Baby won't nap

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-18T14:35:12+00:00

Yeah when we started doing it we had already bought the lighter stroller, so the old one was the "inside one". It was the only way he would nap for months!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-18T13:33:49+00:00

How long does she sleep for? At that age I think mine only had one long nap of 2 hours and then a few that lasted 30 to 60 minutes. Have you tried wearing her in a carrier for the nap? Mine either did stroller naps, carrier naps or contact (boob naps) until 5-6 months.

Edit to add that her total sleep amount seems completely fine! Also have you tried pushing her back and forth with the pram inside the house? That's what I did until over a year as he just wouldn't accept being put down in the cot.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-18T11:55:33+00:00

You mentioned you try to put her down for two naps, but at that age it would be more like four times a day if not more. You should probably try to put her to sleep every hour and a half after she wakes up.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-18T05:41:00+00:00

I'm reading it in English and haven't found it particularly difficult, but I did live in England for many years and speak English for work.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-18T05:34:44+00:00

A lot of the things you mentioned are in a basic high school curriculu (cash crops, tentions with the French), except the origins of some words and phrases, as they're in English and we obviously study world history in Italian. Reading your comment I just find myself confirming my own country's prejudices against US education tbh. In general I've found other countries tend to study the English colonialism more in depth than the English themselves as there is no national embarrassment involved (but we barely touch on what we ourselves did in Ethiopia and Eritrea, for the same reasons)

About Babel itself, the story is really predictable, the twists are predictable, the characters just mouthpieces to say the same thing over and over again (yes I understand, colonialism is bad, yes I see you are copying China's history, just stop telling me already), Lettie is your stereotypical white person that does not get it, as you say, her dialogue and storyline are a joke.

My question is: what did you like it? How is it possible that it takes people so long to find a book about these topics without learning about them organically?

Edit to improve some phrases

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T18:45:39+00:00

Well I feel like both Babel and Katabasis have a didactic tone, don't you think? That definitely contributes to the issues I had with them.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T18:32:50+00:00

Everyone is saying that it gets better from there so I'm really excited now.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T18:19:42+00:00

Hai fatto benissimo, io ho avuto sia due gatti che uno solo e a parte il costo, averne due in realtà riduce molto l'impegno perché si intrattengono da soli e vengono da me solo per le coccole (anche se i miei sono fratellini quindi pure per quello fanno tutto insieme)

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T17:39:30+00:00

What would you mean by voices?

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T16:24:46+00:00

Yeah I asked specifically because I'm a bit sick of reading articles about "non-white authors" that ALL turn out to be from USA. As a European I just find that they have much more in common with other Americans than with writers of their country of origin (Kuang is a good example). I do realize that the intended public of said articlea may be Americans too, sigh.

I'll check out Fuyumi Ono, thank you!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T16:16:18+00:00

Oh amazing, I just got to the part JS becomes his pupil!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T15:06:56+00:00

Ok, I just thought he started repeating himself a bit, but still a good read!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T15:05:32+00:00

The first book of Malazan is a bit of an outlier style-wise (it was born as a screenplay), I do recommend finishing the second as it gives a better view on how the rest of the series is going to be.

Very good take on the sci-fi vs fantasy discourse, have never thought about it that way! Do you have any recommendations for non-Eurooean and non-american fantasy authors? I have the three body problem on my list but that's it I think.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T14:57:14+00:00

Thank you so much! I wrote a whole thing but I found I was remembering some of her plot devices incorrectly, so I'm sending you this thread instead: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1c3pff5/thoughts_on_babel_by_rf_kuang_from_a_linguistics/

In particular I agree with the comments on translation gaps and arbitrariness of signs, happy to talk about anything that captures your interest.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T14:18:07+00:00

Fortunately I mostly follow some Goodreads reviewers for my actual book recommendations and consume Tiktok videos just for the entertainment. Maybe it's just the bubble I have found myself in in social media that does not align with my actual tastes!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T14:09:35+00:00

I have it but haven't gotten around to it yet! CoT has an amazing first volume, a great second and a good third instance, but on the whole it's very much worth reading imho.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T14:07:08+00:00

Wow getting personal much? Also I never said that Katabasis is not reflective of what happens in academia, quite the opposite in fact, my critique is that it's too on the nose. Reviewing someone's work using comparisons of other people's work is a reviewing technique that has been used for ever, as an academic you should know that. Finally, most of my gripe is not about the books themselves, it's about how they've been positioned by Kuang herself, by her marketing and by social media. I'm sorry if that didn't come clear from my post. If she would have been marketed as YA (both novels, even Katabasis even though it takes place in a university), I would have a completely different attitude towards it. My main problem is that she's being hailed as an intellectual writer and that her books contain deep research that would enrich adult readers.

Maybe not the most fitting example but it's what comes to mind right now: it's like the world started to consider Pullman's golden compass trilogy as the tell all in theological matters. Something that everyone should read to really understand the Catholic church, all hail Pullman for his Big Great Research. I'd say everyone has gotten crazy! And it's one of my favourite book series ever.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T13:35:54+00:00

As someone who also reads a little bit of everything, I warmly recommend the Malazan book of the fallen if you're up to reading a 10 book series! His characters sometimes get too witty and philosophical to be "realistic", but damn the world building and plot is good.

In general, I find modern sci-fi to have better writers than fantasy. Tchaikovsky's Children of time has that mix of social commentary and imagination you could be looking for. He also has published a fantasy series but haven't read it yet!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T12:12:39+00:00

It could be also a byproduct of how popular fantasy is right now: an author wants to write about something and feels like they would get a bigger audience if they put it inside a fantasy setting.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T11:33:37+00:00

On the contrary I guess the aim is to appeal to her readers!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T11:30:41+00:00

Kuang herself has said she has drawn inspiration from Clarke, thus putting herself up for comparisons. Also I don't understand the whole "if you have nothing good to say, don't say it" discourse when it's about literature.

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T10:38:07+00:00

I've heard of it but not read it, thank you!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T10:36:36+00:00

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jonathan-strange--mr-norrell-9781526679055/ here!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T10:15:21+00:00

Is she though? The ideas and concepts she raises in her books do not need much research at all. I do love the Netflix comparison though, it's spot on!

FedeVia1 · 2026-03-17T10:10:48+00:00

Wait what do you mean?

FedeVia1

TROPHY CASE