re: baby playing
cakey, reminds me of the time when i brought zephan to wendy's place. the 2 babies looked at each other n isaac was babbling more. then suddenly zephan cried! isaac was so shocked that he cried after a while also! dunno what happened also..
raisin, i also follow Gina Ford's philosophy to a certain extent. my boy's daytime nap schedule is not really fixed but roughly there. only prob is, he still takes the 3rd late afternoon nap cos he refuses to sleep long in the morning n noon. he sleeps fr about 8pm to 6.30pm.
re: crying n screaming
babies want us to be in sight. but i find it helpful when i talk loudly enough for him to hear, and pop my head back once in a while, lengthening the duration each time. i also find singing to him soothing, but dun choose the hyper songs that will agitate him further.
re: going out
i usually bring him out max half a day, and after his afternoon nap, so say about 3pm - 7 or 8pm. that means his only feed outside is his dinner. i'll usually bring his cereal n mix it for him outside. i haven't got a thermal tupperware to bring porridge out yet. when he reaches home by 8pm, it'll be a quick bath n his milk feed before sleeping.
re: night waking
I agree with the theory that what happens in the day affects the night. If the day is too exciting or irregular, baby cannot settle well at night. he may fall asleep due to exhaustion, but will wake up more often. So regular meals and nap times are important, and make sure he has enough to eat. sometimes when baby cries at night it's only momentorily. wait a while and see if it intensifies. more often than not they'll go back to sleep after a while. if u keep picking them up when they first cry, it'll develop into a habit and they have poor quality sleep.
re: pasta
can they eat the normal pasta sold in supermarkets? am thinking of trying macaroni. Do u blend or just mash?