We continue to be amazed at how well our children transition to their own beds in their tenth month. After nine months of round-the-clock breastfeeding on demand and snuggling to sleep either while nursing or being worn, placing a babe in a crib all by herself is a big change. Each of our children has demonstrated readiness for this major transition in his or her tenth month. It was Vi's turn Monday night, after she slept straight through Sunday night and even continued sleeping until 10:30 the next morning. We set up her crib and bedding in the kids' room when Ben got home. Then we began dinner and the bedtime routine as normal - with the addition of Vi fully participating rather than watching. She happily chewed on an apple slice at dinner, and then it was time to spashily join her older siblings in the bath. After everyone was dressed for bed, Vi sat on Baba's lap during the Bible story and laid down in her crib wearing the same sleep sack Nikki and Michael each used at this age. A few minutes of crying, and she was asleep. She woke only once, right as I was laying down in bed without her for the first time since she was born, but she was quickly back asleep after Baba checked on her, and she slept straight through until 7am. Last night was even better, with less crying when she first laid down. Vi didn't wake up until 8am. Hurrah for long winter nights! Sweet dreams, little one!

Most days, afternoon rest time means Nikki and Michael lie quietly in their beds "until the red disappears." Generally they sleep two hours and sometimes more. When Nikki and Michael wake up they each join Mama on the sofa where we have a post-nap cuddle.
photo credit :: Elisa holding her phone at arm's length On Fridays, since Michael usually falls asleep on the way home from music class, and since the kids don't seem to need another two hour nap after having four in a row, I have begun "Friday rest time." "Friday rest time" involves Nikki and Michael playing quietly in the living room. The key word here is "quietly." If someone is loud or asks Mama a question, they have to go lay down on their bed quietly for a while before they can come back and play. Inspired by MaryAnne at Mama Smiles, I am using this quiet play time for audio books, which further encourages the kids to be quiet and listen while they play. advantages of "Friday rest time" The kids love having a rest in the same room as me. After the first Friday rest time, Nikki told me she liked it much better than nap time. I asked her why, thinking she was excited about being able to play with toys, but she surprised me by saying that she didn't like not being able to see me when she was in her bed during normal naptime. The second advantage is one that I didn't anticipate but happily accept. During "Friday rest time" Vi is usually happy and alert and she loves playing with Nikki and Michael. With all three children happily occupied and not on my lap, I can type with both hands on the keyboard, a rare and wonderful luxury.

Nikki and Michael have adapted so well during this move! Probably their biggest adjustment is at naptime, with Michael no longer confined to a crib. Also, the bookshelves and toy baskets from our former playroom are now in their bedroom, so they have access to a plethora of fun activities. How, then, to encourage them to rest? In addition to the consequence of having all the toys removed from their room if they play with toys instead of resting, our secret weapon is a simple visual timer. At the beginning of each nap time, I pray for Nikki and Michael, kiss their foreheads, turn on a white noise machine, set a timer for 45 minutes, and close the door "shutly tight" as Nikki says. Our battery-powered Time Timer displays a red section covering the amount of minutes my resting children need to be quiet - if they are loud, I simply add more time. As the minutes elapse, the red section becomes less and less until it silently disappears. Nikki will often wake long after the allotted 45 minutes and say "the red disappeared so quickly!" I am glad we are back on track with a much-needed afternoon nap!

Midwife Vanessa discharged Vi and me from the Community Midwifery Program today. I'll miss her visits. One month old today, Vi has gained half a kilo in the last two weeks! Also, my body is recovering its pre-pregnancy state more quickly than it did with the previous pregnancies. Could it be because I'm nursing three children? In addition to weight transfer, the other miracle rocking my world is this: Nikki and Michael are on a consistent nap schedule. Both of them sleep for an hour and a half each afternoon. If he needs it, Michael will take a morning nap as well. They both continue to sleep well at night. I caught this picture today of Vi taking the floor during a sibling conference. Time to put my feet up and just enjoy Vi each afternoon is an unexpected blessing. I notice I'm singing a lot more during the day, which is a good sign that, despite being well outnumbered, I'm still feeling pretty blissful.

