The benefits of breastfeeding is so huge and the latest study found that breast milk will impact baby’s IQ. I will never regret breastfeeding my baby. She is 6 months old now and I’m still breastfeeding her. It’s a bit inconvenient at times, but I think it’s worthwhile.
My husband and I began talking to baby Clarisse the day she was born. Some people say it’s silly to talk to newborns. They wouldn’t understand a single word you’re saying anyway. To us, it didn’t matter whether our baby was able to understand what we’re saying. The important thing is, we give our baby a sense of communication which will help them develop better speech ability faster. Studies also show babies pick up languages as much from second-hand dialogue, that is communication between parents, family and friends indirectly.
Baby Clarisse uttered her first “ah-goo” when she was around 2 1/2 months. My husband and I were so delighted to hear her cute voice. Here are some of the ways how I talk to Clarisse.
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Throughout the past 2 - 3 months, I have consistently subjected my baby Clarisse to a pretty structured daily routine. It is a way to organise and structure for the day. To know what’s coming next every passing hour for both me and the baby.
I never realised how adapted Clarisse is to her daily routine until this evening. We had dinner at a restaurant and the time was roughly an hour past her usual evening bath time. She cried all the way home. The moment we reached home, she stopped crying. When I took her clothes off in the room and put her in the bath robe, she grinned in anticipation for her “play-water” time. Clearly, she is crying for her evening bath-time.
Label me superstitious but when it comes to pregnancy, I found myself being extra wary of supertitions and taboos even after baby Clarisse was born. Lots of people say I’m old fashioned, that these old-wives tales are bogus and cause you unnecessary worries. So why bother!
I hate to say this but speaking from personal experience, minor plumbing work was carried out to repair a leaking tap a day before my premature labour symptoms were felt. I had a miscarriage two days later.
There’s never going to be scientific proof for superstitions and taboos, but for the sake of my baby, I would rather adhere by it than be sorry later. Your mileage may vary.
I have found this video on colic which is explained by Dr. Scott Cohen. It’s a mystery why colic exists in babies and why there’s no scientific medication to treat it so far. Great video for mother’s seeking additional info on colicky babies.
Do you find it’s always a guessing game as to why your baby cries? I’ve always had that feeling with my baby on her first month. It’s frustrating when no matter how I try, I just couldn’t calm her down.
It took me more than a month to figure out my baby’s crying pattern through trial and error. Luckily I had my mother to guide me on differentiating my baby’s cry. That is if she cries a certain way, it might be that she’s hungry. Of course, I can’t be accurate all the time but it helps in decoding what my baby wants and make her stop crying.
One night when my baby Clarisse was 3 weeks old, she cried out hysterically loud and seemingly inconsolable. Her face went red, hands clenched and legs lifted up screaming on top of her lungs. Gasping for air in between outbursts. My mother and I were guessing it could be stomach pain. We massaged some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and tried to soothe her by walking around the room cradling her in our arms. We thought nothing of it. It might just be a bad dream or stomach ache.
3 weeks later, I recognise the same sort of cry again when Clarisse was around 6 weeks old. She started to cry hysterically around midnight and however I tried to soothe her, she just won’t stop crying. I was beginning to worry and contemplated taking her to the hospital thinking she might be in some sort of pain. I called my mom and told her about Clarisse’s crying. She suggested I rub some oil on Clarisse’s tummy and wrapped her with a towel. Then hold her in my arms in an upright position. That managed to stop her crying. And after several bouts walking around the room holding her tightly in my arms, wrapped warmly in a towel, her head leaning on my shoulder, Clarisse fell asleep. I was absolutely exhausted after her crying spell.
It was weird, my baby Clarisse just decided to stop drinking formula milk one particular afternoon when she’s around 6 weeks old. Before that, she would willingly consume a bottle of formula milk and breast milk but on that day, she started to cry and refused after drinking only 1/2 oz.
Initially, I thought nothing of it. Maybe she’s just being fussy. I kept trying to persuade her to drink her bottle of formula milk. She would drink a sip, turn her head away and start crying uncontrollably if I continue forcing the bottle at her. We tried everything but the kitchen sink, baby Clarisse just won’t give in. She just won’t drink her formula milk. I put the bottle of formula milk away. She seems perfectly alright when I breast feed her afterwards.
After a full one month stay at my mother’s house, it’s time to say goodbye and Clarisse and I went back to our house. I have to admit, I’m slightly spoilt having my mom take care of me and Clarisse, in particular. And I’m feeling a bit nervous about having to care for Clarisse all by myself. After all, it will be a new experience for me and there’s a lot to be learnt when handling a one-month old infant.
The first day started out fine. Then come night time. Clarisse just refused to sleep during the night. My husband and I tried whatever we could - hours of nursing on sore nipples, rocking her in aching arms, walking all about the room on tired feet, singing lullabies till our throats get sore - to make her sleep. Just when we thought she dozed off, we slowly put her down on her baby cot. Before we could catch our breath, Clarisse would either wake up immediately or startle herself awake in a matter of minutes. This went on for at least 5 times and I nearly fainted due to fatigue. Finally, we gave up trying to make her sleep in her own baby cot and let her sleep next to us on our bed instead. Thank god, she stopped crying and slept. The time was 4am.
Baby Clarisse was scheduled for a visit to a paediatrician 6 days after she was born. I was shocked to see Clarisse’s bilirubin level rising to 16. Jaundice with bilirubin level above 13 is considered high. On the day she was discharged from the hospital, Clarisse had a 9 on her bilirubin level and wasn’t considered to be suffering from jaundice.
I was adviced to admit her for phototherapy. She was stripped down to her diaper, except for an eye patch protecting her eyes, and placed under ultraviolet light therapy to speed up her body’s removal of bilirubin. The hospital’s phototherapy room is a small room houses several newborn cots with ultraviolet lamps. No parents or individuals are allowed to stay overnight. I was worried and sad as I couldn’t bear being away from her. Moreover, I wanted to breastfeed Clarisse as much as possible so I made several trips in a day to the hospital just for that. It was painful having to walk and move about during the first week after delivery but I had no choice. We’re grateful we live just 5 mins away from the hospital.
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