The first week of a SAHM

Mommy was looking forward to the day when she could be a SAHM. It finally came on 22 April 2010. But no one would have expected how the first 5 days as a SAHM turned out for her.



Deborah developed rashes on Wed, 21 April 2010. It's the same kind of rashes mommy used to have when she was younger, which makes us suspect it could be hereditary. It was really agonising for Deborah to be scratching all over her body, and even more agonising for daddy and mommy to watch her itch. We dare say that there's one thing all parents hate to see --- i.e. to see our children suffer or fall ill, because it just makes us feel so helpless. There is nothing we could do to lessen their pain or discomfort, except to apply cream and feed them with loathesome medication (sometimes having to force it down their mouths), just hoping and praying that they will get well soon. It's like waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel. You won't know how heart-wrenching it is unless you've been a parent yourself.



The rashes subsided by Saturday. However, Deborah developed fever by the afternoon. The highest temperature recorded was 39.8 degrees C. The fever did not subside until Monday. In fact, on Sunday, the rashes came back in full force all over her body and she was itching again. All of us who saw it felt so painful in our hearts to see her suffering. She also started to refuse food and milk complaining of pain in the mouth.



On Sunday evening, we decided to bring her to the doctor. It gets really difficult to have your children fall ill on weekends, cos you can hardly find a paediatrician open on sundays. I found a directory with 24 hours GP clinics and hand picked one in Tampines St 21. The doctor at the clinic was an old man. Unfortunately, he didn't really showed any sincere concern over Deborah's condition other than telling us to give her a bath. We were upset and decided to pay just for the consultation charges and sought help at another clinic. Unfortunately, the 2nd clinic had a long queue, and Deborah was running a temperature of 39 degrees C. We were told that there were 7 patients before us but waited and realised there were more than 7. By the time , it was 8.30pm and mommy had to be home to feed David. So we left in anger because the nurse gave us the wrong information and made us waited for the last 30 minutes in vain.



Against all odds, we decided to resort to giving Deborah a bath to bring down her temperature coupled with a stronger medication. Much to our surprise, her fever subsided within hours. The next morning, we went back to our usual paediatrician. By then, Deborah rashes has also subsided, except for the sore throat.



Mommy hardly slept over the weekend. It was not the way we had expected to be.



Nonetheless, the important thing is that Deborah and David are both well. Praise the Lord.

The Zacchaeus song

Since Mommy read the Bible story of Zacchaeus to Deborah this week, she is now learning to sing this sunday school song:

"Now Zacchaeus was a wee little man

And a wee little man was he

He climbed up to the sycamore tree

for the Lord He wanted to see

And when the Savior passed that way

He looked up to the tree,

and He said,"Zacchaeus, you come down,

For I'm coming to your house today

For I'm coming to your house today."

Seeing God

Exodus 24:8-11 --- "Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank. "

The passage above tells us that 74 people saw God with their eyes all at the same time. God did not raise His hands against them.

According to scriptures, wretched beings like us will die when we see God. (Judges 13:22).

God showed His mercy, thru the "blood of the covenant" Moses had sprinkled on them symbolizing cleansing.

Today, thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ, His blood has paid it all. We can have access to God too through Jesus Christ who shed all His blood for our salvation and royalty.

The other important criteria to fulfill before we can get to see God is to live a holy and blameless life --- "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)

"May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,
Selah" (Psalm 67:1)

Looking Back into the Past Year

Today is David's first birthday. Exactly one year ago at this time (10.10a.m.), mommy was on the way to the gynaecologist. Having saw red the night before, mommy called the gynae just before bedtime and was told to go the the clinic the next morning for a check. Mommy had a hunch that this is it because she could no longer continue to have David in the womb. It was getting too exhuasting and little David needed to come out ASAP.

The gynae gave mommy a choice whether to admit to the hospital immediately or go home for a rest and be admitted in the evening. Dad & Mom chose the 2nd option. We went home but it was too much to expect so we couldn't get into much sleep. Mommy had a nice warm bath, then kissed Deb goodbye (who would not be sleeping with mom for the first time in her life). By 7pm, we arrived at the hospital. Every moment still plays vividly in mom's mind till now.

The dilation was slow. Dad & Mom were singing praises to God while waiting for the moment. Mom was smiling and everything was still quite in control until past 9pm when the gynae came and broke the water bag with a long thin stick. The contractions became more intense but still tolerable. Mom had resolved to give birth to David naturally without any epidural, unlike the first experience. When the cervix dilated to 8cm, the contractions was at its peak... by then it was too late for any form of painkiller and there was no turning back. It was a great relieved when Mommy gave the final 3 pushes and David was out at 10.55pm. That split second relief was indescribable!

David came out looking dark and skinny and crying away, weighing 3.0kg and 48 cm in length. Unlike Deborah who was fair, chubby and quiet. Deborah was 3.4kg and 50 cm in length.

David at birth (13 April 2009) Deborah at birth (18 Aug 2007)

It's amazing to see how a helpless little baby can grow to become a toddler bursting with unceasing energy in a matter of 12 months. Researchers say that the growth rate of a baby is at its maximum in the first 6 months of the baby's life. We cannot but agree more with it.

Though David is our 2nd child, and you may think it is nothing new to see him do the same things his sister did... yet it still makes us chuckle, laugh and feel proud to see David's achievements - from sitting to crawling, and now learning to stand, squat and cruise. Every new thing he learns and every obstacle he overcomes are proud moments for the adults at home.



It has been a wonderful year. A friend of ours likes to say - Parenting brings the highest sense of fulfilment compared to all other vocations because you get to see your achievements everyday. How true.

Deborah, the Little Adult

Lately, Deborah has caught on the way the adults at home are communicating with each other using "okay" and "aw" (which means 'okay'). It's really amusing to notice how she imitates even the slightest thing we say. Here's what happened this morning...

As with all weekday mornings, mommy would tell little Deborah before leaving the house for the office, "Bye, Mommy's going to work". For the first time today, Deborah did not behave the usual way where she would be guarding at the door or insist that she followed mommy downstairs. Today, she just responded as-a-matter-of-factly with an "okay". Perhaps it was because she was busy getting into the bathroom to accompany her younger brother who was having a bath when mommy was leaving. But at that moment, mommy felt strange to receive such a response. It seemed as if she no longer has separation anxiety. Her response was with some confidence that she knew mommy would be back home in the late afternoon. It was like a response of a 8 year old girl (Deborah's not even 3).

Sometimes, when Deborah was given an instruction, she would be able to recognise that it was a command and she will respond with "aw" immediately. We get amused because we wonder whether she really understood the command. And as it turned out, she did what she was told. Aha!

It's really amazing to discover how much these little ones actually understand. Deborah may not know everything we adults do, but she is surely getting the hang of things.