Every baby is different and there is no fixed way of how to handle each and everyone of them. But generally speaking, the first 6-8 weeks of a baby's life is really tough and you just have to get through it to know that there's sunshine after the rain!
Matthew was quite a challenge to handle indeed. Things were still fine when I was in the hospital. I could breastfeed him exclusively even though it was a bit difficult at times and also tiring. Just before we discharged, I was also happy that his jaundice level was at acceptable level so we could all go home. Back home was when things started to get really cranky!! Perhaps the baby was in a new environment and could not get used to it yet. Matthew was crying quite a lot and it was really difficult to put him down on any bed to sleep. This was even true at nights! He got startled very easily and preferred to be carried to sleep. My Mom and Mother-in-law helped me with confinement this time round but it was my Mom that stayed over with me and helped me through the night. The initial bit we really had to carry him to sleep :( It really took quite a while, I think almost 2 - 3 weeks before there was significant improvement and Matthew could sleep better at nights.
Anyway, after the first few days back at home, we had to go for a doctor checkup and it was determined that Matthew had jaundice and required photo-therapy. We chose to rent the machine and do it at home this time (for Kendrick we left him in the hospital). It was tough to go through it (we had to make sure he slept in it for at least 25 hours, and we had to turn him front and back). But at least I could see him, breastfeed him and take care of him. After that was over, the remaining weeks had its ups and downs. Breastfeeding was especially tiring as he took around 1 hour to nurse both sides, not to mention the high frequency of drinking too. I started giving 1 formula feed at night to give myself a slight break before slowly moving up to 2 feeds as he grew bigger. In between, I also went down to the lactation consultant twice to see if there was any problem with my feeding. Around 6 weeks, Matthew was especially fussy at the breast, crying a lot from the fast letdown or not fast enough flow etc. It was really tough...I almost wanted to give up! Frustration and lack of sleep made it really bad.
Thankfully, I have my family members around to help take care of me and also my elder boy. Talking about Kendrick, he has been really sweet towards his younger brother. He always want to hug and kiss him and he would always sing "Matthew, I love you". I was really glad for that. Yes, Kendrick had his fair share of throwing tantrums and wanting more attention, but generally it has all been manageable and he is very close to his Dad during this period. Still, he would love me a lot and want me to do certain things for him.
Well, as Matthew continued growing, I would say things slowly improved and it got more fun to play with him. He learned to smile quite a lot early on during the 2nd or 3rd week already...and nearing the 4th week, my Mom even taught him to say 'ah goo' which he cooed softly in response at times. Soon enough, Matthew was already 2 months old and he's learned to suck and lick his hands, make lots of noises, kick a lot and is still very much an alert baby. In fact, I got worried as to why he did not sleep much in the day. I thought all babies needed lots of sleep but my boy seemed to have a mind of his own. Thank God he slept at night though, waking around once or twice for feeds. It was the day time that we had to give him a lot of attention. I'm also glad I have a helper this time round. I can't imagine coping without her! I guess in a way, Kendrick was much easier to look after since I did so all by myself back then!
2 weeks ago, we decided to let Matthew try sleeping in the spring cradle (Thanks to my colleague who passed it to me as she didn't want it anymore). Matthew took to it quite well and slept a lot more than he usually did before that. Although he would usually wake after half and hour, it was easier to make him sleep back longer, or else we would take him out for a break then later put him back into the spring cradle to sleep. I don't know if that really worked for him, or that he was growing bigger now so he has began to form some patterns which are more predictable for us to manage. Nevertheless, whatever it takes to give him enough rest to grow....
Meanwhile, I certainly enjoy the bits and pieces of time I have with him, playing with him, making him laugh which has happened already in the last 2 weeks. Matthew is also learning to grab things and is very talkative now, always making lots of noises and baby sounds whenever we talk to him. His voice also got louder recently as he began to almost shout at times! He also showed signs of wanting to flip over as he is able to turn quite well to one side. We also give him some tummy time practice and his head and neck are quite strong already seeing that he can lift himself up to look quite well. But like Kendrick, he still doesn't really like being on his tummy at this point.
