Family & Life Magazine Issue 8 | Page 31

OP-ED Of Love, Lack of Sleep & Motherhood By Euforica Lim Cai Rong Back in October, one of our guest columnists, Desmond Foo, recounted the pitfalls of being in China while traversing their family’s first pregnancy. This month, his wife, who recently gave birth two months back, discovers the joys (and horrors) of motherhood. Having a baby is something I have always been looking forward to. In fact, every bit of my pregnancy was inundated with the joys of the impending delivery. Having pored through tons of baby books, magazines and online forums and with multiple seminars and antenatal class under my belt since my baby started its journey as an embryo, I was ready to be a proud mum, almost as proud as if I was going to be awarded a PhD in motherhood. However, that confidence was soon quashed as reality knocked some sense into me - my perceived “PhD” was in fact a PSLE certificate in disguise. My expectation of a well-planned day with routine feedings, diaper changing and showering was as real as a castle built in the air. Instead, the first few days after being discharged from hospital were governed by my little one’s whim and fancy. Almost everything I learnt from books and seminars was ejected from my memory the moment he started wailing. Sometimes the wailing reduced me to tears. Whenever that happens, my significant other had to soothe not one, but two crying babies, and he always managed it without much difficulty. Motherhood (or rather parenthood) is life-changing in several aspects, none of which would be imaginable before personally setting foot into this phase, but all of which I willingly accept as the responsibilities of a doting mum. SLEEP The very first thing to be sacrificed upon assuming the role of a parent is sleep. Many others who have trod this path warned me about the meagre sleep we could afford. Indeed, succumbing to fatigue at those hours that I have been so used to, became a luxury. Our sleep is now rationed at intervals determined by my little one’s feeding and nap time. After accounting for the time to address our daily needs, there is only so much left. You know sleep is lacking when you make a fruitless attempt to seal the milk bottle with the wrong cap, or mistake the little one’s head for the giant switch button on his favourite musical seahorse. Even normal physiological reflexes are delayed by seconds. Fortunately, with dogged determination, it did not take too long to learn to predict the feeding time with accuracy and differentiate one cry from another (whether it is hunger, wet diaper, pain or simply the need to be carried and pampered). Mastering these granted my husband and me with golden opportunities to take power naps. MEALS Since the onset of pregnancy, I surrendered the privilege of choosing what I loved to eat, and went for what I needed to eat instead, only indulging myself when my taste buds threatened to revolt against the healthy diet. This self-imposed healthy diet got stricter when I started breastfeeding, knowing that what I eat is what he gets. Earlier, I would have baulked at the mere thought of ingesting any animal innards (like kidney or liver) or green leafy vegetables bigger than a toddler’s palm. Now, I wolf them down like delicacies. I am fortunate that my motherin-law is a good cook, making it easier than I expected. Milk supply is another factor that determines what I eat, thus Fenugreek tea and oat milk, which are said to help boost milk supply, have become fast friends. I go to the extent of volunteering to test milk supply boosting cookies for a friend selling them (and to her credit, I must say those cookies taste great). SHOPPING TRIPS An indication of being sworn into the circl