Last Sunday, Pastor Shoo was preaching on Philippians 3 and it really ministered to me.
Like Paul with his earthly credentials, I have everything to boast of in my experience and knowledge of taking care of babies. My mother was a baby-sitter and I had seen four children grow up from 2 weeks old to 4 years of age and am adept at taking care of all of the babies' needs. (except breast-feeding cos we only used formula in the past and I surely had no milk! ha ha...) I was a Sunday School teacher and studied child psychology in my Uni days. I had also done extensive research on every baby topic throughout my life as this is my area of interest. I have absolutely no problem baby-sitting my friends' babies... Of all people, I should have an easy time caring for Joash, yah?
Guess again. It has only been half a month and I am already breaking so many rules in the book. I have always known that it is bad habit to nurse baby to sleep but Joash refuses to sleep otherwise. I should be waking baby up when he sleeps past his feed time but I am so tired that whenever that happens (rarely though) I would be reluctant to wake him so that I can rest more or finish up my chores. I vowed that I would never use the pacifier but I used it when Joash kept crying even after I nursed him for 4 hours. (Thank God Joash can't keep the pacifier in his mouth without me holding it for him and so I can't cop-out that way anymore :P) It is also a terrible habit to carry and rock baby to sleep but I let Joshua help me do that when I am too tired to feed him any longer so that he can sleep. What's more, I'm used to changing diapers whenever I know the baby has passed motion but Joash screams bloody murder whenever we change him and he has REALLY strong legs so it is a mammoth task to clean his buttocks. I've come to just let him stew in his own filth for as long as my conscience can take it and running the risk of him having nappy rash... sigh.
So many times, I am tempted to switch fully to formula as Joash is never quite satisfied with my breast and I have a terrible time trying to express my milk with the $100 AVENT manual breast pump. Talk about a severe lack of perseverance! (and a waste of good money!)
I need to be like Paul... "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead". I should not let my past successes cause me to be overly disappointed in my present failures. I have to press on despite the many mistakes I've made as God is the One who empowers me to be a good mother.
Like Paul with his earthly credentials, I have everything to boast of in my experience and knowledge of taking care of babies. My mother was a baby-sitter and I had seen four children grow up from 2 weeks old to 4 years of age and am adept at taking care of all of the babies' needs. (except breast-feeding cos we only used formula in the past and I surely had no milk! ha ha...) I was a Sunday School teacher and studied child psychology in my Uni days. I had also done extensive research on every baby topic throughout my life as this is my area of interest. I have absolutely no problem baby-sitting my friends' babies... Of all people, I should have an easy time caring for Joash, yah?
Guess again. It has only been half a month and I am already breaking so many rules in the book. I have always known that it is bad habit to nurse baby to sleep but Joash refuses to sleep otherwise. I should be waking baby up when he sleeps past his feed time but I am so tired that whenever that happens (rarely though) I would be reluctant to wake him so that I can rest more or finish up my chores. I vowed that I would never use the pacifier but I used it when Joash kept crying even after I nursed him for 4 hours. (Thank God Joash can't keep the pacifier in his mouth without me holding it for him and so I can't cop-out that way anymore :P) It is also a terrible habit to carry and rock baby to sleep but I let Joshua help me do that when I am too tired to feed him any longer so that he can sleep. What's more, I'm used to changing diapers whenever I know the baby has passed motion but Joash screams bloody murder whenever we change him and he has REALLY strong legs so it is a mammoth task to clean his buttocks. I've come to just let him stew in his own filth for as long as my conscience can take it and running the risk of him having nappy rash... sigh.
So many times, I am tempted to switch fully to formula as Joash is never quite satisfied with my breast and I have a terrible time trying to express my milk with the $100 AVENT manual breast pump. Talk about a severe lack of perseverance! (and a waste of good money!)
I need to be like Paul... "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead". I should not let my past successes cause me to be overly disappointed in my present failures. I have to press on despite the many mistakes I've made as God is the One who empowers me to be a good mother.
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