Once a week WY would vacuum the living room. I would take the girls inside the bedroom to avoid the loud noise and dust. Play time in the crib! Our favorite!
I sat them face to face in HY's crib. I have bought them this small teethe blankets w/ pacifier attachment for bedtime hoping that would help them find the pacifier at night. Well, it didn't help and we weeded off their pacifiers instead. But, they were still fun to play with. I put one of them covering EY's head. HY thought it was funny that EY's head was covered by the blanket so she giggled. EY used both hands grabbed and pulled off the blanket (8"x10"). As she uncovered her face, I said "peek-a-poo" and EY knew it was a game that we were playing so she had a big smile on her face with her little tongue sticking out. She was also expecting some fun reaction from us once we saw her face. HY was anticipating EY's removing the blanket act by smiling and staring at EY. Once the blanket was off, HY cracked up and they looked at each other in their eyes and giggled. EY said "ya-yee" a high pitch but soft sound and gave HY a big and sweet blink. HY replied "ya- yee-yee", also high pitch but very soft and gentle sound back to EY, of course, she returned the sweet blink. Aw, you should see them react with each other, so so cute and sweet. Once a while they would give me that special treatment but not often. It seemed to just between them two.
Well, EY got a good respond, so, she lifted up the little blanket in front of her face, a pause, then, quickly put it back down. HY was being a good audience and she laughed as EY did that. EY giggled at herself for doing such a wonderful peek-a-poo with sister. Wow, I had so much fun just looking and helping to say peek-a-poo as they took turn to uncover themselves.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
cruiser!
Last week friend at church asked me whether the girls were able to cruise yet. I didn't know what cruising meant for a baby. She said when they were able to walk holding onto furniture or other stuff other than your hands, they became cruisers.
EY became a cruiser today! She got up on her own holding onto the couch and walked from one end to the other end. Or, she cruised from one end to the other end! She got really good at it.
Sometimes she fell and hit her forehead on things but she didn't cry too long. I guess I could try to ignore the few scratches on our fearless explorer's forehead after seeing what she has accomplished. I think I am more scared than she is.
EY became a cruiser today! She got up on her own holding onto the couch and walked from one end to the other end. Or, she cruised from one end to the other end! She got really good at it.
Sometimes she fell and hit her forehead on things but she didn't cry too long. I guess I could try to ignore the few scratches on our fearless explorer's forehead after seeing what she has accomplished. I think I am more scared than she is.
Monday, April 26, 2010
4am practice session
Did I share that EY and HY both could pulled themselves up holding onto something? Yes, EY got some excited about her new accomplishment and she explored every standing thing to see whether she could hold onto to pull up to stand. Her favorite was the crib. She could get up in 5 seconds from lying down to standing up in the crib. Well, my less favorite part was that she liked to practice her standing and crawling in the crib at bedtime and at 4am or 5am in the morning. It was hard to get her to fall in asleep in the crib. I had to leave her in our bed where she could not crawl because of the bedding and could not stand up because of nothing to hold onto. After a few minutes battling to crawl or stand, she got tired and started to flip then I transferred her back to her crib to continue dosing off. But, the 4-5 am session was hard. We couldn't calm this active player to go back to sleep. One day I gave up wrestling her down to bed to sleep. Instead, I stood there for 1 hour to watch her doing her crawling, climbing, pulling, standing and laughing. She was quite excited and proud of herself. Finally, she got tired and let go of the crib to rub her eyes. I helped her to get down and she fell in asleep in 5 seconds.
HY has been trying to pull herself up more and more. She had relatively safer approach than EY. She tried and if she couldn't, then, she sat back down and tried later. She got very good at kneeling. HY soon will be like sister practicing her new techniques and then they both play at 4am. Not looking forward the 4am standing in the crib session.
HY has been trying to pull herself up more and more. She had relatively safer approach than EY. She tried and if she couldn't, then, she sat back down and tried later. She got very good at kneeling. HY soon will be like sister practicing her new techniques and then they both play at 4am. Not looking forward the 4am standing in the crib session.
