TGIF, I’m 3 weeks old!

In my calendar, there was suddenly “29 Feb, 30 Feb…” and more days in February 2007 than any other February before if not for the sleepy dormant brain deciding to wake all of a sudden. I was updating the records of Jayden’s intake to monitor what goes in (and comes out) and happily just continued climbing the numbers. Gah…

We have settled into a routine of sorts. Jayden has his first feed of the day at 12plus or 1ish then proceeds to have a blissful sleep all the way till 5.30am where he wakes us all up with his hunger cries. We all know he will wake around that time but just are too exhausted with looking after him in the day to crawl out of bed any earlier to prepare. He continues on with his next feed at 8.30 and knocks out till lunch or close to. Inbetween we wake him for a bath where he tests the foundations of the house again with his screams though we have learnt that a nice HOT bath will do the trick in silencing him. Afternoon rolls along until 5plus again with another feed and one midway through… the afternoon meals are dependent on him. He has not worked out his schedule nor submitted it for approval thus far.

Mealtimes are a constant struggle for the bottle (EBM, some mine some thanks to Angela! *thank you very very very much!*), trying to get him to latch onto the breast (not working out all that well thus far) and also towards the end, keeping him awake. He can manage between 90 to 120ml per feed but once he passes 60ml, he gets sleepy and not very eager to feed… sometimes even falling asleep during the feed. *Geez*

Still he does seem to be growing. We do try to wake him up but time has taught us, no point… this babe will wake when HE feels like it. Daddy V has been pretty naughty, getting his sleepy escapades on video. Nothing stirs him. Like just now when some colleagues came by after work… they happened to come shortly after his feed when he was full — satisfied. He had fallen asleep and I was using the bolster to tap him to wake him up. No go. A stretch and its on to the next lap of dreamland he goes. The whole half hour we spent talking around him was probably more effective as a lullaby.

Occasionally, he has shown that he likes to be carried. Crying a little to get your attention, he squirms his way into your hands and falls asleep there after a few minutes. Silly boy. But somehow, such times are quite precious because he sleeps most of his day away. It is about the only other time we get to spend with him.

Between feeds, he keeps us busy with washing and sterilising bottles, laundering his clothes and folding them, changing his diapers, expressing milk and warming it for use… It is a real full time job. So I really buay song the reader who commented in TODAY that “to put the homemaker on the same pedestal as that on which we place NSman is an affront”. Grr. I mean, seriously speaking, if NS was not enforced, how many would willingly go through it?

I quote Siao Kian Kiong who wrote to TODAY regarding homemakers and the budget…
I refer to the article, “A plea for those who miss out” (Feb 28), which called for housewives/househusbands to receive benefits under the recently-announced budget.
Being a homemaker is a self-centred decision, made only for the benefit of one’s family. On the other hand, National Service is compulsory and it involves sacrificing for the nation. NSmen have the sacred task of defending the nation in time of war, to the extent of laying down their lives for their country.
To put the homemaker on the same pedestal as that on which we place NSmen is an affront.

I say he has no wife. Don’t get me wrong, I do not disagree that the decision is somewhat self-centred but surely the benefits that comes along with that decision also benefit the larger community. No time to sit and seriously pen out my arguments on this… but you can if you want.

Off to look on my sleeping beauty prince.