it's been quite a while since i last posted... the entire week since my last post has been total madness....haven't been so busy in quite a while....
All the prep for Baby Faith's 1st month - the food, the minimal decor, completing the video, arranging her photos in order.... these are things i usually wouldn't have found difficult to do.... but with a baby in tow, it sure makes everything different....
She went to church for the first time on Saturday evening. Darling and me thought it would be a better idea to 'traumatize' her on two separate days, rather than to cram it all on Sunday..... tried going to the 'children's' room to sit.. but it was insane. I don't understand the parents these days. The room is meant for toddlers and infants, but the place was filled with many other kinds of people!!! all the adults and siblings of the toddlers/infants, and they were all making so much noise!! Eating, laughing, talking, screaming. It wasn't even like a mass-going atmosphere. I saw kids of almost 10 years old eating chocolates and handing them around to her friends! Sheesh.. I really don't know what to say.
Faith was extremely traumatized by the loud noises in the room. Darling and me then decided to attend mass with the normal congregation instead, since people there are quieter. Even then, Faith was scared... the throngs of people she saw... the loud noises and being surrounded by people singing.... the voice of the choir and the priest coming through the speakers.... she was scared... but she didn't make any noise.. it was only after we left the church that she started wailing.
Darling and me had wanted to go for dinner...had called Angela along... we chose to go the airport, assuming there wouldn't be as many people there as compared to TM. once again, we were wrong. Children screaming everywhere.... and all the places were chock full of people. We ended up resorting to eating BK.... sigh... but the poor girl was kicking up such a fuss, I decided it was best to take away the food.
She hadn't slept all day.... and not until 2am did she even lull herself to sleep. The poor girl was tired and hungry... so she was too hungry to sleep, but too tired to drink her milk... =(
Sunday wasn't any better.... there were so many people that came... talking to her, seeing her, touching her... she was scared once more... plus the environment was all different..... she cried from 10++ all the way till 2am once more... it was a nightmare.. both for her and for us...
Having to entertain guests whilst watching over her caused us to not be able to take any pictures of the whole event at all..... =(
We spent much of Monday trying to get her to feel better.... and the last few days were also for us to recuperate ourselves....
One good thing has happened... hehe.. she gave us her first gurgle.... It was so nice to hear... and she has now begun to make her own noises in her attempt to communicate as well.. =)
hmm....... for our clique of friends with whom we always meet up prior to Faith's arrival? Thanks so much for watching over her whilst we tried to entertain the guests. We owe you a treat..... =) Whilst we are trying to get used to the changes in our life now that Faith is in it, I guess it is also time for all of you to adapt to the idea that things will no longer be the same. I believe the idea is shocking... that your friends now have a kid. =) haha. But we are no longer as free as before, so our movie, dinner and coffee dates would likely be impossible... That is something all of you have to understand and try to adapt yourselves to.
Our lives now revolve around her.... and she is our main priority. Bringing a child along when we go out is not an option we want to deal with, especially when she is so young. (and with the swine flu swarming around!)
Others may be content to leave their kid with others whilst they go out to continue their lives as before.... but that's not us. It's not that we don't trust anyone else... it's just that she's such a big part of our lives that we don't wish to leave her out of anything... and right now, she has needs that need to be fulfilled... warmth, security, food and sleep... all of which is best to be fulfilled at home... so... I guess it's nowhere in the near future that we'd be running out to meet you up for dinner or coffee.... much later maybe... but definitely not now... and that's something that we both hope that everyone else can understand. After all, we both are family-oriented people, and our family unit is extremely important to us. Her upbringing is something we view as 1st priority, and something we will not compromise... =)
Anyway, enough talk for now... here's more photos, taken prior to the weekend!
10:05 AM
Friday, April 24, 2009
This post is delayed by 2 days.... been extremely busy.....
Faith is now one month old!
We took her for her check up yesterday, and she now weighs 4.2kg, and her height is 54cm...
Of course, with her turning one month, also means that I have completed my confinement!!! It can't be described in words how good it felt to wash my hair properly after one month.... and to eat human food... and drink as much water as I want.... Boy oh boy.... i was in pure bliss that day itself.... and after her check-up yesterday, Darling, Faith, my mum and I went out for lunch... that was even better!!
hehe.... i definitely do not want to repeat this period anytime soon.
the last few nights have been insane..... Faith gets real cranky in the evenings..... and it's hard to put her to sleep... Darling and myself both get real frustrated.... I just hope she gets past this whole crankiness soon...