"NO TV" traning
We were advised by a child development profession friend that we should limit their TV time. Instead, encourage them to play more on the floor. It was hard to do so because the TV helped to distract them so that I could do something else without watching them. The first day without TV last Monday, they had to adjust. They were forced to play on the floor and move around to kill time. Because of no TV, HY was bored and she fell in asleep on the floor on her own while she was playing. It was a good nap for HY. Because of the nap, she didn't get too fuzzy. She kept on playing after the nap.
EY has mastered her crawling during the very same no TV week. She no longer did her rolling over or flipping over. Once a while she still pushed backwards but majority of the time, she was able to get onto her all four -- hands and knees on the floor, tummy off the ground. At first she was tumbling down after each crawl step. After a week, she mastered it and she could just take off to different corner of the house.
HY was willing to spend more time lying down on the floor instead of just sitting. She would try to get on her all four to crawl forward. But, her legs were not strong enough to get her tummy off the ground. She could crawl one step then fell back on her tummy. Her usual tactic towards grandparents was to cry and look with her sad face with no tears to signal grandparents to pick her up and put her closer to where the toy was. Of course I knew that was her trick and I told her that she was doing great and I looked somewhere else. When she knew she had to do it on her own, she tried and tried and screamed a bit, then tried again. She somehow pushed her body to rotate 360 degree and in the process of her rotation, she moved closer to the toy. I had no idea how she figured out that way. It could be just random success. Only if she could repeat that, then it means she really came up with the solution. Otherwise, pure luck, haha.
It was hard not the turn on the TV while the girls were awake. We only watched TV after the girls went to sleep. But, we did it! Even grand parents were cooperating when we told them not to watch TV while the girls around. And, we were glad that we tried and the girls now are more active moving around.
EY has mastered her crawling during the very same no TV week. She no longer did her rolling over or flipping over. Once a while she still pushed backwards but majority of the time, she was able to get onto her all four -- hands and knees on the floor, tummy off the ground. At first she was tumbling down after each crawl step. After a week, she mastered it and she could just take off to different corner of the house.
HY was willing to spend more time lying down on the floor instead of just sitting. She would try to get on her all four to crawl forward. But, her legs were not strong enough to get her tummy off the ground. She could crawl one step then fell back on her tummy. Her usual tactic towards grandparents was to cry and look with her sad face with no tears to signal grandparents to pick her up and put her closer to where the toy was. Of course I knew that was her trick and I told her that she was doing great and I looked somewhere else. When she knew she had to do it on her own, she tried and tried and screamed a bit, then tried again. She somehow pushed her body to rotate 360 degree and in the process of her rotation, she moved closer to the toy. I had no idea how she figured out that way. It could be just random success. Only if she could repeat that, then it means she really came up with the solution. Otherwise, pure luck, haha.
It was hard not the turn on the TV while the girls were awake. We only watched TV after the girls went to sleep. But, we did it! Even grand parents were cooperating when we told them not to watch TV while the girls around. And, we were glad that we tried and the girls now are more active moving around.
Attack and defense
It was always fun to see the two girls playing together. You can see how they learned about each other and developed new ways to "attack" and "defend".
Most of the time, they sat side by side or facing each other. EY as usual, had interest in whatever HY was playing. EY had this look on her face that once she wanted to get something: her eyes like a radar targetting the object without a blink and her mouth formed a "O" shape, her neck sticking out and action! HY must learned EY's get-ready-action look and she attempted to defend her toy. She would pass the toy from the hand closer to EY to the other hand. EY moved quickly by letting go of her ground support and flew her body at HY to attack. HY got distracted by sister's closeness and did not know what to do. Did EY wanted a hug or kiss or she wanted the toy? Just a little hesitation, EY pulled down HY's arm and reached her target. Once she got the target object, quickly, EY pulled her body back and sat back up. She didn't blink once, mouth remained the "O" shape throughout the attack and retrieve.
