Why I would do it all over again

Being a mama is hard work. The hardest for me must be the nights of interrupted sleep I've got since Ian was born, the light sleeper that I was and having to go to work the next day. No matter how late I end up sleeping the night before, I have to be ready to get out of the bed when Ian wakes up. But I've got used to it, and now with Ian being older and having a fixed 2 hour naptime, I get to catch up on my sleep during the weekends.

It was really tough when he was a newborn. I was traumatised by how little sleep I got initially but there wasn't much of a choice. I had to wake up when he woke up. And your body does get used to less sleep.

I thought about how having a second child will disrupt my sleep patterns again. It may be worse, since I will have two to take care of. Ian is very clingy to me even with my mum-in-law (his primary caregiver when I go to work) around. I may end up sleeping even less.

But I will still do it all over again, enduring the nights of disrupted sleep, finding pockets of time during the day (when I don't have to go to work) to sleep, fighting sleep when playing with my child. Why? Really, the joy you experience when you play with your child, talk to him/her, see his/her eyes light up when discovering new things (e.g when Ian found the pelican statue in the bird park and kept touching its beak), even look at him/her sleep, is so precious that it is a joy that no material possessions can ever give you. So yes, I will love to have another child!

Friends with kids tell me they miss the times their children were babies and growing up. Now I know what they mean. It may be tough at the time but looking back, even the tough time is to be savoured.

Being a mama also gave me an insight into the heart of my Heavenly Father. Jesus said that if a man knows how to give his children good things, how much more our Father in heaven! It delights me to see my little boy enjoying himself and I want to make him happy. Now I understand better how my Abba feels, that He delights in making me happy. :)