Category Archives: Baby

Baby refuses the bottle! (And other working mum woes)

Posted on August 31, 2011 by mamawearpapashirt| 12 Comments

Had a rather hair-raising first day back at work this week. Just as I was happily out of the office and making my way to nice Thai food at Boat Quay (can’t remember the restaurant name), I received a distress call. From mum. With baby wailing in the background.

Mum: “He doesn’t want to drink milk!”

Me: (Frazzled because I knew this was way past baby’s first feed time, and sharing his hunger pains. But tried to process the information as rationally as I could, in a matter of seconds.) “Have you tried spooning? Or using a small cup?”

Mum: “Ok ok, I try.”

That seriously took my mind off food for the rest of the trot to Boat Quay (and the rest of the arvo for that matter). I was frantically searching my mental archives for further solutions if those failed. Once seated at the Thai place, I called home to check. Whew, mum managed to get baby J to drink about half of the feed. I advised her to try again later, when his mood has recovered.

In the evening, I rushed home, and was greeted by the teary baby whom my mum had resorted to carrying and walking around the corridor outside our house. He apparently had taken a little from the bottle, but was by now cranky-hungry. (As a woman, I know what cranky-hungry feels like. Totally empathised with my poor bub.)

Thankfully we’ve managed to find ways to get him to drink from the bottle. But he seems to have gone on a mini hunger strike - taking roughly half of his usual feed. This is formally known as reverse cycling (where baby nurses more at night to make up for missed nursing sessions in the day). Which is also why my eye rings are getting deeper and darker.

Still, I can’t help but berate myself and asking why I failed to prepare for such a situation? I thought I knew everything there is to know about going back to work, including how much milk baby will need, and how to handle and store breastmilk. Apparently, I was wrong. Looks like however prepared I try to be, something never fails to knock my well-crafted plans out-of-whack.

I’m totally game to continue breastfeeding my baby - with the zillion good things that it does for baby (and me), why give up?…but I’m starting to think that I may not be able to cope long-term with working 8-5 whilst having to wake twice / thrice at night.

If you’re a working, breastfeeding mummy, would certainly love to hear about how you cope. Do leave a comment / email me, if you have any tips to share. :)

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Posted in Baby, Breastfeeding, Working mum

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Bye, baby. Hello, work desk.

Posted on August 26, 2011 by mamawearpapashirt| 4 Comments

Next week officially marks the demise of my maternity leave. It will be a black, black Monday. I will wear of course wear the colour for the occasion.

Why the doom and gloom? Mainly because I feel totally unprepared - my nails are long, my eyebrows unkempt, my mind filled with breastfeeding and diapers, and the thought of checking a long list of unread emails does seem a bit too daunting for my mental state at the moment.

But then again, this is for baby No. 2, so I should be well-adjusted by now. Right?

Well, the essentials are in place -

  • schedule for baby-carers - check
  • milk-presso machine - check
  • ice pack - check
  • hot water bottle to aid milk flow - check
  • sterilising tablets - check
  • milk bags - check
  • baby photos to stimulate happy thoughts - check

So…what’s missing?

I guess if you look into the heart, the problem is almost always there. When maternal instincts kick in, every fibre of your being wants to be close to your child, to tend to him when he cries, to make sure everything’s alright, to witness every developmental milestone he crosses. (Baby J has just mastered his rollover!)

That’s one of the misses of being a full-time working mum.

As usual, I try to distract myself with all the things I need to do, including getting my eyebrows plucked. At the very least, I should try to look good for the occasion?

But, no. I’m still learning to let go. Let go of the mummy-things from 9-6 on weekdays, of the worries and fears of the 215 things that could possibly happen to the kids when I’m away.

And the next step? Letting God handle it. Okay, he won’t check my emails for me, but he will take care of things at home surely. This is one of the perks of following and loving our good God…knowing that he will never fail, even when I stumble all over myself.

What tips would you give to a going-back-to-work mum like me? :P

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Posted in Baby, Working mum

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Poo attack

Posted on August 11, 2011 by mamawearpapashirt| Leave a comment

I was attacked by a blast of poo from baby J’s bottom in the wee (poo?) hours of the morn.

As you can imagine, it was a terrible mess. The yellow liquidy stuff landed everywhere - his cot mattress, his PJs, the floor of my bedroom, my hands…(Should I count myself blessed that I didn’t try to change him on our lovely bed?)

It came when I was attempting to change his diapers, which were full from the night already. The minute I removed it, BOOM. So well-timed was the devious little one that I didn’t even have time to move my hands away from its trajectory. I secretly wished I had a cork somewhere within reach.

