Just a MOM???

A woman, renewing her driver's license at the County Clerk's office,
was asked by the woman recorder to state her occupation.
She hesitated, uncertain how to classify herself.
"What I mean is, " explained the recorder,
"do you have a job or are you just a ...?"
"Of course I have a job," snapped the woman.
"I'm a Mom."
"We don't list 'Mom' as an occupation,
'housewife' covers it,"
Said the recorder emphatically.
I forgot all about her story until one day I found myself
in the same situation, this time at our own Town Hall.
The Clerk was obviously a career woman, poised,
efficient, and possessed of a high sounding title like,
"Official Interrogator" or "Town Registrar."
"What is your occupation?" she probed..
What made me say it? I do not know.
The words simply popped out..
"I'm a Research Associate in the field of
Child Development and Human Relations."
The clerk paused, ball-point pen frozen in mid air and
looked up as though she had not heard right.
I repeated the title slowly emphasizing the most significant words.
Then I stared with wonder as my pronouncement was written,
in bold, black ink on the official questionnaire.
"Might I ask," said the clerk with new interest,
"just what you do in your field?"
Coolly, without any trace of fluster in my voice,
I heard myself reply,
"I have a continuing program of research,
(which mother doesn't?)
In the laboratory and in the field,
(normally I would have said indoors and out).
I'm working for my Masters, (first the Lord and then the whole family)
and already have four credits (all daughters).
Of course, the job is one of the most demanding in the human ties,
(any mother care to disagree?)
and I often work 14 hours a day, (24 is more like it).
But the job is more challenging than most run-of-the-mill careers
and the rewards are more of a satisfaction rather than just money."
There was an increasing note of respect in the clerk's voice as she
completed the form, stood up, and personally ushered me to the door.
As I drove into our driveway, buoyed up by my glamorous new career,
I was greeted by my lab assistants -- ages 13, 7, and 3.
Upstairs I could hear our new experimental model,
(a 6 month old baby) in the child development program,
testing out a new vocal pattern.
I felt I had scored a beat on bureaucracy!
And I had gone on the official records as someone more
distinguished and indispensable to mankind than "just another Mom."
Motherhood!
What a glorious career!
Especially when there's a title on the door.
Does this make grandmothers
"Senior Research Scientists in the field of Child Development and Human
Relations"
And great grandmothers
"Executive Senior Research Scientists?"
I think so!!!
I also think it makes Aunts
"Associate Research Assistants."

Swimming Under A Rainbow

Asher went for his first baby party, and it was a swim party at that! Emma was the lovely host, and she had several friends over for the event. It was going to be Asher's first time swimming, and I was curious how he'd take to it. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that he took to it really well! :) In fact, all the lil tots took to it well, even though there was a cool breeze blowing and the water was initially freezing!! It was us adults who were more affected by the cold than the little babies! Baby fat? ;p

There were plenty of things to catch their attention. The pool had a little waterfall in one corner, a jacuzzi in another, and God even gave us the wonderful bonus of a beautiful rainbow!!

Anyway, it's certainly something we should bring Asher to do more often, cos....I want to swim too! It was my first time back in the pool since delivering! So, Emma, more pool parties yeah!


Before the swim, all decked out in his swim gear











Checking out the tiles









The lot of us










Family photo! :)









Mingling after the swim

Infantcare

Some pictures from infantcare sent to me by the teachers via email. My computer at home is still not repaired, so I can only update pictures sent to me by other people :)

Asher's still enjoying 'school', and for some (welcome) reason, he eats and sleeps better in school than at home! Several people have told me that it could be peer pressure (does it start that young?). Seeing other babies eating and sleeping could possibly prompt him to do likewise.

Anyway, whatever the case, I'm happy!

All sorts of things to play with:

































Exploring his own reflection :)









One of many new friends









Happy during diaper changes









Getting ready for his meal











zzzzZZZZZ

Just Great! And just great...

There have been many changes and transitions lately, the main one being that Asher has started infantcare! And honestly, it's not as bad as I thought it was going to be. He loves it! There are many new friends to play with, teachers to manja him, and many many MANY new toys surrounding him. It makes me happy to see that he is so happy :) It was a fairly smooth transition. The first day I stayed with him for 3 hours, the second day as well. The third day he was on his own for 3 hours, and I came back pleasantly surprised to see he was having a swell time. So over the course of the last 2 weeks, I've slowly extended the time he spends there until now he can go an entire day there.

The teachers are very good with him. They handle him very well, and to my great surprise he even allowed them to feed him solids AND MILK without fuss! :) I was so happy! I will be more at ease going back to work knowing he's well taken care of.

So that's been going great!

What have I been doing while Asher's at school? Going for dates with Jon! :O) We've been meeting for lunch almost everyday since Asher's first independent day at school :) When I return to work we won't get to meet for lunch anymore...so this is a rare opportunity to enjoy each others company over lunch, just the two of us :)

So that's been great!

Then the thing that has been just great - my computer has died!!!!!! Boo hoo hoo. So I'm actually sending this little update from my Mum's house. I haven't had time to choose and print Asher's photos (and the London photos, and the previous backpacking photos....) all this while, and I had planned that when Asher went to school I'll start selecting photos. I also haven't blogged for such a long time, as you would have realised by seeing the date of the last entry, and was going to do so when Asher was at school as well. And then...the computer wouldn't start!! Grreeat! I don't know what's wrong with it...I just hope that all the photos are still there! I have backed-up most of the photos I've taken, but not all. So I'm hoping it's just a problem starting up, and that the data is all intact!

