Liam has just turned two month old, however his adjusted age is just shy of 10 day old :)
Here are pictures of me and Liam because the light was nice and we were both wearing white :)
Whenever we say that we do not have help (ie: confinement lady or a relative) with Liam, we’re always met with surprise, followed by mild sympathy. Honestly, don’t feel sorry for us as it’s a choice we made. And one we are glad we did.
We just knew very early on that having “help” will frustrate us more than anything. The last thing we needed was for someone to insist that I sleep in another room away from my baby just so I could “rest”. Or someone making comments about my parenting skills. Or someone doing something stupid to my baby because of some housewife’s tale.
No wonder so many new mothers who go through with traditional chinese confinement end up getting so stressed up. The stress I believe affect the milk supply of breastfeeding mothers too. Babies who lack maternal skin contact also tend to be colicky (contrary to belief, colic is not just about wind it means crying for no reason and baby lacking of motherly contact are fussy as hell). Lets not even start with the sheer ridiculousness of the confinement diet.
No drinking of plain water, anyone?
When Liam was in NICU, a relative told me that she thought my doctor was scamming us because another relative who was premature did not need to stay in NICU. I guess if my premature baby stopped breathing at home, this relative would be able to resuscitate him for me because obviously she knows better?
And then, there was someone who sent me an article about how babies lose 10% of oxygen while strapped in car seats. I suppose I should then risk my baby being flung out of car in the event of an accident then? Honestly, people!!!
What new parents need are encouragement, support and kind words. Fresh, healthy food. Heck, even unsolicited advice are fine as long as they are scientific, logical and beneficial. At the risk of sounding crass, yes, money is great too. Just don’t come and tell me not to do this or that cause I’d get wind and will suffer in 30 years.
Seriously, who doesn’t suffer from aches and pains and farts when they’re 60? Don’t be foolish can?
Anyway, enough of ranting. The past two months have been a heck of an experience but we wouldn’t have it any other way :)