It finally had to happen.
My single, sole customer has decided to part ways with his fast-food outlet. He no longer feels the need to suck up to The Boss anymore. In fact, i think my precious little customer was in his own little way, trying to punish the Proprietor of the fast-food outlet for neglecting him, in favour of spending a little more time with his competitors, his three big sisters!
It was not an amicable parting of ways.
It all happened rather abruptly.
True, i had been spending less quiet time with him during the day for him to just quietly enjoy the nutrients provided by the fast-food outlet. All the rushing around to ferry the kids to and from school and in getting the condo fully furnished and settling all the odds & ends had taken its toll on my quiet time with the Little One. Instead, i had been letting the machines do the work of pumping out the precious milk and then feeding it to the Little One subsequently. Rightly or wrongly, it was what i had to do, to better manage my time and to keep my self sane. The Little One would normally suckle for between 40 minutes to an hour, if left to his own devices.
It was mostly at night that the Little One would have more quite time to just suckle away. The Little One would very often be seen hanging out at the fast-food outlet for at least an hour in the night...it was his comfort zone before going off to dreamland. I treasured those quite moments, just bonding with my Little One. Though sometimes, i would fall asleep whilst manning the fast-food outlet whilst my customer was still feasting. On days when i am totally exhausted, my sleeping head would hang so low that it almost touched my Little One's head. Low enough for me to savour the unmistaken, precious baby smell.
So came that one fateful night when my loyal customer turned against me and refused to enter the eating area of his fast-food outlet. Whatever i did, he just refused to turn his head and part his lips to suckle. He had not been near the fast-food outlet for more than 24 hours and he decided to end his nightly addiction. Utter despair. The more i forced, the more he complained and pushed away. Mr T kept nudging him, encouraging him. But nope, the Little One had made up his mind.
I tried again the next day. Same old drama.
Mr T continued to encourage and nudge the Little One.
The Little One is no fool. When his daddy suggested that we withhold his formula bottle so that in his hunger, perhaps the Little One would patronise his dedicated fast-food outlet, the Little One complained even louder and made known his impatience and distress several volumes higher!
So the drama came to an end. Now, when the Little One looks at what was once his dedicated fast-food outlet, he just lets out a very cheeky smile. And when he is in a really cheeky mood, he would point and poke his little finger that way.
So, now it's just time between me and those machines pumping away the precious milk for the Little One to suck through a silicone nipple.
No more sucking up to the Boss.
No more fast food outlet direct to the customer.
I miss the special bonding time with the Little One...with his adorable face next to me, his little eyes looking up at me whilst he drinks away...
Sigh.....
Visions of the past......
~ Written from the Heartby a blessed Mummy with nipples that stick in varying directions as a result of being pulled in all directions, but who nonetheless is thankful for being able to provide precious milk to the Little One for over a year, and that is far, far longer and better than i had been able to achieve with my 3 princesses when i was still a full-time working mummy. Seeing the Little One healthy and happy, and knowing that my princesses have also benefited from little sips here and there from the unfinished bottle has made the entire experience worthwhile.Editor's note:-Just a couple of days ago, my 1st princess suddenly appeared before me during one of my pumping sessions and the following exchange took place...
Princess #1: "Wow, Mummy, I really admire you, lah. You never give up, hor."
Blessed Mum: Perplexed, i replied, "Huh, what do you mean?"
Princess #1: " Ya, lah! I think most mothers would have given up once the baby stop sucking. But, wah you still pumping and pumping even though not that much anymore. Wah...i must learn from you,lah....not to give up easily."
Blessed Mum was left speechless. No life lesson was intended to be given, yet values were learnt. Definitely a worthwhile experience
