Is breastfeeding right for you?

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It’s been such a popular topic among new moms, or I should say – breastfeeding seems like the only right method when it comes to feeding our precious babies. Because it’s all NATURAL. but just because it’s natural, does it mean it’s the best way for you and your family? Now that I have raised 2 babies and have tried different ways of feeding them, exclusive breastfeeding and partially exclusive pumping, I’m here to tell you – NO! breastfeeding is not the only way to raise a healthy child.

When I had my first baby, I was all for breastfeeding because I thought that’s what a mom is for – to continue providing the nutrients while she’s out of the womb. I had to drink a variety of high protein soup everyday for every meal (yes, even fish broth for breakfast) to get the milk down fast. It quickly proved to me that it was a bad decision – I developed mastitis and got a high fever of 40 degrees for 3 days. While I was experiencing worse than labor kind of pain, I had to breastfeed a fussy baby every 2 hours to get the clogged milk out. It became the worst time of my new motherhood. Because of this, I didn’t push too hard when my second baby didn’t latch on very well. And of course, I refused to have fish broth for breakfast as my mother in law proposed (that part didn’t go very well but that’s ok). I started to pump as my nipples got sore again, which I didn’t expect as a second time mom but that’s what is going to happen every time you have a new baby, sorry if this disappoints you… Now my baby boy is 4 months old and I’m still pumping. He is healthy and I am happy, I even got more time to spend with my daughter, a triple win for the entire family 😉

But just because I had painful experience it doesn’t mean that I suggest you not to breastfeed. No I didn’t say that. I’m going to share with you some of the pros and cons of breastfeeding, just so that you have a second opinion if you are also struggling with breastfeeding.

It’s fresh and nutritious

Who doesn’t want fresh milk? We parents want to provide the best to our children without thinking. Breastfeeding allows the baby to have first hand milk at the best temperature. It also provides nutrients tailored to your baby’s developmental needs. For example, colostrum – the first bit of liquid gold you produce after giving birth, contains the highest level of antibodies and will give your fresh newborn a good kickstart so that she doesn’t get sick when she’s suddenly out into the whole new world full of air pollution and coronavirus (Don’t get me wrong on this, you still need vaccine for it). If you want to give your baby the best but nothing, mommy milk it is.

It’s super convenient

To be honest, this one was the only reason I didn’t throw my baby girl out when she was sucking my burning cracked sore nipples. I love to have the convenience just to lift up my shirt anytime and anywhere to feed her. When travel was still a thing back in 2019, we fed like a champ – on a ferry boat, in the suspension park, in the aquarium, even in my sleep… Not having to pack any bottle is really a huge benefit for life on the go.

It saves you big money

Because it’s all natural, all you need is a mommy with not yet bitten nipples (kidding, it’s not that bad). Who doesn’t love to save big fortune when you already spent thousands even before the baby arrives. I’m still worried that my pump won’t last until I wean my baby and try to sell it. Because it’s expensive:( Not having to mention the investment you have to make to store the milk. Same with formula if you are not pumping. It’s hard to resist from getting time saving and fancy products like formula maker. So if you have a tight budget, breastfeeding is the most economic way to go.

Now I’ve talked about 3 obvious benefits of breastfeeding, here it comes the cons of it.

It’s PAIINFUL

This is something that has been under looked in the postpartum topic. I have all my friends including myself complaining that the process of learning breastfeeding is much more painful than giving birth! Yes, you have to learn it! It doesn’t come naturally! I was the lucky one that I only got sore nipples (mastitis was something else). Pinky milk is more likely to happen if you are unlucky. Yes, your nipple will bleed. Don’t be too hard on yourself is what I tell my mommy friends. You don’t have to cut your nipples to become a great mom. I said what I said.

You are being hooked up 24/7

Being a breastfeeding mom basically means that you have to sit down and just be a milk bottle every 2 hours. even worse, you have to act like a pacifier whenever your baby needs comfort, like when she gets woke up by the noise of your husband opening the bedroom door when you just have put her down. I remember the time when my daughter was cluster feeding and took 2-3 hrs to fall asleep every night. Not to mention that she also woke every 30 mins to nurse in order to get back to sleep, and each nursing session took 30 mins. This all happened while my husband was sleeping soundly… It’s all about balance – he can’t breastfeed so I had to do it, just like I couldn’t sleep so he had to… right? No, THATS NOT RIGHT.

You get NO time for your family

This is why I chose to bottle feed my younger baby – I want to spend time with my daughter, who was used to being the only baby in the family. I’ve heard so many stories about the jealousy feeling the older kids would have towards new babies. Not only it’s too big of a feeling for such small bodies, it also leaves us mommy heart broken. And don’t forget your poor husband, who also wants attention and love of yours.

There are many other reasons why I didn’t breastfeed for the second time, like constant leaking milk and the engorgement pain due to frequent feeding. No matter which method you choose to feed your baby, there is no right or wrong. Just remember to be kind to yourself, like you would do with others.

Why do you need 20 body suits for babies?

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They are so damn cute, aren’t they?! But that’s not the only reason why you need so many while they grow out of them so fast. If you are someone like me who is obsessed with buying stylish and cute baby onsies, read on and I’ll give you enough excuses to do so 😉

They get dirty fast

Before I had babies, I didn’t understand why some mama bloggers would suggest to prepare 6 body suits and 6 sleepers for a newborn. Assume people do laundry once a week, do they really have to wear different outfit each day like us did before the pandemic? After having 2 babies, I’m here to tell you that they do! Sometimes you’d have to change them several times a day just because they are badasses 😉

Babies, especially newborns will have blowouts. The kind of blowouts so forceful that they usually shoot upwards and end up in their back, sometimes in the back of their heads (it’s a real story of my coworker who had his baby almost 20 years ago). Unless you use a diaper size so big that covers their entire back and chest, it’s hard to avoid not to stain their shirts. Also make sure your changing table is not facing your closet with your favourite shirt hung at the front 😉

They also puke A LOT! like tiny badasses… when they are burping, they spill milk. When they are playing, they spill milk. Even when they are sleeping, they spill milk.

