What a growth spurt in the span of one month. The second month with my son drained both of my wife and I more than the first month, primarily because he had to waive goodbye to the confinement nanny and then his grandmother.
The send-off for his grandmother brought him to the furthest place he had ever been from home, and that was the Changi Airport. I would think that he is very fortunate to be able to set foot (not literally) at one of the world's best airport at one month plus of age.
Too bad my son is still not able to verbalise his emotions. Wonder if the farewell to the confinement nanny and then to his grandmother who would sing lovely Vietnamese songs to him late into the night, had had any impact on him.
Sending off my mother-in-law at Changi Airport
It was very helpful to us that my mother-in-law was in town to help us care for Baby YC, as my wife eased and get used to caring for him.
Being the heavier sleeper, by the time I am startled by the crying, my wife had already tended to our son's needs. The abrupt waking also made me groggy and lagging in my situational awareness. I was inclined to attribute the weariness to the fact that I had to work in the daytime, until I took a day off from work (to bring him for immunisation) and experienced how it was like to be caring for him the whole day. I would choose to be the one to work in the daytime (if comparing energy consumption), anytime.
Explaining to my son why Papa cannot be at home in the day
At one stage, we underestimated the importance of burping the Baby well. We thought some gentle pats were alright. And that led to the constant crying throughout the day and night. Thanks to my mother's intervention, we finally got the hang of it. And with each burp (which took some time to come out), we cheered and poured champagne (figuratively).
Thanks to my understanding wife, I was able to balance work commitment, grassroots volunteering and family time. I find myself chipping in for grocery shopping, watching the budget, making the meal, cleaning the dishes, hanging the clothes before heading to meetings and events. All the day's stress and tireness fade away when seeing and holding Baby YC at home.
Being oversensitive, we found ourselves visiting the clinic just to be assured that the temperature of the baby was alright after he lost his voice from crying too much. In fact, we were so anxious at the long wait time for my regular family clinic, that we checked in at a nearby clinic for medical consultation. We duly regretted when we saw the Doctor tried to use a wooden "ice-cream" stick to check our son's throat, and reprimanded us for not feeding him water (!). A simple google search shows first many pages of results telling parents not to feed water to infants below six months. After that dreadful consultation, we went back to our family Doctor, who charged us lesser and was much more experienced.
Productivity
Relatives, friends and colleagues continue to be a source of support, especially with our queries in issues as interesting as how do we clear the nose, etc.
It is comforting to see him smiling more often, although we are still unsure if that is emotionally backed. He has also started to look at us when we are talking to him. Our confinement nanny had told me that she was able to see my late Father, and that he was still around to look after the family. It may sound creepy to readers of the blog and probably could be taken as a pinch of salt, but it was of great comfort to me to know that he was still with us and celebrated Baby YC's birth. And hence, when Baby YC stares into the blank sometimes, I wonder if he was near :)
Hotter than any other car sales model
Coincidentally, it is Father's Day this Sunday. We have decided to celebrate the occasion by bringing Baby YC out to the park, something that I enjoyed with my family when I was younger.
