Sleeping Angel

Chami has been a bad boy since we got to LA. He doesn't want to nurse and has been on a nursing strike for one week. He can go on without much milk for most of the day and makes it up by sleeping next to the all you can eat drinking fountain all night.
He also dislikes sleeping during the day. The most he would sleep during the day is 20 minutes each time. We are therefore constantly dealing with a grouchy baby who is hungry and tired. That said, he still smiles a lot and melts your heart with his big clear eyes.
He has started to giggle (video to come) and also started to roll over. He has this amazing sixth sense and can always wake up whenever I decide to lie down and sleep in the room.

Where is my life?

Today is one of those days that I want my old life back. What happened to all the free time that I used to have? I was working hard and partying hard and yet I had time to take care of myself, shop for myself, take trips with friends and talk with friends. But now, I wake and there is nothing but kids and housework until my day ends in exhaustion. I shop but only for groceries and kids stuff. I bought some new clothes in the H&M in less than 30 minutes two weeks ago finally because the maternity pants were falling off my waist. I no longer have makeup or hairstyle. Sometimes I don't even remember to wash my face or comb my hair before I leave the house. The apartment is always in complete chaos with toys scattering everywhere. I'm behind in taxes, I mean like four months behind. I don't remember things or appointments unless they are written down on my calendar. I rarely remember what day of the week it is unless it's Saturday or Sunday because those days Joaquin and nanny stay home and chaos in my life go into turbo mode. Domestic me puts the professional me in shame. I can run multiple projects simultaneously. Multi-tasking is synonymous with me at work but I am not capable of taking two kids by myself. I don't think I've ever broken into tears at work due to pressure (I have only shed tears once when I was told of my promotion after no sleep for almost 3 days) but I often want to cry along Javier or Joaquin. I know i would never trade my two lovely boys for anything else and I feel guilty when I feel like I miss my old life but today is one of those days...

Brothers

Joaquin adores Javier so much now, what a big turnaround from the first two months.  Every morning, the first thing he does when he wakes up is to check on Javier.  Every afternoon, Javier greets Joaquin with a big smile when he returns from school.  Joaquin loves kissing him, hugging him, lying next to him and head-butting him (the same way he does with his bear other than throwing him on the floor-because we won't let him!!!).  Javier often looks at Joaquin with utmost admiration.  How wonderful is it to be able to grow up with your best friend!

Where did you come from Chami?

Chamu is half awake; Chami mimics the leaning tower of Pisa

Leg fight

I want to be part of the picture!

Chami is always so intrigued by Chamu

When can I play cars with you, bro?

Can I also have a hair band? oh, I actually have an all-natural one.

I wanna be next to you!

BFF!

Four-month check up

Javier had his four-month check-up today.  Actually it was originally scheduled for yesterday but I showed up in the afternoon and only realized the appointment was scheduled for the morning.  Today I showed up five minutes too late and the doctor had already left for an ER call.  So Javier had to charm the nurses into calling a doctor back

He is now 8.6 kg, 65.6 cm tall with a head circumference of 43.5cm.  Pretty good for a kid who didn't gain a single ounce during the first month.  He has more than doubled his birth weight so he should be able to sleep through the night (but he isn't!).  Notice how we have stopped documenting his sleep training.  Every night it's a chore for us to put both kids to sleep.  The best time is one hour, after which we are both exhausted...Let's hope Javier can grow out of it soon!

C.I.O. Again (Day ?+1)

Another stubborn day for Javier.  I already asked the nanny to limit his naps during the day.  He took a short nap while we were having dinner, what a plus that we got to eat in peace!!!
He woke up again around 7:15pm, had milk and stayed up until 9:20pm.  I fed him and he fell asleep around 9:50pm.  He woke up while I was having my conference call.  Dadu put him back s times at 5 minute and 10 minute intervals but he woke up again and kept crying.  Mamu is starting to think that he is still hungry so may need to go feed him which may mean C.I.O. fails again today...

P.S. It turned out that Javier was hungry so he cried for 40 minutes in vain...  Starting from tomorrow, we will feed him by bottle in the evening so we will know for sure if it's a hungry cry...

C.I.O. Day ?

Javier resumes his crying it out. He made improvement during the week but his sleep has been terrible during this weekend.
Last night it was a blank for me as to how he fell asleep since u fell asleep with Joaquin. Today the most he would nap while we were out was 20 minutes.
At 10 pm, I cried him out for 30 minutes but he was still going strong so I thought he may still be hungry. And he just fell asleep sucking...
He is not going to learn ever, is he?

C.I.O. Again (Day 6)

Pretty uneventful! Javier went back to sleep after the third round of crying, but only because Daddy was stupid and didn't realize he was hungry, he went right back to sleep after a top-up. Joaquin was so tired he actually went to sleep by himself in the room!

CIO seems to work too, Javier woke up earlier than scheduled, but he fell asleep by himself while I was preparing the milk.

Alone in Beijing

Mamu goes for a business trip to Beijing today.  I left home at 7:30am with three boys still sleeping. Actually Javier and Joaquin both woke up around 6:30am and finally went back to sleep around 7:15.  Dadu took care of them for 2 hours until the nanny showed up at 9:30am.  