New defense from HY yesterday. When she smell the interest of EY on her toy, she passed the toy onto the further hand, then, pushed onto the ground with the available hand to rotate her body so that she would sat her back towards EY. She was using her back to block off EY to protect her toy. That defense move was working and EY didn't know how to get to HY's front and have the open access to the toy again. She was thinking though. She attempted to reach from the back but of course HY easily got away by extending her arm to further the toy from EY.
Well, I am curious what's EY's next move to break the defense from HY. Haha.
Most of the time, they sat side by side or facing each other. EY as usual, had interest in whatever HY was playing. EY had this look on her face that once she wanted to get something: her eyes like a radar targetting the object without a blink and her mouth formed a "O" shape, her neck sticking out and action! HY must learned EY's get-ready-action look and she attempted to defend her toy. She would pass the toy from the hand closer to EY to the other hand. EY moved quickly by letting go of her ground support and flew her body at HY to attack. HY got distracted by sister's closeness and did not know what to do. Did EY wanted a hug or kiss or she wanted the toy? Just a little hesitation, EY pulled down HY's arm and reached her target. Once she got the target object, quickly, EY pulled her body back and sat back up. She didn't blink once, mouth remained the "O" shape throughout the attack and retrieve.
New defense from HY yesterday. When she smell the interest of EY on her toy, she passed the toy onto the further hand, then, pushed onto the ground with the available hand to rotate her body so that she would sat her back towards EY. She was using her back to block off EY to protect her toy. That defense move was working and EY didn't know how to get to HY's front and have the open access to the toy again. She was thinking though. She attempted to reach from the back but of course HY easily got away by extending her arm to further the toy from EY.
Well, I am curious what's EY's next move to break the defense from HY. Haha.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Here comes the cries
Well, as we expected, HY's reaction to EY taking her toys has progressively gotten vocal. Remember a few weeks ago, when EY took HY's toy, HY would just look for something else to play. She didn't seem to care much. Last week, when similar situation happened, HY would make a deep loud noise to protest EY's action. She still allowed EY to take the toy. Well, EY didn't seem to care. She paused because of HY's loud noise, then, she carried on examining her new possession.
At the end of last week, HY finally made a move to try to take back the toy after she lost it with a scream to scold EY for her action. EY always had a strong grip on the toys so even HY got a hold of the toy again, she couldn't snap it out of EY's hand. Then, if there were other toys around, HY would pick up another toy to play. Once EY saw HY playing with a different toy, EY wanted to take that, too. It was funny that HY seemed to know that was what EY would do and she snatched her 1st toy back while EY was distracted trying to take her 2nd toy. Once EY got the 2nd toy, she realized that HY had the 1st toy back. This time, EY learned to not to give away what she had while she was getting the 2nd one. One hand verses two hands, HY seemed to be able to defend her possession this time.
Yesterday, HY really wanted her toy back from EY because there was nothing else to play. She attempted but she couldn't even get closed to it because EY turned her body around to protect her toy. HY was frustrated and she screamed and cried out for help. That was the first time that HY cried after losing her toy. I gave her a different toy and she was OK. EY glanced at what I gave HY and didn't seem to show much interest. Good, HY would be able to enjoy it for a while before EY changed her mind :-P
At the end of last week, HY finally made a move to try to take back the toy after she lost it with a scream to scold EY for her action. EY always had a strong grip on the toys so even HY got a hold of the toy again, she couldn't snap it out of EY's hand. Then, if there were other toys around, HY would pick up another toy to play. Once EY saw HY playing with a different toy, EY wanted to take that, too. It was funny that HY seemed to know that was what EY would do and she snatched her 1st toy back while EY was distracted trying to take her 2nd toy. Once EY got the 2nd toy, she realized that HY had the 1st toy back. This time, EY learned to not to give away what she had while she was getting the 2nd one. One hand verses two hands, HY seemed to be able to defend her possession this time.
