Night Terrors

The high octave of her cry jolted us from sleep. I picture whispers in black and white; this sound surged in red hot color yet made me shiver at the same time. This was not the quiet cry of a sleepy bad dream, this was pure terror.

Our lethargy evaporated and we made for her crib where she sat shaking, face contorted fear, shrieking. We scooped her up, attempting to hold her close but she refused the comfort of our cuddle. As if possessed, she stared straight ahead, lips quivering and then parting into a scream every several seconds.

I waved my hand in front of her delicate, trembling face but she stared through it, eyes open though clearly not awake. Our hearts pounded with adrenaline, worry and fear. It was unsettling to see her in the trance of so gripping a nightmare. How to ward it off without startling her? Cue gentle back rubbing, shh shh shh sounds and soft murmurs of “It’s okay LLC.”

And then, her screams stopped as suddenly as they started. Her eyes re-focused on us and she smiled, and returned our cuddle. She soon went back to bed only to wake three hours later in a similar state, after which she spent the rest of the night in our bed sleeping soundly.

I’d class this, as they in the UK, as a night terror. I don’t think we use this term in the States but I’m not sure. But it was certainly a nightmare of the highest proportions.

Do children’s dreams derive from their experiences / perceptions? Did something happen during the day that unsettled LLC? I don’t know but I hope we don’t we don’t have to investigate this again anytime soon.

Have you ever had a run in with the night terrors?

What a smacker!

Kisses! Big, noisy, smacking kisses. That is newest treat that LLC has started dishing out this last week. She gives them, really puckering up her lips and planting one on our lips or cheek. She even blows them, with the same sound effects. It really is adorable.

It’s also a testament to how much she must understand, because she doesn’t just randomly give kisses, but also when I request them, which I’ve been doing a lot of now that she knows how. I guess we must kiss her a lot and that’s how she picked up on all this.

This led to a recent conversation with some of my NCT friends about kissing your kids on the lips. Do you do this or do you find it strange? Would the gender of your child affect your or your other half’s comfort level about kissing them on the lips?

Chris and I do kiss LLC on the lips – these little pecks of affection seem natural to me but I realize it’s not like this for everyone. Personally, I was brought up giving my parents a kiss so I don’t think this odd but if I wasn’t maybe I might think differently. Or maybe I wouldn’t be able to resist LLC’s little pucker.

Making friends with Calpol

Medicine and drugs may fly off the shelves in the USA at the pace pharmaceutical companies court doctors and politicians but I’ve never been one for popping pills unless I genuinely need to. Where there’s a real need, I’m pro-medicine. But I’m also a believer in letting my body fight its corner and limiting the amount of chemicals I put into it. I’ll take the same approach with LLC.

For the first time this weekend, however, we introduced Calpol (Baby Tylenol) to LLC. What started as a chesty cough on Sunday morning had her out of sorts by bed-time and I’ve spent yesterday and Tuesday with a groggy, sick little lady. Her normal feisty and independent self disappeared in place of a snotty nose, small whimper and need to sleep/cuddle all day long.

This is the first time she has really been sick and it’s sad as there is only so much I can do for her. It reminds me of when she was small and spent much of the day laying on me, which is lovely, but it’s not, because she’s so bleary eyed, congested and feverish. I took her to the doctor today who suggested that I continue with the Calpol and try to let this bug run its course. He also wrote me a prescription for antibiotics should she not show signs of improvement after tomorrow, but suggested I avoid this if possible.

Chris’ mom is visiting and she’s been a real help in the constant cuddles department. Finally tonight before bed LLC brightened a little from her “sick haze.” I hope this is a sign she’s on the mend for tomorrow. In the mean-time, Calpol is our new friend and LLC really likes it. She downs it with an enthusiasm usually reserved for yogurt – another reason to avoid offering her medicine too liberally!

Let’s Hear it for the Rocking Commandos!

One of my friends described her daughter’s strong upper bodied snake-like shimmy across the floor as commando crawling. Totally apt! With that upper chest strength, this little lady will surely be great at pull-ups one day, a skill that I sadly never mastered....

At the time of this said crawl, LLC was feverishly rocking on all fours but not going anywhere aside from backwards. She’s been rocking in the “all fours” pose for some time now but whenever she attempts to move a leg forward she ends up toppling onto her side.

Fast forward one week and LLC has achieved forward movement! Between all that practice and possibly from watching her friend, she’s now sporting a half commando, half raised on knees crawling manoeuvre.

Chris first spotted this “milestone” when I called home after work and he put me on speaker phone a few feet from LLC. Naturally my voice is difficult to resist, so low and behold LLC managed to inch towards the phone and add forward crawling to her repertoire.

So she’s now on the move! She doesn’t go too far yet but she does go exactly where she shouldn’t – the fireguard under our mantel, Rico’s bed and straight to the bottle of Shout next to my foot when I was spraying some stained clothing.

Maybe this is the time to start thinking about child proofing? I wouldn’t describe our house as a danger zone but it’s not particularly child friendly. We have cold, hard slate floor through much of the downstairs. Our stairs are narrow and steep. These are not things we plan to change and I’m loathe to morph our house into Fort Knox but we are planning to get stair guards and lock for under our kitchen and bathroom sinks where there are cleaning products.

I’ve had a look around on the floor “from LLC’s level” and there are plenty of things she could make mischief with but I’ll just have to tell her what is allowed and what is not allowed. Any tips about keeping a commando crawler safe and this whole child proofing malarkey?

Ladies & Gentlemen, we have a Talker.....

Way back when, I chose the chatty-t URL for this blog because I am just that – chatty! If you call me up and ask me how I am, you won’t get a one word answer.....

I’m fine, just happy that I managed to make this food for LLC tonight so she’s all set with a meal for tomorrow. I’m trying to make a variation of our dinners for her, so tonight I.....

And so on. It was therefore clearly on the cards that I’d have a loquacious little one.

Babababa.....dadadadadada..bababababababababa...........babababababa....mamamamama.....

It’s like we flipped the verbal switch on in LLC and now it’s on for good. Just over a week ago her more random babbles, coos and shouts became more distinct vowel and consonant combinations and she loves it. Be it on her mat, in the supermarket, in my arms, in her crib - she now treats us to daily bursts of chatter.  She doesn't talk on demand, but when the mood strikes her, how it strikes!

Since words and talking have always been a love of mine, I look forward to the day LLC and I can talk to each other. I’m not attempting to rush her out of her baby phase, plus there may not be more development on this front for awhile.

But this week, I’m excited by her new sounds and I look forward to exploring them and more with her. Chris on the other hand is looking increasingly nervous that he now has two chatterboxes to deal with!

Do you have any endearing learning to talk stories with your little ones?

The Idyllic Boat meets War Paint

This year I didn’t manage to get any of my American expat friends together to celebrate the 4th of July, so instead we collected Chris’ gran and headed to the South Coast for an afternoon on his parents boat.

Warm but not scorching, it was the perfect afternoon to chill on a boat and that’s just what we did. There’s something about being on the water that’s relaxing and revitalizing; I think these pictures speak a thousand words.


I’d like to say that LLC enjoyed her first dabble in the nautical world, but she seemed more intent on eyeing up my salad than looking at the other boats! (Good thing I’m getting prepared to start weaning her.) Salad aside, the buzz of boats, docks, sun and sea must have wore her out and she drifted off for a nap on the cabin bed with Moo Cow.

Now my million dollar question – are there any baby friendly factor 50 sunscreens out there that will not leave streaky war paint-like stripes across LLC’s face? This has become a popular look for her of late in all this bright and brilliant sunshine.

We're on a Roll

A few weeks back LLC rolled from her front to her back, much to Chris and my delight. It happened a few times and then she seemed to forget the manoeuvre.

Not anymore. In the last week she not only re-mastered the front to back roll but also threw in the back to front roll (in fact, she's now more adept at at this and if left on her back, it's only a matter of time before she ends up on her front - this gave me a shock at nap-time!). She's also found her foot, clearly the most tasty treat in her book after milk and can now really grip her toys for more than a minute or two. Last week while out with my NCT friends she made a real grab, rather than random jerky swipe, for my water bottle and gave the table and some of our friends a shower (note to self: screw top firmly on water bottle.)

Unlike her weight which is gradually increasing but doesn't strike me by the day, I love being able to see her acquire a whole new skill or trait by the day. The pages in my leather-bound book are filling up and I'm psyched for what's around the corner. Before long I'll have to start thinking about child-proofing this house....eeek! I can't see myself going nuts in this department but I do need to give it some thought. Any tips?

My Loud Fish

I set LLC down on the changing mat and the storm blew in. One quavering, downturned lip and whimper later I had a full on down pour on my hands.

What is it LLC? Mommy just needs to change your nappy. What happened? I try my best soothing tone. We’re going to go swimming. It’s like a big bath. Mommy just needs to fasten your special swim nappy on. Come on little one, not so loud. Screaming isn’t respectful to all the other ladies in the changing room.

I’m at the gym taking LLC swimming for the first time and this is not an auspicious beginning.

I scoop her into my arms and we head for the swimming arena. Then, like British rain showers, this storm blows over as suddenly as it arrived. Poolside she’s agog and smiling, the dark pools of her eyes intent on the aqua pool before us. Relief floods through me; I start to relax.

We enter the pool and she loves it. I float her on her back, move her through the water on her front, splash her face and lift and dunk her (without submerging her head – I wasn’t ready for that). She’s as happy as a pig rolling in mud and I’m relieved, smiling, proud of my small fish.

Some things I'll remember for next time:

• Only put the swim nappy on just before entering the pool - I waited to do this and it was a good call as she did a massive poo between leaving our house and arriving at the gym
• Make sure you are ready to head into the pool before you suit up your baby - I wore my bathing suit to the gym but didn't undress before suiting her up; this left her undressed and cold while I madly rushed to strip off 
• Bring baby to pool changing room in a carrier but remember an extra towel to lay baby on while you are dressing 
• Check the timetable and swim while there are no classes - we had the pool to ourselves and that made the experience all the calmer and all the better

Maybe these all sound pretty basic but I'd never considered them before.  Ahhh, the learning curve is constant. Do you have any tips for swimming with a baby - or avoiding changing room fits?