Beijing is not as hot as Taipei.  Air is smoggy as usual but it was sunny and you could actually see the blue sky.  Not a bad day.  

It's strange.  When I'm with kids, I keep thinking when I could have time alone to sleep.  But then when I'm alone, I keep thinking about them: Are they sleeping well? Eating well? Missing me at all?  Physically away but mentally attached.

Kudos to Dadu to taking care of two boys by himself... and Mamu needs to wait for another 26 hours before she can kiss her three boys...

C.I.O. Again (Day 5 or is it Day 2?)

A not so successful day for CIO.  Javier would've been asleep by Minute 12 but Joaquin woke him.  We were getting Joaquin to pick up after himself and he was just one defiant child.  Each time we raised voice on Joaquin, we ended up waking up Javier.  Javier basically cried on and off from 9pm to 10pm and then finally fell asleep when I gave up and nursed him to sleep.

Joaquin fell asleep finally at 11pm.  Maybe he is the one who needs to be cried out!

C.I.O. Again (Day 4 but really Day 1 again)

After 3 days of CIO, we took Javier on his first trip abroad.   Four of us were staying in one hotel room in Hong Kong.  Not a good place for CIO.   Two kids kept waking each other up so schedule goes out of window.  We were lucky if they could both be in bed by 11pm.  So we couldn't really let Javier cry it out during the four days we are in Hong Kong.  Our former helper was helping us so that means constant pampering for Javier.  We also forgot to bring Javier's pacifier so that means even more holding.  On Saturday and Sunday, we took Javier out of hotel but he just needed holding constantly.  He would not nap for more than 20 minutes each time.  By the time we are back in Taipei Sunday night, he had these bags under his eyes due to over tiredness.
So he must be trained again for him to sleep well.  We put him down to sleep at 8:30pm.  After crying for 20 minutes, he fell asleep (I went in 3 times to comfort him during the period).  He then woke up again at 9:15pm (because Joaquin was just too loud).  This time, he cried for 40 minutes (I went in 3 times during the period).  I hope he doesn't have to cry too much in the next few days to learn to fall asleep on his own.  His voice was coarse for a week after the last CIO...
Joaquin, in the mean time, is also completely out of schedule.  He didn't go to bed until midnight last night.  He woke up around 10am and missed his school.  I took him out to play and go shopping in the afternoon and he only fell asleep at 5pm.  He is now still up and watching Nemo next to me at 10:45pm. Need to break him out of this cycle too...

Shopping Buddy

Bingxin went on a little shopping spree with mommy today. He is good. Walked through five stores and four buildings with no complaints. Every shop he goes to, he always asks "我的sofa呢？＂("where is my sofa?"). And then he sits on the sofa waiting like a gentleman. He even carried lady mama's shopping bag.

Joaquin's One Day of Summer

Port Over Starboard Home

C.I.O. Again (Day 4)

Much easier today, he fussed for maybe 3-4 minutes while I was holding him, but fell asleep, set him down, and walked away. Done!

- Jaime

C.I.O. Again (Day 3)

Javier had a remarkable improvement today, even the nanny was amazed at his progress.  She put him down for the morning nap.   NO FUSS and just went straight to sleep.  In the afternoon, same thing happened, she put him down and told him to sleep.  She went to the kitchen to wash his bottle and only went back to the room when he was crying because of the pacifier fell out.  She put it back in and, boom, he was sound asleep again.
8pm tonight, Javier was tired.  I sang him a song,  put him down.  He cried for 5 minutes before I returned to pick him up.  I sang him another song and put him down again.  He was still moaning and complaining. I picked him up again and then put him down and he was already asleep before the time even reached the 10-minute mark.  Wow, an even faster learner than Joaquin.  He went from 50 minutes to 23 minutes and to less than 10-minutes today.  He is also sleeping earlier, going from 11pm the first night, to 10pm last night to tonight at 8pm!  CIO is truly amazing!

oops spoke too soon.  He woke up at 8:55pm...Just picked him and put him back to sleep.  Let's hope he stays asleep until his midnight feeding!

Casa Della Tires

More Swimming Pictures

C.I.O. Again (Day 2)

We had a long day being out.  Joaquin didn't take a nap at all, being too excited outside and swimming in the afternoon.  After an early dinner at Dad's place, he passed out at the same when we started the engine to go home.  Javier fell asleep 5 minutes afterwards.  After coming home, Joaquin went straight to bed, only opened his eyes to see where he was being moved to.  Javier, on the other hand, wailed for 20 minutes until I got home from parking.  He stayed up until 10 pm, munching on boobs and chatting afterwards.  10pm is really late for a baby his age but given how irregular his day has been, we felt bad of putting him to C.I.O. when he is happy.
I took him to bed at the first sign of him being fussy and sleepy.  I sang him a song, put on his growbag, closed the curtain and bid him goodnight.  He didn't really cry but kept making noises of discontent.  I went in after 5 minutes, picked him up and sang him a song, put him back to the crib.  Another 10 minutes has passed, he was still making noises (but not crying), I went in again. I picked him up, sang him a song, and then put him (who was already half asleep) back down.  At minute 23, he was quiet and SOUND ASLEEP!!!  What a fast learner!