Strange Machines

Just one day after I cremated my Boy, I went into labour. Sunday morning my water broke and after a 17 hour labour (4 hours 2nd stage) without epidural – damn thing didn’t work – my little Jade entered this world kicking and screaming. She’s got a full head of hair and her Daddy’s features. She has been smiling since her very first day in the world.

After a week of phototherapy, we brought her home. She presented Jack with an Ikea cat and they have been best pals ever since. We have to remind him to be gentle around her but the tandem nursing (which takes some practice at the angling) and the present and the many months of positive reinforcement about his sister helped him accept her almost immediately.

She doesn’t cry much except for food and never for a wet diaper or attention, although she is immensely curious. She loves to smile at me when I call her. She brings us much joy as her brother does.

And I have to start doing it soon because although it is in May, I’ll be delivering his sister end April, if she decides to be on schedule. Which means I’ll need to plan his 3rd birthday before I deliver or it probably won’t happen because I’ll be too exhausted to organise anything in the 3 weeks after birth.

My lazy plan is to order a party set from an online birthday supplier like Birthday Express. They provide birthday party supplies, basically everything from invites to napkins to balloons to party favours (saves me the hassle of buying and packing those little things) to even thank-you cards (really for the parents!). And they promise on-time delivery. I like that.

Jack loves the party favours we’ve brought home so far and although his little sister’s 1st month will be a week or two after his birthday, I think I should keep both parties separate just so they both feel special. Well, Jack really. He’s at the age where he knows what parties are and knows to enjoy them.

He’s been singing Happy Birthday to Jack since his grandma’s birthday last year so I think he’s ready for his very own party. A small one with less than 10 friends, a cat cake (cos he loves cats), party favours for sure, and all his loved ones around.

Since I’m ordering one party pack, I might as well order one for his baby sister’s first month too. Planning two parties so close together must have its benefits! I don’t think I have the energy to do it all myself, like I normally do. Meanwhile I’m getting more fat and unwieldy. Sigh…

Time sure flies when you have a new baby. I remember so clearly when Jack was born. In the delivery room I was so exhausted but exhilarated at finally meeting this little baby who had been sharing my tummy.

At the final push, Jack entered the world and I held my baby in my arms and let him suckle. He was so tiny then and all I wanted to do was to protect him from the huge cruel world out there. Fatigue must have set in, for I let them take him away to clean up and do their measurements and sort.

When they brought him back to me later in the ward, cleaned, innoculated, and freshly swaddled, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Before I could move to pick him up, my parents danced into the room grinning and my Mom carried him for the first time, her face beaming with delight.

To see your parents and your child happy together is one of the greatest joys in life. Even today, my parents’ faces glow when they play with Jack. They enjoy watching his milestones: Dad saw Jack turn for the first time (I missed it one second later), We all heard his first words, his first screams, Mom discovered his favourite activity is Bouncy (I have bionic arms already)…

My Dad still boasts of the 3 hours he spent once carrying Jack to sleep. Although his arms ached so much (and he napped some of the time sitting up), he proudly told all his friends about it while they oohed and ahhed. Mom regales her sisters and friends about what Jack does.

I don’t know how it happened but my parents have become part of Jack’s everyday life and he is so much more blessed for it.

I see the wisdom in the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”. Studies show (and I wish I could dig them all up to cite them) that babies with a strong family network are happier, better socialised, and more confident.

In his fifth month, Jack rolls over confidently, can sit up in a tripod position (but not for long), raises his hands when a hand is hovered over him to pull him up), has sleep regressed to 3 hourly bouts at night, watches our cats very curiously, still poos in the car, adores his grandparents, cousins, uncles, and aunties, had his first toy-involved bath time with his blow-up bath tub from Safety1st last night (he loved it!), and his first swim the Sunday before last.