Some Leather-Bound Book Moments

Unlike Will Ferrell in The Anchorman, I don’t have many leather-bound books but I do have one, compliments of my sister, and it’s where I jot down noted I want to remember on LLC. My hand has been busy the last few days, as she’s had a lot of firsts: first wedding (she attended - we haven’t married her off just yet); first roll (from front to back); first dabble with baby massage (tear-free, until I put her clothes back on).

Saturday we attended L&J’s wedding in Oxford and LLC was one of several babies on the scene. I had grand plans of feeding her in the car before we went into the Church but in usual fashion, we were running late and I had to resort to a five minute power feed before sweeping LLC into the Church. Her little wide eyes drank in the scene, she remained silent and offered no objections at the critical moment and although I had to duck out into an alcove to give her a milk top-up mid-ceremony, she did extremely well.

Then she partied with the best of us and got lots of attention in the process. L&J organized a beautiful celebration and it was lovely to enjoy it as a family. As a bonus, LLC slept through most of dinner so we could eat and then afforded me a nice glass of red following her last feed when she fell asleep for the night CW’s arms. Thank you CW for all the cuddles!

L&J also went to great lengths to make their day family-friendly. They organized a parking permit for us near the reception, placed families with kids near the end of tables where there was space for prams and even bought a little entertaining present for all the kids. There was even a room available for breastfeeding and baby changing. I appreciate things like this so much more now and would definitely tap L’s brain if planning a big event including families.

Yesterday we had a chilled out, post-wedding day, event free, until LLC decided to roll over. I’m so glad I didn’t miss it as I was chatting to Chris (me talking? Surprise, surprise….) and putting away baby onesies at the time. I happened to turn around at the very moment that LLC, on her front and in the middle of our bed, planted her until-now often limp and spaghetti-like arms firmly on the bed, locked them and flipped over onto her back. We cheered and put her back on her front and she did it again. We were so proud! Today she did it three more times so it appears we have a roller on our hands. I guess that means I need to be much more careful with her on that bed.

Today we went to our first day of baby massage with the other mums and babies in my NCT group. I hope to learn some relaxing moves we can practice on LLC. I’m always so quick to get her dressed and probably don’t give her have enough naked time (the one time I left her on her play-mat diaper-free she managed to wriggle off the towel I put under her and pee all over the mat!) so massage will encourage that as well. The session felt refreshingly relaxing for me too – it made me slow down and just focus on the exercises with LLC. I think I’m going to enjoy it and importantly, LLC did too. She laughed, smiled and babbled throughout the session and only went into meltdown at the end of class when I put her clothes back on. But then she fell asleep.

What will tomorrow bring?

Solo Sleep for LLC

It’s exciting every time we have a new addition to LLC’s list of firsts. (You know I love my lists – plus, I’m spurred on by my baby book and baby calendar which encourage me to chart LLC’s developments).

We had forged a fairly successful bedtime routine – bath with daddy; change; feed & story with mommy; bed in moses basket) but since everyone tells us once you establish one pattern it is likely to change, we decided to pre-empt that ourselves by moving LLC into her own room for bed last night. So much for the old adage that “if it’s not broken don’t fix it” – we figure we should start to sew her seeds of nighttime independence as she’s going on for 10 weeks and getting more attentive and no doubt astute by the day.

LLC’s room is not a fully kitted out baby themed nursery as it’s also our office and guest room rolled into one. This suits our space, our budget and our purposes but we’re still keen to have the room reflect her as best it can. The bookshelves hold her books, on the wall hangs her awesome name banner sewn by the hand of Aunt D, her dresser dons her music box and ABC picture and the changing table hangs over her until now “naked” cot bed. Yesterday I finally “dressed” the cot bed and it’s proved a crowning glory in helping the little lady’s room look more complete.


So the room looks good and LLC’s crib is a cozy sanctuary for sleep, guarded by a small brigade of stuffed animals. But how did bedtime in this new environment go?

I nursed LLC on the futon in her room rather than our bed. I read her story. I shushed her into that seven mile stare state between consciousness and sleep and slowly lowered her into her crib. I retracted my hand, slowly, gently and then “Waa, waa, waa” - small sounds but on the brink of a crescendo. Her small eyes darted left and right, frantically taking in her new surrounds.

I braced myself that this nighttime transition may not be easy and that tonight might be the start of a tiring journey for awhile. I scooped up LLC, rocked and shushed again for about a minute and then placed her back in her crib once she fell quiet. She looked up at me with big full moon eyes. Such a huge searching stare from such a little person. I explained that this was her new big girl bed and that mommy would be back to feed her in the night and then in the morning like usual. She stayed quiet, so I gave her a goodnight kiss, switched on her monitor and left the room.

She woke once in the night to be fed and went down again fairly easily afterwards. She then woke up a little after 6am, a bit earlier than normal but we’ll take it!

So her first night sleeping solo went surprising well. I’m not getting too excited as it’s only been one night, but I’m hoping this auspicious start will be a sign of bedtimes to come. A mama can only hope.