This little boy is growing by leaps and bounds. He's the most curious little guy and is becoming such the troublemaker! He has definitely changed a lot since 7 months. He's already almost 19 lbs! Getting so so big.
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| Loves reading, just like mommy! |
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| The wii controller is mine! |
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| yummy soup |
So since I haven't update since the holidays, I guess I'll give a brief summary of that.
*CHRISTMAS*
Jacet loved the Christmas tree and the ornaments. Good thing they were plastic! He pulled those ornaments off the branches every single day. I guess since they were shiny red balls they probably intrigued him. He also pulled off the red ribbons on the tree. Oh and lets not forget how many times he knocked that tree over!
Christmas Eve was pretty uneventful, but nice. Tomo didn't have to work so we had just stayed home and relaxed. Dinner was KFC and pizza (Japanese style Christmas meal! haha). Christmas Day was much more exciting. I wrapped all the gifts and put them under the tree the night before, and when we woke up, Jacet was very interested in all those colorful presents. He got the moving Santa and Reindeer that sing, he got a little piano book, building blocks, a toy to hook on to the stroller, a car that moves when the wheel on its top is turned or the rattle is shaken, sippy cup, stuffed animal, clothes, and some books. I got Tomo a new metal iphone cover and an electric toothbrush, and Tomo got the family a nice heater for the house.
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| Troublemaker! |
Later Tomo and Jacet spent some time together and went out while I prepared some stuff for dinner. Then we did some errands and went to see some pretty Christmas lights. Came home, Jacet went to bed and I made a Christmas dinner of very expensive steak (which was given to us as a gift), Christmas tree mashed potatoes, and a salad. Not much, but still filling and delicious. It was a very nice first Christmas for Jacet.*NEW YEAR'S*
New Year's is more of a holiday here in Japan. Christmas is usually just a date night unless there are children. Businesses and banks are still open and it's really just a normal day. But everything closes for New Year's. Tomo decided to invite some people from work over to have a little party to countdown the new year. They all pitched in and brought food and of course I made some too. It was a good, fun night. Jacet even slept through the noise!
-SLEEP TRAINING-
To start off, Jacet's sleep had been very irregular and he had stopped sleeping well. His naps were rarely more than 45 minutes and he would wake up every 2-3 hours at night. It was becoming very tiring and I found that when I got up at night to put him back to sleep, I couldn't even walk straight. I couldn't keep my eyes open. Sometimes it would take an hour or more to get him back down in the crib. So I decided to try to teach him how to sleep. I did a lot of research and learned that the reason he was waking up every 2-3 hours was because he couldn't put himself back to sleep after waking up from a sleep transition (which everyone goes through apparently). He would realize that mommy wasn't holding him anymore and start crying.
So I looked into a lot of different methods. I really didn't want to just let him cry until he cried himself to sleep. I found a book called The Sleepeasy Solution. I read through it and really felt like it was something I could do. It was easy to understand and the authors covered so many things. They basically answer any question you could have about sleep training in the book. They cover what to do to help your child sleep from age 4.5 months to 5 years old. It was such a helpful book. I took notes and decided to try it. Sadly, the method does require crying, but I would go in and check on him at certain intervals.
So here's how it went. I did his bedtime routine and made sure he was calm and sleepy. We went up to the darkened room. I held him and rocked him a short time while telling him how much I loved him and that I would be right next door. Then I put him in the crib, kissed him goodnight, turned off the light and left. Of course he protested. I decided to check in on him at 5, 10, 15 minute intervals. He had stopped crying by that third check! And he never even reached the screaming/coughing/heartbreaking cry which I am so happy about because I don't know if I could have continued. He woke up just once during the night and only needed one check. Ever since that first night, he has slept through the night! I put him in the crib, kiss him goodnight and he goes right to sleep. No crying since night 1. I am AMAZED at how well he learned. He wakes up happy and refreshed, I wake up happy and refreshed. Win win. I definitely recommend this method to anyone who needs to sleep train their baby! His naps are still awful but I'm not doing this for naps because I want cuddle time with my little boy〜
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| Troublemaker Part 2 |
OTHER NEWS
A quick update on the adult lives here. Tomo passed his interview and is getting a promotion! This means that he needs to manage a bigger store, which means that we need to move at the end of February. But before that, we're going on a nice vacation to Hokkaido to visit his parents for awhile. Tomo will be leaving earlier and I'll be staying with Jacet so they can spend time with their first grandchild. It will be a nice break before things get hectic with moving again.
That's it for now.
Until next time!
