I was awoken this morning by Estella's chatty conversation with Daddy and not the usual Eliana's cry for milk. Somehow, it was exceptionally relieving to hear her chirpy voice this morning.
So, what exactly did Estella say to me this morning?
"
Mama!", "
Estella vomit on Daddy, wet"; "
Estella cry", "
Estella cough cough; cannot cough cough at meimei, must cover mouth", "
Estella not feeling well, see Uncle Melvin", "
Uncle Melvin gave Estella medicine", "
Daddy's mask same! Uncle Melvin (wears a) blue mask", "
Estella sleep on Daddy('s) shoulders", "
Daddy carry Estella", "
No school today, cannot sing with friends", "
Estella vomit on car seat also, wet wet. Daddy wash..."
Though it may seem like the things she told me sounded 'messy', nothing beats hearing her usual self.
Last night was really trying... Here's what happened:
6:00pm: Mommy Chng called to say Estella was refusing water and food the whole afternoon, was feeling feverish all over and appeared weak...
6:01pm: I called John to relate Estella's condition. He got worried, left the office immediately, and drove at maximum speed to reach Estella...
6:30pm: John was concerned as Starrie did not run to the door to greet him (which is something she does without fail each time daddy fetches her). Instead, he found her lying listlessly on the sofa watching Barney. He rang the clinic immediately to make an appointment with the dc. There were ~20 patients ahead in queue at that time...
7:10pm: Starrie reached home, on daddy's shoulders. She threw up in the car during the journey and was too weak to walk. She refused to take a shower so John gave her a hot towel instead. She was hungry but only wanted milk. After finishing her feed, she just laid on her bed to rest.
8:00pm: Clinic queue cleared substantially. John brought Estella to clinic. She couldn't hold down the milk and vomited everything out, mainly landed on John who was holding her... very 'lang bei'...
9:00pm: Reached home (again) finally. Bathed and slept straightaway. It was also good for us to administer the medicine while she was sleeping... it's the bullet kind which needs to put into the anus...
...
...
2:00am: Another dose of bullet...
...
...
...
7:00am: Woke up for milk and more medicine...
Well, I read somewhere someone wrote before that "having a child is difficult; having another one is 10x more difficult". Somehow, I am feeling like that. It's being amplified especially when one child is sick. In project-management terms, it's like having multiple concurrent tracks but you have only 1-2 persons (Daddy and/or Mommy) 100% responsible for outcome/s. I am extremely thankful to God that Eliana has been a relatively baby to care for (could be due to experience). Because, it's so vital to have 1-on-1 time with Estella. Eliana also slept so soundly from 10:30pm (all the way till 7:30am with a 4:30am feed in-between). Which, was necessarily... as I had really wanted to extend help and care to not just Estella, but also to the very worn-out Daddy who chauffeured Estella to-and-fro places & gone through 2 pukes with her.
Here's my admiration for my Dearest Chng Ah Dear:
You have taught me to stay calm through it all, not by mere words, but through your actions...
You have taught me unconditional love for the children, not just in times of comfort, but when you were covered in Estella's vomit and had to stand in queue at the clinic for a hour...
You taught me patience, despite all the fatigue, discomfort and bodyaches, you were gentle in your tone, and demonstrated patience beyond imagination...
You have taught me to look to the Lord and not be led by the chaos at the moment...
You have taught me so much, and I am truly grateful to be parenting the 2 darling girls with you...
I thank God for you...
I really can't imagine going through all these without the Lord.
Lord, my life is in Your hands, and so is my family... I am glad You are the one holding us up.
I put my trust in You.
This incident also caused me to be so grateful to my mom... Why did I give her so much nonsense during my teen years?
Thank God for the privilege to be a mother. I really pray that I can be faithful steward to the Lord who entrusted them to us. Estella & Eliana, Mama loves you!!
... a few days later, I found these three 3-D houses standing in the living room. Estella walked me through her commentary of which house was built for who... 'This one is for daddy, this one is for mommy, this one is for Estella.' In her context, mei mei is too small to play this now.
I can do a lot more things now...
2. How each goodie pack looks like. See the personalised gift tag with her princessy photo...
The first time Estella gets to help out at a wedding... Kelvin & Lynn's!
If you wonder why Estella is not in this shot, she was too tired then and was napping in Eliana's stroller!!
Eliana and Isaiah found their spots in the house!
Estella was so mesmerized by the Christmas tree!
Helmet in place...
Making her starter rounds...
She had been an easy passenger in the drive up and down Malacca. As long as the car was in motion, she spotted this position. See this nice and comfy car seat? It's a hand-me-down gift from Auntie Pooja. (Thanks again, Pooja, if you read this!)
I am so tickled by her pose! Hands on the waist please...
Featuring her teachers and friends from the Playgroup...
There she is, on her favourite Miss Koo's laps...
