A Bonding

From what I remember, building a bond with Baby Jayne is a lot  easier than with Baby Joey 3 years ago.

When Baby Joey was born, I was a first-time mum, knew nuts about taking care of kids, was slightly traumatised & upset by the fact that I couldn’t deliver her naturally & had to go for an emergency C-section at midnight after trying for more than 15 futile hours. I was emotionally drained, physically and financially stressed out. Bonding with my baby was not something easy for me to do then.

Coupled with the fact that my mum-in-law primarily took care of Baby Joey, so that i could recuperate and rest, I admit that I felt depressed many, many times because I could feel that Baby Joey preferred my mum-in-law over me anytime. I remember those times when I could not pacify Baby Joey from her loud wailings no matter what I did, and how she would stop crying immediately when my mum-in-law took over. My self-esteem and confidence as a new mother completely crashed to rock bottom for a period of time.

Now with Baby Jayne, I am an experienced mum, and a whole lot more confident than the first time round obviously, so I was the main caregiver to her. My mum-in-law takes care of Joey so that I can concentrate on caring for Jayne. The bonding with Baby Jayne came very naturally and a lot easier.

It is flattering to know that Baby Jayne can recognise me her mum (okay, maybe she doesn’t know the idea of mum yet, but she knows I am someone important ok??!), and she prefers me over anyone else. (Papa Isaiah, don’t be jealous. ha!) You should see the way she looks at me now. It’s like I am the MOST BEAUTIFUL creature on this earth (which is true).

Because of Baby Jayne’s fussy milk-drinking problem now, my mum-in-law has tried feeding her a few times but gave up after she wouldn’t stop crying and had to pass back to me to feed her the ‘Jayne’ way [Defn: A way of feeding Jayne so that she would not cry].

Seriously, I felt victorious! Hey, my baby prefers ME! Me, Me, Me and nobody else!~ *hops around madly happy*

You see now why I say mums go through emotional roller-coasters all the time? One moment, I’m feeling guilty, another moment I’m feeling proud, and now I’m feeling madly happy.

That’s motherhood for you. :)