Lisa is back!

After what seems like forever, this mama is back on the block..I mean blog!
I don't know where to start. So many things happened over the last 3 months! Let me try to condense all happenings in a meaningful way.

1. Lisa's progress

Our lil' Lisa is not so little anymore (as you can see from her pics). She is starting to look like a cheeky little girl already. We have trialled her on infantcare for the first 3 months and were (or rather I WAS) pretty apprehensive of placing her there. However, infantcare was good. My worries were unfounded. The teachers provided Lisa with lots of care and attention and they daily schedule of feeding, sleeping and activities was good for the baby. I have actually picked up a lot of tricks from them, such as placing lots of mobiles at home for Lisa to look at and touch, letting her roll over on the floor mat, putting her on a sleep-feed-play routine. It is very helpful for first-time blur parent like me. Discussing Lisa's habits and finding solutions to some problems with the teachers also gave me more confidence -after all these teachers have been taking care of infants for years and see the full spectrum of babies.

Lisa also thrived on all the attention the teachers gave her, being the smallest babe there. She enjoyed the stimulating environment and of course the company of other laughing, wailing and screaming babies. I suppose there was a support group for her...haha!

From infantcare to home...

After about 2 months of infantcare, we received 2 reports of HFMD in the toddler section. My parents whisked her home immediately (I was at work then) as she was only 4 months old- very risky. We ended up keeping her at home for 2 weeks as she had a progressive cough that started to get phlegmy and we needed to send her for vaccination. After that episode, the infantcare centre was given an all-clear and we sent her back. We reckoned that it was quite costly for us and also worrisome everytime such an episode happened. At the back of my mind, there was a nagging worry that she may catch something that will be life-threatening. Also, the travel for Simon was very draining for him. He had to drive baby and me from Serangoon to Buona Vista every morning, then pick us up in the evening. His office is in Yishun. The 2 weeks that Lisa spent at my dad's place under the care of his domestic helper gave us a glimpse of an alternative.

Her last day there was on 28 Aug. The teacher-in-charge of her was very sad.
I was half-wondering if I made the right decision those last few days at infantcare. I really liked the place and the teachers....maybe when she turns two, I'll send her back.

Lisa is starting on semi-solids. We started off with iron-fortified rice cereal. The teachers in infantcare said she could take up to 4 teaspoonful but I was unsuccessful at home.

She has also reached one of the milestones - rolling over. The first day she was successful, she kept on repeating the action. We left her in her cot for a while and the next thing we knew, she had already rolled over. Guess she cannot be left alone anymore, especially on the diaper changing table.

2. A domestic helper

We finally succumbed to the tire and frustration of having to do housework on our only rest days- the weekends. Simon, who has been a "no-maid-in-our-household" protagonist also gave in finally. I guess the first 3 months of sending Lisa to and fro from infantcare was kinda wearing down his last walls of defensiveness against the idea of a domestic helper. The fact that getting a helper was much cheaper than infantcare and a part-time help added together made this option really attractive.

Besides, we reckoned that Lisa would start crawling around very soon and putting everything within reach in her mouth. We would not want to speculate on what would end up in her mouth if we continued with our current compromised state of housekeeping.

Michel has only been with us for 3 days, and I could already see dramatic improvements to our lifestyles. We could rent DVDs to enjoy, I could get more sleep, and I can now sit here typing out my blog. Who knows if this blogger will fade into oblivion if not for the fact that Michel has freed up some of my time to pursue my own interests.

I suppose some people frown upon helpers being treated like slaves and becoming the surrogate parents of the child. Haven't we seen maids lugging shopping bags and carrying the baby a few steps behind the employers who are complacently enjoying their day out?

We have to draw a line somewhere and make it clear that parenting is our responsibility. So Simon and myself still wake up in the middle of the night to change Lisa's diapers and feed her milk. Lisa has moved to our room to sleep with us too. As long as we are at home, Lisa is our primary responsibility, not the domestic helper's. After all, in the Bible, the Proverbs 31 wife also had to take care of her domestic helpers, didn't she?

3. Transition back to work for mummy

In the days of confinement and adjusting to so many new factors in my life, I could not imagine going back to work. What with pumping breast-milk and all, the sleep-deprivation, the constant worry about the baby...

Many mummies have asked me to consider being a full-time mum. I think the 2 months of confinement has convinced me that staying at home is not for me. I was just becoming a dishevelled aunty who only knows when is the next feeding time for baby and the programme for the day on Channel 8. The deadly earthquake in China and floods in Myanmar seemed so distant and irrelevant, like images viewed on the cold TV screen as compared to the real-time needs and cries of the baby.

Fortunately, my work place is pretty supportive of moms and there was even a cosy lactation room whuch I could look forward to using. My boss and colleagues were also an understanding and supportive bunch, some having gone through this phase recently as well.

Recently, I found that pumping time was a rest-time for my mind. It was a good half-hour break from the daily grind and endless readings and emails. Even though these half-hour breaks set me back quite a bit in the accomplishment of daily work, I still cherish them.

4. Church and ministry

I do really feel out of sync when I go visit Sunday School. Think I should be getting back on track soon- and the worshipteam needs help too!