The Late Night Struggle of Moms

One night in April, our family came home from a church activity really late and we were all very tired.  After preparing for bed, I turned on my iPhone and started reading my eBook. My daughter asked why I was still reading when as it was already late. I told her "Mommy just wants to relax before I go to sleep". To which she replied "But isn't sleeping more relaxing than reading?"

 

Sleeping is indeed more relaxing than reading, isn't it? The need to de-stress and have some alone time is sometimes just as important as getting a good 8-hour sleep.  It is only during those late nights when the family is winding down or sleeping, when you can finally get some peace and quiet and do your own thing. This poster truly resonated with me. The struggle is really, people. The struggle is real.

www.igpile.com

 

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Fitbit Your Way to Good Health

Last year was pretty successful for me health-wise. I ran regularly (finally hitting 10k!)and started sleeping a lot earlier than my usual 12am.  One of the best tools that helped me achieve my goal was my Fitbit Flex.

 

Fitbit has a number of activity-monitoring devices that can fit your individual needs.

I decided to get the Fitbit Flex since it has interchangeable straps so it's a lot more versatile fashion-wise.

They even have Tory Burch designs with gold hardware that has been on my wish list ever since I saw them last December.

There is an application that you may download to your smart phones in order to track your progress. The bracelet also has light indicators that will let you know how much you've progressed towards your daily goal.

The Fitbit Flex tracks your steps for the day. I have set my goal to the standard 10,000 steps since studies have shown that walking at least 10,000 steps daily will allow you to reap tons of health benefits. An article in LiveScience says "One study found that women who increased their step count to nearly 10,000 steps a day reduced their blood pressure after 24 weeks. Another study of overweight women found that walking 10,000 steps a day improved their glucose levels." 

 

On top of monitoring your activity, the Fitbit Flex also monitors your sleep and tells you how many hours of deep sleep you've had for the night.  This motivated me to sleep earlier to achieve more 8 hours of deep sleep.

Here are some snapshots of my Fitbit tracker on my smart phone. You can see how many steps you've taken and which days you achieved your goal. The sleep tracker is also an awesome way to see what your average bedtime is and how you can do better.

To make fitness fun, you may also sync with friends and compete against each other on a daily or weekly race. You would even be able to monitor how much steps your friends have been taking on a 7-day summary.

I got my Fitbit Flex from Singapore since it was not readily available in Manila last year. The good news is that Fitbit is now available in any Digital Walker store in the Philippines. Do check it out! 

Choose the Fitbit that fits your lifestyle and aim for a healthier you this 2016!


 

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100% Thumbsuck-free

Remember last May when I was telling you about how we got our 4-year old daughter, Dawn, to finally be 99% thumbuck-free (read here)?  And how our progress deteriorated two months later (read here)? Well, I am happy to report that we are now 100% thumbsuck-free!

 

I know a number of you also struggle with the same habits. I mean, not you personally (I hope) but your children. So let me share with you how we were able to overcome the elusive 1%.

 

I'd say our journey to be 100% thumbsuck-free involved a lot of prayers and some parenting trial and errors. The past months were pretty much a roller coaster ride for Dawn as far as her sleeping habits are concerned. There were nights when we'd be thumbsuck-free and then suddenly the next night we're back to the old habit. Through those nights, Dawn and I never stopped praying. Every night she'd pray that she will not thumbsuck anymore and I know she has tried her best to avoid it. While I know that God can miraculously help her stop to thumbsuck in a blink of an eye, I also know that sometimes God uses people and other means to help us achieve our goal. The key is to constantly trust in Him during the waiting period.

 

A month or so ago, a friend of mine shared how her daughter stopped to thumsuck after using Manicare's Bite No More solution. This treatment was actually formulated to stop nail biting but it worked for their daughter's thumbsucking habit. After only two weeks of continued use, their daughter was able to kick the bad habit. So my friend gave me the solution to try on Dawn.

source

We decided to give it a try during our recent trip to Baguio. I woke up extra early the morning of our trip and applied the treatment on Dawn's fingernails while she was sleeping.  I also placed some on my fingernail and tasted it hours later just so I know the effect on her. It tasted so bitter and left an awful taste in my mouth! I was a little concerned on how she would react but thought it was worth a shot anyway.

 

Dawn slept through most of the ride to Baguio in her car seat. When we woke up her during one of our stop overs, she told me she needed to go to the ladies room because she wanted to vomit. She never really vomited so I thought it was probably just her cough giving her the gag reflex.

 

That night, Dawn woke me in the middle of the night in tears. She said she feels sad because her cough is making her 'not enjoy' to thumbsuck (her words). She said 'Remember when I said I wanted to vomit in the car? It was because my mouth and throat felt ouchy after I thumbsuck' .  I believe she was referring to the lingering bitter taste but could not describe it. Anyhow, long story short, she said she will never thumbsuck again. And that was how we were able to overcome the final 1% and be 100% thumbsuck-free.

It's been over a week now and she has not even attempted to thumbsuck. The bitter memory (pun intended) of the day she wanted to vomit was just too awful to be repeated. I have not told her about the 'magic potion' and will probably not do so until a very long time. I may eventually tell her or she may find out once she starts reading this blog. Either way, I am sure she will be thankful that her thumbsucking ordeal is finally over.

To those of you with kids who are still struggling with this  habit, do check out Manicare's Bite No More. I don't think it's available in the Philippines yet but you should be able to purchase it from the pharmacies in Singapore like Guardian or online for about SGD11.50 per bottle.

Try it!  Don't forget to cover this strategy with much prayers and let me know how it goes.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Sleeping Habits of Dads and Moms

Are you a light or deep sleeper?

 

Before I had children, I am generally a deep sleeper. Once I fall asleep, I sleep through the night. Make whatever noise you want and it won't bother me. You can turn on the lights or even the radio and I won't budge. Motherhood happened and changed all that. I surprise myself by the little things that can possibly wake me up. A faint creaking sound of the crib that tells me the baby is awake, a tiny cough or the pitter patter of tiny feet walking to the bed.  I was pretty amazed at this realization. It's almost like a miracle how most women develop bionic ears once the babies are born. Maybe this is really how God designed the female human body.

 

But let's not forget the men. Before we had children, my husband was such a light sleeper. He needed the lights completely turned off before bedtime. Night lights keep him awake so lampshades must be turned off and the room must be pitch black. I cannot watch television because even the tiniest volume would stir him up. I always complied because I knew it was hard to change sleeping habits. Or so I thought. One tiny miracle changed all that. His name is Troy.

 

When our little baby was born, my husband suddenly became the deepest sleeper ever. EVER. Troy screams and cries non-stop and he does not seem to hear it. I turn on the light to check on the baby but he does not seem to mind anymore.  What happened to the light sleeper that I married? And I am not just trashing my husband and venting here.  For some reason, he said he seriously does not hear it. Strange. To give him credit though, those times when I practically shove him out of the bed had to wake him up, he readily helps me. I will redeem my husband by saying he's a very hands-on father and I cannot complain. I remember how my cousin-in-law (Father) was telling me how his kids slept through the night since birth. Then my cousin (Mother) reacted 'What?! No, they did not!'. So apparently the Father just did not hear the cries.

 

Maybe that's just how men and women are wired through parenthood. What about you? How did your sleeping habits change with kids?

 

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What If You Stopped Sleeping?

Remember my 21-Day Challenge? One of my personal goals was to sleep my way to better health. Now, I've found more reasons to improve my sleeping habits.

Check out this fun science video --

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How to Pacify a Crying Baby (Toddler style)

I have not slept much the past two nights. My daughter has had high fever and has been very restless and irritable all night. Ask any parent and they will tell you how concerning it is when a child is sick. But today’s post is not about that. Today I want to write about Dawn’s little older brother who stayed up all night with me taking care of his little sister.

Even thought the two kids have their own respective rooms, we still prefer that they sleep with us at night. There are several advantages to co-sleeping which is why we do it. One disadvantage that we immediately realized after my daughter was born is that when you have more than one child, there is a domino effect when a child wakes up crying. Next thing you know, it’s two in the morning and you have two active kids that are wide awake and do not want to go back to sleep. Yes, that is truly a disadvantage on most days especially when you need to wake up at six in the morning to get ready for work. But last Sunday night, the same disadvantage turned out to be a blessing.

My 12-month old daughter woke up at one in the morning with a very high fever. Dawn, who is usually such a happy and easy baby, was screaming and crying non-stop. I tried every tested soothing trick but nothing seems to work. After about an hour of crying (not me but I think I was on the verge of doing so), my 4-year old son woke up and came over to ask me what is wrong with his sister. I told him his syobe (Chinese for younger sister) is not feeling well and has ‘ouchy’. Without much thought, Troy looked at his sister and started doing funny dances in front of her. He was singing and dancing and was just being silly. After only a few seconds, Dawn stopped crying and started laughing. I was amazed at how effective it was. I gave a big sigh of relief that the crying has stopped.

By four in the morning, the singing and dancing was not as effective anymore. Dawn started crying once again. All four of us had no sleep yet and I can only imagine how tired Dawn already was by then. Troy tried to do his silly dances one more time but told me ‘mommy, syobe’s still crying. She’s not laughing anymore’. So I thanked him and said ‘it’s okay. You’ve been such a good ahia (Chinese for big brother) already. You should go to sleep now’. I can see that Troy was already tired and also very sleepy by then. But my little trooper was not ready to give up. He looked around the room and saw Dawn’s current favorite toy. Her Baby Scout.

One of the many features of Baby Scout is that when you press his right foot, he would play lullabies for a set period of time (from 2 to 10 minutes). Troy played the songs and once again his plan worked. Dawn stopped crying. Troy held the doll up for Dawn to see as he went to sleep. Each time the songs ended, Dawn would start crying again and Troy, like on auto-feature, would sit up and press Baby Scout’s hand again to activate the music. This went on for an hour until Dawn finally fell asleep. By 6 in the morning, we finally had a quiet room.  My two kids (and husband) were sound asleep.

After 5 hours of no sleep, I felt physically drained and cannot wait to go to bed. But that Monday morning, before I closed my eyes, I thanked God for my son. I am prouder of him than I have ever been. He continues to amaze me at how mature he is becoming. I decided to document the events on my blog because I want my daughter to grow up knowing how much her ahia loves her even when she was still a baby.

To my two beautiful kids, mommy will never get tired of taking care of you. I love you more each day.

Thank you, Lord, for my family.

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