T -1: Baby on the loose

It's just one more day till D-day; Kiew che, my confinement lady, will leave us for good by tomorrow evening. It's been a good two months since she's been here; I've been able to rest up and be lazy even with a fussy and sometimes demanding baby around.

She doesn't usually take on babies for two months. Out of the seven to eight cases she takes on a year, only one will be for a two-month period. I can understand why: the demands of the job take a heavy toll on one's health, especially if the baby in question is difficult to look after and refuses to sleep through the night.

We had that problem with Sophie during her first month. She simmered down and began sleeping through the night in the second month. Recently she started sleeping later at night, usually past midnight. Luckily, I'd taken over and stayed up with her for her last feed so Kiew che could get some rest before Sophie's middle-of-the-night feed at 3am. Even then, sometimes I'd be sprawled on the sofa zonked out from waiting for her to either fall asleep or to wake up for her midnight feed.

Last night she slept with me on the bed. Since Rizal isn't around and there's so much space I thought, why waste the space? It was an uneventful night. Except for the fact I had to bundle her up to make sure she didn't thrash her arms around when she's lying on her back and waking herself up from all that movement. And then I found out this morning from Kiew che that Sophie sleeps better lying on her side on the bed.

Spending time with a baby day in and day out, anyone would grow attached to their charge. Kiew che confirmed the fact when my mom asked her about this. In these last few days, this past week or so in fact, I think she's begun to feel a stronger attachment to Sophie and is probably going to miss her when she leaves. She's been talking to her more and not really wanting to relinquish her task of looking after Sophie and passing her on to me. I'm fine with that. After all, I'll be spending the rest of my life with Sophie so I suppose a few more days letting Kiew che take care of her is OK.

Last night was quite hilarious. The girl (Rizal's and my nickname for Sophie) was being fussy - as usual - even in her sarong. Kiew che picked her up and sat her on her lap. Thus ensued a somewhat heated discussion between the two of them about, oh maybe who's the most popular Korean soap actor on TV (one of Kiew che's favourite programmes is the Korean drama on prime time 8TV). It sounded to the civilized ear like a negotiation among two primates with a series of loud ohs, ahs and ughs being rallied back and forth between the both of them. Talks broke down when Sophie, clearly not liking the direction the conversation was going, screwed up her face and started wailing. Kiew che and I laughed at her stubbornness and at her last resort to scare tactics to make us agree and do what she wanted. Such a typical baby manouvre. Anyhow, it worked.

Sigh...something tells me that with Kiew che gone, I'm going to be the one who'll be subject to Sophie's manipulations, other than her dad and her grandparents. Since I'll be spending the most time with her, she'll probably learn how to push all the right buttons to get me to do her bidding, just as she has with Kiew che. And they say adults are manipulative.

I will sorely miss Kiew che's help; I'll miss the tasty meals she cooks. I'll miss being able to nap or run out on errands while she watches over Sophie. I'll even miss the banter we shared (not that my Cantonese is that good nor her English any use). Most of all I'll miss having someone to rely on during the nights when it's quiet and dark and Sophie's shrill cries pierce through the night when I'm too slow to get to her. Or my boob to her. Sayonara restful nights.