Because of those exciting moments, some days you will find yourself doing nothing but just feeding, burping, changing diaper, changing shirt, and start all over again.

To save time

Who has the time and energy to do laundry when you have a sleep deprived body, a screaming toddler and a crying baby? Always having clean pairs of onesies in the drawer comes extra handy for us. You even need a few in your diaper bag in case they have a blowout when you are out with them. I remember the very first time we took our baby girl to the clinic without a diaper bag. She had a huge blow out and we finally found a huge diaper that covered up to her chest and only had a blanket to cover her tiny bare body in the winter… This mama really learned her lesson and now she’s carrying a diaper bag even out for groceries. Now that you have a pile of baby clothes for different occasions, just make sure you have an extra big laundry basket;)

Babies grow FAST

Thanks to this, we don’t have to suffer from the witchy newborn stage forever! But the bad news is that you may only be able to enjoy the cute onesie you got from your baby shower with your favourite meme on it for no more than 2 weeks. Here’s a tip I’m going to share with you. Instead of buying clothes that perfectly fit within your baby’s age range, buy different sizes so that your baby can grow into them. Plus your baby will most likely enjoy the oversized fit so that they can wiggle around more freely. I actually had a few newborn outfits I didn’t even get a chance to put it on my baby girl before they were grown out of. Luckily I had a second chance where my son got to wear them, even the pink ones;)

Motherhood is challenging, no matter you are a first time mom or a mom to a full house. Finding different ways to enjoy your life becomes the priority, believe it or not. Remember, you are worth it. Your baby is worth to own 20 outfits if that makes you smile.

Postpartum depression is real! 7 tips on how to survive the first year of motherhood

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When I was in prenatal class, I remember how many times the instructor let us watch different videos about how people struggled with postpartum depression. I didn’t pay too much attention as I thought an outgoing person like me should have no problem managing the stress. After all, your long pregnancy has finally come to an happy end, you finally get to meet your true love of life and you are suppose to live in a happier life.

After becoming a mom, I slowly learned that life doesn’t work that way. Actually, it likes to hit you with a brick in your head when you think you’ve got everything. I had a pretty successful birth with my daughter. she slept through the first night in hospital (even though I didn’t due to the over excitement). I had my parents in law here to help me for the first 3 months. Looks like I couldn’t be bothered by anything but to just enjoy my wonderful new motherhood.

BANG! How come nobody ever told me that breastfeeding could be worse than the baby delivery?? Yes I read about sour nipples but every source is telling me that if you get it that means your baby is not latching on properly. THAT IS NOT TRUE! Not long after I accepted the fact that my break in time maybe longer, I got mastitis. I have never had a high fever of 40 degrees for 3 days in a row in my memory. With the extreme pain that came from the 2 HUGE rocks on my chest and the feeling that they are going to explode anytime, along with the fear that I may lose them and become an incomplete woman, I burst to cry, like it’s the end of the world.

My world didn’t end that easily, not long after the mastitis has healed, I got tendinitis, a wrist injury as a result of improper posture from breastfeeding. It wasn’t that painful after all I’ve been through. But what’s worse was that it never seemed to recover after several months of endless trips to the therapist because I couldn’t avoid heavy lifting – my own baby. The mixture of a painful and hopeless feeling has dominated the first half year of my new life of motherhood until I couldn’t bear it anymore and booked a getaway trip with my baby and my mom.

There were many factors that have contributed to my baby blue. Suffering from multiple diseases that I had never anticipated was just one of them. Being ‘locked down’ and not able to do ANYTHING for myself was another major factor. Even during the day when the baby was napping, I had to try to catch up the sleep that I lost at night. And I couldn’t because I constantly had the fear that she’s going to wake up anytime again, which later has developed into anxiety. I didn’t realize losing some sleep was that bad until I started to yell at everyone around me, my mom and my hubby, both of whom love and wanted to help me the most. I was losing myself. I knew at that time if I didn’t make any action, I would fall into the big black hole – postpartum depression, and I would lose everything.

Now I’m a healthy and happy mom with baby #2 on the way. I can’t be more grateful for the choices I’ve made for myself when I needed them the most. Not every mom will be go through where I have been, but my tips will for sure help you to fight the evil postpartum hormone!

Attend prenatal classes with your spouse

Find a local organization that offers free prenatal classes. Or look one up online if it’s not available during the pandemic. The key here is to bring your support person with you. Because this may be the only chance that they have to sit down and listen to what you are going to go through during the upcoming battle. I’m sure you as an expecting mom has already done tons of researches and watched videos on ‘things I wish I knew before having a baby’. But it is crucial to have you and your spouse both on the same page when it comes to the real battle. They need to learn things that could happen in the labor room and how they can help. They need to understand that it is perfectly normal when you throw postpartum trauma to them and not to get personal. They need to listen to what other parents feel after the major life changing event. It is to prepare yourself a good ally when you are about to lose the game.

