A new friend

The universe works in strange ways sometimes. Like today. It was an absolutely horrible day for me. Jolie was in one of her moods where she gets real cranky the whole day, doesn't eat properly and wouldn't take her nap. So it's like a vicious cycle where she gets even more cranky because she's so tired. She'll fall asleep in my arms but the moment I put her down onto her bed she wakes up and starts screaming again.

So I was exhausted, physically, mentally and emotionally. I was crying to myself and I felt so alone in this world, I wanted to call someone to talk. But who? My Cobby, Sister and my friends were all working, I didn't want to disturb my friends who have kids, and I didn't want to worry my Mother. I even dialed my Mom's home number, but I just didn't call her. So I just hung on to my sanity and continued dealing with my cranky baby.

As usual, I brought Jolie to the playground in the late afternoon. The crowd was the usual bunch and amongst them was this mother and her little baby. I have seen her a few times before, but I was always a little shy to introduce myself and somehow I think she felt the same too. Today she made the 1st move and asked politely how old is Jolie after I gave her a "hi" smile.

And so began our conversation. We talked and talked like old friends. Turns out that the both of us have many many things in common! We are both:
- new mothers (her boy is 5 months)
- Cesarean birth
- stay home mom who takes care of baby alone at home
- wakes up infinite times at night to feed baby (she jokes that she can tell that we are comrades from our similar panda eyes haha..)
- share a room with our baby while our husbands sleep in another room
- breastfeeding
- TRYING to wean baby off breast milk to formula but failing miserably
- introducing solids to baby (she's just started with some difficulty)

So I gave her some advise on how to prepare solids for baby, she shared her baby problems with me. We talked and nodded in agreement and for once in a very long time, I felt that I found someone who REALLY understands what I'm going through. We chatted on and said our good byes only when the sky was turning dark and both our babies were getting hungry.

When I left I felt so much lighter. It feels much better knowing that it's not only me that suffering. A few hours ago I was sitting home alone, crying my eyes out, feeling so much alone. Then suddenly, I found a new friend who understands my pain. Coincidence? Hmm.. :)