So...in the meantime, I don't think I'll be able to update my blog for a long time again. This feels like the time when I was in London and the internet didn't work. Grumble grumble..

Well, my lack of leisure is going to be compounded by the fact that I'm starting work this Wednesday!!! It's kind of a mix of eagerness and reluctance...

But I'll see how it goes...

Till my computer works...tata!

On His Own Two Feet

I just think this is such a "growing-up" moment...he's able to stand on his own now :) Even Jon said, "our little boy is growing up".

Of course there's a long long way more, but we'll just enjoy this moment for now :)


Looking at the cars outside

Some Reflections

It's late, and I should be sleeping. But it's one of those things, sleep or personal time. Op-cost. Some days I just decide to forgo some sleep and catch up on things like checking email and blogging. Not very material things at all, but it just gives me a sense of having personal time - something I really don't have a lot of. I'd love to have time to exercise, to go for dance, to watch a movie...but when I think of what I give up my personal time for, raising Asher, it's really worth the sacrifice.

Time is flying. My maternity leave had ended late March and I had applied for three months unpaid leave to take care of Asher. There's no one else to care for him, and I really didn't want to put him in infantcare too early. But these three months feel so short! My leave is evaporating really quickly, and 1st July (my back to work date) is fast approaching!

This period has been, and while it lasts will still be, such a precious, precious time for me. I'll never get to devote so much time to Asher again, and the thought of the spending so much time away from Asher when I go back to work is something that saddens me. I guess I'll need weaning from him as much as he'll need weaning from me when he starts infantcare. Someone also shared that when her baby started infantcare, she felt that there was a distancing in her relationship with her baby, simply because her baby was learning to be more independent. I guess when you send your kid to infantcare, you'll have to deal with separation issues earlier. I do hope that even though Asher goes to infantcare, our bond will stay strong and intimate.

I'll also miss all the time spent breastfeeding. I haven't had the easiest of times with breastfeeding, and it's been a labour of love. There's been, and there still are, some difficulties with breastfeeding, but overall it's totally been worth the effort. I may not get much time on my own (if any) away from Asher, but I appreciate how I have to stop and take time every now and then to just be close to him, to pause, to reconnect. And especially now that he's more interactive and aware, I can joke with him as he feeds. I love how he'll unlatch every now and then to give me a huge smile and show off his gums, and he'll even add a laugh or chuckle, then latch on again to continue feeding, all the while looking into my eyes ;) He also likes explore my face with his hands as he nurses. It truly warms my heart to think that he really likes me and feels a close bond with me.

I'm not sure how long I can continue breastfeeding after I start work, but I hope to keep up at least the evening feed for as long as possible. I have to remind myself not to feel any guilt should it not be possible to breastfeed him any longer. I've already reached my goal of breastfeeding for at least 6 months. Anything more is really a bonus. I will remind myself not to feel guilt, and not to let people guilt me.

I've done my best, and I think so far, by God' grace, I've done a pretty decent job. But really, I always remind myself that doing my best is all I can do, and everything else is up to God. Afterall, I am only a steward of Asher. Asher, you belong to the Lord!

Outing w Del & Anya

Us cousins, and the little cousins(-twice-removed? I never really understood it...) had a chance to meet up for an outing at Raffles City. It's super convenient cos it's on the main east-west MRT line, which we both are on, and it's got a great nursing/changing room. Interestingly, the last time I was there with Del was when Anya was still happily swimming around in Del's tummy! Anyway, have taken a while to post this cos I wanted to kop pics hee hee. Didn't really use my camera that day :) Digital technology! Why should we all be snapping the same thing? :)

Anyway, we had lunch at Shokudo, sort of a Jap version of Marche. I had a yummy Unagi rice bowl, which had the added advantage of being easy to eat - all you need is a spoon. Why's that important? Cos I had to hold Asher with my other hand! The art of one-handed eating :) I must say I was thoroughly impressed with their service as well. The staff had seen that I was carrying Asher while ordering my dish, and so they served the dish to me instead of the usual process where I have to collect the food myself! The friendly man even offered to wash Anya's bottle!












We adjourned to Starbucks for coffee (I was super super sleepy that day) while Anya had her tea (of milk, not with milk), and Asher napped. It's been a looooooooooong time since I've had a cup of coffee from Starbucks, and I really enjoyed just chilling, chatting, soaking in the place (as well as the much-needed coffee). But the coffee fix didn't last long. In about an hour I was feeling sleepy again. I think my sleep deprivation out does the caffeine strength in their cappuccino.

Anyway, yet another reason why Raffles City is a great place to bring Baby. You can leave your stroller at their information counter! We wanted to check out the Robinsons sale, but Del didn't want to have to push the stroller through the crowd. Since Raffles City offers strollers for customers to use (something I didn't know until that day), we thought we'd try to do things the other way around - leave Anya's stroller there. Fabulous! It was really a lot easier to sling the kiddos in Robinsons cos the aisles were narrow, and there were quite a few people around.

I got Asher a toy 'popper' car (it has beads inside that pop around when the car moves) for his 6 month gift. So, Asher, you can never say Mummy didn't buy you a car okay! :)

Anyway, it was great to see the cousins reach out to each other, and it'll only get more interesting as they both develop and become more interactive. Hopefully they won't use their new-found skills to bash each other on the head.


Asher and Anya saying hello after lunch! Is that a smile Anya? :O)







Watching Anya in action :)