Take the Help

No matter it’s your own parents or your parents in law, say YES to the help. You may not agree with the way they warm up the milk. They may dress your baby too much during the night. But they can make sure you don’t starve yourself when the last thing you wish to do is cooking. You never know when you have to make an emergency trip to the hospital and you can’t take the baby with you. If you are lucky enough to have someone willing to help during this most dramatic time of your life, don’t hesitate!

Exercise

I can’t address enough how important this one is! MAKE TIME TO DO YOUR EXERCISE! Even if it’s just 20 mins a day. Not only it will help you to get back to shape, but it is crucial to fight those bad hormones that are produced during the postpartum period. You don’t have to run a marathon or go to the gym when it’s not even possible during the pandemic. All you need is a yoga mat and a 20 mins stretch and breath session, or some squats and push ups that pump up your heart rate. If those are too much for you, just a 20 mins stroller walk will do it too. Trust me, that’s how I survived during my roller coaster period where everyone thinks I was a bomb that could explode anytime.

Talk to your partner

A study has shown that having a baby is one of the top reasons that people get divorced. How ironic it is that your loving relationship come to an end just when your fruit of love started to grow. I can’t remember how many times I’ve cried for nothing. Thankfully to the prenatal class, my husband didn’t get freaked out or annoyed by seeing this on a daily basis. Most of the time, he didn’t know what was going on and just telling me that it is going to be OK over and over again. Motherhood is freaking hard! All we need is just reassurance. Crying it out is actually a good sign that you are expressing your feeling rather than suppressing it. Most of the chances are that your partner is also experiencing something challenging but they are better at hiding it back. Letting it all out and have a face to face talk gives both of you a chance to reconnect and recharge. But try your best not to blame the other one for things they didn’t do right. After all, you are in this together. Focus on how you can improve to make life easier and believe this all shall pass.

Be kind to yourself

Accept things that don’t go as planned. Forget what you have seen on social media before you have the baby. They are poisonous to your mind. I remember seeing numerous posts on Pinterest on how people got their abs back within 6 weeks postpartum. I’m not saying it’s impossible or fake. But that shouldn’t be any real life mom’s expectation! Yes they gave me hope and confidence during my pregnancy while having a mommy belly for life was one of my top concern. But the unrealistic expectation fired back when 2 months has passed by and I was still sitting with a crouched back and stuck out belly while struggling with how to properly latch on a baby so she doesn’t bite off my nipple. Every mom is different. Every moment of motherhood is unique and precious. We should learn to embrace whatever comes into our life and give ourselves the chance to accept it. Living in an expectation of other people’s life will only kill your own mind. Be kind to it.

Seek for professional help

The most desperate period of my first year postpartum was when my daughter was 7 months and she would wake up every 30 mins at night to nurse. And every nursing session took about 30 mins… I lived like that for 2 months with the hope that this sleep regression would go away sometime soon. Until it got worse and she sometimes woke up every 5 mins! The last string broke in my head when she even needed me to nurse and hold her for her entire 2 naps during the day. That’s the moment I searched the internet and found out a website about baby sleep training which offers programs. It was a black Friday and I decided to buy myself something I truly needed. one week later she started to sleep through the night for 12 hours. 2 months later, she was able to fall asleep happily on her own. Every day, I couldn’t be grateful enough for the choice I’ve made for myself.

There are always things that are beyond your own capability. Seeking out for help may save you from pulling all your hair out. No matter it’s hiring a sleep coach or a baby sitter. They are not cheap, but you definitely deserve it.

Talk to your doctor

You don’t have to wait until everyone around you calls you crazy. It’s more likely that your doctor will ask you how exactly you are feeling during regular check ups. Baby blue happens to every 4 out of 5 new moms. They will normally go away after couple weeks postpartum. But if they don’t and being left untreated, it will slowly eat you away and develop into postpartum depression, which is a much more complicated condition. My ‘baby blue’ lasted almost a year, on and off. It was blurry to me whether it’s a depression because half of the time I was just as happy as a kid. Yet I made a trip to my family doctor and talked to her about my concern. She let me spitted it all out and told me that I’ve done the right thing to be proactive about my own mental health. Then she gave me some resources to reach out to if I needed further assistance. After reading through half of the book about cognitive behavior therapy that she suggested, I realized that I didn’t really have the depression. It’s more of an overthinking and lack of sleep that’s being bothering me. My symptoms went away when my daughter was done sleep training. I also became a happy and pregnant mommy again.

There is absolutely nothing embarrassing to admit that you are feeling unwell, physically or mentally. There are many reliable resources out there that are willing to help you. Take good care of yourself like you would do with your baby. Be mindful to your precious mind. Your baby is counting on it.

Motherhood is HARD. Learning how to take care of your baby isn’t all about it. It’s more about putting yourself first before others. This is not selfish. It’s called being responsible, to you and to everyone around you. Imagine how would you take care of someone else if you became sick, mentally or physically? Stay active, be kind and proactive is what will take you to survive the first year of motherhood. That’s also how we transform from girls to mamas, who are strong and unbeatable.

How to stay fit with a baby during COVID-19

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I believe I’m not the only one who doesn’t care if gym is closed or not during a pandemic. Having a baby basically sets you in quarantine mode automatically in many ways. You don’t have the freedom anymore like you did before, which sounds pretty sad, but not until you find new ways to live the new life in such a new world we all in right now. Staying fit not only keeps you looking sharp, though it’s not a top priority for many as we are not meeting anyone, it also boosts your mental health as many of us are struggling with it since the world has changed.

I’m going to share some of the tips that i think could be helpful to you if finding time is also a challenge when you are clued to a baby all day long.

