This week marks 6 weeks that Fighter has been born as a premature baby.
So I thought I’d talk about how my past nights have been having him around. Every night somewhere around 3AM I hear Fighter cry. Then I hear Shorty wake up and go feed Fighter. I stay in bed and sleep. The next cry though will come at around 5-6AM. By then Shorty is normally too tired to get out of bed. So I would get up, pick Fighter up, have him fed and rock him till he sleeps again.
I’ve heard a lot of stories of sleepless nights from my other friends who have had babies and it’s really true. But the good news is that it’s not as bad as I expected it to be. Somehow I love hearing the sound of Fighter cry. Every now and then when I hear his cry, I remind myself of the time I first heard his cry in the operating theater. How soft it was… then now when I hear him cry loudly… I smile… because I’m reminded that he’s healthy enough to cry so loud.
The past week at work have been tough for me but it’s always such a joy coming home to see Fighter. I’ve been a Father now for a little over 6 weeks and it’s only beginning to sink in now.
Every now and then I sit with Fighter and talk to him like he understands me. I talk to him about my day at work, how I feel, how my last round of golf was and things like that. He normally just stares at me… or occasionally looks around curiously.
Sometimes of course he complains to me about his day.
Like about how he got burped again even though he hates it.
Or how he got bitten by mosquitoes.
But there are nice moments too… like when he got a package from New Zealand
Full of cute preemie clothes that fit him. (Thank you Connie)
I hope Fighter grows to be better than me at everything. Smarter, more capable, better looking, a kinder heart, a better golfer and well… a better everything. I hope he succeeds where I’ve failed and goes above and beyond what I will ever achieve in life. Then I remember how he had to fight through his first few weeks under intensive care… and how he held my finger as if to tell me he was going to be okay.
Then I realize… that this little Fighter… is going to be okay 🙂
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space