Unconditional Love

My papa always tells me…"you will only understand the magnitude of love that parents have for their children when you become a parent one day". As a mother now, I understand and feel the unconditional love for my son. I fell in love with Ian at first sight, so vulnerable and adorable, and completely dependent on me. (dad's side note: at background eating vinegar...)

It did not matter how much he cried during the first 2 months due to gas problems, and how tired I was to stay up for hours in the middle of the night to comfort him, it was all worth it. The smell of his poop is pretty adult-like these days but I am fearless when I have to clean his soiled bottom (dad's side note: I agree I am more chicken shit...).

We took Ian to swim for the first time 2 weeks ago. As much as I dislike getting a tan, I found myself using my body to block the sun from shinning on Ian’s delicate skin. Every new move he makes and every new thing he learns makes me so happy and proud of him.

My love for Ian makes me comprehend this unconditional love, and appreciate people around me that loves me. It makes me realize how much God loves us.

Ian understands a few words now – kiss-kiss, no-no, among the few. He shows affection to things that he likes by giving them a kiss. He kisses the frog on the book because he finds the frog cute. He kisses the babies in the book, not all babies, only those that he likes. Last Saturday, Ian woke up before I did. He crawled over to me and gave me a kiss. Hmm…that made my day and I was so touched (dad's side note: I also got kissed...heh heh).

I always tell my hubby about how cute and how smart he is, then I find myself asking this question, “is it just me or is he really so cute and smart?” :)

(dad's side note: because Ian looks like me...)

Wean, wine and dine

It was a difficult start and it was pretty inconvenient. Pretty soon, I became a pro and it became easy and convenient. I loved this special relationship with Ian.

We took Ian to see an allergist 2 weeks ago and found out that he is allergic to milk, eggs and peanuts. Since it is very difficult (not impossible) to have a milk-free diet, I decided to wean Ian at 9 months. Thank God that I was able to go 9 months.

Weaning Ian brought me some sad and unexplainable feelings. I am sure some of those feelings were caused by changing hormone levels. During those last few times, I remembered looking deeply into Ian’s innocent eyes and he would study mine. He would clutch his hands on my clothes, I did not want him to let go.

Sometimes, he would play with my hair. Sometimes, he wouldl try to reach for something further away with his stubby feet and toes. I knew I was going to miss nursing him.

Then the battle with Ian started. He refused to drink any formula for 2 days.

After that, he started accepting formula a little bit better each day.

On the bright side, I feel liberated with my diet. I had been deprived of a strong cup of coffee for 18 months. Now, I can drink latte, drink as much wine as I want and have some cheese with it too. For the past 2 days, I have also been eating bread slapped with ½ in. of peanut butter. I don’t have to lug my pump to work everyday and don’t have to sneak out and disappear in the middle of a meeting for 15 minutes. Talk about some good planning! Nonetheless, I don’t have the luxury of eating as much as I want in quantity now because my body no longer burn that extra 500 calories per day.

Pom Pom Picture

In Malaysian Chinese baby language, bathing is called "Pom Pom".
Here are some of Ian's pom pom pictures...

To My Dearest: Happy Mama's Day

bb, can't believe that time flies so rapidly, more so since little Ian crashed into our world. We just "celebrated" our 4th anni at the cheese place where we had our 2nd date, and this coming Sunday will be your very first mama's day!

I am sure if Ian could express himself, he will tell you how much he loves you and how much he appreciates your sacrifices. He will throw at you all the hugs and kisses that little wriggly arms can afford.

I have seen so much amazing changes in you since you became a mother. From my "little princes", you have now grown into a mature, loving, caring mom. To be honest, I am not the best papa in the world, and I have yet a great deal to learn. At times I felt helpless and frustrated when I failed to calm the little crying machine, failed to put him to sleep, and failed to feed him without creating such as mess. Almost always, you were there at the right moment to my rescue. I was always so elated when you took over the impossible tasks, and I was always amazed when you were able to finish the job so effortlessly. You are a pro bb, a natural born mama!

Having read ah vid's latest entry lamenting a parent's job, it makes me appreciate even more all the sacrifices you have made for our child. All those sleepless nights putting the little red bull back to bed, all those night feeding and all those smelly diapers changing . And not forgetting you still have the full time day job facing the irritating vendors and irresponsible juniors while rushing for project deadline. I guess they were right to say that women has higher tolerance and perserverance than men. I can't imagine how I would survive if I were you. To me, you are the supermom, and superwife. Of course, I know deep down you are still my little pricess :)

I count my blessing everyday when I see Ian smiling happily in your cuddle, and I thank God for giving me the best gift a man could ever had.

To my dearest bb, happy mother's day.

Love,
dd

Grumpy Dad, Sleepy Dad

Taking care of the "jip pao bi" (literally, a bag of rice, in hokkien, since Ian weighs about a bag of rice now) is not easy. Try holding a bag of rice for hours in the day and night, in different positions, sometimes when you are half asleep. Carpal Tunnel is the lightest syndrome you are gonna have.
Anyway, the "jip pao bi" is growing everyday, and here's some nine months old pictures. Nine months old! That is almost the whole pregnancy period, we could have gotten another kid by now, if we were superhuman.
Soon, the "jip pao bi" will grow from the smaller premium pack to economy and later to jumbo pack. I hope our biceps and triceps will grow proportionally too.
Figure 1: the handsome, fearsome Ian "jip pao bi" Ong:
Figure 2: sleepy dad with panda eyes in background
Figure 3: grumpy dad scratching obese back in background
p/s: this is a response to my friend's ah vid ko's latest entry. Sorry for plagiarizing your title. Wait a minute, you took that from Mr. Kiyosaki you bugger...