Up until this moment, Ubaid is almost three months old and we can see more smiles on his face... His limbs are quite strong too for his age since he's always trying to pull himself up and stand with our assistant and support...

There's definitely no doubt that taking care of a baby is a very very challenging task... A baby can be really demanding and of course, fragile... Here are among the challenges that my wifey and I are facing when it comes to taking care of our sweet baby... Bare in mind that this is from my own experience and generally applied to all... 

THE CRYING

Sometimes we know what's wrong and sometimes we're just clueless on why Ubaid cries... Of course, it's easier if the problem is obvious but when Ubaid is crying loudly non stop and there's no sign of what's wrong, it's easy to get frustrated... It makes me wanna cry too just to outmatch him...

When Ubaid does his long cries, I just remind myself that it's the only thing that he can do when there's something wrong... It's not that he knows how to point up the problem by giving signs... When his stomach is aching, I can't expect him to rub his tummy... He's a baby! Heck, even he doesn't know what's wrong with himself...

Patience is indeed needed when it comes to taking care of a baby... When a baby is wailing, we as adults must not join the wailing but instead, be calm and try to find out what's wrong as fast as we can and solve the problem... 

SUPERNATURAL STUFF

It's typical for babies to cry because of supernatural disturbances... Well, that's what people say... There's no clear signs to tell whether a baby is disturbed by these nightmare creatures or not because lets face it, this kind of thing is highly mysterious... Though wifey and I did suspect Ubaid was disturbed a couple of times especially when he cried loudly for a long time after a trip to somewhere...

In order to make it stop, we cited Al-Fatihah, the three Qul verses and Qursi verses... Those Quranic verses  are said to be powerful against evil supernatural beings...

HEALTH CONCERNS

Less than a month ago, Ubaid had a runny nose... For adults, a runny nose is nothing serious but for a baby, it's really agonizing since he/she doesn't know how to breathe through the mouth... Baby Ubaid cried a lot out of discomfort and it was heartbreaking for me to see him like that... Wifey and I scarcely slept the night when his nose got runny... 

No wonder most people would take day-offs whenever their babies are ill... Even a fever can be fatal for a baby if taken lightly... So far, the runny nose is the only scare we had and I pray hard that there will be no more moments like that...  

SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

This is more of a challenge for wifey since she breastfeed Ubaid... There are nights when Ubaid sleeps so soundly until morning and there are many nights when he just refuses to sleep nor breastfeed... In order to prepare for the worse nights, wifey often sleeps whenever Ubaid is sleeping... Even if it's just for a brief period, a good nap is always good to recharge energy... 

MONEY MONEY MONEY

Money makes the world go round and round, isn't it? Yes, it's true, money can't buy you happiness but without money, Ubaid would be diaperless and starving... Now, I have to take Ubaid's needs into account every time I manage my monthly pays... Strollers, diapers, baby cot, milk, cute little baby clothes and accessories, baby bath gels, lotions, minyak yuyee, shots... For a little guy Ubaid sure needs so many things... 

Of course, as parents, wifey and I want to provide the best for Ubaid and at the same time, save money for our future... Therefore, we are quite careful with our spending... 

You know what helps? Generous family members and friends... Ubaid got so many presents from my colleagues and family members... His mama long (wifey's sister) bought him a very big stroller, his granny got him a baby cot and small tub, and not to mention, he received so many cute clothes, blankets and towels from my colleagues... Gosh, I really really appreciate those gifts... 

HARDER GOODBYES

My wife is now pursuing her Masters at UPM, Serdang and thus, she and baby Ubaid are living at her parents' house at Cheras... As for me, I carry out my duties as an English language lecturer at PSMZA, Dungun and am living with my parents at Ketengah Jaya... Dungun and Cheras is so damn far away from one another... Therefore, I always visit my lovely cupcakes only during the weekends where I often take a bus on Thursday midnight and then go back to Terengganu on Saturday night... 

The fact that I can't always have them in my arms is heartbreaking but the worse is having to say goodbye at the end of each visit... Before baby Ubaid came, I only had to say goodbye to one but now, the pain has doubled... 

Though it's hard, I have no regrets... The decision is ours and we have to go on with it... Besides, wifey agrees with me that the distance sort of makes our bond stronger... It's true what they say, you'll only miss something when it's gone... Whenever my two babies are not around, I am more appreciative of what we share together and all the things we went through...



Those are among the challenges that I can think of for now... Maybe this can be helpful to prepare those who are expecting or wanting a baby... Again, this is based on my own experience and it's from my point of view as a husband...

All of these challenges are of course worth to conquer since Ubaid is our precious baby... Like I said, Ubaid now knows how to smile and seeing him just smiling like he has a clue of what's happening around him is very very rewarding... He's just so cute!

Long way to go! So, wifey, lets do this!