Each pregnancy, I find I gravitate toward certain creature comforts. Below I list of a few of my favourite things the third time around:

• side-sleeping memory foam pillow, which complements the long feather pillow that keeps my lower back straight (from the first pregnancy), and the wedge pillow to support my bump (from the second pregnancy). I feel that I've found the ultimate pillow trio for pregnant side-sleeping and am luxuriating in the ability to sleep straight through the night every night!
• fit ball - still a favourite from the first pregnancy
• tubigrip to support my bump and lower back during the day - and hold up my maternity jeans, which I pessimistically bought a size too large
• Lunapad underwear fits comfortably under the bump and keeps me feeling fresh
 

photo credit :: saidaonline
 
• organic grapes - I try to keep a bowlful of loose, washed grapes on a shelf in the fridge. With my senses heightened during pregnancy, I really appreciate that the organic grapes don't have a chemical aftertaste
• Similarly, my Kleen Kanteen provides convenient, non-spilling water that tastes good.
• ... and last but not least: Baba's oatmeal - his secret recipe involves using more than twice as much milk as oats, and soaking the oats in the milk prior to cooking. Unbelievably delicious!

Related posts:    Favourite Pregnancy Things
   Favourite Pregnancy Things - volume 2

During the first trimester of this pregnancy, I mentioned to my parents that I was feeling tired. My dad asked, "so when is the kids' naptime?" Good question, DaD! Naptime... I had forgotten about that! If naptime is an set time when children go to sleep in an organised fashion, well, for the most part we haven't managed that. It has happened a few times. We were getting into a groove with Nikki right before our most recent trip to the US. During our whirlwind tour, we were with new people in a new city nearly every day, and that's when Nikki developed an acute case of FOMS (Fear Of Missing Something). Wide awake she would stay until we were back at the hotel at the end of each day (though she would nap occasionally in the car). Our last few months in Egypt, our first few months here, no naps for Nikki, except in the car. Michael slept twice most days, either in a baby carrier or snuggled on my lap after nursing. And that's when my dad reminded me about naptime. At first I dismissed the idea, but I began to realise that my pregnant self needed a nap at least as badly as any one- or two-year-olds I could name. So one day I announced that I was going to 'rest on the sofa.' I made this announcement when Michael was making signs that he would be settling in for some numnum-induced sleep. Soon we were curled up, both with our eyes closed. Nikki fussed a little. Then she went to my bedroom and grabbed a pillow. She also pulled an afghan my mum made off the sofa. Additionally armed with her sippy cup of water, she made a little nest for herself, then laid down and slept! In fact, we all slept! It was marvelous! Since then, I have added to my Nikki naptime photo collection, each time using the camera on my mobile phone since it's what I have with me and I don't have time to get the camera - at any moment she might wake. In one of these I did only catch her just after waking following a nap when she had curled up to sleep with The Economist.     I think these photos prove that my daughter can sleep anywhere... as long as she's not missing something!

Nikki finally got to move out of the tent she's been sleeping in ever since our temporary furniture was replaced by our sea shipment from Egypt. She's been great about camping out in the room she shares with Michael. But we could tell she was thinking about her big bed. "Nikki's bed not ready yet. No." Ben picked up the "long single" mattress from the store, which just fit into the back of our Odyssey with the five seats in the back folded down. (Note this is a stock photo, not our actual car. Photo courtesy Honda.)

The next morning Ben put the new mattress on the bed frame, and hooray! The bed built in Egypt fits a standard size Australian mattress.

Which meant we were able to buy sheets, a duvet, and a duvet cover locally.

Nikki tried it all out, and pronounced it "very nice." She even thanked me later as she went to bed for making up her bed so nicely.

Sleep well, sweet one.

