Celebrating New Year with a New family member :)
Tuesday, January 01, 2013Hi Everyone! How are you doing? Happy New Year to all of you! Did you have a great time celebrating New Year’s Eve last night? Well, I hope you did! Myself, I was at home celebrating it with my hubby and our new family member :) And here’s a little story I’d like to share with you;
About two months ago my beautiful baby girl was born on the
day of Eid-ul Adha, Friday, 26th October 2012 in the afternoon after
we had finished our Eid al-Adha prayers. We named her Savanna Aurora Jacinta
Adha :)
Quite long, yes, because those words are
from me and my sisters and since I thing those words are beautiful so I decided
to use them all hehe.. Some friends have asked me what does the name means. So
here’s the answer: It simply means a prayer that hopefully no matter where she
goes and whatever she does, she keeps walking in the straight path, can
survive, be successful and stay humble; she will stay happy, strong and positive
all the time even if in the middle of any difficulties; she will be able to
pass through any obstacles or bad moments that she may find in her life :) so yep, that’s all
hehe.. As for her nick name, it’s still difficult for me to choose coz I love
all those words but for now I call her Sava or Rara and sometimes Cinta :)
Sava was born with cesarean section, the first three days
she had to stay in an incubator coz doctor said that her breath was so fast and
usually it’s because she was adapting with her new world. As a new mom who
doesn’t know much about this thing, I was so stress although the doctor said it
would be okay but still it couldn’t keep me away from my fear. At the same time
I received news that our beloved aunt passed away. It was terrible because I
had never thought she would be gone so fast. I remember when I was a child she’s
the one who used to babysitting me when my mother worked. And I even called her
“Mommy”! So I was truly sad that she didn’t get the chance to hold Sava :( both these things had
knocked me down a little but somehow I managed to stay calm..
Sava went home with me after we both spent two nights at the
hospital. Sadly one week later she had to return to the hospital coz her body turned
yellow which was not because she didn’t get enough sun bath every morning but because
I didn’t produce enough breast milk. So again, she was observed at the hospital
to have phototherapy for four days. And at home I’m working hard to produce
more breast milk. Yes, I did everything I could by taking medicine and ate &
drink lots of healthy food and water. Thank God that by the time she was
released from the hospital I’m able to provide my breast milk :)
The first few weeks were a bit difficult for me to adjust my
biological time with Sava! Yep just like every mother does in this world, wake
up in the middle of the night, breast feed every few hours, bathe the baby or
change diapers. So I was so glad when my mother came and stayed for few weeks to
help and to babysitting Sava during my post-cesarean. My mom would be the one
who did the laundry and cooking while house cleaning is done by a maid who
comes every late afternoon.
Unfortunately my
mother only stayed for two weeks at that time :P So when she returned home to Jakarta, I have
to manage everything alone :P Sometimes on weekends, my hubby would babysitting
Sava while I’m cleaning the house, doing laundry and cooking :P And on
weekdays, I have to race with time every morning starting by doing laundry, cooking,
preparing breakfast for my hubby (which sometimes I missed :P), bathing and
breast feeding Sava. Every afternoon, evening and night and until the next
morning again I’m busy with breast feeding, changing diapers, playing or
singing lullaby for Sava :P and sometimes doing a little office work or
following up order of my crafts boutique. And if I’m lucky enough I can make
some sketches or cleaning up the mess in my crafts drawer (but for this I’m not
that lucky yet :) Well,
it was truly exhausting, time consuming but FUN at the same time! And honestly
I’ve never thought that I can enjoy every moment of it :)
My sisters and our whole family are so excited with Sava’s
presence! So last month, one of them flew from Netherland to visit us. She
stayed for about a week to spend time with Sava as well as to help me with
house work :) and
on her last day in Bali, the four of us - Sava, me, my hubby & my sister - had
lunch and spent a great time in a small café in Kuta to celebrate Sava’s “one
month old birth-day”. Sava slept so peacefully in my sister’s arm for hours!
She didn’t realize we took her to Nusa Dua beach and didn’t even wake up when
we tried to feed her! She seemed to enjoy her first time trip :) Then, few weeks later,
my mom and my two other sisters came from Jakarta and France to visit us too.
This time we celebrated Sava’s “birth-day” with an “Aqiqah” (a Moslem
celebration to welcome a newborn baby). It was a very simple celebration where
we handed over the arrangement to an Aqiqah catering company to distribute the
meat (and meals) to a local orphanage. So,we only asked for half of the meal
boxes for our family and distributed them to several neighbors. It was really
fun!! :)
Sava is only two
months old now but she’s really fun to play with. She’s bigger, taller, heavier
and smiles a lot! :D Her laugh, smile and cry seem to let us know that she
understands what we say and what she wants. Her little feet so free to kick up
and down and she love to lift and to move her body left and right. She also loves
making little voices which sounds like Donald Duck :D The funniest thing is
every time she wants to defecate, she will stretch down her arms and legs, her round
eyes will wide open and her little mouth will make an O form and when it’s finished
she will smile with satisfaction :)
Her most favorite thing now is being carried and held in the arms :) She can stay in my
arms for more than two hours to breast feed and sleep! When she wants to be
carried, she will whine or cry and if I asked what she wants, she will answer
by stretching her both little arms and when she is moved to the carrying cloth,
her smile will rise and her tears will dry suddenly! :) But our most favorite thing
is to kiss her chubby cheek :)
Now that my sisters have gone back to their homes but still they
spend few hours either to chat with me through Skype, call by phone or just
text message to see and ask about Sava. They said they don’t want to miss her
progress :) I
haven’t got a babysitter yet and we also afraid if we hire a stranger whom we
can’t trust. So my mother is coming to
stay with us temporary to babysitting Sava while I’m working. This is also
another problem for me where I’m hoping to take care of Sava myself but I also still
need my job and run my crafts boutique at the same time. Well, I haven’t decided
what I will do if I don’t get a babysitter yet. For now, I’m just enjoying my
time taking care of Sava before I’m back to work next month.
So, well, here we are now, embracing New Year by becoming parents! :) My hubby and I may not
be perfect couple or parents :P And we don’t expect to have a baby this soon
(well, actually not soon considering my age :P)! But whether we are ready or
not, God has sent Sava and maybe He thinks that we are ready now :) And one thing for
sure, Sava’s presence has made us want to change ourselves to be a better
person! We will do everything we can to make sure she gets what she needs for
her future. And I pray that my hubby and I is given the strength and ability to
be a good parent for Sava and we hope not to let her down :) As Quoted from one of my sister’s
facebook status:
Being
deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives
you courage ~ Lao Tzu ~
I’m glad to finally finish this post to
share with you as it has been in draft file for almost a week! Now, I’ve to go
to change Sava’s diapers coz she’s been looking at me and making small voices to
call me :)
Thank you for your patience for
reading this post!
And I hope this New Year will bring you lots of love, happiness,
health and wealth! Amen. :)
See you!
2 comments
Hi,
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading about Sava and how you are enjoying motherhood. I want to wish you and your husband
"Mazal Tov" which means Good Luck.
It is nice that your mother and
sisters have been able to enjoy
Sava too. All the best in all your endeavors including happy crafting.
Hi Jackie :) thank you very much.. All the best to you and your family too and especially hope you're having great time with your crafting!
ReplyDeleteHugss
xx
ika :)
Your support means a lot to me. Thank you!