Yesterday, HY really wanted her toy back from EY because there was nothing else to play. She attempted but she couldn't even get closed to it because EY turned her body around to protect her toy. HY was frustrated and she screamed and cried out for help. That was the first time that HY cried after losing her toy. I gave her a different toy and she was OK. EY glanced at what I gave HY and didn't seem to show much interest. Good, HY would be able to enjoy it for a while before EY changed her mind :-P
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
nodding
HY did something this week. She was nodding her head on her own. At first she was testing out that motion. After we imitated her by nodding our heads and saying "YES, YES, YES", she thought it was funny to nod her head. Then, she kept on doing it. She did it while she was siting, while she was crawling and while she was watching TV. Best of all, she always had a big smile when she nodded :-))
multitasking
Our girls are very good at multitasking. When they drink milk, left hand holding a toy and knocking on the milk bottle to make music, right hand with a different toy swinging in the air as if the toy was dancing and flying. And, they are watching TV spout at the same time. Ohh yeah, that's the only way they'll finish their milk without making us do circus moves - one arm with a sitting baby and the other hand holding the milk bottle up and standing on our feet. Why can't they just eat then play? Hehe, sometimes I can't just eat and not talk. So, can't ask them not to multitask, I guess :-P
mobile babies
This week, HY was finally willing to be on her tummy and rolled around at times to reach her favorite toys. We spread out the toys around so that the girls would be motivated to crawl. HY used to be very content with the toy in front of her. Lately, she noticed the other "toys" like the swing, the pack N play, the sofa, the chair, the remote controls, the car seats and she moved out of her comfort zone to explore. I was happy to see her able to get into her crawling position from sitting up pose without falling. She started to get in the trouble of being stuck underneath the sofa because she started to crawl backwards like EY.
EY mastered her crawling backwards and rolling around. She was efficient with those two ways of her mobility. She was strong enough to push up her body above the floor with her arms and legs. That was a sign that she might be ready to crawl forward! She liked the TV remote control a lot, not any remote controls, just the TV one. I put that in front of her where she could not reach without crawling 4-5 steps. She looked at the remote and pushed up her body and one hand forward, one leg forward, then, the body, then the other hand, finally, the last leg! She crawled one step. She was doing it slowly and trembled a bit at the last push. But, she did it. She was not distracted by the first step of sucess, she kept on going and pushed forward! After three moves, she dived herself onto the floor towards the remote and reach her hand out. YES! She got it! My dad and I were watching and we gave her a big applause for that. Next, I made her repeat the act and recorded it with the camera for WY. Yeah, good job EY!
EY mastered her crawling backwards and rolling around. She was efficient with those two ways of her mobility. She was strong enough to push up her body above the floor with her arms and legs. That was a sign that she might be ready to crawl forward! She liked the TV remote control a lot, not any remote controls, just the TV one. I put that in front of her where she could not reach without crawling 4-5 steps. She looked at the remote and pushed up her body and one hand forward, one leg forward, then, the body, then the other hand, finally, the last leg! She crawled one step. She was doing it slowly and trembled a bit at the last push. But, she did it. She was not distracted by the first step of sucess, she kept on going and pushed forward! After three moves, she dived herself onto the floor towards the remote and reach her hand out. YES! She got it! My dad and I were watching and we gave her a big applause for that. Next, I made her repeat the act and recorded it with the camera for WY. Yeah, good job EY!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Orange
The girls were always curious with what I was eating. They moved their lids like they were eating. Everyday, I eat my oranges in front of them. I love oranges as many of my friends know. I hope my girls like it too. The girls still don't have any teeth out yet. Their doctor said either me or WY must have our teeth late that why they still didn't have a single tooth out. But they seemed to know how to gum the food before downing it. So, after peeling off the divider clear skin of the orange slice, I pitched out a small piece of the orange to feed it to HY. HY was ready for this new fruit. Immediately, she gummed it and used her tongue to move the food around in her mouth. Her eye brows were slightly curve as if she was thinking hard. Wow, she was trying to taste the new food. EY saw HY got the orange, she opened her mouth and arms towards my hand, making a sound of "hoo, hoo, hoo.." signaling me that she wanted some also. I gave EY a small piece of orange and she was just chewing it with her gum and you could see the excitement on her face. Before I could decide to give them more or not, HY was kicking her legs and extended her hands towards the orange.
