Super Mammy Diaries

Toddlerhood is no cake walk, specially with the terrible twos kicking in or "threenagers" running around. Adding a pregnancy to the mix just makes it all that much harder for you, mom. While my first baby was not planned, my second one was as I wanted my kids to be close together in age and grow up together, even know I knew that it would not be easy to be pregnant with a two year old and I am expecting a battle for attention up ahead. However, it does help to keep the bigger picture in mind - your little one may soon be the elder one but when you step out of the house, they will never be alone or want for company again. I'm not going to pretend it's easy. This week, I found bruises on my belly that I know have nothing to do with the kicks and tumbles of the little one inside me but are from the kicks and tumbles of the little boy on the outside, who no longer allows me to enter the restroom unaccompanied. And yet, my maternal intuition confirms that everything is eve...

Parent hood (and actually every day of my life) is more stressful when I haven't gotten my 10 hours of rest. However, as a parent, all that's left of those glory days of sleep are memories. Baby sleep is as enigmatic but is also the key to feeling like you can make it through the day (along with those baby smiles, and giggles ofcourse). My goal from the beginning has been to get my baby to try and sleep continuously, and trust me on this one, it is not easy! Fortunately or not, I am an obsessive data junkie, and have spent almost 11 months now graphing everything in my child's life. Yes, that actually means that when he wakes up I turn off my timer while running to his room to get him (and yes, I started in hospital on the day he was born). I have now reached a point where I can pretty much predict how my night is going to go, based on the kind of day my baby has had. Below is a list of some factors affecting baby sleep  (these are all universal - if I made a list of the th...

Sleep training like most things related to motherhood is controversial because there are so many ways to do it, and since each baby is different, every mother whose child has ever slept through the night, thinks they have the formula. So, I'm not going to hash on about what's right or wrong, I'm going to instead tell you about the four schools of thought on sleep training your child - from not really sleep training at all, to a no cry solution, pick up/ put down, to cry it out, because I've really tried them all.  My son fights his sleep like a little wrestler and so I've been through all stages of this and finally came up with my own way hybrid that worked well for me (the Fifth way), by combining the different techniques so that I didn't have to step too far out of my comfort zone, or deal with too many tears (mine, I mean).  (Note: sleeping through the night for all medical experts means 5 continuous hours only. That gives parents a few minutes to sleep by th...