With Axl turning ONE in a couple of days, I wish to say that we survived all on our own and nailed our 1st year of parenthood by ourselves… BUT that would be a such a lie!
My Mother in law, Mum and Dad are the reason why we remain sane these 12 months and Ken & I are just beyond grateful to them. While making plans to go back to work after my maternity, I constantly fretted over who would take care of my baby. The thought of leaving him in an infant care just broke my heart and I simply couldn’t! I’m also adamant about leaving him with a domestic helper too. I’ll probably be more open to these options when he starts speaking. That way, should anything go wrong or if he’s mistreated, he could at least try to tell us about it. I know, these paranoid mummy bear instincts goes on an overdrive… I totally blame the hormonal imbalance messing with my brain!
Plus, the thought of clocking a forty hour work week seemed so daunting and impossible. Many times, I wondered if I would be able to cope at all….
So a huge relief came when the super grandparents swooped in and volunteered to take care of Lil X. Suddenly, all my concerns just melted away… The peace that came with knowing Axl would be in good hands was so priceless!
So in view of the upcoming Mother’s Day, I’d really like to thank and honor my mothers. Sorry Dad, your turn next month! #yupmydadreadsmyblog
LIL X @ 4MONTHS
Here is my awesome Mother-In-Law… Even during the many years when we struggled to conceive, she had never once pressured me or made me feel inadequate in any way. I’ve heard of many pesky mother in law stories and know how annoying it can be. So I’m super thankful for her patience before Lil X finally came along!
She also inconvenienced herself and went out of her way to put up in our tiny home to do my confinement the WHOLE month of May after I had Axl. And thanks to her, I get to eat the tastiest confinement food ever. She also never stopped me from bathing and washing my hair! LOL… I know right!!
And now that Lil X is eating solids, she’ll always cook the yummiest and quality porridge for him. We are so so blessed by Mother and her love for Axl!
LIL X @ 10MONTHS
And say hello to my MUMMY! The first thing that many people comment is that I look a lot like my mum!! They’d often also comment on how fashionable she is. She is my inspiration for aging so gracefully… In fact, I’d be more than happy if I even look half as good as her at her age (ahem 50!!)
But beyond her good looks, she is perhaps better known for being the most kind heart-ed, maternal, fun loving and honest person ever. My cousins see her as their second mother and their ‘go to’ person if they ever need advises. She can talk to ANYBODY (not exaggerating) and is the one who’d go table to table in a banquet yumseng-ing with everyone cos she’s fun like that! It’s a private joke that none of us 4 sisters have even come close to mastering that skill!
Something that I’ve learnt though, is her openness to her children. She once asked us during an incident “Tell me, how I can improve in this situation…”. And it hit me – what a secure woman she is, to want to hear us out that way! And that is how I want to raise my children up…
When people remark in shock that we have to travel so far(Jurong and Hillview, while we stay in Paya Lebar) to drop Axl off at their place, it amuses us because it had never felt that way to us. We are often just more than thankful to have our loving parents to support us while we fight our battles.
And every time Lil X would come home with a new skill or milestone, I never think it’s coz my boy is so smart to learn these things on his own. But I know it’s through the quality attention they give to Axl. Their constant repetition of teaching and playing with him patiently while looking after him.
So, thank you Mother and Mummy for all that you’ve done for us! Love and appreciate you lots… HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!