Tuesday, February 14, 2012

First V-Day post as Daddy in Bangkok: Saluting all mothers!

Baby Noah's precious feet
So that's it.

The arrival of Noah on the 1st of February meant that my evolution in Bangkok is complete. I did not plan to come in the first place, but with a strange twist of fate, I became a stranger, an entrepreneur, a husband, an uncle and now, a dad in this land of a thousand smiles.

It has been a journey of twists and turns, culminating in an emotionally and physically-draining (for my wife at least) day that finally saw the birth of little Noah. Seeing him for the first time, all grey and gooey, then following him through his first hairwash, shower, injection and change of civilian clothes felt so surreal. As much as I would complain to people that he doesn't look enough like me, I am actually beaming inside that I see my dearest miniature Li Li everytime I take a little glance at him. He has my blood type and long limbs like me, so what more should I ask for?

The Samitivej baby waiting to go home
I told Li Li that giving birth, for me, felt like a woman reaching her physical potential, the kind of potential you would never know you had unless you went through it, the kind of potential that a man wouldn't dare dream of possessing.

Through my wife's 3 days in hospital, I could only watch in admiration as she took every step to prepare for the c-section operation, bearing the pain of the wound to feed the baby barely a couple of hours after the operation, and being awaken no more than every 3 hours to ensure the baby had enough to eat when she could not even get off the bed by herself. It really broke my heart when I could only watch, knowing my only tangible contribution would be to pay off the bill at the end of the day.

Catching Noah's smile on camera for the first time
The journey of becoming a father has been one of the most emotional times of my life. Maybe one has to go through this to really appreciate how great their parents have been, especially their mothers.

Our first family portrait
With this post on this very special Valentine's Day, I would like to salute all the noble mummies around, not only my son's mummy and my own mummy, but to each and every mummy (yes, that's you over there), because you have weathered the lot to ensure the health and upbringing of the new generation, and you have summoned courage and strength buried deep inside you that you might never know you had to make it happen, all in the name of love.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

7 comments:

  1. Giving birth and becoming a mother was the best thing i'd ever done too! :) because never in my life have i put someone else's needs ahead of mine like now!

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  2. A very lovely tribute, Eddie! Enjoy parenthood you two.

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  3. Hihi, such a sweet post you wrote here. Great that you guys appreciate the torment we went through. Haha. But you know what, the role of a hubby is much much more than to just foot the bill. We wouldn't have been able to pull through it so strongly if not for you motivation, your encouragement and just your presence and company lets us know that we are not alone and we can do it together. Just look at your precious boy, he's such a cutie. Makes everything just so worth it, doesn't it? Jia you and I hope to send a gift over soon for baby Noah!

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  4. Anonymous: Firstly, who are you? Haha, please introduce yourself! I personally wouldn't say for now that parenthood is the best thing I'd ever done, but I do want to say one thing, that Noah might be the best thing I will ever create in my life.

    MP: Thank you. Parenthood is not easy, time for you and YY to get one, easier to take care when we are still young.

    Summer: Thank you for your comment! Mummies are really warriors la, I don't think a simple blogpost like this does any of you enough justice. Well, I do agree that there are a lot of intangibles that the husband offers, but seriously, aside of $$, there's nothing much very tangible, haha. Noah has been a cute blessing, and thanks for the offer of the gift, don't fret over it, I appreciate your well wishes!

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  5. Hi Eddie, Liling = annonymous!
    had problem posting with my google account so i jus used annonymous..

    when noah can wrestle with u, calls u papa and wouldn't stop, and gives u hugs on demands, u'll see what i mean.

    right now i'm just enjoying being my son's sole favorite person in the world. because i know it will not last forever!

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  6. Hey Liling

    Yesh, I have yet to experience the full blow of Noah's affection, but hopefully it will come and I will give you my predicament!

    And yeah, now that Noah is 3 weeks old and gaining weight, I am starting to miss his tinier days (though not so tiny). Oh how precious these little memories are...

    Eddie

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  7. You can still enjoy sleeping with him on top till abt 6 months old. :)
    I did.

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