Stroller Jogging

This is the simplest exercise you can do with your baby, just in your neighborhood. As long as you have a regular stroller and a pair of running shoes, you are good to go. Depends on your baby’s age, you can go either when they are napping or when they are ready to go for a ride. But keep in mind that it’s best to do this at the same time everyday so you are embedding it into your daily habit. I personally don’t like any type of running, so making it a habit is the only way to beat my all kinds of excuses. Another benefit you will get or I should say the motivation you have is the fresh air that you can finally breath outside. Who doesn’t want to go outside during a lockdown?

Home Exercise

If you have a toddler, I’m sure you will get enough cardio just by chasing after them. But if your baby isn’t quite moving around yet, you will need to find some exercise that you can do together to spend the boring times. You don’t have to do anything fancy like a mommy and baby yoga. I can’t imagine how you can relax while you have a little squirmy creature on your body. Just keep it simple and do things like squats and push ups. I remember once I did 100 push ups on top of my baby because it made her giggle and that has motivated me to do more. Without her, 10 would be my best record 🙂 Find activities that make your baby laugh. You will enjoy your session and have results at the same time. Even better than going to the gym!

Yoga

Of course not the mommy and baby yoga because you want to relax. Find times where your baby is napping or sleeping in the evening. Even just a 20 minutes of stretch and breathing would give your mind and body a deep cleanse. I love the app Down Dog that has a real instructor guiding you through the whole practice with very soothing tones. It’s great for all levels. You can select your level, length of practice and body part that you want to focus on during any session. Even if your selection is the same every time, you will get different sets of practice so you never get the same class twice. Another feature I love about Down Dog is that it supports Chromecast so you don’t have to locate your phone every time you are trying to balance standing or in a upside down position.

Running

If you can leave your baby with your family members for just 30 mins, give yourself a break, put on your music and running shoes, go outside and run the hell out of it. Yes you may have a hard time breathing. But it will make you feel so damn good. Sweating will help to release a hormone that reduce your stress level. You will also feel energized because of the endorphins released from your racing heart rate.

Taking care of a baby is a very challenging job. It requires you to have fully charged mind and body everyday while for many parents they couldn’t get enough sleep. Exercise not only keeps you fit and lose some weight from the extra cookies you are eating while in quarantine, it also helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle and most importantly boosts your mental health.

What are your ways to keep your exercise routine during the lockdown? Please share in the comments below as I’m interested to know!

Working from home with a toddler

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It’s never easy to live your life with a toddler. Not only it’s a full time job, but you don’t get paid a penny. Working full time at home and having your toddler as your co worker is double the blast! Luckily, I have my other co worker, my husband, taking my shift so I don’t have a little monkey crawling on my head while I’m trying to focus. Sounds like a perfect plan right? Well, not so much for me. At least not during a pandemic.

Work life boundary

There is no such thing anymore. I even have a play area set up in my home office when my coworker is doing his thing. If I’m lucky, I could get at most 10 mins of quiet time. After 10 mins? Either I’ll be out of office or I’ll start to yell at my coworker for not doing his job. No not the ones on the other side of the laptop. They are all associated with my paycheck. I can’t really yell at my husband because then he would tell me how cold I am not to allow my own baby to play besides me. Oh speaking the pressure of working moms…

Unlimited working hours

It’s not 9-5 anymore. Not even 8-4 if working from home means flexibility. At the beginning, I told myself that I will log in my computer at 8 am and logoff at 4 pm not matter what. I even laughed at my co worker who had too much work and couldn’t finish by 6 pm. A week later, I realized I am the clown of them all. I do log off at 4 pm – because that’s my daughter’s daily bath time. But I have to log in again after she goes to bed to make up the hours because I could barely get anything done during the day. Not that I feel guilty, but I know if I wait it over the same drama will happen again the next day.

Trying to write homework inside the Disney World

Am I comparing the outside world of a pandemic to the Disney world. YES. If you live in the north where you still see snowflakes in the middle of May, and you have been watching the forecast every 10 mins to find the big sun ball, you will understand. Because right now, the only place you can go is outside – your backyard, your driveway and your side walk. And when that sunny day you have waited a week for is finally here, you have to be tied to your desk because it’s still in the office hour and someone is waiting for a stupid spreadsheet… That feeling really sucks!

What’s for lunch? What’s for dinner?

Those are the 2 questions I get to asked the most everyday, TWICE. Because my daughter is too young to eat anything hardcore like we do (we LOVE spicy food), I have to cook her meal separately. Then I feed her and cook again for us. Now because I’m pregnant, I can’t eat anything that only requires 5 mins of cooking time. That means 2 hours of lunch time. Not to mention how tired I feel after all these and just want a nap.

Vacation days

WHERE ARE YOU GOING? That’s the question that came to my head when my coworker asked about it during a team meeting. Having worked from home for 4 weeks, I desperately sent off the notice to my manager. I need a break! Even if that means having to get my old job back, which is watching my 1 year old daughter and racing with her when she is trying to get the leaf off my plants. I’d rather be with my toddler, even if she has poor communication skills. I really want to go outside, even that’s just the side walks…

Working from home isn’t as slacking as it sounds, nor is it efficient as you would think if you are a parent. But I’d rather stay with my baby during this catastrophic event and tell her what we have been through many years later.

How about you? If it’s under the safety protocol, would you prefer to go to the office or work from home if you are a parent?

Should You Sleep Train Your Baby?

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When I first heard of the sleep training method before I had my baby, I thought I would definitely nail it because I was so good at crate training my dogs. Isn’t it just to ignore their cries until they calm down themselves? I have done that and I totally have the heart for it! One year later, it just turned out that I was too naive.

