Mabel and me decided to take a long (10 week) holiday with the baby to Singapore. The rational is: it has been quite a while since both of us visited the sunny (and humid) island, plus my folks have yet seen their first and only grandson, it will give us the opportunity to celebrate Christmas and Chinese New Year with the family; and my dad's health isn't that great and he's feeling a bit down, so hopefully letting him spend some time with his grandson will cheer him up. We were also secretly hoping (prior to the trip) that we could leave Gideon with the grandparents for a couple of days while we go for a short escapade on our own. But after spending 6 weeks here in Singapore and with 4 more weeks to go, I don't think that short escapade will eventuate. Here's what happened in our first 6 weeks in Singapore:
1st week: arrived in Singapore and on the same day, my dad got warded to the hospital because his limbs were swollen. So we spent quite a bit of time visiting him at the hospital.
2nd week: my dad got discharged (Yay!), but Mabel got a cold, my mum has to work, which leaves me to take care of Gideon and Mabel. By the end of the week, Gideon gets diarrhoea (maybe it was a result of me taking care of him?). Brought Gideon to a GP and got some diarrhoea medication but there was no improvement after 2 days of diarrhoea medication - I went online to find out about the drug and found out the dosage as advised by the clinic was wrong! After giving Gideon the proper dosage, his condition improved slightly but he was still having diarrhoea for the next 3 days.
3rd week: We decided to go to a paediatrician. This time, the paediatrician advised us to send Gideon to the hospital and put him on a drip so as to rest his gut. Gideon was also put on a course of antibiotics because the doctor suspects a viral infection. I felt really terrible that Gideon had to have a needle stuck on his hand for the IV drip, but he was a real trooper - only cried for 2 seconds when the doctor inserted the needle! Anyway, at least his diarrhoea got much better after 2 days and got discharged just before Christmas!
4th week: Mabel has fully recovered from the cold. But all of a sudden Gideon started rejecting food during the week. He was rejecting milk from a bottle and fussing when fed rice cereal or mashed veggies. He had his usual "I'm hungry" type of cry, but once we put food into his mouth, he would cry even louder and throw a tantrum. We were clueless and decided to go to another child clinic. This time, we found out that one of the side effects of babies finishing a course of antibiotics, is that they might lose appetite for a couple of days. Thankfully the symptoms did go away after 2 days and he did go back to his normal appetite.
5th week: Now that Mabel and Gideon were both well, it was my turn to fall sick. Not sure what I got, but I had these typical flu symptoms of fever and body aches. The body aches were pretty bad such that my calves would cramp up when I wake up in the morning. For some reason, I didn't think it was so serious that I had to see a doctor (I think I was resenting the fact that I had to go a doctor every week for the past 4 weeks), so all I did was take some Nurofen (ibuprofen), took plenty of fluids and rest as much as I could; and thankfully Mabel and my mum-in-law (MIL) took turns to take care of Gideon.
6th week: The best week so far and it's the week before Chinese New Year. Mabel and I actually managed to leave Gideon with my MIL and took an afternoon off to catch a movie!
So as I was saying, parents have no holidays. Although we managed to have our time-offs from the baby (courtesy of the grandparents) and we do enjoy our time with family in Singapore, but it's just not the same. My idea of a holiday (and what we used to do before parenthood) includes - doing stuff at the spur of the moment, having late nights (not because the baby is crying), sleeping in during the day, having long meals and doing absolutely nothing as a couple. Parenthood makes these almost an impossibility. So far, about 70% of our energy is spent doing things related to the baby and about 25% thinking about the baby. Going out shopping is usually for getting baby stuff - either his food, or what he wears, or what he needs to use; and because we are away from home, and we can't possibly pack everything that Gideon uses into the suitcase while travelling, so not everything is as convenient (as home), and we have to make do with make-shift alternatives that takes up twice the usual efforts or resources. For example, without a change table, changing Gideon's nappy on the bed or floor now requires 2 persons instead of 1. Then for some reason, Gideon's sleep patterns have been insanely irregular, which means our sleep is irregular as well. Sigh. 'Holidaying' with a baby is tiring, either that or we are just noob parents and haven't gotten the hang of travelling with a baby yet. There is a silver lining to all these - that Gideon has brought great joy to the grandparents. :)
Anyway, I just read this interesting book recently: The Road Less Travelled by Morgan Scott Peck. It is an interesting read about growing (mentally, emotionally and spiritually) as a person and finding one's purpose and meaning in life. The author wrote a couple of chapters about love - how true love requires work and effort and how it requires us to overcome the laziness that is so inherent in everybody. For parents, loving a child means we need to put in humongous efforts to raise him up, to nurture him, to provide security, to really listen and to ensure that he is well developed as a person. This can only be done with a love that is sacrificial, one that overcomes any fear of stepping into unfamiliar territory, and one that is disciplined enough to take the right action at the right time. It is hard work and I know there is no other way to do it but to live by the Spirit as written in Galatians 5:13-26 and the fruit of the Spirit is love.
