Menjaga anak

Penat jugak nak jaga anak sorang ni. So far I only managed to get Emmet into one routine. That is his morning bath and nap. I usually start his bath at around 10.30am. That’s when he starts to feel tired and sleepy after playing with his toys. Then pakai nappy, sapu lotion, pakai baju and after that swaddle him and put him to sleep at around 11.30am. Putting him to sleep meaning, sapu lotion kat muke and the whole head while massaging and stroking his head making him more sleepy. Sometimes he can settle on applying the lotion on his face and dozed off. But other times I had to pat him to sleep. I know it’s a bad habbit but ……okey yea I’m just no good at this.

Emmet would settle for a nap until around 1.30pm or 2.00pm. After that, no routine would stick. I would feed him when I see he’s beginning to scratch his face, head and body. Layan la macam-macam mana pun. Encourage him to play with whatever there is nearby, ajar dia jalan-jalan, play with the laptop. Sometimes I take him for a stroll to town, but only when I have to go out, like a trip to the post office to collect a parcel or just buy some groceries. I usually walk instead of taking the tram or bus. I need the exercise.

At around 4.00pm he would get cranky, that’s when I would feed him and he fell asleep on my lap and I have to freeze in that position until he wakes up at probably after an hour. Then play again. All the while that he’s awake, I can’t go further than 5 meters from him, otherwise I have to tolerate his screaming in fear that I would leave him. Yea, he’s becoming more and more attached to me I can’t even go to the kitchen to fix something for myself! And I have a difficult time to fix his meal, and get him to eat. He would shut his mouth tight no interest whatsoever in his mashed potato.

So sometimes he eats his solids sometimes tak. I’m a terrible mom. Night time is not supposed to be like this. He was sleeping well before he got the eczema, but now he wakes up 2 or 3 times I had to feed him sambil tido on my side. And my back hurts! But at least I get some sleep. I tried this sleep training I read in a book. Requires you to let the baby scream until he learns to sleep on his own. I don’t have to patience or the discipline to do that. We did try but only for 2 days, didn’t work though.

But overall Emmet is a happy baby. He smiles and enjoys the walk to town. The attention of people around him, chewing other people’s fingers… constantly need distraction otherwise he gets itchy all over.

I’m running out of steroid cream…..