Father's Day

Today is my first Father's day. The baby is a day short of 4 weeks old today. Being a father is quite different from being a mother, of course. There was nothing much the father could do about parenting until the baby was born. And then it's the list of chores that everyone warned me about; sleepless nights, changing diapers, burping baby, running errands, etc... Still, this is nothing compared to what the mother has to do! Lin is breastfeeding and that means answering to the baby's call every 2 to 3 hours, round the clock, and catching what sleep she can in between. Thankfully, we have the help of Lin's mum and aunt. Otherwise, it was learn as we go along. It's like a never-ending getting-to-know you session. How to hold, soothe, talk, anticipate, understand the baby's needs. Because a baby does communicate. He frowns, for example, before he cries. And when he does cry there is always a reason; wet diaper, hunger, wants to be cuddled, hunger, and so on. About 20% of babies are what is known as colicky; they cry for no reason, usually starting from about the 3rd week. So far we have been spared this condition. It's just as well that I'm in the middle of a holiday now. It can get very exhausting.

But these are all secondary, really. These are things that one does. When I do these things, I do not think, oh, this is rewarding, exhilarating, frustrating, etc, the kind of things most baby books talk about. I don't think, hey, I'm missing out on my social life, the movies, etc. Nope, that's not much on my mind these days. Venny asked me what's the experience like. Well, so far, I've used the word baby, and that's misleading. That's so far as all the chores are concerned. But the real experience, deep inside, is the feeling, the still-sinking-in notion, the certainty, that this is my son. I can find babies everywhere. But I only have one son. For him, I can practically endure anything. He was 49cm in length when he was born. He's now 55.5cm. And he's now shredding his baby hair. However imperceptibly, it's a joy watching him grow. And that is just about all there is to it... umm, aside from the burping, sleepness nights, changing diapers, etc...

Chup