Just got my timetable for 12 - 22 May... when I've to go back to NIE for silly enrichment programs... they last all day long from 8-5... and it's doing dumb things and going to dumb places - SAF camp, science centre, ITE.... why oh why must they put us through this?
Much as i resent doing what i'm doing now at home sometimes, because i no longer am as free as before, yet i'm not ready to leave her alone...
Sigh.. what a dilemma....
Anyway, if you look on the side of my blog, where all my links to my wedding albums are, you'll notice a new link to a blog I've done for Faith... it'll be updated as and when there are interesting things to be written about.... so if you are curious about her life, you can check it out once in a while. =)
more pics of our little baby....
1:44 PM
Sunday, April 19, 2009
3 more days to go!!!!
Can you believe Baby Faith is already almost turning 1 month old? Feels like it's only yesterday that I was heading to the hospital for my nightmare of labour! haha.
i simply CANNOT wait to eat normal human food again, finally wash my hair with water (YES, I HAVEN'T washed my hair in a month!!!!!), shower with tap water, and sleep without socks!!!
It's nightmarish, confinement... it sure is. Enough to put me off another child for quite a while. Yes yes, I know it's for my own good.... but seriously, how can we attribute ALL our old age ailments to poor confinement? I mean... truly, if our Chinese style of confinement is THAT good, ALL the women around the world would be following it! If it were for baby, i wouldn't mind keeping to it, just as i've done with pregnancy... but it's all for me... and that makes me even more reluctant to follow all the rules to a t....
With my mum's eagle eye watching ALL the time though, it's ALMOST impossible for me to bend any rules. But she's been real nice though... now that we're nearing the end, she's been more flexible with me...
I always thought i'd have lots of conflicts with my mum during this whole period..... But I was proven wrong. She's been an ABSOLUTE gem to have... no doubt, i do get annoyed with her every now and then... especially since i'm extra irritable due to hormones and lack of sleep.... but... on the whole, our relationship has really improved in this past month. She has really helped Darling and me a lot with Faith, and she's been doing a lot for me.... She'll never get to read this.... but I really do appreciate her a lot more than i ever did.
My friend who gave birth last November told me that I would appreciate my mum more after going through labour.
I disagree. Labour is but physical pain. Going through motherhood, the emotional, physical and mental turmoil a mother puts herself through - the sleepless nights; the unconditional love; the need to do everything humanely possible to give the best to the child.... It's indescribable. And you'd only understand when you become a parent.
There've been times when I've broken down in tears coz I didn't know what to do when Faith was crying. There've been times when I've felt totally inadequate as a mother coz I didn't know how to soothe her. There've been times when I feel absolutely guilty coz I get so irritable when she cries sometimes. There've been times when I'm so frustrated coz she keeps crying/waking up from her sleep, and as a result, I lose my own personal time. There've been times where all I want is just quiet time. There've been times where I dread all the chores that come with a baby - nappy washing, feeding, bottle washing...etc There've been times where Darling and myself are irritable with one another because we are so tired. There've been times when I miss the old quiet days that Darling and I get. There've been times where I miss being just a party of 2. There've been times where I look in the mirror and miss how I used to look.
BUT
All these times can't make up for the feelings that overwhelm my heart each time she smiles.....
That alone is enough to make everything all worth it.
Yet.... going through pregnancy, labour, and the infancy stage of a child; the physical changes I've had to endure, the lifestyle changes we've had to make,
I, Perpetua Ng have actually decided that I wouldn't want to go through more than 2 kids.... If you know me well enough, you'd be shocked at the above sentence. I LOVE KIDS. When people asked me how many kids I wanted, I used to say, "Even numbers" instead of just stating a number. Now, I know I'll say 2..... (Unless God has other plans, and change my mind halfway / give the both of us an accident!)
It's too mentally tiring.....emotionally challenging.....life-changing.
But I have a friend who just had her second child, and she tells me it's so much easier. Maybe it really is? I wouldn't know for now..... =)
Now, I'm contented to just enjoy our family of 3..... learn more about Faith.... teach her as much as I can... love her in the best way possible....
And well, when the time comes for Baby 2.... it will come... just as God planned. =)
For now.... here are more pictures of our little princess!!! If you're wondering, we take photos almost everyday, coz she changes each day!
PS: I've done a 1st month video for Baby Faith, but will post it up after her party!!
see how our intelligent little one holds her own bottle!!!