Sleep training has always been a debatable topic since decades ago. You may already have your own thought on this before you have a baby. But let me tell you something – motherhood is a lesson that only your child can teach you. Your baby gets to decide whether he/she needs to be sleep trained. You may wonder how? Since you won’t be able to get a clue from their babbling sound, here are some guidelines that you can follow to help you to make the decision based on my own fresh and successful experience.

1. Do you have the heart for it?

When my daughter was 3 months old, I decided to give the sleep training a try because that’s the recommended age to start it. It’s even more for my own sanity because she needed to be nursed to sleep and I wanted to break that habit. We tried the interval method, also known as the Ferber method where you let your baby cry for the first 5 mins before going to check on her. You are not allowed to pick her up but just gently pat on her while she’s hysterically crying and asking for your help. Then extend the time before going to her until she falls asleep. It still twists my heart just by thinking about how helpless she looked while we ignored her cry. We didn’t get to pass the first 5 mins because she was too upset that she puked all over her face. According to the Ferber method, we were supposed to clean it up and continue to let her cry. That’s when I realized that sleep training was not for us and I could just live with the life of being my baby’s pacifier. She’s just a baby, after all. It won’t be forever, I told myself.

Researches have shown that the ‘cry it out’ method is 100% safe and it will not affect the relationship between you and your baby. It’s also the most intense but effective way of sleep training if you keep the consistency. But you know yourself and your baby the best, if at any point you think it’s wrong or it’s going against your own belief, you don’t have to do it. Just follow your baby’s lead, it’s never wrong.

2. Is your baby STTN?

Sleeping through the night has many definitions depends on the age of your child. You wouldn’t expect a newborn to sleep from 10-6 without making any fuss because babies this young just biologically needs to eat almost every hour. For some moms, however, they claim that their newborns are STTN without waking up. HOW COULD THAT BE? Thankfully these moms are not starving their babies but just been super optimistic. They quickly adapt to their babies’ internal clock by co-sleeping with them. Whenever the babies need to nurse, they just latch them on and keep on sleeping! If you are a mom who can still live your best life even during the hardest time of a woman, you rock!

But what if you have passed those sweet and cute first few months newborn period where you can just spoil your baby like no other? You gave them whatever and whenever they asked and now they get used to this free buffet that opens 24/7. My daughter was almost sleeping through the night when she’s 3 months based on the deifinition of STTN for her age, where she could sleep 5-6 hrs straight without waking up. Just when I thought it was going to get longer and I would soon get my 8 hrs beauty sleep back, the nightmare began. But that’s something I’ll talk later. My point is, if your baby is sleeping long stretches (typically over 3 – 4 hrs) at night based on their age, they don’t need sleep training, yet.

3. Is your baby going through a sleep regression?

I blamed the sleep regression when my daughter was 5 months, where she started to wake up every 2-3 hrs during the night. If you google it, there are certain periods where a baby could go through sleep regression during the first year. And you will see experts explaining 4, 6, 8-12 months sleep regressions, where each regression could last 2 to 6 weeks long. Well, why don’t they just us that babies will go through a sleep regression for the entire first year and we mamas don’t deserve any sleep at all??

Identify if your baby is really going through a sleep regression is very important, as you don’t want to sleep train your baby while she’s suffering from the pain. Teething and developmental milestones like starting to crawl are the most common causes of sleep regressions. Teething is a really tricky one, as those teeny tiny baby teeth are either on their way out under the gum or they are above the gum and still growing. Both sounds really hurt. You really can’t tell if it’s bothering your baby or they are just genuinely hungry. At least for me, it’s a really good excuse of my baby explaining why she woke up so often.

4. Are you burnt out?

I’m not talking about a normal wear and tear from the new life of having a baby. I’m talking about having to wake up every 5 mins at night and spend 30 mins to nurse baby back to sleep and being used as a pacifier for her entire nap during the day kind of burnt out. This has lasted almost 2 months. So it must not be sleep regression. I couldn’t think straight. I constantly lost my mind over very tiny things. I said things that hurt my husband. I banged myself to the wall while holding a crying baby who just can’t fall asleep after 1 hour of nursing. I went crazy. Yet my family were all telling me that she’s just hungry. This will get better. Just hang in there…

If any of those sounds familiar, then you have found your answer – you need to sleep train your baby.

It was a decision that was led by my baby. We both need to sleep! She had developed a very strong sleep association and only god knows what was keeping her waking up so often that almost killed me. Maybe because of that, everything went relatively smooth with the sleep training. Yes there were lots of crying and heartbreaking. But only one week after a very consistent sleep training, she was able to sleep 12 hours straight! At that time she was only 9 months.

Right now, everyday I can’t be more thankful that I made the decision for myself and my family. Not only that we both get to rest peacefully every night, I can finally enjoy our dinner time and the rest of the evening with my husband! We also end up having the happiest baby on earth, because who wouldn’t be if she gets enough of her beauty sleep?

Sleep training your baby is a very hard progress to go through for every parent. Whether to do it or not, totally depends on how you can cope with your current situation. If your baby wakes up 10 times a night and you are still a happy mom, then you don’t need to consider it. Those moms wouldn’t even look at this post. But if you are like me who was barely surviving everyday and your baby is physically ready for it, sleep training is the only way out and you will appreciate it later.

How are you coping with your motherhood so far? Do you have any concern regarding sleep training? Leave a comment below and we can discuss! Having someone who was also sleep training her baby supporting me was the top reason I succeeded. You are not alone. Good luck mamas!

Why did I switch to Cloth Diapers after one year?