I am glad that my girls enjoy the orange like I do :-)
I am glad that my girls enjoy the orange like I do :-)
the sock test
One day I came home, grandma made a statement saying EY being smarter than HY. I asked how she came to that conclusion because they were awfully young to be compared that way. Here came the sock test. Grandma and Grandpa demonstrated "THE SOCK TEST".
Grandma first put one of the girls' sock on EY's head. EY noticed something was on her head so she looked up to see whether she could see what that was. By looking up, her head tilted and the sock felt off.
Then, Grandma put the same sock on HY's head. HY glanced at Grandma w/a puzzled look then went on playing with her toys and let the sock on sitting on her head.
"You see, HY didn't know there was a sock and EY knew it. EY is smarter. Hahaha..."
"Hmm... I don't think that proved EY smarter than HY but OK, they seemed to react to things differently. "
In my head I was just glad that the girls didn't understand what grandparents were saying. I didn't think HY liked that statement, haha.
Well, almost one month later, here I showed WY the sock test. I put their little sock on HY's head and HY knew something was there right away. She didn't look up but she used her little hand tried to grab it off instead. After a few attempts, she did successfully. Now, EY's turn. I put the same sock the same way on EY's head. Guess what, she knew it, too and she grabbed it off with her hands, too.
Yeah, two smart girls. They both passed the sock test! Better show Grandma Grandpa this week : -)
Grandma first put one of the girls' sock on EY's head. EY noticed something was on her head so she looked up to see whether she could see what that was. By looking up, her head tilted and the sock felt off.
Then, Grandma put the same sock on HY's head. HY glanced at Grandma w/a puzzled look then went on playing with her toys and let the sock on sitting on her head.
"You see, HY didn't know there was a sock and EY knew it. EY is smarter. Hahaha..."
"Hmm... I don't think that proved EY smarter than HY but OK, they seemed to react to things differently. "
In my head I was just glad that the girls didn't understand what grandparents were saying. I didn't think HY liked that statement, haha.
Well, almost one month later, here I showed WY the sock test. I put their little sock on HY's head and HY knew something was there right away. She didn't look up but she used her little hand tried to grab it off instead. After a few attempts, she did successfully. Now, EY's turn. I put the same sock the same way on EY's head. Guess what, she knew it, too and she grabbed it off with her hands, too.
Yeah, two smart girls. They both passed the sock test! Better show Grandma Grandpa this week : -)
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Live Shrimp!
In Chinese saying "acting like a live shrimp" describes someone can't sit still and move one's legs and arms around very quickly like a live shrimp in the water.
Haha, lately, I have been using this term on EY. EY got this strong kicks of her legs that she could escape our of my hands when I held her and jumped somewhere. For example, when I bathed her, once she laid down in the tub, her legs kicked the water in a fast and regular pattern as if she have learned how to swim and she was doing the frog kick style. Her kicks were so strong that her bath tub was shaking up. She was so excited and had her mouth wide open and looked at me "Mama, water is so fun. Look at me, I am swimming. " Of course, I could barely hold her in place to clean her. Once we put her on the changing table, she started her kicks again. This time was in the air. With her flapping arms, she thought she could fly! Ohh, trust me, I sweet just to keep her on the table not flying off somewhere. Her last famous kick was when we held her up in the air. She kicked and laughed and if we landed her on a hard surface, she would have jumped so high and escaped our hands. Now, we learned from grandma, we gave EY and HY a toy to hold onto so that they would be occupied and not to escape and increase the difficulty of the simple task - diaper changing.
HY had her live shrimp moments as well. Her move was to arch backwards if she was put down to sit or she had enough food. She waved her hands very fast across her face and no spoons or face cloth would escape that quick swift - creating a big mess on her clothes.
Now, do you understand the term "live shrimp" more?
