Emma at two months

We just hit the two month mark in Emma's new life...and it has been a ride. All the memories of looking after a newborn came flooding back after a dry spell of 6.5 years! We were humbly reminded that a baby's only way of communicating is by crying and boy does Emma love communicating! It's been a tough two months...you know people say that when one child is difficult to bring up, the second one is usually easier and vice versa...well, people are WRONG! We thought we'd be spared and Emma would be an easier babe to handle just because we remembered Meg to be a rather fussy baby, hardly sleeping and crying a lot of the time. Emma, however, wins hands down! Based on the first two months alone, it's been very trying having to bear and deal with Em's incessant crying. Whether it's due to colic, or hunger or her inability to go to sleep without wailing for more than an hour, this little babe has jolted us back to earth, showing us that bringing up baby is really no walk in the park. Some have it easier, with a baby who just eats and sleeps, suckles well, and the mums have abundant breastmilk. I hope these mothers realise that they're the lucky ones. For others like myself - who thought that Em might be an easier baby to take care of... after all, she did was sleep almost all of the time during her first few days of life. However, by the second week, Emma's high pitched, ear-piercing, blasting cries indicated that things weren't going to be easy. One way to stop her cries almost immediately is to 'chuck' her to the breast or bottle feed her but this has led to her forming a bad habit of needing to suckle or suck on something before she goes to sleep. We have decided not to give her the pacifier (for as long as we can hold out) so she's ended up sucking on her mittens. Count yourself 'lucky', if you accidentally brush your nose against those tiny little gloves full of new baby saliva! Trust me, new or not, they smell the same!
Looking back on the past two months, something that has crossed my mind is that the government's cash incentive of a 'baby bonus' is really not the way to go. Money should never be the carrot dangled in front of couples to have more children, especially if they can't afford it and are doing it 'just for the money'. For $4000 (and a dollar for dollar match up to $6000), couples will soon realise that it's really not worth the money to be 'saddled' with a child for life just for a few thousand dollars which will seep out of the pocket in no time. It's a nice bonus for people who are planning to have kids, or are having a baby regardless of any 'incentives'. But to give people money to have kids is dangerous and the less educated couples, who usually are the ones who cannot afford to have too many kids, will be attracted by the monetary rewards, especially if they're in financial trouble. New life must be brought into this world only as an act of love and only if the parents are prepared to bring the baby up to the best of their abilities. It's not easy and I can understand why some couples prefer to remain childless.

One thing's for sure though, however difficult it may seem at the time when handling a wailing babe, that phase will pass and one has to remind oneself to control one's emotions and persevere, and to try to enjoy your new baby in her quiet and adorable times, and pray that she grows into the manageable stage quickly.