10:20 PM
Thursday, April 09, 2009
A Day in the Life of Baby Faith and Mummy Moo We have almost reached 3 weeks of Baby Faith's life... no doubt the chores are getting easier to deal with... but our bodies are still trying to get used to the timing... after all, Baby Faith needs to feed every 2-3 hours... and in between, there's all the other things to be done... we're also trying to figure out what makes her tick, for there are times that she is simply grouchy and wants to be carried... I guess parenting is truly learning every single day of your life!!!
I have to say that it does get frustrating once in a while, especially when we can't figure out what is wrong with her... after all, I'm taking care of her by myself pretty much most of the day! Until my mum is done with her chores in church, and Darling comes home... otherwise, Faith is more or less reliant on me to take care of her every need...
Confinement really does suck... and i'm more than thankful that my mum, though old-fashioned, yet is understanding to my needs and the way i am... the food is bad enough, since there's only so many things i can eat!!! But it's worse, coz even the things I can drink are limited! And bathing too.... sigh... this whole month with Faith would be so much easier if i didn't have so many rules to follow... But it's all passing.... just another 10+ more days to go, and my own life would be back to normal.. if not more sane than it is right now!!
In between though, Darling has got 2 duties.... i just hope i manage to cope with Faith for those days that he's not around!!!
Anyway, i was thinking, since most, if not all of you who read my blog are nowhere near being parents yet... here's an insight into a day of my life with Baby Faith.... hehe...
0900hrs - Mummy gets up to eat breakfast... Baby Faith is starting to fidget in bed and will wake up very soon...
0915 hrs - Granny gets Baby's bath water ready, Mummy gets Baby's clothes ready, and warms the milk up... It's Bathtime for Baby Faith!
0930hrs - Baby Faith is nice and clean now.... it's now time for milk...
1000hrs - Baby Faith is burped, and has fallen asleep. Mummy rushes to put Baby's clothes in the washing machine, and to wash Baby's bottles and sterilize them.
1015hrs - Mummy finds Baby's nails very long, and decides to trim them...
1030hrs - Mummy expresses milk for Baby Faith.
1045hrs - Baby Faith awakens coz her nappy is wet... Mummy changes her then rinses out her nappy...
1100hrs - Baby mealtime is brought forward coz she pooped just now.... so Mummy has to make milk whilst soothing her.....
1110hrs - Baby is fed.
1125hrs - Baby poops and pees again... so diaper has to be changed....
1130hrs - Mummy puts Baby to rest, and washes and sterilizes the bottles yet again.
1145hrs - Baby hates to be left alone, so Mummy has to soothe her once more...
1200hrs - Finally Mummy has time to hang out the clothes to dry.
1210hrs - Mummy takes a powernap with Baby.
1230hrs - Mummy wakes up, turns on her laptop....
1245 hrs - Baby awakens... she's hungry again...
1300hrs - Mummy warms the milk up.
1310hrs - Baby is fed.
1330hrs - Time for another nappy change!
1340hrs - Baby lies down, but is grouchy...
1350hrs - Granny comes home and helps to lay out Mummy's food.
1410hrs - Granny takes over and makes Baby sleep while Mummy has lunch.
1440hrs - Mummy expresses milk for Baby again.
1515hrs - Nappy change!
1550hrs - Baby is hungry again, so Mummy warms the milk up.
1600hrs - Baby is fed.
1610hrs - Baby goes back to sleep, Mummy washes and sterilizes bottles.
1630hrs - Mummy gets some time to check her mail and do her things....
1700hrs - Granny asks Mummy to take her bath.
1715hrs - Mummy expresses milk for Baby again.
1730hrs - Mummy has her dinner.
1800hrs - Time for another nappy change. Daddy comes home!
1830hrs - Mummy warms the milk.
1840 hrs - Baby is fed...
1900hrs - Bottles are washed and sterilized again.
1930hrs - Mummy takes in the laundry and prepares to fold them.
2000 hrs - Yet another nappy change. Daddy and Mummy decides to sponge Baby. Daddy soothes Baby whilst Mummy gets the clothes readt.
2015hrs - Baby is sponged.
2045hrs - Time for another feed. Milk is warmed.
2100hrs - Baby gets her milk.
2115hrs - Baby gets some play time with Daddy/Grandpa/Grandma
2200hrs - Yet another nappy changing time!
2215hrs - Mummy expresses milk for Baby.
2245hrs - Mummy and Daddy prepare to put Baby to sleep.
2300hrs - It's time for bed...
haha... does it sound exhausting? =) It's worse when you are going through it for real.. =) But I guess that's part and parcel of having a child.... seeing her smile makes it all feel better...
The many faces of my little darling.....
4:03 PM
Life is Beautiful
I love you not only for what you are
but for what you make of me.
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