Haha, lately, I have been using this term on EY. EY got this strong kicks of her legs that she could escape our of my hands when I held her and jumped somewhere. For example, when I bathed her, once she laid down in the tub, her legs kicked the water in a fast and regular pattern as if she have learned how to swim and she was doing the frog kick style. Her kicks were so strong that her bath tub was shaking up. She was so excited and had her mouth wide open and looked at me "Mama, water is so fun. Look at me, I am swimming. " Of course, I could barely hold her in place to clean her. Once we put her on the changing table, she started her kicks again. This time was in the air. With her flapping arms, she thought she could fly! Ohh, trust me, I sweet just to keep her on the table not flying off somewhere. Her last famous kick was when we held her up in the air. She kicked and laughed and if we landed her on a hard surface, she would have jumped so high and escaped our hands. Now, we learned from grandma, we gave EY and HY a toy to hold onto so that they would be occupied and not to escape and increase the difficulty of the simple task - diaper changing.
HY had her live shrimp moments as well. Her move was to arch backwards if she was put down to sit or she had enough food. She waved her hands very fast across her face and no spoons or face cloth would escape that quick swift - creating a big mess on her clothes.
Now, do you understand the term "live shrimp" more?
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
We gave up sleep train for now
Already?! Yes, it seems to not be productive for both babies and parents at this point. We got even lazier than before. I just put EY in between us in our bed. When she cried, then, we didn't have to leave the bed, either put the pacifier in her mouth or gave her a few strokes to help her back to sleep.
Yeah, not just for the convenience, when you woke up, seeing the girls playing next to you was so so heart melting. They seemed to know that we were sleeping, so, they just played on their own with the pillow cases or the bedding. "they"? Yes, by 4am in the morning, HY would end up in our bed also. Yes, all four of us in a queen size bed, very cozy. Their little cute faces were specially cute after they woke up and relaxed. Their faces were glowing with those red cheeks and sparkling eyes. HY always had a sweet smile and soft look on her face. On the other hand, EY would have an exciting expression when she saw us waking up.
Yes, yes, in my head I was telling myself that we can not do it all the time because they will get used to sleeping in our bed and not be able to sleep in their own bed. What's called a temptation? This is definitely one of them! Need to go back to the RIGHT WAY again!
Yeah, not just for the convenience, when you woke up, seeing the girls playing next to you was so so heart melting. They seemed to know that we were sleeping, so, they just played on their own with the pillow cases or the bedding. "they"? Yes, by 4am in the morning, HY would end up in our bed also. Yes, all four of us in a queen size bed, very cozy. Their little cute faces were specially cute after they woke up and relaxed. Their faces were glowing with those red cheeks and sparkling eyes. HY always had a sweet smile and soft look on her face. On the other hand, EY would have an exciting expression when she saw us waking up.
Yes, yes, in my head I was telling myself that we can not do it all the time because they will get used to sleeping in our bed and not be able to sleep in their own bed. What's called a temptation? This is definitely one of them! Need to go back to the RIGHT WAY again!
Monday, April 5, 2010
No sleep training tonight
After two nights of screaming and listening to the screaming, WY and I were mentally exhausted and the girls were physically strained. HY had a big vomit episode today and her tummy must be not feeling well. So, we decided to take a break tonight. No sleep training! Yeah! Two girls both went back to their own bed in the room to sleep and I did my house work in the kitchen after they slept. It was nice to know that no heart breaking cries in my ears tonight. The trade off, I might need to get up 2-3 times during the night. What's better?
ma ma ma...
During the second night sleep training, EY cried out "ma ma ma..." the very first time. Ohh... It was so hard to resist the temptation of picking her up!
HY today cried out "ma ma ma..." while I walked to the kitchen to make their milk. They noticed the new words "da da da and ma ma ma" and they used it in different time. I didn't think they understood the meaning of those words yet but they will soon. Every time they made the sound "da da da", WY and I would point at WY. When they cried for "ma ma ma" and I would talk to them " Ma ma is here, not going anywhere. Ma ma is right here."
