder’s Grill yesterday where we met my brother for his birthday! Great place!)

The pout

Lately the toddler has been walking around with a pouty mouth. She pulls her mouth into pout while she is busy playing or calling the dog, or mermaid-speaking... Luckily it is not an expression of unhappiness! (I hope!) Maybe it is the teeth; that same teeth that get blamed for everything when our Precious One is feeling out of zinc.


Like now! She’s sick again. Only three weeks after the last bout of upper respiratory infection. It is the same slimy stories again... We are getting sick and tired of it! She is coughing with a runny nose, wheezy chest, and vomiting because of all the phlegm. We are exhausted already, because the fever rears its ugly head during the night!

I am beginning to think that the day care plays a big role with Mieka getting sick on a regular basis. Woking mother complaint, again! But we will just have to deal with it. I remember that the teen also got sick quite a lot, but when she started with school, she had built up an immense immunity. She did not get sick during the important school years.

Powerwoman, and Hubby, will just have to deal with it in the meantime. Luckily we share in the sickness duties as well. (Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hubby!!)

We went on a real date today. We dropped Mieka off with my parents, and the teen went to see the boyfriend playing rugby. We went to see the popular Avatar. It has been showing for ages (and ages), but we eventually got there. In 3D! It was a blast. The last time I saw something in 3D, we got the paper goggles. Today we got real plastic goggles! (Pandora makes earth look bleak in comparison. We GOT the environmental lessons as well! Amen!)

Afterwards we said to each other: We loved going to the movies on our own, but maybe we should have gone home to sleep... that elusive sleep!
Thumbs for sleeping tonight! (Wishful smile!)

More sleeping woes

We need some sleep! We had a terrible night the previous night! I posted the Wordless Wednesday today just to remind me of the angel she is when she is sleeping. (Smile)
I got the little toddler into bed at around eight, but she woke up every hour after that. At one stage she was walking around our bed, very high spirited! Nothing more depressing than a wide awake toddler after 12 at night! AARghh!
She spent most of the night in our bed, with our bums hanging off the bed. I finally put her back into her bed at 4:50. We are supposed to get up at 5...
She is sleeping now in our bed, and thumbs crossed that tonight will go much better... We are still not sure what is bothering her.
The things you do (tick off) at night to get the toddler to go back to sleep:
- Breastfeeding (works 99% of the time);
- Make sure baby is covered and not cold;
- Check/change the nappy – just in case (most of the times not a problem);
- Try the dummy (which the toddler is not very fond of);
- Make a bottle (just in case);
- Take her into bed with us;
- Turn on a light in the passage (maybe she gets a bit apprehensive of the dark?);
- Put on some cream against eczema (in case it itches);
- Anything...

Sleep! Goodnight!

The toddler and instructions

A great milestone has been reached. The toddler understands enough to be able to perform relatively simple instructions or tasks.
A favourite is throwing things into the dustbin. (I can just imagine we are going to search for our things from now on in the dustbin...)
The best is the fact that she is willing to do it over and over again.
“Give the dog a snack.” (Also a favourite activity)
“Take this to your dad.”
“Bring the book/toy/bottle.”
I am amazed at how much she understands, even though the communication depends on the pointy finger and grunts...
The more we are able to keep her occupied (read HAPPY), the more we are able to get in a bit of rest. (I love this phase – hope it will last for while? Before they notice that it is not that cool to do what your parents instruct you to do? (Smile)
Now, if we can only give an instruction with regards the sleeping...
We went out of our way last Saturday to go and buy a duvet at Tree House, a wonderful baby room decoration shop. I saw the same type of duvet at a friend’s house. Mieka has been sleeping very well since Saturday night. The duvet is light, but also warm. It helps because she seems to keep it over her during the night, where the rest of her blankets invariable landed up at the bottom of her feet.
(Thumbs crossed!)
(The toddler is fourteen and a half months)

(Photo: Mieka with the dog last night)

Related posts:

14 months

13 months

The personality of the toddler

The toddler is walking