I have a seven-month-old baby girl now. She is my first born. I delivered her naturally after going through 24 hours of labour pain on Christmas Day. My back was in excruciating pain throughout the whole labour process and after I delivered her, I was really happy to have a great Christmas gift.

She was the cutest baby I had ever seen. I started to breastfeed her a few hours after delivery but I did not have milk and did not know how to make a baby latch on properly. The nurses at the hospital showed me the right way. I know the benefits of breast feeding and did not give my baby formula milk even at night. Many of my friends and even my mum told me to mix my breast milk with formula milk but I refused. Even though I was very weak after delivery, I still woke up every hour to feed her.

I took care of my baby for six months before going back to work. I now send her to the daycare centre from Mondays to Fridays from 8am-6.30pm. At first I thought I would be able to get more sleep at night after she started taking semi-solid food, but I was wrong. She does not like to eat the infant rice cereals I buy for her and wakes up almost every hour. Usually I don't get enough sleep but I still have to go to work. My husband sleeps through the night because I'm the one who breastfeeds her.

Despite the lack of sleep, it is worth it to breastfeed her. Each time I think of her smile, I'll tell myself this is all worth it. Nothing is more important than my baby.

I have another problem. My baby likes to cry when she doesn't see me for a few seconds. Every time she cries, I usually carry her. I've tried letting her cry longer but she doesn't stop. I've heard that some babies will stop crying when they know that no one is going to pick them up, but I don't have the heart to let her cry for more than 20 minutes without going to her. I don't know if I'm doing the right thing or not.

All these are hardships of a mum who wants the best for her baby. I just pray that she'll grow up to be a healthy, smart, caring and obedient person.

Linda Yee