When my first child came about, my life changed rather significantly.
One of the required readings I started upon as a new parent was to devour as
much and prepare as much as I could for life’s new phase of
motherhood…
that for the past 30 years of my life, I had simply been a beneficiary of.
Now, I was to be a provider.
Lord have mercy.
I began my quest for knowledge inhaling in all kinds of popular parenting
series e.g. the two series of the documentary, ‘Babies’, on Netflix, entire
episodes of ‘How to Raise a Super Baby‘ on Channel News Asia and many more
tombs of contemporary parenting wisdom, including one rather humourous,
albeit self-deprecatingly so, novel on inter-culture parenting styles between
the Americans, British and the French.
As far as I could tell, none of it could
hold a candle to Amy Chua’s ‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’, a must-read for
all Asian parents, young and old, just so they could nod their heads and smile at
the hidden truths and glorified hardships of being a tough-love, Chinese Mum.
(on that note, I’m rather thankful mine was more of a kitten, thanks Mum<3)
These days, the literature I pore over seems rather different.
Now that a greater sense of practicality and reality has set in (both hubs and I
have been working full-time ever since my maternity leave ended and Covid-19
has upended the meaning of ‘normal’ and ‘playdates’ for the past two years) –
the preparation for Baby 2 (and as I think of it: Round 2!) has taken a slightly
different turn.
Definitely, an opportunity to do better and having the gift of experience, to
prioritize specific matters a little more. (Definitely a wiser shopper now)
Even as greater nausea and fatigue sets in this
preggy round (hubs marveled at my 10 hours’ of sleep yesterday), and today’s
episode of hurling (despite morning sickness pills) in the train station certainly
takes the cake within the realm of ‘When I was pregnant with you’ stories.
As I settle down on my bed to watch the docu-series: ‘The Family Affair‘ on
Channel News Asia, it is with the growing realisation that life, again, as I know
it, is about to change again – forevermore.
Live long and prosper,
Lynn
LYNN HAN 