9 july 2008 to be exact. i've marked it on my calender already.
after almost 12 weeks of staying at home with the kids, i've become used to a standard routine. a typical weekday: waking up in the mornings to wake the girls, packing them off to school, watching some CNN, bathing the baby in the late morning, logging on to clear emails while baby naps, bathing the older girls when they're back, watching more tv in the afternoon or fiddling with facebook, feeding/burping/diapering the baby in between the hours whenever necessary, chasing the girls to finish their meals, washing them up and getting them ready for bed in the evenings, watching tv etc...
a predictable albeit boring schedule .
strangely, i think i'm going to miss all this when 9 july 2008 comes around. especially my "exclusive" moments with baby terrorliza.
as a 3rd time mumsy to a newborn, i'm definitely more confident in handling wei. with xian, i was a bundle of nerves. at a loss most of the time and felt utterly useless when she cried - couldn't decipher what she wanted - wet nappy? poo? hungry? windy? bored??!!
i didn't even dare to bathe her as she was a tiny infant and i was terrified of dropping her. i was even hesitant about changing her clothes as she seemed so fragile and i was afraid to hurt her! and the sight/smell of her poop made me gag so diapering was a real snag.
when wen came along, i was slightly better equipped (mentally) to care for her. i was still awkward and clumsy, but the poo/pee/vomit didn't seem so icky. and i even bathed her myself when she was back in the hospital for jaundice treatment (during my confinement i'm not supposed to touch water).
now, i'm totally unfazed by whatever that comes out of wei's body to the point that i actually enjoy cleaning up after she dirties herself. i love bathing wei! 'm certainly no expert in taking care of babies - but let's just say that the MIL's left me alone to care for the baby, and that's an indication that i'm not that useless and helpless. ;)
i'm quite proud of my little achievements. never in my wildest dreams did i imagine i'd be married with 3 kids! heh heh. but my greatest triumph would be successfully breastfeeding my girls.
when i decided on total breastfeeding with xian, i faced some obstacles. not that anyone vehemently objected or disapproved, but neither my own mum nor MIL nursed their children so i was bombarded with concern queries about whether the baby was getting enough milk. but once they realised i was adamant about not supplementing breast milk with formula milk, and that the baby was growing well (and healthy), everyone left me alone.
also, in 2002, not many mothers were breastfeeding their kids exclusively and even if they did, few continued to do so after they returned back to work. i believe i'm among a small minority of mothers who breastfed past 6 months. both xian and wen were weaned at 25 months and i hope to do the same for wei.
i've come a long way indeed. now, a proud mum to 3 pretty princesses :)
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