The many faces of Hua Shay Ning (9 landscapes) - 3 months

The many faces of Hua Shay Ning (4 portraits) - 3 months

Only a parent can tolerate and care...

Yesterday was a very difficult day.
She fed non-stop till 12pm, and still latched on.
She's sleepy yet unwilling to let me put her down.
Just wail and cry.

I had to re-heat and eat lunch with her in my arms.
When I sat down to eat and cannot rock her, she wailed all the way till I scooped enough food to 'tahan' for a while.

These are the times when I think, even I can barely withstand her neediness, how will those in the infant care be able to handle 2 babies (ratio of carer to infant is 1:2) during times like this?

Will they let her cry herself to sleep?
Will they leave her nappy wet/soiled?
Will they soothe her when she cannot go to sleep on her own?
Will they lash out or scold her if she doesn't quiet down and wakes the rest of the babies?
Will they 'shake' her and intentionally/unintentionally hurt my baby?
Will they physically hurt her?

I cannot imagine how others, especially non-family members, may react or do to her on a day like yesterday.

I'm glad I'm the one taking care of her.

It is difficult.

All the more relieved that I am the one taking care of her, that the worst I can/will do to her, is let her cry in my arms / cot until I finish my food/toilet break. If I'm on the verge of falling asleep, then she'll lie with me till she falls asleep.

Yesterday was peaceful...

Shay Ning woke up for while and fed only 8 times yesterday and she didn't fuss in the evening. I was quite worried she'd reverse the schedule and wake up once every hour after midnight for feeds. Thankfully, she didn't.

Breasts were very hard, nearly painful. I was so worried they'd be engorged again. It felt like someone stuffed metal plates into my bra while I wasn't looking. The last 2 times they felt like this, I very high fevers, close to 40 degrees Celcius and had to pump out the excess milk, apply cold packs and cabbage leaves, and take Paracetamol to bring my temperature back to normal. So, I was very relieved when Shay Ning drank when she did.

Now, if only yesterday's trend would continue from now onwards... That'd really be nice ;)

Our new life routine

Nowadays, my daily ritual is feed and change Shay Ning every hour for 20-30 minutes each time between her 0600 - 1400hrs, then it's twice between 1400-1800hrs, and another 2-3 times between 1800-0000hrs. After that, it's 1-2 times between 0000 - 0600hrs. In the evenings, when she 'fusses', wouldn't sleep or feed, she needs to be held and soothed for 1-2 hrs to sleep, thankfully, Lougong is a good father and takes care of Shay Ning when she fusses in the evening so I can have dinner and take my shower. That is more or less the usual if she's not on a growth spurt, that is a totally different story, it's once every 1-1.5 hours from 0600 - 0000hrs.
 
Ever since Lougong has gone back to work, I've been following a 'system' to adapt to taking care of baby, myself and the household chores :)
 
For someone who cooks occassionally after work or in the weekends, and is okay cleaning house once every few months, this is a really BIG challenge. When Lougong went back to work, I have no one to pack lunch for me, to take over caring for Shay Ning when she fusses when I'm worn out, doing laundry (about 20 diapers daily), all that is quite a handful for me to handle on my own.
 
So, every alternate day, I do laundry, with about 65 diapers to last thru the 2-day laundry cycle. She wets close to 20 diapers daily.
 
As for food, I cook 4 portions of food when it's not laundry day, so I can refrigerate 2 portions for when it's laundry day, and when I cannot cook by lunch on a cooking day. Since I only have very short periods 20-30 minutes to prepare meals, I break up the preparation in these slots. When all the ingredients are ready, I use the steamer to make a stew / soup, with rice / noodle on top layer, sometimes steamed egg with minced meat or other side dishes on top (it has 4 layers). The Simply Her freebie induction cooker comes in handy as I can set the temperature (tried and tested beforehand) and the timer so that if I need to attend to baby for long periods, I don't have to worry about it boiling over at the gas stove ;) Convenient eh?
 
I've also been looking for snacks and decided to make sardine fillings (like those in curry puffs, fry chopped big onions, mash sardines with bones removed, then season with tomato sauch, salt, pepper) and egg mayo for toasted sandwiches. Checked online, these fillings can last a week in the fridge. So there, two snacks a day taken care of, once before lunch, once before dinner :) Maybe I'll make some hummus too, if I have the time, sigh.
 
Am tempted to get a sandwich maker :P I like my food hot :P
 
Till my next post, think it's time she wakes for milk.

Erm, just checked, she's awake, but went back to sleep. Gave me a very sleepy smile when I checked her diaper and asked if she wants milk. Sigh. These are the moments I live for nowadays :)

Shay Ning with toys

She loves the new Fisher & Price Jungle Theme mobile... but it doesn't help when she's fussy and crying.
Same with the IKEA baby gym.
 
Think she was on a growth spurt yesterday, was awake and drinking every hour from 7 A.M. until 7 P.M. with only 1-2 hours nap in between. These growth spurts are really challenging on us, not only is she drinking so much, but she's also clingy and fussy (means needs to be carried or else she'll cry). Lougong had to wake me up during the last one when she couldn't latch on and I've already fallen asleep.
 
Today's a good day. Managed to cook tom yum soup with rice and bee hoon. Had it for lunch too. Though it soaked up all the soup as Shay Ning woke up just as I have sat down to eat. Have stored away 2 portions for next 2 days in the fridge. Tonight's portion is awaiting Lougong :)
 
Was looking at her health booklet for the 3rd month development checklist, she still has 3 skills to learn:
1. both hands touching in the middle,
2. lift head 45 degrees while on tummy, and
3. grasp toy for few seconds when placed in hand.
 
It's still the 2nd month, so there's still lots of time ;)
Looking forward to spotting these skills soon!