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Cloth diapers or disposable diapers? This may be the question every new parents ask themselves before they welcome their babies. Or some people may already have their mind made up that they don’t even think twice about it.

I have to admit that I didn’t think twice of going for disposables when it came to preparing for baby stuff. As a new mom who was anxious about the upcoming new life which could be full of craziness and uncertainty, convenience was my top priority when I considered the features of any product. Imagine you will have your hands full of baby and milk all day long, you don’t want to have anything to do with this kind of sh!tty stuff.

The environment also played a big role at my decision making. Here I’m referring to the social environment, not the mother planet environment. I wish I considered her more even I was going to become a mom myself. Almost every single person I know (I don’t know many) are using disposable diapers. Some of them even strongly suggested me not to think twice about it because it’s oh so convenient. Plus you can always buy them on sale at Costco, so money wasn’t a big issue to us.

So we bought boxes after boxes of difference sizes of them during my daughter’s first year. I have to say, they were SO CONVENIENT. I don’t have to worry about washing them after every change, which could be 7-8 times a day. I always had a few in my diaper bag so I can change her anytime and anywhere. The best thing it has ever served us was when we were traveling to Vancouver for 14 days. We just filled them into the empty space inside our huge car seat carrier bag. Viola! It didn’t have to take any extra space. Plus travelling with a baby is already a huge headache. We barely had time to eat! So you can imagine the last thing I wanted to do is to wash a poopy diaper.

So far it sounds like disposable diapers are the perfect choice right? No they are not. THEY STINK!

DISPOSABLE DIAPERS STINK!

I mean literally, THEY STINK! We had the changing station in our ensuite bathroom because it has more space so the air circulates well so the smell won’t be trapped. We used a diaper pail that has a mechanism which is supposed to have the odor locked inside. It’s when my baby has started solids, the smell became noticeable. At the beginning, we just change the bin more often even when it’s not full. We keep telling ourselves that it’s our own baby’s poop, it’s her smell it’s no big deal. But it became a big deal when the smell traveled to our bedroom! I mean, it’s the place where I can finally relax and not have to worry anything about the baby at the end of the day. It’s like my final peaceful harbor. I don’t want that place to be contaminated! Sorry baby… but it really stinks… That’s when I started to look for solutions for odor eliminating.

I could try to invest in a better diaper pail which locks the odor better and longer. But it costs almost $100. I could try to use odor eliminating method like putting grind coffee at the bottom of the pail. Or just to cover it up with air freshers, which I have already tried and it just made me couldn’t breath.

Cloth diapers are so CUTE!!!

After many researches, my eyes were pinned onto those adorable and colorful cloth diapers that google ads has brought me to. At first, my suspicious mind was telling me that this is just their marketing strategy. Who doesn’t love adorable prints on their babies’ cute little bum? Who would trade the convenience just for some prints that would never show under the pants? I was wrong. They won. I am their marketing target. For many days I couldn’t forget those adorable prints and I kept imaging how cute my baby would be if she’s wearing one and how I could dress her to compliment those pretty undies. Then I started to do more research trying to convince myself to make the switch.

They are environmental friendly

It really hit my heart when I read that it takes 500 years for our aging mother planet to decompose a disposable diaper. Just U.S. alone, over 200,000 trees are cut for the manufactures per year. I just wish these numbers will be hugely printed onto the bags of disposable diapers just like how lung disease pictures are printed on cigar boxes. We should care more about our living environment that produces oxygen for us, just like our lungs.

They are wallet friendly

I bought 20 cloth diapers which cost me less than $300. It also depends on where you buy them. I can’t believe there are some websites selling them for $50 each! Maybe because they are brand name. But still! with $50 I could buy 5 quality ones when they are on sale. It also depends on how often you want to wash them. With 20 diapers, it could last me 2 – 3 days. Some babies need to be changed more often or some people like to wait longer to wash them. For me, Odor was the initial problem of this, so I don’t like to leave them for too long. What’s even better that I wish I knew earlier is that CLOTH DIAPERS ARE ONE SIZE FOR ALL! You don’t have to buy a new collection every 2-3 months. So let’s say on average a baby needs 30 diapers for her entire first 2 years before potty train. It would only cost less than $800, including accessories and laundry bills. Whereas for disposable diapers, it would easily cost over $2000.

They are easy to wash

No you don’t have to get your hands full of poop to wash a dirty diaper, nor running them under ice cold water and rub really hard until you got the stain off. Those are the impressions I got from my parents generation of how to wash a cloth diaper where washer machines and hot water were either non-existent or luxury.

The best thing I learned after tons of researches was that you can actually collect the dirty diapers and wash them all together in a washer after a few days. You may wonder how would this not worsen the odor problem I had with disposable diapers? Of course, you need to rinse the poop off before throwing them into your pile. This step actually scared me the most that I even bought a diaper sprayer that you can attach to your toilet to spray the poop off hoping to make the process less of a headache. After watching many Youtube videos of other moms rinsing the poop with the sprayer, it didn’t help my anxiety at all. However, after using them for a while myself, it actually surprised me! The type of diapers we are using is called pocket diapers. Because of the fabric they are using as the liner, the layer that is the closest to baby’s skin, the poop doesn’t stick to it at all! Most of the time, as long as the poop isn’t too watery, we just roll the diaper out and the poop will come off itself. Then we just rinse it under the utility sink and spray the residual off and leave it in the pile. We didn’t even have to install the toilet sprayer which could bring a potential leaking problem. I also learned that if you leave the diaper pail or wet bag open, it will have a much better air circulation so the smell won’t easily build and thus help with the stinky problem. We put our dirty diapers in a huge bin and leave it in the laundry room. We barely could smell anything. What if there’s an ugly yellow stain? All you need to do is to line dry it under the sun and the UV light will bring you back a newly bright white diaper with sun bathed fragrance.

