Sheila Sim Felt "Guilty" After Giving Birth To Her 2nd Daughter 'Cos She Didn't Anticipate Her Arrival As Much As Her First - 8days Skip to main content

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Sheila Sim Felt "Guilty" After Giving Birth To Her 2nd Daughter 'Cos She Didn't Anticipate Her Arrival As Much As Her First

The actress, who welcomed her second kid on Tues (Feb 7), spoke to 8days.sg about the support her husband has been giving her and how well her two-year-old daughter is taking to her baby sister.
Sheila Sim Felt "Guilty" After Giving Birth To Her 2nd Daughter 'Cos She Didn't Anticipate Her Arrival As Much As Her First

"We are complete," wrote Sheila Sim, 38, when she announced the arrival of her second daughter, Skyla Woo, on her Instagram on Tuesday (Feb 7). 

Sheila has another daughter, Layla, two, with her husband of four years, Deon Woo, 41.

In a separate post the next day, Sheila opened up about the "emotional wreck" she was before giving birth. 

"Having a newborn all over again felt so unfamiliar. I grieved over my loss of freedom and quality time with my first child," wrote Sheila, adding that when she held Skyla in her arms for the first time, "all that negativity disappeared".

"All I wanted to do was hold her, protect her, care for her and love her with all that I have. That feeling came back so naturally," she added. 

When 8days.sg got on a call with Sheila, she shared: "[The emotional roller coaster] came quite unexpectedly ‘cos I’ve never been a mother of two before and this was my first experience that day. (laughs) With Layla, when I went into my first childbirth, I was also emotional but it was in a very different way, so I kind of didn’t see it coming. "

She admitted she didn't really put much thought or anticipate the arrival of Skyla as she "had a bit of a health scare" at the beginning of the pregnancy.

"There was also a lot of guilt ‘cos I kept feeling like I don't have enough time for Layla," she added.

"So when I saw [Skyla], one part of me was very grateful that she was healthy, but I was also guilty because I haven’t anticipated her arrival as much. There were a lot of mixed feelings," added Sheila.

She described the moment Skyla let out her first cry while in her arms as "magic all over again".

"It's amazing because the love and nurturing just flows so naturally. And even the whole waking-up-every-three-hours thing, which was something I was so scared of, that also happened so easily. As of now lah, I’m still in the hospital (laughs)."
Sheila and her husband Deon Woo

When asked if her husband was as emotional as she was, Sheila replied: "Oh no no no, usually we try not to be emotional together (laughs)"

Still, Sheila said Deon was a great pillar of support throughout the entire process.

"He was very comforting lah, I mean he really was very assuring. He told me that whatever comes will be good and I’ve been doing such a good job as a mum. That was the emotional support. And of course it comes with the practical approach of how we’re going to step up and be there for our first child."

Sheila said Deon is now responsible for looking after Layla — while juggling his work at the same time — as mummy is busy recuperating in the hospital with Skyla.

It's why Sheila still doesn't feel overwhelmed yet about being a mother-of-two.

"I feel like the change is not very drastic yet 'cos I’m still in the hospital and I don’t have to handle two at the same time. For now, Layla goes to school and my husband will pick her up and visit me in the evening. By that time I’d have already fed Skyla and prepared for her to rest so I can have my dinner with Layla and Deon," she explained.

"The real challenge is when I get home," she added as that's when both kids would be fighting for her full attention.

Layla and her baby sister Skyla

Layla has been coping well with the new addition to the family. 

According to Sheila, her elder daughter "has always been a nurturing person."

Sheila noticed that Layla has always been good with younger children and would want to pat or do things for them.

"I think innately she has it in her to be an older sister,” she said proudly.

"Now she’s getting to know Skyla but having a permanent sister in the house is something that she doesn’t understand yet. As a parent it’s definitely my responsibility to guide her into this transition," added Sheila.

And mummy and daddy have indeed been doing their best to ease Layla into her new role as a big sister. 

For instance, Sheila helped her girls prepare gifts for each other.

"Usually it’s one way, like the younger sister will have a gift for the older one, but for me I prepared it both ways. I asked Layla if she wanted to give her toy to Skyla or if she wanted to buy her one. She said she wanted to buy her one so we went to pick it out together and we gave her the credit card and she paid for it (laughs)."

So what was Layla's gift from her baby sister?

"It’s a very big elephant soft toy, which was something that she wanted for a long time. She was definitely happy about that," gushed Sheila.

Sheila also prepared Layla emotionally on having a newborn at home.

"I told her, for example, Skyla is small so she’d be exploring with her mouth and she might chew on some of your toys. Then I would tell her: "When you were small you were like that also. You just have to gently tell her 'toys are not for your mouth and when you grow older you can explore your hands'."

And Layla remembers everything she's been told.

"She will even come back and tell me, “Next time if Skyla sees this toy, she’ll bite it with her mouth”. I feel like she’s eased into this quite well. It’s very cute to see her go from not understanding the concept of being a big sister to understanding it and accepting it lah, it’s a beautiful transition."

Photos: Sheila Sim/Instagram, LaylaSkyla/Instagram
 

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