Categories
Eve

On Sleep Training

A few months ago I blogged that Eve had finally started sleeping through the night. Sadly this wasn’t to last and, although it is not as bad as it used to be, she still wakes me at least twice a night, often more, and yes, I am weak, I give in to the little despot and breastfeed her to sleep on each of these occasions. Oh the shame. It’s just that if I don’t feed her it becomes a pitched battle to get her to calm down and go back to sleep and her will at 3 in the morning is a hell of a lot stronger than mine. Especially since I haven’t felt rested since she was born and I crave my sleep like a heroin addict craves their fix….and the dog ate my homework Miss.

It’s not that I’m short on advice for methods to train her to sleep, oh no, I’ve read them all and the studies that debunk them. I’ve been preached at by those that tell me if I do anything other than wear Eve 25 hours a day, never taking my eyes from her and never allowing her to shed a single tear I am damaging her for life. I have also read those that say unless a child is regimented down to the number of minutes taken to consume each meal followed by bowel movement and then to bed they will become a demon child that overruns the house and is destined for a life of crime and delinquency.

Well, this week we’ve been having a new kitchen put into our tiny house and so we have been staying at my parent’s house. Eve hasn’t taken the change of scenary very well so she has been waking me every couple of hours and has fought me tooth and nail in my efforts to get her to go back to sleep. I’m operating on a cocktail of sugar and caffeine and so once this kitchen is in and we’re back on home turf there’s going to be some changes happening around here. For one thing the milk machine is going to be unavailable between bedtime and morning (soon to be shut down for good), bedtime will be set and not just whenever she stops in mid play, twitches and collapses in a snoring heap on the living room floor, and now Daddy will be taking part in the proceedings too so it’s two against one.

We have decided to employ the Supernanny technique because it seems to be a good middle ground method and I can see us both being able to handle it. It involves:

  • 1. Setting up a consistent routine…bath, pjs, story, bed.
  • 2. Once she’s in bed Mum or Dad sits on the floor by the cot and bows their head so she can see us but we make no eye contact.
  • 3. Stay like this until she finally gives up and goes to sleep.
  • 4. Repeat each night gradually moving further from the cot and finally out the door.
  • Boy, she’s going to be soooo pissed.

    Categories
    Illustration

    Bicycle Ride Sketch

    sketch

    For a long (loooong) time I have harboured a dream to illustrate children’s books. One of my resolutions is to get a portfolio started that is geared towards that market. The portfolio I have now is totally inappropriate since it was compiled with the computer games industry in mind and so is more horror and game character/location based.

    What my portfolio needs to consist of:

    1. Ten to fifteen pieces of my best work.
    No half-hearted scribbles. I need to work on my colour skills this year (I knew I should have worked harder at this class in college).

    2. A consistent style (if you’ve got different styles it might be better to have different portfolios).
    I’m working on developing the style I have and simplifying it.

    3. A range of subjects.
    In the case of kid’s books: indoor, outdoor, night, day, groups, animals, different age groups/activities, unusual angles, etc.

    So, I’ve got a long ways to go. As I study other illustrators and take an honest look at my own drawings, I don’t think my artistic skills are up to par yet but you’ve got to start somewhere. Hopefully in the process of working up a portfolio my abilities will improve and one of these years I’ll have something good enough to send to a publisher.

    Above is my first sketch which I’m agonising over right now. I’m trying to figure out what to have in the background…simple or detailed, abstract shapes or proper drawn location, country or city. I think a bit more experimentation is in order but I’m happy with it so far.

    Here’s a larger version

    Categories
    Eve

    Eve’s First Drawing

    Eve's Drawing

    Ta Daaaa! Yes, this wonderful piece was produced by my 14-month-old daughter Eve who has finally worked out that when a pencil is applied to paper (with her left hand I noticed…just like her Da) and dragged from side to side, a pleasing mess can be made.

    Of course, this is not just a bunch of scribbles, if you look closer I believe you’ll see she was trying to capture the upriver migration of the adult pacific salmon.

    Salmon

    Categories
    Illustration

    Illustration Inspiration

    train fish

    A great site for finding inspiration is the Illustration Ltd. online portfolio site. It features some great illustrators and is a useful place to study what it takes to get into the business, or just to drool over some pretty pictures.

    Personal favourites would be Vincent Vigla and Fernando Juarez.

    Categories
    Blogging

    Do Not Adjust Your Set

    I’m playing around with a change of theme for the New Year so if things go a bit funny please be patient with me. I’m bound to break the site a couple of times before it’s running close to smooth again.