Well, despite the ups and downs of the initial phase of having a baby, I'm glad I came this far with Matthew...I'm really so thankful to God for my 2 boys, whom I'll always love and cherish! As I write this blog, I'll be going back to work next week. That would bring an end to my maternity leave. It's never enough! Haha...I'll miss my boys a lot when I'm at work ~~~
Matthew was quite a challenge to handle indeed. Things were still fine when I was in the hospital. I could breastfeed him exclusively even though it was a bit difficult at times and also tiring. Just before we discharged, I was also happy that his jaundice level was at acceptable level so we could all go home. Back home was when things started to get really cranky!! Perhaps the baby was in a new environment and could not get used to it yet. Matthew was crying quite a lot and it was really difficult to put him down on any bed to sleep. This was even true at nights! He got startled very easily and preferred to be carried to sleep. My Mom and Mother-in-law helped me with confinement this time round but it was my Mom that stayed over with me and helped me through the night. The initial bit we really had to carry him to sleep :( It really took quite a while, I think almost 2 - 3 weeks before there was significant improvement and Matthew could sleep better at nights.
Anyway, after the first few days back at home, we had to go for a doctor checkup and it was determined that Matthew had jaundice and required photo-therapy. We chose to rent the machine and do it at home this time (for Kendrick we left him in the hospital). It was tough to go through it (we had to make sure he slept in it for at least 25 hours, and we had to turn him front and back). But at least I could see him, breastfeed him and take care of him. After that was over, the remaining weeks had its ups and downs. Breastfeeding was especially tiring as he took around 1 hour to nurse both sides, not to mention the high frequency of drinking too. I started giving 1 formula feed at night to give myself a slight break before slowly moving up to 2 feeds as he grew bigger. In between, I also went down to the lactation consultant twice to see if there was any problem with my feeding. Around 6 weeks, Matthew was especially fussy at the breast, crying a lot from the fast letdown or not fast enough flow etc. It was really tough...I almost wanted to give up! Frustration and lack of sleep made it really bad.
Thankfully, I have my family members around to help take care of me and also my elder boy. Talking about Kendrick, he has been really sweet towards his younger brother. He always want to hug and kiss him and he would always sing "Matthew, I love you". I was really glad for that. Yes, Kendrick had his fair share of throwing tantrums and wanting more attention, but generally it has all been manageable and he is very close to his Dad during this period. Still, he would love me a lot and want me to do certain things for him.
Well, as Matthew continued growing, I would say things slowly improved and it got more fun to play with him. He learned to smile quite a lot early on during the 2nd or 3rd week already...and nearing the 4th week, my Mom even taught him to say 'ah goo' which he cooed softly in response at times. Soon enough, Matthew was already 2 months old and he's learned to suck and lick his hands, make lots of noises, kick a lot and is still very much an alert baby. In fact, I got worried as to why he did not sleep much in the day. I thought all babies needed lots of sleep but my boy seemed to have a mind of his own. Thank God he slept at night though, waking around once or twice for feeds. It was the day time that we had to give him a lot of attention. I'm also glad I have a helper this time round. I can't imagine coping without her! I guess in a way, Kendrick was much easier to look after since I did so all by myself back then!
2 weeks ago, we decided to let Matthew try sleeping in the spring cradle (Thanks to my colleague who passed it to me as she didn't want it anymore). Matthew took to it quite well and slept a lot more than he usually did before that. Although he would usually wake after half and hour, it was easier to make him sleep back longer, or else we would take him out for a break then later put him back into the spring cradle to sleep. I don't know if that really worked for him, or that he was growing bigger now so he has began to form some patterns which are more predictable for us to manage. Nevertheless, whatever it takes to give him enough rest to grow....
Meanwhile, I certainly enjoy the bits and pieces of time I have with him, playing with him, making him laugh which has happened already in the last 2 weeks. Matthew is also learning to grab things and is very talkative now, always making lots of noises and baby sounds whenever we talk to him. His voice also got louder recently as he began to almost shout at times! He also showed signs of wanting to flip over as he is able to turn quite well to one side. We also give him some tummy time practice and his head and neck are quite strong already seeing that he can lift himself up to look quite well. But like Kendrick, he still doesn't really like being on his tummy at this point.
Well, despite the ups and downs of the initial phase of having a baby, I'm glad I came this far with Matthew...I'm really so thankful to God for my 2 boys, whom I'll always love and cherish! As I write this blog, I'll be going back to work next week. That would bring an end to my maternity leave. It's never enough! Haha...I'll miss my boys a lot when I'm at work ~~~