HY talked to herself a lot while playing. "Da da da da, da da da, da da" all in different tone. That was the little language of her own. Lately, she has been using her tongue to make funny noises and being entertained by her own sound.
EY lately had a new kind of laugh. She wrinkled her nose, squinted her eyes and opened then closed her mouth quickly with a loud "HA". That was it. It almost was like the fake smile we adult would make. Ohh, yeah, I am sure she picked that up from her Da Da :-P
HY today cried out "ma ma ma..." while I walked to the kitchen to make their milk. They noticed the new words "da da da and ma ma ma" and they used it in different time. I didn't think they understood the meaning of those words yet but they will soon. Every time they made the sound "da da da", WY and I would point at WY. When they cried for "ma ma ma" and I would talk to them " Ma ma is here, not going anywhere. Ma ma is right here."
HY talked to herself a lot while playing. "Da da da da, da da da, da da" all in different tone. That was the little language of her own. Lately, she has been using her tongue to make funny noises and being entertained by her own sound.
EY lately had a new kind of laugh. She wrinkled her nose, squinted her eyes and opened then closed her mouth quickly with a loud "HA". That was it. It almost was like the fake smile we adult would make. Ohh, yeah, I am sure she picked that up from her Da Da :-P
2nd night of sleep training
It started well with EY. After a bath, HY fell in asleep as usual on her own sucking her thumb. EY cried for about 15 minutes then she fell in asleep as well. The bath helped them relaxed. About 10pm, EY woke up and got onto her tummy. 5 minutes later, she fell in asleep on her tummy position. I repositioned her back to her side. She seemed to like to sleep on her side.
1pm, HY woke up and noticed she was not in her bed and she couldn't fall back in asleep as usual. We gave her some time to try but she would not stop crying. Her cry in the living room actually woke EY up who was in the bedroom with me. They were echoing each others' cry and they didn't seem to want to give up. 30 minutes passed. Finally, HY was picked up by WY and had a big big burp then she quite down. EY stopped and fell in deep sleep as soon as HY stopped crying.
It was a bit easier but the real challenge: Will they ever learn to fall back in asleep after they wake up during the night without crying? If not, one cries and the other wakes up and cries at the same time, I am not sure how that will go if we don't intervene.
Sleep training for twins is not the same as sleep training for individual babies. It is more than double the work:-P
1pm, HY woke up and noticed she was not in her bed and she couldn't fall back in asleep as usual. We gave her some time to try but she would not stop crying. Her cry in the living room actually woke EY up who was in the bedroom with me. They were echoing each others' cry and they didn't seem to want to give up. 30 minutes passed. Finally, HY was picked up by WY and had a big big burp then she quite down. EY stopped and fell in deep sleep as soon as HY stopped crying.
It was a bit easier but the real challenge: Will they ever learn to fall back in asleep after they wake up during the night without crying? If not, one cries and the other wakes up and cries at the same time, I am not sure how that will go if we don't intervene.
Sleep training for twins is not the same as sleep training for individual babies. It is more than double the work:-P
Sunday, April 4, 2010
sleep training
Well, after 9 months of lack of sleep and the "strong suggestion" from our Ped doc, we decided to sleep train EY - no pacifier and no holding, she should learn to fall in asleep on her own.
EY normally could fall in asleep sucking a pacifier no problem. But, once she fell in asleep, the pacifier would fall out of her mouth. Then, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she could not go back to sleep because she had nothing to suck on. We would get up 3-4 times to help her find the pacifier and put in her mouth throughout the night. Otherwise, when she woke up, she cried and woke up sister HY. If there was no loud noise, HY would be able to sleep through the night usually. If she was woke up, sometimes she got mad and refused to go back to sleep on her own.
It was not easy. EY woke up at 11pm and I didn't pick her up. We had put HY in the living room so that she would not be bothered by EY's cries. I told EY that she needed to go back to sleep and mama would be next to her. We prayed for her that Jesus would bless her sleep so soft and deep. EY kept on crying, crying and crying. She got up and tried to pull herself up holding onto the crib. I had to put her back down to her back at least five times.
