Warning: Long and Wordy Post
Baby Nakayla is two weeks old today. And the last two weeks has been quite a surprising time for the husband and me. For one, we are amazed by how taken Blake is to his sister!
The first time Blake saw Nakayla in the hospital, he did not really bother to look at her – possibly cos the hospital cot was too high for him to see her clearly. And when I got discharged, Nakayla had to stay in one more night at the hospital because of jaundice. When she got discharged, we brought Blake along, and for the first time, he managed to see his little sister clearly – with me carrying Nakayla and Sean carrying him.
When Blake saw Nakayla, he went, “Eh!” pointed at her in amazement, and continued with, “Hi!”, followed by a ‘flying kiss’. Sean and I were shocked into silence for a moment, before bursting out in laughter and complimenting our boy.
The following few days, whenever Blake saw his sister, he did the exact same thing. That is until a couple of days ago, when Sean worked late and I had to be on my own with the two little ones at home, without any help from my confinement lady (I opted for day time confinement lady, more on that when I have finished my confinement)…
Blake had returned from school, and I had brought him to have his bath while Nakayla was fast asleep in the baby cot (all in the master room). When we got out of the bathroom, and Blake saw his little sister in the baby cot, he pointed at her and went, “Hi!” I had thought, “What? No flying kiss?” And all of a sudden, he went, “妹妹”, which is ‘little sister’ in Chinese. I was so shocked!
In the last two years I have spent with him, he has only ever called me ‘Mommy’ once. Most of the other times when I thought he was calling me, he was actually asking for food (I make the sound ‘mum mum’ whenever it’s time for him to have his meal. I have since changed to, “Time to eat!” or “Eat your food!”). He calls the husband ‘Daddy’ from a young age, and whenever I ask him to find Daddy, he will automatically start searching for Sean. Is it possible to feel cheated and jealous, yet happy at the same time? I’m definitely more happy than being jealous and feeling cheated though. Haha. I’m just kind of jealous that he calls Nakayla “妹妹” willingly after only seeing her a few times, and has ever only called me ‘Mommy’ once willingly!
During this period, Blake never dared to touch Nakayla, partly due to the fact that she’s always in the baby cot. That night when I was home alone with my two babies, I had taken Nakayla out into the living room where Blake was playing to feed her. He came up to her, and attempted to shake her hands. He had grabbed her arms a little too tight, and I gently told him to be careful as Nakayla was still very small. He seemed to feel bad cos he turned around and planted his face on the sofa. Only after I have coaxed him to tell him it’s alright, did he return to his happy self again. Then he attempted again, but this time round, he tried to shake her legs. Again, Blake used a little too much strength and I told him to relax. He planted his face on my thighs and made whining sounds. I coaxed him again and got him to look at Nakayla. Then I took his hands and taught him how to show Nakayla some love by touching/patting her gently. He smiled, looked at me and laughed before continuing on his own. Then I took his hands and placed Nakayla’s hands in them, and told him to see how tiny her hands were. It seems like after this incident, Blake became more gentle to his little sister! Ahh, the feelings of joy when a mother witnesses such an endearing sight!
So far, everything has been rather ok. On nights and mornings when I’m on my own with my two babies for a couple of hours, they have been pretty co-operative. Take last night for example, I took Blake to bath and to play with water when Nakayla cried for milk. I allowed Blake to play longer while I prepared milk for Nakayla. Then, I sat in the bathroom, on the toilet bowl (cover down), to feed Nakayla while keeping a watchful eye on Blake. When Blake was done playing, Nakayla had finished drinking and burping. She fell asleep and I placed her in the baby cot before dressing Blake up in his PJs. After which, the two of them gave me some time to rest to finish my dinner before seeking my attention again! Haha.
And just this morning, Nakayla had woken up close to Blake’s waking time for her milk, so I quickly fed and burped her, before putting her back into the baby cot. She went in quietly without a struggle, and fell asleep on her own shortly after. I had barely gotten Blake ready for school when Nakayla cried for my attention again. Phew! While it is kind of a rush going back and forth the two babies, I’m absolutely thankful that they take turns to seek my attention when I’m on my own! I really cannot imagine if things go otherwise! But even if that happens, I will just have to grit my teeth and go through with it. My motto as a mother, “Cannot also must can!” Hehe.
The only thing I’m still trying to get used to is waking up for night feeds (thankfully I only have to get up twice at most!), and getting more sleep in the day and sleeping earlier at night. I’m so not used to the change of timings!
Alright, ending abruptly with pictures of my babies! Haha!
One of those middle of the night feeds…
She became so wide awake for close to an hour!
My big boy all grown up and eating his favourite noodles on his own! 😀
Blake, on the left, when he was about the same age as Nakayla, on the right
