18th Week

Abby's at her 18th week now. She is starting to teethe, constantly drooling and recently starting to develop rashes around her mouth from the saliva. She has good neck control, and is able to hold up her head steady at all times. Though she haven't had much luck with flipping over either ways yet, but she's already sitting up (with support) steady...Sometimes I think she's kiasu.

Anyhow, we're still struggling to get her to sleep at night. I've ditched the rocking and singing routine for a much better one. We established a routine with her as below:

9:00pm - wipes down Abby and chg her into her PJs
9:30pm - carry her into the room, where a story is read to her
10:00pm - put Abby in cot and dim the lights, sticks a pacifier into her mouth and ensure it remains there until she falls asleep

On a good day, Abby will fall asleep after 30 mins off struggling and half-hearted cries. If it's a particularly bad day, she'll shriek and scream non-stop for ¹- 1.5 hrs until we give in and offer her the bottle to nurse. What I can say is, the Ferber method ain't for us. I don't think it's a good idea to let a babe cry for ¹hr or more. When Abby does this, she is unable to stop...and can go on and on and on, seemingly unable to console herself and her screams will sound more and more hysterical.

We're planning our first trip back to Ipoh this month end. Sleeping arrangements will be iffy...but my Dad and Granny will get to see Abby for the first time. I'm starting to feel the stress already. Boy, having a kid just ain't easy peasy.