My baby is 8! (month old I mean)

Baby YT is 8 month old! I would like to jot down his baby milestones before my scatterbrain forgets.

My baby’s 8th month milestone

When he was 7 mth, he had 7 teeth, 4 up and 3 down. He can clap his hands happily and non-stop with his new found achievement. Because he’s such a clever baby, XX uses this as a good reason for him to be rewarded with stacking blocks toy that I bought for him (which wasn’t really to reward him but simply I want to buy a new toy for him).

He is trying to use his stomach muscles to help him sit up, and is still trying hard.  I am sure in no time, he will master this skill.

He is eating rice cereal and baby biscuits already.  Even though he has 7 teeth, I have not given him other foods as I am still not confident he can handle more solids other than biscuits.

He is a healthy 9.16 kg right now.  His weight seems to be my pride.  Even though my breastmilk supply has halved, I am still persistent in feeding till the very last drop my breasts are willing to produce.  It’s tiring and slightly demoralizing, but I shall persevere.

He is getting better at sleeping at night.  Even though he still wakes up once or twice every night, he is able to fall asleep again without being pacified with breastmilk.  Hence, I still wake up every time he wakes up and I am still sleep deprived.  Other babies his age can sleep from 7am to 7pm.  I have to accept my baby’s biological clock and be patient.

His sister and brother are his daily entertainers.  They love to play with him, and surprisingly very patient with him.  Such is the sibling love that I admire and appreciate.  Just hope he doesn’t turn out to be a small tyrant when he is older.

My life at this moment

I am currently on a 3 weeks break from work.  As I am quite tired out by the day demands of work and back to home with lots of house chores to do and demands of child-rearing, add in some serious sleep deprivation, I am a little off-balance right now.  My stress levels had made my health deteriorate and the doctor suggests that I take a good rest and meanwhile work out some adjustments in the family.

I am not sure what kind of adjustments to be done.  However, I had employed a part-time cleaner once a week to help tidy up the house for the health sake of my children as well as making me feel better that I am stepping on cleaner floors and breathing in less dusty air.

Taking a break like that somewhat saddens me as it seems that I am not capable of handling my household, child-rearing and my life.  Being a perfectionist, this may be understandable, yet I still feel I fail at some point.  Maybe the first thing I should do, is to change my mindset.  It’s easier said than done.  I need to relax and find my balance back for the sake of my health and my family.  I cannot afford to collapse.  My kids need me, my family needs me, I need to be healthy.

For these 3 weeks, I will rest as much as possible.  That includes replenishing my long deprived sleep, doing minimal house chores and learning to do nothing.  I will spend more time with my baby and kids when they are back from school.  I will take walks with the baby in my neighbourhood.  I will relax and read my books over a cuppa at a cafe.  I will go for spa to pamper myself.  I will write my blogs which I enjoy greatly and in itself a stress reliever.  I will go for a swim or go for a jog to revive my spirit and energy.  I will think positively (Yes, I am still learning and reminding myself to think positively, just like my blog says “Positive thinking – the way to remain sane“).  I will go throng the malls and shop to my heart’s content.

I will… just sit and do nothing…

Have you ever being off balance?