getting ready for baby

Too early to be making plans

April 19, 2012

It’s got to be too early to be thinking of birth plans and post-birthing plans – like what I’m going to do with the third baby after he pops out, kicking and screaming. Actually, the kicking can be easily subdued with a baby swaddle but it’s the screaming part because that I’m mostly concerned about because it’s been almost 3 years since I’ve had to decipher the code that is an infant’s random but guttural and heart-wrenching cry. And then there’s the 3-hour feeding schedule, the sleepless nights, the breastfeeding battles, the blocked ducts and the post-natal depression.

The last couple of nights, I’ve been lying in bed tossing and turning, having a mild panic attack thinking about how I’m going to handle 3 kids on my own. I was expecting to hit this phase sometime in the last trimester but these blasted hormones are giving me an early delivery present.

I’ve been here before with the last 2 pregnancies and I know the best thing to do is to let the panic pass. After all, I do have a plan. Sort of. Ok, so it’s more like a fuzzy rough guideline I formulated in all of 2 minutes.

Which is this. 2 words: Do it.

Wake up every morning and face the madness head on. One feed after the next. One nap-time struggle after the next. One apocalyptic meltdown after the next. Sometimes several all the same time, but even the worst of those do pass.

I could possibly cave and hire a helper or a nanny to ease things a little bit but the masochistic part of me wants to give this a shot. Obviously, everyone is going to have to adjust. The husband will have to change a couple more diapers, the kids will have to take turns to entertain the baby and everyone is going to have fewer sets of clean underwear for a couple of months but we will find a way to soldier on. And there’s always disposable underwear to save the day.

Hopefully in the next couple of months, I’ll put together a more comprehensive plan but if there’s one thing I know about infants, it’s that they don’t give a rat’s ass about following plans.

So I’m probably better off taking all that time to catch up on my sleep now so I’ll be ready for the onslaught come August.

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Father Inc, Kidspeak

The commodity of cool

April 17, 2012

Me: Tru, is mommy cool?

Tru: Of course not.

Me: What? Why?

Tru: Because you’re mommy and mommy’s not s’posed to be cool.

Me: Says who? Mommies can be cool too right?

Tru: No, mommies cannot be cool.

Me: Oh well, I guess cool is overrated anyway.

Tru: Sometimes cool is good and sometimes cool is not good. But mommy is always good.

Me: Wow, how are you not even 4 years old? That is actually the sweetest thing I’ve heard all week.

Me: Ok how about daddy? Is daddy cool?

Tru: Yes, daddy is cool.

Me: So daddy is sometimes good and sometimes not good?

Tru: Daddy is super cool and super good.

Me: And you are super biased. I’m giving you and your super cool daddy bread and water for dinner tonight.

 

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a spot of singapore

Sentosa Foam Party – totally safe for kids

April 16, 2012

I’ve actually never been to one of those famous foam parties at Sentosa, even though they used to be all the rage several years ago. I get the appeal, I mean, it’s a party! With bubbles! And music! And tequila shots! I just didn’t like the close proximity with half-dressed strangers who seemed to be in constant danger of accidentally bumping into you with their various body parts.

The kids are obviously now much cooler than we are because they’ve just gone to their first ever foam party. Over the weekend, we were invited to visit Sentosa’s newest kids attraction called Port of Lost Wonder, a very impressive pirate-themed water playground.

It’s an interesting concept. The entrance fee (of $8 per child on weekdays and $15 on weekends) comes with a bag of doubloons (called curios) which can be spent on various activities in the play area.

One of the most popular spots was this foam pool, which costs 30 curios for a half hour slot. The kids had a blast smearing each other with bubbles, doing Santa Claus impressions and flinging foam in all directions. It was like the most awesome bubble bath they’ve ever had.

The other main attraction was this pirate ship with water slides and shooting jets of water and a ginormous pirate head bucket that dumped water down every couple of minutes.

After several hours of non-stop action in the blistering heat, the kids looked like they were ready to collapse. Kirsten crawled over to where I was sitting and said “I’m very tired, I need to rest.” Which pretty much translates into “I’m ready to go home now.”

That’s like my favorite end to every party – no whining or bargaining for 5 more minutes. Just this look of utter exhaustion followed by the tired shuffling of baby feet.

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