You don’t have to make the commitment

Yes we love our mother earth. But that doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice the flexibility, or pee your own bed. For us, we are still using disposable diapers for the night shift simply because it has a better absorption over a straight 12 hrs period. We also keep them as a backup for travelling as it will definitely save our lives. For the days when we run out of the clean ones and the used ones are still in the dryer, the disposable diapers are always there to fill up the role. It doesn’t have to be All or Nothing. It’s your own diaper, you choose whichever one you want to use today.

How my second pregnancy is different from the first?

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“Woo Hoo!!! Congratulations! I’m so excited for you! That’s the greatest news I’ve heard today!”

Sadly, I don’t get those anymore. Either that I’m low key this time, or that people are feeling numb about me being pregnant this soon again. Like I’ve become the lady who is forever pregnant in the office…

No more glories

I still remember how I felt during the second and third trimester of my first pregnancy. The always glorious look on my face claiming to the world that I’m not ever going to give up to the change of my body. The super hyped energy level that made me ready to conquer the world anytime. And of course, the excited and anxious feeling of how my little bundle of joy will change my life. Even during the HCG overdosed first trimester, I was relaxed enough and got to do whatever I wanted to do. Now that I’m looking at a picture of me 2 years ago, putting it side by side with a picture today, I can’t recognize myself.

No more week counts

I still can’t believe that I’m almost half way through. And yet I don’t have a single picture of my belly! During the last one, the first thing I never forgot to do every morning was to take a picture of my belly, compare it with last day and upload it to my bump album. I was checking the calendar every day and counting on the days left until the next ultrasound. When I reached a new week milestone, I check every website to see what is normal and how the baby would look like inside my belly. The time went by very slow, but I enjoyed every second.

No more travel

Not even road trips. I really regretted that I cancelled my travel plan after I found out about my first pregnancy. IT WAS A TOTALLY WRONG DECISION. I (especially my parents) was overly cautious during my first trimester. They didn’t want me to risk taking the 13 hrs flight back to China. I could have a reason because I was overly protective of my little fetus. But let me tell you something, GO WHEREVER YOU WANT TO GO while you can! But does that mean you can’t ever travel after you have kids? The answer is, Yes you can, but you just won’t enjoy it.

More Confidence

I even bought a baby Doppler to check if the heart beat still existed everyday to give myself assurance. This time I don’t even bother. I can feel the little kicks every now and then. I know that I’m doing everything I should to keep the baby safe. Faith will take care of everything else. It’s the trust that you have built with your body to believe that it will protect your baby as long as you are doing things within the boundary. My parents are still overly careful and telling me not to lift heavy weight like my daughter. Because as for her age, she is quite heavy… But I choose to trust my body that it will at least allow me to take care of my own baby, isn’t it?

Less Money to Spend

This is the beauty of having subsequent children. The more you have, the less you spend per kid. This also gave me the excuse to buy things I really wanted but not very much needed for my first baby. People, especially moms, are always very creative at finding ways to show off their love to the newly added family member. They tend to buy a lot of useless stuff that babies don’t really need. Like pairs of fancy princess shoes for newborns who barely have their eyes open. The business that sells baby stuff are really good at leveraging the market.

When you have raised a child, you also have a better idea of what you really need but you were not sure with the first one. Like a overly packed hospital bag with my husband’s PJ and shower gel in it, and some fancy and bulky blankets that my daughter only used once because what she really needed was swaddles that make her into a perfect little britto.

More Sex

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Because now you know exactly what to expect down the road until your second little angel pops out, you feel a lot less anxious than your first pregnancy where you were constantly worried if anything you do is going to hurt your baby. Sex during pregnancy was my top concern. It took me a whole pregnancy and lots of researches to finally realize that a woman with no pregnancy complexity is fully capable of this multitasking skill. How amazing is that??

Also knowing the fact that your body will be in shut down mode in just a few months. Why not enjoy the pleasure while you still can? What’s even better? Sex during pregnancy can promote your mental health by reducing stress and thus leads to smarter baby. Happy parents with a smart bean, what do you have to lose?

Being a new mom is hard. Being a mom with a bump is even challenging. Even I listed a lot of things I can’t enjoy during this pregnancy because of my little trouble maker 1 year old. I am much more happier than I ever was. Sure I miss the days where it’s just the two of us and the dogs. But my heart wasn’t fulfilled until I met my little angel. I wouldn’t know how deeply I could love someone, that how my heart was touched when I was slowly pouring water onto her little shoulder while she’s playing in the bath. I can work harder to earn the glories back, but I will not ever trade those for any second of my delightful moment.

This is motherhood, a lesson only your child can teach you.

What my life is like during a Global Pandemic?

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During such a global traumatic event, nothing is impossible, like becoming a full time working and staying home mom who is baking baby #2 at the same time.

Work Overload

I find myself barely have time to do my daily 30 mins exercise after a day of 1.5 full time jobs. Thankfully I got my dear hubby’s help to watch the little monster who is always over dramatic about her feelings. Yet I decided to start a blog which takes my only spare quiet peaceful time after my LO went to bed. At this point, you probably think that I’m regretting my decision. But you know what? Something is changing my life, slowly.

