On-Call Mum & Dad

My New On-Call Job

When I worked as a radiographer, I used to be on-call for Greenslopes Hospital. In the middle of the night, I would be jarred awake by my ringing mobile. Then I would sleepily drag my arse out of bed, into my car and off to work. These days, I'm jarred awake by a completely different sound - that of my crying 3 week old baby. But unlike being on-call for work, it won't end after 3 or 4 days. As of now, I'm On-Call indefinitely!

This week has been a hard one. My Mum & siblings left on Sunday and naturally, I miss them dearly. For the last fortnight, they've been a huge help to me. My Mum & Siobhan tamed my much-neglected wilderness-of-a-garden while Sharlene, Erin & Aidan were invaluable babysitters. My Mum pretty much organised all my meals and fed me delicious Asian-goodness to help boost my energy. She also reorganised my pantry, brought us heaps of goodies to better organise both house and Ethan's nursery. I'm just filled with so much gratitude. I hope that one day, I can return the favour and look after my family, the way they look after me.

This Tuesday, Craig returned to work and suddenly, the house felt horribly empty. Ironically, the spaciousness of my house contrasts against the confinement of not being able to drive, because of my post c-section. It'll be another 3 weeks before I can drive again. The adjustment has not been easy. Yes, there have been tears. My full-time career, independent wanderings in my car, trips to Langri Tangpa Buddhist Centre and my Buddhist Studies have all come to an abrupt halt. Compounding all this is sleep-deprevation.

For the last three days, I've been searching the Web & Books for answers to improving Ethan's sleep. Like On-Call radiography, I never know when he'll need me, but I'm determined to do all I can to ensure he gets as much sleep and nourishment as possible. Slowly, I'm settling into this new role. I'm a 24/7 Mum now, for the rest of my life. My days and nights revolve around Ethan's needs but with each new day, I'm settling into the job and learning to find small pockets of joy, sprinkled amidst the mundaneness of Mummyhood. There's a lot more poo, pee & vomit than I bargained for. But at least it's by my son and not patients at work, hehe.


I remind myself that these moments are fleeting and brief. It's become my new goal to try and take some more photos while Ethan's still so little. Already, I see his belly filling out and before long, he'll become all chubby and big. Yep, his newborn days are nearly behind us. So I better capture these moments and mindfully enjoy them, while I still can.

Some of my favourite moments so far: Our midday baby massage. An afternoon dance to some of my favourite songs. Reading a bedtime story to him while he feeds. His reflex smile as he tries to fall asleep. And this might be kinda gross... but there's something oddly hypnotic about his cherry lips, locked onto my boob... (Again, sorry if I grossed anyone out. You have my permission to vomit - but not on me.)

It makes it all worthwhile especially for the hard times, like when he groans and cries for me in the dead of the night. Even as I reluctantly give up my sleep and drag myself out of bed, I somehow find the energy to attend to my baby.

Yours truly,
Demi.