Character Building

Feeding babies build character. You need patience, lots of patience. Baby En is difficult to feed nowadays, he keeps spitting milk thinking it is fun and cries when we try to feed him when all he wants to do is sleep.So it will be feed half an ounce, cry, pacify, feed again in that order. Doing it a few times, he will eventually feed, but this process will make your blood boil. I know better than give up before he finishes his milk. Experience has taught me that half fed baby will give you hell in the middle of the night i.e. he will wake up every one or two hours cos' he has a half empty stomach. So I would rather endure, be patient and make sure he slurp it all up.

2nd Trimester Getaway!

Well, it is no secret that 2nd trimester is the honeymoon period for mummies-to-be. So my wifey grab the chance to demand for a holiday. Well, might as well with the hectic schedule and bad moods. Thus we packed our bags (not too heavy and no backpacks!) and head for France to leech on our dear aunty and her family in Paris (love her!). Well, it was a great choice cos' my aunty took real good care of wifey, making sure she ate well and sleep well, and I don't go overboard with the walking and sightseeing. We attribute Baby En's good health, looks and fun demeanour to that fantastic trip. We stayed 3 weeks ... visited Paris (Lourve, Picasso museum, Parc Asterix), Bloir (Loire Valley), St Malo (Britanny - home of wifey's favourite crepes) and the famous Mont-St-Michel. It was great fun, good food, relaxing pace, good lodging (something she can't complain about now).. one of the best holidays. The only down side - faulty camera that churns out grainy photos.

Thus, all fathers - go for the hols - it's worth it. At least you won't get nagged, and making her happy during pregnancy save you a lot of trouble, grouses, complaints, flares during the term and after birth. And trust me, it will be sometime when u will travel abroad again (discount JB). But remember - it's meant to be a relaxing trip, not the travel groupies where u wake up at 5 a.m. and drive for 10 hours to see a lake type. Don't be too ambitious.

The Baby Book Curse

Many new parents are suckers for baby books. Like all men, I am not a fan of baby books and choose not to read them unless something crops up. During the 9 months of labour, this nonchalant attitude towards the discourse by baby knowledge thru' literature was interpreted as - well, nonchalent. I prefer ‘on-the-job’ practical training, and to-date I manage to survive without them. And baby books almost cost me my baby’s life. When baby En came back from the hospital, he had slight jaundice. Following strictly to the baby book, we decided not to feed him other liquids while my wife breastfed him despite protest from the confinement lady. Well, with no liquid intake to wash out the bilirubin, his jaundice rose to dangerous levels and he had to be admitted to the hospital on the 3rd night. We were so guilty. The nurse scolded us for not going on instincts, and said that baby books are written by and for “ang-mohs” (Caucasian mothers) who naturally have a ready source of breast milk than Asian mothers. Well, the baby book should have disclaimer! Photo by Attitude Photography

THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT

 

Ok, ever had trouble with feeding your baby at night, when he just wanna sleep and don't want to be fed! The poor soul who wake up so dutifully to ensure that this little thing is fed is met with a stone wall, a mouth that refuses to suckle the damn teat! Well, there is no short cut. The only solution is patience and lots of love. My ammo - a cup with hot water to keep the milk warm (a warmer would be nice), the baby's pacifier - to plug his wails so that the wifey is not woken up, the hanky - in case he regurgitate from all that wailing and lotsa of stamina. Basically, when he starts the cry engine while feeding, insert the pacifier (or thumb if you don't use pacifier - which i don't know why). Pat him until he enters the "daze mode" and then try to insert the teat again... sooner or later the baby will give up and slowly suckle till he sleeps or while he sleeps! And I promise, this will improve with time... send me a email if u got problem :) I have lotsa experience with difficult baby, mine is defintely one.  Photo by Attitude Photography

Love Eric!

 

I must mention - all these nice and arty photos are from my very good friend, the ever young, bubbly and nice Eric Er of Attitude Photography.This fantastic photo was a one-take masterpiece, when the baby was wailing cos' we woke him up in our attempt to put him in this position. This pic is ideal for the toilet, and no pun intended. It is a MASTERPIECE!  Photo by Attitude Photography

Raising Baby - Raising Dog

What I said in the intro, about the similarities between rearing dog and raising child will indeed insult the throngs of parents who swear by the different versions of baby books in the market today. I still stand by what I say - look around you - the "shut up", "stop shouting (barking)", "sit down", "let's go", "stop", "don't pee there!", "eat properly" people use on their child is no different from what you hear at any dog obedience class. Nevertheless... there is something different about a child, your child - the sense of bonding. Can never forget the first day he was born, me lying alone in bed (wifey in hospital), thinking - wow, i have a child - that feeling is difficult to put into words, but if i need to describe it, it would have been "magical" and "breathless"!

Photo by Attitude Photography