I have been incredibly blessed on my return to Cairo to be invited to a 'baby group' full of breastfeeding mums. Most are also cloth diapering and a few are babywearing as well. Since I'm one of the few who has a second child and also because I'm tandem nursing , I get asked a lot of questions and am able to share my experiences and information I've picked up along the way. Big change from other groups where the mums get saucer-eyed and shy away when I mention home birth or sleep sharing. Attending the baby group this morning and also receiving some questions today from my dear friends Megan and Jill made me think that I should give an update on several different aspects of my own brand of mothering that I haven't mentioned on here in a while: sleep sharing, baby wearing, and cloth diapering. Sleep Nikki shared a bed with Ben and me from day one. She indicated that she wanted more personal space for sleeping when she hit 10 months , and that's when we purchased a crib for her to sleep in downstairs. Since then she has slept through the night every night. She is a phenomenal sleeper. While we were in England for Michael's birth she switched from two naps to one 40-minute nap per day, and she was going to bed at 6pm and waking at 7:30am. Here in sunny Cairo and with her dad's early schedule, she wakes at 6am, so I put her down at 4:30pm in order to give her the 13.5 hours she needs at night. Still one 40-minute nap, which is thankfully flexible on timing. Ideally I put her down at 11am, but with the baby groups all starting at 10am, on those days she ends up with a 1 or 2pm nap. Like today. Michael sleeps in our bed. He's less demanding than Nikki was at this age , and he wakes only twice in the night - once at around 3am for a diaper change (I'm leaving him in cloth at night and he doesn't like to feel the wetness) and feed and then again at around 5am to feed before his sister wakes up. It works out pretty well. At first I tried  to feed him more often at night since Nikki always wanted to, but he just wanted to sleep, so I guess I won't complain about that! He also sleeps on my back in the Mei Tai during Nikki's hour-long bedtime routine. We have a baby hammock for Michael which he enjoys for short periods of time during the day (eg when Nikki is having her diaper changed, or I'm getting dressed), and he will also sleep in the hammock if put in there when he's already sound asleep. Based on our experience with Nikki, we're not keen to rush him into his own bed before he's ready, hoping that when he is ready it will be clear to us and also at that point he will sleep straight on through without any difficulties. Babywearing Before leaving for England, Ben and I purchased a Cairo-proven tandem stroller off of some expats who no longer needed it. I had thought that I would start using it once I got back here, but so far babywearing has been so convenient that I have not familiarised myself with the complexities of unfolding the pram. Fortunately wearing two children is not at all uncomfortable if the correct carriers are used, and if the carriers are used correctly. I have used three different carrier combinations so far:

• Nikki in the Ergo on my back, Michael in a pouch on my front
• Nikki in the Ergo on my back, Michael forward-facing in a wrap (buddha carry) on my front
• Nikki in a Mei Tai on my back, Michael facing me in the Ergo on my front

The first combo, with Michael in the pouch , was the one I used on my five minute walk to the doctor's office the other day. Handy for a short walk, but not recommended for a longer trek. My favorite wrap for a little one is the forward-facing buddha carry in a wrap. The baby gets to see the world go by, and all skin is protected from the sun except the face peeping out, which can be protected with a hat. I'll wait to do this again until Michael can hold his head up a little longer. I also love having Nikki in the Ergo on my back. Very secure, quick and easy, without the ties from the Mei Tai trailing around and getting dirty if I have to re-tie when I'm out. Until Michael has sufficient head control for the front-facing buddha carry, I will continue placing him in the Ergo on my front, with the super handy sun / sleep cover pulled up to protect his baby skin from the sun and to support his head while sleeping. This also lets me show off my beautiful new Mei Tai, so it's a happy combination all round. Cloth Diapering Not since the La Leche League meeting I attended when nine months pregnant with Nikki have I been in a group with so many cloth diapering mums as I was this morning. One mum uses prefolds with a diaper wrap. Another loves her Bum Genius all-in-ones . A third is so against throwing anything away (even toilet paper!) that I think she is a strong candidate for elimination communication . My Ella's House hemp nappies are going strong. Nikki moved to the larger size while we were in England; perfect timing to have all the small ones available for Michael. The wraps are my favourite part of cloth diapering, and of course I had to buy all new ones for a boy this time around. Fun! Here is my best estimate of the cloth diapering supplies I now need for two children, washing daily except weekends:

• 20 small cloth nappies (ella's house - hemp nappy - poppers, size small)
• 20 small cloth nappies (ella's house - hemp nappy - poppers, size small)
• 40 boosters (ella's house - fleece topped hemp booster )
• 48 cloth wipes (green baby co - organic cotton washable wipes with a bowl of tap water at the changing station)
• flushable/washable liner sheets - a necessity for Nikki since she started eating solids ( ultra bio-degradable nappy liners )
• 5 medium "boy" diaper covers (two Tots Bots , two Nature Babies , one Wacky Wrap )
• 5 large "girl" diaper covers (two Tots Bots, two Nature Babies, one Wacky Wrap)

Today Nikki didn't have an afternoon nap. So when her bedtime approached, she was very ready to go to sleep. She came up to me and put her arms up over my shoulders and leaned her head against my chest. But I thought, 'it is still a half hour until her bedtime, and I know Ben wants to tuck her in, so I'll wait a bit.' Next thing I knew, Nikki was holding the bag for the blocks she had been playing with and signing 'help.' I held the bag open for her as requested and she put her blocks in the bag. As soon as the blocks were in the bag, she crawled over to the basket where we keep her blocks. Done for the day! I put the bag of blocks back in the basket, scooped her up, and began her bedtime routine. Ben got home just as I was carrying her to her bedroom and was pleased to tuck her in. Sweet dreams!