8 struggles faced by new parents, as told by celebs
New mums and dads, you’re not alone!
There are no priority or preferential treatment lanes on the road of pregnancy and parenthood and in their trying times we learn that celebrities are just like us – ordinary beings with mundane problems too. They suffer the same backaches, sleepless nights and – if they are mummies – have to deal with the eternal worry of producing sufficient breast milk for their growing babies. Thanks to a spike in the number of celebrities giving birth this year, we’ve been inundated with an endless stream of updates filled with baby pictures and anecdotes documenting their experience and the joys and woes as parents.
Without further ado, we present the child-rearing struggles faced by new parents everywhere – including celebrities.Photos: Christine Fan and Chris Wang via Facebook
Vivian Hsu’s clueless when it comes to trimming her baby’s fingernails
Thanks to her daily updates on social media, fans are able to keep track of Vivian’s progress in motherhood. Apart from attending rehabilitation classes and nursing “like a cow” to meet baby Dalton’s daily milk quota, she has her hands full caring for her son. Vivian may have read piles of parenting and baby guide books over the course of her pregnancy, but if there was one question or pro-tip not covered in the books, it’s ‘when is a good time to trim my baby’s finger nails?’ To get an answer, the new mum turned to fans, who are fellow mums, on her Facebook page and posed them the same question.
In case you’re wondering what the answer is – netizens, who are also mums, recommended trimming it only after the first month of their birth – until then, mitten-up!
Photos: Vivian Hsu via Instagram
Joanne Peh learns to cope with breastfeeding
A mother’s breastfeeding journey can be as frustrating as it is fulfilling. And Joanne, who is still trying to ease into her new role in life, has had her fair share of nursing struggles too. “Everyone says breastfeeding is hard but no one tells you how hard,” she wrote in an Instagram post, a few weeks after giving birth. Like some new mums, Joanne sought professional help from a lactation consultant at Mount Elizabeth hospital and came out of her session feeling “more assured and confident.”
While she didn’t explicitly state what her problem was, she did, however, share the outcome of her visit: “She (lactation consultant) suggested to put baby in a bouncer after feed if she isn’t sleepy and I did. Seems baby likes it too!”
Photos: Joanne Peh via Instagram
Related: Baby no. 2 for Joanne Peh? "Maybe we'll try next year"
Fussy baby’s milk drinking habits foils Chris Wang’s diving plans
On his first family vacation to Guam, three months after his wife gave birth to baby Guen Guen, Chris almost foiled their vacay to the Southern Hemisphere when he left his baby’s identification papers at home. While that was nerve-wracking, it barely left a blemish on Chris’ trip and his biggest disappointment was when he had to cancel their diving plans because of his daughter’s milk-drinking habits.
The little girl refused to take in formula milk and only consumed breast milk leaving the adventure seeker and his wife no choice but to stay on dry land. “So we carried her and sat by the beach as a family and watched the sunset,” he lamented. Baby comes first!
Photos: Chris Wang via Facebook
Hannah Quinlivan can’t wait for baby to sleep through the night
Sleep-deprived mummies who wake up to express or feed their babies every two to three hours will identify with Hannah’s desire to get a night of uninterrupted rest. The 22-year-old mum, who is still trying to cope with motherhood, posted an SOS message on Weibo, asking fans: “Help me, when will Baby Chou start sleeping for longer stretches?”
Fans came to the rescue and advised the new mum who is “lacking in sleep everyday” that infants do not have regular sleeping patterns and advised her to sneak in short periods of rest when the baby’s sleeping.
Photos: Hannah Quinlivan via Weibo
Christine Fan unable to see her premature twin babies until four days after birth
Any parent who had to give birth prematurely will know the pains of being unable to cuddle or spend time bonding with your baby who’s under observation in an incubator or NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). Christine not only had a difficult time conceiving, when she finally got pregnant and was expecting twin sons, she had to give birth prematurely due to the early rupture of her amniotic sac.
When she finally got to meet her sons face-to-face, four days after giving birth, the singer burst into tears and was overwhelmed by emotions. Before that, the only updates she got were via her husband’s pictures, videos and visit to NICU. Sniffles.
Photos: Christine Fan via Facebook
Fann Wong worries Zed might forget her when she goes on work trips
The world doesn’t stop revolving with the arrival of a baby, likewise, parents can’t miss out on work – or overseas work trips, if that’s their bread and butter. Fann took on her first overseas film project in July after giving birth to Zed Lee one year ago, and had to be based in Taiwan to film Packages from Daddy with Li Liren. She may have gotten the green light from the director to fly home every two weeks to visit her baby son during the movie’s production period, but Fann was still worried that Zed would forget her during this period of absence.
“I got tanner at work and I worry that he may not recognise or forget about me. I keep asking my husband if our baby will not like me,” she let on, in tears, “I’m so afraid that he might think of me as a stranger.”
Photos: Fann Wong via Instagram
Barbie Hsu makes many sacrifices to get body in optimal condition for pregnancy
It’s no open secret that Barbie went through a bumpy journey to conceive a child of her own, which is documented in her new book about parenthood. She piled on the pounds, changed her dietary habits (she was originally a vegetarian) and received long-term medical consultation for three years, before getting pregnant with her first child. After going through such an arduous journey, Barbie tried to lose her baby weight fast by doing an all-liquid confinement diet for a week. The result? She nearly collapsed from hunger after going without solids.
Photos: Barbie Hsu via Weibo
Xiu Jie Kai experiences separation anxiety from his baby girl
A few weeks after Bu Bu arrived, Jie Kai returned to work with no time to rest and soak up the joys of fatherhood. To curb his longing for his newborn girl, this newly-minted dad sneaked visits home during his lunch breaks at the set of his new drama to visit her at home. Crazy about the new girl in his life, the first-time father wrote: “I get to feel your warmth during my workday break, and now I can take on the rest of the day.”
Awww. We’re sure he’s not the only dad or parent who sneaks in extra time with their little muffins at lunch.
Photos: Xiu Jie Kai via Facebook
Chang Chen learns how to change his daughter’s diapers the hard way
Props to Chang Chen for taking on diaper duties – the man is now officially in charge of changing his baby girl Yuan Yuan’s diapers at home. The first-time dad admitted that he was absolutely clueless at first and had “a hard time” but he got better with it after much practice and even finds it a joy to deal with dirty nappies now. “After a while, I discovered it (diaper-changing) can be quite fun!”
They say the first step to enjoying parenthood is to find joy in the littlest things we do. A round of applause for this dad please.
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