Benjamin: 8 weeks old

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 19 April 2007 in People & Portrait and Portfolio.

So they say most mothers think they know it all, until their second kid comes along. I think it's true. You expect the second kid to be the same, or at least fairly similar, as the first kid. And then he surprises you by being, cough, a unique individual. Wassup with that? ^_^

Ben is growing well and becoming nicely rounded. This despite the fact that he clearly drinks less milk than Daniel. Ben is less interested in milk in general - as if, it is not really essential to his existence. I frequently have to be the one to wake him to drink after 3.5 hours. And on the rare occasion where he does wake up himself, hungry, he'll cry but then pipe down when he sees me. As if to say, "Oh. There you are. Yes, can I have my milk please? I'm so happy to wait while you get prepared." Ahem. Daniel never did this. Should Daniel wake up hungry, he would howl the house down, as if to say, "MILK MILK MILK MILK MILK NOOOOOOOOOW!" (Incidentally, Dan still does this with his solids - "Pasta Pasta Pasta! Noodle! Beef! Chicken! Peas!" The only thing he doesn't plead for is spinach, of course!)

Benjamin is also more smiley. Or at least, my rusty memory thinks so. Daniel did smile at 8 weeks old. But I think Benjamin smiles more as a reaction to people, sounds and sights, as opposed to just smiling in general.

And Benjamin is definitely more sleepy than Daniel. The amount of poking, tickling, burping, prodding, slathering of a cool cloth over his feet, hands and chest that I've done - just to get him to wake up and finish his milk, or to get him to wake up and kick about a bit after his milk could probably earn me an entry in the Guiness Book of World Records. But oh well, at least when he's awake, he smiles a lot at me! Like in this pic. ^_^

And at least Benjamin has been similar to Daniel in that both kids have fallen into a predictable routine fairly early. Benjamin feeds every 3.5 hours during the day. Sometimes 4. And just yesterday, he slept through the night, from 10.30pm to 6.30am - we really pray he will repeat this miraculous feat tonight!

The hardest thing about Benjamin is getting him to stay awake long enough to finish his milk, so that he won't get hungry early. I suppose this is quite a minor difficulty compared to the woes of other mothers. But it still is tough - especially if your mental stamina for poking, prodding and tickling is reaching the edge & your milk supply is actually being affected by the lack of stimulation as well.

In any case, babies will grow. And if anything, I can be assured that Benjamin will become more wakeful with time. Imagine a teenager being this sleepy! Impossible! That's the great thing about babies - it really does get better with time. And I think I have to keep reminding myself of that little and easily forgettable fact. Having 2 kids in diapers is tough for now... but it will get better. The motherhood mantra comes to mind at this point: This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass.