kids inc

Second time’s a charm

July 30, 2009

It’s true what they say – experience counts for a lot. Being a mother a second time around, I am enjoying the process a lot more. Sure, I did some extensive research before Tru was born; gathering reading material, birthing videos, getting advice from other moms, but none of those really prepared me for the real thing. I remember during the first month postpartum, I was on the verge of breaking down countless times. I had no idea what to do with a screaming baby and motherhood was way too overwhelming. To be honest, there were days that I just wanted to run away and hide under a small rock in Disneyland. All I could think of everyday was OH GOD PLEASE LET THIS END.

Then against my better judgment, I went out and did it again. This time around, it’s been dare I say it, almost enjoyable. Thanks to the blasted hormones, the blues were inevitable, but it seems to have subsided somewhat and I feel stronger than I ever did. Even though it’s much crazier with 2 in the picture, I’m somehow managing to stay afloat and still take a gander at the scenery along the way. Granted, I swallow a few gulps of water here and there, but I ain’t drowning yet.

Like yesterday, I was expressing my milk while running after the two kids and in the process spilt an entire bottle of milk. It’s not that big a deal and it’s probably happened to many mothers but it’s the kind of thing that makes you lose it a little bit. I just stood there for half a minute trying to take deep breaths and count to ten, all the while thinking of all the expletives to describe the situation. You know like this episode of Friends, where Phoebe let out a whole string of profanities in slow mo (see below). But I looked at the kids looking at me and I let out a giant sigh, wiped up the spilt milk and carried on with my day.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68U7SAFsaEM

The point is that on any given day, my life is made up of moments. The good and the bad, sometimes happening all at once. The best thing to do is to just roll with it and not sweat the small stuff. No breast milk, there’s always formula and one feed less isn’t going to hurt. If the house is in a mess, that’s fine. The kids are screaming, they’ll get over it. Just roll with the punches.

And when you least expect it, you get a moment that makes you stop and smile and go all fuzzy inside. A moment kinda like this.

Tru does this about 20 times a day

Tru kissing Kirsten. It happens about 20 times a day.

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pregnancy

Keeping abreast of things

July 29, 2009

Ever since I decided to abandon ship on the breastfeeding directly from the breast, my life has settled down somewhat. Initially, I was intent to succeed at direct breastfeeding, seeing that it had so many benefits. It’s the main reason why I got the co-sleeper, so that I wouldn’t even have to get out of bed at night. Just grab, pop in the boob, feed and go right back to sleep. But Kirsten had other plans. After having tried the bottle during her stay in the hospital, she realized boob-feeding is a lot tougher and every time I tried to latch her on, it would inevitably result in a major screamfest.

Not good for my already frazzled nerves. So I’ve gone the route of expressing, which is the next best thing I suppose. It kinda sucks that I have to spend a good 4 hours of every day with the pump attached, but I’ve somehow mastered the art of typing, feeding, burping and chasing Tru around the house while expressing milk. It’s all a matter of multi-tasking.

The good news is, the milk supply has gone up significantly. From my measly 10ml, I just achieved a record of 140ml at 1am last night. That’s like almost 1 full bottle. Great success.

*Victory dance*

It still fluctuates between 70ml to 140ml, depending on the state of my nerves, but it’s still a marked improvement from my humble beginnings. Although with my insatiable milk machine, there’s still a long way to go before my supply exceeds her ever-increasing demand. Believe it or not, I actually know of someone who can produce 1.7 liters of milk every 24 hours. True story. That totally gives me hope.

I also want to give a shout out to the mothers who’ve been so forthcoming with providing tips on how to improve my milk supply. The blogosphere rocks and I would have probably given up completely if not for all the help I got. There’s even a mom who sent over a lovely nursing cover, which was a godsend. I can now express my milk even with visitors around. For all the designs, check out www.bigbellymama.com

nursing cover from www.bigbellymama.com

nursing cover from www.bigbellymama.com

On another note, thanks to the breastfeeding, the weight loss has been phenomenal. Just two weeks in, I’ve lost 12kg. Now just another 15 to go.

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pregnancy

10 reasons why baby is crying

July 28, 2009

The toughest part about taking care of a newborn is their inability to indicate what they want. After a while, the body adjusts to handle the late nights and the diaper accidents, but the crying is what really gets me. They’re so helpless and all they can do is cry regardless of whether they’re hungry, tired, fussy, gassy or bored. I know there are theories that suggest one can easily tell what the baby needs from the type of cry but 2 kids in, I’m still as clueless as ever. It all sounds the same to me and every time Kirsten cries, it’s all a matter of trial and error. Mostly error, which then leads to me being on trial.

With a toddler, it so much easier because they can point to the object of their desire and it’s pretty obvious what they want. Tru has this way of grabbing my hands to do his bidding as if they’re an extension of his own. He also grabs my face if he wants my attention. Life is much simpler when I get him and he gets me.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to infants. Whenever she starts screaming, it’s “take it from the top” time. I’ve got a checklist that I run through in order of importance to eliminate all the options until I find out what’s the cause of her displeasure.

1. Hungry. This is the top of the list for my little milk drinking machine. 70% of the time, she cries out of hunger, and milk quickly solves the problem.

2. Dirty diaper/nappy rash. If milk doesn’t solve the problem, check the diaper for poop.

3. Gassy. The solution is simple – burping, but it sometimes takes a helluva long time. I can pat her back for 45 minutes and still not hear that elusive burp. Believe me, at 4 in the morning, it’s sheer torture.

4. Sleepy. If the crying is due to sleepiness, Chucky will usually surface within a couple of minutes. Her eyeballs will start rolling up to the top of her head, leaving only the whites. Oh so cute.

5. Too hot. Bring on the air-conditioning.

6. Too cold. Bring on the blankets.

7. Sick. This is a tough one. The obvious signs are fever, coughing, sneezing, runny nose or diarrhea, which should be checked by the PD asap.

8. In pain. Sometimes her little fingers get caught in the crib or Tru jabs her too hard in the face. A little kissing should make the boo-boos go away in no time.

9. Bored. It’s time to bring on the juggling and fire-eating. Very excite.

10. Fussy. This is the absolute killer. When all the above fails, it usually means she’s in one of those legendary fussy moods where nothing works. This can last anything from 10 minutes to 2 hours. Even more excite.

Studies show that the sound of a baby’s cry causes one’s blood pressure to increase tremendously. Especially for mothers, it’s the most distressing thing to hear. MAKE. IT. STOP!

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