Is it too cruel to train a newborn?

Baby J was kinda like a so-called colicky baby. (Or maybe she was not. I didn't have time to find out, because she stopped crying that much since I started to train her!) The first four days, the only thing she did was crying. I couldn't sleep longer than 10 minutes. She always wanted me to hold her. She was hungry too! She was complaining why I delivered her to the terrible world.

After four days torturing, I couldn't take it anymore. I started to train her!

One of my friends gave me a book as a wedding gift when I was engaged. This book was published in Taiwan and of course written in Chinese. The author was living in Georgia, US and her four children were the clients/patients to a very kind, loving, and experienced doctor, Dr. Denmark. This book was based on her experience with Dr. Denmark and her "teaching". You can find another book which was based on Dr. Denmark's theory and written in English in the US, called Dr. Denmark Said it!

So the forth day, I started to train my baby. I set up a feeding schedule and put her to sleep on her tummy. And guess what?! She stopped crying and slept on her own right away! I am not lying! It is so true!

Now baby J is 5 months now. She is a happy lovely baby!

Here are some big milestones (physically) for her in the first two months.

• On the forth day, she can flip her face. The same day, I only have to feed her once (3am) at midnight.
• On the 11th day, she started to push her arms and hold her head.
• When she was 2 weeks (almost 3 weeks), she rolled over!! But I believe it was more like an accident. Cause she only rolled over 3 times afterwards. She "officially" rolled over as her playtime exercise when she was 4 months.  
• We moved her crib to her room when she was 1 month old. Yes! She slept alone in her own room!
• She slept through the night since she was 7 weeks old. 

A lot of people said to me that I am very lucky to have a such easy baby. The truth is: Only if you trained her!

Earrings organizer

This was made by me around the end of the last year (or maybe in the beginning of this year).

It's very easy to made! I got this white wooden frame and the fabric from Joann for maybe less than 5 dollars. Remove the center picture/glass and attach the fabric. I attached two layers of the fabric to create smaller holes for my earrings.

As for how to attach the fabric? I believe you will have a better way than me!

At that time, I didn't have anything available in hand at my apartment back then, so I used some trash cardboard. In order to make it stronger, I clued one layer of the cardboard in between fabric and the frame. and one layer after the fabric. So the order is: frame, cardboard, fabric, and then cardboard. Oh, and by the way, regular clue can do the job!

After few hours waiting time for clue to dry....tada!

The ugly back look! I believe you can do a better job than me!

Pink crochet baby hat for baby J!

This is another hat that I made for baby J. It is quite easy. I got the pattern from this blog. I believe the size of this pattern is for 3-6 months baby. I try to find another pattern for newborn or older infants, but still looking. If you know any blog that shows nice patterns, let me know!

Baby shower favor

Final look.

It is not easy to have a baby shower when you'd never been to one. So I was quite worried about my own baby shower (in May, 2011). Not only so, I didn't know what to gift for my guests. Honestly, I didn't want to spend too much money, but I wanted the favor sweet, cute, and usable. They wouldn't trash them after the shower. Then, I got this idea from here. It's brilliant, right?

I bought a pack of clothespins (50 ct) from Walmart for less than $2. I used Acrylic paint that I bought years ago, several ads from all kinds of super markets, and magnets. 

Basically, I painted the clothespins with acrylic paint. Then I cut the letters down and stick onto the clothespins with glue + water. Using glue + water was not only to stick the letters, also to make the letters smooth. (I will have another post to explain it.) It could also create a nice coating to the clothespins.

To make sure the magnet sticks well, you can use the glue designed for wood or fabrics.

Finding the right font and letters was a hassle.

This favor could be a name tag for the event,
and could be attached to the refrigerator.

Counting number toys

Although it's still a long way for baby J to learn counting, I just can't wait to start this project. I had this idea when I was pregnant. I want something soft, washable, cheap, and meaningful. So I used felt (only cost me about $5 at Amazon) and used diaper adhesive tape (so it would stick on the background fabric). So far I finished 2, 3, 6, and 9. I will post more pictures when I got more done.

These were cut from baby J's dirty diapers.

The view of the back.

My first handmade baby hat - not quite finish yet...

One day I saw a picture, a baby wearing a cute cute baby hat. I decided to try it myself! After a few days of dedication, I finally had this done! 

How soon should a newlywed couple to have their first baby?

I always thought 2 years would be the perfect answer to this question! At least, my junior high school textbook told me so.

My husband and I got married on June, 2010. We were about to start a wonderful life together......... without a baby yet. I thought we still need time to adjust each other's lifestyle, to learn to live with another person, and so forth and so on. I planed.

However, God and I had different agenda. I forgot to ask His opinion. And it eventually got me a surprise. About a year ago, I found out I was pregnant, 3 months after my wedding date! It took me a few months to accept the reality. I was confused, a little angry, but finally happy for the change.

Here I am. A new wife and a new mom who decided to stay at home to take care of my beautiful baby. And this blog, is a way for me to take down all my projects. I believe it would be a very interesting journey!