Distance Creates Beauty

When I had the only job as a stay home mom with my mom here helping me, my life was boring and hopeless. How could I feel this way with the 2 most important women living with me everyday? Well, distance creates attractions. Luckily, this brutal virus gave my mom a perfect excuse to leave this place. WE BOTH NEED A BREAK.

New Coworkers

Because I was pregnant with little Dolphin, I made the decision to go back to work temporarily as my husband now stays home. I was very much worried that he would not be able to cope with the stress (boringness) to live along with a 1 year old who is just learning to walk. Again, thankfully to the sudden appearance of this virus, I had the chance to work from home.

Photo by J carter on Pexels.com

Perhaps I’m the only one who is loving WFH with a toddler as one of my co workers. I really enjoy playing with her when it’s usually my coffee break. Yes it created distances between me and my real coworkers. I can’t have a clear work and life boundaries. I can’t really take a break AT ALL. But hey, I really enjoy seeing her genuine smiles when I’m tired. I love having a little adventurous walk with her even when it’s raining outside. I will also miss having home made BBQ burgers as a work lunch at a sunny patio with my lifetime lover.

Finding a Passion

I really hated the feeling of not being able to find anytime for myself. Or it’s the fact that I’m just letting myself lead by wherever Google takes me to when I just jump into the sofa and pull out my phone for the entire night. It’s like you didn’t prepare for dinner and you only have the choice of either instant noodle or a bag of chips at the last minute. Both will make you very satisfying at the moment, but you will very likely feel guilty about it afterward. It’s after many nights like that I’ve decided to find myself something to do.

You probably want to go to my other post, Why do I start blogging , to find out what has been processed through my mind to make such a choice. Because I already forgot… Thankfully I stroke the iron when it’s hot. I knew I had to plan for my night, the only time I could find peacefulness. This is when I started to realize the little change in my head. I really anticipate each night to come. Not only that I can start on my ‘new job’, but it makes me feel pumped to do everything else. I don’t wait to prepare dinner anymore. I don’t leave the dishes until my husband complains and cleans them. I even rush to get them done so I can leave sometime for Yoga after blogging.

I feel truly blessed at where life has taken me to so far. I enjoy every moment I get to share with my family. Oh the virus, you make people die, you make people live.

Why do I start blogging? Hint: It’s not for extra $$$

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Just 3 days ago, I would never see myself as a blogger at any point of my life. I thought about being an interior designer, a stay home mom, a restaurant owner or even a farmer with a ranch full of Great Danes if I get a chance to walk away from my boring office job. So what happened in my mind? I mean, I’m a girl who changes mind quicker than my baby changes diapers, with my help. You may ask, how would you know you will not change this mind with a snap of finger? Well, this time I’m going to write it all down so when I’m about to change it again, it will remind me.

1. To Kill Time during Quarantine in a Healthy Way

Yes. This should be the top reason that I’m actually sitting here and typing after a long day of already sitting and typing in front of a computer. But how is it healthy that you just make yourself sitting all day long? Have you heard of Einstein’s relativity theory? It all goes down to what you are comparing to. Maybe you will have a better clue if also jump onto your couch after dinner passively browsing through social media reading through useless celebrity news pop up by google suggestions. When you finally realize you should move your butt because it’s tinkling, you have already wasted another night.

2. To Think Less and Do More

Because I always had a million reasons to change my every mind. I want to prove myself that I can stick to one! To be honest, I almost changed this one again.

I will give up very soon.

I’m not good at this.

I will not have any viewer.

I don’t know what to write about.

I can’t come up with a perfect domain name.

I don’t want to spend money on it

…

I could go on, if I’m not sick of these already. If you don’t try it, how would you know that you will not be successful? How would you learn that if you are good at it or not? I actually spent 2 days thinking what domain name I should use so that it sounds cool and meaningful. I still haven’t come up with one the time I wrote this post. But I realized something more important. YOU JUST HAVE TO START IT. Anything else is just a waste of time. The dots will connect itself once you have the dots plotted.

3. To build Memories for Life

Maybe I have reached the age old enough to think about how my whole life would look like. I bought a lot of pretty looking diary books. But they all ended up becoming memo books. When I had the idea of writing a blog and owning a website, it excited me because finally I can have a pretty diary that I will be proud to share with my kids.

4. To Express My Thoughts

I find myself constantly having too much feelings and thoughts. If you are like me, when you need to sit down to study but your mind just constantly drifting away with a million ways to paint your nail, you are not along. No we don’t suck at studying, we just have too many brilliant ideas that needs to be sorted out.

5. To Share My Experiences

nowadays we have too many social media platforms to share our thoughts with friends and families. But have you ever wanted to post something about your cute little baby the 1001 times but worried that your childless best friends will be annoyed? Having a blog with only audiences down for your niche will solve this problem. They care about your opinions about how you tackle your LO’s sleep. You are sharing it because you know there are people out there with similar situation who might be able to inspire you too.

6. To Build Confidence

I grew up in a culture where I was not allowed to have free creative thoughts. Being an obedient kid and only doing what other kids were doing was the only way to make me loved, and also have my confidence killed. Learning to share my ideas and knowing that there might be people inspired from reading them will simply make me happy. no matter what kind of thoughts you have, it’s yours, so own it, confidently.

7. It Doesn’t Cost Much

Unless you have a business to promote that you will probably have to spend thousands of dollars per month to maintain multiple blogs which will generate millions of dollars per year, you do not need much to start a good looking blog. Comparing to buying a property to raise a ranch full of great danes, this one is a much more cost effective investment. They both give back happiness.


How about you? Have you also thought of starting a blog for yourself? Or do you already own one? If so, what was your original reason to start it?