Everything Gets Better After the 100th Day
In Korea, there is a tradition to celebrate a newborn's 100th day from
birth. A long time ago, before the medical advancement, surviving 100 days
was called a miracle. Malnutrition, unsanitary practices, and lack of
biological knowledge challenged the survival rate of the little
ones.
Nowadays, fortunately, a lot of newborns make it through 100 days with very
little or no problems. The term 100th Day Miracle is redefined for the new
parents. It's not a miracle for the babies, but a miracle for the parents.
In this blog post, we will explore the changes that come about on the 100th
day.
Challenges up to the 100th Day
There are challenges and struggles for the new parents from Day 1. Aside
from love, happiness, satisfaction, and a bunch of
indescribable feelings, caring for a baby brings fatigue,
sleeplessness, stress, worries, and a bunch of other indescribable feelings
that can't possibly be healthy for the parents.
Some challenges my family experienced in the first 100 days were:
- Feeding & sleeping schedule: Babies grow fast. Their patterns change over a few days. Our daughter had 2 hours intervals between feeding, but sometimes she'd sleep for more than 2 hours. Of course, she woke up in the middle of the night because she got hungry.
- Right amount of milk: First few weeks, our daughter ate surprisingly little. Then she kept on wanting more and more right after feeding. We tried a gradual increase, but she seemed to have growth spurts every now and then. In between, she went back to the normal amount. (All that precious breast milk wasted 😢)
- Right product at the right timing: The baby welcome gift box from places like Amazon, Walmart, Target, or Buy Buy Baby can really come in handy. We did a lot of research for baby products and thought we were ready before the birth. How arrogant of us! We learned about all the different bottle sizes, nipple sizes, and shapes babies prefer after our baby came home. There were so many necessary, helpful items we needed to buy: a thinner swaddle for summer, natural ingredient lotions, diaper rash cream, baby cams, toys, and on and on. Caring for a baby is a lot harder without the right products.
- Crying baby but why?: Babies cry a lot. That's how they communicate. It's like a foreign language that you can barely interpret. Fortunately, our daughter isn't much of a cry-er. Our nephew, on the other hand, cries for hours. If the parents can't figure out why, not only the crying hurts the ears, but it also hurts their heart for not being able to connect with their child. (Note: it's not your fault. Keep trying! Sometimes it takes practice.)
- Unwashed Bottles: Being so caught up with watching the baby, we forgot to wash the bottles at times and ran out when the hungry roar began. We got so nervous and blamed ourselves for taking that 10-minute nap when we should've been doing the dishes.
The Hundredth Day Miracle
It is known that most babies settle into a pattern by the 100th day. Their
growth spurts stabilize into noticeable intervals. They start to sleep at
night, for a long period of time! If parents enforce a schedule, babies get
used to it. They now can make eye contact, respond to your voice or
appearance, laugh, and smile more. The 100th Day Miracle is here!
Parents grew their expertise in caring for their little ones. Diaper
change: done. Feeding: done. Products: ready. At this point, most parents
can connect with their child a lot better. The routines and habits are
suited to the best practices. Parents can get some sleep at night or at
least figure out a sleeping pattern to secure some dream time. I personally
enjoy a lot of our daughter's wake-up laughter. We sleep in the same room.
She wakes up at 7 AM every day and hangs out by herself for a while. If her
parents don't come by, then she starts to make all these noises to wake
them. When I half-asleep walk over to her, she gives me the brightest smile
and laughs.
Conclusion
These words might keep you going in the first 100 days:
- Is this why we had a baby? YES, that is exactly why.
- Everybody has gone through this path. I can get through this path. This is how I become a father.
- Everything is alright. I'm on the right path.
- It will pass. The 100th-day miracle IS coming!
Even though it might be a tough time physically, mentally, and
emotionally, when I look back, every single moment was so precious. I'm
very glad that our baby is healthy and growing fast. Enjoy the ride. It's
worth it!