Monday, May 25, 2009

More first words

Salma is able to wave her hand and say "bye-bye" now! It is the cutest thing. At first she won't say anything when we request her to do it, but then once the person leaving really does walk away, she'll start waving her hand and say "Bye!" When we try to get her to do it, she'll give us this confused look, and she'll look from mummy to daddy then from mummy to daddy again. And when one of us finally walks away, she'll just say, "Bye!" Wish I can record it.

When she wakes up she starts talking also, as if to say, "Good morning!" or "Hello!" She will only do it once I am awake though, and doesn't try to wake me up by talking, which is showing consideration for others on her part. But if I am still sleepy, and I make the mistake of opening my eyes (she wakes up between 4.30 am and 5.30 am), she will try to engage me in a conversation! Now I try to "pretend" to sleep for a little while longer… or else the "talking" never stops!

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Still amazed

Each time I wake up in the morning, I still find myself feeling amazed when I see her, this perfect little creature, that I created! Sometimes I still can't believe that I made her... she's so beautiful. And when she smiles back at me seeing that I have woken up too, that's just the best feeling. Then if she's in an extra generous mood, she'll plant some wet kisses on my face. She's the one sure thing I look forward to getting up in the morning.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Mummy's girl

I am still losing sleep over Salma not being well. She wakes up more often in the middle of the night now to suckle, and I think it’s more for comfort than out of hunger. She is really starting to be a mummy’s girl. Some time last week I visited my ex-schoolmate, who just delivered a beautiful baby boy. Her first child is a girl, who is now 4 years old. And she, too, is a mummy’s girl. My friend said it’s okay for your kid to be a mummy’s girl (as opposed to daddy’s girl). I used to feel slightly embarrassed that my daughter is super attached to me. But now I’m starting to get used to it. I feel happy now that she’s comforted by me, and it’s so nice how she falls asleep so fast and so comfortably in my lap.

And thank you so much, Rimau Manja for saying that it’s okay to cuddle your babies. I still get hurt or annoyed by people who say that I’m manja-ring my daughter too much. I don’t think cuddling counts as manja-ring. Spoiling your kids is like when you buy them things they don’t need, or over-feeding them, or doing their homework for them all the time. But I think giving lots of hugs and kisses is healthy. And she loves my hugs and kisses. She knows how to clap her hands now, so she will smile and clap her hands when I come to pick her up from school.

Sometimes it's hard though, because ever since she got sick, she won’t let me put her down when she’s asleep. She’ll wake up straight away when I put her down and she’ll start to cry. So even bathroom breaks are tricky for me. She still gets a fever on and off. And sometimes she’ll nurse for more than an hour straight. And I’m not sure if she’s drinking or sleeping.

I really hope she gets better soon, and that she will start to gain more confidence playing on her own if I’m not in the room.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Hospitalized

Two weekends ago Salma was hospitalized for high fever. We were about to leave the house to embark on a 3 hour trip to attend my friend's wedding when she started shivering in an alarming way, so I told my husband, "We're not going." It was a public holiday, and we went to the emergency room of SJMC (now SDMC) to get a diagnosis. Curiously enough, most of the patients in the emergency room that day were children! Her fever registered at 38.4, so she was admitted and put on a drip. They did a chest x-ray, did blood test and a urine test. She had an infection. So I ended up staying in the hospital with her for 2 nights.

I have not had a good night's sleep since that day until now! I had this one week long intense training straight after her hospitalisation. And since the hospitalization she has been very clingy at night when she sleeps, and does not allow me to move around. It's been very tiring to say the least.

She has a follow-up appointment tomorrow. Just hope that all tests show that she has recovered. She's been on anti-biotics ever since. And they've also put her on Pro-biotics to replenish the good bacteria in her system. Just hope that she's doing okay. Now with the heat, I really hope she's getting enough liquids in school. Wrote her teachers a letter outlining how they should change her diaper regularly and keep giving her milk, juice or water. Just hope this is enough. I don't know how to stop worrying.