Survivor - The First Week

Am glad to report that we survived the first week in caring for Isaac ourselves... but not without the help of my mum!

I psyched myself mentally to be a 'real' full-time mummy and was also quite determined to do so. So, after sending Auntie to her sister's place last Sunday morning, we headed straight to my parents' place. While we were there, mum took care of Isaac while i 'recharged' my batteries and took a nap. We went home at about 8 plus at night, changed Isaac, fed him and put him to bed. I didn't really sleep much the first night of caring for him, mainly coz of insecurity - if he is sleeping ok, if his little wimps are because he needed something etc. I also breastfed him throughout the night and i was rather pleased when he went back to sleep after the feed coz it seemed that the supply is adequate for his needs! And viola, the first night was over. I felt happy though a little tired. And the spent the rest of Monday bathing him, feeding him, putting him to sleep. And, when Chee Meng returned home in the evening, i became a little emotional coz i was really happy that he is back to help look after Isaac! Finally, i survived another day! I was emotional also coz when Auntie was with us, she would prepare dinner and both Chee Meng and I would enjoy our dinner in the kitchen while Auntie take care of Isaac. That looked like a perfect picture of family life and seemed no different from couplehood days.

I was contemplating preparing dinner but Isaac is quite an active baby who needs to be rocked even while in a sarong and will only sleep through soundly without any wimper for at most half an hour. The thought of dashing around preparing dinner and looking after Isaac at the same time is quite 'sian', so i asked Chee Meng to pack dinner instead. So that rounded up the first 24 hours on our own. It also didn't help that i came down with sore throat and a cough which made it more challenging. I was feeding and carrying Isaac with a mask on which made breathing a bit more difficult.

And on Tue, we went over to my parents' place according to our plan - ie, weekday nights at my parents' place and weekend nights at our own place. And i also went to see a doctor for my cough on Tue night and the cough mixture he gave me really made me groggy... luckily mum was around to help care for Isaac when i was in a state of blur. Well, wrong cough at the wrong time. I was so glad mum is around to care for Isaac in the day so that i can catch naps and recharge. I still took care of Isaac at night while at my parents' place coz i think it is my responsibility and it's not fair for me to pass this on to my parents. Luckily, Isaac is learning how to sleep better and i am also getting a few hours of sleep at night. And, thank god my mum is very very good with children, so Isaac is in good hands. I can also tell that he likes her a lot. He listens and responds to my mum when she talks to him and that makes her smile. Same for my dad -Isaac will keep staring at him when my dad speaks to him. I can tell that that they are proud grandparents!

Isaac also decided to throw in a challenge in the first week - by not pooping. He did not poop from Sunday to Tuesday (2 days) and from Tuesday to Saturday (4 days). And he was getting a little cranky coz his system is 'blocked' though when i called up the paediatrician's, the nurse said that poopless days are quite normal for babies this age as their bowel movements are still not fixed. I also checked the Internet and saw in some forum postings that some babies go without poop for 2 weeks! It was worrying especially when he poops a few times a day since birth. However, he was still passing gas rather regularly and his tummy is not bloated or anything. But on Saturday, we decided to bring him to see a doctor coz he was wailing even after he was fed and cleaned. His forehead was also a bit cold (which according to old wives' tales meant an upset tummy). So we went to the Children's Medical Institute at NUH to see a doctor on Sat late afternoon. Luckily there was no one there when we were there so we got to see the doctor fairly quickly. And the doctor also checked and said that Isaac's generally ok except the fact that he did not poop for the last 4 days. So they inserted a suppository into Isaac's bottom and within minutes, the poop landed!! And i tell you.. it was a mega-poop. For once, we were so happy to see Isaac poop and i was cleaning him up with much joy!! Luckily, Chee Meng's company provided Isaac with medical insurance which meant that we did not have to pay $90 for the consultation (treated as emergency). Even if we had to pay, we would do so happily! All for the poop! And Isaac gave us another mega poop again that evening and was still pooping when i cleaned him! I think it is about 4 days worth of poop that Isaac discharged in one day! Well... he still hasn't pooped today... so let's monitor the situation. Let's hope we don't have to artificially induce poop again!

Well, i'm just glad to have survived the first week. But mainly because of my mum's assistance. Indeed, 世上只有妈妈好!