After 75 minutes, EY finally was too tired and she cried herself to sleep. Every 10 minutes or so, she still woke up and screamed a few times and then back to sleep. Then, it was every hour, she woke up and cried a few times and then she went back to sleep on her own. It was not easy 75 minutes. I was constantly praying for EY that God would calm her down and help her. Every loud cry she made, I wanted to give up and just picked her up. By praying to God, I was able to hang in there and allow EY to learn to sleep on her own. It was hard to let go and not jump in to help. Thankfully, I had peace from God and so did EY. She did it! I was so so proud of her!
That was the first night!
EY normally could fall in asleep sucking a pacifier no problem. But, once she fell in asleep, the pacifier would fall out of her mouth. Then, when she woke up in the middle of the night, she could not go back to sleep because she had nothing to suck on. We would get up 3-4 times to help her find the pacifier and put in her mouth throughout the night. Otherwise, when she woke up, she cried and woke up sister HY. If there was no loud noise, HY would be able to sleep through the night usually. If she was woke up, sometimes she got mad and refused to go back to sleep on her own.
It was not easy. EY woke up at 11pm and I didn't pick her up. We had put HY in the living room so that she would not be bothered by EY's cries. I told EY that she needed to go back to sleep and mama would be next to her. We prayed for her that Jesus would bless her sleep so soft and deep. EY kept on crying, crying and crying. She got up and tried to pull herself up holding onto the crib. I had to put her back down to her back at least five times.
After 75 minutes, EY finally was too tired and she cried herself to sleep. Every 10 minutes or so, she still woke up and screamed a few times and then back to sleep. Then, it was every hour, she woke up and cried a few times and then she went back to sleep on her own. It was not easy 75 minutes. I was constantly praying for EY that God would calm her down and help her. Every loud cry she made, I wanted to give up and just picked her up. By praying to God, I was able to hang in there and allow EY to learn to sleep on her own. It was hard to let go and not jump in to help. Thankfully, I had peace from God and so did EY. She did it! I was so so proud of her!
That was the first night!
Change of position
It was new that EY and HY were able to change their playing position.
About three days ago, EY were rolling around the room to explore. Once she got to the busy zoo toy, where she could hold onto something, she was so brave that she attempted to pull herself up. Sometimes she could actually stood up by pulling onto the top of busy zoo and lift up those chubby legs. Sometime she ended up in kneeling position. If she couldn't get up there, then, she would settle with a sitting pose instead. She even was able to get to her butt and sit up from a crawling position. That was pretty cool. I used to help her sit up if she cried. Now, I tried to encourage her to sit up on her own instead. But when I was next to her, she preferred the help over trying. So, now, I watched her in a distance to allow her to figure things out.
HY didn't quite like crawling but she was the expert on standing. Often after she stood there for fifteen minutes, she would turn around and talked to me and bent her legs at the same time to signal me to help her sit down. Today, she slowly lowered her upper body while bending her knees. By holding tight onto the busy zoo toy, she was able to land her butt on the floor safely without falling.
About three days ago, EY were rolling around the room to explore. Once she got to the busy zoo toy, where she could hold onto something, she was so brave that she attempted to pull herself up. Sometimes she could actually stood up by pulling onto the top of busy zoo and lift up those chubby legs. Sometime she ended up in kneeling position. If she couldn't get up there, then, she would settle with a sitting pose instead. She even was able to get to her butt and sit up from a crawling position. That was pretty cool. I used to help her sit up if she cried. Now, I tried to encourage her to sit up on her own instead. But when I was next to her, she preferred the help over trying. So, now, I watched her in a distance to allow her to figure things out.
HY didn't quite like crawling but she was the expert on standing. Often after she stood there for fifteen minutes, she would turn around and talked to me and bent her legs at the same time to signal me to help her sit down. Today, she slowly lowered her upper body while bending her knees. By holding tight onto the busy zoo toy, she was able to land her butt on the floor safely without falling.
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