Dear Fighter,
It’s the 12th of July 2014 as I write this. In a month from now you will turn one years old. That means you would have been a part of our lives for a year. I’ve learned that life is fragile and life is short which is why I’m going to make it a point to write these letters to you. So that if anything ever happens to me *touch wood*, you will always have these letters here from your father. If I do have the blessing to be able to grow old with you, then at least you’ll remember at any future point of your life, how I felt like having you as my son. And how much you matter to me.
I recently met a friend who is also expecting a child in the next couple of months. He told me how he was getting anxious and didn’t know what to expect. He then asked me if I felt the same. The truth was… I didn’t.
It’s not because I was fully confident of being a good father or anything. It’s because I didn’t really have a full 3rd trimester to freak out on. At the early age of 28 weeks, your mother had to be hospitalized for severe preeclampsia. That began the fight for both your life and your mother’s. We didn’t have the chance to think about whether we would be good parents or not. The only thing we wanted to think about was that you would come out safely and grow to be a healthy baby.
On the 12th of August 2013, you were born at 1.1KG being the smallest baby I had ever seen in my life. You were so small that for the first few weeks I never dared to carry you. My eyes teared up when I saw you with tubes all over inside the incubator you had to be in.
After you were born came the worrying tests. Premature babies like you ran all sorts of risks. Risks of going blind, risks of cerebral palsy, risks of hearing problems and the list goes on and on. The worst part is that we couldn’t tell instantly from day one if you were going to be okay. There was a time and place for each different test that would span out in the next 6 months since you were born.
Each time you went for those tests I said a prayer and each time the results came out that you were okay I breathed a big sigh of relief.
Today you’re not only a healthy baby boy but you’re a very cheerful one at that too. You have for one built up quite a lot of followers who love you on your Dayre.
Before you were born we read all sorts of books about how to sleep train babies and how not to spoil them by carrying them too much and etc etc.
Your mother and I broke just about every rule in the book. We spoil you in whatever way possible. To the extent of having to carry you and rock you to bed each night. But we’re lucky because you’re still this really well behaved baby that the first time parents we are find really easy to take care of.
I’m excited about you turning 1. I’m excited about watching you grow up and seeing the person that you’ll become. As the months go by we’re already beginning to see a bit more and more of what your personality is like. You’re hot-tempered… your mom says you got that from me. You’re also very very cheerful and you don’t like it when you can’t get things your way.
I can’t wait to see you grow up. I think you’re going to grow up to be quite the Fighter.
Timothy Tiah – Co-Founder of Colony, Kuala Lumpur Co-Working Space