After that ‘release’, he flashed me a sweet smile. (Pity I didn’t have time to smile back. I was busy running around trying to clean up the poo.)

And the reason for such explosive poo? Dairy. I decided to be adventurous and try out some soy milk from the fridge yesterday, despite knowing that baby J’s intestines react whenever I drink cow’s milk. It was just half a cup, but it still did the damage.

Hmm, it looks like baby J has the same intolerance of dairy products as Vera…which means if I want to continue breastfeeding, I will have to go dairy-less. My only option is goat’s milk (which is an acquired taste). Vera is on goat’s milk formula, and things are fine and dandy for now.

Despite the occasional poo attacks, and restricted diet, I still think breastfeeding is the best thing to happen to mummies since scrambled eggs. So I won’t be letting this get me down.

Does your breastfed baby have an allergy / intolerance as well? If so, how are you coping with it?

If you’re looking to breastfeed your newborn, you can read some breastfeeding tips that I shared some weeks back. Happy breastfeeding…just beware of the poo.

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Posted in Breastfeeding, Baby

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Goo-gaa, babble me crazy

Posted on August 10, 2011 by mamawearpapashirt| Leave a comment

Baby J is talking at 2.5 months!

Of course it’s been mostly baby babble.

But I’ve been quite impressed by the level of mono and multi-syllabic sounds he can make.

The conversation usually starts after a feed. He will stare into my eyes and say: “Goooh“
(which I take to mean: milk was good, mum… is there more?)

Or: “GaaaAHH” (Lotsa gas, mum, burp me!)

Or “Goooo-wahh“
(I’m bored…what’s up next?)

When he’s feeling playful, he’ll play with his saliva, and say “Grrrrrrr” with a cheeky smile.

Sometimes, when he’s been left alone in his bouncer for too long, he goes: “AYEe!” (I want attention! Come entertain me!)

And when he’s hungry, it’s “WAhh ahh ahhhhh AHHHH&#%!#!” in increasingly loud tones (accompanied by fist throws and karate kicks). Till he gets his milk.

I guess after awhile, we mums start to figure out what our babies are trying to tell us. But it still tickles me when the daddy turns to me and asks, “what does he want?” (Like am I supposed to know everything?)

All this baby talk has got me thinking…If babies could really talk, what would they want to tell us most? :P

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Posted in Baby, Random thoughts

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Dear baby J

Posted on August 4, 2011 by mamawearpapashirt| Leave a comment

Dear baby J,

I wanted to put this in writing so that by the time you are all grown up, you can read all about mummy’s experience caring for you as a little baby.

Also, (and perhaps this is the real reason) this letter is to capture my thoughts and feelings at present (at your 2-month milestone).

Why? To act as a keepsake, a memento, for the long journey ahead. The bittersweet journey also known as parenting.

So that when we look back and are tempted (again?) to try for a child, we will have enough bits and pieces of the baby experience to tide us through those times of temptation.

Yes, I actually believe God made babies cute so as to ensure the survival of the human race.

(Plus, I didn’t get to do this when Vera was little.)

So, here goes.

Dear baby J, you will never know how adorable you look when you’re feeding yourself silly with mum’s milk.

You would throw punches at me when I dally in feeding you, grunt and huff when the milk is slow in coming (while refusing to let go), and tug (ouch) cos’ you know that helps to speed the milk up.

Oh, the look of drunken satisfaction on your face after a feed, and your toothless grin as you drift off to sleep, as if dreaming of more milk that is to come.

Now at 2 months, you’re ever-so-chatty. You’re our daily entertainment when you’re in play-mode, amusing us with your baby sounds, matched with animated expressions. As if you’re letting us into your baby-world.

Yes, you may be a pain at times, particularly at bedtime, when you’re tired out and finding it hard to get to sleep, and you yell out to be rocked and carried.

But I still believe you’re the happiest, most contented baby I’ve ever met. (Admittedly though, I haven’t been acquainted with many.)

I often gush about how much you look like Vera when she was little, and at how much you both look like me when I was little. (See below.)

Mummy (when little), Vera, and baby J (left to right)

Your daddy said to me: “Thank God I like your face. Cos’ I have to look at three of you.”

Oh well.

I have so much to say to you. Hopefully, I’ll remember these as you grow, so I can write more letters. I mean blogposts really, but hey, you know what they are, and they’re from me to you.

Love, mummy

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Posted in Baby, Parenting

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