Stay-home mommy jitters

As the day approaches and the finality of my decision becomes more apparent (they've found my replacement at work), I'm getting a wee bit nervous. I can't quite put a finger to what it is that I'm apprehensive about - finances, losing a part of my identity, just change in general, having a whole lot of time but little discipline to put it all to good use - I don't really know.

A million ideas (alright, maybe nine) are bubbling in my head about what to do with all that free time but something also tells me I'm really not going to have much free time between diaper changes, playtime, and more playtime. I'm also planning to take on some freelance assignments (who can argue with extra pocket money right?) Will that all be too much for me? I hope not.

Reserves Low

So it seems my nursing days might be coming to an early end. My stash of frozen reserves are at a critical low. What used to occupy two freezer shelves has whittled to a dismal dozen of two-ounce bottles, and there's nothing I can do about it. I'm hoping to hold out till next Friday when I officially become a stay-home mom and hopefully resume a regular nursing schedule. :) If not, we've backup cans of baby formula, courtesy of the hospital and baby formula companies.

This week, we also bid farewell to Kayla's babysitter who's returning to North Carolina. I know Kayla's going to miss little Jonah. I hear they spend afternoons babbling with each other and that she gets upset when Jonah decides he's had enough and gets up to run away. I just hope she wouldn't miss him too much - her babysitter gave us Jonah's old swing and a couple of other toys, so maybe those will help.

Teething Trouble

I said it too soon. There actually isn't much to smile about when a baby is getting her first pair of teeth. It got so bad today ("it" being the incessant crying and "I'm in pain" scream) that I caved in, giving her two teeny teething tablets. Folks who know me know I abhor taking pills or medication of any sort or form. I'd choose a sleepless sniffling night over popping sleep-inducing Tylenol. Let's just say I believe strongly in the body's ability to heal itself, so giving her tablets is really quite difficult for me. And I'm not even sure it worked. She still woke up screaming at 1am.

From the looks of it, the next couple of months aren't going to be much fun, not when more choppers will emerge from her candy pink gums. Can someone tell me how many teeth a baby's supposed to have?

Something to Smile About

For a while, I thought it wasn't going to happen till she turned one. But she started drooling like crazy this weekend and when I looked, I saw tiny white ridges on the roof of her gums. Hoooray!From all the teething literature I've perused, it's supposed to be a pretty traumatic experience, both for baby and the parents - sudden spurts of crying, fussiness, loss of appetite, little or no sleep. Surprisingly, Kayla's taking her swollen gums very well. We haven't had to do much besides giving her a chilled teething toy. She's not crying or fussing too much; she's been miracle-baby good (fingers crossed, of course).

Even more exciting: She started to crawl, okay, maybe wriggling about like a caterpillar doesn't qualify but hey, she's trying. She does it only on our bed (the rug's too rough, I think) and only in reverse mode (backwards only). Guess who's going to be chasing her around pretty soon.

Baby Lapsit

Call it a rare treat. I actually got the day-off last Thursday and decided to make the most of it by taking Kayla to storytime at the library. I thought a change of environment might be good for her but mostly, it was to satisfy my curiosity of how she'd react in a herd of babies.

She couldn't care less; not in a bad way, more like she's "one of those kids doing her own thing." She was happier tugging at the zipper on the diaper bag, paying little, if any, attention at all to the jumbo storybook (i never knew they come this big!) or the over 30 babies that filled the room in a matter of minutes.

It was kinda like testing mommy waters with my toes. Still am not completely comfortable with taking the plunge and maybe I'm not supposed to be. Embracing change is never easy.

Divine Intervention

Coincidence or meant-to-be? Just when I was trying to figure out the best way to break the news to our babysitter, she surprised me first. She's decided to move back to North Carolina in - guess what - August so Jonah, her son and Kayla's first official baby friend, can be closer to grandma. Talk about perfect timing, I don't think it could get very much better than this.

If I hadn't decided to leave my job, we would have to go through the trouble and stress of finding another babysitter, and then undergo another period of readjustment. I'm not sure how Kayla would react to a new babysitter at this point but surely it's unnecessary stress for her.

Alright, she's bawling her eyeballs out. Daddy Hong is trying to get Baby Hong to bed without success. Here comes Mommy Hong to the rescue!