1st week: arrived in Singapore and on the same day, my dad got warded to the hospital because his limbs were swollen. So we spent quite a bit of time visiting him at the hospital.
2nd week: my dad got discharged (Yay!), but Mabel got a cold, my mum has to work, which leaves me to take care of Gideon and Mabel. By the end of the week, Gideon gets diarrhoea (maybe it was a result of me taking care of him?). Brought Gideon to a GP and got some diarrhoea medication but there was no improvement after 2 days of diarrhoea medication - I went online to find out about the drug and found out the dosage as advised by the clinic was wrong! After giving Gideon the proper dosage, his condition improved slightly but he was still having diarrhoea for the next 3 days.
3rd week: We decided to go to a paediatrician. This time, the paediatrician advised us to send Gideon to the hospital and put him on a drip so as to rest his gut. Gideon was also put on a course of antibiotics because the doctor suspects a viral infection. I felt really terrible that Gideon had to have a needle stuck on his hand for the IV drip, but he was a real trooper - only cried for 2 seconds when the doctor inserted the needle! Anyway, at least his diarrhoea got much better after 2 days and got discharged just before Christmas!
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| Gideon with the IV drip at the hospital |
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| The little Christmas elf! |
4th week: Mabel has fully recovered from the cold. But all of a sudden Gideon started rejecting food during the week. He was rejecting milk from a bottle and fussing when fed rice cereal or mashed veggies. He had his usual "I'm hungry" type of cry, but once we put food into his mouth, he would cry even louder and throw a tantrum. We were clueless and decided to go to another child clinic. This time, we found out that one of the side effects of babies finishing a course of antibiotics, is that they might lose appetite for a couple of days. Thankfully the symptoms did go away after 2 days and he did go back to his normal appetite.
5th week: Now that Mabel and Gideon were both well, it was my turn to fall sick. Not sure what I got, but I had these typical flu symptoms of fever and body aches. The body aches were pretty bad such that my calves would cramp up when I wake up in the morning. For some reason, I didn't think it was so serious that I had to see a doctor (I think I was resenting the fact that I had to go a doctor every week for the past 4 weeks), so all I did was take some Nurofen (ibuprofen), took plenty of fluids and rest as much as I could; and thankfully Mabel and my mum-in-law (MIL) took turns to take care of Gideon.
6th week: The best week so far and it's the week before Chinese New Year. Mabel and I actually managed to leave Gideon with my MIL and took an afternoon off to catch a movie!
So as I was saying, parents have no holidays. Although we managed to have our time-offs from the baby (courtesy of the grandparents) and we do enjoy our time with family in Singapore, but it's just not the same. My idea of a holiday (and what we used to do before parenthood) includes - doing stuff at the spur of the moment, having late nights (not because the baby is crying), sleeping in during the day, having long meals and doing absolutely nothing as a couple. Parenthood makes these almost an impossibility. So far, about 70% of our energy is spent doing things related to the baby and about 25% thinking about the baby. Going out shopping is usually for getting baby stuff - either his food, or what he wears, or what he needs to use; and because we are away from home, and we can't possibly pack everything that Gideon uses into the suitcase while travelling, so not everything is as convenient (as home), and we have to make do with make-shift alternatives that takes up twice the usual efforts or resources. For example, without a change table, changing Gideon's nappy on the bed or floor now requires 2 persons instead of 1. Then for some reason, Gideon's sleep patterns have been insanely irregular, which means our sleep is irregular as well. Sigh. 'Holidaying' with a baby is tiring, either that or we are just noob parents and haven't gotten the hang of travelling with a baby yet. There is a silver lining to all these - that Gideon has brought great joy to the grandparents. :)
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| Gideon cheering up my dad with his raspberry blowing |
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| My MIL - the beaming grandma |
Anyway, I just read this interesting book recently: The Road Less Travelled by Morgan Scott Peck. It is an interesting read about growing (mentally, emotionally and spiritually) as a person and finding one's purpose and meaning in life. The author wrote a couple of chapters about love - how true love requires work and effort and how it requires us to overcome the laziness that is so inherent in everybody. For parents, loving a child means we need to put in humongous efforts to raise him up, to nurture him, to provide security, to really listen and to ensure that he is well developed as a person. This can only be done with a love that is sacrificial, one that overcomes any fear of stepping into unfamiliar territory, and one that is disciplined enough to take the right action at the right time. It is hard work and I know there is no other way to do it but to live by the Spirit as written in Galatians 5:13-26 and the fruit of the Spirit is love.
